Wheelchair Question

[dreamscometrue]

I read some of the other threads about wheelchair rentals and accessibility, but I hope you can give some some more info.

A friend of mine is taking her Mom to WDW soon for their first trip. Her Mom had both knees operated on in the past few months. She can walk around the house, a store, etc., but as you all know, the distances around the parks, DD, etc. can be significant. She will need to do the wheelchair rental thing, but just a few questions about some details.

1. Are their wheelchair rental places near the bus stops at each park and DD, or do you have to go in and go to guest relations?

2. Do you rent by the day, put your name on, etc. ...like with strollers?

3. Do you just leave the wheelchairs outside when exploring pavillions, etc.? At WS, for example, would you leave it outside Germany, go eat at Biergarten, and pick it up again after?

Any other thoughts that you'd like to share would be awesome.

Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[gatoronfire4lor]

Hi there. I'm a cast member that works in Magic Kingdom Wheelchairs and ECVs, so I can answer a lot of these questions.

1) If you are going to MK, you can rent wheelchairs at Mickey's Gift Station, the store in the TTC. Other than that (as far as I'm aware) you must enter the park. Wheelchair and ECV rental is always a separate area, not in Guest Relations. In MK, it's straight to the right the second you enter the turnstiles.

2) Rentals can be done by the day or multiple days. $12 for one day, $10 a day for more than that. Either option is good at all 4 parks as well as DTD (DTD additonal deposit), with tickets you take to each park to pick up chairs. If needed, you can request a courtesy wheelchair that will let you go out to the transportation, and then they can help you from there. You do fill out a name card that goes on the wheelchair.

3) As far as rides and things of that nature, you can park them outside in a designated area (otherwise, the cast will move them there to keep lanes clear etc). For something like WS, I'm not positive but I see no reason you wouldn't be able to take it into each pavilion, they should be designed for them. You may have to leave it outside a ride or perhaps small shop, but not too much.

 

[Minnie1976]

Scooter

Last year we were at DW for Christmas. We were staying at POP Century and ordered a scooter for my husband from Apple Scooter, phone # 321-726-8837. It was delivered to baggage at POP century where we were staying, and we just dropped it off at baggage when our trip was up. We took it on the buses, monorail and into the parks. It was great and easy to use. All the bus drivers and the cast members on the monorail couldn't have been more helpful and pleasant. We got the 3 wheel one. We saw a man with the 4 wheel. it had a wide turning base. He was having a lot of trouble navigating with it.

Have fun, enjoy your trip!!!

 

[buseegal]

in aug, i rented an ecv from Walker Mobility. i liked having to get to bus and other transportation. the standing in lines kills my knees. as stated all drivers were very helpful. also consider walk from bus stop to room.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Last week we had to rent a wheelchair for my 14 yro son. 2 days into the trip he hyper-extended a knee and couldn't walk on it. Standing in the middle of the Magic Kingdom, I called Walker Mobility. The wheelchair was delivered to bell services at our resort within 15 minutes. When we finished with the wheelchair on our last day we returned it to bell services for pick-up. We opted to use an outside rental company so we could have the wheelchair at the resort as well as in the parks and in between.

For the most part we were able to get my son pretty close to wherever he needed to transfer to (rides or chairs in restaurants) without too much trouble. There weren't many things he had to walk/hobble much or far. For rides we wheeled him up to the boarding point, he transfered, and his chair was waiting nearby when we disembarked. It's not like strollers where you gotta park the stroller outside then carry your kiddy inside. Same with restaurants. Most of the time we wheeled him right up to his seat, he transferred, we'd fold the wheelchair, and set it out of the way nearby or we'd park it back outside. In my son's case, walking much of anywhere wasn't an option. CM's were great at helping us out whenever possible and they were almost always super-sweet to the kiddo in the process.

 

[beanbunny]

My mom also had knee surgery & couldn't walk long distances either. We just brought ours from home. The airlines are really good when it comes to accommodating them. Before my mom had her own wheelchair, we just borrowed one from our local volunteer ambulance - even returned it with Mickey stickers!!!

 

[dreamscometrue]

Thanks so much for taking time to reply.

Just one other question:

Since she can walk some, can you fold the wheelchair and carry it on the bus like a stroller, or do the drivers only allow you to wheel it on via the back door, and 'lock it' in place on the bus like scooters, power chairs, etc.?

 

[loara71]

researched getting wheelchair too

I am traveling with my hubby and daughter to Disney World this coming Christmas. I was going to get just a wheelchair like you have planned as well. However, I happened to talk to my next door neighbor who traveled to Disney World with his mother and pushed her in a wheel chair. HE SAID DON'T GET A WHEEL CHAIR. YOU WILL HAVE VERY SORE ARMS AND ACHE. He said he ached for days after he returned. BTW.. He is a lot younger than me too. He told me how far everything is from each other and the person pushing will be worn out. OK, THAT THEN DECIDED IT FOR ME.
I then called and spoke to a representative at Disney World to question them about their availability for rental scooters at the park. I know here at Disneyland they go fast. The person I spoke to told me the same thing along with some other things I learned:

