Need advice re: scooter rental

[sndral]

My son’s GF’s family will be touring w/ us for 2 of our 11 days at WDW - 12/17 @ DHS & 12/18 @ AK. We are staying in a 2 br. at AKL Jambo. They are staying at an offsite timeshare (I don’t know which one.) They would like to rent a scooter for the gf’s mom for the 2 park days, their plan is to meet up w/ us at AKL & take the bus to/from the park.
To me it seems that the easiest would be to just rent from Disney at the front of the park - the mom can do some walking, just not the all day on your feet that WDW entails - but what are the chances that they’ll run out of scooters?
I looked at off site rental places & the prices seem pretty high for only 2 days - they seem to be more geared to longer rentals.
Help!
I’m ok w/ taking delivery from an offsite place at AKL & even parking the ECV in the 2 br. overnight for them if needed, we are below occupancy in our 2 br., so can add them as ‘guests’ if that would be needed.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

My son’s GF’s family will be touring w/ us for 2 of our 11 days at WDW - 12/17 @ DHS & 12/18 @ AK. We are staying in a 2 br. at AKL Jambo. They are staying at an offsite timeshare (I don’t know which one.) They would like to rent a scooter for the gf’s mom for the 2 park days, their plan is to meet up w/ us at AKL & take the bus to/from the park.
To me it seems that the easiest would be to just rent from Disney at the front of the park - the mom can do some walking, just not the all day on your feet that WDW entails - but what are the chances that they’ll run out of scooters?
I looked at off site rental places & the prices seem pretty high for only 2 days - they seem to be more geared to longer rentals.
Help!
I’m ok w/ taking delivery from an offsite place at AKL & even parking the ECV in the 2 br. overnight for them if needed, we are below occupancy in our 2 br., so can add them as ‘guests’ if that would be needed.

based on your dates unless you are a rope drop family have a plan B in case out of scooters. plus check out the Disney prices before you decide offsite is high prices

 

[bsmcneil]

Yeah - I had to join a waitlist at DHS and got an ECV around 5pm. The cost through WDW was 70 dollars, I believe (they will let you rent a manual chair and then anything you paid for that can go towards the ECV if you end up getting one). Also, you have an hour from when you get the text to get the ECV or they'll go to the next in line. It made me anxious to get too far from the entrance (where you rent them) because I wasn't sure how long it would take me to get back (by myself, using the manual alone, too). The next day was my AK day and I made sure I was there first - literally - but anyone at RD would've been fine. If it were me, it would be nice to have the certainty of an off-site rental.

ETA - I didn't even think about dates. I went during what seems like it was the slowest time this year (mid to late September - so, after labor day/before the week of the 50th). TouringPlans had each day listed as either a 1 or 2 in terms of crowd (and I still had the waitlist issue). Meanwhile your week will be significantly busier.

 

[Bethctraveler]

Their was a major shortage of scooters in the parks the entire time we were there. I recommend renting from an off site company. The 4 of us were what I would consider mobility dependent and couldn't take the risk of not getting one.

 

[lanejudy]

Check some different vendors. I believe Gold has a flat rate and probably won’t be a good deal for 2 days. But there should be a few vendors who will rent for 2 days. Depending on the timing of your park plans, you may want to do 3 days rental so it can be returned the following morning unless your day2 plans end early. It likely will be similar or less than 2 in-park rentals.

 

[Bete]

There are pros and cons both ways.

Usually, it's cheaper to rent offsite but with only a 2 day rental it can be tougher. With an offsite rental you are responsible for charging the battery each day. If you forget it's a disaster. Getting a scooter on and off Disney transportation is not the easiest task. Also, there are usually only two spots per bus for a wheelchair or scooter; so, you may have to wait for a second or third bus to get on. You need to be careful to shut the scooter off when you can; so, you save on your battery charge. For example, don't keep the scooter on when watching a show or fireworks. Bring your battery charger with you in case you have to recharge in the park. Offsite rental scooters are faster.

