Walt Disney World offers a wide variety of services to meet guests’ needs around the resort. There are accommodations for service animals, sign language interpretation, and devices available to rent to help guests get around easier.
Electric Conveyance Vehicles — familiarly known as ECVs — are available at many locations in Disney World for those who need or want some assistance to navigate the Parks, the Resorts, and everything in between.
If you’re planning on renting an ECV during your vacation, here is EVERYTHING you need to know!
Electric Conveyance Vehicles at Disney World
ECVs are available to rent daily at all Disney World theme parks and water parks and at Disney Springs. You cannot rent an ECV for the length of your stay, but vehicles can be held if guests leave and return to the same park on the same day.
Renting an ECV at Disney World is $50 per day. You are required to put down a $20 refundable deposit to rent an ECV at the theme parks and a $100 refundable deposit to rent one at the water parks and Disney Springs.
You are not allowed to take the ECV from the location where you rented it; you have to return the vehicle to the rental station before you leave. You will receive your refundable deposit at this time.
Though you can not bring your rented ECV from park to park, know that daily rentals are transferable between all locations, so you only have to pay once for the day. Show your rental receipt and put down another refundable deposit to get another ECV at the park you’re now in (if one is available).
For example, if you rent an ECV at Animal Kingdom in the morning, then decide to park hop to EPCOT in the afternoon, you will return your ECV to the rental station in Animal Kingdom when you leave the park. Then, over at EPCOT, you can show your receipt at their rental station to get another ECV if they have one available.
Note: When you return your ECV rental, ask if they have a complimentary wheelchair you can use to get to the bus, monorail, boat, Skyliner, or parking lot. These are typically available but must be left behind when you arrive to your next mode of transport.
ECVs are first-come, first-served, so make sure you get to the rental location early in the day if you’re counting on getting a vehicle. Disney does not take reservations for them, and there are limited quantities.
You have to be 18 or older to rent and operate an ECV, so Cast Members will require you to show a photo ID. The maximum weight for the vehicle is 450 pounds, and it is not designed to hold more than one person.
You can also bring your own ECV to use while you’re at Disney, but just remember that you can’t leave them unattended in areas such as hotel hallways.
Click here to read about Disability Access Service at Walt Disney World
Where to Rent ECVs in Disney World
Magic Kingdom
The ECV rental counter at Magic Kingdom is located just inside the park after you go through the turnstiles.
Right after you scan your ticket and enter through, the rental counter will be to your right, BEFORE you walk under the train station.
EPCOT
There are two locations at EPCOT where you can rent an ECV. The first is the Main Entrance location, which you can find past the new entrance fountain, directly to the left of Spaceship Earth if you’ve just walked into the park.
The second location is found at the International Gateway entrance, which is between the France and U.K. pavilions near the back of the park. You can rent ECVs at World Traveler, the store on your left directly after you go through the park entrance. (If you arrive by Skyliner, this will be the entrance you use.)
Disney’s Hollywood Studios
The ECV rental location in Hollywood Studios is at Oscar’s Super Service, which is on your right after you walk into the park.
It’s next to the Crossroads of the World (the small shopping stand in the middle with a Mickey Mouse statue on top).
Animal Kingdom
You can rent an ECV in Animal Kingdom after you scan into the park. The location is to your right at Garden Gate Gifts.
This is BEFORE the path splits in two to goes around the Oasis. If you see the Tree of Life, you’ve gone too far!
Typhoon Lagoon
The ECV rental spot at Typhoon Lagoon is a little bit of a hike after you enter the water park, so be prepared for that (or see if they have a complimentary wheelchair you can borrow from the entrance).
Follow the path until you get to the first building you see (it’ll be on your right), which is Singapore Sal’s. Here you can rent your vehicle.
Blizzard Beach
Finding the Blizzard Beach ECV rental location is super easy. Once you walk through the entrance, it’s in the first building on your left, the Beach Haus. You can’t miss it!
Remember, you’ll need to put down a $100 deposit to rent an ECV at the water parks.
