Conflicted...

[dismommy]

My DH, DS an I leave for DW in 4 1/2 weeks although many people have pressured me to cancel this trip. I have been ill over the summer and and have twice recently been hospitalized for passing out and have been suffering from serve headaches. I have decided that we will be taking this trip even if I need to rent a ECV, because my DS was expecting to take this trip last year. My question is this, can anyone rent a ECV or will I need a note from my doctor and once I rent one how hard are they to operate?

[badkitty]

I don't have any answers to your questions but just wanted to say I'm sorry you have been sick. Here is some for your trip.

[Disney4us2]

If you feel the need for an ECV, by all means rent one. Depending on your needs you can rent them at the parks, or rent from an outside company. There are several companies to rent from. You don't need a doctor's note to rent an ECV.

The ECV's are easy to use, but I would go to your local Target or Walmart and practice on their scooters so you get a feel on how they react. Practice backing up and parallel parking.

I will be renting from Apple Scooters in December.

Good luck, hope you have a great trip.

[DisneyPrincess21]

My DH, DS an I leave for DW in 4 1/2 weeks although many people have pressured me to cancel this trip. I have been ill over the summer and and have twice recently been hospitalized for passing out and have been suffering from serve headaches. I have decided that we will be taking this trip even if I need to rent a ECV, because my DS was expecting to take this trip last year. My question is this, can anyone rent a ECV or will I need a note from my doctor and once I rent one how hard are they to operate?

You can rent one without a doctor's note. I would personally recommend renting from Buena Vista Scooters. They have much cheaper prices and much nicer scooters, plus then you will be guaranteed to have an ECV. When you rent in the parks there is no guarantee you will be able to rent one, they sometime sell out fairly early.

Also, the ECV's are not hard to operate. The hardest part of operating them, is having to stop very quickly if someone walks in front of you without looking.

I Hope You Have A Magical Vacation!

[dismommy]

Thanks for the help. We will have a great trip, my DS is really looking forward to it. My Mother really wants me to postpone it, but I'm afraid if we do that it may never happen (and we postponed the trip once already). My health will not hold us back from having a great time, there are some rides I may not ride, but DH will go on with him and he is so excited. We got our Magical Express stickers and our commemorative luggage tags this week so it seems real to all of us now. We can"t wait to be walking down Main Street, smelling the Main Street smell and getting our first glimpse of the castle!

[LVT]

Best wishes. As a side note. I read something about the Disney resort to Park buses no longer allowing the larger sizes of ECV. I do not recall the date deadlines, but I would confirm bus useable if you rent off site.

[ElenitaB]

There are some very large ECVs... including one model that looks like a chopper! It's scary big. Some models simply do not fit on the lifts or in the room alloted for the ECVs/wheelchairs.

I'm sure that the rental companies are all aware of the size restrictions, but here they are for the rest of us as posted on Disney's site:

Many of the transportation systems at the Walt Disney World Resort are accessible to Guests with disabilities. All bus routes are serviced by buses which are equipped to accommodate various types of wheelchairs within the following guidelines: The wheelchair must fit the wheelchair lift without being forced (some motorized chairs and electric convenience vehicles (ECVs) are too wide or too long for the standard bus lift of 32" x 48"), and the wheelchair must be securely fastened in the wheelchair restraints.

I recently rented Apple Scooters most "robust" model and it fit on the busses perfectly. (BTW, their prices beat other companies, including LBV Scooters, by a mile.)

Besides practicing ahead of time at your local Target/Walmart/Costco/grocery store just to get a taste of what a scooter is like (and these models are total clunkers compared to what you will rent), I'd recommend that you take some time at your resort to ride. It will give you a chance to get a feel for the equipment, how it breaks, how it turns, how to accelerate, even try parallel parking next to a chair or a bench.

Last but not least, since you're staying onsite, don't be shy about afternoon rests in your room. It really does help!

I can vouch (as a dear friend once told me) that healing comes in many forms... not just the meds and interventions we get at a dr's office. So have a magical trip!

[DisneyPrincess21]

I know that Buena Vista Scooters company says all of the models are able to fit on the Disney buses.