Scooters like the walker mobility ones?

[zumbergc]

OK, Does anyone know which of the preferred vendors carries the same regular ecv model that walker mobility carries? Since walker can't do drop offs now.

Are all the regular sized scooters about the same across vendors?

The scooters from walker you could just put a shower cap on the console to prevent water from when its raining from ruining the controls. What about other companies?

Some of the other companies, the control looks like it is integrated into the handle bars. What do you do when it rains with that model?

 

[cynzilla]

I have used Walker for the past 5 years 2x a year. I even just came back with the change of Disney Policy.......NO scooter rental company can drop off, not just Walker. The onside place is the only one (I believe).

I can testify that they were MORE than happy and accommodating. We called them and they dropped off within the hour personally to us, and when we left we called them and they met us at bell services to pick it up. We also lost charge in the park and they were there to change the batteries out for us.

Their service was flawless with the change.

 

[Bete]

I have used Walker for the past 5 years 2x a year. I even just came back with the change of Disney Policy.......NO scooter rental company can drop off, not just Walker. The onside place is the only one (I believe).

I can testify that they were MORE than happy and accommodating. We called them and they dropped off within the hour personally to us, and when we left we called them and they met us at bell services to pick it up. We also lost charge in the park and they were there to change the batteries out for us.

Their service was flawless with the change.

Disney went to 5 approved outside scooter vendors, who went through a 1 year process to get that status, now. Walker did not make the cut. I heard from the Apple Scooter owner that he had to agree to 24/7 service to get this status with Disney. I'm sure there were other requirements. Anyway, the approved vendors can continue to do it the same as before with drop offs. There are other threads here that explain this in detail.

Anyway, back to the OP. I would get the brand and model number from Walker that you like and you can start searching that way with the 5 approved vendors. I can't tell the brand from Walker's site myself. You can call the 5 approved vendors and hopefully they may know what Walker has for his scooters.

I would call Walker and see how flexible they are about getting you a scooter within your time frames. If you are hooked on their scooters I would try to find out as much as I could from them. You might be surprised how fast they may be able to respond to a request. For example, you are two hours away from getting to your resort. Can Walker, deliver to you with this short notice of 2 hours? If they need 24hour notice then this won't work. Their site says within 24 hours. If they need a minimum of 4 hours notice then have a bite to eat at the resort while you are waiting for them. If you want the Walker scooter, then you might have to be a little flexible, too.

I think there will be an adjustment with the non-approved vendors, but I'm sure Walker and others, who are not the approved vendors, will do their best. They will be losing business; so, they may be willing to be a little more proactive with time frames.

There are many ways to protect a scooter from the rain. You may need to use something more than a shower cap, but I'm sure there are other ways to help this on all models of scooters. Some use a poncho for example.

 

[SueM in MN]

The current information about Preferred Vendors is in post 2 of the disABILITIES FAQs thread. You can find that thread near the top of this board or follow the link in my signature.

 

[zumbergc]

About the rain issue and scooters?
Do the other rental agencies provide something to protect the controls or do they say not to operate them in the rain?

If you have experience with one of the "preferred" vendors that can do drop off, I would appreciate it.

Thanks

 

[chainkid]

I used my scooter in the pouring rain for three straight days during the F& W event last October. They give you a shower cap to put over controls and I bought a water proof poncho and a towel to cover the seat. It was perfect.

 

[Bete]

About the rain issue and scooters?
Do the other rental agencies provide something to protect the controls or do they say not to operate them in the rain?

If you have experience with one of the "preferred" vendors that can do drop off, I would appreciate it.

Thanks

For Apple Scooters (approved vendor) I don't ever remember getting any thing from them to cover the scooter from the rain. We have rented from them at least 5 times.

You can get a cheap poncho from most dollar stores. They have shower caps, too that are cheap plastic. It might run you $2 plus tax all together.

 

[cmesq61]

Although Randy's is not a "preferred" vendor either, you may want to give them a try. The way it works with them is you call them when your flight lands, and they meet you at your hotel. I've been using them for 5 years and have NEVER had them not be at the hotel when I get off the bus. I've broken down twice over the years and they've always come right away, although neither of those times was in a park (once at the TTC and once at the CR).

