Question About Wheelchairs

[gadeac]

Hope someone can help with this. My mother is taking my 80 year old grandfather and grandmother on their first ever trip to WDW at the end of this month. Due to their age, there will be no way they will be able to walk around the parks, especially EPCOT which is where they will spend the majority of their time.

I called Disney to reserve two wheel chairs today but was told that they do not reserve the wheelchairs. My question is, for those of you who have rented wheelchairs at the parks in the past, how plentiful are they?

We would prefer not to have to rent from an outside company due to the fact that we do not want to have to transport them back and forth from the parks, but to just pick up the chairs at each park. The two days we are going to be in the park are currently listed as "4" on TouringPlans (April 23 and 24) so I am anticipating large crowds.

 

[MoreMouse5]

We were there 3 weeks ago and rented a wheelchair each day for our son who has special needs; he can walk fine but gets fatigued after a long day of walking. We rent the chair and he gets in and out of it for attractions. We never had a problem getting a chair, however, we were usually in the parks by 10 am. I really doubt you would ever have a problem with availability other than maybe during the very most peak times of year. On the first day of our rental, we paid upfront for all 6 days we would be in the parks. I don't know if that guaranteed us a chair or not, but it made subsequent days simpler in that we didn't have to stand in the pay line; we just got in the "get it" line and showed our receipt/ticket. They stamped it and we were always on our way in a jiffy. Plus, we got a price break for the length of stay rental. Good luck, and enjoy!

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I would suggest going over to the disABILITIES Forum. One of the first threads is the disABILITIES FAQs. On Post #2 we have a lot of information for people with mobility and stamina problems as well as detailed information about wheelchair and ECV rentals. To get directly to the disABILITIES FAQs from here just click on the link in my signature.

 

[jngwright]

I needed a wheelchair on a "non peak" time trip, and we never had difficulty getting one. We arrived at the parks at all kinds of different times, not just RD.

On a side note-have a wonderful time travelling with your grandparents! We have always taken trips with ours, from the time we were little, and have so many wonderful memories of those times together! My grandfather is 81 and just returned from a 3 week trip to China! Except now, he doesn't take us-he takes his girlfriend

 

[PictureJumpr]

My question is, for those of you who have rented wheelchairs at the parks in the past, how plentiful are they?

We would prefer not to have to rent from an outside company due to the fact that we do not want to have to transport them back and forth from the parks, but to just pick up the chairs at each park. The two days we are going to be in the park are currently listed as "4" on TouringPlans (April 23 and 24) so I am anticipating large crowds.

A "4" day is definitely not a large-crowd day.

I do not imagine you are going to face any shortages at all, especially if you are arriving at the parks before lunch.

 

[maj42169]

We were there on days rated as 8's and had NO trouble renting wheelchairs, now the EVCs are another story. There are usually plenty of wheelchairs to rent. We rented at various times throughout the day, and there were abundant chairs available to rent. You should be fine.

 

[Brian_WDW74]

I've moved this thread to the disABILITIES! board.

 

[dvc deernut]

We just came back from wdw in mar at mar break. Our wheel chair broke going down . We stay at okw they had loaners to use for our intire stay at no cost, but im not sure if that was because we are dvc members or because we were just staying at okw.

 

[peemagg]

The resorts do usually have wheelchairs at the resorts. They are meant for emergencies (such as yours) and not for just general use, but people do get them for the length of the trip. Technicallly they aren't even supposed to be allowed on the buses or in the parks. They are supposed to be used in the resort only, but people do take them elsewhere.

 

[Corwin]

I've rented wheelchairs extensively on our last couple of visits, including the very busy President's Day/Mardi Gras week last February.

I never had trouble getting a wheelchair, whether I got it in the morning, afternoon, or evening.

Note that you only have to pay for a wheelchair once per day. If you have a park hopper and you switch parks, all you have to do is to show your receipt.

Also, if you pay for days in advance you save money.

See here:
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wd...estServicesWheelchairRentalsDetailPage&bhcp=1

 

[PrincessTeresa]

We had no problems with renting a wheelchair every morning for my mother. There were plenty of them to go around! Enjoy your trip!

 

[SueM in MN]

Wheelchairs are generally not a problem to get at the parks. ECVs often run out by mid-morning though.

It is true that the resorts have some wheelchairs they can loan out, but they are first come, first serve. Posters have written that they were told the wheelchair would only be available for part of their trip or just for at the resort.
People have also posted that the wheelchair they were able to get was not in the best condition or was not the correct size.
So, it’s best to rent from off-site or from the parks.