Hi, Donald23!
I'm going to copy in what our fearless leader (our wonderful moderator Sue) posts about off-site rental versus onsite rental.
"Manual (push) wheelchairs and
ecvs can be rented from the parks, but they are first come, first serve and they can sometimes run out. They are unlikely to run out of wheelchairs unless you go during a really busy time, but people have posted getting to a park a few hours after opening and finding all the ecvs were already rented out. The wheelchairs and ecvs are not allowed to leave the park they were rented from. There is no guarantee that one will be available at a second park if you park hop.
The resorts have a limited number of manual wheelchairs to loan, but they don't have ecvs. Some people have reported good expereinces with getting a wheelchair from their resort. Others have found the available wheelchair was not in good condition or not a size they needed. People have reported it took from minutes to days to get a more appropriate one. So, eve if you plan to get one from the resort, it's a good idea to take the rental info along.
Here's a list of off-site 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
http://www.scootaround.com/ Not much feedback. Several people who reported they had no problems.
All of them have had good reports and will deliver to your resort. Randy's requires that you be there when they deliver (which might be an advantage fro someone who has questions or needs a demonstration). The others will deliver and pick up from bell services."
"We plan on getting a wheelchair or
scooter but will he still have to wait in the long lines in the heat or will they let him wait somewhere until we get to the front of the line and he can just met us. What do they do?"
Almost all of the lines at WDW have mainstream queues, so your husband will be able to take his
ECV or wheelchair right into the line with him. Each park has a guidebook for disabilities and that will give you all of the information on how each ride handles wheelchairs or ECV's. Generally if a person is using a wheelchair or ECV, they don't need a Guest Assistance Card because the purpose of that card is to help CM's know what to do with a not visible disability. I need one to wait out of the sun for the very few queues that don't have shade and we wait the same length of time as everyone else, except out of the sun.
If your husband is going to have crutches and rent an ECV from an off-site provider, then ask for a crutch holder with the ECV. This isn't something you can get with the ECV's at the parks, just from an off-site provider.
Any other questions, feel free to ask! I know that somewhere there is a link to an online version of the Disabilities Guidebook, but I have no idea where it is(smile).
Hope you have a wonderful trip!
