Renting a scooter at EPCOT...

[BrownHP800]

We may possibly need to rent either a scooter or wheelchair for my MIL for 1 day. She is going to try and do without but I have a feeling after spending the previous day at AK with no assistance she is going to want something the next day.

My question is if we rent an ECV and decide to leave for an afternoon break, are we able to get another scooter again in the evening when we come back or do we have to pay again?

Thanks!

 

[Chip_Dale]

You will be able to get another scooter if one is available when you return. Just show your receipt. Pay the deposit and get it back when it is returned. You can also go to a different park on the same day and get a scooter showing the receipt.

 

[Bete]

Just keep in mind it's not always easy getting a scooter when you return.

Sometimes you will have to wait to get one. You will be put on a waiting list if one is not available. The rental place can take your cell phone number and call you when one is available.

Another thought is there are scooters at the International Gateway by World Showcase and even if a scooter is not available upfront you may be able to get one there. It is a long walk to get there from the front.

 

[CJN]

I may be wrong but I thought if you rented an ECV and then took an afternoon break with the intention to come back to the SAME park, that they would check (and hold) it for you instead of putting it back in the rental pool. You have, after all, rented it for the entire day. When you leave for the break I would certainly ask about checking it rather than just simply turning the ECV in.

 

[mamabunny]

I may be wrong but I thought if you rented an ECV and then took an afternoon break with the intention to come back to the SAME park, that they would check (and hold) it for you instead of putting it back in the rental pool. You have, after all, rented it for the entire day. When you leave for the break I would certainly ask about checking it rather than just simply turning the ECV in.

The last time I rented a Parks ECV, I was told that while the rental was good at any of the 4 Parks for the entire day (and so could be "hopped" from one Park to another) once you turn the ECV back in at any Park, it would not be "held" until you returned. If an ECV was available when you returned, you could hop on it and go - otherwise, you would have to wait for one to be returned.

 

[CJN]

The last time I rented a Parks ECV, I was told that while the rental was good at any of the 4 Parks for the entire day (and so could be "hopped" from one Park to another) once you turn the ECV back in at any Park, it would not be "held" until you returned. If an ECV was available when you returned, you could hop on it and go - otherwise, you would have to wait for one to be returned.

I guess what I'm saying is that for this to work you do NOT want to technically turn the ECV back in (including going through the process of getting your deposit back) if you know for certain you're going back to the same park. My experience with this, admittedly, is from a few years ago so things may have changed but what I remember it was the significance of "checking" it versus "returning" it. In other words, you don't want to do the return paperwork. As explained to me it was similar, in a way, to if you took a two hour break inside a park at a restaurant. For example, you park the ECV outside the restaurant, it simply stays there and Disney doesn't get to rent it to someone else during those two hours while you're not using it. I think we did this to go out at IG for lunch on the Boardwalk and I just used my cane from that point. It was treated no differently than when I checked my wheelchair with them for time periods during the day.

 

[CJN]

Now that I read OP's question again, I realize we've gotten off topic and the question has been answered

 

[Kaytie]

We may possibly need to rent either a scooter or wheelchair for my MIL for 1 day. She is going to try and do without but I have a feeling after spending the previous day at AK with no assistance she is going to want something the next day.

Is Epcot your last park day? You might want to bring contact information (and hours) for some of the off-site vendors. She may find it makes more sense to have the ECV 24 hours instead of only in the parks.

 

[CJN]

Just to clear up a point - I looked up online the Guide For Guests With Disabilities, Epcot version. It clearing states that, while an ECV may not be taken out of the park, "Your ECV will be held if you wish to leave and return to the same Park". So if you leave for an afternoon break, no worries about one being available upon return.

 

[jo-jo]

Just curious, but if you rented a ECV, you returned and none was available, would they give you a wheel chair until one was available? Last trip, we had rented a wheel chair and there were always bunches, but at least twice I saw people being told there were no ECVs at the moment.

 

[lanejudy]

Just curious, but if you rented a ECV, you returned and none was available, would they give you a wheel chair until one was available? Last trip, we had rented a wheel chair and there were always bunches, but at least twice I saw people being told there were no ECVs at the moment.

Yes, if they are out of ECVs but have wheelchairs they will let you take a wheelchair instead and put you on a waitlist for an ECV. One may become available in 30 minutes or 3 hours, it all depends when they are returned and how many people are ahead of you on the waitlist. You can then return the wheelchair in exchange for the ECV.

Enjoy your vacation!

 

[TheRustyScupper]

I thought if you rented an ECV and then took an afternoon break with the intention to come back to the SAME park, that they would check (and hold) it for you instead of putting it back in the rental pool.

1) When returned, the unit goes back into rental inventory.
2) How does WDW know if you will actually return?
3) If not, the unit is unavailable to someone else who might truly need it.
4) Fair is fair.

 

[CJN]

1) When returned, the unit goes back into rental inventory.
2) How does WDW know if you will actually return?
3) If not, the unit is unavailable to someone else who might truly need it.
4) Fair is fair.

If I was smarter about posting links I would but on Disney's website under ECV Rentals and on all their Guide For Guests With Disabilities brochures, they state:
"Length of Stay Rentals are not available for ECVs. However, vehicles can be held if Guests leave and return to the same park on the same day."

