Traveling with Elderly Mother

[Guya103]

We go to WDW every summer. This year we will be taking my elderly mother along. We will need to rent an ECV for her. How does this work? Are there any complications? Do they seem to be readily available? Any help or suggestions are appreciated!

[biodtl]

You may wanto to consider renting one from an outside agency. It will be less expensive and you will have it for your entire stay (they deliver it to the resort).

If you rent in the parks, your mom will have to walk to and from bus stops and parks (which can be a haul in some cases), and will have to stand a lot.

If you rent them by day in the parks, there is no guaratee that one will be available - when we got to a park at 11:30, they all were gone.

[Marilyn Michetti]

There are a number of outside agencies that will deliver and pick up ECV's so she would have use of it the whole time. I've never been to Disney in the summer, but I imagine they can "run out" during busy times. Also, I think the ones from the outside rentals are newer, smaller, and definately more attractive than the truck sized ones at Disney.

Most importantly, go to a scooter store in your area and ask for a demonstration. They'll be happy to do it, and will show mom how to back up, adjust the speed, and maneuver in small areas. I've seen soooooooo many sweet older folks literally "hit the wall", or worse, jam a leg against something.

I hope she has a wonderful time. That's lotsa walking in the heat.

[disneymom15]

Terri Sue from Magical Journeys set us up for Aug. trip. We have 2 people who will need EVC's. We paid extra to have the canopy model. It was $30 per day plus $40 for canopy and insurance (one time fee).

[MsMin]

Have you thought about any other needs you may have for the trip? special diet or traveling needs.
I'm taking my dad again in Oct. and he has parkinson's, has had 3 strokes and is diabetic.
We have to make sure he stretches his legs every 3 hours (which is more a problem traveling). watch his diet, which amazingly the last time his sugars ran low even with an occasional cheating, He doesn't thermo-regulate as well as most so to know that he gets chilled at 60 degrees to I pack blankets and jackets for the cool nights. I pack a foam wedge to elevate his feet at night, make sure we are in a room w/ a fridge for his meds etc.
Anything else we can help with?
I do rent the EVC's from outside, not only do we save but the convenience of having it there than to struggle to get to the park is so much easier. I am considering bringing our own WC b/c we had trouble finding one at the resorts if we hoped in the car and didn't want to take the EVC.

[Guya103]

Thank you for asking. My mother is 75 and because of a heart condition she can't walk long distances. She would not need to take the ECV to the rides, on boats, etc. She would simply need it to travel through the park and then park it oustide in a general area that was close. I don't want her to feel self-conscious about it. We tell her that the most important thing is that she can still go and do with us. She has not been in over a decade so the kids, DH and I are very excited for her! We have been thinking about all of the wonderful things that she will love. Can you park an ECV where you park strollers? Any other helpful tips would be appreciated! Thanks for your kindness and concern.

[MsMin]

You can park the EVC near stroller parking. The only thing that you need to be aware of is that the parks can run out of EVC's sometimes pretty early depending on the crowds at the parks so you can get there by 10 and have none available
It sounds like your mom is more like my mom... she just can't walk all day and keep up with my dad on the EVC but we get them from outside b/c we have had trouble renting from WDW b/c of the limited #'s. Honestly it is a real pain to travel on the buses with the scooters but worth it over a day w/o one.