Getting a wheelchair at our resort, rather than in the parks

[batt01]

Years ago, when my husband had just had surgery, a very nice CM at All Star Music saw him on crutches and offered us a wheelchair for use during our stay. No charge! It had "All Star Resorts" written on it. It was a huge help, and saved us money on needing to rent at the parks.

Is this available in general at all the resorts? Or did we just luck out? We are returning and staying at the Grand Floridian this time (thanks to very generous family members who know we are celebrating the end of cancer treatments). A length-of-stay wheelchair would be wonderful.....I suppose I'll ask when we check in, but just curious if this is standard.

 

[christymarie]

It does happen although it is not common. There are not many wheelchairs like that at the resorts, just a few, so if other guests already have them you are out of luck. If you are in need of a wheelchair for your trip you would do better to plan on renting one from the parks or seeing if you could borrow one from someone before you leave. It would be safer than risking not having one from the resort.

Have a good time!!

 

[deegack]

I wouldn't count on it. If you need one you can rent one from an outside company and its cheaper that renting at the parks.

 

[jdb in AZ]

How are you at pushing the wheelchair? Even "buff" people get tired pushing by the end of the day. WDW isn't as flat as you'd think. DH pushed his mom's wheelchair around Disneyland one year and did some real damage to a tendon.

If your DH still drives, you might want to check into getting an ECV -- they're cheaper to rent off-site than in the parks, and usually better quality/condition.

 

[SueM in MN]

People have had variable experience with getting wheelchairs at the resort.
As others posted, there is no guarantee they will have one - they are really meant for people in the situation of things like having an accident where they needed one.
Many people have posted that the wheelchair they got was not in good condition. For that reason, we suggest renting a wheelchair or an ECV ahead of time to be delivered to your resort. Post 2 of the disABILITIES FAQs thread has information about renting wheelchairs and ECVs, including phone numbers and web links. You can find that thread near the top of this board or follow the link in my signature.

 

[Bete]

The wheelchair at the resorts are somewhat unreliable (for example, people have even reported a wheel coming lose) and most of them are very heavy duty which makes them probably 2X heavier or more than a portable, transport push wheelchair. A portable, transport wheelchair can be bought for $125 to $200 and you have it forever. It's free to bring on airlines and it can be used right up to boarding the airplane. We have one that cost $150 and we have used it for four years, now. It weighs 15 pounds. My mom is light (the one who needs it) in weight and the wheelchair is light in weight and I can manage well during our Disney trips pushing it for even 10 days. From my understanding most resort wheelchairs go 30 pounds or more; unless, you can get a child's one (my mom could fit in a child's one). I would never even think of taking a child's wheelchair; I would have nightmares about it. My mom could fit in one.

Portable, transport wheelchairs fit easily in most car trunks. We have used it many times for local visits to places at home. My mom can use a walker, but sometimes it's just safer and faster to use a wheelchair for her out in the public. She likes it, too. It's an effort for her to do a walker when we need to go out and about especially for longer days. At home it's easier to use the walker; because, you can take your time and rest when you need to do it. It's a good investment to have a portable, transport push wheelchair. They manuever better at the parks through ride queues and such; they are usually not as wide or bulky as the bigger, heavier manual wheelchair.

Also, I would feel rather bad doing a freebie knowing that I may be taking a wheelchair away from someone else who just might need one on the spot due to an accident there while on vacation. Think how good it was to have one when the CM offered you one on the spot.

I just wouldn't do it that way. You know ahead of time that you need one. I'm not here to judge, either.