Strollers, Wheelchairs, and Scooters

Although these three items fulfill two separate functions, we have put them together since they are located in the same spot and dealt with almost identically.

STROLLERS
Also known among the varied throngs in WDW as "battering rams" by the non-stroller crowd and occasional CMs whose heels have "felt the wrath of the beast".

There are four different breeds of stroller: 1) the collapsible type that most folks bring from home, 2) the non-collapsible "jogger" stroller type also from home, 3) the single fixed Disney stroller and 4) the double fixed Disney stroller which doubles as a bed, a shopping cart and a 10 year-old's push-cart.

Essentially the rental strollers are good for one or two days but, if you're staying for a week, it's probably cost effective to go to the local Walmart and buy a collapsible stroller for $30 (that's a one-day rental for a double stroller) and simply dispose of it at a Goodwill store before you go home.

Rental strollers cannot be moved from park-to-park when you hop. You simply turn it in at the exit and show your receipt at the next park entrance and away you go with a new stroller.

WORD OF WARNING #1: When you get your rental stroller, it has your name on it. When guests show up at an attraction, a percentage of them park their stroller like it's a dump-and-run event. There are usually a couple of CMs who spend their shift organizing and re-organizing the stroller heap into lines where they can be easily recovered. When the ride or attraction exits, the abandoners come back to where they dumped their stroller and, instead of looking around, they will just take another stroller and throw away the name tag. So, when you come out, you can't find your stroller. This happens all the time. Just show your receipt and Disney will happily give you another stroller at no charge.

WORD OF WARNING #2: Based on the above you really don't want to leave anything on your trolley/shopping cart/stroller that you won't be upset about losing. Definitely don't leave cameras, wallets, purses, tickets or bags of plush toys. Some folks are so busy grabbing the stroller, they don't even take the time to make sure it's empty first.

I have heard of some folks who leave a full diaper in their stroller to deter their stroller being harvested by these lazy folks. Not recommended, but I bet it's effective.

WHEELCHAIRS
Available at the front of the parks, wheelchairs are available for those with mobility or stamina issues. Note that stamina was the second choice. That's because a lot of 80 year-olds are quite spry and are more than capable of walking off the ferry, up Main Street and probably for the first hour or so but, quite soon thereafter, their internal batteries are going to start running down and it's a great idea for mom to be able to sit down and let junior burn off some energy pushing her around the park. Current rates for a standard wheelchair is $10.00 per day. A rate of $8.00 per day is available if you ask for an extended-stay rate.

Wheelchairs are also available for rent at your Disney resort.

SCOOTERS (ECVs)
These are offered at the park entrances but availability is strictly limited. Sadly Disney, along with other parks, doesn't have a policy of medical necessity so, essentially, anyone who has been affected by the lazy stick can show up, pay their lazy fee (currently $45 per day) and take an ECV potentially to the exclusion of a guest for whom an ECV is a necessity. We've seen older guests sitting on benches in obvious distress, unable to get an ECV, while someone is walking along behind their child driving the ECV as a toy. Hmmm!!!

In addition to the daily charge, there is a refundable deposit of $20.00 in the parks and $100 if you are at Downtown Disney. You must return the ECV to the place from where you rented it at the end of the day.

You cannot rent an ECV from Disney at their resorts but they have no problem with guests ordering scooters from outside ECV providers and having them delivered to your resort. That may be a good option to ensure that you have a scooter available when you need it.

Last Updated: May 9, 2009