Warning No outlets works inside Disneyland park

[Belle1997]

I traveled from Canada to Disneyland. I needed to get new batteries but knew I could find many outlets to plug in for a half hour and keep going.

Well after plugging in more than once I noticed the light on my battery charger was dim. After almost an hour of trying to charge I would go from 80 to 85%.

The year before I could go from 80% to 100% in less than 1/2 hour.

I went to guest relations to ask where I could plug in my power wheelchair. I told them I notice the current in the outlets was very low.

They said the only place I could go was to the scooter rentals. You have to leave the park. It is in the center of the two parks.

When I went there I was told I would have to leave my chair with them and sit in a rental park chair.

This is not acceptable. To have to wait in line again to get back into the park.

Usually I would go charge my chair for a bit when friends would ride a ride. Now I have to leave the Park.

Disney needs to have at least one charging place for scooters and wheelchairs inside the park. They did not seem to care. I felt like a second class citizen.

I know people were using the outlets for their phones. So they turned the power off or low.

I am going to write Disney about this. Had I known I might have put the $400.00 out for new batteries instead of worrying about how much power I had left most of the day.

Please pass this info on to whoever needs to charge their batteries there. I wish I had known.

 

[carissa1970]

For wheelchairs? They may actually be required to supply a recharging station. I think she has a valid complaint. For phones, no. Wheelchairs, yes.

 

[SMD]

On the positive side, you were able to get to the outlet, because no one was hogging it to charge their phone.

Try going to a sit-down restaurant, ask if you can be seated at a table near an outlet. Since you'll be there awhile, you can spend more time charging.

 

[aaarcher86]

For wheelchairs? They may actually be required to supply a recharging station. I think she has a valid complaint. For phones, no. Wheelchairs, yes.

I can't find anything in the ADA about it. Regardless, 'second class citizen' is incredibly over the top.

 

[Belle1997]

Yes when you are with abled bodied friends and have to leave the park you do feel less of a person. They do not need to provide baby changing tables either. Wonder how people would feel about having to leave the park to change diapers. They do because it is the right thing to do to make the trip pleasant.

The chair is my legs to get around the park. I would even pay to get electricity to be able to stay in the park.

All it means if even with a good battery I can not stay in the park the full time ever. They may not be required by law since I do not understand the ADA rules. All I know is my power wheelchair will not last all day at Disney. To Come from Ontario Canada to Anaheim California is a very long trip. I would hope Disney would do the right thing and provide and outlet.

I sat there charging and was very sad. So until you experience it you can not judge my feelings. I felt awful.

 

[OurBigTrip]

Yes when you are with abled bodied friends and have to leave the park you do feel less of a person. They do not need to provide baby changing tables either. Wonder how people would feel about having to leave the park to change diapers. They do because it is the right thing to do to make the trip pleasant.

The chair is my legs to get around the park. I would even pay to get electricity to be able to stay in the park.

All it means if even with a good battery I can not stay in the park the full time ever. They may not be required by law since I do not understand the ADA rules. All I know is my power wheelchair will not last all day at Disney. To Come from Ontario Canada to Anaheim California is a very long trip. I would hope Disney would do the right thing and provide and outlet.

I sat there charging and was very sad. So until you experience it you can not judge my feelings. I felt awful.

They did provide an outlet - that you don't like where it is doesn't negate the fact that they provided one.

 

[aaarcher86]

Yes when you are with abled bodied friends and have to leave the park you do feel less of a person. They do not need to provide baby changing tables either. Wonder how people would feel about having to leave the park to change diapers. They do because it is the right thing to do to make the trip pleasant. The chair is my legs to get around the park. I would even pay to get electricity to be able to stay in the park. All it means if even with a good battery I can not stay in the park the full time ever. They may not be required by law since I do not understand the ADA rules. All I know is my power wheelchair will not last all day at Disney. To Come from Ontario Canada to Anaheim California is a very long trip. I would hope Disney would do the right thing and provide and outlet. I sat there charging and was very sad. So until you experience it you can not judge my feelings. I felt awful.

I'm sorry you're unhappy with the location of the charging station they do provide.

 

[livndisney]

Yes when you are with abled bodied friends and have to leave the park you do feel less of a person. They do not need to provide baby changing tables either. Wonder how people would feel about having to leave the park to change diapers. They do because it is the right thing to do to make the trip pleasant.

The chair is my legs to get around the park. I would even pay to get electricity to be able to stay in the park.

All it means if even with a good battery I can not stay in the park the full time ever. They may not be required by law since I do not understand the ADA rules. All I know is my power wheelchair will not last all day at Disney. To Come from Ontario Canada to Anaheim California is a very long trip. I would hope Disney would do the right thing and provide and outlet.

I sat there charging and was very sad. So until you experience it you can not judge my feelings. I felt awful.

