A question about wheelchair rental

mergatroid

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I'll give you a brief background first in the hope it doesn't descend into a 'who should and shouldn't have a wheelchair or scooter' conversation :banghead:

I suffer from dystonia which affects my walking. I don't normally use a wheelchair (nor do I own one) as I'm a very stubborn person so choose to walk slowly, in discomfort and have people stare at me instead. At the airport I'll use a wheelchair when transferring flights purely for speed purposes so we don't miss our connection and sometimes upon arrival at MCO as I'm often exhausted as we've usually been up for about 20+ hours at that stage. Bottom line is I'm not 'wheelchair bound' thankfully.

We're staying offsite this September however we're spending 1 night at the All Star Sports resort purely for the 'extra, extra, early entry hours' into the Studios for Galaxy's Edge. We plan to get there at 4-4:30am for the 6am opening mid September (the arrival time may change when reports start filtering through about crowds etc). The hope is if we arrive around 4am there'll be people already there but not that many that there's a 5 hour ride queue when we reach the land.

Now here's my 'problem'. When they open at 6am and we get in, there's the walk to Galaxy's Edge and I know those that were queuing behind me will at that stage overtake me as my walking is slower than average. Now that's to be expected as the world doesn't revolve around my dystonia and there's no complaining on my behalf here about people overtaking me, that's just the way it is and I can live with that. This does mean however depending on the number who actually overtake me that we may then have a horrendous queue when we get to Smugglers Run. I'm aware wheelchair rentals is just to the left after entering the studios however I'm just wondering whether it will be open at 6am and if so, how long does hiring one take and is there paperwork involved etc? Basically I'm trying to figure whether I'm quicker walking slowly or taking the time to rent a wheelchair (no point if it takes 5 minutes or more)?

Also last year at The Studios car park we used a complimentary wheelchair from the medical parking lot to get me to the entrance. At the entrance as I got out of it and asked the lovely CM where we had to leave it I was told "That's ok sir, you can use this all day in the park for free if you wish". I thought that perhaps my distinguished British accent and stunningly handsome features had made her say that, though my wife has pointed out that as neither of these two things apply to me that cannot have been the case! So is it normal to allow the complimentary wheelchairs (if any there, it's hit and miss) from the medical parking section into the park for day use, or did I just meet a very kind CM that day who decided to 'bend the rules' slightly for an undistinguished, ugly looking English bloke in a wheelchair?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated ;)
 

heliumalias

Member
Renting a wheelchair only really takes a few minutes to do. If you’re getting an ECV it takes a touch longer because there’s an extra little bit of paper to sign regarding liability etc. I’ve always known them to be open for as long as the park is (maybe minus a short period of time right before closing). My experience regarding cast members and accessibility policies are that it can be a mixed bag in terms of their attitudes. The only thing I’d really say regarding the chairs at the entrance is that there’s a relatively limited number of them so if people do use them all day it is more likely that someone else is left struggling to get to/from the entrance.
 

Club Cooloholic

Well-Known Member
I'll give you a brief background first in the hope it doesn't descend into a 'who should and shouldn't have a wheelchair or scooter' conversation :banghead:

I suffer from dystonia which affects my walking. I don't normally use a wheelchair (nor do I own one) as I'm a very stubborn person so choose to walk slowly, in discomfort and have people stare at me instead. At the airport I'll use a wheelchair when transferring flights purely for speed purposes so we don't miss our connection and sometimes upon arrival at MCO as I'm often exhausted as we've usually been up for about 20+ hours at that stage. Bottom line is I'm not 'wheelchair bound' thankfully.

We're staying offsite this September however we're spending 1 night at the All Star Sports resort purely for the 'extra, extra, early entry hours' into the Studios for Galaxy's Edge. We plan to get there at 4-4:30am for the 6am opening mid September (the arrival time may change when reports start filtering through about crowds etc). The hope is if we arrive around 4am there'll be people already there but not that many that there's a 5 hour ride queue when we reach the land.

