Anyone else notice the Electric Wheelchair abuse at WDW?

[Kallison]

My Mom and MIL both rented scooters from an outside company on our last two trips. Both of them are capable of walking for short distances. So they would park and walk onto the ride, then we would send one of the kids to get it for them wherever the ride came out. So if you saw a 12 year old boy zipping by you, that was my son fetching it for his grandma. My Mom made out fine -- but I do not want to take my MIL again with the scooter.

 

[Talking Hands]

I will not degrade myself to a freaking "wheelchair path" just because some wheelchair/strollers/ECV users can be rude and inconsiderate. This is 2005 ma'am. I will not go to the back of the bus.

Lindsay I have to agree completely with this. I go as slow as possible in crowds. As I use a power wheelchair this is not always easy. Unfortunately because I am also hard of hearing I don't hear someone coming behind and frequently will get cut off. I have on occasion refused to use the path directed to by castmembers because it is unsafe in the crowds. Normally they are understanding. Some wheelchair/ECV users are rude and inconsiderate but so are some walkers who refuse to look where the are going or cut you off. It's a two way street.

 

[gonga]

My husband and I and friends were leaving Fantasmic one night recently and got caught in the crush leaving. In back of us were two people on ECV's who kept beeping, beeping their horn so everyone would get out of their way so they could leave faster!! Hello?? Sorry, but we're all in this together.....the incessant horn doesn't endear anyone to the masses who have to walk!! I just wish people would be considerate with strollers, wheelchairs, etc. Twice my friend got hit in the ankle with a wheelchair - person pushing it was looking off in the distance, and then by a stroller. Woman smiled, then went on her merry way...Disney should definately have a "pedestrian" walkway only...It's hard to be in the middle of a stroller "convoy" down Main Street, and not get run over. And PLEASE, PLEASE, don't stop suddenly to read the map in the middle of the walkway...

Life rule #1 - Idiots and Morons come in all colors, shapes, sizes and they drive all kinds of vehicles. There is not doubt these people were behaving badly, but they were not behaving badly because thye were in ECV's..They sound like the kind of rude people that would push you out of the way no matter what.

To have different lanes in WDW is absolutely the most ridicolous thing I have ever heard Do you mean HOV type lanes?
What do you do when people disobey the rules......Maybe have Chip and
Dale give out moving violation tickets!!!!

I have a better idea....how about seperate lines for people with B.O...... now that's a great idea

I don't think WDW needs seperate lanes, I think people of all shapes, sizes, cultures and modes of transportation need to remember tolerance, NOT SEPERATISM. WDW attracts people from all over the world. Putting different lanes for different abilities is the worst possible idea. I guess we will ALL have to tough it out with each other. I think the problem is everyone is in a such a rush....to what and where I don't know. There is enought time, enough space, food, monorails, trams, turkey legs for all. No pushing or rushing is necessary.

Do you understand the true meaning of what you are saying?

That is just not what Disney is about.

 

[minijeanie]

another comment....

I have severe arthritis...in back and knees. I would never think of renting a wheelchair...

the worst part is waiting line...just standing...but..if I know a line is too long, I just let kids and DH stand in it and I sit out...

so...flame me if you must,,,but I believe a wheelchair is for a person who ....
well you decide if you really need it

 

[tigercat]

I ended up having to rent a scooter the last 2 days at Disney this vacation. I had done really well up until then but it was either stay at the hotel while the rest went to the parks or rent a scooter. What I found was that the people walking were so very rude and inconsidered. I was so amazed at the amount of people that would walk right in front of me (I had it in slow speed) and then stop. I never bumped anyone, but that was just plain luck and me watching people. Or they would walk right across my path and start walking really slow. As a fast way of moving around the park it isn't. Maybe some of the people that got cut off by EVC are the one's that are really at fault by walking in a way that the EVC couldn't stop fast enough.
tigercat

 

[SueM in MN]

I couldn't have said it better myself!!