Disney Springs
The ECV location at Disney Springs is at Sundries, which is next to the Disney Springs Town Center Bus Loop. It sits right between Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill and the Coca-Cola Store.
That’s everything you need to know about ECV rentals in Disney World! We hope this can help you find the vehicle you need to have the best vacation possible.
If you need more help with ECVs or have other concerns regarding disabilities and Disney World, you can contact Disability Services at (407)560-2547 or email them at [email protected].
Stay tuned to All Ears for more helpful Disney World info!
Click here to read about wheelchair and ECV rentals at Disney World!
What has your experience been with ECV rentals in Disney World? Let us know in the comments!
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My wife needed a powered wheelchair until her recent surgery this year. My wife could walk maybe 5-10 minutes before having to sit down. I’ve also had to rent an ECV for myself as I was was severely overweight and the park just tired me out. Finally in our 2020 trip that got canceled, I was having to plan for ECVs for my 90 year old father, who like my wife, could walk short distances, but not anything long.
If you are staying on property, if you know you are going to need an ECV, it is much, much better to rent an ECV for the length of your stay. It is somewhat cheaper than the daily rental at Disney, providing you are staying for a few days.
Outside of the cost, there are three other benefits to renting an ECV.
The first benefit is that you are guaranteed to have the ECV. Disney is first come, first serve, and it is possible they are sold out when you get to the park.
The second benefit is that you don’t have to do the long (very long) trek from the bus stop to the place that rents the ECVs. I remember in particular, going from the EPCOT bus drop off point to the front gate my poor wife had to sit down 2 or 3 separate times while doing the trek before we could get the rental shop. Also, if the park is crowded, and there are lines to get in, you may have to wait without being able to sit down, and it can get painful.
And note, the trek seems much longer going from the front gate to the bus stop at the end of the day. Sure you might be able to get a free push wheelchair to navigate the return distance, but that assumes either the person in the chair has enough strength to operate a manual chair or there is somebody in the party that can push the person.
The third benefit is you can use the chair at your resort and at Disney Springs. Many of the Disney resorts have a long distance to travel from your room to either the bus stop or the front desk. Like with the travail for getting to the Parks, I recall my wife had to sit down twice as we went between the room and the lobby of the Animal Kingdom Lodge.
Note, Disney has changed their policy a few years ago, and only one company (scooterbug) can deliver the chair to the Disney resorts, so that it is there when you check in, and you can drop it off at the end of your stay. I believe all other rental companies have to meet you in person to drop off and then pick up the chair. This can add time on your first and last days.
Disney is one of the few places where they incorporate guests in ECVs into their design. Sure, they can improve, but they are miles better than other places.
Now there is a downside. If you are traveling via the Disney buses (and presumably other forms of transportation), the Disney buses are equipped to handle ECVs (yeah). However, each bus only has 1-2 places where the seats are folded up and an ECV can be attached and tied down (and if the bus is full, they can’t use those spots). This means you may have to wait for several buses at crowded times, until you can get to where you want to go.
However, if you want to go to Universal or other destinations, you need to consider what type of transportation to go with that can handle the ECV.
One of the considerations I went through in the planning is should we bring my wife’s chair. My wife had a portable powered wheelchair that only weighs 60 or so pounds, and it can fold up to go in a car trunk. With appropriate advance warning, you can take it on a plane. But I was worried about it lasting through the Florida weather including the spot rainstorms that seem to happen frequently.
This is far from everything you need to know about renting an ECV at Disney World.
It is FAR better to rent from an off site company, such as Gold Mobility (they are who I would recommend,they replace their equipment every 6 months, add fans, cup holders, cell phone holders and other extras), Walker Mobility, Buena Vista Scooters, etc. then you can take the ECV back to your resort, which can have very, very long walks back to your room.
Additionally, the in park rentals are total pieces of junk that often can’t even make it up small inclines without being pushed and the battery will likely die midday. And while you technically can park hop and get an ECV at another park, that requires them to be available at the other parks, which by 2 PM is highly unlikely.
Thank you for the tips!