What…what do you mean mom fell down the stairs?? Is she okay? She broke her ankle?! She’s in a boot?

So…this isn’t exactly the call you want to get 2 weeks before your Disney vacation, right?? But sometimes life throws us curve balls and we must pivot to make the best of things. Yes, this is a true story. Two weeks before our magical vacation, with those expensive, non-refundable tickets waiting to be used, this is where we were. The good news? Well, this little curve ball brought us a whole new Disney experience. One that helped me learn a new slew of tips to share with all of you. Here are some of the key things I learned that you’ll want to know for navigating the magic with a scooter.

Just do it – If you are debating whether or not to get the scooter, just do it!! In our situation, my mom was in a walking boot. Meaning she could walk just not quickly, and she should have been walking less than normal, not more. There was some hesitation on whether or not we should get the scooter. They cost money, she could walk, you have to take it back and forth to the park…we had a whole list of excuses for why we didn’t want to do it but, in the end, we were so glad we did!! As I’ve mentioned in lots of other articles, Disney is a ton of walking. If you have any kind of mobility limitations, you really should consider the scooter. Having this scooter not only allowed my mom to keep up with the rest of us but she was usually out in front, leading the way. We have said SO many times since coming home from this trip that the scooter totally saved the trip. We are so thankful that we did it!

Rent in advance – Disney has scooters that you can rent at the park but I would recommend you not go that route and here’s why:

• The scooters at Disney are larger and appear to be harder to maneuver.
• You will have to wait in line and take up part of your park time trying to rent your scooter.
• Scooter rentals from Disney currently cost $65 per day
• Disney scooters cannot be removed from the location where they are rented so if your family member needs to be able to use their ECV even to get around the resort or back and forth to the resort, they won’t be able to do that with a Disney scooter.
• Disney may run out of scooters and then you are out of luck.
• You cannot reserve Disney scooters in advance, and you cannot reserve them for multiple days.

There are lots of advantages to renting your scooter from an external vendor and there are lots of options to choose from. When you rent ahead of time, you can have your ECV delivered directly to your resort. Also, when you rent from most of the external vendors you can choose from different models of these scooters. There are options for different sizes and different accessories, like a sunshade that you can choose from. You will have this scooter to get around the resort, get you through Disney transportation and through your long park day.

Want some help getting your scooter reserved? Message me here and I would be happy to help.

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Getting around the parks – You may be concerned about getting around the park on a scooter or being able to access everything you want. We did not find this to be a problem at all. The scooter we rented was easy to learn and very easy to steer. If you’re feeling unsure about using it in the crowd, you can set the speed to a lower limit so that you won’t feel out of control. Disney is built for accessibility, and we didn’t find anywhere that we couldn’t go with the scooter.

Ride accessibility – Because my mom could walk, we didn’t have any problems getting onto rides. The cast members were absolutely wonderful about helping us! If the ride had a separate que for handicap riders, they would instruct us on where to go and allowed our whole party together. For the rides without a separate line, we were able to take the scooter through the line and into the loading area. The cast members would then assist with either pausing the ride loading or help make sure that mom was able to enter the vehicle safely. While we were riding, they would move the scooter to the ride exit area so that it was ready and available when we were done.

Pro tip: You will want to have a way to label your scooter. There are lots of scooters around Disney World and because the cast members will move them for you, you won’t always know where yours is. Below is the sign that I made for our scooter. As you can see, I put a few different attachment methods on it because we weren’t quite sure what the scooter would have on it. This was something I was able to quickly put together from some left-over craft supplies I had but if you’re not crafty you could easily print something from your computer or probably find one on Etsy.

In Disney World, a scooter is like your reliable friend, making your adventure easier. It gives you freedom and makes things more convenient for your crew. With a scooter, you can explore Disney comfortably and make sure everyone enjoys the magic.