You said they did provide an outlet-you just did not like the location.

I don't know that anyone is "judging your feelings" by commenting on this thread.

 

[Mrsjvb]

For wheelchairs? They may actually be required to supply a recharging station. I think she has a valid complaint. For phones, no. Wheelchairs, yes.

but there ARE recharging stations. and DL is incredibly small/compact(relatively speaking) and it is not a huge inconvenience to return to the location provided.

 

[carissa1970]

Seems to me that people are being rather harsh. Just my personal opinion.

 

[JillyBean1899]

Seems to me that people are being rather harsh. Just my personal opinion.

I think the problem is that a number of people have complained about the accommodations that Disney does provide, because they aren't exactly the way they want them to be. Yes, it is inconvenient to have to travel to the wheelchair/ECV rental place to charge the chair, but I'm sure there aren't a lot of people that need to use the chargers during the day. The OP even said their battery was close to needing to be replaced, so why didn't they replace it before they left seems to be a logical question.

What kind of power supply is required for charging the chair at home? Does it work at home off a normal wall outlet, or does it need a special higher (voltage? watt? I dunno, which one, I'm not an electrician lol) one?

They did offer to allow the use of an ECV while the chair was charging. Was this declined because the OP physically isn't able to use an ECV (like they need additional support while sitting that the chair is designed/padded to provide)? Or was it just because they insisted on remaining in their own chair? No, it's not ideal, but at least it would have allowed the OP to continue wandering the park while their personal chair was charging.

 

[Poohforyou]

I imagine you thought you needed new batteries because your current ones weren't charging completely or holding their charge. That's what happens when a battery gets towards the end of it's life. I'm sorry this happened to you but I just don't see where Disney is at fault.

 

[Belle1997]

I was offered a normal wheelchair. I did not really have the money for new batteries as they would cost over $400.00. Since before I could plug it into many outlets no problems I did not see the need to get a new battery. Just to fly to LA costs $700.00. So knowing I could go most of the day on a charge and top up never saw it as an issue. Even on a full battery if I spend all day at the park it needs a top up just to be safe.

It plugs into a normal home outlet. I really find it strange how so many feel it is ok to have to leave the park.

I am asking for one outlet in each park out of says hundreds of outlets they have.

I know if someone else had posted about this I would have showed understanding. So did the many people standing in line behind me at guest services. Strangers who thought it was not right either.

I never had to leave my chair before. I am asking for a working outlet in the park. I really can not believe the people posting most of these comments use a power wheelchair. Not a Scooter but a chair they need to for their legs. Because I do not think there is much understanding on this thread.

It is more like tough luck. At least you got one. Better than nothing. Who cares if you loose your feeling of independence. Feel trapped because you can not push the manual chair they could provide. So it is inconvenient oh well too bad.

Be happy you have someone that out of the goodness of there heart will give you a little electricity.

I am just scratching my head just wondering why people think this is ok. Though from what I am reading most do not use a power wheelchair. I was hoping for support what I have gotten is the exact opposite.

 

[Hannathy]

It's your battery. A battery at the end of it's life takes a long time to take a charge if it even will. Believe me Disney didn't "turn the power low" to the outlets!!!

Now an outlet may be turned off as in no power going to it but they don't alter the level of power going to it as you call it. That would take a massive amount of work and money to accomplish, if at all possible.

 

[aaarcher86]

I was offered a normal wheelchair. I did not really have the money for new batteries as they would cost over $400.00. Since before I could plug it into many outlets no problems I did not see the need to get a new battery. Just to fly to LA costs $700.00. So knowing I could go most of the day on a charge and top up never saw it as an issue. Even on a full battery if I spend all day at the park it needs a top up just to be safe. It plugs into a normal home outlet. I really find it strange how so many feel it is ok to have to leave the park. I am asking for one outlet in each park out of says hundreds of outlets they have. I know if someone else had posted about this I would have showed understanding. So did the many people standing in line behind me at guest services. Strangers who thought it was not right either. I never had to leave my chair before. I am asking for a working outlet in the park. I really can not believe the people posting most of these comments use a power wheelchair. Not a Scooter but a chair they need to for their legs. Because I do not think there is much understanding on this thread. It is more like tough luck. At least you got one. Better than nothing. Who cares if you loose your feeling of independence. Feel trapped because you can not push the manual chair they could provide. So it is inconvenient oh well too bad. Be happy you have someone that out of the goodness of there heart will give you a little electricity. I am just scratching my head just wondering why people think this is ok. Though from what I am reading most do not use a power wheelchair. I was hoping for support what I have gotten is the exact opposite.

At the end of the day your battery is your responsibility. I understand that you went into thinking you could charge anywhere, but they didn't do anything wrong by discontinuing that option. They're providing a place that you can charge your battery. If it's not to your liking you'd need to make sure your battery is ready for a day at the parks. Most people do not have to charge through the day from what I've read on here.

