Wheelchair / Walker Rentals & How To Navigate

[pokee99]

My 16 year old daughter aggravated a reoccurring sports injury this weekend and it's making walking difficult and she will definitely have limitations on her days. We are arriving at DLR in a few days, so I definitely think we need to plan for a possibility of a wheelchair rental.

I guess the biggest question is where to rent one from? We're staying at the Westin - not sure if we should have a rental delivered there and use it for the walk to the park? Or just Uber to the park and rent one there (we should be there early enough each day to rent on site). They seem to be priced a bit cheaper at the park, but not sure if they are crappy chairs? I'd be pushing, and while I'm in decent shape, I'm tall (so is she) -- and I know stooping over to push my 140 lb teen in wheelchair all day will be very hard on my back. I know this from pushing around those little umbrella strollers when the kids were little. I'm a little concerned about this, but I don't think we have a choice since crutches wouldn't be an option, and she's too young for an ECV rental. There's a possibility a walker may work for her - and that would eliminare the need to push. But - anyone know where to rent rolling walkers? I've called a few rental offices and no one rents them out! Very strange!

Also, can anyone provide info on how to best navigate the parks with a mobility aid? Are there maps that outline inaccessible areas in the park? I know not all lines are accessible- so I don't want to get 60 mins in a standby line to find out it's not accessible after a certain point. I'm sure CMs will help with that, but want to avoid any surprises, and know in advance what the procedures are.

My only other concern is storage. Is there a place to "check" wheelchairs/mobility aids if she is feeling well enough to walk for an hour or two? I am not sure if it gets parked with the strollers outside rides? I don't know what theft is like these days. Can you lock it up like a bike? Lol. I suppose I'd be less concerned about a Disney rental being stolen than a private rental since it's likely numbered and can't be removed from the park, so maybe renting on-site would make me less paranoid about parking it.

Any advice or personal experiences would be much appreciated!

 

[KPeterso]

Let me see what I can answer. We used to rent a lot at Disneyland for my Mom, but finally bought a wheelchair from Amazon. As of last year, the price to rent through Disney is $15 per day. You will pay $35 when you rent it and will be refunded $20 when you return the wheelchair. Before we bought our wheelchair if we were doing a multi day stay, we would rent from Deckert Surgical. Price was pretty comparable but it allowed us to take it out of the parks/DTD and all the way to our room.

There is no "storage" per say for a wheelchair. You can either park it among the strollers. Or have your daughter push it when it is empty. This will give her stability and take some pressure off her injury if she wants to walk for awhile. That is what my Mom will do. She will push it when she wants to walk a bit.

In terms of lines, almost all the DCA are mainstreamed so the wheelchair can go through them all. At Disneyland, there are a number of rides you will use an alternate entrance. The cast members will direct you where to go for each one. You may have to get return times for some of the rides so plan for that. I believe there is a map for disabilities but I don't need one at this point. Personally, I would suggest taking the wheelchair through the majority of the lines, especially if waiting in a regular standby line as it may be longer than it looks and she may get tired and want to sit down for a few months.

I can't help you with the height thing as I am only 5'2" so pretty short and it is comfortable for me to push. Our personal wheelchair is more comfortable for me to push but that is because it is a little narrower than the rental ones and better set up for me.

 

[Lisa24jks]

Also, can anyone provide info on how to best navigate the parks with a mobility aid? Are there maps that outline inaccessible areas in the park? I know not all lines are accessible- so I don't want to get 60 mins in a standby line to find out it's not accessible after a certain point. I'm sure CMs will help with that, but want to avoid any surprises, and know in advance what the procedures are.

I can't really answer the other questions because we have only ever rented ECV at the parks. However, I echo what the poster above me said here. We went in not knowing which rides had accessible lines and which didn't, but the CMs at the entrances will immediately help you. Just ask when you show up and they'll direct you to either get in the regular line, or they will give you a return time to come back and enter through the exit. I'm sure someone somewhere has a comprehensive list. But, in my experience, almost everything at DCA has accessible standby lines. DL has more rides that require return times, particularly Fantasyland rides, POTC and Haunted mansion, just to name a few.

