mamabunny
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 11, 2012
I have had to set aside my beloved Figment (aka Figgy) by Fold & Go; that’s an ongoing saga, and when it’s complete, I will post about it, and be as transparent as possible. In the interim, I don’t want to color anyone else’s experience with either the brand, or their products. I will not be answering any more questions regarding my Fold & Go chair until such time as the situation is resolved. Please do not ask, and please do not PM me about it.
While I was searching for an alternative chair to use, I found the Zoomer Chair by Journey.
The Zoomer is the “sister” chair to the Zinger. The Zinger came first, and you may remember it as that strange device that requires you to use both hands to steer, while holding on to a handle in each hand. I have never been able to recommend it to anyone in good faith; it is not always as intuitive as a joystick (especially for new users). The mobility store where I bought my Zoomer told us that they no longer sell the Zinger; there was very low demand for the chair, and the few who did buy it, did not like it once they got it home, and tried to use it in RL.
The Zoomer is made exactly like the Zinger, (and appears to use the exact same frame and seat fabric) except it has a “standard” joystick (by default placed on the right side, although it can be set up for left-side use as well, like most similar chairs). The joystick is easily removed for travel, and if we had flown, I would have taken the joystick with me in the cabin, while sending the chair into the hold. The joystick itself is smooth, responsive and easy to use; it has a standard layout and the chair DOES NOT beep when in reverse! Top speed for the Zoomer is 4mph, which is plenty fast for WDW and the amount of pedestrian traffic that we encounter there. I found it to be very easy to drive at WDW, and it handled the patterned concrete quite well. It also rolled well over the tracks in MK; with this particular device, it is better to cross the tracks at a perpendicular point (so make sure you do not cross at an angle, but rather go “straight across” with this chair).
The frame is a standard round tubing, which makes it easier to find accessories if you want. The manual push bar (at the top back of the seat back) is curved. I think that might be so that if you pushed back hard on the seat, you still won’t hit the push bar. I did actually try to walk and push the chair while it was in “freewheel” mode, and it rolls easily.
It has an aircraft cable that runs across the back of the chair that you pull on to either open or close the chair; it is more of a quick tug than a hard pull, if that makes sense. It comes with a charger that is configured with an LED that lights up red while charging, and green when fully charged. The battery must be charged while locked in place in the chair. If you wanted to remove the battery for any reason, it’s very easy; there is a turn-lock, and then you lift it out. It has the same grooved surface on the top of the battery as the swing-away footrest.
It does have solid tires; earlier models did have air-filled tires. I had concerns about the foot rest at first, but it is very lightweight, and swings easily back when you are standing to exit the chair, or sitting down. It also has a grooved surface, and on several VERY rainy Disney Days, my feet never tried to slip off.
The chair has adjustable anti-tippers. The *only* downside to this (and frankly, the only thing I don’t like about the Zoomer) is that when you want to stand the Zoomer for storage (with the wheels locked), the anti-tipper wheels prevent it from standing in the position you think it would naturally fall into. Our family solved that by storing it on it’s side.
The arms are in a “fixed” position; you cannot swing them up to do a traditional side-seat transfer. This means that the Zoomer Chair is NOT meant for people who need to transfer in/out of the chair from the side position.
The chair itself is quite comfortable; I have actually quite enjoyed the mesh-back seat this summer, including on an impromtu WDW 4th of July/Mamabunny Birthday trip we made earlier this month. My family members who typically load/unload my chair from our vehicles all reported that it is very easy to load; the size when properly folded and locked for loading means it can even be stowed behind the front seat of a Kia Soul!
The basket underneath the chair is actually a solid mesh metal basket; it has curved metal prongs that clip onto the lower structure of the chair. It will hold a surprising amount of stuff, however it was so much easier and faster to go through Disney Security with the basket empty that it tended to just stay that way.
So, yes. I bought a Zoomer chair (after trying it out in person at a local mobility dealer) and then literally hours later, my family surprised me with the trip!
This is the “official” page for the Zoomer Chair
I was able to go a full “Disney Day” on a full charge, however I also used very aggressive battery management techniques, and there were a couple of nights when I was in “limp home” home by the time we hit our door at POFQ. Our daughter ordered me the larger battery for our next Disney trip, so that won’t be an issue!