 

[zumbergc]

Although Randy's is not a "preferred" vendor either, you may want to give them a try. The way it works with them is you call them when your flight lands, and they meet you at your hotel. I've been using them for 5 years and have NEVER had them not be at the hotel when I get off the bus. I've broken down twice over the years and they've always come right away, although neither of those times was in a park (once at the TTC and once at the CR).

Thanks for that info. How does it work for pickup. How big of a window are u waiting for them to pick up the scooter?

 

[I Love Pluto]

I am surprised that Disney has limited vendors for scooters. I have never rented a scooter (have my own) - but I can't imagine being cut from the list after being on it with my business. I truly thought this was illegal.

Some things just don't make sense.

 

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

I am surprised that Disney has limited vendors for scooters. I have never rented a scooter (have my own) - but I can't imagine being cut from the list after being on it with my business. I truly thought this was illegal.

Some things just don't make sense.

The limited list is only for vendors to drop off scooters at bell services before a guest arrives. Those that are not on the list must deliver it to the guest. Apparently they are having problems with some of the rental companies not picking them up om time and they are getting in the way of bell services doing their other jobs like storing luggage.

 

[SueM in MN]

I am surprised that Disney has limited vendors for scooters. I have never rented a scooter (have my own) - but I can't imagine being cut from the list after being on it with my business. I truly thought this was illegal.

Some things just don't make sense.

They are not limiting vendors for scooters or saying people can only rent from certain companies.

As EastYorkDisneyFan mentioned, the companies on the Preferred List are allowed to drop off and pick up equipment with Bell Services.
The companies not on the list are required to arrange for pick up and delivery with the renter.

 

[peemagg]

From my understanding, those companies on the preferred list have agreed to be available to their customers 24/7, 365 days a year. They also have special privileges within the resort to go to where ever their equipment is (this includes wheelchairs and strollers), to repair the equipment and have to be there within a certain time frame. I guess only those 5 companies were willing to provide that type of service.

The preferred vendors are the only ones allowed to leave strollers and wheelchairs also, not just scooters.

 

[stitchlovestink]

Disney went to 5 approved outside scooter vendors, who went through a 1 year process to get that status, now. Walker did not make the cut. I heard from the Apple Scooter owner that he had to agree to 24/7 service to get this status with Disney. I'm sure there were other requirements. Anyway, the approved vendors can continue to do it the same as before with drop offs. There are other threads here that explain this in detail.

Anyway, back to the OP. I would get the brand and model number from Walker that you like and you can start searching that way with the 5 approved vendors. I can't tell the brand from Walker's site myself. You can call the 5 approved vendors and hopefully they may know what Walker has for his scooters.

I would call Walker and see how flexible they are about getting you a scooter within your time frames. If you are hooked on their scooters I would try to find out as much as I could from them. You might be surprised how fast they may be able to respond to a request. For example, you are two hours away from getting to your resort. Can Walker, deliver to you with this short notice of 2 hours? If they need 24hour notice then this won't work. Their site says within 24 hours. If they need a minimum of 4 hours notice then have a bite to eat at the resort while you are waiting for them. If you want the Walker scooter, then you might have to be a little flexible, too.

I think there will be an adjustment with the non-approved vendors, but I'm sure Walker and others, who are not the approved vendors, will do their best. They will be losing business; so, they may be willing to be a little more proactive with time frames.

There are many ways to protect a scooter from the rain. You may need to use something more than a shower cap, but I'm sure there are other ways to help this on all models of scooters. Some use a poncho for example.

