Question(s) about EVC's - Help! We've never had one before. :-)

[erstwo]

I read the recent thread about EVC rentals with great interest. Bless my poor father, after struggling through our December 2010 trip with a hip replacement that was less than 3 months old, he is now facing knee replacement surgery soon and we'll be in the World in less than 60 days. Yikes! After reading that thread, I am now debating renting from Apple or renting from Disney directly.

My dad refuses to rent an EVC, but my sister and I know he's going to need one this time, no matter what he says (I may or may not get my stubborn streak from my dad ) and we are renting one for him and if he doesn't use it WE will.

My questions: I know that Apple will deliver the scooter to our resort - but what do we do with it each night? Are we required to drive it back to my parent's room and store it in there? Or can we leave it with/ at Bell Services each night?

Also - has anyone else had experience with a stubborn parent and found it is better to rent from Disney directly? I'm assuming you return a Disney owned scooter to the front of the park every night just like the strollers? Is that correct? (We are considering this option because my dad will not want to be a part of the 'special/ priority loading' of guests on scooters onto the buses first - he just won't want all the attention on him.)

Essentially, we are renting a scooter for him to just take the bulk of the walking/ standing away from his park days.

Finally - if you have a scooter do you HAVE to get a GAC? He won't get a note from his doctor, but if you see him walk with his cane you know he needs a scooter to survive until the fireworks!

I'll take any other tips or suggestions!

 

[joanna71985]

No, you don't need a GAC to rent a scooter (the GAC is for invisible disabilities). The ECV pretty much speaks for itself

 

[MOXOMUMD]

Renting from Disney is expensive, $50 a day, and you won't have the use of it outside of the park. They do rent them at DTD too. Renting from outside companies can be approximately $30 and some will give a discount for the more days you rent.

If you rent from an outside company, once you take receipt of the scooter it is your responsibility not bell services so it goes to the room with you. They do fit into the rooms even the smaller value ones. Have you thought about just renting a wheelchair from the parks if he doesn't want one at resort? They do have a length of stay option which is $10 a day.

We've rented from Walker Mobility the past few trips (broken ankle). You also do not need a GAC. We've never got one. I understand where your dad is coming from with the bus. We usually hang out long enough at the end of the night that we're one of the last people to leave. Of course I don't think your dad would want to do that.

 

[erstwo]

Awesome! Thanks guys!

 

[docdebbi]

If your dad truly won't give in and get a scooter willingly I agree with you about renting at the park only. And I agree with renting it anyway even if he objects I had foot surgery a few weeks before vacation and refused a scooter but my kids really demanded it. Wow, was I glad I did. Once dad starts zooming around and realized how relaxing a day it can be and how easy it is to use he'll be a fan like I am. I jokingly tell the family that I'm going to have surgery before every trip to an amusement park just so that I can justify renting one
It is expensive at Disney, but if he won't get lifted up onto the bis, that seems like the only choice. The rentals are right inside the front gates and quick and easy to accomplish .

 

[NeedMoreMickey]

Like everything there are pros and cons to renting on site or from off-site. There are a few problems my parents found when renting a scooter at the parks. Sometimes it a very long walk from the bus/car to where you rent the scooter in the park. Also depending on when you go if it is a very busy time they parks can run out of scooters. I think if you rent one in one park all you need to do is show your receipt if you go to another park but maybe someone else can confirm. If you rent from off-site you will have the scooter to use at your resort which was very helpful for my mom. Two things we found very useful are Mickey rain ponchos because it nice and big and it can cover up more of the seat that a regular Dollar store poncho or a rain coat. The second thing we take now are a small bungee cords, never know when you need to attach something to the scooter

 

[MOXOMUMD]

Like everything there are pros and cons to renting on site or from off-site. There are a few problems my parents found when renting a scooter at the parks. Sometimes it a very long walk from the bus/car to where you rent the scooter in the park. Also depending on when you go if it is a very busy time they parks can run out of scooters. I think if you rent one in one park all you need to do is show your receipt if you go to another park but maybe someone else can confirm. If you rent from off-site you will have the scooter to use at your resort which was very helpful for my mom. Two things we found very useful are Mickey rain ponchos because it nice and big and it can cover up more of the seat that a regular Dollar store poncho or a rain coat. The second thing we take now are a small bungee cords, never know when you need to attach something to the scooter

If you are renting from the park and plan to park hop, you can show your receipt to get one at the second park, but for only same day rentals.

 

[DisneyJoe]

If you rent from an outside company, once you take receipt of the scooter it is your responsibility not bell services so it goes to the room with you. They do fit into the rooms even the smaller value ones.

They usually need to be recharged overnight, so when you bring it in the room with you, park it near an outlet and plug it in.

