How do I rent a scooter?

[lippylulu]

I never thought I would be in this situation but it looks like I may be having surgery 4-5 weeks before our Disney Trip. I do not want to reschedule since we already postponed this trip once before when I needed surgery last October. I doubt I will be up to all the walking and am thinking I may need a scooter.

Is it hard to rent a scooter at a park? Do they run out of ECV's? Do I need a doctor's letter? How much is it? We plan on doing MK, AK, Hollywood Studios, Epcot and then Seaworld.

Thank you all.

 

[simba2]

It's not hard at all. You do not need a dr.'s note. You just go to the stroller/wheelchair rental and rent a scooter. But yes, sometimes the parks do run out. Will you need it from the Disney bus or your car to the turnstile? You might consider renting one for the entire stay. There is one on Disney property - Buena Vista Scooter. They will deliver it to your door. We have not used them yet. We have used Randy's Mobility and had great service. Also used Walker once and again had great service from them. Some do come apart and could be put in the car trunk to get to SeaWorld. If not, I'm not sure if they rent them at SeaWorld - check their website.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Hi and to disABILITIES!

I'm not sure about Sea World, but at the Disney parks the daily cost is $35.00 plus a refundable $5.00 key deposit.

You do not need any sort of Doctor's note.

A lot depends on the time of year as well as the time of day that you go. Generally arriving within an hour or two of park opening will not be a problem.

However, we do recommend renting from an off-site company. The ECVs from them are less expensive, more manueverable, and you have it available to you all the time. Also some of the resorts it is a very long distance from the room to the lobby.

If 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.

Or, if you want an easier route, click on the link in my signature.

 

[mechurchlady]

http://seaworld.com/orlando/

http://seaworld.com/assetrepo/documents/SWF access guide.pdf

They have disabled parking and if you do not have a hang tag, etc. then explain to the addendent.

Cost is $30 a day for an ECV and either leave a photo ID or $10 deposit. May go up but that is the online rate I see. The guidebook covers everything you need to know. Staff usually are very helpful and friendly at Sea World. The only ECV and wheelchair not assessible areas are rides which require a transfer into the ride vehicle.

 

[mickey&minniealways]

Are you staying at a Disney resort. Call check in at the resort. They can give you the name of some reputable companies off property. This way you can arrange for it ahead of time. The cost is about the same as renting them in the parks with the added advantage of being able to use it around the resort and on the buses. You don't have to worry about picking it up either as they will deliver it to the resort. Call them when you are ready to leave at the end of your trip and they will come pick it up. We did this last time we went in 2005 for my FIL who has a heart condition. He would not have been able to do the parks at all if we hadn't. Instead he had the time of his life.

 

[5dwarves]

We were at WDW last year for my son's wish trip. We rented a scooter from an off site agency. It cost us a little over $200 for a week. The scooter was very reliable and seemed to be newer and a little "sleeker" than the ones that you rent from WDW. You can also use them outside of the park to get to your vehicle, and I believe that there are WDW buses that are wheelchair accessible if you are on property. Check out the sticky's on the DisAbilities site for more ECV information. The ECV's at Disney can all be rented fairly early in the day. If you are not there early every day or if you park hop, you might find they are all gone when you need one.

 

[5dwarves]

I forgot to mention that the offsite rental agencies will deliver and pick up the ECV at your hotel.

 

[SueM in MN]

Are you staying at a Disney resort. Call check in at the resort. They can give you the name of some reputable companies off property. This way you can arrange for it ahead of time.

There are some companies listed in the disABILITIES FAQs thread that DIS posters have reported good experiences with over the years. We have links to the different websites so that people can check them out and choose the one that sounds best to them.
I would not be concerned about renting from any of the companies in the disABILITIES FAQs thread because we have had lots of feedback about them over the years.

and I believe that there are WDW buses that are wheelchair accessible if you are on property. Check out the sticky's on the DisAbilities site for more ECV information.

You are correct; almost all the WDW buses are accessible for wheelchairs/ECVs. One of the sections of the disABILITIES FAQs thread talks about buses and explains how things work.

 

[Timon-n-Pumbaa Fan]

With my MIL's health issues, we have rented from Walker in the past and had a great experience.

