1. Welcome to VegasMessageBoard
    It appears you are visiting our community as a guest.
    In order to view full-size images, participate in discussions, vote in polls, etc, you will need to Log in or Register.

Couple of Questions for Those Who Use Scooters in Vegas

Discussion in 'Getting There & Getting Around' started by Flowers, Jan 23, 2016.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Flowers

    Flowers VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2014
    Messages:
    14,642
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    30
    Continuing with my obsessive trip planning for my April Vegas trip, I am going to be renting a scooter for my mother while in Vegas. She used one for the first time during a Vegas trip in July 2013 and once she got used to it really enjoyed it.

    For this upcoming trip my mother and I will be staying for the first half of our trip at Encore and the second half at Caesars Palace. While at both places we'll be doing mostly "regional" travel, meaning hanging out relatively closely to the hotels where we'll be staying. One night while staying at Encore, however, we'll be dining and seeing MJ One at Mandalay Bay.

    My mother moves slowly with a cane or a walker. She doesn't need a wheelchair but will definitely need a scooter to move any distance of significance even within a hotel.

    Couple of questions:

    1. Should I do two separate rentals, i.e., at Encore for the first part of the trip and then turn in that scooter at Encore, getting a cab to Caesars with my mother, and then renting a scooter at Caesars for the second half of the trip? I asked because although a weekly rental will be cheaper than two three to four day rentals, my hosts at either place might comp the cost on the front or back end but I assume won't pay for the use of a rental for days at another hotel. It also may just be easier to get a regular cab -- and not transport a scooter with us -- when we move from Encore to Caesars during the middle of the trip.

    2. When traveling from Encore to Mandalay for a dinner and show, should I take a regular cab and rent a scooter for a few hours at Mandalay Bay or should I order a specialized taxi both ways that can carry the scooter from Encore to Mandalay Bay and Mandalay Bay back to Encore?

    TIA for advice on these two questions and any other related issues.
     
  2. parallax

    parallax High-Roller

    Joined:
    Mar 5, 2014
    Messages:
    759
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    10
    If you take the cab to the Delano entrance, the Mj theater may be walkable as it is in the walkway from the Delano to the casino. Rm seafood is right around the corner from the theater if you are looking for a good place to eat.
     
  3. Flowers

    Flowers VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2014
    Messages:
    14,642
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    30
    Thanks. I didn't realize there was a closer entrance. I really want to go to Border Grill at MB and I'm thinking the walk from the Delano entrance to the theater may still be too long but it is good to know about that option. Just thought of a third option, We can take a regular cab from Encore to MB and get a wheelchair. From the MB website wheelchair rentals are $15 for 1 or 2 days. She likes the independence of a scooter but when I take her to the local casino at home we use a wheelchair and cane or her walker (still debating whether she should bring that from Buffalo). So I'm thinking just pay the $15 for a wheelchair rental for a few hours. My niece will be with my mom, DBueler and me so no problems pushing the wheelchair for the evening.

    Related to this and fyi for others, as my mother is a big shopper I know she is going to want to shop at the Fashion Show Mall and that my niece will want to join her. Fine by me so they can shop while I play. :) I called the FSM and got advice about riding the scooter across the street from Wynncore to FSM or using a FSM wheelchair, which by the way I learned is complimentary. I'm a little worried about a scooter in a department store in case my mom loses control so I think when she wants to go to the FSM she and my niece will just take a cab over from Wynncore and use a wheelchair while shopping in the FSM.
     
  4. 1LuckyMomma

    1LuckyMomma High-Roller

    Joined:
    Dec 28, 2012
    Messages:
    519
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    20
    Thanks for posting this. I have similar questions. Looking at renting a scooter for the first time this trip for several medical reasons.

    Has she had any trouble navigating around the machines? I love to play the slots all over the casino. What's the scooter etiquette? Should I just park on the end of a bank, when I need to get off to access other machines or the craps/roulette tables?

    Is security going to have an issue with me leaving the scooter for a while so I can sit at the roulette table?

    At least I think people may get out of the way when traveling down the strip for fear of getting run over. :ssst:
     
  5. edmguy

    edmguy Tourist

    Joined:
    Jun 29, 2005
    Messages:
    40
    I use a Go Go Traveller Elite each trip.

    They are available from all rental firms.

    They break down into four light pieces and fit easily in the trunk of a car.

    You can pick it up at one hotel and have them collect it at another.

    I use 702 Scooters dot com but know people who have had good results with other firms.
     
  6. Flowers

    Flowers VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2014
    Messages:
    14,642
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    30
    What I typically see is the scooter parked at the end/side of a bank. It actually has a key, like a car, so you can take the key with you and leave it there for as long as you play. No worries. Depending on where the machine is and how much space there is, you can also park it right next to the machine and if the slot machine chair is movable, sometime I just move the chair and my mom stays on the scooter. When I take her to the local casino in WNY, where pretty much all of the chairs are moveable, I just move the chair and pull the wheelchair up to the machine. As a general matter I find casino personnel and sometimes even other patrons very helpful.

    My mother is one of those folks that sometimes goes a little too fast on the scooter (she has only used one in Vegas),especially when going down the street, and one time in CP in July 2013 she plowed into a couple of chairs in front of machines and knocked them over . . . . She thought she could go fast. I also think the freedom to move like that was very liberating for her. But, I said there is no going "fast" inside a casino unless you want to get sued for mowing someone down. There are speed controls so that if you keep it on the slow speed that will never happen. :) I am going to have to remind my mother about scooter etiquette. Otherwise I'm going to say no scooter :nono: and only the wheelchair, which in Vegas she will not like!

