May need a wheel chair.

[Love Disney210]

I suffer from plantar fasciitis and it times it flairs up. If that should happen will I be able to get a wheelchair. I do not want a scooter because I have never used one. Will I need a doctor’s prescription? Can I rent them daily at the park but if I need to rent it weekly will I be able to ride the bus. If so do I stay on the wheelchair? Not sure if this the correct forum to post this. Thank you .

 

[DisneyOma]

You do not need a prescription to rent one at the parks or from an offsite vendor. Do you have someone coming along who can push you in the chair? They may want to bring a pair of gloves to protect their hands from blisters if they are not used to pushing a chair.

You can stay in the wheelchair on the bus if it has the correct tiedowns and they are used properly. You can transfer to a bus seat if you want to do that as well.

 

[mjkacmom]

We rented a scooter in the parks for my 70 year old dad who had spine issues and dementia and he did fine, they’re not difficult to drive.

 

[ScarletFire]

I am so sorry! Plantar fasciitis is miserable. I am recovered for the time being. Get the scooter!

 

[Love Disney210]

Do you need to rent them in advance or can I rent one when I am down there? I am nervous getting on the bus. I saw what a nightmare it was for people that did not use them before.

 

[Love Disney210]

You do not need a prescription to rent one at the parks or from an offsite vendor. Do you have someone coming along who can push you in the chair? They may want to bring a pair of gloves to protect their hands from blisters if they are not used to pushing a chair.

You can stay in the wheelchair on the bus if it has the correct tiedowns and they are used properly. You can transfer to a bus seat if you want to do that as well.

I will be vacationing with my daughter and her family. Thanks for the info. If I rent a scooter at the park, will I need a reservation?

 

[Davey Jones II]

I will be vacationing with my daughter and her family. Thanks for the info. If I rent a scooter at the park, will I need a reservation?

You can rent a scooter or wheelchair when you get into the parks. You can also get a week long rental, just keep the documentation they give you and show that when you get in the park. There's always a rental place right near the entrance. Also, unless this has changed, there are some rides that will give you a return time, and then you and your party get in through the exit or the LL entrance. At MK, Jungle Cruise and Space Mountain are examples.

 

[Mrs.AMC]

I will be vacationing with my daughter and her family. Thanks for the info. If I rent a scooter at the park, will I need a reservation?

For park rentals no, there are no reservations. They can run out. not often but possible.
Your best bet, if you need one, rent off site.
Scooter(ECV) are extremely easy to use and drive. I was at Disney over Christmas 2 weeks post knee replacement so I rented an ECV for my first time. There is zero learning curve to driving one, including getting it on the bus.
My 70+ year old mother used on at Disney for her first, and only time. She also was able to use it with zero learning curve.
I really suggest that over a wheelchair which means someone has to push you around all the time. That's not fun for you if you try to wheel yourself or the ones left to push you.

 

[tobikaye]

From a cost standpoint, ECV and wheelchairs, are cheaper renting offsite for length of stay. EVCs at the parks are $50/day, but I have rented for 6 or 7 days for $150-200 for my sister. You also cannot use park models to get to the buses or park hop so, if you need for the walk to and from the buses or at your resort, you definitely want to rent off site.

My sister had issues with parking the first time she used an EVC on the buses, but the drivers helped her maneuver. Sometimes I just have her transfer to a seat and manually move the EVC into place. She has not driven a car so has not had to do much parking/backing up. If you drive a car, you basically should be able to maneuver the EVC into place withjust a little practice.

 

[k5xs]

You also cannot use park models to get to the buses or park hop so, if you need for the walk to and from the buses or at your resort, you definitely want to rent off site.

Unless something has radically changed in the past few weeks, every park has loaner wheelchairs for use between the bus stops and the wheelchair/stroller/ECV rental place in the park. They are visible at the bus stops.

And in the rare occasion when, at the end of the day, we went to return our rental wheelchair and all the loaners were out, we were invited to just take our rental wheelchair to the bus stop and leave it there.

 

[Geomom]

I believe if you rent at the parks it's just for use in the parks (I think they do have some red wheelchairs for temporary use to get to the buses). We rented a wheelchair last April for DD17 when she twisted her knee mid trip, did a multi day rental and got a slight discount.

 

[tobikaye]

Unless something has radically changed in the past few weeks, every park has loaner wheelchairs for use between the bus stops and the wheelchair/stroller/ECV rental place in the park. They are visible at the bus stops.

So sorry that I forgot the “ECV” before park models in my statement you quoted. I did forget about the loaners, but rarely see them.

The only times we have rented in the parks, were unexpected issues and the person was able to make it to the boat or parking tram so didn’t need to pay attention to loaner availability.