I'm shocked at the posts in this thread that mention how people just "know" others fake the wheelchair/evc need. How does someone know that? Just by looking at them? .........
Mary

I've posted this before, so if you have read it before, I apologize, but......
There are people who think they can tell and some of them are rude enough to mention it loud enough for the person they think is "faking" to hear.
One day, at Epcot, my DD was sitting on a bench. Her legs were crossed and she was swinging her top leg, enjoying the nice day. Her wheelchair was parked next to her and I was sitting next to her on the bench. My DH had gone to get a pretzel for DD.
As they went by, one man pointed at my DD and commented (LOUDLY) to his companions about "that girl faking with that wheelchair". He went on for a few more sentences about how people get wheelchairs just to get ahead in line. (For the record, most lines are wheelchair accessible).
He might have thought he could tell, but, in fact, my DD is not able to walk, or even stand by herself. She didn't get to the bench herself; my DH helped her to stand up, pivot and move a little closer to the bench to sit down. As he was doing that, I moved her wheelchair a little farther away and parked it next to her. Then, I helped her cross her leg, because she can't even always do that without help. She owns 2 wheelchairs, an almost $9,000 custom power one and an almost $6,000 custom manual one.
But......
because she was sitting on a bench, he could tell she was faking and didn't need a wheelchair. So I guess that means when I buy the new van we are looking at, I don't need to add in the almost $17,000 extra (on top of the cost of the van) for a wheelchair ramp, tiedowns and a lowered floor?

His rude comments took some of the magic out of that beautiful day and even now writing about it, it hurts. People like him are the reason that some people who really would benefit from a wheelchair or ecv don't get one.

 

[seashoreCM]

Sometimes rude people need to be told off immediately.

Loudly: "I never knew a doctor like that rude man in the (color) shirt who can tell what sickness someone has from 20 feet away."

Loudly: "That man in the (color) shirt got a mental handicap, no brains. He can't tell what illness you have."

(copied from another post)

Suggestion for a yellow diamond sign to put behind an ECV or wheelchair:

"I can walk but only to first base"

(approximate script from 1970's Incredible Hulk TV series starring Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno. If you don't know Lou Ferrigno, he is a body building contemporary of Arnold Schwartznegger)

David Banner (he's called David in this series) and injured motorcyclist are standing in the door of a doctor's office.

Doctor: I know your kind, you're looking for a drug prescription.

David: I'm amazed you can tell from where you are standing that this man (who was fully clothed) does not have a broken arm without an examination let alone taking X-rays.

 

[Schmeck]

Many have mentioned a 'front of the line' perk that supposedly comes with the wheelchair/ecv - I thought that wasn't true, that most lines were handicap accessible, and you went in with everyone else?

 

[seashoreCM]

There is no front of the line perk that comes with a wheelchair or ECV. Occasionally the CM handling disabled folks does not read the guest assistance card carefully and/or, to simplify his job, lets that guest in sooner (once in awhile later).

 

[sodaseller]

My elderly mother has had both knees replaced and a major "revision" surgery on one. When we returned to the parks after rehab, my brother suggested that she get a motorized scooter so she could be self-sufficient even if my wife or I were not somewhere else for a moment. She has never operated a scooter. We decided that the MK was not the place to learn. I had visions of others guest toppling with an out of control scooter. We still laugh at the thought. She may learn one day, but we will stick with the Wheelchair for now. Must admit it is nice to skip some lines, but believe me, it is also difficult in many ways. I can't imagine anyone doing it just to move up on some lines

 

[momandseandodisney]

I understand where people can get "bugged" with some of the misuse, but what I want to point out is the "medical assistance" type pass I get for my son when in Disney he has severe ADD and OCD, and does not fair well in lines, I use this pass for him, so that he can enjoy the rides just like all the other kids, but when people don’t see him pull up in a wheel chair, and it does not "look" like there is anything wrong with him, some Disney goers, get very rude and demand to know why I get this pass! COME ON I find that very rude, so before you judge (not saying all or any of you do) just keep in mind some people use thing because they need to, not just because they are lazy

 

[momandseandodisney]

I understand where people can get "bugged" with some of the misuse, but what I want to point out is the "medical assistance" type pass I get for my son when in Disney he has severe ADD and OCD, and does not fair well in lines, I use this pass for him, so that he can enjoy the rides just like all the other kids, but when people don’t see him pull up in a wheel chair, and it does not "look" like there is anything wrong with him, some Disney goers, get very rude and demand to know why I get this pass!


Also can someone help me, I know I got this pass in 2003 but forgot how lol

Can anyone direct me to some information for it?

my son does not require a wheel chiar, sometimes only a stroller, he gets out of it alot, i just want to know the different options there are for this pass etc. We went last time in Sept 2003 and did not wait in line for over say 5 mins with this pass, and sometimes that 5 mins seemed like a life time, as I am sure many of you have faced.

Thank you

 

[Disney1fan2002]

There is regulation. To get a regular wheelchair you simply rent it, but to get the electronic equipment you must show proof either from a doctor or state that you are in fact in need of the equipment.

I did not need to show proof that I need the electric scooter. I could barely walk, I was crippled with an RA flare, so maybe they could SEE how badly I needed it? This was almost 4 years ago, has the policy changed?

