Hi there everyone!

I'll be going to DL March 13th by myself, and normally dh pushes me in a wheelchair (I have severe foot problems and can only manage to stand/walk for maybe 2 hours at a time without excruciating pain), so this time I will have to rent one of those ECV things...

My question is - how are those to navigate - I'm kind of nervous with all of those people around -- I've never used one before (cuz it's so expensive compared to a reg wheelchair).

Also, I'd like to be able to walk around some - maybe go through some of the standard queques that I haven't seen in years - is it safe to leave those things parked while I do that? I would hate for it to be swiped while I'm going on a ride...any ideas on where I could safely park one for an hour or so while I go on a few rides??

Thanks!!!

You can park them in/near the stroller parking areas near the various attractions. I'm not sure which queue you want to walk or I could give you a better idea where to park. As for navigation, they'll give you a little 'speech' on how to operate the thing, my advice if you've never used one, turn the little speed dial down to the turtle icon ....that keeps you from going very fast. If you're experienced as being in a wheelchair then you know that people expect YOU to be the one to stop for everyone and they will crash into you and glare back like you are at fault, on the ECV's it's even worse, I actually had ONE girl run into me, I stopped, the friend/family member with her made a rude comment then THEY tripped over the front to the ecv, did I mention I was not moving during either event? yeah....be prepared to dodge foot traffic, take it slow and enjoy the park.

I rented one last February when I was 8 months pregnant and just could not keep it. They are a little hard to get used to at first, but after awhile, I loved having it. If its crowded, it will be a little difficult because, I swear, people have no respect - so many people would step right in front of me, or shove their kids in my path. They stop pretty quickly, but I almost tanked a few people.

Anyhow, I found it to be fine. You can take them in the stores and pretty much park them anywhere. You can take them between parks, but you cannot take them to DTD.

is it safe to leave those things parked while I do that? I would hate for it to be swiped while I'm going on a ride

You need a key to operate the ECV, so just make sure to take the key with you, and you won't have a problem with it being stolen. BTW, if you run into any problems with the ECV, you can talk to a CM, and they'll arrange for someone to bring you another one, provided they still have some available. When I rented one last year, it wasn't working very well - it would start and stop a lot, and I was in the Emporium, so the CM called the wheelchair rental place, and they brought me another one. I apparently also wasn't sitting in the chair correctly (whatever that means), because it's got some sort of sensor thing. I don't know - I asked but the explanation didn't make sense. Make sure you're sitting in the middle of the chair with the small of your back touching the back support. That apparently helps.

And yes, people will step out right in front of you, and even if you're going slowly, you may not be able to stop. I tried really hard not to hit anyone, but sometimes, you really can't help it. I've also noticed that people will congregate at curbs without thinking about it, so you may have to ask people to move out of the way so you can use the curb to get from street to sidewalk without diving off.

If you will be there for several days it is worthwhile to rent one from an off-site company. I was there is November for five days and rented one from Alan's Wheelchairs. It was delivered to the hotel before my arrival and picked up after I left, so I had it available for the entire stay. The rentals are usually three wheel and much easier to manuever than the Disney rentals. They are a lifesave in getting from the hotels to the parks and even around the hotels.