ECV/Scooter 101

chimilady

DIS Veteran
Joined
Dec 31, 2011
Messages
1,021
Hi everyone. I' m T-12 days out for our Disney trip. This is our first trip with my MIL and our first time with a Scooter. I made the reservation with Walker Mobility and I have no idea what to expect. Where do I meet them? Where do I charge the scooter? Any tips for a first timer? We'll be staying at All Star movies.
 
There should be a phone number on your reservation -- you'll call that when you land at the airport or are otherwise near your resort if driving. They'll meet you at the main lobby.

You'll charge the ECV in your resort room; there should space near the window by pushing the table over a bit, but if it's crowded you can ask to have a chair or table removed if necessary.

Enjoy your vacation!
 
You can charge the scooter in your room each night. The power cords are pretty long and it shouldn't be difficult for it to reach an outlet. If you charge it all night, every night, it shouldn't really need topping off during the day unless it's one of the very lightweight models with a small battery.

I'd ask the company to be sure where to meet them, but I think most of the companies drop off at or near the baggage services counter (which is usually nearby the 'front door' of the resort where DME drops off). That or in the lobby. But they'll tell you if you ask, especially since you're physically meeting up with them.

My main tip is WATCH FOR CURBS. Especially in MK at night on main street. I saw multiple people almost tip their scooters over during the Halloween party because it didn't occur to them that they were going off a curb. CMs are usually good about directing people but accidents can still happen.
 
I rent from Walker Mobility and call them when we reach the resort. They contact the driver of the delivery van. When he calls me, we make arrangements where to meet. The last two times at OKW, I was not near the front of the resort, so they delivered and picked up right outside my room. At Boardwalk they met me out front. I have found the employees at Walker bend over backwards to accommodate guests renting from them.
 

I'd suggest bringing an extension cord just in case. While you shouldn't have a problem reaching a wall outlet with the powercord for the ECV, it's just insurance. I actually keep a power strip with about a 6ft cord in one of the bags I always use for travel (not just WDW). Not only does that help if it's hard for me to get my powerchair near an outlet in my hotel room, but it gives me extra places to plug in my laptop, phone charger, etc. Since wall outlets are often few and far between in hotels, it never hurts to have the power strip.
 
Hello, chimilady! Just wanted to share my recent experience with you when I rented a scooter from Walker. I actually wrote the info below in another thread and dont' have time to write the same info over again, so I just copied and pasted a big chunk, hope you don't mind! :goodvibes

"After reading various posts here, we rented for the first time from Walker(rented at parks before), but I was worried a little about meeting the person to receive/return the scooter. The meets went so easy and smooth! They call you based on when your flight lands. I missed it but called back a few min later, told them I was getting on the ME bus. They told me to call when at my first (I think) stop. When I got off the bus at Beach Club and walked up to the entrance, they were right there waiting for me! And, turned out it was nice to have someone there to just confirm things with, about use, charging the battery, how long it would last, etc. He was so nice!

Now, I did have a problem with the first one, later in the evening it would sometimes just stop dead! Wait a few secs and it would go again. Not sure if it was me or something with the scooter itself. But, I didn't want to deal with it all week. So, I called them the next day, Sunday. They were ready to meet me as soon as I needed them, wherever I was going to be. We decided we'd ride over to DHS and meet there. He was waiting for me when we pulled up on the scooter, (which was working fine so far, but still wanted to switch). Anyway, that one worked great all week. Then we were moving resorts on our last day over to OKW, and I wasn't sure how to get the scooter and our luggage there in a way that didn't take all day, splitting up with my DD23 taking luggage in cab and me trying to get there via getting to a park and then finding an OKW bus! So, I asked and they agreed to meet me at BC to pick up and then meet at OKW with a new scooter for my last day, no extra charge, while we took a cab! I just called when we were almost ready to call cab, they came very quickly, and the same guy who met me the week before, was pulling up at new resort as we did! Next day, we arranged a time shortly before my ME time and it worked great."

Also, note that, when getting on or off the buses, remember to dial down the speed to help give better control in the small space. Remember to go slow getting on and off the buses. And remember, once you are on pull up forward a bit, parallel to the window. Then just slowly back up, parallel parking the scoooter into the spot they need you. Also, I've driven both the 4 wheel scooters you can rent in the parks, and the 3 wheel scooter from Walker. People said it was much easier to operate the 3 wheel walker scooter and it really was so true! Much easier to maneuver and there's a really tight turning radius which was really helpful with getting on and off buses and boats!

I charged everynight and the charge lasted all day. Although, one day I somehow forgot to charge! I took the charger with and just hoped it would go awhile so we could at least get started for the day. That battery lasted all thru the second day without a charge! Not something I'd do on purpose, but was good to know it was so long lasting. I told one of the drivers who met me and they were a bit surpised though.

So, it was very easy to meet up with someone from Walker, easy to drive, and I'd highly recommend them to anyone based on that, as well as the entire experience! Everything turned out much easier than I expected and was even a bit fun, lol! Even my DD23 agreed that renting offsite and having to take bus, boat and monorail transportation was much easier than she thought it would be. And, never got any looks or comments from anyone which I was very happy about! And,one of the best parts is it was only half the cost of renting on site! Hope some of this was helpful to you, but sorry I got so wordy!