Wow!! How rude towards a Very Reputable company!! To say they didn't make the cut? Do you know some special information that the rest of us don't that made Disney decide they 'didn't make the cut'??
Well, I had a lengthy conversation with one of the hotel managers regarding this on October 31 when we checked in on our trip to WDW. No, this change in policy doesn't affect me because I own my own device, but in case I ever had a malfunction of mine and needed a short term rental, I wanted to make sure I understood what the 'deal' was. So I went directly to the horse's mouth for my info. I didn't 'assume' that Walker wasn't 'good enough' not to make the cut. As a matter of fact since that is my preferred company of choice for a rental, that is one of the first questions I posed to the manager. He advised that they tried VERY HARD to work with Walker to approve them as a preferred vendor since they were one of the FIRST rental companies at WDW. But it was a MUTUAL decision on BOTH the part of Walker and WDW!!
Now that said do you have any idea what the PRIMARY criteria was for this change in policy?? Well, while we all speculated here on the boards as to why this change was implimented and that it was about the issues with Bell Services and Storage....that was only a Minor part in the decision. The BIGGEST decision... the SIZE of the scooters!! Basically WDW wants the smallest scooters possible on its buses and the preferred vendors primarily use those types of scooters. They use the GoGo models and the like. Walker's clients like the heavy duty ECVs (personally, yes I did!! they do last better/longer in the parks IMO!) and therefore Walker was not willing to replace their 'fleet' of ECVs with the smaller sized ECVs that Disney required in order to be a preferred vendor. If they choose to do so in the future, they can have preferred vendor status. That was their 'not making the cut'. Walker chose to put their customer's wants ahead of what Disney wanted them to do. Hmmm.... interesting.... So who's providing a better service/product Walker or the preferred vendor??

I am surprised that Disney has limited vendors for scooters. I have never rented a scooter (have my own) - but I can't imagine being cut from the list after being on it with my business. I truly thought this was illegal.

Some things just don't make sense.

As stated above Walker and WDW came to a mutual agreement according to the hotel mgr I spoke with... WDW really wanted to approve them. But Walker was not willing to change their ECVs to the smaller GoGo style that WDW required. They are still welcome to rent to those staying on WDW property. You just have to make arrangements for delivery and pick-up of the unit is all now. I found prior to owning my own, they were very ammicable. And actually spoke with a gentleman on the bus who was renting from Walker and said they were great to work with. They told him since he was leaving at 9am, they wouldn't charge him anything for that day. His billing would end on the day before. He seemed very pleased with them.

The limited list is only for vendors to drop off scooters at bell services before a guest arrives. Those that are not on the list must deliver it to the guest. Apparently they are having problems with some of the rental companies not picking them up om time and they are getting in the way of bell services doing their other jobs like storing luggage.

Actually, that is not that much of an issue...or as much as we here on the boards thought. I inquired about that and the mgr said that was a negligible part of why they changed the policy. It was about the above....

 

[I Love Pluto]

The size of the ECV on the buses is VERY important. I "get it" now. Thanks!

 

[cmesq61]

Thanks for that info. How does it work for pickup. How big of a window are u waiting for them to pick up the scooter?

They have always been there when I asked them to be there. Never had a problem with pick up.

 

[Schmeck]

Wow!! How rude towards a Very Reputable company!! To say they didn't make the cut? Do you know some special information that the rest of us don't that made Disney decide they 'didn't make the cut'??
Well, I had a lengthy conversation with one of the hotel managers regarding this on October 31 when we checked in on our trip to WDW. No, this change in policy doesn't affect me because I own my own device, but in case I ever had a malfunction of mine and needed a short term rental, I wanted to make sure I understood what the 'deal' was. So I went directly to the horse's mouth for my info. I didn't 'assume' that Walker wasn't 'good enough' not to make the cut. As a matter of fact since that is my preferred company of choice for a rental, that is one of the first questions I posed to the manager. He advised that they tried VERY HARD to work with Walker to approve them as a preferred vendor since they were one of the FIRST rental companies at WDW. But it was a MUTUAL decision on BOTH the part of Walker and WDW!!
Now that said do you have any idea what the PRIMARY criteria was for this change in policy?? Well, while we all speculated here on the boards as to why this change was implimented and that it was about the issues with Bell Services and Storage....that was only a Minor part in the decision. The BIGGEST decision... the SIZE of the scooters!! Basically WDW wants the smallest scooters possible on its buses and the preferred vendors primarily use those types of scooters. They use the GoGo models and the like. Walker's clients like the heavy duty ECVs (personally, yes I did!! they do last better/longer in the parks IMO!) and therefore Walker was not willing to replace their 'fleet' of ECVs with the smaller sized ECVs that Disney required in order to be a preferred vendor. If they choose to do so in the future, they can have preferred vendor status. That was their 'not making the cut'. Walker chose to put their customer's wants ahead of what Disney wanted them to do. Hmmm.... interesting.... So who's providing a better service/product Walker or the preferred vendor??




