ECV Questions

[KelNottAt]

Hello.

I have questions about ECVs:

How difficult is it to rent an ECV at the parks? That is, must we be there before opening to make sure we get one?

If it's better to rent our own and bring it along from the resort to the park, is this difficult to manage? I mean, how does one get the ECV on and off the Disney bus, etc.?

What is the weight limit for an ECV? I'm wondering if my dad will fit. (He's 6'3", 270 lbs.)

Thanks.
Kelley

 

[Cheshire Figment]

For the off-site rental, which are better than the Disney ones, there are usually 300 pound limits, although the heavy duty will go to 400 pounds. I am 6'2" and just under 300, mine is a former rental.

Usually there are few if any problems related to buses. Look for some posts started by "Chip and Dale Express" which will give more information.

The Disney daily rate has just gone up to $35. Depending on how crowded the parks are you may not have to be there first thing in the morning.

 

[RaySharpton]

Hello.

I have questions about ECVs:

How difficult is it to rent an ECV at the parks? That is, must we be there before opening to make sure we get one?

Hi, Kelley. I defer to Mike and the many other here like Sue for their experience.

But I have been renting WDW ECV's for over seven years and I usually go during the slow crowd times.

There have been times when I didn't have a problem renting a scooter, and other times that that they were all gone at a particular park like MK after only two hours after park opening.

I really haven't figured out how to tell which days that there will be a large number of people wanting to rent scooters on any particular day or week.

If I really wanted to make sure that I wanted a scooter for a particular day because of DIS meets, etc., I would get there at park opening and I was able to rent a scooter.

If I went to another park the same day, like Epcot to watch Illuminations, it could be hit or miss. But I have been mostly lucky at this. I have usually seen people returning scooters after 5pm when I was there. But then again, unless the WDW has charged scooters to give out, that doesn't necessarily meant that you can use the person's scooter that they are returning if it is low on charge. At Epcot, I like to enter at the International Gateway to rent a scooter in the afternoon, if I have already rented one earlier at another park.

For some reason, I have always had a problem renting a scooter at MGM if I arrived several hours after opening. Maybe thay don't carry as many. And the walk to Fantasmic and back is a very long walk for me.

If it's better to rent our own and bring it along from the resort to the park, is this difficult to manage? I mean, how does one get the ECV on and off the Disney bus, etc.?

I have been meaning to write a report on this very subject, but I just haven't yet. WDW, in my opinion, is very scooter friendly. Even thourgh I drove down to WDW, I rented a scooter to be used the whole time at WDW, including all of the WDW transportion.

I found that their was one lift type bus that I seemed to like, even though it took a little time to learn how to drive on backwards. When I was out all day, I didn't have to worry about lack of power going up a ramp.

Which brings me to the other two buses with ramps. One of them is very good. The bus leans down and a ramp slides out to enter.

But there is another bus with a ramp that seems to be steeper and a lot more narrower, and this is the one that I disliked the most. Sometimes it was to steep and I didn't have enough power. And it ramp was to narrow, much more narrow that the other bus with a ramp. It seemed as narrow as the bus with the lift.

But it was very convenient and I had a great time using the bus system and boat system. And the best thing is that once at the resort, I could drive to the room, or at the park, drive from the bus to the park entrance where everyone else was renting a WDW ECV, if it was available.

What is the weight limit for an ECV? I'm wondering if my dad will fit. (He's 6'3", 270 lbs.)

Thanks.
Kelley

As Mike said most are for a 300-lb. weight limit. I would suggest that you just ask the rental company what would be best not only for his weight, but for his height.

Sue has great rental info in a sticky at the top of this forum board, and I have a newbie thread somewhere in here...lol.

I would rent from an outside agency.

Sincerely, Ray

 

[katrini111]

My husband and I rented one off site from Walkers last year. It was cheaper than the parks, and felt reassuring to know we would definately have one, for he couldn't have walked.

 

[fran99999]

Just an FYI.

When I was at MK this past May05 I overheard a CM tell a guest that the EVC that had just been returned would not be available for either 2-3 hours ( HMM I forget which). He further stated all EVC that were returned had to be recharged for this time period. If they wanted they could come back in that timeframe to see if the EVC was available to rent. He then gave them 2 Wheelchairs to use. Both of these guests had severe walking issue even with the crutches they were using.