Need help with Wheelchair or Motor Scooter?

[DonaldDuck 117]

My mother cannot walk well, she was given polio vaccine when a child, and it was strong enough to deform her foot.

So my question is should we get her a Wheelchair which we used in the past, or a Motor Scooter?

Some concerns she has with a Motor Scooter:

1. How long do they keep their charge?
2. What is the best way of renting one?

That's about it.

So what is all of your opinions with this? I am leaning towards the Motor Scooter, but I wanted to hear what everyone else thinks too.

Thanks!

 

[Candleshoe]

I've rented from Apple scooters 3 times now and been satisfied.

Lost a charge once... my fault for not fully charging the night before. You can take the charging plug with you and plug it in at lunch time.

 

[DonaldDuck 117]

I've rented from Apple scooters 3 times now and been satisfied.

Lost a charge once... my fault for not fully charging the night before. You can take the charging plug with you and plug it in at lunch time.

Awesome this is exactly the information I was looking for, thank you so much.
I just want to put her mind at ease with this, I think it would be better because she can choose where she wants to go and all.

 

[Candleshoe]

Not to mention seating for parades There's a lot of information in the DisAbilities forum.

 

[loves to dive]

You probably have less chance of someone taking the scooter than you do the wheelchair as well. I used to get a wheelchair for my mother and I can't tell you how many times we would come out of ride to find it gone.

 

[DonaldDuck 117]

Alright awesome about the Parade seating.

Good thought to Loves to Drive, since it would be a huge damper on the day if you needed to keep going back to the rental spot or what not.
Thanks everyone!

 

[JaxDad]

You probably have less chance of someone taking the scooter than you do the wheelchair as well. I used to get a wheelchair for my mother and I can't tell you how many times we would come out of ride to find it gone.

Taking someone's wheelchair?! Wow, that's cold!

 

[lanejudy]

The disABILITIES FAQ sticky thread has information about vendors. I suggest an offsite rental regardless of which equipment you decide on (ECV or wheelchair) so she has it to/from parks and transportation as well as around the resort. In park rentals must be left inside the gates and it can be a long walk back to transportation or parking at the end of the day.

An ECV will give mom some independence to move about as she wishes without relying on you/someone to push. However, she needs to remain alert -- much like driving a car -- and be completely aware of everyone around her at all times because people do step right in front of ECVs. That can be very tiring, particularly if she's older and/or doesn't drive much anymore.

Enjoy your vacation!

 

[DonaldDuck 117]

The disABILITIES FAQ sticky thread has information about vendors. I suggest an offsite rental regardless of which equipment you decide on (ECV or wheelchair) so she has it to/from parks and transportation as well as around the resort. In park rentals must be left inside the gates and it can be a long walk back to transportation or parking at the end of the day.

An ECV will give mom some independence to move about as she wishes without relying on you/someone to push. However, she needs to remain alert -- much like driving a car -- and be completely aware of everyone around her at all times because people do step right in front of ECVs. That can be very tiring, particularly if she's older and/or doesn't drive much anymore.

Enjoy your vacation!

Right I should gauge her frustration level shouldn't I, before taking this all in as the way to go. HMMM
You pose good questions for me. We are going down mid - August so it's usually a big crowd. Not horrible but you know, a great amount of people.

Last time we went someone jumped onto her wheelchair to pass her to get in line, it was a grown man too, and his foot kicked hers. I was about to kill em, but didn't especially when he walked all the way down the FP ramp of Soarin and found out it was FP, had to go past us. I stopped him and said apologize LOL

 

[JennyDrake]

I have been 4x with wheelchair and no one ever took it.....

 

[Candleshoe]

The CMs DO move the wheelchairs like they do the strollers. They also do the ECVs.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

to OP I would have her get some practice at the store or walmart with the ECVs there that way she is not beginning in the crowds of Disney. there are a few ride that need to transfer to a wheelchair for the lines. make sure you plug in your room each night when you go to bed. I would also rent from offsite as opposed to in park so you have ECV from transportation to front gate also for use at resort. if you rent in park you can not take ECV past gate to get to what ever transportation you are using

 

[Candleshoe]

Hey are you guys staying on property or off? If on-property it's even easier (except for needing room in your room to store the ecv).
I found monorails and ferry's the easiest for using an ECV on, and the hardest was the bus, but I got used to that too. And the occasional Driver would maneuver it for me.

