Has Anyone Rented a Wheelchair/ECV Recently? About This Page:

[stonewall]

The new regulations have taken effect, and you are now supposed to have to produce an MD's note to rent a wheelchair or ECV at one of the WDW parks. Have any of you had experience with this? Please let us know how the process went; did the CM's ask for your note or did you just have it ready,did it take longer to go through the rental process, etc.? Do you feel there was a need for this change? Share your thoughts,please.

[Yoopermom156]

Last week I rented an EVC without a DR. note. Didnt know I needed one. I did have a note anyway from my dr. for a guest assistance pass and Hopefully if they had asked the letter would have also applied. I have severe panic attacks, agorophobia, heat sensitivity, asthma and arthritis in my knees. The wheelchair is for my knees and the heat makes my asthma worse for some reason. THe guest assistance pass is cuz I have extreme difficulty being in line anywhere. Too many people, too confined, no escape. Also the GAC, is because my medication makes me heat sensitive and I get sick. It is supposed to allow for a seperate waiting area away from the crowds and out of the sun.
Anyway, I didnt see them asking anyone for a Dr note for EVC or wheelchair rental. I do agree that its time for them to require it. I too have seen many people hopping in and out of chairs when getting in lines.

Dawn

[RocklandRVers]

We are renting an ECV from Walker since one of our party has problems with stamina. She can walk short distances and even stand in short lines on good days. We were just wondering how it works with an ECV. Do you leave it somewhere to stand in line or take it with you up to the point where you get on the ride? Is the exit close to the entrance so it is easy to pick up the ECV? Do most rides have special ECV/Wheelchair entrances?

Any advice is appreciated.

[lalapodip]

This is an interesting twist for my situation - DS is not physically handicapped - he is severely autistic. We needed to rent a wheelchair for him at WDW because he refused to walk! He certainly looks able-bodied and "normal" to the untrained eye, and people may have thought that he didn't NEED the wheelchair because sometimes he'd get out of it. [img]images/icons/rolleyes.gif[/img]

I am fairly confident that my doctor would write the note, so I am just glad that I read here that a note might be required. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] We didn't need the note to get the GAC since it is pretty obvious that DS is handicapped when you try to talk to him. Reminder to self: always be prepared!! [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

[SleepingB]

I wonder what they would do in my DH's situations last year? You may remember he sprained is knee in the airport running to make our connection. We wrapped his knee, but didn't see a doctor.

If they can tell someone needs one will that be good enough?

I do agree that I saw lots of wheelchairs used incorrectly. I even saw two older children(probably 7 and 9)sharing one. It looked like the Mom rented that instead of a stroller because the kids were older. It could be possible that they neede it, but I don't think so in this case.

Just wondering,
SleepingB

[dsny4me]

What new regulations are these? I just got back from WDW and had rented an ECV from an outside company. My cousin rented an ECV a couple days in the parks and I don't recall anything being asked for to qualify the rental.

I also had a GAC which they issued the same as one I had from a prior trip. Will you need a dr.'s note for the GACs, too?

[dsny4me]

RocklandRVers, many attractions now mainstream the wheelchair guests into the regular entrance. At some attractions, you can wheel the ECV right through the line. At others, you need to transfer to a wheelchair or walk. Some exits are closeby to where the ECV was left; others not so close.

Guest Services has disabled guidebooks which detail the different requirements of the shows/attractions.

I find it very easy to just find a CM at the attractions and ask them the proper means of entering when using an ECV.

[stonewall]

Well,I'm certainly glad that I asked! WDW was supposed to institute a policy that requires folks renting a wheelchair/ECV in one of the parks to have an MD's note stating need.This should help with the shortage of accomodations and the abuses that we have all seen.In case of an accidents such as those that might happen on vaction, I would assume that a few words with the CM at Guest Servides would suffice- one would hope that the people wouldn't stoop to wrapping memebers of their parties up in Ace bandages just to be able to use the FastPass entrance to an attraction! [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] I would think that it would be wise to carry a note from your doctor that just states who needs the wheelchair/ECV and why. Nothing complicated, just a line or two. As for attractions themselves, a CM may or may not be easy to find in the throng, but at places like Peter Pan and Winnie the Pooh, you can see where to leave the vehicle, if you can navigate far enough to get to the FastPass line, you can just proceed there if you have one of the Special Needs passes and board. If you don't have one, you'll have to use the regular line. Some attractions require you to transfer from your ECV to a wheelchair for the ride itself, or they may be able to slow/stop the entire ride for you to board( i.e.Spaceship Earth). The Disabilites pamphlets that are availble from each park are very helpful and provide information about each ride and its accessability and what to expect. It is said that Disney will not mail them to you on advance, but if you are very concerned and have a genuine need, take a moment to call and explain; they have been very kind to me and sent them to me before our first trip after my RA hit. I was terrified of the whole idea, and the booklets were very informative. I will try to fond mine and be able to post information about any attractions that you may be curious about.

[dsny4me]

Thank you for clarifying, Stonewall. I thought you meant regulations as in federal law. Requiring such a note, as far as I understand, is a violation of the federal law requiring equal access. I don't see how Disney would be able to institute such a requirement.

Having a wheelchair/ECV does not allow you to bypass the standby line and use the FastPass line. You must still get a FastPass ticket if you wish to use the FastPass line.

GACs allowing such unlimited use of FastPass lines are rare and are generally only given to Make a Wish kids.

