Trying to decide on Stroller or not...

[Beccabunny]

I had been planning on purchasing a Maclaren Major special needs stroller but just recently heard that our insurance might pay for it. However, the process is long and others I know have gotten repeated denials. DD7 has autism and really needs a stroller for our upcoming trip in October, as well as for any other travel. Endurance is the issue, as well as low muscle tone. At home if she walks around the block she can't do anything else for the rest of the day. I was considering renting one if I can't get one in time through our insurance. Do the equipment rental companies deliver right to the resorts, and could it be delivered before we arrive? We will be staying at Shades of Green and getting in quite late on a Friday night. We have ADR's for breakfast at MGM at 10:30 the next morning and need to allow time to stop at Guest Services to request a GAC, so if the stroller wasn't at our resort on Friday we would need a fairly early delivery on Saturday. This is just a weekend trip, so we're really budgeting our time. I know I can call the companies to ask about their policies, but wanted to know if anyone had any first-hand experience with this. The other option would be to purchase the stroller now, but I doubt I would get reimbursed by insurance, and our budget is quite tight right now. I could use the regular stroller we've used in the past, but she's already ten pounds over the weight limit and she's a little tall for it as well. Just renting a stroller at the parks isn't an option, as she would have trouble getting to and from the parks and I can't carry her anymore. Any info or suggestions would be appreciated!

 

[forr2grls]

Hi Becca.We rented a Stroller for our dd back in Dec.They will deliver to resorts and can have it there for you when you check in.Short on time,will post more later.


Paula

 

[hellokittiemama]

I found this place online where you can rent a Mac Major for a week for $65 in Orlando.... if that helps you any.

Mobility Equipment Rentals

 

[hellokittiemama]

So my 6 year old is on the Autism spectrum. He does have low muscle tone and also prone to wandering or darting. I wasn't planning on using a stroller/wheelchair because he hasn't used one since he was 3 or 4 - but after reading everyone's input and considering that there is going to be A LOT A LOT of walking I was thinking we may want to use one. A friend has a Mac Major that she said we could use or if we don't want to fly with it (frankly I'm worried that the airline may really mess that up and I can't afford to buy a new one of those!!) we could rent one from Mobility Equipment Rentals for just $65.

Do you think we should use it?

Would you use it?

Would you do the rental or borrow such a pricey piece of equipment?

 

[SueM in MN]

I found this place online where you can rent a Mac Major for a week for $65 in Orlando.... if that helps you any.

Mobility Equipment Rentals

That's one of the companies listed in the disABILITIES FAQs thread near the top of the thread list on this board.
If that one doesn't work out, there are several others listed in the FAQs thread that you could try. We don't have much feedback about any of the companies that rent Special Needs Strollers.

Another possibility is to check with some of the service providers that you have contact with (OT, PT, Social Work, school system). They may be aware of some type of 'lending closet' in your home area that could loan you one of for the trip. I know other posters have done that in the past and have been successful. If you bring one from home, you will be able to bring it on the plane (don't know if you are flying) at no extra cost and it also does not count toward your baggage allowance.

Anotherr thing to think about is whether you need to rent a special stroller. Many people assume that the strollers at WDW are for toddlers, but CMs have posted in the past that they will hold up to a small 12 yr old. If you need more space, many people use a double stroller for one larger kid.
The WDW strollers are made of a firm plastic that many kids with autism like the feel of. They also have canopies and side panels that cut down on stimulation. Here's a picture of one from allearsnet.com
http://allearsnet.com/tp/ep/strepc1.jpg

The Studios had a different type that looked like this:
http://allearsnet.com/tp/mgm/mgmst1.jpg
I had read that they changed the Studio ones to the same type as the otherr parks, but I didn't notice on our last trip in April whether or not they had the old or new ones.

 

[hellokittiemama]

Thanks Sue,
One of my friends here actually told me I could borrow her Major to avoid renting but I was thinking that I wasn't sure I wanted to take that responsibility in case the airlines screwed it up.. Wasn't even thinking that since its a wheelchair vehicle you can take it right on since it folds up. GOsh, lots to think about.

I'm wondering if my son would actually prefer the Rental Stroller over the Major which he calls a BABY STROLLER.

We are planning on bringing our daughters Inglesina umbrella stroller with us for her (2 year old). Of course if we get him the rental stroller you know she will want one too.

ACK!

decisions decisions.

 

[DisMomAmy]

Hi Hellokittiemama - I also have a 6 year old with autism. We visited WDW last year in March when he was 5 1/2 and brought our own double stroller (we also have an almost 4 year old). This year we have gone back and forth about whether to rent or bring our own. We are going for 6 days over Columbus Day weekend. We have a Maclaren double stroller that can accomodate his weight or we can have our neighbors sit and stand stroller (the kind that has the seat in the back for bigger kids to sit or stand). We still haven't decided for sure, but Alex has low tone too and gets tired easy, so we will definitely be using a stroller - we just haven't decided which one. (We too are concerned about damage to the stroller during our flight.) I'm not sure how big your son is, but I have heard that the WDW strollers and accomodate pretty big kids. I would definitely use a some sort of stroller - sounds like the easiest for you would probably be to rent at WDW. Good Luck! Amy

 

[SueM in MN]

Thanks Sue,
One of my friends here actually told me I could borrow her Major to avoid renting but I was thinking that I wasn't sure I wanted to take that responsibility in case the airlines screwed it up.. Wasn't even thinking that since its a wheelchair vehicle you can take it right on since it folds up. GOsh, lots to think about.

I'm wondering if my son would actually prefer the Rental Stroller over the Major which he calls a BABY STROLLER.

Depending on the airplane, they may have a closet that you could put the stroller in rather than gate check it (gate checking goes in with the baggage, just on top so they can get it out and deliver it to the gate).

You could take the stroller with you; that way you would have one for getting around the airport and the resort. If he'd prefer the park rental ones, you could still rent one of those to use in the parks and save the other one for use at the resort.
If you haven't checked it out, there is some information about GACs (Guest Assistance Cards) in the disABILITIES FAQs thread. You will probably want to ask to use the stroller as a wheelchair (which means you could bring it in lines with you).

The 2 yr old will need a stroller anyway (too mcuh walking for legs that small), so I think you are wise to plan a stroller for her.

 

[hellokittiemama]

Thanks - my son is Alex too (6)

I used to have the sit n' stand... was good when he was 4 and also had the baby but after that he got too big making it impossible to push and steer. I ended up selling it to a friend.

I wasn't even thinking about the option of park rental... that may indeed be the way to go for us for him.

 

[SueM in MN]

There were 2 threads that both were asking similar questions. It looks like the answers to one poster would help the other, so I am merging the 2 threads.
You may notice your reply is not in the order you expect to find it - that's because the posts get re-sorted by the date and time they were posted when I merge the threads.

 

[hellokittiemama]

Thanks Sue!