 

[disnut8]

Last time we went someone jumped onto her wheelchair to pass her to get in line, it was a grown man too, and his foot kicked hers. I was about to kill em, but didn't especially when he walked all the way down the FP ramp of Soarin and found out it was FP, had to go past us. I stopped him and said apologize LOL

We had a similar thing happen when my husband was in a wheelchair for a quick trip (a one time thing). We were in the preshow for Muppets and were in the back with him in the wheelchair and me next to him since we knew the back doors would let the "in need of assistance" people in up there (sorry, not sure of the correct term anymore). While we were enjoying the Muppets and the preshow, this woman and her four kids came in, didn't even stop to look at anything and walked in front of me, saw my husband in the wheelchair. saw the entrance doors to his right and then straddled over my husband and told her kids to "follow me!" which they did. Fortunately, my husband's injury was to his foot and that wasn't bothered but I loudly asked my husband if he was as excited as the woman was since she had some personal parts right in front of his face. His reply? "I think that's why she has four kids". Everyone cracked up.

 

[AkaGrace]

Our first trip to WDW in 2012 included my mother who has health issues. I rented her an ECV using someone offsite, I don't remember the name. I will list the pros and cons. Just keep in mind that despite the cons I would not have changed my decision to rent the ECV as it allowed her to enjoy the parks with myself and my daughter.

First the pros:
The batteries are removable so you can keep the scooter in your vehicle. We would just bring the batteries inside and charge them overnight.
The seat was comfortable
CMs would give you front row seating because you were in an ECV
Great spot for the little ones to ride with Grammie when they got tired. (My daughter was 8 and she loved it)

Cons:
Removing the seat to fold the scooter can be hard! There were times I had to find a strong man to help me (and I pride myself on my independence).
Lifting the scooter into a vehicle can be done on your own, but it is awkward and heavy. After a full day of walking lifting that darn thing was well, something I can't say on DisBoards
I needed to upgrade my rental vehicle to a SUV and made sure the back/trunk area was flat. Some of them had a recessed trunk that made lifting the scooter in/out very difficult
ECVs don't stop on a dime and people WILL walk in front of you. This drove my mom crazy that people did this, plus she was terrified if a child ran in front of her. Keep in mind that the ECV wouldnt badly hurt someone, but it would still hurt a bit
Reversing can be .... interesting. (Maybe that was more of a mom issue than the ECV!)

The 'Is what it is':
CMs will move the ECV to the 'stroller' parking areas. Don't panic!
You will be asked to hold everything! Gotta love the front basket
A plastic bag to cover the batteries and steering controls is provided in case of rain

In conclusion if I had to do it all over I would still have reserved the ECV for my mom. There is no way I wanted to push a wheelchair or have her try and wheel herself while in a hot and tiring theme park. Plus, my daughter got some awesome Grammie snuggles The ECV allowed us to enjoy Disney together as a family.

 

[bababear_50]

Hi
I love EVCs and think they are a great resource to help people who need them.
Please remember that they are like any motorized vehicle, they can and have seriously injured people.
ECV is a wonderful tool to help the individual who has rented them ,however it is against most rental agreements
to allow children of any age to be a passenger on them.
Drop down to the DIS Creative DISign forum and maybe have a License plate made for your mom,just print,laminate and attach to your mom's EVC,,,,,it makes finding the EVC easier if a CM moves it..

Creative DIS Disign Forum link
http://www.disboards.com/forums/creative-disigns.105/

The DisABILITIES Forum has a ton of info on rentals and info from people who have first hand experience using them.

Here is a link
http://www.disboards.com/forums/disabilities.20/

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

My mom rents a scooter. Allows her to feel in control. On our end, it is nice to not need to push her in a wheelchair. She always parked her ECV for attractions. For single day, she rents from the park. Her most recent stay, she rented off site and they delivered to her on site hotel. A caveat if you most use Disney transport is that it may slow you down as you wait for busses with an available spot for the ECV. BUT-you save a lot of money as park rental is quite expensive.
And, you have it for all portions of your stay and not just in the parks.

I used a regular wheelchair last year for touring DC when I had broken my ankle. Relying on someone else to push you is tough. I did try to assist. But I lacked stamina. And pushing someone else is quite the workout. I so would have preferred an ECV!

 

[Gracie09]

Our first trip to WDW in 2012 included my mother who has health issues. I rented her an ECV using someone offsite, I don't remember the name. I will list the pros and cons. Just keep in mind that despite the cons I would not have changed my decision to rent the ECV as it allowed her to enjoy the parks with myself and my daughter.

