How to Survive Disney, Part 4: Tanner Scooter Rentals

I already mentioned the strollers a couple of posts back and how they saved our sanity at Disneyworld.  They were the first thing on my mind while planning, and I knew they would be a MUST.  Later down the road in our planning, it occurred to my sister and I that a scooter would also be a vital part of our trip for my dad, who has really bad knees at the moment. 

So back on the hunt I went, searching for scooter rental options, and lo and behold, Orlando Stroller Rentals had a sister company--Tanner Scooter Rentals!  (Angels were singing.)  So I messaged them and asked them about the scooter situation, and pretty soon I was locked and loaded and ready to have my dad cruising in style! 

Just like with the stroller rental, they dropped the scooter off, helped transport it from our Universal Studios hotel to our Disney resort, and then picked it up at the end of the trip.  They even let me extend the pickup time by a few hours on the last day when our plans changed a bit.   

The scooter ended up being VERY useful.  It certainly came with its own set of challenges--parking it before going on rides (which we were doing with the strollers anyway), maneuvering through crowds, occasionally having to wait for a shuttle with more room, etc. That, however, was a small price to pay for the number of benefits and uses it had.  It had a basket, which proved useful for keeping drinks, bags, etc. contained but handy.  My parents kept their bag hanging off of the handle when we parked it, and we felt confident that it was pretty self-contained and inconspicuous.  My mom and dad ended up switching off occasionally (my mom got REALLY sick one of the days we were there), and I even ended up taking it for a spin one day when I needed a break from babywearing my deadweight sleeping two year old.

Some of the even more unplanned benefits of having the scooter rental is that it occasionally got us bumped up in the line.  Because we had someone in our party who needed "assistance," we would sometimes get better seats at shows, quicker access to the shuttles, bumped up a bit in ride lines, etc.  Even though when we rented it we initially thought it was a bit of a luxury, to keep my dad from unnecessary discomfort, in hindsight it was probably almost as much of a necessity as the strollers were.  It served a plethora of purposes, it was very convenient, and if we ever do a trip like that again we'll definitely be renting a scooter.