powered rentals and whirlpool tubs

[jdads2]

We are planning a family vacation to WDW. My family and my sisters family had such a wonderful time during our first visit that my parents decided that we should all go back this October.

My dad is currently in a wheel chair. He is a big guy and needs a large chair to accomadate him. They will be driving down so they will have his chair with him. He is not capable of moving himself around all of Disney property on his own, nor are any of us for that matter. We are wondering if WDW has powered units available. From what info we have gathered it seems that companies that do rent them, won't rent them to you unless you already own one. This way they know that you can safely operate one. We also need to know if they have a model that he can fit into.

As far as Disney resorts go, which is the most accomadating? Do any have whirlpool tubs or oversize tubs. My dad finds it very difficult to get out of an average size tub so an oversize tub is essential to his comfort.

Thanks very much,

 

[welovedis]

Surprised to see you over here! We rented an ECV for my DM when we visited WDW this past fall. The place we rented from was called Walker's and they were great.

Here's a link to a post a bit down the board with the phone #s and some info about ECVs with higher weight capacities:

http://www.disboards.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=140671

HTH!

 

[jdads2]

Thanks Karen

What can I say...I get around.

 

[SueM in MN]

Welcome!
There are several other places besides Walker that DIS posters have reported renting from. I don't have the links right now, but will post them when I get home if no one beats me to it.
You can rent ecvs (also called scooters) from the WDW parks or from an outside vendor like Walker. WDW has a limited number of ecvs available and you can't reserve one, so if you get there and they have one, you can rent it. They can be rented by anyone over the age of 18 and they are frequently rented by people who have never dirven one before.
A power wheelchair is differnt than an ecv. The parks don't have those available and the outside vendors will only rent those to people who already drive one. That's probably because they are a lot more expensive, often people who drive them have special needs for seating or for how it is set up to control to power wheelchair.

For hotels with whirlpools, in WDW, the "Home away from home" resorts (OKW, BW, WL villas) have whirlpool tubs in the 1 and 2 bedroom homes (and grand villas, which are bigger). Those units are especially nice since they are bigger and provide more room for manouvering around. You could also look into fully wheelchair accessible hotel rooms. THey would not have a whirlpool (except the "Home away from Home resorts"), bu they would have a roll in shower, raised seat toilets and extra grab rails that might be helpful to you. You might want to contact WDW Resorts Special Reservations (I'll post the number when I get home) for help in finding accomidations that will suit you.

 

[teri]

CARE Medical Equipment - 1-800-741-2282
http://www.caremedicalequipment.com

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

Walker Medical - 1-800-334-9501
http://www.walkermobility.com

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

The 1 and 2 BR units at Boardwalk Villas, Old Key West and Villas at Wilderness Lodge have large Whirlpool baths. Not sure about the other deluxe resorts, I don't think it is standard.

 

[SueM in MN]

I see that teri provided the links to the other companies.
Here's the phone number for WDW Resort Special Reservations: (407) 939-7807 (voice) or (407) 939-7670 (TTY)