We are going to the park in October for a family vacation, yay!!
This will be the first time my mom has gone since last November. Last winter, she fell and broke her knee and now uses a walker. When we go to park, she'll be using a wheelchair, because it will just be way too much walking for her. But, I was wondering if you can only rent the wheelchair in the park? It's sort of a far walk for her from the trams or shuttle area to the front gate. She has her own wheelchair, but was wanting to try to rent one of those little scooter ones so nobody will have to push her. Info??

Also, I know some rides accomodate wheelchairs,does this include the ECV's?

I use a company called All in One Medical at 714 956 4690, they will let you call and reserve a 'scooter' and they will deliver and pick it up at your hotel! Their prices are cheaper for a 3 or 4 day rental than walking to the park and renting the ones available there and you don't have to go thru the hassle of checking the EVC in when you leave one park then get a different one at the other park....I've used them for the last 3 years and being very very happy with their service! You have to have your hotel address when you call and a CC .. they don't charge you until they deliver the scooter....good luck and have fun!

The only rides that you can actually stay on the scooter is the Mark Twain and the Monorail "if" the handicapped accesible car is available otherwise you have to wait for the next train....I don't know if the trams/shuttles accomodate the EVCs but I would just ride it from the hotel to the gate and let the family meet me there if that was an issue

I'm slightly spoiled. A really really good friend of mine often uses a wheelchair in the park and as such, has his own chair. It's very lightweight. I have had occasion to push his wheelchair (my 4-year-old loves to push his wheelchair) and it's so lightweight that the two of us can handle it even though this reallyreallyreally good friend of mine is a big, tall guy and Matthew and I are not strong people. ;)

When my husband needed to use a rental chair at the park (he fell at the park, his own fault, and no, we didn't sue Disney,) it killed me. That chair was SO heavy.

So if you're considering renting a DLR wheelchair, just keep in mind, someone's going to have to push that thing around all day- you may want to consider the "lightest-weight" option you can.

Adrienne K

Adrienne...I totally agree, when we bought Brandys chair I told them it had to be less than 30 pounds... the difference is amazing! not to mention that it isn't abused like the park chairs so the wheels all work much better :)

I should've said that when Matthew pushes, our reallyreallyreally good friend helps steering and has his hands on the wheels helping Matthew a bit-- but it's still not too hard to push :)

Adrienne K

Originally posted by SoCalSnowWhite
We are going to the park in October for a family vacation, yay!!
This will be the first time my mom has gone since last November. Last winter, she fell and broke her knee and now uses a walker. When we go to park, she'll be using a wheelchair, because it will just be way too much walking for her. But, I was wondering if you can only rent the wheelchair in the park? It's sort of a far walk for her from the trams or shuttle area to the front gate. She has her own wheelchair, but was wanting to try to rent one of those little scooter ones so nobody will have to push her. Info??


If you are going to be staying at any of the Disney-owned hotels, you can get a manual wheelchair from Bell Services that you can use anywhere in the resort throughout your visit (you pick it up the day you arrive and return it when you leave). They are free, but provided on a first-come, first-served basis. They don't offer the scooters, though.

The wheelchairs that are rented in the parks cannot be removed from the parks. Even if you are park hopping, you have to return the wheelchair at one park and get another one when you get into the other park. Fortunately, the rental is an all-day rental at both parks, meaning that you can obtain another chair at the other park just by showing your paid receipt. At present, they don't provide any wheelchair rentals for Downtown Disney.

For your specific need, one option would be to notify the tram driver at the parking structure that your Mom will need to rent a wheelchair and will likely have difficulty making it from the tram drop-off to the park. They should be able to radio ahead and have someone waiting to help you when you arrive. Typically, one of the CMs from the wheelchair rental will meet you at the tram with a manual chair and escort you to the rental location inside the park.

Since you mentioned that your Mom is recovering from a broken knee, you should also keep in mind that getting on to the tram requires a pretty high step. During a visit last year, my Mom (who has severe arthritis in her knees) was not able to get up onto the tram. This was largely because she was also recovering from a broken shoulder at the time and couldn't get the leverage to help herself onto the tram. Because of this, she had to use the wheelchair van for transportation to and from the parks, even though she wasn't actually in a wheelchair at the time. Don't hesitate to ask for this if you need it. If someone tells you that you have to be in a wheelchair to use the van, insist on speaking to their supervisor. That only happened once during my Mom's visit and the CM that told her that actually got pretty soundly scolded by her supervisor.

-Jeff

Originally posted by mammasilva
The only rides that you can actually stay on the scooter is the Mark Twain and the Monorail "if" the handicapped accesible car is available otherwise you have to wait for the next train...

Small World has a boat that accommodates a wheelchair as well. We rode on it a month or so ago and thought it was a pretty nifty device. It was a manual wheelchair, so I don't know if they would have allowed an ECV on.

Originally posted by JeffG
For your specific need, one option would be to notify the tram driver at the parking structure that your Mom will need to rent a wheelchair and will likely have difficulty making it from the tram drop-off to the park. They should be able to radio ahead and have someone waiting to help you when you arrive. Typically, one of the CMs from the wheelchair rental will meet you at the tram with a manual chair and escort you to the rental location inside the park.

They will do this if they have the staff, but it's not necessarily a guarantee. We did that one time and because it was a busy day (don't remember if it was a holiday or anything or just really busy), they said they couldn't spare a CM to bring the chair out to the tram, so I had to make my way to the wheelchair rental myself.

Just a thought.

Thanks everyone!! My mom is so excited to go, it's been almost a year. Since she's been going about 3 or 4 times a year for the past few years and at least twice a year since I've been born, she's having major withdrawls. I'm sure we'll have a great time, wheelchair and all!!

The link in my signature has a page about some rental companies that provide scooters in Anaheim, in case mammasilva's recommended company doesn't work out. It is a great option, especially for getting around without wearing anyone out as much as you would pushing a wheelchair.