In park vs out of park ECV rental

[ksuskin]

I am trying to figure out if it would be better to get an ECV in each park every morning or if I should rent one from an outside company. I am concerned about needing to travel on it to the parks (boat,bus) and the hassle that will create. I don't think I will need it during those times in terms of my physical limitations. However, I'm worried they will run out and I won't get one if there is a limited supply when I get to each park. I also know it's more expensive in the parks, but the ease of not having to drag it to where we are staying almost seems worth it. Does anyone have experience with how easy/hard it was to get an ECV at each park? What would you recommend?

 

[jdb in AZ]

I am trying to figure out if it would be better to get an ECV in each park every morning or if I should rent one from an outside company. I am concerned about needing to travel on it to the parks (boat,bus) and the hassle that will create. I don't think I will need it during those times in terms of my physical limitations. However, I'm worried they will run out and I won't get one if there is a limited supply when I get to each park. I also know it's more expensive in the parks, but the ease of not having to drag it to where we are staying almost seems worth it. Does anyone have experience with how easy/hard it was to get an ECV at each park? What would you recommend?

What time of year are you going, and how early in the day are you planning to go to the parks? Will you take an afternoon break back at the hotel and return to the parks later in the day, or stay at the parks the whole day?

DH and I are not early-morning people and don't want to hurry to the parks to rent ECV's, so we stay on-site at a hotel with monorail access, rent ECV's from an outside vendor, and avoid the buses as much as possible. Going to Downtown Disney by bus with the scooters was a hassle -- next time I think I'll just tough it out and walk through DTD instead.

If you'll have a car, the handicapped parking area is a hike, but you could have a family member drop you off/pick you up near the park entrances.

 

[lanejudy]

If you arriving at the parks early each day, and staying at that park for the full day, then you can probably rent an ECV in the parks if that's your preference. However, as jdb indicates, if you are a late riser they could be all out of ECV rentals by the time you get to the park. Also, if you plan to leave the park - for a meal, a rest at your resort, or to park hop - there is no guarantee an ECV will be available when you return. You don't need to pay again when you return or park hop as long as you have the receipt from earlier in the day, but they also won't "reserve" one for you later and you run the risk of not getting one at the 2nd park.

So decide how you plan to do the parks. That might dictate how where you should rent.

 

[Bete]

and I think it's best to do an offsite rental. The biggest reason for it is you have it any time you need it. Also, I get a smaller scooter than the ones at the parks and it's not that bad to maneuver the scooter on buses or whatever. They come apart if you want to take it anywhere else in your car. Waiting for transportation back to the resort can have long waits and it's nice to have a seat on the scooter while you are waiting for the ferry, boat, bus, or monorail. Another reason for an off site rental is the lower costs. Finally, you are not waiting in line each and every day to get a Disney rental scooter. There are the same lines returning the scooter each day. You probably save 30 minutes each day not being in lines having your own off site scooter.

In return you have to do your own battery charging for the scooter each night. If there are mechanical issues with an offsite rental then you will have a longer wait for a replacement compared to a Disney scooter.