Resort wheelchair

[Lisab372]

This forum is so helpful!! How likely is it that I can get a length of stay wheelchair from my resort?

Last year we rented from each park, but the distances to and from the buses to the rental places were, in some cases, too long and at the end of the day for DD 12, who has CP. DH and I took turns piggy backing our DD home at night, but she is just too heavy for me.

I was ready to rent one from an outside source, but found that they didn't have the cup holders on the back like Disney did. DH says he would rather have the cup holders than resort access and thinks it will be too much trouble to transport the chair on the buses.

We do not have passes for our first day and I was planning to spend it swimming, shopping at DTD, and browsing the boardwalk. The boardwalk will not be feasible without the wheelchair.

 

[aubriee]

From what I've read the resorts have very few and technically they're supposed to be for guests use at the resort, in case a guest injures themselves while on vacation and needs one. Also most are also supposedly pretty beat up/worn out. Disney's official line for people with mobility problems is to rent from either them at the parks or if you need one at the resorts, then to rent from offsite. I guess you could take your chances though.

 

[mickeymaker2003]

Since her stamina issues are likely to be ongoing, have you considered buying her a lightweight chair of her own and bringing it with? Then you would be able to customize it to your liking and it would always be available.

 

[Lisab372]

Yes, we are in the process of having her fitted through her disability center, but we would not have it in time for this trip.

 

[Mary976]

What about getting your own wheelchair cup holder, bringing it with, and attaching it to the chair your got from the outside company?

I'm agreeing with PP that you might not want to count on a chair (especially a chair in good condition) being available at the resort.

Good luck!
Mary

 

[mickeymaker2003]

Since you know you are already getting her a personal chair (eventually) it may make sense to buy the accessories you want now. Also, depending upon her size, she might not be very comfortable in a full size adult wheelchair and you might want to rent a smaller one from offsite. You can use a backpack with side pouches as cup holders and hang the bag on the back of the chair. I have also seen bags that others have made that have built in cup holders (you could check etsy to find them).

 

[SueM in MN]

As far as I know, the park rental or resort wheelchairs do not have cupholders.

I agree with the other posters that if cupholders are important to you, the best would be to rent from off-site and bring the upholders along from home to attach to the wheelchair.
As was already mentioned, the ones at the resort may not be available and many people have posted they were not in the best condition.
If you don't want to 'mess' with a wheelchair on the bus, you could load it through the back door, but just fold it up and hold it during the bus trip. It would be easier to do it with an off site rental chair than with a resort chair.

Post 2 of the disABILITIES FAQs thread has information about renting from off site places. I would highly recommend that because it will be less expensive than renting from the parks and you will be able to get a wheelchair that more fits your daughter's needs.

 

[Twende]

We found that most of the Deluxe resorts had wheelchairs. We had to give them a credit card in case of loss of the chair and sign some paper work that included our room number and contact information.

A few times we had to check in at the concierge desk early the next morning in order to get a chair. You can not reserve them or phone ahead.

CR seemed to have the biggest supply. They had a small child size chair that we used two years ago. It seems all the chairs have been donated by kind guests and they accumulate at the resorts.

Some are newer than others and some are down right dangerous. We had a chair literally fall apart on us one year while going through the lobby of GF. GF bell boys did a beyond fantastic job of getting us a replacement chair and making sure the broken one was returned to CSR.

I have never seen a resort chair with a cup holder on it. In fact we learned to take WD40 to oil the wheels and a small set of tools in case the brakes needed to be adjusted.

So if having a chair or even a chair with a cup holder on it is important to you, then I would suggest you rent one from an outside vendor.

 

[LisaBi]

I've never seen a cup holder on any wheelchair - park rental, borrowed from resort, or rental. I bought a Strolr-Holdr at BabysRUs. It was meant for a stroller but works on the wheelchair.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

You didnt say which resort you are planning to ask for one from, but I can say from personal experience the ones at the Beach Club and Yacht Club are in terrible shape for the most part.

You can try to find my posting here about how my dh actually tried to fix the one they gave us in the lobby after a cm gave him his tool box.

We have since rented one from offsite. Its there as soon as we get to the resort.

 

[KPeveler]

I've heard that some resort employees are starting to not allow the resort wheelchairs off hotel grounds.

Also, resort wheelchairs STINK! A badly fitting wheelchair will actually make you worse instead of better. If you rent off-site, you are guaranteed to have a wheelchair that actually fits that is in decent shape. If something goes wrong, the company will change out the wheelchair free of charge. If something goes wrong with the disney chair, you are stuck.

And as a full time wheelchair user AND a former wheelchair-pusher - pushing an improperly balanced/aligned wheelchair is incredibly difficult, painful, and even dangerous (I nearly shoved my mother off a curb!)

I suggest renting off site, so you know you will be set!