Portable vs Standard Scooter

[BarbossasWench]

Does anyone have experience with Portable vs Standard Scooters? I'd like to go to Universal Studios for the first couple of days of my visit (while staying on site and renting a car for those two days) and would rent a portable scooter, but was wondering if I should change to a standard scooter for the rest of my trip at Disney World and going to the parks on site and using Disney transportation. What are the differences and is it easy to lift a portable scooter into the trunk of a mid-size car?

Any help is much appreciated!

 

[Selket]

I rented a portable scooter a few times for similar reasons - I wanted to have it to take to US/IOA - we were staying at a Disney hotel. I kept the portable for the whole trip - it was comfortable enough. I suppose if you're used to the full size (regular) scooter you might find it on the small side. My husband took it apart and lifted it into the minivan we had at the time. I think it would have fit in the trunk of a car -ask the rental company they should know. It isn't super heavy but lifting it could aggravate any issues with knees, back, etc. so that really depends on how much weight you can lift. Would you be able to pick up and put a big bag of cat litter in a car? They can let you know the weight of the largest piece and you could try to find something similar in weight to see how that is for you perhaps?

One issue for sure is the battery life. The heavier you are the less battery life you'll get from a portable scooter - plus it can depend on the battery size and if the battery is in good shape to begin with. I sometimes had to charge it in the afternoon/evening to make it 12 hours in the parks. Bring the charging cords. I have rented standard scooters from Gold Mobility on recent trips and their battery indicator never dips even after going all day. Just something to be aware of.

Will the scooter rental company rent you a portable for 2-3 days and then swap it out for the bigger scooter without charging additional fees for coming out? If so...I can't see why not.

Have you been to US/IOA with a scooter? I found the experience to be dismal compared to Disney. You cannot take it in the lines and they never had the "transfer wheelchair" they were supposed to have. I rode very few things on some trips because I couldn't stand so long in the lines. Hopefully that has gotten better. I enjoyed US/IOA when I could walk through the parks but I have nothing but sour memories about the most recent trip which was 4-5 years ago for me.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

Does anyone have experience with Portable vs Standard Scooters? I'd like to go to Universal Studios for the first couple of days of my visit (while staying on site and renting a car for those two days) and would rent a portable scooter, but was wondering if I should change to a standard scooter for the rest of my trip at Disney World and going to the parks on site and using Disney transportation. What are the differences and is it easy to lift a portable scooter into the trunk of a mid-size car?

Any help is much appreciated!

talk with the rental company and find out the weight requirements of both which will also help you decide

 

[mamabunny]

Does anyone have experience with Portable vs Standard Scooters? I'd like to go to Universal Studios for the first couple of days of my visit (while staying on site and renting a car for those two days) and would rent a portable scooter, but was wondering if I should change to a standard scooter for the rest of my trip at Disney World and going to the parks on site and using Disney transportation. What are the differences and is it easy to lift a portable scooter into the trunk of a mid-size car?

Any help is much appreciated!

Check with the more popular rental vendors in Orlando directly - I know that some of them will pick up/transfer the ECV for you from UO to WDW.

 

[Bete]

Another option if you can handle the walk into Universal is to just rent one of their park scooters.

If you don't have enough room in the trunk for the whole scooter then you may be able to put some scooter pieces in the car if you have room in the car.