Emphysema

[DipsyDoodles]

My mom will be travelling with us to Disney in April. She was recently diagnosed with emphysema. She also has neuropathy in her legs which makes standing for long periods of time painful. I know walking around the park will be too much for her without many, many frequent stops. We are considering a wheelchair rental or ECV rental for her. Can someone tell me how easy are the ECV's to operate? Thanks in advance for any advice

 

[anonymousegirl]

The trick with the ECVs is gauging distance. They don't have brakes, the operator just lets up on the power button and it glides to a halt. This can be problematic in very crowded conditions. I had to rent one once at EPCOT and found it easy enough and because world showcase wasn't busy that night, I didn't have any problems.
I did find it to be a little cooler than I expected because you are moving faster than when walking.
Steering was okay, but sometimes the queues were a bit tight.
If you rent one, or a wheelchair, be sure to pick up the special park map at each park that shows how to enter each ride (mainstream queue, exit, etc).
Some people say to try one out at a big supermarket, but I think the consensus is those are very bulky adn heavier than the ones available at WDW.
Also, many people report cheaper prices by renting offsite which will give you mom the use of the ECV at the resorts.

 

[DipsyDoodles]

Thanks for your reply, it was very helpful.

 

[anonymousegirl]

If you are still considering a wheelchair, you can do outside rentals of those too. This can be particularly helpful if she is very petite as the chairs for rent at each park is one size fits all which can be uncomfortable for children and very petite adults.
If you go with the wheelchair, you mom can use it like a walking aid and push it so she is not seated all day. She can choose when to walk with it, or how much she wants to sit in it. The ECV, on the other hand, must be driven everywhere.
If she is having a good day, you can leave the chair or ECV nearby an attraction and your mom can walk to a couple of attractions before returning to the chair--examples Tomorrowland--do Buzz, Stitch and Monsters Inc.
If you want to do the TTA (one of my favorite rides), your mom will need to be ambulatory as the moving walkway is a steep incline which forbids ECVs/wheelchairs.