Question about renting WC outside WDW and theft

[mommyseven]

I'm considering renting a wheelchair from a company outside of WDW for the length of stay. Has anyone had any problems with having the WC stolen while it is parked outside and rider is on a ride? What are good ways of preventing a WC from getting stolen?

 

[OneLittleSpark]

I've never had, nor heard of any problems with this, but if you were worried about it, you could lock the back wheel with a combination bike lock while you were riding. Anyone who tried to take a locked wheelchair would soon be noticed and stopped.

 

[SueM in MN]

I have not heard of problems with wheelchairs being stolen. If you park it, it might not be exactly where you left it when you come back. That's because CMs may move them to keep walkways/fire lanes clear. For that reason, you can't lock it to anything or so that it can't be moved. You could lock it in a way that makes it not usable, as OneLittleSpark mentioned.
I have heard of things (especially bags with purchases) being stolen off of parked wheelchairs and strollers, so I would not leave anything of value sitting on it if it is parked.

Most people use the wheelchair in lines and up to the point of boarding. For the attractions where you need to transfer out of the wheelchair, it will be parked inside the building at the ride exit. Most people getting off the ride are so focused on finding their way out of the building that they don't even notice the wheelchairs. If they do, they don't have any idea of when the person it belongs to will be getting off.

 

[Figaro]

Before I needed my own wheelchair, we would use a resort wheelchair for our trips and we always, always brought along a bike lock to use when I would leave the wheelchair outside of a ride. The main reason is that rental wheelchairs look pretty similar and we have twice watched people chase down someone who came out of a ride and sat down in the wrong wheelchair.

This has even happened to us when we are flying. Even though there were no legs on my wheelchair, my spouse ended up chasing someone up the jetway to get my chair back because the person getting off the plane assumed that this was the wheelchair that had been left for them to use. And my wheelchair looks nothing like any of the airport wheelchairs, especially since it was missing its legs.

So, while I don't think anyone would deliberately take your wheelchair while it is sitting outside a ride, I do think that there is a possibility that someone might end up with it by accident.

Hope you have a wonderful trip!

 

[cupcake]

I put a towel on mine, which makes it easy to spot (and more comfy) but is not something anyone would want. I am also only out of it when it's tucked away someplace, like where you'd get out of the wc to transfer to an attraction, as opposed to leaving it out with the strollers. If I get out for a shop, we tuck it away somewhere out of the way. Never had a problem, either with mine or a rental. I think the towel helps, as they do tend to look alike. I really don't think this is an issue; it is something that everyone worries about though as this is a recurrent question! Have a great trip.

Cupcake