Disney Planner specializing in mobility guests

[erikjscott]

I was wondering if anyone is (or has worked with) a Disney vacation planner that maybe had experience or even specializes in planning trips for customers with severe mobility issues.

We are going to be 6 adults, one 4 year old and a 15 month old. One of the adults cannot walk and will need a scooter so I want a planner to help me navigate best hotels, travel options to park, logistics inside of the parks, etc.

 

[Selket]

I was wondering if anyone is (or has worked with) a Disney vacation planner that maybe had experience or even specializes in planning trips for customers with severe mobility issues.

We are going to be 6 adults, one 4 year old and a 15 month old. One of the adults cannot walk and will need a scooter so I want a planner to help me navigate best hotels, travel options to park, logistics inside of the parks, etc.

I haven't seen a vacation planner like this mentioned but it might be good to try some travel agents that specialize in just WDW to see if they can offer advice. There are also the FAQ threads pinned above and I think they may have some helpful info.

Is the person you mention completely unable to walk or are they able to walk a few steps? Are they bringing their own power chair or (if able to walk some) renting an ECV? You mention unable to walk and renting a "scooter" - which to me at least - means an ECV and usually someone unable to walk at all would use a power chair. You may get some recommendations/help on this board as well and letting us know which one could help since rides (and maybe even the hotel room) are different if you cannot walk at all (can they transfer?) vs. a few steps or a short distance. I personally use a scooter (ECV) at the parks but I don't get a handicapped room and I can walk/stand for a bit.

 

[erikjscott]

I haven't seen a vacation planner like this mentioned but it might be good to try some travel agents that specialize in just WDW to see if they can offer advice. There are also the FAQ threads pinned above and I think they may have some helpful info.

Is the person you mention completely unable to walk or are they able to walk a few steps? Are they bringing their own power chair or (if able to walk some) renting an ECV? You mention unable to walk and renting a "scooter" - which to me at least - means an ECV and usually someone unable to walk at all would use a power chair. You may get some recommendations/help on this board as well and letting us know which one could help since rides (and maybe even the hotel room) are different if you cannot walk at all (can they transfer?) vs. a few steps or a short distance. I personally use a scooter (ECV) at the parks but I don't get a handicapped room and I can walk/stand for a bit.

My mother uses a rollator walker with a seat on a daily basis - she has never used an ECV. However, she can only walk maybe 20-25 feet with her rollator walker (she can't walk well unassisted) before she sits on the chair of the rollator to take a break for a few seconds. She has severe hip and lower back arthritis and is significantly overweight which is why she could never make it through the parks without the ECV.

She won't be bringing her own device (I don't even know the difference between an ECV or Power Chair - should I be looking into that?). She doesn't do steps and can't lift her leg very high so she would want a handicap room for the shower usage.

 

[gap2368]

She won't be bringing her own device (I don't even know the difference between an ECV or Power Chair - should I be looking into that?). She doesn't do steps and can't lift her leg very high so she would want a handicap room for the shower usage.

I would go with an EV a power wheelchair has a joy stick and can be very hard to drive and most place will not drop off one who dose not use one in every day life.

I need a ECV for the first time my next trip and I have gone with golds they had the best price for me and three review are great, any accessible room will fit an ECV in it but the deluxe resorts would have more room the value ones

 

[serenitynow]

I would go with an EV a power wheelchair has a joy stick and can be very hard to drive and most place will not drop off one who dose not use one in every day life.

I need a ECV for the first time my next trip and I have gone with golds they had the best price for me and three review are great, any accessible room will fit an ECV in it but the deluxe resorts would have more room the value ones

I have used both and i agree a power chair has a higher learning curve. We have used Gold Mobility for ECV rental numerous times. They are the best. The scooters are in brand new condition, they come with a fan and cell phone holder / charger. Good prices, excellent customer service.

If you need more room for the ECV at a Disney resort, housekeeping can take out the table. Have fun!

 

[SueM in MN]

My mother uses a rollator walker with a seat on a daily basis - she has never used an ECV. However, she can only walk maybe 20-25 feet with her rollator walker (she can't walk well unassisted) before she sits on the chair of the rollator to take a break for a few seconds. She has severe hip and lower back arthritis and is significantly overweight which is why she could never make it through the parks without the ECV.

She won't be bringing her own device (I don't even know the difference between an ECV or Power Chair - should I be looking into that?). She doesn't do steps and can't lift her leg very high so she would want a handicap room for the shower usage.