As stated above Walker and WDW came to a mutual agreement according to the hotel mgr I spoke with... WDW really wanted to approve them. But Walker was not willing to change their ECVs to the smaller GoGo style that WDW required. They are still welcome to rent to those staying on WDW property. You just have to make arrangements for delivery and pick-up of the unit is all now. I found prior to owning my own, they were very ammicable. And actually spoke with a gentleman on the bus who was renting from Walker and said they were great to work with. They told him since he was leaving at 9am, they wouldn't charge him anything for that day. His billing would end on the day before. He seemed very pleased with them.



Actually, that is not that much of an issue...or as much as we here on the boards thought. I inquired about that and the mgr said that was a negligible part of why they changed the policy. It was about the above....

Well, at least that's what one CM told you. Ask 5 CMs and you could get 5 different answers, right?

 

[stitchlovestink]

Quote:

Originally Posted by stitchlovestink

Wow!! How rude towards a Very Reputable company!! To say they didn't make the cut? Do you know some special information that the rest of us don't that made Disney decide they 'didn't make the cut'??
Well, I had a lengthy conversation with one of the hotel managers regarding this on October 31 when we checked in on our trip to WDW. No, this change in policy doesn't affect me because I own my own device, but in case I ever had a malfunction of mine and needed a short term rental, I wanted to make sure I understood what the 'deal' was. So I went directly to the horse's mouth for my info. I didn't 'assume' that Walker wasn't 'good enough' not to make the cut. As a matter of fact since that is my preferred company of choice for a rental, that is one of the first questions I posed to the manager. He advised that they tried VERY HARD to work with Walker to approve them as a preferred vendor since they were one of the FIRST rental companies at WDW. But it was a MUTUAL decision on BOTH the part of Walker and WDW!!
Now that said do you have any idea what the PRIMARY criteria was for this change in policy?? Well, while we all speculated here on the boards as to why this change was implimented and that it was about the issues with Bell Services and Storage....that was only a Minor part in the decision. The BIGGEST decision... the SIZE of the scooters!! Basically WDW wants the smallest scooters possible on its buses and the preferred vendors primarily use those types of scooters. They use the GoGo models and the like. Walker's clients like the heavy duty ECVs (personally, yes I did!! they do last better/longer in the parks IMO!) and therefore Walker was not willing to replace their 'fleet' of ECVs with the smaller sized ECVs that Disney required in order to be a preferred vendor. If they choose to do so in the future, they can have preferred vendor status. That was their 'not making the cut'. Walker chose to put their customer's wants ahead of what Disney wanted them to do. Hmmm.... interesting.... So who's providing a better service/product Walker or the preferred vendor??




As stated above Walker and WDW came to a mutual agreement according to the hotel mgr I spoke with... WDW really wanted to approve them. But Walker was not willing to change their ECVs to the smaller GoGo style that WDW required. They are still welcome to rent to those staying on WDW property. You just have to make arrangements for delivery and pick-up of the unit is all now. I found prior to owning my own, they were very ammicable. And actually spoke with a gentleman on the bus who was renting from Walker and said they were great to work with. They told him since he was leaving at 9am, they wouldn't charge him anything for that day. His billing would end on the day before. He seemed very pleased with them.



Actually, that is not that much of an issue...or as much as we here on the boards thought. I inquired about that and the mgr said that was a negligible part of why they changed the policy. It was about the above....

