Help - Wheelchair Rental ??

[rombar]

Hi - hopefully someone on these boards can help with this question. We are travelling to WDW this Sunday and my husband has broken his foot. Is it easy to arrange wheelchair rental? Do I need a doctor's note for this. Husband is going to the doctor today and I need to get the note today if necessary - any help is appreciated!

 

[Cheshire Figment]

You may be better off renting an ECV, as pushing a wheelchair can get very tiresome, especially if you are not used to it. Also it depends on the weight of the passenger and the condition of the pusher(s). Some information for off-site rentals are:

Walker Mobility:
1-888-726-6837
www.walkermobility.com

Care Medical:
http://www.caremedicalequipment.com/

RANDY'S Mobility is in Kissimmee 407-892-4777
http://randysmobility.com/

Colonial Medical
http://www.colonialmed.com/about_cms.html

I have used Walker a few times. They will ask for a credit card and charge it the day before arrival. They will deliver the ECV to your hotel bell services before your arrival and pick it up there after your departure. Their rates, especially for longer than a week, are much better than Disney's. Also, their scooters are much better.

You don't say if youwill have a car or what. If you are using a car for getting around, the ECVs break down into five pieces, the heaviest about 39 pounds. They take about a minute or so to take apart and about two minutes (once you are used to it) to put it together.

Another suggestion is find out your state's requirements for a temporary disabled hang tag and get the paper work and have your doctor sign off on it. The tag will allow you to use any of the handicap parking areas (which will be a necessity). Also, with the policy of charging for valet parking, with a handicap hang tag the fees will be waived. Also the valets will usually volunteer to assist in loading/unloading an ECV. In Virginia I printed the required form from the DMV website. When I took the completed form to the DMV Office it took less than 15 minutes from the time I walked in until I had my tag.

If he is in a cast, you might want to have the person who puts it on draw a line with a marker where it will be sawn off. Then bring a "Sharpie" type marker pen with you and have the Characters sign the cast. Warn them when signing to not cross the line. After the cast is removed you will have an interesting souvenier.

You can use a bungee cord to help keep crutches or a folded up walker on the EVC or wheelchair. Usually it would be a short walk with the crutches from the wheelchair or EVC. Note that if you tell one of the off-site companies that he also has crutches, they can put a "crutch holder" on the ECV.

Good luck and let us know what finally happens.

 

[SueM in MN]

Do I need a doctor's note for this.

The answer to this is no. You can rent a wheelchair or ecv without having any sort of note from the doctor.
Good luck on your trip and here's some pixie dust for good weather while you are there.
If you are flying, you might want to check with the airline about being met by a skycap with a wheelchair at Orlando.

 

[GeekChic]

This forum is just the BEST!!! I think I wanna live here LOL

Thanks so much Sue I was debating between which company to try since I've never reserved a chair from an outside company before, heard good things between your post and others around about Walker and just gave them a call...the girl on the phone Heather was so sweet!

One less thing to worry about with our trip planning now!

I will give the results of my experience with them when we get back so others will know how it went, thanks again for the priceless info!

Ro
eccentric, writer, aka the "chic geek"

edited: Oops! Concierge at GF is arranging the chair for me already, so I canceled with Walker. They're using CARE so I decided to just let them take care of it

 

[SueM in MN]

Pixie dust for a great trip.

All the companies that Cheshire Figment listed are ones that DIS posters have used in the past and had good things to say about. People do have their favorites and each company has had an occasional bad experience, but all the ones listed are ones people are generally pretty pleased with.