I have found that those from an outside company have 2 batteries or at least 1 single larger battery; those rented from Disney may only have 1 battery. In my experience, the Disney ones don't last as long on a charge. The outside company ones should be able to go a little faster and further. If he isn't used to driving it, have him drive it around a little the first day, adjusting the speed, stopping and starting and turning. People WILL step in front of him, so he needs to be able to stop.

 

[MOXOMUMD]

They usually need to be recharged overnight, so when you bring it in the room with you, park it near an outlet and plug it in.

I have found that those from an outside company have 2 batteries or at least 1 single larger battery; those rented from Disney may only have 1 battery. The outside company ones should be able to go a little faster. If he isn't used to using it, have him drive it around a little the first day, adjusting the speed, stopping and starting and turning. People WILL step in front of him, so he needs to be able to stop.

Oh I know, maybe you should post this to OP. This is trip five using one, hopefully the last with this surgery. My last battery from Walker was the size of a child's shoe box. I haven't rented from WDW, I like getting a scooter for $20 a day.

 

[Todd L]

I read the recent thread about EVC rentals with great interest. Bless my poor father, after struggling through our December 2010 trip with a hip replacement that was less than 3 months old, he is now facing knee replacement surgery soon and we'll be in the World in less than 60 days. Yikes! After reading that thread, I am now debating renting from Apple or renting from Disney directly.

My dad refuses to rent an EVC, but my sister and I know he's going to need one this time, no matter what he says (I may or may not get my stubborn streak from my dad ) and we are renting one for him and if he doesn't use it WE will.

My questions: I know that Apple will deliver the scooter to our resort - but what do we do with it each night? Are we required to drive it back to my parent's room and store it in there? Or can we leave it with/ at Bell Services each night?

Also - has anyone else had experience with a stubborn parent and found it is better to rent from Disney directly? I'm assuming you return a Disney owned scooter to the front of the park every night just like the strollers? Is that correct? (We are considering this option because my dad will not want to be a part of the 'special/ priority loading' of guests on scooters onto the buses first - he just won't want all the attention on him.)

Essentially, we are renting a scooter for him to just take the bulk of the walking/ standing away from his park days.

Finally - if you have a scooter do you HAVE to get a GAC? He won't get a note from his doctor, but if you see him walk with his cane you know he needs a scooter to survive until the fireworks!

I'll take any other tips or suggestions!

My wifes parents spent a Day with us last year just months after My Father In-laws hip replacement surgery. My wife insisted that He rent a EVC for our day at Magic Kingdom.

The company we rented from dropped it off at Our Hotel and offered a lesson to my VERY stubborn Father in law which he refused.

I told him he should run it around the outdoor area for a 1/2 hour just to get used to it which he refused....Staring to see a pattern??

His first attempt to drive the thing was when he tried to get it on the bus to the park....He had No idea that there was a speed control adjustment on the thing..... damn near hobbled the poor bus driver.

I showed him the speed control switch and explained it was like a law mower...The Rabbit was for going fast the turtle was for slow........Guess what???? You got it ...he still wouldnt listen!

We spent 2 hours in The Magic kingdom with this guy bouncing off walls, going way too fast , almost running over several small children and generally ruining anyone and everyones day!!

At the end of the day he argued that HIS day was ruined by everyone else and His feelings were hurt by other peoples inconsideration......... I kid you not!!!

Please be sure you guys take the time to learn how to run the thing properly and youll have better results than we did! Good luck!!

 

[ninjaprincesst]

The Disney scooters are double the price of more of renting ouside the parks. The batteries also last much longer on the outside rentals. I would not reccomend a wheel chair at all for somone who is not used to being in a wheel chair. We tried renting one for my Dad once at it literally wore all of use out in just a couple of hours of either us trying to push it or him trying to do it himself. Also as stated earlier the parking lots and even bus stops are quite a long walk. My brother in law tried it after foot surgey and it did not go well. I know he does not like the attention, my Dad hates it as well, but somtimes you just have to suck it up and do it, like we told my Dad the attention is not worth undoing his surgery or making things worse. We fit the scooter in our room with no problem. Also, from what I have seen the disney scooters break down a lot. If your oustside scooter breaks down they will come to you wherever you are an d replace it. Also just an FYI my brother in law had to have an additional surgery on his foot because of too much walking after returning the scooters to the park.

 

[DisneyJoe]

Also, from what I have seen the disney scooters break down a lot. If your oustside scooter breaks down they will come to you wherever you are an d replace it.

You are correct, since you can be anywhere on property, the outside vendors will come to you where you are.

If a Disney scooter breaks down in the park, they will also tow a new one to your location and swap it out with the broken one.