Wheelchair options for riding WDW busses question.

[cupcake]

They are free of charge to borrow from the resorts. There is information on how this works on the disABILITIES FAQs thread near the top of the board.

Some people have had good experiences with getting one lent from the resorts (like cupcake); some people have found the wheelchair that was available was not in the best shape or all they had was an extra wide when a regular one was needed.

Hi Sue! Just wanted to add that I recommend trying to borrow from your resort, bc in a day or so, if you land a poor one to start, you can ask them to get you another one and "trade up" to get a decent one, whereas at the parks, each day you are playing wc roulette and you are stuck with what you get on a day to day basis. I have had really good luck with the resort wcs (I've borrowed even in my ECV days, on the half days at the beginning and end when I didn't have my ECV and wasn't doing a park). I know others have not, but the CMs are very nice, and if there's an issue they can get a different one for you (hopefully a good one!) from another resort and then you are set for the rest of your trip. I wonder if it also is bc I do not generally tend to be there at very busy times of year.

Cupcake

 

[SueM in MN]

I wonder if it also is bc I do not generally tend to be there at very busy times of year.

Cupcake

That's true.
I have seen a few people post that at busy times they were told they could only borrow the wheelchair from the resort for a short time, not their whole stay. They are also more likely to be able to get another wheelchair for you from another resort if it's not busy. I've seen postings of everything from a few hours to a few days to get a better one, if the one they had to begin with was a problem.

I'd suggest if someone is planning on getting one from the resort to take along phone numbers for the off-site rental places. That way, you have some 'insurance' of being able to get a good one (and don't have to worry about the parks, as you mentioned).

 

[Chuck S]

If the person isn't still in it, what's the diff between a folded chair and a folded stroller?

I agree Disney needs to be more consistent in their rules, but a folded standard wheelchair is usually much heavier in weight than an umbrella stroller with plastic wheels and parts, and a folded unsecured wheelchair will likely cause a much more serious injuries in the event of a bus accident than a folded stroller.

 

[SueM in MN]

I agree Disney needs to be more consistent in their rules, but a folded standard wheelchair is usually much heavier in weight than an umbrella stroller with plastic wheels and parts, and a folded unsecured wheelchair will likely cause a much more serious injuries in the event of a bus accident than a folded stroller.

An umbrella stroller is probably less than 10 pounds.
A wheelchair probably weighs closer to 40 or 50. My DD's custom lightweight manual wheelchair weighs almost 30.

I wonder if the reason that they seem to be inconsistent with wheelchairs/folded wheelchairs has some other factors that we don't know about.
Things like what kind of bus it is, how full the bus is, which seats are empty and whether the wheelchair can be held/contained between 2 seats that are facing forward.

 

[cupcake]

That's true.
I have seen a few people post that at busy times they were told they could only borrow the wheelchair from the resort for a short time, not their whole stay. They are also more likely to be able to get another wheelchair for you from another resort if it's not busy. I've seen postings of everything from a few hours to a few days to get a better one, if the one they had to begin with was a problem.

I'd suggest if someone is planning on getting one from the resort to take along phone numbers for the off-site rental places. That way, you have some 'insurance' of being able to get a good one (and don't have to worry about the parks, as you mentioned).

I'm letting myself get diverted into a discussion of the whole borrow from the resort thing, but if anyone is reading this and thinks they will want to use a wc for even a portion of their stay, RENT FROM OFFSITE!!! The price is right, you will get a great wc, and you don't have any hassles. IMO, there's just no reason to risk it. The reason I advocate resort wcs over the WDW wcs is bc the park ones are uniformly poor in my experience. You at least have a shot with the resort ones, even if you have to wait to get a better one or don't get it for the whole stay. It's still better than park wc roulette... will today's be even worse than yesterday? There are good ones, but the percentage is pretty low from what I have experienced. But as Sue correctly notes, you can end up with availability issues with the resort wcs, and given how reasonable offsite rentals are and how nice the wcs are, it just makes sense to me to rent offsite.

HUGE WARNING, though, and the real reason I post this message. Do not think you can decide at the last minute to rent offsite! I had an issue with my foot on one trip that required elevation. Tried to rent offsite (had an offsite ECV) and just could not get anything w/in 48 hours. WDW ended up saving me; special services somehow got a wc with an elevated attachment sent to MGM, which was where I wanted to be for that last day. I was very happy to see the war-worn WDW wc! The CMs who helped me were great. The lesson, however, is that it's dangerous to count on a last minute change of heart if you want to rent offsite.

Cupcake

 

[OneLittleSpark]

Just to add, if you're borrowing a resort chair and it has any problems, you may be able to get it fixed. I had a chair that veered rather spectacularly, so we went to Guest Services in my resort and they said that there was a mechanic in MK that could look at it for me (we didn't find them in the end as it was almost our last day). I think he or she is in different parks on different days, so make sure you ask first.

 

[SueM in MN]

Just to add, if you're borrowing a resort chair and it has any problems, you may be able to get it fixed. I had a chair that veered rather spectacularly, so we went to Guest Services in my resort and they said that there was a mechanic in MK that could look at it for me (we didn't find them in the end as it was almost our last day). I think he or she is in different parks on different days, so make sure you ask first.

Engineering at your resort may be able to help too.
We hot help from them one year when DD's own wheelchair had a flat tire and one other time when we needed a bolt tightened - we had put her tools in our checked bags and they got stolen

 

[pat fan]

Thanks for all the great info!

 

[LindsayDunn228]

The person in a wheelchair is supposed to get out and sit in a regular bus seat after boarding even if the wheelchair cannot be folded but this rule is waived if the person can't move easily.

No driver has ever asked me to do this.