 

[Disney1fan2002]

My elderly mother has had both knees replaced and a major "revision" surgery on one. When we returned to the parks after rehab, my brother suggested that she get a motorized scooter so she could be self-sufficient even if my wife or I were not somewhere else for a moment. She has never operated a scooter. We decided that the MK was not the place to learn. I had visions of others guest toppling with an out of control scooter. We still laugh at the thought. She may learn one day, but we will stick with the Wheelchair for now. Must admit it is nice to skip some lines, but believe me, it is also difficult in many ways. I can't imagine anyone doing it just to move up on some lines

Oh dear, good choice! MIL came with us this past November, and I lost count on how many people she ran over. It was very embarrasing!

I don't know if alot of people realize Disney has restructured their lines. Now, most lines are able to accomodate a wheelchair/scooter, so they have to wait just like the rest of us. We did get right on with Splash Mountain and Thunder Mountain, but other lines that could not accomodate, we had to come back after the wait time. For instance, the Jungle Cruise had a 45 minute wait. The line could not accomodate the scooter, so the CM gave us a pass that gave us a time of 45 minutes later ( kind of like a FP) There were other rides that did that also.

My point is, Disney must be aware of the abuse, because they took actions to change it. If people are renting scooters to go to the front of the line, they are going to be disappointed, when they find they are waiting right along side everyone else.

 

[Toby]

I know that Disney isn't going to have different lanes (HOV or other Gonga!!). My basic gripe, I guess, is Disney has poorly planned crowd disbursement when Fantasmic ends. Thousands of people trying to leave down skinny walkways - wheelchairs, strollers, etc. and then coverging in front of ToT - God forbid, you lose someone in that crowd. That whole area of TOT, RNRC is so congested. Why didn't they put some of these attractions, or at least Fantasmic where the Osborne Lights were set up. Those streets are nice and wide...I realize that it's too late now for any changes, but talk about poorly being designed!! No wonder people get run over!!

 

[SueM in MN]

Many have mentioned a 'front of the line' perk that supposedly comes with the wheelchair/ecv - I thought that wasn't true, that most lines were handicap accessible, and you went in with everyone else?

There is front of the line access for ill children on WISH trips and for people on equipment necessary for life that have limited battery life (for example battery operated ventilators breathing for them).

But othere than that, most guests traveling in wheelchairs or ecvs wait in the same lines as everyone else. This is called Mainstream Access; all fastpass lines and most other lines now are fully wheelchair accessible. MK and Epcot have had new and renovated rides changed to Mainstream Access over the years. The Studio and AK (being newer) were built with Mainstream Access.

That was not the case 10 to 15 years ago. The lines may have looked accessible (no steps), but the tight turns in a lot of queues are very difficult for someone in a wheelchair or ecv to negotiate. It takes a 5 foot space to turn a wheelchair or ecv - they don't turn on a dime.
Even with a wide line (like the line going into Living Seas), all the twists and turns make it hard for someone in a wheelchair or ecv to get in. A lot of the lines start out fairly wide, but the queue gradually narrows to form people into a neat, single file line by the time they get to boarding. It gets too narrow for wheelchairs. As they renovated rides, they made queues wider and turns less sharp (part of the reason people are able to sneak ahead in line now).

There are some rides where you don't get on and off at the same point. Somehow the wheelchair has to be available for the person to board and get off. That is usually handled by taking the party using a wheelchair out of line. In the past, it had to be before the line got too narrow, etc. As they renovated or built new rides, the "pull off" point got closer to the boarding point. For example, in Dinosaur, the "pull-off" point is as you enter the actual room where you board your time travel vehicle. There is a door that leads to the exit and persons traveling in wheelchairs wait there to board. We board pretty much at the same time as the other people we entered the area with. The "pull off" for Imagination is where the moving walkway starts. For Haunted Mansion, it is a bit before the turnstiles. While the group we were waiting with is going thru the first part of the ride (including the stretching room - which we miss), people in wheelchairs are taken to the exit to board there. At the wheelchair boarding area, there is usually a wait (just because we disappeared doesn't mean we got on right away).

There is no front of the line perk that comes with a wheelchair or ECV. Occasionally the CM handling disabled folks does not read the guest assistance card carefully and/or, to simplify his job, lets that guest in sooner (once in awhile later).

Most people traveling with wheelchairs or ecvs don't have a Guest Assistance Card because just having the wheelchair lets the CM know the person needs to use the accessible entrance. The Guest Assistance Card is a tool to let CMs know what additional assistance is needed by people with invisible disabilities (not all the cards are the same). The Guest Assistance Card format was changed about 3 or 4 years ago so there is an icon (no reading necessary) that the CM can glance at quickly to see what assistance the person needs.

