New to ECV and a little nervous

[thebigtrip]

My DM has cancer and is doing chemo. She can not walk far at one time, and we finally talked her into renting an ECV from an outside rental company while at WDW. It will be our first trip to WDW and first experience ever with ECV for any of us. I would appreciate any tips you have. We are staying at the Poly. Do we need to call ahead and tell the hotel about the ECV? Can we leave the ECV outside the restaurants? Please tell me anything else i might need to know. Thanks.

 

[McCall]

no you don't have to tell the hotel they are quite familiar with having them delivered. Most likely it will be waiting for you at bell services.
Yes you can leave it outside restaurants or shops or where ever, TAKE THE KEY WITH YOU you might also want to cover the electronics on the stering post if you leave it with the little shower cap they will give you just in case it rains while you are in some place.
I hope you are booking with Walkermobility they are just so good I always use them now.
does your mom use and ECV now? if not have her use the ones at Walmart or her grocery store to get somewhat accustom to them.
although the ones there are usually 4 wheel while the rentals are 3 wheel and easier to use. but the experience helps. Have her practice backing up as well since you will want to use the busses and other transport and you have to back either on or off.
alternately you could have another family member practice and do the on off of the transportation systems.

be sure to bring the scooter into your room and charge it each time you are in the room, including overnight or if you come back for a rest or whatever.
If you have any other questions just ask.

 

[thebigtrip]

Thank you so much for the info. No she does not use one normally and has not ever but she tires out very very fast. Do you have to drive it on the bus or monorail or can we just push it on? Do you have to wait for special busses or are they all equipped to handle an ECV? And also are there usually more than one ECV or wheelchair waiting to get on the same bus? Sorry so many questions but we I don't want to be too lost when we get there and make my DM feel more uncomfortable.

 

[SueM in MN]

Here is a list of the companies that DIS posters have reported good experiences with:
Care Medical:
http://www.caremedicalequipment.com/
Phone (407) 856-2273 • Toll Free U.S and Canada (800) 741-2282

Walker Mobility:
1-888-726-6837
www.walkermobility.com

RANDY'S Mobility is in Kissimmee 407-892-4777
http://randysmobility.com/

Colonial Medical
http://www.colonialmed.com/about_cms.html
(800)747-0246

http://www.scootaround.com/ Not much feedback. Several people who reported they had no problems.

All of them will deliver and pick up from WDW resorts. Randy's requires that you be there for pick up and delivery; the rest will deliver to the resort and leave it waiting for you. If she might need anything else, like a shower chair. etc, you could arrange for those things from the same companies or call WDW Resort Special Reservations:
(407) 939-7807
(407) 939-7670 [TTY]
They are the part of Disney that deals with special needs requests.

Can we leave the ECV outside the restaurants?

As was mentioned, you can if you want to or you can bring it in. Many of the shops are sort of tight for moving around with an ecv, so many people choose to leave them outside of shops and restaurants.

Do you have to drive it on the bus or monorail or can we just push it on?

Before driving around in the parks, it's agood idea to practice driving at the resort, especially backing and parallel parking type manouvers. Those will come in handy for buses and also for parking in some of the shows.
You can do either. The CMs at the monorail station will direct you to wait in a specific area. When the monorail train comes, they will put down a ramp so that the ecv can be driven right into the monorail car. They will also put down a ramp for you to drive off. Going onto the monorail is a pretty straight shot, so it might be easiest just to drive on.
Some of the buses have lifts and some have ramps.
For the lifts, the bus driver will open the back door of the bus and the steps unfold into a platform, whcih is lowered to the ground. The ecv/wheelchair is either backed or puched on to the platform and then the whole platform is lifted to the height of the bus. After driving or pushing the ecv/wheelchair off, it is tied down with straps at a spot across from the back door. She can choose to stay sitting on the ecv or get off and sit on a bus seat.
The newer buses have a small ramp that comes down from the back door and the bus "kneels" (Sort of leans toward the ground on the ramp side to make the ramp less steep). Wheelchairs/ecvs are driven up the ramp and then tied down across from the door.

Do you have to wait for special busses or are they all equipped to handle an ECV?

All the monorails have wheelchair cars and almost 100% of the buses are ramp or lift equipped. If there is a problem with the lift (which happens occasionally) the bus driver can contact the dispatcher to send a bus to you. While waiting for the bus, wait in the open so the bus driver can see you. Nod or shake your head to let the bus driver know whether or not you want that bus (at the resort, there will be buses going to various locations stopping at the sme stop).

And also are there usually more than one ECV or wheelchair waiting to get on the same bus?

Each bus can hold up to 2 wheelchairs/ecvs. We've been traveling to WDW for 18 years - the past 16 with a wheelchair. In all our tips, I can recall only a handful of times when there has been another wheelchair on the bus with us.

 

[thebigtrip]

SueM you have helped me so much. I feel much better now that I know what to expect.

 

[SueM in MN]

You're welcome (and a "Thank you/You're welcome" from all the other posters too, who make this a useful place with all their answers to questions).

let us know how things went when you get back. That helps the next person who is a little unsire.

 

[eeyorefanatic]

Also bring a light colored towel to lay over the seat, as it gets very hot in the FL sun