So, again, the difference is whether one returns the ECV (and gets their deposit back) or, instead, asks for it to be held. If it's the latter then, no, the ECV shouldn't be going back in the pool. They presume you're coming back because they still have your deposit. If you don't come back you lose some money, Disney makes a little extra, and it's a bit rude that you tied up an ECV someone else might've needed. But I don't see anything at all unfair about it. Disney makes it clear they may not have enough EVCs for everybody who needs/wants one and they're only available on a first come, first served basis. That alone means anybody who truly needs one better have a backup plan in the first place.

 

[Tozzie]

1) When returned, the unit goes back into rental inventory.
2) How does WDW know if you will actually return?
3) If not, the unit is unavailable to someone else who might truly need it.
4) Fair is fair.

Fair is fair,. really if I pay to rent the ECV and I am in the3 Park from 0800 intil midnight I pay one price, if I don't use it in the Dining venues,.You are saying that if I go back after my nap then I can't / wont have a ECV available to me? That is stupid Disney already made their money and should not be able to double dip if I just need to lay down in first aid for an hour. If I leave and have every intention to reutrn my ECV should be wating for me.

 

[mamabunny]

Fair is fair,. really if I pay to rent the ECV and I am in the3 Park from 0800 intil midnight I pay one price, if I don't use it in the Dining venues,.You are saying that if I go back after my nap then I can't / wont have a ECV available to me? That is stupid Disney already made their money and should not be able to double dip if I just need to lay down in first aid for an hour. If I leave and have every intention to reutrn my ECV should be wating for me.

What about the person who is waiting for an ECV - and let's just say for the sake of argument, that they need one *exactly* as much as you do. Put yourself in their shoes; there is an ECV sitting there, doing nothing, and they could be using it, but Disney says "Nope, all the ECVs are being held for people who aren't here". You would be every bit as unhappy about *that* as you are about the fact that Disney won't hold an ECV for you when you leave the Park.

Disney isn't consciously "double dipping". This is not unlike how airlines, car rental companies and hotels overbook on purpose; Disney knows - from experience - that a certain percentage of the population won't return to use the ECV. They have a finite stock of ECVs - it only makes sense to utilize that inventory to everyone's advantage. If you return, and there are no ECV's available, then you will be given the first available one that is turned in.

If you want an ECV available to you at your whim, then rent from an outside vendor; you will have it for the Parks as well as the Resort and Disney Springs - and the daily cost is typically lower as well.

 

[CJN]

What about the person who is waiting for an ECV - and let's just say for the sake of argument, that they need one *exactly* as much as you do. Put yourself in their shoes; there is an ECV sitting there, doing nothing, and they could be using it, but Disney says "Nope, all the ECVs are being held for people who aren't here". You would be every bit as unhappy about *that* as you are about the fact that Disney won't hold an ECV for you when you leave the Park.

Your last statement is incorrect - Disney WILL hold it. I'm not happy or unhappy about it. It's what they state they will do. They will hold it. Whether you need it more than I do, less than I do, exactly as much as I do has no relevance. And just for the record, I have waited for one - more than once. I wasn't happy or unhappy then, either, or wondered if all those other people needed them more than I did. I just learned to have a backup plan.

Disney isn't consciously "double dipping". This is not unlike how airlines, car rental companies and hotels overbook on purpose; Disney knows - from experience - that a certain percentage of the population won't return to use the ECV. They have a finite stock of ECVs - it only makes sense to utilize that inventory to everyone's advantage. If you return, and there are no ECV's available, then you will be given the first available one that is turned in.

Apples to oranges. Airlines, hotels, car rentals offer me a (supposed) guarantee. I'm making a reservation, placing a deposit, and they promise to lodge me or get me somewhere. If they don't, they don't just say "sorry" (supposedly), they find a solution to fulfill my prepaid reservation. Disney states upfront you can't reserve an ECV, they make no promise of availability. Have a backup plan.

If you want an ECV available to you at your whim, then rent from an outside vendor; you will have it for the Parks as well as the Resort and Disney Springs - and the daily cost is typically lower as well.

Whim? That makes the OP's original question sound like they're doing something rather frivolous or unplanned when in actuality they asked for the very purpose of making a plan.

There isn't really a problem here. Disney WILL hold it. They say so. And it sounds logical. If I park a Disney ECV somewhere in Future World and mosey around for an hour or two with my cane to shop or go on a few rides, the ECV is still there when I get back. If I park outside Rose and Crown for a long dinner and Illuminations, two and a half hours later that ECV will still be there when I come back. Call me callous, I guess, but I'm not thinking about the guy who might need that scooter while I'm enjoying dinner. Disney says I can also park that ECV and go have lunch on the Boardwalk or take a powernap at my hotel somewhere and that ECV will be there when I get back. I don't see the difference. Have a backup plan.

 

[disneyseniors]

Whew, lots of answers, but I'll just jump in here and tell about our recent experience with an ECV in Epcot this Feb. We knew that all the walking required at Epcot would be too much for us, so we rented 2 scooters. When we were ready to go back to our resort for a rest, we turned our scooters in, and the attendant asked us if we were coming back so they could hold them for us. Yep, that's what he said. I was surprised because we were never asked that at the other parks when we returned an ECV. Don't know if that was a one time thing by that particular CM, or ???? We always took our chances and never went without a scooter at any of the parks. We returned to the parks around 4 or 5ish each time.
I do know that using an ECV while at Epcot was a life saver (and leg saver) for us. We never would have made it around WS without one. It was really enjoyable to be able to go everywhere and not be in pain. Hope this helps, OP.