Rental of light, foldable manual wheelchair?

[SherriA1]

Hello! We're going to be traveling this December to Disney World to stay with my extended family at Fort Wilderness. My father, in his 70's, has some mobility issues, so we have decided to rent a manual wheelchair (not an ECV) from an outside company for the duration of our trip. We're looking for the lightest wheelchair, and one that will fold up so that we can easily fold it up to take it on transportation (boats, monorail, buses, golf cart at the Fort, etc). We have never rented a wheelchair before, as this is our first trip with my dad since his mobility issues started. Can anyone tell me what company would likely rent the lightest wheelchair, and one that folds up? Thanks in advance for any help that you can give me!

 

[gap2368]

most wheel chair do fold up having the laghtest one may not be the best one for him, as I think those have the 4 small wheels witch are hard to push

 

[mamabunny]

@SherriA1 - @gap2368 is right; a "travel chair", (which has four small wheels, instead of 2 small front wheels and 2 larger back wheels, and is intended to be pushed by someone from behind while the rider sits) is typically very lightweight and foldable, but could be uncomfortable over the course of several days for your Dad. The smaller wheels might make it difficult to safely navigate some of the surfaces at Ft. Wilderness; more importantly the sling style seat that is common on that chair can cause discomfort, especially for those with lower back/hip issues.

If this is the style of chair you want/need to rent, then consider renting a gel cushion to help create a better seating surface for your Dad.

I always recommend bringing along an inexpensive pair of bike gloves for the pusher in case the chair you rent has the old style, slippery hard plastic grips. Those *will* cause blisters before the end of the day.

 

[SMD]

Other ways that travel or transfer chairs save on weight besides the smaller wheels, which won't absorb bumps and uneven surfaces nearly as well as larger wheels is to remove armrests. In addition to the seat, it gets pretty uncomfortable after awhile without armrests.

 

[BabyFu18]

A regular hospital style wheelchair which is something you can rent from outside vendors as well as what is available for rent at Disney is heavier than a transfor chair , but it will fold and will be more comfortable than a transport chair but like someone else said either rent or buy a cushion to add to the chair to make things more comfortable for your Dad.

 

[smidgy]

we have been very happy renting a regular wheelchair from Walker Mobility

 

[Mrsjvb]

all manual chairs fold. however, the lightweight ones ARE NOT conducive to extended use. they are bloody uncomfortable for both passenger and pusher. you need a regular standard wheelchair for anything more exotic than a trip from the car to the front gate.

and I wholeheartedly second mamabunny's advice about gloves.