recharging disability scooters

[jimfish]

Hi Going to Orlando in April and after 50 year managing with my disability have finally decided to submit to a scooter. Apple seem the best however there site does not mention how to charge the scooter up. I live in the UK and they only appear to have a phone number so can't email them. My question is do you have to lump the scooter up to your room or just take up the batteries? I'm OK walking short distances so though I might leave the scooter in the hire car. We are staying at the Comfort Suits Maingate East, I assume you are allowed to charge them up at the hotel?

 

[SueM in MN]

For most of the scooters, you will need to bring the scooter to your room and then plug it in to charge it. The resort won’t have any problem with you doing that. You just plug it in overnight and the next night it will be ready to use.
You may have to move a table or something small like that to make space in your room for parking the scooter, but if you can’t do it or need more space, you can contact Housekeeping and they can move or even remove a piece of furniture for you.

Scooter exist that have batteries that can be removed from the scooter for charging, leaving the scooter in the car or whatever. I am not aware of any of the off-site rental places having that feature as an option.

 

[Checkers]

For most of the scooters, you will need to bring the scooter to your room and then plug it in to charge it. The resort won’t have any problem with you doing that. You just plug it in overnight and the next night it will be ready to use.
You may have to move a table or something small like that to make space in your room for parking the scooter, but if you can’t do it or need more space, you can contact Housekeeping and they can move or even remove a piece of furniture for you.

Scooter exist that have batteries that can be removed from the scooter for charging, leaving the scooter in the car or whatever. I am not aware of any of the off-site rental places having that feature as an option.

Sue is exactly right. Last fall I rented a scooter from Apple (3 wheel) and it came fully charged and then I just plugged it in overnight and it was ready for the next day. Very easy. Have a great trip!

 

[MdMommy]

I have rented a scooter that had batteries that could be charged off the scooter before, but the batteries are heavy and you really need some sort of cart to take just the batteries back to your room. Driving the scooter to your room is probably the easier option.

 

[jimfish]

Thanks for your advice, as I mentioned this will be the first time I use a disabled scooter, don't even use one in the UK. But getting on a bit (65) and finding walking a problem with my prothetic leg plus going with the grandchildren so expect lots of walking and come on granddad lets go, so thought discretion is better than valour.

 

[peemagg]

I know that the Pride Go Go Elite Traveler Plus scooter has removable batteries, but as someone else pointed out, they are heavy to carry (they weigh about 30 pounds). What we do is take a small foldable luggage cart and strap the battery to that. It makes it a whole lot easier.

I believe that Apple rents the Pride Go Go series, so there is a good chance that is what you will be able to do. I would try and make sure though that you are getting a travel scooter that is a bit smaller and will fit in the trunk of a car easilly. I know that my scooter will go in the trunk of a Ford Mustang (everything except the seat), but would not recommend it. It does fit fine in a Ford Fusion trunk (all of it) with some room to spare.

 

[brat]

Glad to hear you taking care of yourself by renting wheels, I do not use a scooter(I'm a powerchair user) but Mom uses one.When renting one when she travels she has never gotten one that did not have a full charge when delivered.We have always just left the batteries in place and charged in the room over-night like my chair.I have charged my powerchair at restuarants and at our local grocery store(power was out on my block).Mom has never driven scooter batteries to dead in one day.Someone here might know if there are plug-ins in the park.

Have fun

 

[jimfish]

Thank you all for the kind words and support looking forward to watching my grand kids faces when we visit Disneyland. Jim

 

[EpcotQueen]

I used a scooter our last trip. Did not take the batteries out though you could....they are quite heavy. I strongly suggest charging every night. One day I did not because the gauge read completely charged. Had to push it back to the car at the end of the next day. I learned my lesson. Charge every night and you will not have any 'go' problems. BTW, I used Beuna Vista Scooters twice without any problems.

 

[jdb in AZ]

My husband and I both rent scooters when we're at WDW and DLR, and they usually won't fit in the hotel room, so we recharge them out in the hall, wherever there's an outlet. Since you keep the key, the scooter won't "drive away" without you. Just ask at the check-in desk and they'll tell you if they would rather charge it overnight for you in the luggage storage area. Different hotels have different policies. When we stayed at the Disneyland hotel, they charged the scooters for us. When we stayed at Disney's Grand Californian we parked the scooters in the hallway just outside our room, and charged them there. When we stayed at the Grand Floridian a helpful luggage person found a multi-plug extension cord and showed us a covered patio where we could park overnight, tho it was quite a distance from our room. Then we found out the next day that we could just park outside our room.

If the scooter comes with a full charge you shouldn't need to recharge it during the day, but it's a good idea to keep the charger in the scooter's basket or behind the seat storage area just in case. We've recharged scooters at Disney restaurants during dinner as needed. Just ask the maitre d' where the closest outlet is. The restaurant cast members (employees) have always been very helpful.

 

[Earstou]

For most of the scooters, you will need to bring the scooter to your room and then plug it in to charge it. The resort won’t have any problem with you doing that. You just plug it in overnight and the next night it will be ready to use.

I'm sure Sue meant the next morning!

 

[NYCrules]

we used allstarscooters.us on our last trip (shuttle launch was amazing and another is coming up) they had the best rates around for the Go Go Elite scooters. great service and had plenty of power. we charged them when in the room at night and were worry-free all day.

 

[SueM in MN]

I'm sure Sue meant the next morning!

Well, if you completely run it to empty, some take a really long time to charge

But not that long - you caught a typo!

Seriously though, some do have slow chargers and can take as long as 8-12 hours to go from fully empty to fully charged. So, if you have a late night followed by an early morning out with the scooter- you may not have time to fully charge it. That's when carrying the cord with you is especially important.

Also, for fire safety codes, you may not be allowed to park an ECV in the hallway across from your room if you are in a building with inside hallways. If you park outside, it's a good idea to always cover it. If it rains and the wind blows, it can get more wet than you expect.

 

[dazarooney]

Hi Going to Orlando in April and after 50 year managing with my disability have finally decided to submit to a scooter. Apple seem the best however there site does not mention how to charge the scooter up. I live in the UK and they only appear to have a phone number so can't email them. My question is do you have to lump the scooter up to your room or just take up the batteries? I'm OK walking short distances so though I might leave the scooter in the hire car. We are staying at the Comfort Suits Maingate East, I assume you are allowed to charge them up at the hotel?

How did it go, I'm possibly going in the next few months so would be keen to know your experience with the scooter?

 

[Piper]

Thank you all for the kind words and support looking forward to watching my grand kids faces when we visit Disneyland. Jim

Are you going to DisneyLAND or Walt Disney WORLD? Apple is at Walt Disney World in Florida. They don't rent in California to my knowledge.