Last trip, I was recovering from an illness that made it imperative to have a scooter. We rented from Randy's, because it was cheaper by a few dollars. I was less than impressed with him. He demanded that we be there when it was delivered. Which meant that we had to walk thru a monsoon like storm to get inside to meet him on his schedule. He also strongly smelled of cigarette smoke and we both have asthma. The first day, it only ran for half of a day and had a dead battery. We assumed that the error was ours because we didn't charge it overnight. We charged it and did not need it the following day because we stayed at the resort. The next day, at 11am, it was out of juice again. We took it back to the room....totally throwing off our plans again. When we called Randy, he could do nothing about it until the following day and YELLED at us for not telling him sooner. WTH? So, even though the next scooter was far less beat up and ran full days with juice left to spare, the kicker on whether or not I would rent from him again came at the end. He demanded that we not leave the scooter with bell services at the Poly. He wanted to pick it up from us, which delayed our leaving to drive home. We got a call that morning asking us for an even later pick up time, we reluctantly agreed. Then finally, after we wasted the better part of the morning, he said that he was just too backed up and to leave it at bell services, and this wasn't until 11:30am. I was soooooo mad. Never again will I rent from him.

I am renting from Walker for my upcoming trip. As usual, they are super nice and will leave the scooter with bell services, so that it's there when I arrive and I will leave it with bell services when I leave to fly home again. From now on it's Walker only for me.

 

[Dan Murphy]

I used Buena Vista, located on the Boardwalk, last year when I had a herniated disk. They were great, the scooter was great. I will be down there again in about a month, will be doing it without the scooter, as I seem to have healed. It sure did make my last trip both pleasant, and possible. Best wishes.

 

[simba2]

We're trying Buena Vista this time although we usually use Randy's and have had no problems at all.

 

[SueM in MN]

Whichever company you chose, there will be some people who had problems and post that they would never rent from that company again.
But, for all the companies listed in the disABILITIES FAQs thread, the number of positive experiences way outweigh the negatives.

 

[123Disney]

We will also need a scooter for the 1st time this trip. If we rent from the park in the AM and would like to take my Mom back to rest at mid-day can we leave it in the park. Do we take it back and just say we are coming back? Is there a place to park it and then get it later? Has anyone done this? Thanks!

 

[Cheshire Figment]

If you turn in an ECV (or wheelchair) at a park and hold onto your receipt, you can get anotehr ECV (or wheelchair) at no additional fee for the day, whether at the same or a different park.

However, if you turn it in, they will put it on charge and then consider it as available for rental, since they cannot hold onto it with the expectation that you will return.

And if you leave it parked near the gate, one of the Greeters will, after seeing it sitting for about 1/2 hour or more, have it returned to the rental area and you will not get back your key deposit. If this happens, and you return, you can still get another ECV if one is available.

 

[123Disney]

Thanks!!

 

[CatNipRules]

There was a time that I needed a scooter to get around. Had surgery on my ankle and could barely walk. We had rented from Walker Mobility. Well, we got to the parks and the scooter stopped working. So, we called the number. They had someone there with a new scooter within 20 minutes. Very great service!!

 

[GrammyJudy]

We will also need a scooter for the 1st time this trip. If we rent from the park in the AM and would like to take my Mom back to rest at mid-day can we leave it in the park. Do we take it back and just say we are coming back? Is there a place to park it and then get it later? Has anyone done this? Thanks!

You just show your receipt when you return or if you go to another park and they give you a new one. They will ask for the $5 deposit which is refundable.

 

[SueM in MN]

You just show your receipt when you return or if you go to another park and they give you a new one. They will ask for the $5 deposit which is refundable.

If there is one available - there is no guarantee there will be.

 

[mousey]

We decided to rent off site this time (coming up in 2 wks). Last time we rented at the Studio's you had to stand in the same liine as the stroller's and it was at least 40 people long. That night went to Magic Kingdom, waited over 1 hr. for one to be returned only to find out it had to be charged. This way, we will have it from start to finish.

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

We will also need a scooter for the 1st time this trip. If we rent from the park in the AM and would like to take my Mom back to rest at mid-day can we leave it in the park. Do we take it back and just say we are coming back? Is there a place to park it and then get it later? Has anyone done this? Thanks!

Any time we have rented from the park and then gone back to the room mid-day, we tell the CM what time we will be back and they will put your name on it and hold it (charge it) for you. when you return, give them the ticket they gave you and they will get the same ECV to you. We were worried they would give it away, because we were a few minutes late getting back, but the CM said they would have held it for an hour or so then put it back out for someone else. It was always ready for us when we returned.

With that said, most of the time, we do rent from off-site and have used Walker's for our last 2 trips, but I think I am going to use Buena Vista this time.

Suzanne