    Meant to add re: tables. After you pull up the scooter to the tables, security or a pit boss would probably just move it a few feet so that is not right next to the table and give you the key if you couldn't walk a short distance. I haven't had to deal with that particular circumstance and others may have experience but that's a safe assumption. In larger and less packed casinos where the machines are less close to each other, e.g., Wynn, Caesars, Paris, etc. that's probably pretty easy. In more packed places downtown you would probably have to navigate more. I would also think you'd have to navigate more at a place like the Venetian. Palazzo seems open and spacious but slot machines seem really packed in at the Venetian.
     
    Last edited: Jan 23, 2016
  7. Flowers

    Flowers VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2014
    Messages:
    14,642
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    30
    Thanks edm. I saw that some of them break down easily but I have to confess I'm challenged in that department and worry about that even though it is easy to break down and put back together. If even I (emphasis here) can do it, then that would sure solve a lot of issues. I'd just rent it for the week and we'd take it with us everywhere and just break it down and put in a trunk the few times we'd take a cab during our stay.
     
  8. Snidely

    Snidely VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Nov 2, 2012
    Messages:
    2,129
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    20
    I think the key thing here is that you assume the scooters won't fit in a regular taxi.

    Maybe there is a back way in I don't know about but the Border Grill is a good walk from the casino floor.

    Do what is easiest for you. You're on vacation, scooter rentals are not that expensive, and, I assume, if you have a host, you can afford the cost of the scooter and convenience is more important than saving $30 or 40.

    I see scooters parked all over the place in casinos. Have fun!
     
  9. 1LuckyMomma

    1LuckyMomma High-Roller

    Joined:
    Dec 28, 2012
    Messages:
    519
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    20
    Do the arms fold up on the scooters? Is there easy access onto the monorail and off at the convention center?
     
  10. Flowers

    Flowers VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2014
    Messages:
    14,642
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    30
    Yeah Snidely, I think I'm just going to rent one for the week and assume between my niece and me that we'll be able to figure out how to break it down to put it in the trunk of a cab. Re: having fun, that is indeed the plan! Thanks!
     
  11. 1LuckyMomma

    1LuckyMomma High-Roller

    Joined:
    Dec 28, 2012
    Messages:
    519
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    20
    Thanks Flowers! That helps a lot. I did without it last trip but I'm having some major neck/back/foot issues this year so I'm thinking it's the safest way to go without beating my body up too much. I'll try to watch my speed. :evillaugh Trying to convince my friend to get one so we can race down the hallway at night. :)
     
  12. Flowers

    Flowers VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2014
    Messages:
    14,642
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    30
    Rent the scooter! Being in pain while on vacation, especially in Vegas, would be a total buzz kill. A lot of people use scooters in Vegas and you'll be able to get around comfortably so I would definitely do it. When my mom was with me in Vegas in July 2013 and we went great distances down the strip (me walking and her on the scooter), a few times I kept wishing I was on one given the heat! I hope you have a great trip!
     
  13. 1LuckyMomma

    1LuckyMomma High-Roller

    Joined:
    Dec 28, 2012
    Messages:
    519
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    20
    Thank you! I've just felt awkward about it before. This year I'm thinking I definitely need it. My friend also had a bad fall last year and is in pain because of it.. We may take turns. We'll just have to get it from the Orleans to the Flamingo. That website has a $69 special for 5-7 days which seems like a great deal to me.
     
  14. Flowers

    Flowers VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2014
    Messages:
    14,642
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    30
    My mother was VERY reluctant to use one. She said only "old" people use one. I told her that wasn't the case but who cares in any event? I literally had to really press her to use one as a wheelchair wasn't practical for a 10 day trip and walking from any hotel room to a machine in a hotel on the strip can easily be a 1/2+ mile walk. Well, she tried it for five minutes and then I couldn't get her to off the thing with her also always wanting to go "fast". LOL. You'll love it and you can have a pain free and enjoyable vacation. My guess is though that both you and your friend may want to rent one. Per others on this thread, they fit in taxis so getting from the Orleans to the Flamingo should not be a problem. Also, there's space for at one one scooter on the shuttles that go from the Orleans to Caesars.
     
  15. Ladybb9201

    Ladybb9201 Tourist

    Joined:
    Nov 30, 2013
    Messages:
    30
    Location:
    Kansas city
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    25
    I bring my personal scooter with me. No problems at the airport, using the monorail or using taxi service. They have taxis that you just roll the scooter in no problems. Have fun!
     
  16. 2VegasNuts

    2VegasNuts High-Roller

    Joined:
    Sep 12, 2011
    Messages:
    664
    Location:
    Springfield from California
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    184
    Exactly. My wife needed to rent a scooter for our 3 day stay at Aria and then another 3 Day Stay at Wynn. When we got to Aria, the scooter from 702 Scooters was waiting at the concierge. Just jumped in and off we went. Cab rides were easy as the person hailing cabs made a call and a special roll in cab arrived within minutes. For ease, we did leave the first scooter at Aria and cabbed over to Wynn. The scooter at Wynn was also waiting for us!
     
  17. CindyS

    CindyS Low-Roller

    Joined:
    Dec 1, 2015
    Messages:
    144
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    30
    Flowers,

    Call your host at CET. They will get you one reserved and comp it most likely. Don't know about Wynn, but probably the same. My host had one waiting for my mom one time
     
  18. Flowers

    Flowers VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2014
    Messages:
    14,642
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    30
    Thanks Lady!
     
  19. Flowers

    Flowers VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2014
    Messages:
    14,642
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    30
    Yeah CindyS, That's what I was thinking. I am going to explore having one at Encore and one at Caesars but if it is too involved I'll just rent one for the week. Thanks for the reply!
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.