Anyone else notice the Electric Wheelchair abuse at WDW?

[WDWPartyof5]

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

Thanks for posting this. In the past we have gotten the medical assistance pass for our son that has some issues as well, however to those who don't know him, he looks like a perfectly normal child. Luckily we never used it on any of the three trips we took with him last. Now he is on medication, and I think will be fine with the crowds and lines, but I was relieved that there was a pass and that I could use it if I needed it on the previous trips.

 

[phillybeth]

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!!

Simple solution to a complex problem- wait. Wait until most of the theater empties out and you will have a nice clear path for walking. That's what we chose to do on our latest trip (so DH didn't knock into anyone with his cane) and it worked wonderfully. I think we spent less time waiting in the theater than we would have in the crowds to get out.

 

[gonga]

Simple solution to a complex problem- wait. Wait until most of the theater empties out and you will have a nice clear path for walking. That's what we chose to do on our latest trip (so DH didn't knock into anyone with his cane) and it worked wonderfully. I think we spent less time waiting in the theater than we would have in the crowds to get out.

We do the same thing...either we leave a few minutes early, before the crowd or sit and wait. It's pretty simple. If you are in a hurry to get anywhere, leave before the crowd. If you have time, 5 or 10 minutes is no big deal. Everyone is in such a big hurry to get somewhere all at the same time...and to get where??

Maybe if the theaters were let out by sections that would help. But then again, there are some people that will just complain just for the sake of complaining.

 

[Julylady]

Leaving the Magic Kingdom last Saturday night I was hit three times by a lady in an electic scooter. It was my Mom! Two years ago she had a hip replacement and also has arthritis in her knee. There is no way she could walk through the parks for a whole day. A scooter enables her to enjoy the day. On Saturday, a lady stepped right in front of the scooter and my Mom tried to stop, but ended up riding over the lady's foot. She screamed at my Mom to be more careful. Duh! After that incident my Mom forced me to walk right in front of her so that if she hit someone, it would be a family member.

 

[wendy1974]

I definitely think that rude people come in all shapes, sizes colors and physical abilities. I think the bottom line is that if you are walking or in an ECV it doesn't matter the bottom line is you should be considerate of ALL the people around you. I know that we got excited because we are in WDW and sometimes stop smack-dab in the middle of a walkway or cut across a large crowd making a quick b-line to a ride but this is where accidents happen. I just wish we could all be more aware that WE are not the only ones in the Park

 

[Bellefan66]

Had to post a reply here...as someone who has had 2 surgeries, from the looks of me I looked great. However, I was cut from breastbone to the tip of my bellybutton. Trust me, I needed it. I'v used them while recovering, at Wal-Mart and got many looks from people. Towards the end I was ready to wear a shirt saying,I'v had surgery, leave me alone!
While I'm sure there will always be people who abuse a good thing,just remember the old saying,"You can't judge a book by it's cover".

 

[ckoncurat]

My mother, who was wearing sandals, had one of those electric chairs RUN OVER HER FOOT. Her toenail was cracked in half and her foot was badly bruised. This was at the Christmas Party on November 30th. The person in the chair just said "sorry" and kept going. I was only grateful it wasn't one of my children, who my mother was holding hands with at the time (2 and 4). I definitely think these are being abused. I do not think that the people on the scooters should be given right of way, line privledges, etc, unless Disney starts requiring a doctors note to rent one.

 

[missypie]

I think that using electric scooters is a "trend" at places where there is a lot of walking. Last summer, DH and I went to the huge flea market at Canton, Texas. The place was FULL of folks on scooters...the flea market is very spread out and lots of people were using the scooters solely as transportation, like they would a golf cartat a resort.

 

[WDSearcher]

I do not think that the people on the scooters should be given right of way, line privledges, etc, unless Disney starts requiring a doctors note to rent one.

Just so you know ... people on scooters do not get any sort of line priviledges. They may have a seperate area to wait, but they still must wait. They get special viewing areas for fireworks shows, but that is more so that they do NOT impede the progress of walking groups and so that they do not run over people's feet in the dark by mistake.

As for right-of-way, my mom always taught me that "the biggest thing gets right of way." The scooter is bigger than me (or, at least, it can do more harm to me than I to it), so it gets right of way from me.

As many have said, the scooter itself is not the problem, and 80% of the people driving scooters are not the problem. But those 20% of people who are running over your feet would do so whether they had a scooter, a wheelchair, a stroller, a rolling backpack, or heavy shoes. They are rude PEOPLE -- it has nothing to do with the scooter. And to punish all scooter drivers because of the rude ones isn't fair. You wouldn't want someone telling you that your 4 and 2 year olds couldn't come into a restaurant because "all children are annoying," would you? Same thing here.

