OK let's answer your questions in backwards order - I'm feeling frisky tonight!
- Rent or buy?
Rent if:
You *only* need the scooter at WDW, and you will need it less than an average of 20 days per year. It's just a numbers game, really.
Buy if:
You find that increasingly you need a scooter at WDW, *and* other places (like shopping, going to events, museums, outings.)
If you get the "ick" from a rental.
You believe you will need the device more than about 20 days per year (the break-even is different for every person, and the specific device they want to buy)
- Wheelchair or scooter? Or open to other suggestions.
This is a really personal decision, but let's just consider these factors before you make a decision.
Manual Wheelchair: A manual wheelchair is not for the faint-of-heart - or the weak of arms! Most folks who rent a wheelchair for Disney and think they will just manually propel themselves around Disney drop that idea by day 2, if not before. If you like feeling like your arms are made of fettuccine, get a manual chair! Average weight of a manual chair can start at about 16 pounds for a lightweight chair and go up from there.
Power Wheelchair: A whole different critter; most of these look nothing like a "standard" or manual wheelchair. Battery operated, typically joystick controlled. Don't worry about flashy or fancy features here - what you want is something that will take an incline well, has *solid tires* and ideally removable battery charging (so that you don't have to take the chair out of the car just to charge the batteries). Average weight of a power chair will start around 50 to 65 pounds and go up from there. Ultra-lightweight chairs exist, however you typically give up battery life or power for weight. Don't buy from
Amazon; it's important to test drive first!
Scooter: 3 wheels or 4? Always a big question; my personal feeling is 3 wheel scooters are far more nimble in the tight turns of some of the queues at WDW. As long as you don't try to play Lightning McQueen, you'll be fine. 4 wheel scooters are sometimes preferred by folks who are concerned about stability, but you have to work pretty hard to tump over a 3-wheeler. A small bonus here is that the second and third category scooters below tend to have "tiller" style steering that can be quite precise. There are roughly 3 classes of "scooters" (or what Disney calls an
ECV)
1. Golf cart/multi-passenger style scooters. Banned at WDW, and most events, fairs and venues, these are great for places like The Villages where everyone is driving around in some kind of cart. Disney has a rule: 1 seat, 1 person when it comes to
ECVs, so we will move on to...
2. "Traditional" or "Granny" style scooters. These are what most rentals look like; basically nowadays they are the evolved descendants of the grocery store motorized shopping cart scooter beast. Most of them are quite comfortable, even for all day use. For Disney, they must be fully charged overnight to make sure you have enough battery for the next day. (Always charge your scooter in your hotel room; never leave out in the hall, or breezeway). Very few cons to these, other than weight - most of them weight enough that they come apart, with the heaviest part weighing about 50 pounds. The average seems to be 4 pieces. Overall they will assemble fairly easily, but at the end of a long day, it may be the last thing you want to do in a parking lot when it's dark... Obvi, if you plan on using Disney Transportation, you don't have to worry about disassembling the device; just riding it onboard and parking it safely.
3. "Ultra light" or "light weight" scooters. These vary in quality, weight, durability, and battery life. My own personal experience is with the
TravelScoot brand; Those weight less than 35 pounds with the battery, and the current model folds flat for storage; the battery can be charged off the scooter. There are very few cons here as well; primarily it will be comfort; you typically dont' get armrests or high back seats with this category. Additionally, many of them don't have a lot of onboard storage. Average weight is typically below 40 pounds for the entire unit, and many of them can just be lifted into the back of an SUV, and strapped into place for safety.
Bonus extra - Rollator: Nope, you didn't ask, but here we are anyway - the Rollator. Some folks call these a "granny cart" or a "seated walker" but what these are really is... great. You have the benefits of a walker (something to hang on to while you walk, to help steady your gait) *and* there is a built in seat, typically with a storage bag or basket as a bonus. The most expensive ones (without getting into carbon fiber and bespoke accommodations) are about $200, and the average weight of one - regardless of if it folds side-to-side or back-to-front - starts at about 16 pounds, and goes up.
Rollators work everywhere at Disney that any other mobility device does, and are a great solution if you just need to have a seat with you all the time. No batteries to charge, and they fold to take very little space in the hotel room. Like all other mobility devices, they will fly for free on all domestic airlines as medical equipment.
- Are there any specific etiquettes that I should be aware of?
Oh... Well, here we are; So, you are going to be nice, and polite as you move through crowds... you will want to be positive, smile and make sure you say "Excuse me!" or "Coming through"! in a pleasant voice. Remember that folks will literally overlook you. You will basically be at butt-level all day, so ideally have your family or travel party form a "bubble" around you so that you have a human screen against those who might just walk straight into you (yes, *into* you, as in WHAM, right into you) and then blame you. (and yes, they will). Children are blissfully unaware of the laws of physics, and do not realize that most devices won't actually stop on a dime, so you have to be very vigilant for them. At Disney, folks will tend to be helpful, holding doors, carrying trays, etc. and most of the time it's easier to let them "help" you, even if you are capable of doing it yourself. It takes less time than trying to convince them that you can, indeed, deal with that door all by yourself!
As your family/travel party "Bubbles" around you, try to stick to the right side of the sidewalk or street, and allow them to create cover for you on 3 sides; then you only have to watch out for the right side, and folks trying to enter the flow of traffic.
Anytime you want to park a device and walk away from it, you can ask any CM you see where to park. If you come out and your device is moved, don't worry, they just tidied up the area, and your device will be there somewhere.
Overall, take it slow, and stay alert, and you will be fine. If you use a rental, take a few minutes either outside the Park, or in a quiet(er) spot to get used to it, and practice cornering, backing up, etc. Any time you board Disney Transportation, "turtle" (slowest speed) is your friend. Save "rabbit" for racing your kids at the Resort Hotel!
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Is there a list somewhere that shows which rides accommodate wheels in line and which needs to be parked/where to park them?
Yes! At the moment, I am going to refer you to
this page at the Disney World website. Be sure to click the sort button that says "Accessibly & Advisories" to make sure you see what you need to see.
Additionally, any time you have any question about how the queue works, or what to expect, just ask the nearest CM, and they will help you. The vast majority of the queues at WDW are mobility device friendly, and you will have no problem at all. Pirates at MK is one that always comes to mind; you will have to leave your mobility device and use an attraction-provided wheelchair. (Remember, you don't have to ride in it - you can walk behind and push it if you want to.)
OK - there you go. If this has all created more questions, that's absolutely no problem! We don't gatekeep info here, so ask away!