Now here's my 'problem'. When they open at 6am and we get in, there's the walk to Galaxy's Edge and I know those that were queuing behind me will at that stage overtake me as my walking is slower than average. Now that's to be expected as the world doesn't revolve around my dystonia and there's no complaining on my behalf here about people overtaking me, that's just the way it is and I can live with that. This does mean however depending on the number who actually overtake me that we may then have a horrendous queue when we get to Smugglers Run. I'm aware wheelchair rentals is just to the left after entering the studios however I'm just wondering whether it will be open at 6am and if so, how long does hiring one take and is there paperwork involved etc? Basically I'm trying to figure whether I'm quicker walking slowly or taking the time to rent a wheelchair (no point if it takes 5 minutes or more)?

Also last year at The Studios car park we used a complimentary wheelchair from the medical parking lot to get me to the entrance. At the entrance as I got out of it and asked the lovely CM where we had to leave it I was told "That's ok sir, you can use this all day in the park for free if you wish". I thought that perhaps my distinguished British accent and stunningly handsome features had made her say that, though my wife has pointed out that as neither of these two things apply to me that cannot have been the case! So is it normal to allow the complimentary wheelchairs (if any there, it's hit and miss) from the medical parking section into the park for day use, or did I just meet a very kind CM that day who decided to 'bend the rules' slightly for an undistinguished, ugly looking English bloke in a wheelchair?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated ;)
You could rent off site and have it delivered to your hotel so it's ready. Even if you just need it for one night
 

mergatroid

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
You could rent off site and have it delivered to your hotel so it's ready. Even if you just need it for one night

Never thought about that, thanks.

Renting a wheelchair only really takes a few minutes to do. If you’re getting an ECV it takes a touch longer because there’s an extra little bit of paper to sign regarding liability etc. I’ve always known them to be open for as long as the park is (maybe minus a short period of time right before closing). My experience regarding cast members and accessibility policies are that it can be a mixed bag in terms of their attitudes. The only thing I’d really say regarding the chairs at the entrance is that there’s a relatively limited number of them so if people do use them all day it is more likely that someone else is left struggling to get to/from the entrance.

Never thought about it leaving others struggling, good point thanks.
 

Starwind

New Member
You could rent a wheelchair or ECV from an offsite vendor, which would mean you have to to and from your hotel as well. Depending on the vendor, they may be able to pick it up from your off-site location as well, which would mean you could have it for your entire stay.
 

Club Cooloholic

Well-Known Member
You could rent a wheelchair or ECV from an offsite vendor, which would mean you have to to and from your hotel as well. Depending on the vendor, they may be able to pick it up from your off-site location as well, which would mean you could have it for your entire stay.
Yup. I think apple is good
 

HMFan999

Well-Known Member
From a logistics and safety standpoint, renting from an outside vendor and bringing it with you is the only safe bet. I highly doubt they're going to let people just run for SWGE as soon as the gates open. You're likely going to be looking at a multi-gated line walk process. Unfortunitly, it's not uncommon for those to get crazy (and rather dangerous in my opinion) once the CMs step aside. I'm of fairly good health and I don't really like getting caught up in them.

As far as the parking lot wheelchairs go, they are supposed to only be for getting from the parking lot to rental. The CM who let you keep it beyond that would have gotten a thorough chewing out from management if they were caught. Not only does Disney lose out on the money for a rental, but those chairs are needed at the end of the night for guests returning to the parking lot.
 

DisAl

Well-Known Member
I agree with the poster who suggested renting one from a third party vendor and having it delivered to your motel.
First, that guarantees that you will have one. Sometimes they run out at the park entrance.
Second, the walk to the busses from your motel room and from the busses to the park entrance can be quite long so a wheelchair would help you there too.
Third, the five or ten minutes you spend renting one at the entrance to the park could let another thousand people get in line ahead of you.
Fourth, get your wife to push the chair.... ;)
If she won't push you around you might want to consider renting an ECV. Regardless of which you choose you will be able to do much more in the park and be much more comfortable.
I speak from experience on that; my mother who will be 90 in July can walk ok, but can not do it quickly or for long distances. We take a wheelchair for her and can cover three times as much territory as we could otherwise.
 
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