1st timers to WDW, one needs w/c or ecv

[Aunt Terri]

We are taking my inlaws to their first WDW trip, but my mother inlaw needs a scooter or ecv because of bad hips and knees. She can walk for a very short time but could not even begin to do the whole parks without one. She refuses to use one on the bus because she doesn't want to feel in the way. We have only been to WDW once and I don't know what to do about rides and anything else. She won't have one at the resort only at the parks. Do we wait in the regular line or is there another one we have to go to. It's not a problem to wait in the regular line, because she can't ride all the rides due to motion sickness but i wanted to make sure where we are supposed to go. and does Disney have a special card or something that we can reserve ahead of time to make sure we can get a scooter or is it only first come first serve? Thanks all... 50 days till WDW

[WishingStar2006]

The ECVs are first come first serve at each park, unfortunately. If you are going during a busy time of year, sometimes there aren't any left for rental by mid-day. Sometimes, if you ask when you return an ECV at one park to "hop" to another, they will call ahead and ask for one to be held.

Regarding waiting in lines for rides, sometimes the people on ECV's stay in the same line and some don't..they have special entrances for vehicles and wheel chairs. If your DMiL is mobile, which it sounds like she is, you can park the ECV outside the ride que and wait in line with everyone else.

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

Wheelchairs and EVC's are first come first serve...we were there during Christmas and I ended up having some problems and had to rent a wheelchair...they always had plenty but at MK one day ran out of EVCs...this was during Christmas so you should be fine....the Cast Members will direct you in most rides and attractions and the others will have a sign directing you to the correct line.

[wdwfansince75]

When we went last year, DW and our good friend both had ECV's for the week....our friend had had hip replacement surgery 6 weeks before the trip, and really needed the ECV full time. We preplanned by reviewing the Mobility section of the planning pages on allearsnet (Deb's website)...found it encouraged her to do the trip, as it demonstrated how much can be done while chairbound.
The site tells you about all attractions, listing which rides can be enjoyed in the chair, which ones require you to transfer to a ride vehicle, ect....also have special pages of info for ECV's or WC at EPCOT, and at AK.....Check it out, and decide what is best for you.

Biggest problem for us was getting on and off transportation to/from the parks. If she is going to use WC's or ECV's only in the parks, that will not be a problem. We avoided the buses for several days, by taking the ECV apart (they are designed to be taken apart), and using our van to go to the parks....helped that we had a HC sticker.....

[PETE FROM NYC]

Our last trip was March,2007.DW and I both need to use a scooter.My wife had her own,While I had to rent one each day at our park du jour.We always arrived at the parks within the first hour after opening.One morning I had to wait for an ecv to be returned before I got one.Another day,they ran out right after I did get one.
This year we will be driving down,with her ecv in the back of my car,and I will be renting one off site for the duration.
BTW last year I had an electric hoist installed in my car ,it was some of the best money I ever spent.Plus I have an inverter so I can charge it while driving.