Off property with best shuttle for ECV

[dizneefan13]

We are planning a two week visit to WDW next October. We will have my Mom with us who uses an ECV.
We prefer not to rent a car because packing up the ECV, especially if we take mid-day breaks, would be a pain. I would prefer to stay onsite and use their busses, but for two weeks we can't afford it. Ideal would be around $150 total per night. Plus having Mom, a one bedroom suite would make more sense. A kitchenette would be a big bonus.

Does anyone have a favorite offsite resort they like and provides regular transportation for wheelchair/ECVs? I have read that this service is available at some of the hotels, but only if you request it each day. Another pain. So do any hotels have regular bus service with the lift? Thanks in advance

 

[maxiesmom]

Honestly? I would trim the trip back to where you could afford to stay on site. No off site resort will compare to the ease of Disney's transportation. Or could you get away with staying in one value room? That would fit in your budget.

Is there anything else you could do that you haven't already done to make the trip less expensive? Pack snacks and lunches to eat in the park? Take along refillable water bottles?

 

[Mrsjvb]

simply, there is none. off site transportation tends to be limited at best.. as in once an hour maybe and definitely not running continuously or all day. and definitely not guaranteed HA.

the other other option that may help is staying at a Disney Spring Resort. you could at least pick up a Disney bus to the TTC hub and get to each park from there. but there would still be transfers as nothing goes directly to a park from DS.

 

[Bete]

I agree with previous poster. If you are unwilling to rent a car then it will be hard. Most offsite resorts need notification from you each day, not just whole stay period, to get a special bus arranged for a scooter each day. It's not automatic. Residence Inn Lake Buena Vista is one example. Also, your notification needs to be on a timely basis. You would have to check with the hotel on their policy. I believe you also need to arrange your return time at the same time as your leaving time. Their schedule back and forth to the park is not that frequent. Finally, most of these offsite buses don't go to the individual parks. Many drop off at Epcot and then you need to use Disney transportation to get to any other park. This is very time consuming. If you get an offsite resort that will go to each park directly you may find the price to stay there even more costly then a Disney value resort.

Some offsite resorts share buses and then you have to get a scooter on with other people on the bus if you are not the first stop. Someone other than your mom may have to do this for her.

The Disney Springs resorts have probably the best bus system for offsite guests. It's really not cheaper to stay there in most instances, but you get a bigger room. They have a better bus schedule, too.

The only other option is if your mom can make it to the park without a scooter and then rent at a Disney park. You will pay about $20/day more a day that way for a Disney scooter. Also, you would need to get there early enough; so, scooters are not sold out.

 

[kaytieeldr]

the other other option that may help is staying at a Disney Spring Resort. you could at least pick up a Disney bus to the TTC hub and get to each park from there. b

You actually can't. No buses go from DS to any park or the TTC. Even if they did, no buses go from the TTC to any park.

There's at least one Disney Springs/Hotel Plaza Boulevard property that has one bedroom suites. See Mousesavers for specifics.

These seven hotels have their own scheduled bus transportation that runs every 30 minutes (so, o wondering when the next bus is coming.) You would need to call one of the hotels to check on ECV capability.

 

[dizneefan13]

Thanks everyone for the replies. I pretty much figured onsite is best, most convenient and timely, for getting back and forth. But still wanted to check just in case someone knew something I hadn't come across in my research. We will either stay onsite and increase our budget, or rent a car and take apart the scooter each day. Might also check into a small mini van so we can just lift it up whole to the back like we have done with Uber.

 

[mamabunny]

@dizneefan13 Don't forget that a couple of the Values have Family Suites (basically two rooms made into a 1 bedroom with a kitchenette, but you get 2 bathrooms!) or the Cabins at FW offer lots of sleeping options + a nearly full kitchen.

They do cost more than your $150/night budget, but the addition of the kitchenette makes it much easier to eat meals in your room.

 

[SteveMouse]

To clarify: buses do go from the Disney Springs hotels (eg Hilton LBV), but not DS itself to the parks. The buses are operated on behalf of the hotels and may check ID. As I recall, they are pretty accessible.

 

[dizneefan13]

Thanks mamabunny and SteveMouse, we're not big fans of the value resorts, but a family suite would be an option. The decor isn't our preference.
I am looking into DVC points for our stay and might even splurge bigtime for the Beach Club Villas. You only live once, right???
We were planning on BCV for our 2019 visit, but might make sense to go ahead with it this time so Mom can enjoy it too. I love how close it is to Epcot and HS.
DH prefers staying onsite to messing with loading and unloading the scooter every day.
Can't blame him.

 

[50surgeries2012]

On my last trip with my significant other, and our friend. We used Axxess Lynx. It's a door to door paratransit service that serves Orange County. You have to make advanced reservations though, and your mom would have to be ADA certified to be able to ride. I had a rental power chair, and we stayed off site at the Marriott Grande Vista resort.