Good luck and have a great time! :goodvibes
 
may have to use a scooter this trip. is walker cheaper then renting at disney. what if you have a split stay. do they come by and transport it to your 2nd resort or is that my responsibility. TIA
 
is walker cheaper then renting at disney.

As far as I know, all of the offsite rentals are cheaper than renting at WDW. I don't think that Walker is not necessarily the cheapest of the offsite, but they do usually get good review here.

what if you have a split stay. do they come by and transport it to your 2nd resort or is that my responsibility. TIA

Some people transport the scooter between resorts themselves, but there are people who've reported that the offsite rental company was willing to come move their scooter for a split stay (the most recent report of this was a Walker rental, I think).
 
may have to use a scooter this trip. is walker cheaper then renting at disney. what if you have a split stay. do they come by and transport it to your 2nd resort or is that my responsibility. TIA


I did mention both of your concerns in my post above I think, but absolutely, renting offsite is definitely cheaper than renting at disney! I had my scooter for 10 days and it cost me 230, whereas it would have been 500 at disney! (Disney is 50 per day, plus 20 deposit you get back at end of day. you can turn it in at one park, take your receipt to another park and can rent there with no more charge though.) And, you are sure to have one if you rent offsite. If you get to the park to and it's busy, they may be all rented out already and you'll have to wait till someone returns one to possibly be able to get one. Plus, I had it with me at the resort and anywhere else we wanted to go which ended up working out great. That did means I had to take the ecv on the bus, boat, or monorail to get around, but though I was anxious about it, it worked our much better and easier than I expected.

Also, they did help with my transfer. Now I don't know for sure if it's standard practice, or because I had a long rental for ten days. But, we had to move on our ninth day from BCV to OKW for our last night(nothing available at BC). I asked if they could help and they were great. Again, think I noted it above, but they I called Sat to confirm our move Sun morning. Then Sun I called them to say I was ready and they came right over to BC to pic up the scooter. I took a cab to OKW and someone else met me there with a new scooter, no charge at all! Very easy and very helpful! And they were always so nice! ::yes::

Oh, also their 3 wheel scooter was much easier to drive than the 4 wheel one at disney. Easier as in it felt a little less bulky and it was easier to turn in tight spots with a great turning radius which was very helpful.

And maybe I could have gotten a better deal at another offsite place but I really felt most comfortable with Walker after reading all the posts from others here that I could find. I can't recommend them enough, had a great and easy experience with them! :thumbsup2
 
With an offsite scooter rental you are guaranteed to have a scooter all the time. Renting a Disney scooter is first come, first serve. The plus of renting a Disney scooter is you don't have to get it on and off the Disney transportation services and you don't have to charge it and if something goes wrong then you can get a replacement very easily.

Cost is our major factor of renting off site for a scooter. Most Disney resorts will require you to place the scooter in the room. You do need to make sure you charge the scooter each night. It takes a while to get use to getting the scooter on and off Disney transportation. You do need to conserve battery power by remembering to shut the scooter off during parades, fireworks and shows. We skipped a ride on our last trip; because, the wait time in standby was two hours without fastpass plus. I felt the scooter would be losing too much power with that kind of wait in line. It can be rough at times with the scooter going on rides. Soarin' in Epcot in the Land is very hard to get to with a scooter. You need to find the elevator and the scooter has to get in and out of the elevator. The ride is on a lower floor then what you enter the building. It's manageable, but someone will have to hold the elevator door; so, it doesn't shut on you. You do have to zig zag in some ride queues. You park the scooter near the actual rides, but you do walk some getting to the ride. For shows, you can go into all the theaters and there are special areas where the scooters go; it's the same areas as wheelchairs. The smaller scooters don't come with headlights and some have difficulty at night driving one. The park has some lighting at night; so, again; it's manageable, but you need to be more careful. Another factor is watching for people who will dart in front of you. You need to be very alert and stop in these circumstances to avoid an accident. Most of the time you need to park the scooter outside when eating. When watching parades and fireworks you are allowed to use the handicap areas for viewing with the scooter.

You may at times need to help the MIL with the scooter. It may be easier and better if someone else were to take it on and off the Disney transportation, for example. The same is true of the elevator for the Soarin' ride. Getting the scooter in and out of the resort room may be another time it's better if someone else were to do it.

If the MIL has no experience with a scooter I highly suggest she practice at the grocery stores and such with the store scooters. You may even want to go to a local zoo and practice with their scooter. There are scooter rentals at most zoos.

A scooter is a blessing. Without one we would never be able to last at the parks. The average is 8 miles a day of walking.
 
I will say I, myself, didn't find it difficult using the elevator to get to soarin. And, I was with my DD23 so that was helpful with the door and such, so if I were alone, it would be a bit more difficult.

And, the three wheel scooter from Walker(and possibly others), is great at making tight turns so that's very helpful!
 
Thanks so much for all of the advice. I can't believe it's less than a week away now!!!
 














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