We went to renting offsite before buying personal devices due to availability issues for EVCs. I have pushed people in wheelchairs around WDW and it was not fun as the only pusher.

 

[Her Dotness]

Don't consider a manual wheelchair without someone to push it if you don't use a chair regularly. You will be in agony after a short time wheeling yourself! They require an incredible amount of upper body strength.

When DH broke both legs and needed a wheelchair, the PTs spend a good while having him build muscles specific to propeling a wheelchair before he began to use one. And he's a big guy who'd been working as a phone repair tech, climbing poles, hefting gear, etc.

Also, there are lots of slight inclines along with rough decorative pavement many places throughout WDW. Those are a beast in a wheelchair.

We'll never forget the mother-daughter duo in Epcot, mother in chair, daughter pushing, who jokingly offered DH money for his powerchair. The daughter remarked, "I thought I could do this, but it's killing me!"

 

[k5xs]

So sorry that I forgot the “ECV” before park models in my statement you quoted. I did forget about the loaners, but rarely see them.

The only times we have rented in the parks, were unexpected issues and the person was able to make it to the boat or parking tram so didn’t need to pay attention to loaner availability.

We went to renting offsite before buying personal devices due to availability issues for EVCs. I have pushed people in wheelchairs around WDW and it was not fun as the only pusher.

Ah. Fair enough.

My spouse can't stand or walk for extended times, so we've taken to doing the wheelchair thing. We bought a travel model on Amazon and it's been terrific at the airports and at WDW and it saves the hassle of in-park rentals.

Fortunately my spouse is a small thing, and pushing her around isn't difficult. We go slowly most of the time, and it's a good workout on the hills!

 

[Mrs.AMC]

I believe if you rent at the parks it's just for use in the parks (I think they do have some red wheelchairs for temporary use to get to the buses). We rented a wheelchair last April for DD17 when she twisted her knee mid trip, did a multi day rental and got a slight discount.

They have them but you’ll not see them more often than you will see them

 

[Betty Rohrer]

Unless something has radically changed in the past few weeks, every park has loaner wheelchairs for use between the bus stops and the wheelchair/stroller/ECV rental place in the park. They are visible at the bus stops.

And in the rare occasion when, at the end of the day, we went to return our rental wheelchair and all the loaners were out, we were invited to just take our rental wheelchair to the bus stop and leave it there.

this was precovid but we have never been able to get a loaner to the cars esp at MK where tram has never run to handicapped area. so I would not count on the loaner outside of gate. we were never allowed to take out the gate

 

[tobikaye]

Ah. Fair enough.

My spouse can't stand or walk for extended times, so we've taken to doing the wheelchair thing. We bought a travel model on Amazon and it's been terrific at the airports and at WDW and it saves the hassle of in-park rentals.

Fortunately my spouse is a small thing, and pushing her around isn't difficult. We go slowly most of the time, and it's a good workout on the hills!

Yeah, I am only 60” tall so with someone in a park wheelchair my head barely clears their head as they are usually taller than me and most outweigh me. I am not small in width and have decent strength so that helps. I have pushed my sister around WDW for 3 days and Washington DC for 3 days and it was too much. After that, I made sure we took her ECV instead. I am good for one day visits to places pushing the wheelchair, but multiple days becomes a lot.

 

[k5xs]

this was precovid but we have never been able to get a loaner to the cars esp at MK where tram has never run to handicapped area. so I would not count on the loaner outside of gate. we were never allowed to take out the gate

I've never seen loaners offered/used for anything other than the bus stops.

 

[CynBeth]

Unless something has radically changed in the past few weeks, every park has loaner wheelchairs for use between the bus stops and the wheelchair/stroller/ECV rental place in the park. They are visible at the bus stops.

And in the rare occasion when, at the end of the day, we went to return our rental wheelchair and all the loaners were out, we were invited to just take our rental wheelchair to the bus stop and leave it there.

That happened in November when my DM needed a wheelchair
just for going around the parks she could take a loaner to the bus stop and leave it there or if they were out of loaners could take the regular one and leave it. She could take the loaner into the wheelchair line at the Skyliner to get a car that stopped to get on and she could leave it there. If they were out of loaners she could take and leave the regular one.

 

[Mrs.AMC]

That happened in November when my DM needed a wheelchair
just for going around the parks she could take a loaner to the bus stop and leave it there or if they were out of loaners could take the regular one and leave it. She could take the loaner into the wheelchair line at the Skyliner to get a car that stopped to get on and she could leave it there. If they were out of loaners she could take and leave the regular one.

That’s great when leaving the park but does no good if you are coming to the bus stop with no when chairs when you arrive