 

[Mac2008]

My advice is to rent the ECV from Deckert (my favorite) or Scooterbug or wherever. Literally NO ONE in the park is going to question your 16 year old piloting a scooter. I've done the wheelchair thing and you really don't want to be pushing that all day! Plus, scooters require the key to be useful, so there is no danger of anyone stealing it.

A walker is a good idea - check out your local thrift stores. I feel like I see at least two walkers available in every thrift store I've ever visited.

 

[pokee99]

My advice is to rent the ECV from Deckert (my favorite) or Scooterbug or wherever. Literally NO ONE in the park is going to question your 16 year old piloting a scooter. I've done the wheelchair thing and you really don't want to be pushing that all day! Plus, scooters require the key to be useful, so there is no danger of anyone stealing it.

A walker is a good idea - check out your local thrift stores. I feel like I see at least two walkers available in every thrift store I've ever visited.

Thanks! She does look older, so i would agree she wouldn't be questioned, but do you think if we rented off-site a cast member could check for ID on the way in to confirm age? Maybe I'd be better off renting inside for myself, and then hand over to her?

 

[gelatoni fan]

I've pushed a friend around in a Disneyland wheelchair and felt the wheelchairs were fine. All the lines at DCA and some at Disneyland accommodate wheelchairs although at some point toward the front of the line, you may be directed to a separate waiting area to transfer from the wheelchair to the ride vehicle. I think you could park the wheelchair with the rows of strollers but I actually just recommend going around the entire park with the wheelchair and leaving it in designated spots at each ride at the entrance/exit. I have a friend who did went with crutches but we both agree that renting a wheelchair from Disney is the easiest way to go.

A previous poster also mentioned some rides where you get a return time at Disneyland, typically by going to the exit of the ride and it'll appear in your app like Genie+ (any CM at the ride would know where to go if it's not the exit). For Indiana Jones and Jungle Cruise, it's actually in the former fastpass distribution area that's in between the two rides. You go back within the return window and they'll give you a pass that allows you to enter the ride from a designated spot.

If your daughter is able to take two steps with your help, there will be very few attractions that she cannot experience. I think you have to be able to walk up/down stairs for the train at Main Street station but for other stations, you can actually get in with your wheelchair. For omnimover rides like Haunted Mansion and Astro Blasters, they can stop the moving belt to make it easier for her to get on.

 

[pokee99]

Thanks for the replies so far! Looks like we'll have lots of options - I even found walker rentals at Deckert Surgical in Santa Ana for $40 / week - so we'll likely decide what's best to do when we get there. She's going to Physio today, so we'll know by tonight if she's even supposed to walk at all.

I may be able to push around a wheelchair on day one, but we may need two ECVs on day 2!

 

[AprilsZoo]

In terms of lines, almost all the DCA are mainstreamed so the wheelchair can go through them all. At Disneyland, there are a number of rides you will use an alternate entrance. The cast members will direct you where to go for each one. You may have to get return times for some of the rides so plan for that. I believe there is a map for disabilities but I don't need one at this point. Personally, I would suggest taking the wheelchair through the majority of the lines, especially if waiting in a regular standby line as it may be longer than it looks and she may get tired and want to sit down for a few months.

I can't help you with the height thing as I am only 5'2" so pretty short and it is comfortable for me to push. Our personal wheelchair is more comfortable for me to push but that is because it is a little narrower than the rental ones and better set up for me.

Talk about a Freudian slip…
I mean, I know the highlighted text above was a typo, but it’s just about true sometimes.

I may be able to push around a wheelchair on day one, but we may need two ECVs on day 2!

OP, I hope you were able to have an enjoyable day at DLR despite your DD’s flare up. Nothing makes a trip more miserable than being in pain right out of the gate, so to speak.

We can all relate to your sentiments here… btdt ourselves, or know someone who has.

I actually had a dream once where my sister & I went to DL together one time and when we got there driving separate scooters, the gate CMs stopped us and told us there’s only one ECV allowed per party… but not to worry, because they’d give us a handy-dandy, new-fangled, dual scooter. Super-simple they said, you just both steer it and it practically drives itself. That dream did not end well. Definitely a Disney nightmare with the two of us ending up _____ over teakettle at the end of Main Street right in front of the castle, holding up the horse-drawn trolley on a busy day. Totally felt like we were dissing Mickey.

Thank goodness that isn’t the way it actually works.