WDW Area Transportation Questions...a challenge!
 

We are going to WDW as a large family group. We have two families of mom/dad/kids (4 kids in each family). Plus, grandma/pa, and one uses a motorized scooter for mobility. That makes 16 of us total. We'll be staying at a resort just under 5 miles from WDW. Virtually all of our time will be spent at our resort or WDW. We are wondering what types of transportation will work for us. We need to consider both airport to resort, and resort to WDW. Could we get by on a 15 passenger van (is there such a thing?!) Or, are there some types of shuttle services in Orlando where we could arrange pick-ups each day? To rent a car, we would need three cars. Since we're just going such short distances, we thought there might be a better way than renting 3 vehicles for a week, and paying the parking fees. Any advice?

Mears Transportation has services, but for a group YOUR size I would contact them (and others) direct and see what deals can be made --- you're really at "charter"-size, and might save with charter prices.

Oops...Just realized I typed 16 for our group total...It should be 14!

Most of the major rental car companies do have the 15 seat vans. We went to WDW last year with another family so there were 8 of us and we got a large SUV but in doing my research, I saw plenty of large vans. Good luck!

It's a shame you're not staying at a Disney resort sinc ethey have the awesome transporation system, and it's handicap-accessible, too. IMHO, it might be worth it to switch resorts, since renting that large of a van isn't going to come cheaply!

I think your biggest problem will be the motorized scooter. While some of these dissemble for transport, I have yet to see one that really re-assembles easily (despite what ads say). Even if yours does, the amount of space it would take up in even a 16 passenger van is going to be a problem. Many do not even fit easily into a regular car trunk.

Most people I work with who use them have a van with lift to accomodate them - or fight to take them apart for transport and save up for a van with lift.

Is it possible that grandparent who uses scooter can walk a few steps, use a temporary manual wheelchair, and see if they rent scooters at WDW.

While we have only stayed on-property at WDW once and other times find better service and price off-property, you might find the time and expense of transportation not worth what you will save in this case.