If they gave you 'one outlet' somewhere else in the park there'd be a line of scooters using it at any given time and you still wouldn't get to utilize it the way you'd like. Power chairs and EVCs are bulky. It'd require a whole area to set up one or two outlets for charging.

I think it's okay because they are not going against ADA. I think it's less convenient, but they are required to do what you're asking.

 

[JillyBean1899]

I was offered a normal wheelchair. I did not really have the money for new batteries as they would cost over $400.00. Since before I could plug it into many outlets no problems I did not see the need to get a new battery. Just to fly to LA costs $700.00. So knowing I could go most of the day on a charge and top up never saw it as an issue. Even on a full battery if I spend all day at the park it needs a top up just to be safe.

It plugs into a normal home outlet. I really find it strange how so many feel it is ok to have to leave the park.

I am asking for one outlet in each park out of says hundreds of outlets they have.

I know if someone else had posted about this I would have showed understanding. So did the many people standing in line behind me at guest services. Strangers who thought it was not right either.

I never had to leave my chair before. I am asking for a working outlet in the park. I really can not believe the people posting most of these comments use a power wheelchair. Not a Scooter but a chair they need to for their legs. Because I do not think there is much understanding on this thread.

It is more like tough luck. At least you got one. Better than nothing. Who cares if you loose your feeling of independence. Feel trapped because you can not push the manual chair they could provide. So it is inconvenient oh well too bad.

Be happy you have someone that out of the goodness of there heart will give you a little electricity.

I am just scratching my head just wondering why people think this is ok. Though from what I am reading most do not use a power wheelchair. I was hoping for support what I have gotten is the exact opposite.

You're putting words and thoughts into our heads that aren't there. No, not all of us use chairs. Does that mean that we can't have questions as to *WHY* what was offered wasn't acceptable?

As for wanting just *ONE* outlet in the park ... well, some people still wouldn't be satisfied. "I ran out of juice near XYZ, and had to go ALLLLL the way over to ABC. There should be a station on each side of the park!!" Which would then turn into "The charger at ABC was being used, so I had to go ALLLLL the way over to XYZ ... there needs to be more than one charger in each location!"

I didn't realize they only offered a manual chair. That's wrong. I personally got ECVs for temporary use by guests that had problems with their personal electric wheelchair when I worked at Universal (luckily those were all days when there were plenty available). That was one of those "creative solutions" that my supervisors loved because it solved a problem without really costing the company any money. True, they missed out on the rental fee, but if it was sitting there waiting to be rented, they weren't making money on it anyway. Since that solution crossed my mind, I assumed that it would have crossed the minds of the Disney CMs, too. Then again, they may have been out of ECVs and that's why they didn't offer one. Not sure, cause I wasn't there, and since I'm also not sure if the configuration of a power chair is needed by you, it might not have been an option anyway.

I'm never shy about asking people questions. I'm *NOT* blind/deaf/wheelchair user, so I *DON'T* know exactly what the challenges are. I also figure that they already know they're blind/deaf/using a wheelchair, so it's not like I'm going to ask a paraplegic how the hand controls on their car work and they're all of a sudden going to say "What?!?! You mean I'm in a wheelchair and nobody told me!?!?" I do know, however, that what works for one person won't necessarily work for another. That's why I ask questions, because if I don't, I have no idea how to help someone or what suggestions to offer. I'm sure I've driven J and D nuts at school with questions about their gear (Poor D spent 15 minutes explaining to me one day how a Braille typewriter works ... I'd had the random thought "how do you fix it if you make a mistake when typing?" ... I mean, it's not like they can use white-out or something). I even jokingly call the accessible technology room at school their "toy room" because they have all this neat technology that they use to be able to do their schoolwork with minimal help from the rest of us.

Not all of us are asking because we're mean. A lot of us are asking because we're honestly curious and want to learn.

 

[Belle1997]

Thank you for your post. I totally understand why you were asking these questions. It was not just one post it was the whole feel of the thread. I would be willing to pay for a spot. Or book a time to top up. Even on brand new batteries it can not do all day and night at the park. I get really nervous if it gets down to 60% because it tends to go down fast after that. There are a lot of ramps and hills that normally I do not notice till I get low.

I do not mind people asking questions. There are very few personal ecv's at disneyland from what I see. The rental scooters tend to have very long lasting batteries. I know people would complain of one is not enough. I have no issues planning a time to use and outlet. I would like to sit in my chair while this is being done. Since I have special seat and back.

 

[Belle1997]

It's your battery. A battery at the end of it's life takes a long time to take a charge if it even will. Believe me Disney didn't "turn the power low" to the outlets!!!