If you rent a park scooter getting there at park opening is highly recommended. It's first come first serve. If you can't get a park scooter then someone in your party needs to be willing to push a manual park wheelchair rental instead. Disney has slowed down the speed of their rental scooters. You don't have to go on and off the bus with a park scooter.

We have done it both ways but during peak times like the Chritmas holiday season we would always rent from an offsite scooter rental.

 

[sndral]

based on your dates unless you are a rope drop family have a plan B in case out of scooters. plus check out the Disney prices before you decide offsite is high prices

It’s less that the offsite prices are higher per day than Disney (per WDW web site $50 per day + $20 refundable deposit) - but it seems that the couple of rental places I looked at web sites for had minimum days of more than the two she wants it for which results in a net higher price.
Thanks for the feedback, I’ll let them know the risk of trying for an on-site park rental. If it were me I’d just go w/ an offsite portable delivered to where they are staying, keeping it for use during their whole trip, throwing it in the trunk of their rental car when they go other places as well, but I’m trying to be as helpful as I can & gathering as much info. on their options as I can.

 

[TiffFromTX]

The onsite Disney scooters are trash, to be honest. They look run down and uncomfortable. I'd go with Gold Mobility - worth the price and convenience of them meeting your anywhere, anytime.

 

[Gracielou4123]

My son’s GF’s family will be touring w/ us for 2 of our 11 days at WDW - 12/17 @ DHS & 12/18 @ AK. We are staying in a 2 br. at AKL Jambo. They are staying at an offsite timeshare (I don’t know which one.) They would like to rent a scooter for the gf’s mom for the 2 park days, their plan is to meet up w/ us at AKL & take the bus to/from the park.
To me it seems that the easiest would be to just rent from Disney at the front of the park - the mom can do some walking, just not the all day on your feet that WDW entails - but what are the chances that they’ll run out of scooters?
I looked at off site rental places & the prices seem pretty high for only 2 days - they seem to be more geared to longer rentals.
Help!
I’m ok w/ taking delivery from an offsite place at AKL & even parking the ECV in the 2 br. overnight for them if needed, we are below occupancy in our 2 br., so can add them as ‘guests’ if that would be needed.

Love Gold Mobility, but yes, I believe they have a flat rate for up to 7 days. There is a very real possibility if renting at the parks they could run out of scooters, and I have heard they are very slow. Would look into other off site rentals

 

[dreamscometrue47]

I think lake buena Vista scooters have a rate for 3 to 6 days. Might work for you

 

[Bethctraveler]

I personally think this decision comes down to you get what you pay for. I had a great experience with Gold Mobility Scooters on our recent visit, but not so great (nightmares) experiences with other companies I've used in the past. Personally I would spend a little extra to rent a scooter I know is going to last all day without any issues, from a company with a flawless reputation. In the past with other companies we were trapped in parks waiting for replacement scooters, mechanical issues, and dead batteries. We had 4 scooters all day and all night in the Theme parks and never had a single issue with any of them. That reliability was priceless as far as I was concerned. The scooter rentals were the least expensive part of our trip, and we all felt it was not worth the risk to go with a less reputable company to save a few dollars.

 

[RoseGold]

If they're only coming 2 days, they are driving? They might be better off renting locally and just bringing it in the car. I have locally rented a Whill multiple times, and it would fit in an SUV or decently large sedan.

 

[Bethctraveler]

Many company offer portable mobility scooters that will fit in the back of your car. The problem I hear is that the batteries don't last as long on portable scooters because they have to be lighter and smaller to fit in cars.

 

[mamabunny]

Many company offer portable mobility scooters that will fit in the back of your car. The problem I hear is that the batteries don't last as long on portable scooters because they have to be lighter and smaller to fit in cars.

Actually, most modern (built within the last 5 years) “portable” mobility scooters will have lithium-ion batteries which should offer more than adequate battery life if properly charged and maintained.