 

[jclark3]

As we baby boomers age, I expect there will be more and more scooters around. Perhaps in the future, there will be scooter paths at WDW. Its very tricky to combine pedestrians with any motorized vehicles, especially in large crowds. I must say that I too experienced rude scooter drivers at Disney last year, enough so that it made me wonder if they were all necessary...

 

[Magickndm]

Perhaps in the future, there will be scooter paths at WDW....

Yeah, right next to the ignorant mean person path.

 

[Michelle2]

This wasn't at WDW, but at Universal Studios...Me and one or two of our kids were walking (IOA) and was almost run over by a group of young adults riding on the scooters. And I mean like 6 of them together! They were being really loud and obnoxious with them, and clearly weren't any older the early 20's. They looked like they were racing on them, and it looked they were having a jolly old time (maybe drinking.) I remembered thinking, "How did they get permission to go on those???"
I know that people need them, but with the way they were acting and racing, they clearly did not. I hope it didn't tie up the scooters so that those who really did need them, didn't have them!!

 

[meandtheguys2]

We just spent 2 weeks at WDW and Universal with my mom in a ECV. She broke her foot 2 months ago, but it just hadn't healed. She doesn't have a cast because it is right above her toe and a cast wasn't going to do any good. She looks peachy (for a 71 year old) and can walk thanks to very rigid shoes. But I am certain that if anyone saw her park and walk they had many of the same thoughts.

The only ride we rode in an expedient manner due to her injury and the scooter was The Great Movie Ride. All of the rest required extra waits. She also had to deal with people cutting her off constantly and totally ignoring her. She was following us into MGM and the line next to us decided our line was faster, because she was moving slowly and carefully in the scooter, and at least 20 people cut her off.

It was very frustrating for her to be treated like a non-person.

I guess there are two sides to any whine, huh?

 

[nursemelis374]

I got ran over last October at MNSSHP, when a lady decided to quickly get back in one of the candy lines in front of me and everyone else waiting. I thought it was totally rude, but I didn't think that because she was in the ECV she was rude. I assumed that she was just innately a rude person. I do remember noticing that there were a lot of the scooters around, especially in comparison to Disneyland, which is where I go a lot. I do wonder how our aging population and increase in obesity, diabetes, heart failure, etc. will affect theme parks. Many of them were not made to handle a lot of people in those types of vehicles and I think it would probably be unsafe to have too many of them around. Maybe they will eventually have to limit the number of people using them into the parks or at least limit it to only people with permanent diabilities being able to use it. For example, if you were pregnant or recovering from surgery, you could wait and come another time. I don't see them having a lot of options. This would totally suck because my mom has horrible back problems and will probably be in one in the next 10 years!

 

[LindaBabe]

I use a scooter at the world - which makes it possible for me but not always fun. AT home I mostly get by without a cane in daily life, except for shopping, parties and crowds where I might get tripped up, or the mall which I mostly can't handle even with a cane.

People don't even see you when your head is about eye level with their butt. They wonder why you run into them when they stop dead in front of you - or cut too close in front of you. For every nice person who held the door for me, i've 'run into' two who would shove through it before me or let it shut in my face. In line to see a character? Good luck! parents just push their kids in front of you. An ecv rider is a 'non-person'.

Funny story. I went to the 6 pm show of the lion king and transfered off my ecv to a bench in the elephant section. The CM asked me if I minded if she put the ecv out of the way. I said no, assuming she'd bring it back to me at the end. She didn't, and you know what a mob scene that is! Anyway, I waited for traffic to clear, and used my cane to get over where i'd seen she had taken it - WAY back in a dark corner behind the bleachers near a door. While I fumbled with the key and getting situated, THEY SHUT THE DARN DOORS and left me in there alone - I yelled my head off! Boy did somebody come a running. Shoulda kept quiet and gone back and sat down. Woulda got a great seat for the next show.

 

[MelessaG]

It would have given you a great seat if you had stayed! I'm grateful to read that most of you understand that not everyone's need for an ECV is obvious. (and I think the OP gets that too)

Since I inadvertantly left it out of my trip report, I have to mention the funniest ECV "incident" I saw while at EPCOT. An older man who was very adept at driving his ECV was amusing and annoying his wife and family by wheeling slowly up behind them and then honking the horn. The parks weren't crowded and it was clear that they were together and I just had to laugh right along with them.

