Motorized wheelchair @ parks Q...

[Minnie's Pal]

I have a couple quick questions. My dad has trouble walking long distances. He has major heart problems that he struggles with. If he tires himself out, he is out of "commission" for a few days (and when you are on a short vacation, every day counts.) Last time we went to WDW, we were able to make due with a wheelchair (all of us taking turns pushing him.) I don't think that is going to happen this time due to several reasons. Thus, we are sure we are going to have to rent a motorized wheelchair/scooter at the parks.
Do these chairs rent out extremely fast? I noticed alot of posts mentioned renting outside of WDW, but I don't think that is an option before. It has taken my Dad a long time to except that he needs "help" and so I think him accepting using a wheelchair/EVC in the parks is a great accomplishment (verses him staying behind at the hotel to save up energy.) Anyway, I noticed the info posted on the DIS Home has the EVCs as $30 + $10 deposit, do you get your deposit back when you turn it back in? Another question, if we do have to go with the regular wheelchairs, due to the EVCs being gone, how do you keep someone for "stealing" them when your on a ride? That was another problem last time. We would leave his chair at the designated area and when we returned, it would be gone. I am assuming with the EVCs, you can take a key or something like that out that would disable it.
Sorry for the long post, I am just trying to get this straight so we know what to expect. Any response or advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

The ECVs are $30 with a $10 refund when it is turned in. However, they do often run out of ECVs, especially if you arrive mid-day or later (such as park hopping).

We do stongly recommend using an off-site rental. For fewer than seven days they are the same cost or less than Disney; otherwise definitely less. Also they are available at all times (and some of tghe hotel corridors are very lang). See the "disABILTIES FAQ" for more detailed information.

As far as wheelchairs "walking away" that should not happen. In all situations he should be able to go all the way into a theater or right to the ride boarding area in a wc. If you park it in a stroller area, sometimes a CM will rearrange the strollers and it will be moved a short distance.

 

[SueM in MN]

A lot depends on how busy the parks are when you go (and how many people want ecvs that day). We could not convince my FIL to rent from one of the off-site places on our trip the beginning of April. Luckily, the 2 days he did want to rent (when we went to Epcot and MGM), they still had some left even though we didn't get to the parks until after 11 am.

The scooters (rented from off-site or the parks) have a key. If you need to park the scooter someplace, you take the key with you. That way, no one can take it without the key. If the CMs need to move it, they know how to put the common brands into a "free wheel" mode to push it.

Where you rent from, the words ecv and scooter are interchangeable - they mean the same thing. Power or motorized wheelchairs are different from ecvs and if you ask for a motorized, power or electric wheelchair, you will likley be told they don't rent those unless you already use one at home.