1. If you rent a wheelchair or scooter at Disney World you can not not take it into other parks. You must turn it in if you transfer (as with park hopper tickets) to another park. They will give you a ticket to get another one at the park you might go to next. You will have to wait in line for another wheelchair. ALSO, CHANCES ARE, if you have a scooter, you will find they are all rented then as well. *** SCOOTERS RENT OUT FAST in the early am usually during busy times. Here at Disneyland (which I live close too) you can not take them to Downtown Disney to use at all. Therefore, it might be the same there.
2. The person above in your discussion told you some about the wheelchairs and the prices. (However, you can't fold them up very well.) Yes, they fold but still hard to carry far. THEY ARE NOT LIGHT WEIGHT TRANSPORT CHAIRS but heavy full size wheelchairs.
3. I asked the person I contacted at Disney World if they would recommend anyone to talk to outside Disney World where I could get a scooter and then be able to use it from park to park within Disney World. He referred me the one I have listed below. He also told me he thought they delivered to your hotel room and picked it up as well. (Even if you are staying outside the Disney Resort area).
4. I called the rental company he suggested and found he was completely right. They are going to deliver it free to my hotel and have it waiting for me and I leave it at the front desk is all that I do when I leave.
5. The price for the scooter rental is JUST $30 A DAY. That was cheaper than renting the scooters at Disney World! Also, I don't pay until 10 days before I come. They will then run my credit card.
6. Last, the scooter I chose it fully portable. It folds up, believe it or not. and can be put in a large duffel bag which they furnish.
BELOW IS THE WEBSITE WHICH I WAS REFERRED TO FROM DISNEY WORLD.
http://www.buenavistascooters.com/

HERE is what the scooter looks like:

Here is a link that tells you about this scooter; interactive video, how it folds up and manual as well.
http://www.buenavistascooters.com/products_details.asp?id=3

** There are many options at the rental website above. They rent just about anything.

Good Luck, and I hope you have a great time at Disney World. I know we are looking forward to our trip as well.
Louise

 

[buseegal]

i would go for scooter instead of wheelchair. it is a alot of pushing for you. to answer you question about buses, you would load from back of bue. most you would push chair up ramp and driver will belt chair rider in, then rest of party admitted to bus. as i said earlier, i would rent from outside rental company so you can use for buses. at rides, most times you take chair close to loading area and pickup as you getg off. they are not parked outside like strollers.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I hear what folks are saying about the scooter vs. wheelchair. We opted for the wheelchair mostly because I didn't think turning a teenager loose with a scooter wouldn't be appreciated by others so much. Lol! Here's our experience:

We rented our chair from Walker Mobility. It's considerably less expensive than the scooter. We pushed the kiddo everywhere and took turns. We didn't find it more tiring than walking. We actually liked being able to have the chair to lean on. Wasn't a problem whatsoever. My son isn't a little skinny guy either. He's 140 lbs.

We only did the bus for 1 day because we had our car & found that it still saved considerable time to drive most places. When getting on the bus my son would get up and we'd help him hop up & get sat down. Then we'd fold his chair (yes, it does fold flat unless there's bulky stuff in the back zipper pouch) and the hubby would lift it onto the bus. No, it's not as light as my mom's lightweight transport chair but I could've handled it fine. Once it's folded we could roll it between seats or just in front of us or whatever. The chair is very manageable! Obviously. We got really good at removing the legs, folding the chair, & getting it into or out of the trunk. We drive an Acura TL. This is not a big trunk so you get the idea. Also, whenever we pulled into parking lots we would tell the attendants we needed to be close to the tram lanes because of the wheelchair. They sent us to the front rows every time. So helpful and more than what we asked which was really sweet. .

I think each family has their own needs and each should plan what's best for them. Ideally, we would rather have everyone walking. Unfortunately, we had to do something for my son. Poor kid. He hated being stuck on his hiney. The wheelchair was great for us...much more so then a scooter would've been because even with taking a scooter apart we would never have fit it into our car trunk.

 

[MaryJaneP]

Please watch scooter users on monorail. The CM's are good about getting ramps to cars with scooters in them, but I have observed impatient and/or forgetful scooter users plow over other guests in the monorail as they try to jump, a la Evel Knievel, the gap between monorail and platform.

Wheelchair may be less likely to have this problem.

 

[EpcotQueen]

I am renting a Revo from Beuna Vista. Now struggling with what size rental car we should get. Price is a consideration. The larger cars/vans are SOOO much more expensive. Anyone have any suggestions? I posted same question on another board and got just 1 reply. Frustrated!

 

[loveofamouse]

To answer your bus question, WCs should be allowed to be folded and held just like strollers. In fact, It's the safest. Collapsible WCs are NOT crash or bus approved for transport. They are not made to be buckled down and truly Disney should stop their drivers from doing because of liability. Scooters aren't recommended for transport, either. But drivers won't tell anyone they have to get out of them.

I also agree that you should go with an outside company. Often, it's cheaper and the WCs are much more comfortable.

 

[dreamscometrue]

Thank you all so much for the great information. It's great that WDW is so accessible.Thanks again.

 

[dizzney]

Ditto the above comments on Walker Mobility, I rented a scooter from them our last two trips as I had my knee replaced, their website is:

http://www.walkermobility.com/

It was reasonable and very easy to use. Also gave me the flexibility to do what I wanted to do and not depend on my husband or kids to push. I found Disney transporation to be very accomodating, only point is that sometimes people at the bus stops seem annoyed that they ahve to wait for the driver to load and unload the scooter, but I've developed a thick skin there.