Q's regarding motorized scooters

[whitfamily]

We are traveling to WDW at the end of this month with my parents. My mom has recently had knee surgery and is concerned that she will not have the stamina to keep up with the grandkids and walk around all day.

I know that there are third party companies we can rent from or we can go through WDW. She is thinking that she would rather go through WDW for simplicity. How much are the scooters, do they often run out of them and do we need to reserve one ahead of time?

Thank you for any help/tips you can provide!!

 

[Chuck S]

You can not reserve a WDW scooter, they are first come, first served. Will she need it to get around the resort? I think after a day in the parks she may want it even to get from the bus stop or parking lot to the room...that can be a pretty good hike, too.

There are several off-site rental companies recommended by folks on the disABILITIES! board, including Walker Mobility, Care and Randy's. You may want to post over there for more info.

 

[dianeschlicht]

I would recomment the off site places over the Disney ones anyway. They are smaller and easier to handle, and the buses are very well equiped to make getting them on and off a breeze. When you rent, the company brings the scooter right to your resort, and it will be waiting for you there. When you check out, you again leave it at the front desk. We have had need to use one several times, and it was very easy and ultimately cheaper to rent for the week from CARE or one of the other offsite places than it would have been to use those big hard to manuevre Disney models.

 

[mcorbo]

It is very possible that Disney will not have a scooter available if you arrive later in the day. Not sure if they are still there, but the bicycle rental over at the Boardwalk also rents scooters.

 

[whitfamily]

You can not reserve a WDW scooter, they are first come, first served. Will she need it to get around the resort? I think after a day in the parks she may want it even to get from the bus stop or parking lot to the room...that can be a pretty good hike, too.

There are several off-site rental companies recommended by folks on the disABILITIES! board, including Walker Mobility, Care and Randy's. You may want to post over there for more info.

Thanks, I will definitely read the disABILITIES board! She gets around at home and while running errands, but tires easily and the knee tends to swell after long periods on her feet. I think she was just wanting something at the parks as we are planning on driving to and from rather than relying on buses with the baby stroller

But it sounds like they are more difficult to use than other rentals available! Hmmm....so much to think about!!

 

[BlueFairy]

Thanks, I will definitely read the disABILITIES board! She gets around at home and while running errands, but tires easily and the knee tends to swell after long periods on her feet. I think she was just wanting something at the parks as we are planning on driving to and from rather than relying on buses with the baby stroller

But it sounds like they are more difficult to use than other rentals available! Hmmm....so much to think about!!

Consider the distance from parking to your room if you are planning to drive yourself. Then parking lot/tram/walk to entrance. That can be quite a hike. The non-Disney rental takes those long hikes without a Disney scooter out of the equation. However, with a scooter you have to deal with transferring it via a vehicle and may be forced to use a bus instead if your vehicle is too small to accomodate the scooter and stroller together. Also, consider the floorplan of your room. We found the scooter to require a lot of valuable real estate in our room. It was THE way to go for us, as parents could not have enjoyed the World without it, but a non-Disney scooter does present it's own logistical issues, too.

 

[Chuck S]

The WDW scooters are large, heavy duty scooters. Slightly larger than those used by most grocery/discount stores for shopping. I'd have her try one out at one of the stores. If it seems "bulky" and hard to maneuver for her, you will probably be happier with a smaller, off-site rental. You can get some small ones that will fit into your truck to get to/from the parks, but with a little one and stroller, I imagine trunk space may be too limited.

Does she have a handicap hang-tag you can use for the trip? It can be quite a hike even from the tram drop offs to the front of the park if you're in pain. And I'd definitely use the busses for MK, whether you have an offsite rental or not. Those ramps to/from the monorail at MK can be killers for mobility issues.

 

[jmhazlett]

Check out the FAQ at http://allears.net/pl/ecv_faq.htm

We visited Old Key west last year with my father who has had a stroke and is unable to walk very far. We rented an ECV from Care Medical and they were great . They delivered the scooter to the resort -we just had to pick up the key from the bellman. At the end of our stay we just turned in back in the the bellman. No hassels!

Enjoy your stay
Jim

 

[Candy30]

WE rented one for my Mom from another company and it was WAAAY cheaper than renting one from Disney. They brought it to our resort and we left it with the luggage at our resort when it was done. I rented one for 3 days with insurance and it was a few bucks more than renting for one day at Disney!

 

[disneynutz]

Renting a Pride Revo model from a outside company is the way to go. The Revo is easy to operate and break down and fits easily into a mid size car trunk. You can leave the ECV in the car and take the batteries into your villa for recharging, a good thing if you are cramped for space.

 

[BCV23]

Here's a very helpful post from a FAQ that is a sticky on the disAbility forum. There is lots of helpful info for your planning in that sticky but this post might be a good starting point:

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=5873006&postcount=2