In park ECV rental ?'s

[Amusement]

We're headed to WDW on Saturday and heading home on Thursday and as much as I had hoped to be better before our trip, I'm going to need to rent an ECV while we are there. I'm recovering from severe anemia and am also in the process of trying to get a diagnosis for severe musculoskeletal pain that I have been dealing with for close to three months. The anemia is getting better, but I still get fatigued pretty easily and the muscle and joint pain increases with too much walking and standing so as much as I would love to be feeling good enough to get around on my own all day, I know that I can't.

I would really prefer to rent in the parks and avoid the stress (and it would be stressful to me) of getting an ECV on and off the busses, but we have a few things in our plans that have me a little concerned about being able to rent in the parks when I need to do so.

1) We're taking the Undiscovered Future World tour at 9:00 AM one day which is also the same time the park opens. We also need to be at the park early to be ready for the tour to start and I am wondering if I would be able to get there early before the park opens and be able to rent an ECV before the tour. Will the rental area even be open?

2) We usually don't park hop, but we are going to hop two days in order to accommodate meals and other plans. One day we will be leaving Epcot around lunch time and be going to Hollywood Studios and on another we will be doing the reverse, spending the morning and lunch at HS, taking the boat to Beach Club to get ice cream at Beaches and Cream at 3:30, and then heading to Epcot to enjoy World Showcase.
I worry about there not being an ECV available to rent when we hop to the second park and I am also unsure if you can rent them at the international gateway at Epcot.


Like I said I would really, really like to avoid messing with an ECV on the busses, but I'll have to suck it up if we won't be able to get one early for the tour in particular.

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[Betty Rohrer]

remember the park rental ECV will not help you get to buses at the end of night as they are not allowed passed the gate. it can be a walk to some of the buses. also it can be a walk from bus stop at resort to your room esp in the evenings when you are tired from the park. plus there is no where to sit while waiting for buses. even though you do not want ECV on buses I can not see you making it without one at resort. even with handicap tag esp at MK it is quite a walk and slightly up hill from handicapped parking and there is no tram. know you are worried about ECV on buses but I have never had trouble getting one on or off except for the time a couple refused to move forward as driver asked them to do. please consider how you are going to feel at end of night at park and needing at place to sit and not being able to what are you planning to do. I have never see a wheelchair that can be taken to parking lots or buses in the evenings and only a couple of times to get from parking lots to gates never from buses

 

[SueM in MN]

Also keep in mind that someone else in your group can put the ECV onto the bus for you. They don't even need to drive it. They could disengage the motor to put it in push mode and push it onto the bus.
With a park rental ECV, you would have to walk to the bus stop and stand in line (and possibly on the bus).


You are going at a traditionally low crowd time, but it's hard to say what influence that might have on park rental of ECVs. Many people with disabilities choose to visit the parks during low crowd periods. I noticed that WDW added the words '"Plan to arrive early" to their wheelchair/ECV rental page.
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/ecv-rentals/

If you are going to come back to the same park, they will hold the ECV for you, but it's really hard to say whether one will be available if you park hop. They do rent ECVs at World Showase entrance from the Boardwalk area, but the number is limited. Worst case scenario would be that they don't have an ECV and you might have to use a manual wheelchair instead on the days you park hop.

 

[Carnator]

The park hopping problem happened to my mom yesterday. She rented an ECV at AK in the morning. Hopped over to Epcot around 3 and there were no ECV's. My dad had to push her in a wheel chair until ECV became available later.

 

[Debbie Jean]

The park hopping problem happened to my mom yesterday. She rented an ECV at AK in the morning. Hopped over to Epcot around 3 and there were no ECV's. My dad had to push her in a wheel chair until ECV became available later.

This is going to be an issue for you in all likelihood so be sure to have a back up plan.

Seriously, if your only reason for not renting from a private company off property is getting the scooter on and off the bus, there are so many, many ways for this to be handled. As someone pointed out, someone else in your party can do it... or the bus driver can assist. After you drive it up the ramp, many will offer to back it into place for you. I've used a scooter for years at Disney so I don't need this kind of assistance but if you are a newbie or feeling insecure, it's really nice to know it's there.

Think about it... having your own ECV means not worrying about availability in the parks, having it while you are traveling between parks and at your resort... and it is waaaaaay, cheaper!

 

[Amusement]

Thank you all for the replies. Unfortunately, having someone else in my party handle it on the bus isn't an option. I'm traveling with a minor. I've read enough to know that I shouldn't count on the bus drivers to help every time. Help would certainly be appreciated, but I don't expect it and I want to make sure I can handle things on my own. I know it's old hat to many of you, but it does make me anxious to think about handling getting on and off the bus.

With that being said, a wheelchair wouldn't work for me as a back up plan since I won't have someone that can push me and the pain in my arms means I can't push myself. So I'm probably going to have to rent offsite and hope everything goes smoothly getting on and off the bus.

One more question...we have to be at Epcot by 8:45 one morning for a tour. We had originally planned to balance getting as much sleep as possible and still getting there without cutting it to the last minute and were thinking we would hop on the bus around 7:30, but I wonder if I should leave more time in case there are more ECV's than spaces on the bus. What time would you guys suggest we be at the bus stop to get there in time?

 

[Debbie Jean]

Which resort are you staying at?

In general, I find it stressful to be late for anything so I always leave extra time getting places. Early mornings are busy, not only on the buses but getting through security at the parks, etc. If a bus comes and the disabled spots are already occupied, you will need to wait for the next one. I would probably leave a bit earlier... 7:15-7:30... to be sure I boarded a bus and got through to where my tour was leaving. Given a choice, I'd much rather be too early than too late!

I do understand about traveling without assistance. I frequently do Disney solo so I've really had to learn to handle the scooter on my own. But I can say that by and large people... guests and cast members... are very supportive, understanding and helpful. Don't be afraid to ask for assistance if you need it at any point! And if your minor can hold open some of the doors for you, then you are already ahead of the game!

Relax and have a wonderful trip!

 

[Amusement]

Thanks! We're staying at Port Orleans - French Quarter and we'll plan to get to the bus stop a little earlier. I hate being late so I would rather be a little early, too.

And thank you for the encouragement. I'm still adjusting to dealing with the pain issues and it's all been a bit overwhelming. I'm sure we'll have a great time and hopefully, I'm fretting for nothing.