I guess I am a BWV traitor...

[jekjones1558]

I will share your comments, DizBub and Diane. And maybe next time we will try the valet at Contemporary. Life is too short to allow small minded people to get in your head.

 

[Sammie]

I will share your comments, DizBub and Diane. And maybe next time we will try the valet at Contemporary. Life is too short to allow small minded people to get in your head.

I really don't think parking valet is the problem it was parking in the lot for guests.

 

[Missyrose]

Valets at Contemporary told us we can valet park there but I know that DIS folks think this is a huge no-no.

This is what we did on our trip in which my MIL had rented an ECV (hip replacement surgery). It was the perfect solution for MK, soooo much better than parking at TTC and taking ferry/monorail. Don't let people on the Dis make you feel bad for doing this, it's a totally legit solution.

 

[GoofItUp]

My 3 yo son shares your love for Kidani. We stayed there last year and he loved the animals! We stayed at BWV in March and are doing a split stay between BCV and VWL this time. He keeps asking why we can't go back to Animal Kingdom! Guess where we'll be looking at for the next trip....

 

[xstitches]

I'm sorry other guests have made your husband uncomfortable using the bus system. I'm a nurse and care for people with disabilities all the time and think nothing of it, but my parents will not join me and my daughters on vacation because they need to use an ECV. It is sad because they never go places anymore and my daughters miss out on trips with my parents.

 

[jekjones1558]

I'm sorry other guests have made your husband uncomfortable using the bus system. I'm a nurse and care for people with disabilities all the time and think nothing of it, but my parents will not join me and my daughters on vacation because they need to use an ECV. It is sad because they never go places anymore and my daughters miss out on trips with my parents.

Too bad we humans seem programmed to care what others think. But it is even more "too bad" that some humans seem so ready to pass judgement on others in a negative way.

 

[jade1]

Life is too short to allow small minded people to get in your head.

How true. But we also took your advice on the scooter rental for DW's Dad last winter, and also stayed at BWV. He will never go anywhere else for the exact same reason-did one trip to MK and that was enough (AK was no interest to him), but he loved the 5 min ride to EPCOT and liked the drive on boat to DHS. Hoping to do F&W some day as well with them from BWV. Good luck on your waitlist.

 

[discorsner]

We are staying for 11 nights at BWV with my parents in November. Although my mom doesn't need a scooter at home she will need one at WDW because of severe arthritis. She can manage to get from the room to our van or the bus but she will rent one in the park each day.

Since you have metnioned how easy it is to go on the scooter to epcot and dhs with the scooter I am now wondering if she should just rent one for the trip. We would just have a regular mini van though so then we would have to do busses to Mk and Ak though.

Hmmmmm not sure what the best move would be for her.

 

[jekjones1558]

We are staying for 11 nights at BWV with my parents in November. Although my mom doesn't need a scooter at home she will need one at WDW because of severe arthritis. She can manage to get from the room to our van or the bus but she will rent one in the park each day.

Since you have metnioned how easy it is to go on the scooter to epcot and dhs with the scooter I am now wondering if she should just rent one for the trip. We would just have a regular mini van though so then we would have to do busses to Mk and Ak though.

Hmmmmm not sure what the best move would be for her.

We rent a minivan and we rent a scooter for the week (or bring DH's scooter along). It will be cheaper for you to rent for the whole time and the scooter will be dropped off and picked up at BWV. There are several good companies but we used Apple. They also will give you a demo and show you how to easily disassemble the scooter to put in a minivan.

 

[312.Duck]

We rent a minivan and we rent a scooter for the week (or bring DH's scooter along). It will be cheaper for you to rent for the whole time and the scooter will be dropped off and picked up at BWV. There are several good companies but we used Apple. They also will give you a demo and show you how to easily disassemble the scooter to put in a minivan.

We use Apple for my, uhh... DFIL? (whatever father-in-law is); we don't get a mini-van - it actually disassembles and stores in the trunk of a sedan!



I don't get the need to valet at the Contemporary for those driving with an ECV. I think that walk is worse than the walk to the ferry or monorail from the main parking lot!

 

[dianeschlicht]

We are staying for 11 nights at BWV with my parents in November. Although my mom doesn't need a scooter at home she will need one at WDW because of severe arthritis. She can manage to get from the room to our van or the bus but she will rent one in the park each day.

Since you have metnioned how easy it is to go on the scooter to epcot and dhs with the scooter I am now wondering if she should just rent one for the trip. We would just have a regular mini van though so then we would have to do busses to Mk and Ak though.

Hmmmmm not sure what the best move would be for her.

I would encourage you to rent one of the off site ECVs. Besides being much more cost effective, they are smaller and much easier to handle than the big honkers rented in the parks. Besides which, lots of people rent them at the parks for convenience for a whole family, and there might not be one available when you get there.

 

[312.Duck]

+1

I agree about renting an off-site ECV. Besides being "big honkers" <LOL>, the ones in the parks tend to be excruciatingly s l o w ... painful for those walking. On one trip I opted to just push my father-in-law in a regular wheelchair after about an hour of him in a park-owned ECV, just so we could maintain our schedule.

 

[csharpwv]

I love Sweet Tomatoes also and saw the one on 192 but never got there, unfortunately. 5 days is too short a time.
Someone gave DH dirty looks once because it took a while to load his ECV onto the bus. That was it. He dreads the buses now, so we drive if we can. MK is the big problem. Valets at Contemporary told us we can valet park there but I know that DIS folks think this is a huge no-no.

After visiting WDW in 2008 and bringing my parents along, my mom in an ECV, I always do all I can to ease things for folks who use them. It is difficult to navigate in them, no ifs, ands, or buts about it.

Mom wanted to ride the train at MK, so she boarded and I took the scooter to the front of the park for her. Main Street was so difficult to navigate! Not just the people, but the trolley tracks were very difficult to avoid.

I really wish Disney would develop some sort of alternative transportation method other than buses for folks in ECV's - while I understand the frustration of people waiting outside to board when the driver has to go back, lower the ramp, guide the ecv into the bus, get the passenger off and seated, then buckle the ecv in, then open the front door to begin boarding other passengers. I understand - it is time consuming, families are tired, kids are fussy BUT, with no other option - everyone just needs to be patient.

If Disney had a better way to transport individuals using mobility devices, the pressure and stress would be off the individuals themselves, and off of other passengers waiting to board the bus at the end of a long day.

BUT, until that happens - I agree with all PP's - patience from everyone is required!