really stupid question regarding ecv's

[bearlyanne]

Due to us getting in a car accident on the day that we returned home from Disney last May, I will probably need to rent an ECV for part (if not all) of our upcoming trip next month.

One complication is that my MIL will also be using a scooter, so my poor husband will be the one lugging them in and out of the car all weekend and ironically he probably is in the worst shape out of all of us.

So my question are, are there any scooters that can be charged without having to having to rebuild it each night in our room?

If not, how long does it take to charge? Will we have to rebuild both ecv's to charge them, or could we do somehow switch the battery halfway thru the night and still get a full charge?

and finally, has anyone ever been able to get two scooters in a car? I am thinking that despite the price, it might be worth it for me to rent it on site to alleviate these issues.

Please, I welcome any advice.

 

[peemagg]

My personal scooter, I can charge it either on the scooter or just take the battery and charge it. It is one made by the Pride company (Pride Go-Go Elite Traveler Plus).

Two in a regular car I don't think would be possible. Maybe if you rented a van it would work out ok. Might even want to try and rent one that is made for wheelchairs. Without the extra seats you could probably get them both in. Maybe if you ask the rental company and get a van, they could remove the back seat of it for you. If they would that would give you plenty of room for 2 scooters. I would tell them why you are asking this. That could make a big difference in what they are willing to do.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I have bad news for you.

I had a Ford Taurus and it became necessary to get a second ECV for my wife. Mine was a "standard" size, such as those rented by mist of the off-site vendors. We got a Pride Go-Go for her which was easily transportable. The only way we were able to get both in the car was to put the seats from both on the rear seat of the car, and the batteries from mine on the floor in the back. Then I was able to get all the remaining parts in the trunk. And on a 1997 Taurus the trunk was not small.

A few years prior to that, when I was still renting, we were on a trip to WDW with another family and the wife had broken her ankle ten days before the start of the trip. I checked out everything up to and including a Cadillac Sedan and there was nothing, including an SUV that could handle six people and two ECVs.

And the only way you can do recharging without rebuilding the ECVs is if you have the travel type ECVs, such as the Pride Go-Go series, which use a removable battery pack and the charger plugs directly into the pack.

Any standard ECV which uses two U-1 (or similar) batteries has only a single point for the connector from the charger. I was able to get my DME supplier to make me a special cable so I could charge the batteries directly, but I still had to take the batteries out of the trunk and put them on the garage floor to charge, and those batteries are 24½ pounds each.

 

[lovetoscrap]

Are you staying off site or on Disney property? If you are staying on Disney property it really may be easier to just take the buses with 2 scooters. I know when you read about it seems like a pain, but I really haven't had any problems-- you just have to be patient about getting a bus during the busy times.

I rented a Scooter that could be taken apart and put in a car my first time using one, and fully intended to use the car to get to and from the parks and quickly decided it just wasn't worth the time and effort to keep breaking it down and putting it back together and the difficulty of getting it into the car. I just used the bus and it was much easier.

 

[Bete]

You could compromise and you could do one scooter for the car and rent the other one in the parks. It would cut the hassle by half.

If you have deep pockets, it would be easiest to rent both scooters at the parks. You don't worry about hauling them or recharging them, etc.; however, the bad side of renting at the parks is you don't have a scooter at the resort; so, you walk some of the time. The walks can be long to the park buses and resort food courts and parking lots, etc. You didn't say whether you will be on-site or off, but walking will be part of it if you don't have a scooter at all times.

Is there any chance you could share one scooter? I really don't know how bad your situation is; so, it's hard to know if this is doable.

If neither one of you can help hubby with the scooter parts, then I would rent at the parks and just pay more. You will have to do more walking to get to the parks this way then having a scooter with you all the time.

The portable, travel scooters allow for charging the battery without the scooter. Keep in mind the battery weighs between 30 to 35 pounds each and that's for a smaller scooter. I wouldn't want to carry them to my room and back to the car each day. Riding the scooter is much better to your accomodations. Also, fitting two scooters in a the same room (I don't know if you are having one resort room or two) is a bit tricky. If you are renting a villa, etc. this wouldn't be a problem.

There are ups and downs both ways and you need to decide what's really doable for you. If a hubby is not in great shape I wouldn't put the burden of this all on his shoulders. He will get agitated about it especially since he's not doing this all the time.

I help my hubby with his scooter and we both get tired doing it day in and day out of the car. It is easier to use the Disney buses if you are staying on property then to use the car. Two scooters are the maximum that will fit on a Disney bus. If there are others ahead of you in the handicap line for the Disney buses you will either have to wait for a second bus or split up and go one by one to get back to the resort.

If you state more of what's going on we might be able to make better recomendations for you.

 

[dmccarty]

If you can share one scooter then you might be able to leave one scooter in the car but take its battery and the other scooter to the room. I don't have a clue if there is enough room on a scooter to carry the battery. A dolly could easily haul the battery if someone can walk.

In the rooms we have stayed in one scooter could fit in the room but it would be tight. Not sure how two could fit. I have seen people leave scooters in the hall charging at an outlet at AKL. At AKL If there were three people in the room I think the only place the scooter would fit would be on the balcony.

Later,
Dan

 

[bearlyanne]

Thank you all for your advice. It is always nice to be able to bounce some ideas off of other planners.

My MIL needs the scooter full time, so I think that we will end up having hers be the primary that will stay with us in the car at all times. (I am definitely going to give her the name of the Pride and Go scooters since she will be buying one soon. Thank you.).

I will rent, if needed onsite. I didn't mention that we also will be travelling with a stroller-lol! The cost to upgrade a a minivan (that we still might not fit in) is too expensive at this time. We opted to stay offsite at the Caribe Royale because the villas give us more room for movement, but having 2 scooters in the space will make it more cramped.

Hopefully, I can just drug myself enough that I will be feeling no pain and the procedure that I had two days ago will help alleviate some of the issues.

 

[peemagg]

Another thought that might be of use for you is to bring and use a rollalator walker. This would give you a place to sit when you need, but is smaller than a scooter. I have even been known to kind of use mine as a scooter and pushing it with one leg. I kneel on the bad leg and push with the other one. It gives the bad one a bit of a break.

You can find them for around $100 or less at Walmart or Walgreen's, or you might even be able to rent one from a local medical supply store.