Well, at least that's what one CM told you. Ask 5 CMs and you could get 5 different answers, right?

and if you read my post CAREFULLY you will see that I spoke directly will the HOTEL MANAGER, not just ANY CM working the desk. I feel fairly confident that Disney keeps its higher level members of management well informed. I cannot imagine the person running the hotel doesn't know what's going on when it comes to a fairly significant change in policy that is going to impact their operations.


Posted from Disney Forums Reader for Android

 

[JudithM]

I rented an ECV from Walker Mobility last week with no problems. On arrival day we arrived at the resort later than we planned. I called Walker Mobility and let them know. The young lady was very accommodating and we scheduled for a bit later. Shortly after we arrived at the resort I received a phone call from the driver - perfect timing.

On departure day we were ready to leave about 7:30 a.m./7:45 a.m., but our pickup was scheduled for 8 - 9 a.m. I called to let them know I was ready any time they were. The young lady let me know the driver was leaving their company and I was pickup #2 of the morning. She gave me an estimated time and was spot on.

Both delivery and pickup were in front of the building where I was staying at OKW.

Walker Mobility employees went above and beyond to work around our schedule.

 

[SueM in MN]

Disney went to 5 approved outside scooter vendors, who went through a 1 year process to get that status, now. Walker did not make the cut. I heard from the Apple Scooter owner that he had to agree to 24/7 service to get this status with Disney. I'm sure there were other requirements. Anyway, the approved vendors can continue to do it the same as before with drop offs. There are other threads here that explain this in detail.

Anyway, back to the OP. I would get the brand and model number from Walker that you like and you can start searching that way with the 5 approved vendors. I can't tell the brand from Walker's site myself. You can call the 5 approved vendors and hopefully they may know what Walker has for his scooters.

I would call Walker and see how flexible they are about getting you a scooter within your time frames. If you are hooked on their scooters I would try to find out as much as I could from them. You might be surprised how fast they may be able to respond to a request. For example, you are two hours away from getting to your resort. Can Walker, deliver to you with this short notice of 2 hours? If they need 24hour notice then this won't work. Their site says within 24 hours. If they need a minimum of 4 hours notice then have a bite to eat at the resort while you are waiting for them. If you want the Walker scooter, then you might have to be a little flexible, too.

I think there will be an adjustment with the non-approved vendors, but I'm sure Walker and others, who are not the approved vendors, will do their best. They will be losing business; so, they may be willing to be a little more proactive with time frames.

There are many ways to protect a scooter from the rain. You may need to use something more than a shower cap, but I'm sure there are other ways to help this on all models of scooters. Some use a poncho for example.

Wow!! How rude towards a Very Reputable company!! To say they didn't make the cut? Do you know some special information that the rest of us don't that made Disney decide they 'didn't make the cut'??
Well, I had a lengthy conversation with one of the hotel managers regarding this on October 31 when we checked in on our trip to WDW. No, this change in policy doesn't affect me because I own my own device, but in case I ever had a malfunction of mine and needed a short term rental, I wanted to make sure I understood what the 'deal' was. So I went directly to the horse's mouth for my info. I didn't 'assume' that Walker wasn't 'good enough' not to make the cut. As a matter of fact since that is my preferred company of choice for a rental, that is one of the first questions I posed to the manager. He advised that they tried VERY HARD to work with Walker to approve them as a preferred vendor since they were one of the FIRST rental companies at WDW. But it was a MUTUAL decision on BOTH the part of Walker and WDW!!
Now that said do you have any idea what the PRIMARY criteria was for this change in policy?? Well, while we all speculated here on the boards as to why this change was implimented and that it was about the issues with Bell Services and Storage....that was only a Minor part in the decision. The BIGGEST decision... the SIZE of the scooters!! Basically WDW wants the smallest scooters possible on its buses and the preferred vendors primarily use those types of scooters. They use the GoGo models and the like. Walker's clients like the heavy duty ECVs (personally, yes I did!! they do last better/longer in the parks IMO!) and therefore Walker was not willing to replace their 'fleet' of ECVs with the smaller sized ECVs that Disney required in order to be a preferred vendor. If they choose to do so in the future, they can have preferred vendor status. That was their 'not making the cut'. Walker chose to put their customer's wants ahead of what Disney wanted them to do. Hmmm.... interesting.... So who's providing a better service/product Walker or the preferred vendor??

