Will a disassembled heavy-duty sized ECV fit in a minivan?

[LindaB]

I’m in the very early stages of planning a trip to WDW. We are considering renting an ECV from an outside company for my 66 year-old father who has knee problems. He will need the heavy-duty sized ECV. We will most likely be renting a minivan. Our party consists of myself, my husband, my mom and dad and my 7 year-old niece (four adults and one child). Do you think there will be enough room in the minivan for all of us and the heavy duty sized ECV when it is disassembled? I know the rental companies do not allow you to remove seats from the minivan. Also, do the heavy-duty sized ECVs have any trouble fitting on the WDW bus lifts? We will probably use the WDW busses sometimes and the minivan other times.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

The heavy duty are not much larger than the standard ECVs; primarily it is the seat which is larger and some of the structure may be stronger.

I have never tried a minivan. I do know that a 300# capacity scooter is somewhat tight in a Buick Century or Dodge Intrepid trunk. In Buick if you go up one step to a LeSabre there is definitely more room, and in a Park Avenue you can fit a lot more.

A couple of years ago I was looking for a way to handle 2 ECVs at once, as we were travelling with a friend who had just broken her ankle. We decided that most SUVs could handle two, but we had six people (4 adults and 2 teens) while it would only seat 5 people.

You might talk to someone where you will be renting from who could give you better information. Also, renting a large four-door sedan would give better access for a person with a bad knee than climbing into a minivan. We ended up with the six of us in the Park Avenue going to Canaveral for a Shuttle Launch, which was more than an hour ride each way and there were no space complaints.

 

[SueM in MN]

If you can get a Chrysler minvan, they are very low to the ground and easy to get into. One advantage over a car, is that the door slides back, out of the way. A Grand Voyager is the largest Chrysler van. The regular Chrysler van may or may not have room behind the seat to stow the ecv.
If you get Chevy van (I can't remember the name, but I'll try to think), it is a very high step up. We got one once and using it involved having to left DD almost to my waiste height to get her into the seat. you don't want one of those.
If the rental comapny can't tell you if the ecv will fit, it might be helpful is to get the dimentions of the ecv pieces. Then you can go to the car rental websites and look at what vehicles are available. If you go to the car company websites, they often have information about the trunk or back storage area dimentions.