Best Place to rent ECV’s??

[Ziggie]

We have recently returned from a weeks stay at the Yacht Club at Disney over Christmas. I usually rent from Gold Mobility but had to use ScooterBug for part of this trip as Gold was closed on Cmas Day. I would like to say that while it was very easy and convienient to rent from ScooterBug, I did not like the scooter at all. They told us it was "brand new" but it did not function properly. The arms would not stay upright when we pushed them back (to ease getting on). There were no extras included on the ECV. However, the biggest drawback is I could literally feel the battery draining as I rode. I did not feel secure that the ECV would hold it's power. It left me feeling insecure. I made sure to carry the charger around in the basket (which took up valuable room). I've never had to do that with Gold. This was my first experience with ScooterBug and, if at all possible, I will not use them again.

 

[Disneylvr]

Also with Gold Mobility, if you call them, you don't have to prepay or even give credit card information, you will just pay upon delivery and they have no cancellation fees if something happens, even day of. And if you are delayed, you can call or text them and they will adjust around your schedule.

I reserved a scooter via phone through Gold Mobility. They took my name, Resort, drop off/pick up times, email address and phone number. As stated above, no credit card was necessary. Will they send an email confirmation? So far I have nothing.

 

[Simba's Mom]

I reserved a scooter via phone through Gold Mobility. They took my name, Resort, drop off/pick up times, email address and phone number. As stated above, no credit card was necessary. Will they send an email confirmation? So far I have nothing.

Don't worry (easy to say, though!) On my last visit I had the exact same situation, and I worried. But the day before my arrival I got a text confirming the time and place, then we texted again when I got on the DME bus. Sure enough, they were right on time.

 

[Euby]

Hi! Can anyone suggest the best place to rent ECV’s?? TIA!

I have rented from Buena Vista and Gold in the past.

I rented from Buena Vista due to their discount via Disboards. My first trip I didn't have any problems. My second time renting from them I had problems. Even though I charged the battery overnight, while at Hollywood Studios (at what would become the entrance to ToyStory Land), the scooter would not keep a charge. Power it on and the needle would go to green. Try to move and it immediately dropped to red. I called their service number and they begrudgingly brought me a "new" scooter. It took over an hour. This was after me checking a few times to see when they would arrive. What they brought look like it had been crashed a few times, and it squeaked horribly (but the battery held a charge).

Next Disney trip rolls around and I was about to rent from them again, but the price really seemed too high for what I had experienced. So I did what a previous poster suggested and did an internet search for ECV rentals in the Orlando area. I created a spreadsheet to compare all of the various companies and what they did and did not include in their price. I started with 16 companies and their various scooters (some companies had different options available for different scooters). So the spreadsheet had over 20 listings and notes pertinent to what I needed. From what I pulled from various companies, based on my needs (a 7-day rental), Gold turned out to be the best option for me.

I have since rented from Gold several times and have been very pleased with their service and their ECV's.

If you (or anyone) are interested, I can send you a copy of my spreadsheet layout. There won't be any data in it (since my data is from 2018), but it'll give you something to work off of for your own search.

 

[Hopefully]

[QUOTE

If you (or anyone) are interested, I can send you a copy of my spreadsheet layout. There won't be any data in it (since my data is from 2018), but it'll give you something to work off of for your own search.
[/QUOTE]
Yes Please
I have already reserved from Buena Vista for our Oct trips, but I am not pleased with their drop off/pick up schedule.
Thanks

 

[Euby]

Yes Please
I have already reserved from Buena Vista for our Oct trips, but I am not pleased with their drop off/pick up schedule.
Thanks

I've sent it via a conversation.

 

[disneegrl4eva]

I just came back and we rented 2 ECVs for 2 days from Scooterbug. It was nice not having to figure out time to be there as we had lunch scheduled as it was a switch day from BLT to BCV. I thought the price was a good one..$63.50 for each.

We scheduled to return them late at night since we were catching DME at 5:45 am. However, we were put in the last room at the end of a very long hall and there was no way it would have been easy to do that walk in the morning.

Bell services were so nice and let us keep them till morning since they would not be picked up that night. Not sure if this is the case for the companies that require to be there Or not.

Is Scooterbug the only company that rents for less than 7 days? I'm not interested in BV because there are wayyyy too many negative reports about them than I care to deal with...I don't care if DIS recommends them or not...

 

[lanejudy]

Is Scooterbug the only company that rents for less than 7 days?

Last I knew, several vendors rented for less than 7 days, though I think the minimum was usually 2 days. One vendor has pricing based on a 7-day minimum, though I believe they will rent for a shorter time but the price is the same. ScooterBug is the only vendor allowed to utilize Bell Services at WDW resorts.

Enjoy your vacation!

 

[Evita_W]

Gold Mobility is the one that charges a flat rate for 7 days, but they now also have some models that they will rent for less than 7 days at a cheaper rate, but I believe you have to call them for those.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

I have rented from Buena Vista several times and have always been happy with it. With the new rules, their drop off and pick up times aren't going to work form we this trip so we are going with scooter bug. We are looking to rope drop on our first on property day and no one that I can find will delivers before 8 am (most start at 9 am) so it is impossible. Our answer is having it delivered the day before by scooter bug.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

Gold Mobility is the one that charges a flat rate for 7 days, but they now also have some models that they will rent for less than 7 days at a cheaper rate, but I believe you have to call them for those.

You have GOT to be affiliated with this company in some way, that much is clear. They are NOT the only company charging a flat rate for 7 days. There are several. They aren't the biggest ones, but they exist.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I think @Evita_W means Gold doesn't have 2, 3, 4, etc day rental rates, that their pricing starts at 7 days no matter how short the customer's need is. And she's said before that she doesn't work for them. She just really, really, really liked that company.

