renting scooters

[delux]

I am going with my elderly parents next week. They both would need a scooter to help get them around.
I read that scooters can be rented in the parks. I prefer this rather than rent from an outside company and having 2 scooters at the hotel that I need to get on a bus.
So my question is, has a park ever run out of scooters for the day? Do you need to be there first thing in the morning (what time?) in order to ensure you get one?

 

[Hoodie]

They run out often and next week will be busy with Spring Break. If you need two, I'd try to get there as close to rope drop as possible. I've never been in a party that needed a scooter, but I think I've seen the sign that all scooters are gone nearly every time I've gone, even in slow times.

 

[Debbie Jean]

Hoodie is correct. Yes, they run out. Be there at rope drop.

I just got back last night and with spring break, the parks are VERY crowded. Scooters are gone quickly.

I rent from an outside company because the prices are so much better. I also don't want to worry about scooter availability at the parks which at the best of times can be tricky.

If getting 2 scooters is important to you, be there when the park opens.

 

[Bete]

I agree with the above posters.

You also need to consider whether your parents can handle the walk back and forth from the parks to the resort and on and off the Disney transportation. This is not a short walk. At the end of day this can be tough. Park scooters stay in the park. You can usually rent off site scooters at half the price of a park scooter.

You can get the table in your room removed for your stay; so, you can have more room for the scooters in the room. You will be responsible for charging the scooters every night, but that is not hard. Also, if you will be using the food court or whatever at the resort it's nice to have the scooters at the resorts, too.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

remember that Disney scooters can not leave park so you are going to have to get parents from buses to in the park to get scooter. you will not be able to go in rent scooter and take it to them outside the gate and also at end of day you will have to leave scooter inside the park and walk to buses. which can be some distance and there is no place to sit while waiting for the bus. just some more to think about and that does not even talk about walking at resorts or costs

 

[shrinkydinky]

You definitely want to rent from an outside company. They will deliver and pick-up from your resort. They are much cheaper than in the parks. The park scooters are big and bulky. The ones we rented last year from Buena Vista Scooters were smaller and much more manueverable. We kept ours and charged them in the room. But i noticed some people parked in the hallway and charged them there. My sister and i would not have made it without those scooters. Also, the bus drivers were super nice about helping us on and off with the scooters.

 

[fac]

we will be staying offsite and rent a car, what kind of car should we rent so that it can transport a scooter?

 

[daisyduck123]

They ran out of scooters in the middle of the afternoon a few years ago. It was a Sunday in May (could have very well been Mother's Day that day). I can recall that because we were celebrating my MIL bday at LTT with a pre-ordered bday cake. There were no scooters available for my FIL. A CM did take FIL's info though, and when a scooter because available, FIL received a phone call & I left LTT and sprinted to the front of the park to get the scooter for him.

After that, we always rented from an outside source.

 

[Toffeewoffy]

we will be staying offsite and rent a car, what kind of car should we rent so that it can transport a scooter?

You'll need an intermediate SUV or larger. The only problem we found was hefting the pieces of the scooter up into the back of said vehicle as they were so high off the ground. Also it depends how big your party is. There are 3 of us, so it was no problem putting one half of the rear seat down to take the length of the tiller/base section.

 

[delux]

Thanks everyone. I guess I kind of knew the answer. I decided to rent a scooter for one and wheelchair for the other (don't trust his driving abilities, lol) Do you recommend any particular company for reliability/price?

 

[JennyDrake]

Thanks everyone. I guess I kind of knew the answer. I decided to rent a scooter for one and wheelchair for the other (don't trust his driving abilities, lol) Do you recommend any particular company for reliability/price?

I've had outstanding customer service using Walker Mobility.

 

[Lindava]

We have also had outstanding service from Walker, even rented from them for our cruise on the Disney Dreaam in January of this year. Great company.

I've had outstanding customer service using Walker Mobility.

 

[mamabunny]

Also have used Walker on multiple occasions with great success.

Just as a note to @delux: pushing a wheelchair may be the best solution, but please be prepared: there *are* hills, ramps and inclines everywhere at WDW. Depending on how much the rider weighs, it can be very difficult to control a wheelchair, especially going down some of the longer ramps or hills... You WILL want to bring a pair of biking gloves, or something similar to help protect your hands from blisters.

If there is more than one person that can help push the wheelchair, be sure to take turns so that no one gets too burned out. Resist the temptation to load down the handles of the wheelchair with bags, purses, etc - it just adds extra weight.

Last but not least - rent a TRANSPORT CHAIR, and not a standard wheelchair. Typically, transport chairs are much lighter.

 

[Mrsjvb]

Also have used Walker on multiple occasions with great success.

Just as a note to @delux: pushing a wheelchair may be the best solution, but please be prepared: there *are* hills, ramps and inclines everywhere at WDW. Depending on how much the rider weighs, it can be very difficult to control a wheelchair, especially going down some of the longer ramps or hills... You WILL want to bring a pair of biking gloves, or something similar to help protect your hands from blisters.

If there is more than one person that can help push the wheelchair, be sure to take turns so that no one gets too burned out. Resist the temptation to load down the handles of the wheelchair with bags, purses, etc - it just adds extra weight.

Last but not least - rent a TRANSPORT CHAIR, and not a standard wheelchair. Typically, transport chairs are much lighter.

this, although I will say a transport chair laves the person in it unable to do even basic maneuvering. I also do not like them as I feel they are too flimsy. they really are only supposed to be used for short distances, not all day. I test (rode) one and after a day, I was ready to go back to my regular chair.

 

[gwb]

You'll need an intermediate SUV or larger. The only problem we found was hefting the pieces of the scooter up into the back of said vehicle as they were so high off the ground. Also it depends how big your party is. There are 3 of us, so it was no problem putting one half of the rear seat down to take the length of the tiller/base section.

You don't need a suv we had a mid size car and put the ecv in the trunk with lots of room to spare

 

[mamabunny]

this, although I will say a transport chair laves the person in it unable to do even basic maneuvering. I also do not like them as I feel they are too flimsy. they really are only supposed to be used for short distances, not all day. I test (rode) one and after a day, I was ready to go back to my regular chair.

I agree - they really are supposed to only be used for (relatively) short distances, and they can be uncomfortable. (We bought a memory foam cushion for my Mom's transport chair, made a *world* of difference, but that's another topic for another day!)

I think I made a mistake, and made an assumption that the original poster would probably have parked the chair, (and the rental ECV for Mom) and have her parents board rides & attractions as a walk-on. (Based on her comments in the original post).

@Mrsjvb is right - if someone is going to be sitting all day in a chair, a travel chair would not be a very good choice for comfort reasons. If, however, they will be in and out of the chair all day, then I think it might still work. An option might be to take a clean towel from the room to pad out the seat and increase the comfort.

 

[Toffeewoffy]

You don't need a suv we had a mid size car and put the ecv in the trunk with lots of room to spare

Maybe you're talking about a smaller scooter. I can assure you that from the intermediate cars I've seen, their trunks are not big enough to get a Victory Pride 10 in. Even if you could physically find the floor space for it, you wouldn't get the lid down over the tiller as they don't fold completely flat.

 

[gwb]

Maybe you're talking about a smaller scooter. I can assure you that from the intermediate cars I've seen, their trunks are not big enough to get a Victory Pride 10 in. Even if you could physically find the floor space for it, you wouldn't get the lid down over the tiller as they don't fold completely flat.

it was a victory pride and fit in as I said and fit as I said