Transportation From The Airport With Someone in a wheelchair? HELP

[DonaldsGrl103]

Hey everyone,
Thanks to your support and guidance I finally convinced my mom to take my brother who has cerebral palsy to disney world. She was sooo worried and concerned their wouldnt be any places to change him in private and that it would be hard to feed him since hes on a feeding tube but you managed to clear her mind and we are off to disney for xmas. I do want to ask if anyone knows of a reptuable company who has a wheelchair access van that could take us to our hotel the walt disney world dolphin. I know Mears could take a wheelchair but my brother tends to get carsick so we would like to keep him comfortable and not make extra stops. Any help is sincerely appreciated. Also has anyone had any luck with any medical supply place down in disney to maybe rent a recliner for my brother as he has trouble laying flat. Thanks AGAIN

 

[SueM in MN]

Mears wheelchair accessible vans are small vans, not big huge things, so chances are that you will be the only passengers and will go stright to your resort. You can email Mears to ask about it.
I don't have the contact info fro Yellow Cab on this computer, but they are also owned by Mears and have several small (like Chrysler Town and Country vans) that hold only one wheelchair plus a few other people. Those would go straight to your resort too.

Care is one of the big companies that DIS posters rent scooters and wheelchairs from. They are a full service medical equipment company and you would be able to rent a recliner from them (they even have a link to "reclining lift chairs" on the right side of their webpage).
Walker Mobility is another place a lot of DIS posters rent from. Their web page highlights wheelchairs and ecvs, but they are a full medical supply place too.
Colonial is another full service medical supply place.

Good luck and hope they have a great trip.

 

[JinniLynn33]

I am going to put this on my list o' questions for MAW on Monday!! They are renting a van witha lift in for us..so there has to be somewhere. Are you looking for the more comfortable or economical? Or the best combination of both, probably that i am guessing.

 

[DonaldsGrl103]

Thanks to both of you for your ideas but we actually took my brother on a wish trip 6 years ago before his condition got worse and they rented a handicap accessible van for us because we werent staying on property but since we are now we would like to just have a comfortable way to get to and from the airport.
THANKS AGAIN

 

[clkelley]

We have used Mears Accessible Vans on two occasions, and have not shared with anyone. You get a direct ride.

Carol

 

[pugdog]

we have used Mears the last 6 times we have gone, ranging from just the 2 of us to 5 people , and have never shared a van with anyone. depending on how many people are going depends on which to use, mears vs yellow taxi. which are owned and run by the same people. the taxi can hold one chair and maybe 4 others and would be tight with luggage and costs about $50 one way. the mears van is a full size van and can hold up to 2 wc and maybe 5 or 6 others and luggage and is $29 pp rt. I do have an extra WDW coupan that can save you $3 pp if you want it just pm me and i can send it to you.

 

[pumpkinboy]

Yep, same story here. Mears was the best alternative. We got our own spacious wheelchair accessible van, and our personal chauffuer whisked us off to our resort. Staying on-site and not having to rent a car was very nice in that it minimized the on and off, loading and unloading. I have a bunch of spare coupons for Mears if you would like one; just PM me here.

Staying on-site is key, and a big money and time saver in the end, since you can wheel your brother right onto the buses, boats and monorails; no loading and unloading of the wheelchair or your brother. Perhaps someplace like Old Key West which has Huge rooms might suit you; and if you rent points from a DVC member, it can be quite affordable too (tho it might be tough to get something for Xmas, but give it a try).

As for places to change your brother, I believe the first aid stations might do well in this regard; they are cool, shaded and sprinkled liberally around the parks. The changing stations in the more modern bathrooms are pretty good for a nearly 7 yr old like my DS, but perhaps not for a larger/older person. Also we know of plenty of DS's friends who have done just fine in WDW with their feeding tubes, so I would not worry too much.

Our soon to be 7 yr old son also has severe CP, and is completely wheelchair bound (tho thank God he has always been able to eat by mouth). WDW is his favorite place in the world and really the only vacation he doesn't hate (well, he likes going ot the Grandparents' too, and tolerates going to Vero Beach).

Best of luck!

 

[DonaldsGrl103]

Oh my gosh I cant thank you guys enough for your support and generosity. I will check but I think we have mears coupons but if not I will defiantly pm one of you generous dis folks. I would like to ask you guys if you made an appt with mears ahead of time or you just showed up at the counter service desk and asked about a wheelchair accessible van? Any help is truly appreciated and again I cant thank you enough

 

[SueM in MN]

If you call or email Mears ahead of time, you will have a wheelchair van reserved for you at the time that you need it. You will have a short wait because they know you are coming.
If you just show up at the airport, you will probably have a longer wait because they only have a certain number of wheelchair vans and one might not be available at the time you show up.

 

[clkelley]

I would reserve online ahead of time for the accessible van. There are only 3 or 4 of them. This way you can be reasonable sure they are at the airport waiting for you.

However, when you reserve online ahead of time, they now charge your credit card in advance. So no chance to use the $3 coupon.

However, they might credit you the coupon, if you have one once you arrive.

Carol

 

[candykisses]

We've used Mears on several WDW visits. We found the wait for the van was around 25 min after checking in at MCO. We never had to share the van with others going to the resort. Generally we are a group of 5.

On the trip back to MCO we have had to share the van. We were picked up 3 hrs before the flight. We went to another hotel (off site) and picked up another group. Two adults and another adult in a wheelchair. It was extremely crowed and there wasn't enough seatbelts.

If we have to, we will use Mears again...but we've been using another carrier the past few trips and have been very happy them. The price is about the same as Mears and we get a short stop at the store.

Good luck with your plans.

 

[DonaldsGrl103]

Candykisses,
Could you please tell me the other carrier you used besides MEars so maybe I can look into it. I appreciated your help and would like to sort out my options.
Thanks

 

[candykisses]

PM will be on the way as soon as my husband gets home.

He's the "keeper" of the Disney planning info.