Off Site Scooter Rentals

[CdnDisneyNut]

Are all off site companys ofer the same service are some better than others. Do the all deliver and pick up at our hotel? Are the prices all relatively the same for a week rental? Do the bateries last all day without a charge if your are parking all day. I have heard that some scooters do not fit on the Disney buses. Should it be mentioned that this would be the means of transportation
The companies I have found are Care Medical, Randys and Waker.
Are there others?

 

[SueM in MN]

You found the 3 of the 4 main companies that DIS posters report using:
Care Medical:
http://www.caremedicalequipment.com/

Walker Mobility:
1-888-726-6837
www.walkermobility.com

RANDY'S Mobility is in Kissimmee 407-892-4777
http://randysmobility.com/

Colonial Medical
http://www.colonialmed.com/about_cms.html

There are a lot of regular readers here who rent ecvs and can probably help you with your questions better than I can. From what I have read, most of the rental scooters will fit on the buses. A few scooters are too long to fit on the lift. If you tell the rental company that you will be using WDW transportation, they will be able to give you an appropriate scooter.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I have generally used Walker.

When I have used Disney transportation I had no problems; the only time it can't be used is the small yachts. There is no problem with either the ferryboats or Friendships. I have never hezard of any problems with fitting on the buses; note there is usually a two scooter (or open wheelchair) limit on a bus.

All the literature I have seen is that a full battery charge should be good for about 25 miles, and it is extremely unlikely that you would ever reach that in one day. However, if you are just sitting, especially for a prolonged period, it is a good idea to turn the key to off. I have had times when I did not use it much during a day, and left it in the car trunk overnight and had no problems with batteries the next day.

I know that Randy's costs less than the others. However, they require you be present when the ECV is delivered and you must sign a waiver of liability. I have heard that you must also be present when they pick up the scooter.

With Walker's the scooter is at Bell Services before I get to the hotel. If I tell them I am arriving in the morning it will be delivered (but not charged for) the night before. Likewise, when I am done I just leave it with Bell Services and they will pick it up after I leave. They will also charge in half-day increments; for example on my next trip I will be checking out at 1:00 so I am only being charged for the half day the last day.

My most recent trip there was a problem with the automatic braking so I left the scooter at the Bell Services and called Walker. They were there within an hour and delivered the replacement directly to me in the room.

I hope this information helps.

One minor word of warning, when you are on an ECV you become invisible to others.

 

[SueM in MN]

This is what it says in the WDW Guidebook for Guests with Disabilities:

All bus routes are serviced by buses which are equipped to accommodate various types of wheelchairs within the following
guidelines: The wheelchair must fit the wheelchair lift without being forced (some motorized chairs and ECVs are too wide or too long for the bus lift), and the wheelchair must be securely
fastened in the wheelchair restraints.
Watercraft access varies depending on the type of watercraft and the existing water levels and conditions. Please contact a host
or hostess at the watercraft dock for information and assistance.

I don't think you will have a problem with the buses. I have heard rarely of some people who own their own wheelchair or scooter having problems, but the rental ones should be small enough to not be a problem. The buses only have a tie down system to accomidate 2 wheelchairs or scooters.
The boats can sometimes be an access problem for scooters or power wheelchairs. Because of the changing levels of the water, the docks at MK and the MK resorts might be either too high or too low compared to the boat for wheelchairs to board. This is usually only a problem in extreme circumstances like drought or excessive rain. The lake they are on is large and the water level can't be adjusted easily. We have been at WL when they had signs at the dock to indicate this. Since my DD is fairly light and was using a manual wheelchair, we could lift her on. The boat CMs also have ramps, but sometimes that's not enough. They might have other "tricks", like having the person in a wheelchair board before everyone else and get off last (the weight of the other passengers affects how high the boat floats). If you are not able to ride the boats, the CM will help you with other transportation.
The boats at Epcot, BW and MGM are not usually not affected by water levels.