Now an outlet may be turned off as in no power going to it but they don't alter the level of power going to it as you call it. That would take a massive amount of work and money to accomplish, if at all possible.

Ok just seemed strange that at the hotel it charged fine.

 

[SueM in MN]

I traveled from Canada to Disneyland. I needed to get new batteries but knew I could find many outlets to plug in for a half hour and keep going.

Well after plugging in more than once I noticed the light on my battery charger was dim. After almost an hour of trying to charge I would go from 80 to 85%.

The year before I could go from 80% to 100% in less than 1/2 hour.

I went to guest relations to ask where I could plug in my power wheelchair. I told them I notice the current in the outlets was very low.

They said the only place I could go was to the scooter rentals. You have to leave the park. It is in the center of the two parks.

When I went there I was told I would have to leave my chair with them and sit in a rental park chair.

This is not acceptable. To have to wait in line again to get back into the park.

Usually I would go charge my chair for a bit when friends would ride a ride. Now I have to leave the Park.

Disney needs to have at least one charging place for scooters and wheelchairs inside the park. They did not seem to care. I felt like a second class citizen.

I know people were using the outlets for their phones. So they turned the power off or low.

I am going to write Disney about this. Had I known I might have put the $400.00 out for new batteries instead of worrying about how much power I had left most of the day.

Please pass this info on to whoever needs to charge their batteries there. I wish I had known.

I don't know what electrical power outlets in Canada are like, but I think Canada uses the same type of outlets as the US.
The parts I bolded are not possible in the US - regular outlets are 120 Volts and 60 Hertz. (The US also has 220 Volt outlets, but those are only for specific dedicated use for electric dryers and electric stoves).
It's possible that Disneyland may have disconnected some outlets that they no longer needed.
It's not possible to 'turn down the current'. If the outlet is active, it is giving the same amount of power. Phone power charger cords use the same outlets as power charger cords for wheelchairs.

Since your battery was charging, just slow, the problem would likely be either with your battery or your charger, not the outlet. It is possible for power outlets to be 'loose' and not giving a good connection (that happens when people pull a cord out by the cord rather than the plug). But, usually, we notice that because the outlet feels 'wiggly' when plugging in.

There is no requirement for any business to provide a place for customers/guests to charge equipment, even mobility equipment. There is also no requirement for them to provide a replacement for a customer/guest to use while charging their own.
While it would be nice for DL to provide charging stations for ECVs, those are courtesies, not requirements.

So, I guess the important things to keep in mind are not to count on being able to charge equipment and making sure batteries are functioning well before going on a trip.

 

[SMD]

I was offered a normal wheelchair. I did not really have the money for new batteries as they would cost over $400.00. Since before I could plug it into many outlets no problems I did not see the need to get a new battery. Just to fly to LA costs $700.00. So knowing I could go most of the day on a charge and top up never saw it as an issue. Even on a full battery if I spend all day at the park it needs a top up just to be safe.

It plugs into a normal home outlet. I really find it strange how so many feel it is ok to have to leave the park.

I am asking for one outlet in each park out of says hundreds of outlets they have.

I know if someone else had posted about this I would have showed understanding. So did the many people standing in line behind me at guest services. Strangers who thought it was not right either.

I never had to leave my chair before. I am asking for a working outlet in the park. I really can not believe the people posting most of these comments use a power wheelchair. Not a Scooter but a chair they need to for their legs. Because I do not think there is much understanding on this thread.

It is more like tough luck. At least you got one. Better than nothing. Who cares if you loose your feeling of independence. Feel trapped because you can not push the manual chair they could provide. So it is inconvenient oh well too bad.

Be happy you have someone that out of the goodness of there heart will give you a little electricity.

I am just scratching my head just wondering why people think this is ok. Though from what I am reading most do not use a power wheelchair. I was hoping for support what I have gotten is the exact opposite.

I understand why the chair rental is outside of the park, it's so Disney doesn't have to staff 2 locations. The rental is a few feet from the gates and the line to get back into the park is usually only a few people and doesn't even take 5 minutes. I understand it's frustrating, but people who need to exchange wheelchairs or strollers that they rented are in the same boat. You said you use a chair, so it doesn't seem illogical that you'd get a manual wheelchair as your free rental instead of an ECV. Did you ask for an ECV if you needed one? Maybe they were out for the day.

But after reading your latest post, you chose to spend $700 to fly to Disney instead of $400 to replace the battery. With the additional information you provided, if your chair was at 80% and you didn't want to go below 60%, you could have stayed in the park until you were closer to 60% and then gone back to your hotel, where you said it charged faster. That would have also resulted in more park time without having to switch to a manual chair. Earlier I politely offered you a suggestion on how you could charge the chair elsewhere in the park. You're welcome, by the way. If I had read your subsequent posts first, I wouldn't have bothered.