Wheelchair rental

[kyler22]

I am new to posting, but have been lurking for years--you all have helped me plan my first three WDW trips, and hopefully someone will be able to help me now. My parents (age 60) and my husband and I are taking a trip to WDW next November and my mother will need a wheelchair to get around. She does not have one of her own as she can get around ok for short distances, but she has ankle problems that prohibit her from walking for any length of time. I have suggested that she rent a wheelchair or ECV from a local rental company, but her sister (a self-proclaimed Disney nut) has told her that "Disney has tons of wheelchairs at the parks. You won't need to rent one from outside." I feel that this is probably not the best plan as I understand that they are rented on a first-come, first-served basis, and when they are gone, they're gone. I definitely don't want to be in the situation where we get to a park and there is nothing available for my mom. She simply won't be able to make it for more than a half hour at best.

My question is this: Is her sister accurate, and is it ok to just wing it each day? I agree that my aunt might be a Disney aficionado, but she doesn't use the wheelchairs herself, and therefore isn't the best source for this particular information. I have told my mother my thoughts, but it seems like she is leaning toward going with what my aunt suggested. Any thoughts you all could share would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks much!

 

[Talking Hands]

I really depends on the day and time you arrive. If you need an ECV then you need to plan to come early as they do run out on busy days. Wheelchairs also run out on busy days. Been in that situation.
Also offsite rentals can go with you from the hotel to the parks and everywhere in between. The walk from the parking areas is not that short. Sometimes the walks in resort aren't short either.
I highly recommend renting from offsite. I assures you will have what you need when you need it. Otherwise it is a catch 22 situation. Maybe there will be plenty but maybe not.

 

[SueM in MN]

My DD has her own wheelchair, so we have no personal experience with renting, but I read every post I can find about wheelchairs, plus talking to people in the parks.
Besides what Lisa mentioned, the wheelchairs you can rent in the parks are the sort of heavy duty (and heavy weight) wheelchairs that you find in airports, etc. If you rent from off-site, besides having one available for use at your resort, DD and getting to and from the buses, you can rent a lighter weight, easier to push model. If your mom is not going to drive it at all herself, you might want to look into a companion chair. It's a wheelchair with smaller wheels on the back instead of the set of large wheels you think of on a wheelchair. We spoke to one couple who had one on our last WDW trip. They said it was so much easier to push (because it was very light weight), get in their car, etc that they would never rent anything else again.
Here are the places that DIS posters report renting from:
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

Also, the park evcs are larger, have 4 wheels and many people say they are harder to drive than the smaller 3 wheeled ones that can be rented from off-site.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

In addition to what Lisa and Sue have said, there are several advantages to renting from off-site.

1. It costs less than renting from Disney. The current Disney price for an ECV is $30.00 per day (plus a refundable $10.00 key deposit). You have rto wait in line to get one, and again wait in line to turn it in. The off-site rtentals run $30.00 or less, however Walker, for example, charges only $199.50 for a week. Once it is rented for a week or longer the daily price drops.

2. The ECV is delivered to Bell Services at your hotel and will be there before you arrive. It is picked back up from Bell Services after you leave. The only exception to this is Randy's, which requires you to be there at both end of the transaction -- however they do charge less than the others.

3. You have the ECV available at all times. Some hotel hal;lways are VERY long. It can be quite a hike to some of the rooms at the end of corridors at Boardwalk, Animal Kingdom Lodge and Wilderness Lodge. You also cannot rent an ECV at Downtown Disney, but you can take an off-site rental with you.

4. As mentioned, the ones from off-site have three wheels and weigh a lot less than the Disney ones; they are much easier to turn and control.

Much as you sister has a lot of interest in Disney, we have the knowledge and experience with use of wheelchairs and ECVs.

 

[kyler22]

Thanks to all of you for your thoughts and suggestions. You have confirmed what I already figured to be true. I am going to forward this thread to my mother so she can hear it from some "experts." Hopefully this will convince her!

You all are so helpful and kind!!!

 

[cupcake]

If you are getting a manual wc, I don't think you will have availability issues except at super peak times, which does not seem to be an issue for you (the only time I had a problem was at Epcot at the World Showcase side which has fewer wcs to begin with). The big difference to the WDW wcs is comfort & convenience. The off-site rental ones are like my manual wc at home -- adjustable with nice back and seat support. The WDW manual wcs are very mushy and if you get one where you can adjust the feet or move the foot rests easily, you are lucky -- it can really give you a crick if you sit all day with too-short foot rests. Re convenience, a folding wc is a piece of cake to take with you in a car or WDW transportation when you can leave the wc (not that it isn't fine to manage when you stay in, but it is super easy when you can fold it). Then you have it... no looking for a loaner wc, struggling along to the rental area, etc. You also run a risk of getting a specialty wc (wrong width, leg rest, etc) at the park which you won't from an offsite company. Borrowing from a WDW resort can be iffy. I have done well in getting a wc in decent shape, but others here have not. And if they don't have one, they get one from another resort which can take a good day when you are on your own. The Swan and Dolphin do not have loaners on site, btw.

After 10+ years of renting WDW wcs before I found this board, I cannot recommend strongly enough that you rent offsite. Frankly, the WDW wcs are overall in lousy condition and not very comfortable. Sure, you will be able to get one, but for about the same money, I can tell you that sitting all day in a sling seat that is virtually "u" shaped with no back support, with a very good chance that your legs are in a weird position, is not ideal. (I am 5'4" -- average for a woman -- so it's not like I am very tall or petite, but my legs always ended up in a bad spot!).

Just my 2 cents!

Have a great trip!

Cupcake

 

[dznycrazy]

Depending on where you are staying, your resort may have wc to use. We stayed at OKW with a friend who needed a chair and they gave him a chair free for the length of our stay. Granted, it was not a deluxe chair, but we used a pillow from the couch and he was quite comfortable.

Also a plus was having the chair 24/7 to be able to go to DTD or whereever we wanted whenever we wanted. So, check with your resort to see if they have one for you to use for free (gott'a love that price!).

This April we are going to rent him an EVC though so that someone doesn't get stuck having to push all the time. (Wish the resorts would have those for free too!)

Sandy

 

[SueM in MN]

Even if you choose to get one loaned from your resort (if one is available), I'd still suggest taking the contact info for the different rental companies along.
Some people have been quite pleased with a loaned one from the resort, but others have not had such good luck. First of all, they can't be reserved ahead of time and what you get depends on what they have. Some people have found all that was available was extra wide when they needed narrow (or vice versa). Some have also reported that the wheelchair was not in the best shape. Getting a better (or better size one) has been posted to take anywhere from a few hours to a few days. Whatever you decide, the resort wheelchairs are similar to the park wheelchairs - heavy and not able to be adjusted.