While most my articles will apply to all wheelchair and ECV users, this guide for renting a wheelchair is specifically for people who do not already own one. Or I guess you could own one that you’re not comfortable traveling with. When we flew to Seattle back in August, I took my original, cheaper chair because I didn’t want to risk damaging the good one. 

Whatever your reason for needing a wheelchair for your vacation, you have two options. You can rent one or you can buy one. Each choice has its own advantages and disadvantages, and you’ve got to figure out what is going to best meet your needs.  

I’ve been in situations where a daily rental made the most sense, and I’ve been in the position where a multi-day rental was what we needed. And now I own not one, but two wheelchairs because my circumstances have changed. Every situation is different, and I can’t tell you what you should decide for yourself. All I can do is lay out the information so you can figure out what will work best for you and your family. 

As a note, I have no experience with ECVs in the state of Florida, but am going to include what information I can. Obviously, the advantage of an ECV is that you don’t need anyone to push you, so it gives you independence and doesn’t tire out the rest of your party. I don’t have a way to transport one, and renting one is not cost effective for me personally in most circumstances. I did use one at Dollywood in August because the number of hills in that park makes it incredibly not wheelchair friendly. It’s also worth mentioning that most rides require you to transfer from an ECV to a wheelchair, but that’s something I’ll talk more about in length in future articles. 

All pricing is accurate at time of publication, but is subject to change. 

• Can cost more depending on how long you need it. 
• You only have it in the park you rented it from or for the duration of your rental.  
• Rental chairs are not particularly comfortable. They’re cheaply made but durable, and your spine is not going to be happy after a few days in one of these. 
• Rental chairs are more generic and harder to spot when parked. 

There are two options for renting a chair. All of the theme parks offer daily rentals for both wheelchairs and ECVs, and then there are companies like K&M that do multi-day or week-long rentals. K&M is not the only company of this kind, but they are the only one I have personal experience with. Not only did I used to partner with them at my old job, we did a three-day rental from them in 2016 to take Nana to the parks. K&M can deliver your chair or scooter to your hotel and pick it up at the end of your visit so it’s super convenient. 

Every theme park has an option for renting both wheelchairs and scooters or ECVs. Rates vary by park, but essentially you go up to a rental counter, fill out a little bit of paperwork, pay the fee and you’re on the way. 

• This will be the most expensive option in the long run. 
• You will lose time every morning stopping to get the chair. 
• You will have to get from your method of transportation to the rental location. The Disney parks offer courtesy chairs in their handicap parking areas for this, but they can run out. 
• You will only have the wheelchair in the parks. You won’t have it if you need it to get around your resort or hotel. 
• Your wheelchair looks like every other rental wheelchair. 
• If you’re hopping between parks, you must turn your wheelchair or ECV in and present your receipt for the same day at the next location to get another one. 
• Theme Park employees recognize what their own rental chairs look like and will be more prone to assuming you can transfer. I’m not saying they do this on purpose or even realize they’re doing it, but it does happen. 

$12 a day for a wheelchair, or $10 a day if you do a length of stay agreement. The pricing is the same for the Disney Water Parks and Disney Springs, but these locations require a $100 deposit. ECVs are $50 a day, with a $20 deposit at the theme parks and a $100 deposit for the water parks and Disney Springs. At Magic Kingdom you will find the rental location in the bottom of the train station. At Epcot, it will be to the left of Spaceship Earth. At Disney’s Hollywood Studios, it is in the gas station façade to your right, and at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, it is to your immediate right upon entering the park. At Disney Springs, it is at Sundries next to the bus loop near Wolfgang Puck Bar and Grill. 

Wheelchairs are $15 a day, ECVs are $75 a day, and ECVs with a shade canopy are $95 a day. Wheelchairs can be rented in the CityWalk Garage just outside of security, to the left upon entering Islands of Adventure, and to the left upon entering Universal Studios Florida. To rent a wheelchair or ECV at Universal, someone over the age of eighteen must be present to sign a contract. There is a deposit of $50 for wheelchairs. 

Wheelchairs start at $40 a day for Seaworld and $30 a day for Busch Gardens. ECVs start at $100 a day in either park. They can be rented in advance online. 

There are a number of companies in the Orlando area available for wheelchair and ECV rentals. A lot of these companies also provide things like strollers and even Christmas trees, so you may be able to get multiple things all in the same place. As I said before, I reference K&M because I have firsthand experience with them and I used to partner with them when I worked in hotels. Their pens are still some of my favorites. There are others in the area like Scooterbug, but I’m not going to try to list them all or their pricing because there’s just too many. But to give you an idea of a starting price, K&M will deliver a standard wheelchair rental for up to seven days for $70. A three-day deliver for an ECV is $75. 

• You have to be able to transport the wheelchair or ECV from your resort to the parks. Whether that means you have to use the lift on a bus or shuttle, provide your own car with storage space, or request rideshares that can accommodate your needs. There are very few rideshares that can take the weight of an ECV. 
• You have to have the space to store it, either in the trunk of a car or in your hotel room. I have personally burned my hands on a wheelchair that was stored in a hot car. If it’s an ECV, you have to be able to charge it. 
• If you have a problem with your rental, you have to call a phone number for a company that has no one present on site to help you. If an ECV you rented from the Magic Kingdom dies, they’ll bring you a new one. If you’re calling a third party, there is going to be very little they can do for you without disrupting your vacation. 

I’ve rented wheelchairs in the past when my bad knee was acting up, and now circumstances have changed where buying one became necessary. Every situation is different. I did daily rentals since we were just going to the park for one day at a time and I could walk well enough to get from the parking lot to the park, but when my grandmother came to visit, we did a long-term rental to make things easiest on everyone.  

I’m going to talk about the process of purchasing a wheelchair in next week’s article, but I hope this information is helpful in helping you plan your vacation.