Most of the equipment companies will only rent power wheelchairs to people who are already used to using them.
ECVs are also called mobility scooters and are more intuitive to use than power wheelchair. They have a throttle that is activated to drive it and are steered & turned with a yoke/handlebars similar to steering a bicycle. Like a bike, where you point the front tire(s) is the direction you will go. There is a lever or additional control that needs to be activated to back up. Speed is controlled within a range by a lever or dial (often marked ‘rabbit’ for fast and ‘turtle’ for slow); it controls how fast the ECV can go within the range. Most people pick up on using an ECV pretty quickly - just remember that turtle is your friend!

Power wheelchairs have a longer learning curve for most people.
Everything is controlled with a single joystick at the same time - turning, speed, going backwards or forwards. If you think of the joystick control like a sideways clock face, pushing the joystick straight toward the 12 will go straight forward, 6 straight back. Pushing the joystick toward the 9 turns to the straight left, pushing toward the 3 goes straight left. Pushing the joystick any way on the top of the clock face between 9 and 3 will turn sideways to a smaller degree. Pushing any way on the bottom of the clock between 3 and 9 will go backwards. If you keep pushing the joystick the same direction, it keeps turning in that direction to eventually make a full circle. There is a speed control (also usually rabbit and turtle) that sets the top speed; how fast it goes within that speed setting depend on how far you push the joystick.
Many people have trouble going straight - a tiny change from pushing straight forward will turn it. Backing can also be difficult -

 

[disney-inspired]

I was wondering if anyone is (or has worked with) a Disney vacation planner that maybe had experience or even specializes in planning trips for customers with severe mobility issues.

We are going to be 6 adults, one 4 year old and a 15 month old. One of the adults cannot walk and will need a scooter so I want a planner to help me navigate best hotels, travel options to park, logistics inside of the parks, etc.

This makes me realize that this is a niche market that hasn't really been addressed. My friend is starting as a travel agent soon and she uses an ECV, so I'm going to bring this up to her to see if that's something she wants to emphasize in her marketing b/c it is a lot of info to process and having someone with personal experience could be super useful to others as well.

 

[Selket]

My mother uses a rollator walker with a seat on a daily basis - she has never used an ECV. However, she can only walk maybe 20-25 feet with her rollator walker (she can't walk well unassisted) before she sits on the chair of the rollator to take a break for a few seconds. She has severe hip and lower back arthritis and is significantly overweight which is why she could never make it through the parks without the ECV.

She won't be bringing her own device (I don't even know the difference between an ECV or Power Chair - should I be looking into that?). She doesn't do steps and can't lift her leg very high so she would want a handicap room for the shower usage.

As others have said, she'd want to rent an ECV. The FAQ stickied at the top of this forum has a lot of good info on renting and usage of ECVs (and other mobility devices) in the parks. If she can transfer from the ECV to the ride that will give her many more options for rides. And there may be rides she would want to avoid - like Frozen - where you have to step down into a boat. Some rides have a boat that can take a wheelchair (not an ECV) so you might check those out if there are rides she'd want to do but cannot handle the step. I am able to transfer and step up and down into rides so I don't know those as well. I think all that info is in the FAQ. There is usually not much distance from where you park the ECV to where the ride is but it could be 20 steps - like walking across a room or two of your house (well my house haha! it's not large).

Moving walkways - like Haunted Mansion - may be an issue to consider as well. Some of them (all?) can be stopped if she cannot do them. Cast members are helpful - you can always ask as you get close to an attraction what to do so you don't have to keep it all up in your head for every ride.

I typically rent from Gold Mobility - Scooterbug is the only one that can drop off with bell services. I presume you are staying on site? It would be more difficult to be off site and rent an ECV. These places do rent portables but they have a lower battery life the heavier a person is. I think the websites have info on recommended weights for their different ECVs but you can always ask the person when you call what they recommend based on your mother's weight. If she is concerned about driving the ECV into the Disney bus, a family member could do it for her or usually the bus driver will help. There are many threads here about ECV usage on busses.

I'm sure folks here will be happy to help answer your questions if you're not able to find a travel agent. Using an ECV in the parks has given me a HUGE amount of freedom to enjoy a vacation with my family and do everything they do. I have badly arthritic knees (soon will start getting them replaced) and WDW is the only place I can vacation and really enjoy myself without limits.