As stated above Walker and WDW came to a mutual agreement according to the hotel mgr I spoke with... WDW really wanted to approve them. But Walker was not willing to change their ECVs to the smaller GoGo style that WDW required. They are still welcome to rent to those staying on WDW property. You just have to make arrangements for delivery and pick-up of the unit is all now. I found prior to owning my own, they were very ammicable. And actually spoke with a gentleman on the bus who was renting from Walker and said they were great to work with. They told him since he was leaving at 9am, they wouldn't charge him anything for that day. His billing would end on the day before. He seemed very pleased with them.

Actually, that is not that much of an issue...or as much as we here on the boards thought. I inquired about that and the mgr said that was a negligible part of why they changed the policy. It was about the above....

Saying a company did not "make the cut" is not rude. It is an expression meaning that only a certain number could go on in the process.
In this case, it was 5 Preferred Vendors. Those 5 "made the cut" to 5 and were approved. The other companies did not - whether they did not meet all the requirements that were part of the contract to become a Preferred Vendor, or decided that it did not make economic sense for them to try to meet all the requirements.
The poster also goes on to say things about Walker like suggesting checking with them to see how flexible they can be. The poster did not say anything negative about Walker or imply that they were 'not good enough' to make the cut.

I think you are reading rudeness where no rudeness was intended.

Preferred or Non-Preferred status does not mean anything about whether or not a company is reputable. Some very reputable companies are not Preferred Vendor.
I have corresponded with management at 2 companies that are not on the list and one that is. They shared information they got from WDW Sourcing and Procurement in the bidding process (that department is responsible for contracting for outside vendors). the information included the following (which I summarized in post 2 of the disABILITIES FAQs thread):
-

• Disney is trying to limit their liability for leased property on their property.
• -Disney used a 3rd party company to collect information about companies that do rental business on Disney property.
• -The approval process included business verification, insurance verification, and equipment inspection.
• -The companies that became Preferred Vendors had to pay a fee for that status, with fees increasing with the amount of business you do on property.
• -Once approved as a Preferred Vendor, contracts last for 2 years.
• -Non-preferred vendors are welcome to do business on Disney property, provided they hand the equipment directly to the guest, and collect the equipment directly from the guest.
• -Preferred vendors are welcome to check equipment with Bell Services for guest retrieval and return.

I have been told before that liability was a big concern. Expensive equipment (ECVs) were being left with Bell Services with no control and no agreement about how the equipment would be cared for, how soon it would be picked up and by whom. The Preferred Vendors now have a contract that specifies those things and dame to any ECVs owned by non-Preferred Vendors are not a consideration - it's up to them to deliver and pick up their own equipment without WDW staff being involved in any way.

I know some companies did not meet all the requirements that were written into the contract. They may have decided that it did not make economic sense for them to spend the money to do so. Then, there was also the Preferred Vendor fee, which some of the companies may have felt was more than they could afford.
And, there were some companies, like Randy's which have always picked up and delivered directly to renters. I have spoken to the owner of Randy's several times and he felt dealing directly with renters decreased their liability (they seldom got back damaged equipment). So, I can see why they would not feel the need to change.

I do not know anything/have not heard anything about ECV size being a consideration. That does not mean it was not or that it is not the resort manager's perception that it was. From everything I know, size or specific model was not the major consideration.
I do know that out of the 5 Preferred Vendors, Apple and Best Price Mobility list the GoGo Elite as one of the models they rent. The Buena Vista, Scooterbug and Care all have some small ECVs, but they do not look like GoGo Elite.
All 5 companies also rent bigger ECVs, including Scooterbug, which shows the same large grey ECVs that can be rented in the parks as one of the models guests can rent.
http://www.scooterbugmobilityrentals.com/equipment.html#scooters