Mobility Scooter

[Whisper]

So my husband has a debilitating spinal disease and walking for more than 5-10mins is extremely painful for him.
We will need to hire/use a mobility scooter when visiting the parks.

I’m just not sure how to go about this.
Do the parks issue them out for free with a deposit or would I need to book in advance?
Ideally we would have one we could take from the airport as we would like to park hop.

Any advice or tips gratefully received.
Thanks

[dvc]

I always rent a scooter from Walker Mobility. They are good value for. money and will deliver. The small ones fit on all Disney transport and will go in a car trunk if dismantled (not difficult). I don’t get one in the parks as they are expensive, very big and not easy to manoeuvre plus you can’t take them out of the parks. I get a three wheeler because I find them easier to use but they can be a bit tricky if you’re not used to them. You will need to request assistance from your airline to get a wheelchair and assistant at the airport as I’ve never seen scooters for hire. They are generally rechargeable overnight. I’ve used hotel corridors and even restaurants if the charge is getting low. I find an overnight charge generally lasts all day in the parks. Good luck.

[Mo&Chris]

Similar to dvc, but we use K&M. I believe the deliver to your hotel, not sure about the airport, however we basically pass it most days, so pick up and drop off ourselves.

Everyone will have their own company they recommend, the one I'd steer clear of is Apple, as we saw several of theirs last trip and the wheels looked very dangerously worn.
/Mo

[Jennywren]

OP how does he manage at home - does he use a scooter at home if so he could take this with him? - You may not be aware that airlines will transport this for free.

Is this going to be his only trip if so there are many rental companies you can hire from that will deliver a scooter to your hotel or villa and this works out much cheaper than hiring at the parks.

If not and his problems are only likely to get worse you may want to consider buying a scooter in the uK and taking this with you - so you will have it for future use as well. Betterlife at Lloyds Pharmacy have a good range at reasonable prices, and with his degenerative condition he would be eligible for VAT exemption. Forgot to say in my opinion it is not that much more expensive to buy rather than rent.

[Cosworth]

Disney charge $50 per day for hire of a scooter, plus deposit.

[Whisper]

Thanks all for your replies.
I have looked at the websites mentioned and will make some enquiries.

To answer some questions.

He does not use one at home yet unless we plan long days out in which case he hires them. If we have a busy day in the UK then he tends to rest for several days after but this will not be possible as we have lots to fit in this trip.

Also he is young and feels jugdged using a scooter in the UK. So we would like to hire one for now.
It means that although he will be in pain it will hopefully be more manageable and we can all enjoy the trip and long days out.

[Johnsonsontour]

My DH has MS (54) we had to use one for the first time on our last visit, he was very embarrassed about the whole thing but it’s too big a holiday to manage without... We used Florida Mobility Rentals, it’s ran by a British family, really good prices & lovely to deal with... He had a Go Go Sport 3 wheeler which he felt less conscious with... We soon got in a routine of taking the battery in every evening to charge overnight & pop back in the car in the morning...