I am currently towards the top end of the max weight for the Zoomer; (which is 300 pounds) and I fully believe that if I were closer to 250 pounds, my battery issues might have been non-existent.
If you have any further questions about the Zoomer, I will be glad to try and answer them!
While I was searching for an alternative chair to use, I found the Zoomer Chair by Journey.
The Zoomer is the “sister” chair to the Zinger. The Zinger came first, and you may remember it as that strange device that requires you to use both hands to steer, while holding on to a handle in each hand. I have never been able to recommend it to anyone in good faith; it is not always as intuitive as a joystick (especially for new users). The mobility store where I bought my Zoomer told us that they no longer sell the Zinger; there was very low demand for the chair, and the few who did buy it, did not like it once they got it home, and tried to use it in RL.
The Zoomer is made exactly like the Zinger, (and appears to use the exact same frame and seat fabric) except it has a “standard” joystick (by default placed on the right side, although it can be set up for left-side use as well, like most similar chairs). The joystick is easily removed for travel, and if we had flown, I would have taken the joystick with me in the cabin, while sending the chair into the hold. The joystick itself is smooth, responsive and easy to use; it has a standard layout and the chair DOES NOT beep when in reverse! Top speed for the Zoomer is 4mph, which is plenty fast for WDW and the amount of pedestrian traffic that we encounter there. I found it to be very easy to drive at WDW, and it handled the patterned concrete quite well. It also rolled well over the tracks in MK; with this particular device, it is better to cross the tracks at a perpendicular point (so make sure you do not cross at an angle, but rather go “straight across” with this chair).
The frame is a standard round tubing, which makes it easier to find accessories if you want. The manual push bar (at the top back of the seat back) is curved. I think that might be so that if you pushed back hard on the seat, you still won’t hit the push bar. I did actually try to walk and push the chair while it was in “freewheel” mode, and it rolls easily.
It has an aircraft cable that runs across the back of the chair that you pull on to either open or close the chair; it is more of a quick tug than a hard pull, if that makes sense. It comes with a charger that is configured with an LED that lights up red while charging, and green when fully charged. The battery must be charged while locked in place in the chair. If you wanted to remove the battery for any reason, it’s very easy; there is a turn-lock, and then you lift it out. It has the same grooved surface on the top of the battery as the swing-away footrest.
It does have solid tires; earlier models did have air-filled tires. I had concerns about the foot rest at first, but it is very lightweight, and swings easily back when you are standing to exit the chair, or sitting down. It also has a grooved surface, and on several VERY rainy Disney Days, my feet never tried to slip off.
The chair has adjustable anti-tippers. The *only* downside to this (and frankly, the only thing I don’t like about the Zoomer) is that when you want to stand the Zoomer for storage (with the wheels locked), the anti-tipper wheels prevent it from standing in the position you think it would naturally fall into. Our family solved that by storing it on it’s side.
The arms are in a “fixed” position; you cannot swing them up to do a traditional side-seat transfer. This means that the Zoomer Chair is NOT meant for people who need to transfer in/out of the chair from the side position.
The chair itself is quite comfortable; I have actually quite enjoyed the mesh-back seat this summer, including on an impromtu WDW 4th of July/Mamabunny Birthday trip we made earlier this month. My family members who typically load/unload my chair from our vehicles all reported that it is very easy to load; the size when properly folded and locked for loading means it can even be stowed behind the front seat of a Kia Soul!
The basket underneath the chair is actually a solid mesh metal basket; it has curved metal prongs that clip onto the lower structure of the chair. It will hold a surprising amount of stuff, however it was so much easier and faster to go through Disney Security with the basket empty that it tended to just stay that way.
So, yes. I bought a Zoomer chair (after trying it out in person at a local mobility dealer) and then literally hours later, my family surprised me with the trip!
This is the “official” page for the Zoomer Chair
I was able to go a full “Disney Day” on a full charge, however I also used very aggressive battery management techniques, and there were a couple of nights when I was in “limp home” home by the time we hit our door at POFQ. Our daughter ordered me the larger battery for our next Disney trip, so that won’t be an issue!
I am currently towards the top end of the max weight for the Zoomer; (which is 300 pounds) and I fully believe that if I were closer to 250 pounds, my battery issues might have been non-existent.
If you have any further questions about the Zoomer, I will be glad to try and answer them!
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