 

[Bethctraveler]

Actually, most modern (built within the last 5 years) “portable” mobility scooters will have lithium-ion batteries which should offer more than adequate battery life if properly charged and maintained.

Thank you for that information. I'll start calling around Orlando area to see If I can find any rental places that offer the lithium batteries. The smaller portable scooters do work better when we have short trips and forced to transport the scooter in the car trunk where we aren't concerned about comfort for short durations. We have been using the larger scooters for the 10-12 hour battery range for all trips. I'll follow up with my findings.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

For scooter rental offsite - I've been using Gold Mobility. I only ever had one issue which everyone I've mentioned it to says was very odd and unusual.

For weekend scooter rental I've just been renting from Disney themselves now. I tried using Scooterbug for a weekend but that was a total mess and the scooter a piece of crap that didn't last more than 4 hours at a time before needing a charge. And since it's really, really hard to find someplace in the parks to charge a scooter I will not suggest that company.
Now I just make sure I'm at the park 30 minutes before opening and rent scooter from Disney if I'm there for just a couple of days. And I did have one completely die in AK but since it was Disney's scooter they brought me a new one immediately. But this was also in September which is quieter crowd wise so they had one to bring me.

 

[Evita_W]

For scooter rental offsite - I've been using Gold Mobility. I only ever had one issue which everyone I've mentioned it to says was very odd and unusual.

For weekend scooter rental I've just been renting from Disney themselves now. I tried using Scooterbug for a weekend but that was a total mess and the scooter a piece of crap that didn't last more than 4 hours at a time before needing a charge. And since it's really, really hard to find someplace in the parks to charge a scooter I will not suggest that company.
Now I just make sure I'm at the park 30 minutes before opening and rent scooter from Disney if I'm there for just a couple of days. And I did have one completely die in AK but since it was Disney's scooter they brought me a new one immediately. But this was also in September which is quieter crowd wise so they had one to bring me.

For shorter rentals, call Gold first and ask, sometimes they have a few they can rent for shorter amounts of time and if not, they should be able to point you in the correct direction as in park rentals are now often selling out in 30 minites after opening

 

[Starwind]

For shorter rentals, call Gold first and ask, sometimes they have a few they can rent for shorter amounts of time and if not, they should be able to point you in the correct direction as in park rentals are now often selling out in 30 minites after opening

We have rented from Gold once -- a great experience and we will rent from them again -- and it was only for two days. Not a problem at all, but since at least at the time they did not have any provision for a shorter rate, it was at their minimum 7 day rate. I was fine with that, and it was absolutely worth it. So time-wise it is not a problem to have a shorter rental with Gold.

SW

 

[Bethctraveler]

For scooter rental offsite - I've been using Gold Mobility. I only ever had one issue which everyone I've mentioned it to says was very odd and unusual.

For weekend scooter rental I've just been renting from Disney themselves now. I tried using Scooterbug for a weekend but that was a total mess and the scooter a piece of crap that didn't last more than 4 hours at a time before needing a charge. And since it's really, really hard to find someplace in the parks to charge a scooter I will not suggest that company.
Now I just make sure I'm at the park 30 minutes before opening and rent scooter from Disney if I'm there for just a couple of days. And I did have one completely die in AK but since it was Disney's scooter they brought me a new one immediately. But this was also in September which is quieter crowd wise so they had one to bring me.

One trip I was in line to rent a park scooter at park opening, and they were sold out before it was my turn to rent. The line was huge. I tried to use the wheelchair, but I was exhausted in 2 hours. I was lucky to get one the second day at Animal Kingdom it was like $70 day if I remember correctly. It went so so so slow I couldn't even keep up with my group. The battery died by 1PM. Never did that ever again. It's Gold Mobility for me even if it only need it for 2 days. I won't take the chance. The peace-of-mind is priceless.