 

[snyderla]

I definitely agree that there are many times when a persons disability may not be so obvious (heart problems, back problems, severe asthma etc.) I myself have known people in their 30s and 40s who have had to get handicap tags for their cars and use ECV's when walking long distances because they had heart defects that made it dangerous to walk long distances or be standing for extremely long periods of time. If you looked at these people they appeared very healthy and could walk on their own if it didn't require alot of extra physical exertion. So chances are alot of these individuals that we see in the parks do need the ECV's to get around for the day.
That being said, and I feel a little guilty for saying this because I am not grouping all people in ECV's in this category but I do get a little frustrated when I am trying to walk through the park and someone in an ECV will cut me off and nearly run over my feet and not even stop to apologize. I have also bee there with my boyfriend and his children (5 and 6 at the time) and on a few different occasions they were literally ran into by people on ECVs and no one apologized. It made me mad because while I feel that they may need that ECV I do not think that it gives them license to be reckless and disregard the people walking around them. I wouldn't intentionally cut off someone in an ECV or walk into them and if I did I would most definitely apologize and let them know it was an accident. I may get flamed but I think that the same thing can be said for alot of people who push strollers through the parks

I know you don't need proof from a doctor to use the ECV's, in October we were going to rent one for my dad who had just had a heart attack 10 days before, they were out though, so we used a wheelchair. Alot of the people using them at WDW have never done so before, and they are probably not able to handle them very well. But that is no excuse for a lack of an apology when cutting someone off or running over them, that's all the more reason to be cautious and pay attention to what you are doing, then apologize when needed! The strollers are what bug me, people who use them regularly, yet run in to me anyway and look at me like I did something wrong...really gets me going!

There are plenty of people who can walk for short periods of time, but can't handle the 8 miles per day required at WDW, or the pace needed there. I'm sure there are people who goof off and don't really need them, but I believe most people who shell out that money need them...even if they don't "look like it".

Just my 2 cents with everyone else's...

Lori

Lori

 

[SueM in MN]

My DD has used a wheelchair since she was 2 and 1/2, so she is very experienced and we are experienced pushing her. There is something about a wheelchair that makes you invisible to other people. That is not something that new users are aware of, but experienced users are used to it.
I think, as someone else mentioned, people don't see things too well at their "butt" level. It doesn't really occur to a lot of people that the wheelchair user is there because it is below their eye level. (Sort of like motorcycles on the road, people don't see them either because they are not what people are used to seeing).
Since my DD has been using a wheelchair as long as she can remember, her "mental picture" of how much space she takes up includes all the different parts of her wheelchair. She knows exactly how much space her wheelchair takes up because it is part of her. She doesn't usually run into things (or people), although people stop short in front of her, run in front of her from the side and she had had people nearly nearly land in her lap because they are not watching where they are going while doing things like trying to frame a picture.

A lot of people assume that ecvs or power wheelchairs have brakes and can stop quickly if they run in front. For the record, ecvs and wheelchairs don't have any brakes; they stop because they are no longer being given power to go forward. They take longer to stop the faster they are going and when going down a hill. A manual (push) wheelchair is hard to stop on a hill (gravity makes it go faster down the hill and it's hard to stop).

A lot of the people who use wheelchairs and ecvs at WDW are not experienced at using them so they don't some of these things about stopping them. They also may not realize how much space they take up in the wheelchair. Their "mental picture" of themselves is the amount of space they normally take up and they are not used to their feet extending out 18-24 inches more than the rest of their body. So, they miscalculate their position sometimes.

When you add all of those things together (people walking who are not really seeing wheelchair/ecv users and people in wheelchairs/ecvs who are not aware of how much space they are taking up), you are going to have some accidents.
And a lot of the walkers and drivers are not familiar with the parks and don't know where they are going. Some are just excited and not really looking where they are going for that reason.
So, I don't think it's a wheelchair or scooter problem, it's a people (of all kinds) problem.

 

[jennymouse]

I just returned from WDW with three seniors on ECVs. There's no way they could've done WDW without them, but most of the time they parked them in the stroller park area when it was time to go into an attraction or to walk around in a shop. There's no advantages to having one; they got the nose bleed section at the shows with the exception of the Lion King and Millionaire shows where they put them on the bottom rows. We always had to wait for the crowds to empty before trying to get out ourselves. They didn't get to see much of anything on the walk through trails at AK because the crowd wouldn't let them get close to the glass: example the gorillas.

None of my seniors hit anyone while on the ECVs but they all had several people dash out in front of them. They just took it slow and got in single file line in crowded conditions and I was in front. When we were at the end of the day shows, we waited for most of the crowd to leave the park so we could leave safely.

It does make me angry to hear some of the comments I've read here. I won't comment on any directly, but I believe in karma and what goes around comes around so I'm sure that those making the nasty comments will find themselves or a loved one needing an ECV one day. I mean seriously, do you think you're going to remain young and healthy for the rest of your lives?

 

[Queenie]

arizonacolbys - you say these kids where zooming around EPCOT last September? I think we may have seen the same kids. One of the ones we saw was wearing a viking hat and one had a giant donkey I seem to recall. They were obviously drunk and trying to annoy people by cutting them off. It really wound us all up, though it must be even more annoying for the people that needed the scooters if they did nick them. It's a shame one or two people like that can ruin a night just by acting like idiots.