To explain about "simplify the CM's job".....
There are evacuation/fire safety rules about how many people with special needs can be on one ride at a time. The CMs also log how many times they stop a continually loading ride per hour. We sometimes have to wait longer because they have already exceeded the number of stops for that time period. If there are already special needs people waiting, the "greeter" CM may bring a wheelchair party in from farther back in the line. That way, they can "bunch up" the wheelchair parties and make less ride stops. It's not a "perk" for the wheelchair guests, it's a way to make the ride run more effeciently and with less interuptions for guests not using wheelchairs.
We have sometimes had to come back later because there were already too many wheelchair parties in the boarding area or because the staff at that ride was currently too busy to allow special needs boarding. This happened on our last trip when we were in line at Haunted Mansion. We got to a certain point and the CM said the waiting area was full. He gave us a slip with a time written on it and told us to return an hour later to the Fastpass line.
Sometimes the addtional wait can be longer than the regular wait in line. A few years ago, we had gotten in line for Kilamonjari Safari because the posted wait time was 10 minutes. That was true for the regular line, which had no wait and people were basically walking in as fast as they could. For the wheelchair car (which boards in view of the regular line), we had a 40 minute wait (in addition to the 10 minutes we expected) because they were only running one wheelchair car.

Shows have a limited number of wheelchair accessible seats. Once that number of wheelchairs has arrived, anyone else traveling with a wheelchair or ecv has to wait for the next show (even if you had a Fastpass for that time). Most of the wheelchair seats for shows are in the back row of the theater. A few shows have some seats in the front row, which means the stage is above you, not very comfortable viewing.

 

[SueM in MN]

Also can someone help me, I know I got this pass in 2003 but forgot how lol

Can anyone direct me to some information for it?

my son does not require a wheel chiar, sometimes only a stroller, he gets out of it alot, i just want to know the different options there are for this pass etc. We went last time in Sept 2003 and did not wait in line for over say 5 mins with this pass, and sometimes that 5 mins seemed like a life time, as I am sure many of you have faced.

Thank you

it's not really a pass - is not meant to give immediate access or shorten or eliminate waits in line, just provide more appropriate access/waiting place for the needs of the person.
Follow the link in my signature to the disABILITIES Board or send me a PM.

 

[SueM in MN]

I did not need to show proof that I need the electric scooter. I could barely walk, I was crippled with an RA flare, so maybe they could SEE how badly I needed it? This was almost 4 years ago, has the policy changed?

no.
Since it is expensive to rent scooters (current price to rent one is $40 a day at the parks), that cost in itself is a deterrent. Most people are not going to fork out an extra $40 a day for something they don't really need.

 

[colleen costello]

Sue, thanks to you (as always) for your informative posts. My Mom uses a scooter and due to the "suspicions" of people about "how disabled she really is," it took us a long time to convince her to get one. She tries very hard to be careful of people and not drive into them, but in a crazy crowd it is hard. The things don't stop instantly, even though they are pre-set by the rental company to a very slow speed. Often when there is a crowd scene (like exiting Fantasmic) we'll just sit a few minutes until the group thins out a bit so she doesn't have to navigate so carefully. Please folks -- some common sense. If you walk absentmindedly in front of someone in an ECV, they may bump you out of an inability to stop quickly enough. I try to walk alongside Mom and kind of "run interference" for her, but in a crowd it is hard. We try very hard to be considerate of others.

I highly doubt there are many abuses of these vehicles. They are expensive to rent for the week and move very slowly. We don't get to do much in a park when Mom is with us. Moving the scooter through crowds and navigating it through lines is slow work. Without the scooter, however, Mom couldn't do the parks at all. We consider the rental ones a miracle! And I respectfully disagree with the posts that suggest people with limitations should just "sit out" the rides if they can't wait in the lines. Everyone deserves a shot at enjoying their favorite attractions.

 

[WDWPartyof5]

My father is a disabled veteran. He can walk, and quite well, but for all the walking at Disney, it is too hard on his legs. In fact all that pressure on his ankles can lead to serious circulation problems. I am sure to some people who may look perfectly fine, but he isn't. Lots of people who are fully ambulatory may need to rent a scooter if they have health conditions, etc. I've even though about renting one while I am there because I will be seventh months pregnant. I've been walking several miles a day in prep for this trip, but I sure don't want to slow everyone down if I get too tuckered out or want to take the pressure off my back and bladder one day.