Wheelchair question I didn't see an answer to

[Cheshire Pirate]

Quick question about renting wheelchairs in the park- if we rent a chair in the morning when we get there and go back to our resort midday for a break and return to the park later in the day, will we have to re-rent the chair when we return? Or do we take the chair with us? Will we be SOL trying to get a chair later in the day?
My husband was recently diagnosed with MS. He's been in pretty good shape lately, and has been walking fine. We walked about the zoo all day on Sunday and he was tired at the end of the day but walking wasn't a problem for him. He's decided to just go ahead and rent a chair only if he needs it.

 

[minnie mum]

Keep the rental receipt. Drop off your chair at the rental place where you picked it up on your way out of the park. You can't take it out. When you return later that day, present your receipt and you will be given another chair. It is theoretically possible that on a really busy day (ie: Thanksgiving or Christmas Day) they might run out of chairs. Practically speaking, though, I have never had that issue in all the years I've been renting them.

As a side note, if you are going to be renting chairs every day for a week, you can do a multiday rental on your first day and save a little money that way. Given your husbands medical condition, and the number of miles averaged at WDW parks, I'd rent one every day, even if he spent most of the day just pushing it while walking. You don't want to find yourself at the far end of a park when he decides that he really needs the chair.

 

[Tiggerfan1973]

Another option is to rent a wheelchair from an offsite rental company. This will serve multiple purposes:

1. You have the wheelchair all day, even if you decide to change parks.
2. The wheelchair can go from park to park and to your resort with you.
3. You do not have to worry about not having one available if you decide you don't need it until the afternoon.

You can leave the wheelchair back at your resort in the morning if you want to and then only use it in the evening.

Also, when you do a price comparison, renting a wheelchair or ECV from an offsite company for the duration of the trip is often a lot cheaper than renting daily from Disney.

 

[KPeveler]

I second the idea of renting off site - for all the reasons people have said. But also because on-site rentals are not adjustable, and they are totally uncomfortable. There is no guarantee that the park one will be a good size for him. Also armrests and footrests do not swing away and do not adjust for height. Also, the seat is a mesh sling and tends to cut off circulation to the legs.

If you rent off-site, there is nothing to say he must use it all day. He can push it empty, only sitting when needed.
Also, distances are huge at the resort sometimes. Last time I was there, it was 1 mile round trip from my room to the pool and back.

One other thought - having the wheelchair guarantees him a seat on the bus. Otherwise he may end up standing on a bus, which can be difficult for people with balance issues.

 

[SueM in MN]

The information was in post 2 of the disABILITIES FAQs thread, but was not perfectly clear, so I edited it to clarify it.

Many people do prefer to rent from an off site place because they will have the wheelchair all the time. As was pointed out, the distance at the resort can be much farther than people imagine. if you don't want to bother with getting the wheelchair all tied down on the bus, you can bring it aboard thru the back door and then fold it on the bus and hold it like people do a stroller.

Some people do choose to rent only at the parks. If that's what you want to do, you should not have a problem with getting a wheelchair at a scud park or when you return to the same park.
Wheelchairs are in much larger supply - ECVs are more limited in number and you may not have one if you park hop or leave the park.

 

[Belle1997]

I vote for renting off site too. Walt Disney World is huge. Now I have MS too. In the biginning I did not use a chair but I was exhausted. He might be fine for a day or 2 but think of the accumulative effect. He probably will not be giving his body much rest if at the parks everyday. Then there is standing in line etc. Standing and waiting for a bus could be 20 minutes or more at the end of a day. Also pushing a chair if it is a properly alined is actually easier to walk with. It helps you balance. Even if you do not notice it much our body is great at compensating balance issues for a while. When tired our weakest part show up more. The chair makes your body work less at balancing and in turn gives you more energy. Renting off site might be your best choice.

have fun

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Basically a person has a certain amount of energy available to them daily. If they relax during the day the amount of energy available will increase; when they sleep at night they recharge their system,

However, when in pain energy is used up much faster than in normal conditions. If you become exhausted, with by what you have done or, more importantly, what you have done while in pain your system will not recharge to the original energy level overnight and you are starting the next day with a lower amount of energy available.

You might pick a location at least a mile from where you live and ask him would he like to walk there. If he hesitates, then say "and back", and of he is still not sure then add "at least three times in a row".

Once around the World Showcase Lagoon Promenade is more than 1¼ miles; most people tend to average 8 - 12 miles per day at WDW.

 

[perishenner]

On our trip last December, I tried to walk it all but it was a lot more walking than I was in shape for. I am poohsized and had been going to Curves for 2 months prior to condition myself but was still unable to do it on my own. So I called the front desk at our resort (Pop Century) and they provided a wheelchair for me to use for the remainder of our trip at no cost. I asked if they needed and deposit and they said no. Save your money for something else and use the chairs available from the resort! On our last day at WDW we were at MK and one of the front tires got stuck in the track on Main Street and the rubber came off the wheel. We talked to a CM at CP and they arranged for us to have a rental chair brought to us for free. We used the rental for the day and then we exchanged it at the rental place for our broken chair. When we returned the wheelchair to our resort they were gracious and there was no charge. Disney service is the best!
Hope you have a magical trip!

 

[SueM in MN]

On our trip last December, I tried to walk it all but it was a lot more walking than I was in shape for. I am poohsized and had been going to Curves for 2 months prior to condition myself but was still unable to do it on my own. So I called the front desk at our resort (Pop Century) and they provided a wheelchair for me to use for the remainder of our trip at no cost. I asked if they needed and deposit and they said no. Save your money for something else and use the chairs available from the resort! On our last day at WDW we were at MK and one of the front tires got stuck in the track on Main Street and the rubber came off the wheel. We talked to a CM at CP and they arranged for us to have a rental chair brought to us for free. We used the rental for the day and then we exchanged it at the rental place for our broken chair. When we returned the wheelchair to our resort they were gracious and there was no charge. Disney service is the best!
Hope you have a magical trip!

Glad you had a good experience with getting a wheelchair from your resort.

Many other posters have not been so lucky and found there were no resort wheelchairs, the one available was not the right size or was not in good repair.

So, if someone wants to try getting on from the resort, I would strongly suggest taking along some of the off-site rental company phone numbers along in case the resort doesn't work out.

 

[JCLNJ]

My daughter become sick suddenly last March 4 weeks before we were going to go to Disney. We were lucky that she was released the morning from the Children's Rehab center the day of our flight later that day. Before we decided to continue our plans to Disney I called to get a handicaped bathroom and chair in shower for her. I also asked if I was able to get a wheelchair so we did not have to bring one down. The airline had one waiting at check-in and when we arrived in Orlando. The Magical Express service was great as she needed to use a walker. As soon as we arrived at Saratoga Springs member services they gave a wheelchair. THis was also during Spring Break and they had several wheelchairs available. We did put a pillow at the bottom to make it more comfortable for her. We had a great trip. It was different from our past trips but we made the most of it. I have to say that my daugher who had been diagnosed with Guillian Barre Syndrome showed impovement while we were there and continued to improve to make a full recovery within 6 months.