Wheelchairs in resorts

[Stratocastermagic]

I understand that Disney resorts have wheelchairs for rental (or to borrow?) but that quantities are limited.
We will be staying at AKL in July: does anyone know how available wheelchairs are at AKL? And what the cost is?
We will need to use one (or possibly two) during our stay. (I've posted elsewhere that our two teenage sons have CFS/ME - whether they need the chairs or not depends on whether they have good days or bad days. It looks like one son will need a chair for the parks, the other may not.)
As always, I'd be very grateful for any advice.
Alan

 

[Figaro]

Hi, Stratocastermagic!

The resorts have wheelchairs available on a first come, first serve basis. There is no way to reserve them ahead of time as far as I know. When I used them (before I got my spiffy, new wheels)(smile), they would take our credit card and put a $250.00 hold on it which was removed when we brought the wheelchair back at the end of our stay. We always took along a bike lock so that we could lock the back wheels (not to anything so that CM's could move them if they needed to).

The wheelchairs are big and fairly heavy, like the ones in the parks, and my spouse usually had to tighten up some of the bolts because they were kind of wobby at times.

Hope you have a great trip!

 

[dj2]

we had no trouble at all with the wheelchair at POR last summer. they even gave us the bike lock/chain w/key so we could lock it up if we wanted (although we usually didn't). i'm guessing you might want to take the phone numbers for some off-site places, just in case the AKL is out of wc's whan you arrive. you'd probably be able to have one delivered w/in a day.

 

[Stratocastermagic]

Thanks Figaro and DJ2! You've been very helpful.

 

[SueM in MN]

Here is the contact information for the rental places that DIS posters report renting from. All of these places rent manaul (push) wheelchairs and scooters (ECVS). The scooters, in general are not allowed to be rented for use by someone under 18.
Care Medical:
http://www.caremedicalequipment.com/
Phone (407) 856-2273 • Toll Free U.S and Canada (800) 741-2282

Walker Mobility:
1-888-726-6837
www.walkermobility.com

RANDY'S Mobility is in Kissimmee 407-892-4777
http://randysmobility.com/

Colonial Medical
http://www.colonialmed.com/about_cms.html
(800)747-0246

Randy's requires that someone be there for delivery and pick up. The rest will deliver to Bell Services and leave it for you.

To add a little more to what people have already posted about resort wheelchairs, some people have posted really good luck with them, some people have not been as pleased. Some have posted that their resort didn't have any wheelchairs left or the available wheelchair wasn't in good condition or did not meet their needs (extra large when they needed narrow). People posted it took anywhere from a few minutes to a few days to get a more appropriate chair. And, they are the heavy duty, heavy weight "tanks", so not that easy to push around.

 

[cupcake]

Phooey--- my long reply just got eaten! I will try again. We needed a wc for a single park day after the Disney Cruise. We planned to take our chances on the resort wcs as the single day offsite rental was expensive. I needed to unexpectedly elevate my foot. I tried to get an offisite rental from Walker with the attachment (they had rented me the pre-cruise ECV) and WOW was it expensive!!!! I don't recall the details, but I think the one day and need for immediate delivery w/o a reservation were problems. We elected to rent from the park. The resort called MGM and confirmed that they had the right kind of wc and then MGM held it for me. We drove and used the loaner wc to make our way in. I've never been happier to be in an uncomfortable WDW park wc!

I suggest calling around and seeing what the cost & availability will be should you need to rent offsite at the last minute. The time of year you are going also should play into your decision. Off season, the selection and ability to quickly get a wc from another resort if necessary will be much better. I am one of the people who had good luck with resort wcs before I found out about offsite rentals, except in peak season. The difference btwn park and resort wcs is that the resort wcs are newer (in my experience, others say no) and hence tend to drive better and have less mushy (although still pretty mushy! they are unlined mesh sling style) seats. Also, you are not limited to using them in the parks.

Honestly, given that you think you will need at least one and given that you are renting wcs, not ECVs (which are pricey), I would consider just renting 2 wcs from offsite. The offsite wcs are just so much more comfortable to sit in and they are adjustable (eg for leg length) and drive nicely. If you wish to take it a day at a time, I suggest calling now to see what your options will be if you do need to rent unexpectedly. I don't recall why it was so pricey in my situation so can't say if it might apply to you, but wanted to warn you just in case.

Have a super trip and let us know how it goes!!!
Cupcake

 

[Stratocastermagic]

Thanks cupcake and SueM in MN.
We'll make some calls before we set off - not long now!

Alan

 

[Stratocastermagic]

Thanks to those who responded.
We borrowed a wheelchair from AKL, but DS hated it! We insisted he use it for the first two days, but after that he refused.
We had planned all along to make sure that our days were not too demanding for the boys and that worked reasonably well. The time-shift (Orlando is 5 hours later than GMT) worked in our favour, meaning that we could wake up early and make the most of EMH; Fastpass, too, meant less time standing in line.
We built in a rest period each afternoon and then went back to parks or restaurant in the evenings. The only day we hadn't planned an afternoon break was when we went to Sea World (because we had only one day there). It didn't work! We returned to the car and drove back to the hotel and took the break. (It would have felt so much better if we had planned to do that all along, like the other days!)
There were a few occasions when he needed to finish before others in the party were ready to, but on the whole we managed pretty well; all of us had a great vacation.
Best wishes to all.

Alan

 

[SueM in MN]

Thanks for the report. It's always nice to hear how people did.

 

[GeekChic]

so glad to hear you had a good trip! thanks for reporting back to let us know!

geek