How difficult to rent/drive an ECV?

[vbalacek]

I was hit by a car at the begining of the year, and suffered a lot damage to both legs. Although I finally can hobble around with a cane, I will not be up to walking the World this summer for our planned trip to Disney. My husband is trying to convince me we still should go, and that I could rent a ECV.

Since my kids have been through so much with my accident, and are so excited about the trip, I am considering it. One of my questions is how difficult is it to rent a ECV at Disney. I know they have limited availability at each park--do you typically need to be there when the park opens to secure one? What if you switch parks mid-day (or in my case, go home and nap with the thought of going back later in the day)?

Also, are they relatively easy to figure out how to drive?

Finally, is there a spot on the vehicle to rest a cane? If not, how do people get from the ECV to the attraction? Do you drive the ECV into the attractions?

Thanks.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Hi and to disABILTIES!

I would suggest that you click on where it says "disABILTIES" at the top of this page it will take you to the Index. One of the top items is the "disABILTIES FAQ" which will gives lots of useful information, including where people rent ECVs. You are probably much better off renting from off-site.

One thing is renting from off-site they can put a crutch holder onto the ECV, this cannot be done with the Disney ones.

You might go to a WalMart or similar, or a large grocery store. These tend to have large ECVs available for shoppers. They are much larger than any of the rentals and not as easy to drive. You can use one of them to practice with.

Most of the attractions are "mainstreamed" so you can drive right in the queue and only have to get off when you are actually ready to board the ride. For shows there are special seating areas where there is a space to park two wheelchairs or ECVs and then a few seats on either side of the space for the rest of the party.