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BedknobsandBroomsticks
03-29-2007, 01:29 PM
I've been reading the threads about ECV's and I think we can probably get away with a wheelchair for my mom whose going with us in Oct. She is mobile and in great shape but let's face it, she is 72. She gets tired and her hip has arthritis (not bad) enough to cause pain after alot of walking. She is fighting me on anything because she doesn't want us to spend the money. I am used to pushing a double stroller (er..bus I mean) for the last ten years with darn near 80 lbs. on it at times so I don't think pushin ma in a wheelchair will be any harder. She kinda warmed to the idea when I said to think of it this way "you'll always have a place to sit down when all the benches are full." Now I read in our guide book that you can borrow a wheelchair at any resort, at parks they are $7 a day. 1. Does that mean the borrowed ones are only for the resort? Could we take it on the bus and save the $7 or do we need to rent one at the parks. Don't flame me or anything, I'm not trying to be dishonest, just don't know how it works. Also, Do they have weekly rates for wheelchair rental now, the way they do strollers? Anyone know who's been recently? Any help is appreciated. Thanks.:mickey:

faline
03-29-2007, 01:35 PM
My understanding is that there are not a lot of wheelchairs at the resorts so don't count on getting one there. I also don't believe there are weekly rates for wheelchair rentals.

tink'72
03-29-2007, 01:53 PM
My husband has diabetic foot and we heading to the Kingdom on April 13th. I called to get wheelchair information and the person I spoke with said you can do a weekly rental for a wheelchair. He said it will end up saving you a couple of dollars doing a weekly rental rather then a daily rental. Not quit sure how it works I'll let you know when I get back.:mickey:

kakn7294
03-29-2007, 02:09 PM
I believe that those WC's available at the resorts can be taken to the parks but I've have heard conflicting info about that - some say you can and some say you can't. There is no charge for the ones at the resort, but they will require a credit card to guarantee it's safe return at the end of your stay. The other problem is that they are not guaranteed to have a WC available for your use. If you want to be guaranteed a WC for your use everyday, rent from one of the outside companies. The WC's at the parks are available for a "Length of Stay" price although I don't know what that price is. Those are also not guaranteed even if you have paid for the Length of Stay. Just an FYI, you might still want to consider the ECV just for Animal Kingdom. There are some wicked hills there and it can be difficult to push a WC there. I recently pushed around a double stroller with 110+ pounds of kids in it and let me tell you, it wasn't easy!

Disney Doll
03-29-2007, 02:55 PM
We rented a wheelchair last month for my mother. Weekly rates are available. We paid for the week on day 1 and got a ticket that was stamped for each subsequent day we rented. Renting by the week is a little cheaper. I didn't think you could take a resort chair to the parks, but I could be mistaken. We rented at the parks each morning. I wouldn't worry too much about availability. It always looked like they had tons of chairs for rent. I would worry if you were planning to stroll in at 3:00pm in July, but October is a slower time. We always rented in the morning and the supply looked plentiful.

alliekat
03-29-2007, 10:19 PM
I hope this helps. I was in the same spot you were regarding what to do about renting a wheelchair for my mom. I ended up renting form an outside company called Walker medical. I got their name from a Disney rep. over the phone. I rented it for $60 for the week for an 20" chair. The company delivers to luggage service at the hotel and picks it up a week later. It was so easy. It folded up and we took on the bus and everywhere we went. It was a bit cumbersome, but we more than managed. Here is their website www.walkermobility.com. If you call Disney they will give you some other names as well. Good Luck and Have a Great Trip!!:mickey:

MsMin
03-29-2007, 11:43 PM
We did have trouble finding a w/c at the resorts last Dec. They each have only one or two and they are for the resorts. When we spent our arrival night at the ASMovies, the ASmusic had borrowed their chair. They are a different color than the park chairs and they are not supposed to allow them to leave on the bus or through the gate.
My dd became very ill on our last day last Dec. and they gave us a complementary w/c in the park and they did let me take her to the BWV in the park chair but it was a special circumstance. So you may hear stories that are not the routine. We rented EVC's for my parents 76 and 77 and they were great. We did use an outside source. The great thing about an outside rental is that you can take it from the room/resort to the park.. I would suggest that.

wedoada
03-30-2007, 05:43 AM
I used Walker Mobility for our last trip and can not say enough good things about them. They were great and I plan on using them again in October.

CPT Trips
03-30-2007, 03:57 PM
Do consider renting from one of the off site places. Then you will have the same chair from the time you leave your room until you get back. No waiting in line to rent, being disappointed if they run out . . .

Also, be advised that there are not many flat places in the parks. Everything is on a slope and by the end of the day you will feel like there are no downhills. Seriously all the walking areas slope so that the water runs off when the liquid sunshine comes . . . and then there are the hills just for the looks.