[stonewall]

Thanks for making this clear dshy4me [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img] -No, you can not skip the regular line and use the FastPass one simply because you are using and wheelchair/ECV, but if you have a doctor's letter which indoicates the reason, you can obtain a Guest Assistance pass from Guest Services which entitles you, and up to 4 other(if I remember correctly)members of your party to enter the attraction via the FastPass entrance.As we have discussed in this forum when it was in the planning area, not all CMs are aware of this, and a good many have never seen the passes before and sometimes the procedure requires patient explanation. These passes are not for general use, and should ONLY be requested if you or someone in your group has a condition that would be greatly exacerbated by long periods of standing, walking distances etc.You must prove the need. They are good for the length of your stay, in all of the parks and are a bit too large to fit in your PassHolder pouch [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img] .
One would wish that this whole matter was not even necessary to discuss. I never for a minute question the need of someone that I see in a wheelchair/EVC because I am very aware of hidden handicaps, but it really burns me to see the types of incidents that folks have been talking about, where we see multilple users of chairs or my particular pet peeve [img]images/icons/mad.gif[/img] ,groups of teenagers racing around the park, the chair piles 3 deep with kids sitting every which way and then disembarking and chasing each other through the crowd. If you truly need to rent a chair and they have run out of them, as does happen occasionally during very busy periods it can ruin a trip. Disney is not a government owned facility and charges for the chairs/ECVs(we have GOT to come up with a shortend achronym for this,any ideas? [img]images/icons/confused.gif[/img] ), therefor they can set requirements for their rental. Whether they will enforce the new rule remaind to be seen. I think the whole thing is dreadful and will put a real burden on the CMs at the rental facilities, and of course, there are exceptions to every rule.It is hard for me to come to grips with the idea that there are people in the world that feel perfectly comfortable taking advantage of anything and that they involve their children in the deception.

[RocklandRVers]

I think many people have a pre-conceived notion of who is or is not handicapped and think that they should look a certain way. I admit I have been guilty of this in my past when I have seen what appears to be a healthy young person with a handicap placard use a handicap parking spot. What you never know is that the person may have a heart condition or some other disorder that cannot be seen.

I learned with my dear departed FIL who got a placard after contracting lung cancer and going through chemo and radiation. To look at him, he seemed OK and that he had no need to get a close spot. One time I was driving and when we got out, I heard some SLOB [img]images/icons/mad.gif[/img] make a comment that "Humph look at them. They don't need a handicapped spot". Luckily, my FIL was also hearing impaired and missed out on such an insult.

But what the SLOB [img]images/icons/mad.gif[/img] did not see is that he quickly got fatigued and often cut many of his shopping trips short because his stamina was diminished. This made me realize that old saying "you can't judge a book by its cover" is so true.

[buzzNwoodyfan]

Same here, RocklandRVers. I always thought to self, "Self, they sure don't need a premium parking space." Until my DBF needed a wheelchair one day at Six Flags because he'd had surgery on his knee just a couple days before...kind of an emergency type thing and the trip was already planned. People would glare at us, make comments under the breath, etc.
Now we definitely don't judge a book by its cover. [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[dsny4me]

if you have a doctor's letter which indoicates the reason, you can obtain a Guest Assistance pass from Guest Services which entitles you, and up to 4 other(if I remember correctly)members of your party to enter the attraction via the FastPass entrance.

<font size="2" face="Comic Sans MS, Arial">Anyone with an accomodation need can obtain a Guest Assistance Card from Guest Services. However, a GAC does not allow you to enter the FastPass entrance without a FastPass ticket UNLESS the GAC specifically says so. Such GACs are rarely given out, usually only to Make a Wish kids. GACs can only be used with parties of 6 or less.

If you need a GAC, explain your needs to the Guest Services CM and they will provide you with a GAC listing the necessary accomodation, whether it is a shaded wait area or an alternative wait area or other. Typically, if you are touring the park in a wheelchair or ECV, you will not need a separate GAC. Possessing the wheelchair/ECV is sufficient.

As we have discussed in this forum when it was in the planning area, not all CMs are aware of this, and a good many have never seen the passes before and sometimes the procedure requires patient explanation.

<font size="2" face="Comic Sans MS, Arial">All Operations (Attractions) CMs receive knowledge of the GACs in their training. And yes they are well aware that the GAC needs to have specific wording on them to allow the party access through the FastPass entrance without a FastPass. And they are well aware of how few times this particular wording is given on a GAC.

[stonewall]

I certainly don't want to be argunmentative here, but perhaps the CM training has been improved in the last 2 months.On both occasions when I have used the Guest Assistance Pass I have encountered many CMs who had never seen one before and didn't know what to do when it was presented. That is not to say that they were rude, far from it, just unfamiliar. This was especially true in MGM.In fact, some CMs in Guest Services-and this in Epcot- repeatedly told me that there was "no such thing" when I went in to pick up the pass and I actually had the young man call over to the WL and talk to the Ops. Mgr. over there who filled him in on what to do. It's no big deal though,as it is always fun to talk to the CMs about anything and they are always eager to help and learn. I think that I have one of mine hanging around somewhere, and if I can find it, I'll print the wording here. [img]graemlins/puter.gif[/img]

[dsny4me]

My comments were based on the training my daughter received as an attractions operator in the MK just recently. Disney's training is very thorough. I just can't imagine this being left out. Perhaps some CMs listen better than others.