Wheelchair Rentals

[KJMAX1]

I am bringing my mom with us in November and we are driving down. I am trying to decide if I want to rent a wheelchair to be delivered to our house or do I want to get one at Disney each day. How does it work at Disney? You have to ride the tram in the parking lot with your wheelchair if you bring one? If we rent at Disney, does she have to be able to get to the gates at the parks before we can get a wheelchair?

Thanks

 

[Evita_W]

If you rent from Disney, they have to be able to get inside the parks without assistance, unless you get lucky and find a parking lot chair that can be used to get them to the gate.

If you bring your own (or a rental) and do not have a handicap placard, ask for the medical overflow lot, this will be near the handicap spaces and can be used by anyone that has mobility devices with them.

 

[KJMAX1]

If you rent from Disney, they have to be able to get inside the parks without assistance, unless you get lucky and find a parking lot chair that can be used to get them to the gate.

If you bring your own (or a rental) and do not have a handicap placard, ask for the medical overflow lot, this will be near the handicap spaces and can be used by anyone that has mobility devices with them.

Thank you. We have a placard. My mom could not make it to the wheelchair rental. So it sounds like our best case is to rent from an outside company. Do you have suggestions on which ones are best to rent from?

 

[Evita_W]

Gold Mobility is by far the best to rent from. They do rent manual chairs, but just a word to wise, it can get tiring pushing all day, there are lots of little hills everywhere that you never notice until pushing a chair.

They do have ECVs that can be broken down and fit into most vehicles. But, you and your mom know best as to if she could handle an ECV.

If your vehicle is large enough, I would say the Victory 10, as the battery will last longer and it is a more comfortable ride than the Gogo sport. But either one will be better than a manual chair, just make sure you charge them every night.

If you call Gold Mobility, then can go through the options with you, even based on the type of car you have and how many passengers, etc.

 

[KJMAX1]

Thank you so much. Does the Victory 10 fold down then? I assume they will deliver it to the house? Are there places to recharge the chairs within the parks?

 

[Bete]

There is a learning curve with a scooter. You are dealing with a crowded park for one. You can have kids that dart out right in front of you, for example. You have to be alert and have quick reflexes to stop. It's best to try and surround the scooter; so, she has a little buffer.

Then, the ride queues have twist and turns which has to be navigated. There's a couple of rides like Soarin' and Living with the Land in Epcot where you need to use an elevator to get the scooter down one level to those rides. You can skip those rides or have someone else do the scooter for the elevator.

You might want to practice at the local grocery store with their free scooters. Also, once you get the rental scooter then practice, as well before going to a park.

You might even want to visit a local mobility store and get a demonstration on how to take it apart and put it together. A Victory 10 is a pretty big scooter. It's heavy. One battery weighs 30 pounds, for example.

To conserve battery power make sure the scooter is turned off when watching a show, movie or fireworks.

Make sure you charge your battery every night. Watch your battery guage at the park. If you are running low then you will need to find an available outlet to charge the battery. You may want to ask a cast member where the best place would be to charge up for a while.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

Thank you. We have a placard. My mom could not make it to the wheelchair rental. So it sounds like our best case is to rent from an outside company. Do you have suggestions on which ones are best to rent from?

ps as of now there are no parking lot trams and MK has never had a tram with a good walk to get to either monorail or ferry. I agree offsite rental way to go

 

[Evita_W]

Thank you so much. Does the Victory 10 fold down then? I assume they will deliver it to the house? Are there places to recharge the chairs within the parks?

The Victory 10 doesn't fold down, but it can come apart. Depending on. The size of your vehicle, the Gogo sport maybe the better choice, again Gold Mobility can help you figure that out.

 

[SueM in MN]

ps as of now there are no parking lot trams and MK has never had a tram with a good walk to get to either monorail or ferry. I agree offsite rental way to go

Just want to add that even once tram service starts again, the Disability & Medical Parking areas do not have tram service.

 

[Evita_W]

Just want to add that even once tram service starts again, the Disability & Medical Parking areas do not have tram service.

Also, it should be noted that the trams are not accessible to mobility devices at Disney World, unless something has changed.

 

[SueM in MN]

Also, it should be noted that the trams are not accessible to mobility devices at Disney World, unless something has changed.

Correct.
they added doors a few years ago. I recall it was after a guest jumped off the tram. Since the doors were added, it’s not possible to hold a mobility device on the tram.

 

[Evita_W]

Correct.
they added doors a few years ago. I recall it was after a guest jumped off the tram. Since the doors were added, it’s not possible to hold a mobility device on the tram.

Which is really sad, as the trams at DLR also added doors, but were fully accessible using external ramps at the stops. And San Diego Zoo's Safari Park, their shuttles are fully accessible, but they use built-in ramps, which means they can stop anywhere with semi-flat ground. So, it can and should be done, but Disney World isn't doing it.

 

[Firepath]

For use for just this trip, you're much better off to buy one from a thrift store than renting. My husband got one for our trip for $40 and it is like new. You just have to keep an eye out for when they come in.

 

[Evita_W]

For use for just this trip, you're much better off to buy one from a thrift store than renting. My husband got one for our trip for $40 and it is like new. You just have to keep an eye out for when they come in.

Just be very careful with this, make sure it is in good working condition and is one that is extremely easy to push and this only applies if you are going with a manual chair.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

Just be very careful with this, make sure it is in good working condition and is one that is extremely easy to push and this only applies if you are going with a manual chair.

would also apply to a scooter if looking that way

 

[Evita_W]

would also apply to a scooter if looking that way

I wouldn't recommend a used scooter, you will likely need to replace the battery and possibly motor depending on how heavily used it was, along with tires and probably a few other items, making it cost almost as much as a new one and definitely more than a rental. Sorry, my previous post wasn't clearer, I meant you should only look at used manual chairs, not scooters.

 

[KJMAX1]

Thank you. My mom qualifies for one from her insurance but the store is taking forever on getting it in.

If you cannot get them on the team, where do we go to drop her off??

 

[maxiesmom]

Where are you staying while at Disney World? Why not have a scooter or chair delivered there?

 

[jo-jo]

Does your mom use a chair or scooter at home at all. Is your mom small, medium or large? If she is on the smaller size, I would just go with a wheelchair.

I have pushed my DH at disney and you need to really pay attention. I'm a little concern if your mom never used a scooter before, she may feel stress trying to drive it all day. And you may feel stressed trying to help her watch out for people.

I know people say you don't want to push a wheelchair all day, but it really may be easier on you in the long run. I agree, if your mom is "fluffy", it may be too hard on you. My DH is heavy and I will push him on flat grounds or slight incline. Anything more he walks pushing the chair. He is super concern of hitting someone and getting thru the lines at rides with a scooter.

I just wanted to give a view of another way to go. But either way, rent off site. You will spent too much time waiting every day trying to rent at disney, and not having one from the park to the bus/car.