Wheelchair vs. Scooter Rental

[toastnjam]

My mother has a hard time standing or walking long term due to nerve damage and back problems. We are staying at Ft. Wilderness campground.

1. how difficult is it to use the Disney transportation with a scooter
2. how difficult is it to push a wheelchair around the various resorts

I've never used a wheelchair (she is not heavy) but I also don't want to be pushing up and down hills, etc.

I've been to disney many times over the decades but i just can't remember the terraine and have never used/pushed a wheelchair.

 

[peemagg]

If she is capable of controlling a scooter that is what I would suggest she gets. This would do 2 things. It would give her some independence and it would be easier on you. The terrain is a lot of hills and things that when walking you don't really notice, but pushing someone in a chair, you notice them real quick.

I find the transportation to be real easy. If your Mom has trouble with parking the scooter, someone else can do that for her.

I would suggest however that if she is not used to running a scooter, that she practices at home at various stores. This will help her be more comfortable. If you can, I would also work on backing into places and parallel parking with it.

 

[toastnjam]

If she is capable of controlling a scooter that is what I would suggest she gets. This would do 2 things. It would give her some independence and it would be easier on you. The terrain is a lot of hills and things that when walking you don't really notice, but pushing someone in a chair, you notice them real quick.

I find the transportation to be real easy. If your Mom has trouble with parking the scooter, someone else can do that for her.

I would suggest however that if she is not used to running a scooter, that she practices at home at various stores. This will help her be more comfortable. If you can, I would also work on backing into places and parallel parking with it.

Thank you.

 

[rewardsinlife]

I think a scooter might be the best situation for WDW. I have a manual one for DL but usually have someone to help me during the day in pushing when I get tired...as I am not in a wheelchair full time. I think to save her back...and yours ..electric scooter is the way to go

 

[toastnjam]

Thankyou everyone. very helpful.

 

[AnastasiaF]

My mom is in the same position as yours. We went 2 years ago and rented wheelchairs at every park. My sister ended up doing most of the pushing since my mom went with her and the little kids most places - and my sister ended up losing weight during the 10 day trip! She would be exhausted every day from all the extra work. This time we found a scooter here at home and are taking it with us. The extra $40/day for scooters there was too much for us.

We actually looked at buying a used one here and then reselling it, but ended up finding someone with a spare to loan us.

 

[WheeledTraveler]

My mom is in the same position as yours. We went 2 years ago and rented wheelchairs at every park. My sister ended up doing most of the pushing since my mom went with her and the little kids most places - and my sister ended up losing weight during the 10 day trip! She would be exhausted every day from all the extra work. This time we found a scooter here at home and are taking it with us. The extra $40/day for scooters there was too much for us.

We actually looked at buying a used one here and then reselling it, but ended up finding someone with a spare to loan us.

Another option would be to rent a scooter (generally called ECVs on this board) at an Orlando company that will delivery to FW. Most of them are going to charge the same as any company near home will (possibly less because there are many more offsite vendors near WDW than you get in most places so there is more competition to keep prices lower) and then you don't have to worry about traveling with the ECV. The other benefit to renting in Orlando rather than home is that the vendors will be able to get to you quickly if there is a problem. While the companies recommended in the FAQ that's one of the stickies on this board take generally good care of their ECVs, even well taken care of ECVs can have problems pop up suddenly. The one time I had this happen in Orlando I was at an off-site resort and it was outside business hours. I called and left a message on the emergency line for the rental company I used, had a call back in under 5 minutes, and a new ECV delivered to me in about 40 minutes (which had no problems). I've rented from the same company multiple times and that was my only problem experience and I was quite happy with how they handled it.

 

[toastnjam]

Thank you everyone.