 

[Evita_W]

I think @Evita_W means Gold doesn't have 2, 3, 4, etc day rental rates, that their pricing starts at 7 days no matter how short the customer's need is. And she's said before that she doesn't work for them. She just really, really, really liked that company.

As I said, they didn't used to, they do no on select models, but you have to call them for the 1-6 day pricing and what models are available.

I have rented from Buena Vista several times and have always been happy with it. With the new rules, their drop off and pick up times aren't going to work form we this trip so we are going with scooter bug. We are looking to rope drop on our first on property day and no one that I can find will delivers before 8 am (most start at 9 am) so it is impossible. Our answer is having it delivered the day before by scooter bug.

Just make sure Scooter Bug is now guaranteeing that the rental will be delivered on time and not have several days delay, something they were having issues with when all of this first changed. I am not saying it will still be an issue, just saying make sure you are covered since it sounds like rope dropping is extremely important that first day, I wouldn't leave anything to chance.

You have GOT to be affiliated with this company in some way, that much is clear. They are NOT the only company charging a flat rate for 7 days. There are several. They aren't the biggest ones, but they exist.

I didn't mean to imply that they are the only ones, but they are the only ones I know of that do. And no, I am not affiliated in any shape or form, I just pay attention to what the other scooter companies have been doing and know how much better Gold Mobility handles things. I also pay attention to Gold Mobility's Facebook page, so I am aware when they make changes, such as introducing the shorter rental periods.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I didn't mean to imply that they are the only ones, but they are the only ones I know of that do.

Many of the Disney-area companies offer weekly rates that are more economical than the daily rate times X days.

 

[Evita_W]

Many of the Disney-area companies offer weekly rates that are more economical than the daily rate times X days.

That wasn't what I was referring to, I was referring to the fact that Gold Mobility used to only offer a flat weekly rate and didn't do shorter rentals, but as I have said before they have changed this and now do some shorter rentals as well.

But you are right there are many local companies that offer better rates than in the parks.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

I am glad this thread caused me to take another look. Gold mobility is offering 7am drop off now. They are also a little cheaper than scooter bug for the same rental.

 

[Starwind]

I am glad this thread caused me to take another look. Gold mobility is offering 7am drop off now. They are also a little cheaper than scooter bug for the same rental.

I had a great experience with Gold Mobility when I rented from them in December 2019. Hopefully you will as well.

I had previously used Walker (once, but their tiller design was horrible for my hands) and then Buena Vista (multiple times), but decided to give Gold a try after all the positive reviews on here, even though we only needed it for 2.5 days and at the time I booked it (a year out) was only the 7 day flat rate price, so we paid a fair premium to try them. But IME it was worth it for a basically new scooter with high back that *worked*. Er, and I actually forgot to charge the thing and we still had plenty of power (still in the green zone)...

A comment: we had requested the sun shade, but when I actually saw it in person at delivery I realized it was just to bulky for us, so I asked them to not leave it with us, so they took it off and took it away. YMMV, but if you did request it and find likewise, don't hesitate to ask for it to be removed. We did fine without it.

SW

 

[eeyoreandtink]

I had a great experience with Gold Mobility when I rented from them in December 2019. Hopefully you will as well.

I had previously used Walker (once, but their tiller design was horrible for my hands) and then Buena Vista (multiple times), but decided to give Gold a try after all the positive reviews on here, even though we only needed it for 2.5 days and at the time I booked it (a year out) was only the 7 day flat rate price, so we paid a fair premium to try them. But IME it was worth it for a basically new scooter with high back that *worked*. Er, and I actually forgot to charge the thing and we still had plenty of power (still in the green zone)...

A comment: we had requested the sun shade, but when I actually saw it in person at delivery I realized it was just to bulky for us, so I asked them to not leave it with us, so they took it off and took it away. YMMV, but if you did request it and find likewise, don't hesitate to ask for it to be removed. We did fine without it.

SW

thanks. I am probably going to be switching to them. I am seeing more and more negative reviews of scooterbug. I used Walker for a cruise and the ECV they brought me was old and rickety. It was fine for the ship, but in the parks I don't think it would have made it. I have used Beuna Vista and been happy, but their pick up and delivery schedule doesn't work for me, and i am seeing a lot of negative reviews there as well.

 

[Evita_W]

...

A comment: we had requested the sun shade, but when I actually saw it in person at delivery I realized it was just to bulky for us, so I asked them to not leave it with us, so they took it off and took it away. YMMV, but if you did request it and find likewise, don't hesitate to ask for it to be removed. We did fine without it.

SW

We had done the same with Gold, but with a walker holder, it wasn't so much that it was bulky as it didn't work for the type of walker we had with us (our friend who had the walker had just bought a new walker just before the trip and it would have worked with her old walker, but not the new one, so in no way their fault), they gladly removed it, no issue when we realized, so I would imagine they would do the same for any of the extra optional accessories if they aren't going to work for you.

 

[Evita_W]

I am glad this thread caused me to take another look. Gold mobility is offering 7am drop off now. They are also a little cheaper than scooter bug for the same rental.

Good to know, last time it was 8AM, which was too early for us after a flight getting in at 1 AM anyway, so we had scheduled ba later drop off than that.

I also don't know if ScooterBug includes it, but Gold includes damage and theft insurance with their rentals, if ScooterBug doesn't include that, then that's a factor and most models from Gold also include extras like undercarriage lighting (which makes a huge difference at night), a cup holder, a fan and two USB ports plus an additional accessory for free and many include the upgraded captains chair. I say most have these, because they do have some no upgraded models that they rent a little cheaper and offer shorter rentals periods on now, but the upgrades are well worth the small extra price in my opinion (assuming you are staying for at least 7 days, otherwise it might be worth it to go with the cheaper model)