First the pros:
The batteries are removable so you can keep the scooter in your vehicle. We would just bring the batteries inside and charge them overnight.
The seat was comfortable
CMs would give you front row seating because you were in an ECV
Great spot for the little ones to ride with Grammie when they got tired. (My daughter was 8 and she loved it)

Cons:
Removing the seat to fold the scooter can be hard! There were times I had to find a strong man to help me (and I pride myself on my independence).
Lifting the scooter into a vehicle can be done on your own, but it is awkward and heavy. After a full day of walking lifting that darn thing was well, something I can't say on DisBoards
I needed to upgrade my rental vehicle to a SUV and made sure the back/trunk area was flat. Some of them had a recessed trunk that made lifting the scooter in/out very difficult
ECVs don't stop on a dime and people WILL walk in front of you. This drove my mom crazy that people did this, plus she was terrified if a child ran in front of her. Keep in mind that the ECV wouldnt badly hurt someone, but it would still hurt a bit
Reversing can be .... interesting. (Maybe that was more of a mom issue than the ECV!)

The 'Is what it is':
CMs will move the ECV to the 'stroller' parking areas. Don't panic!
You will be asked to hold everything! Gotta love the front basket
A plastic bag to cover the batteries and steering controls is provided in case of rain

In conclusion if I had to do it all over I would still have reserved the ECV for my mom. There is no way I wanted to push a wheelchair or have her try and wheel herself while in a hot and tiring theme park. Plus, my daughter got some awesome Grammie snuggles The ECV allowed us to enjoy Disney together as a family.

Just one thing- an ecv can badly hurt someone. My dh and I were standing in line with my dd (16 months at the time) and dh was hit from behind by a man who did not know how to use his ecv. Dh was knocked to the ground and aggravated a back injury. This forced us to leave the park as he could barely stand. Thankfully dd was not hit but she was standing right next to him and could easily have been hit. If it injured a 6'7" 230 pound man imagine the damage to a 20 child. If you get an ecv and have never used one or only use it occasionally, meet the delivery person and ask for him or her to go over the basics. Practice before venturing to a park. They weigh several hundred pounds. You could easily injure someone.

Also it is very dangerous and against all the major rental agency contracts and Disney rules for more than one person to sit on an ecv. It's distracting to the driver and the "passenger" could hit the tiller without the driver knowing causing and accidwnt

 

[A State Of Autumn]

Sorry coming in a little late but my Mum had Polio when she was a child and can't walk well, I've always found that a motor scooter is much better for her sanity despite the fact that some people can be rude. I find with a motor scooter she can go where she wants, when she wants as opposed to only being able to go where we push her.

 

[Minniekins]

My mother cannot walk well, she was given polio vaccine when a child, and it was strong enough to deform her foot.

So my question is should we get her a Wheelchair which we used in the past, or a Motor Scooter?

Some concerns she has with a Motor Scooter:

1. How long do they keep their charge?
2. What is the best way of renting one?

That's about it.

So what is all of your opinions with this? I am leaning towards the Motor Scooter, but I wanted to hear what everyone else thinks too.

Thanks!

I've used Walker scooters the last few years and they were great. Good prices and very helpful! Met me right when we got to our resort, went over how to use it and were very helpful. There is a speed button if she's worried about going too fast, she can set it where she's comfortable. Now, mine always lasts a long full day without any problems, though I usually take the charger with just in case. I can bring it all in our resort room and I charge it overnight. One night I forgot to charge it, and that thing lasted thru another full day! (I had the charger but didn't wanna stop to charge till I needed to!). The three wheel scooter they have is so easy to use, and has a great turning radius which really helps when loading on and off the buses, and in any tight spots in line or something. And the bus isn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be, actually pretty easy. And most bus drivers will help you out if you need help, or maybe if she doesn't want to load it, you could do it. The monorail is easy when going to monorail resorts or between epcot and mk, they put a ramp down and you just drive straight on and straight back out! The boats/ferries are just as easy as the monorails, as well. Btw, always turn speed way way down when going on and off buses and monorail!

I think a wheelchair would make her more dependent on others to push her instead of letting her be independent and go where she wants to go. Plus someone is then having to push her which can get very tiring for the pusher. There are more little hills in the park than it might seem when you are just walking around, but you really notice them when using a WC, which I did a few hours once. Ugh!

From my own experience, I would recommend Walker Mobility in Orlando(look up their website online!) and making a reservation! They are also good at last min ressies when needed unexpectedly. I think it's best to rent offsite - the cost is much, much better - usually about half of renting in the park, and you can have it to use everywhere you go! That walk in to the park from the buses can be pretty long when you have trouble walking. Plus if you rely on in park rental, and then you get to the counter and they are all gone already, you are out of luck until someone returns one. That could be a while, plus, you probably wouldn't be the only one waiting for one so that could be a long wait. I was really against offsite rental, fearing the bus loading, and not knowing what to expect, but now I'd never go back to in park rental! They can even come meet you at the park if they have one available if you have a sudden need for an ECV.

Good luck, hope you have a wonderful trip!