Child using personal ECV issue

[bidnow5]

Last week I saw a child that looked to be 10 or 12 driving an off site rental in DHS , and MK I don't know how old for sure but after seeing him several times never seen any CM say a word to him. The scooter was from buena vista

 

[pampam]

I am so sorry this is happening to you and your son. When our children have special needs like this we certainly don't need any more stress. I wish I could offer a solution, or even a hug. This brings tears to my eyes, knowing the frustration you must be feeling.

 

[goofieslonglostsis]

Might be me, but why would a powerchair be different when it comes to riding rides than an ecv? If any it will allow more (some lines requiring transfer tot manual chair for ecv do allow powerchair). I have done years of wdw in a powerchair, starting out able to make certain transfers to progressing downhill. If one can transfer, the are allowed to do so from any aid. If any difference I noticed it would be cm expecting me may needing more time than ecv user, might have more needs, and my chair being kept closer and kept a closer eye on. Also not every cm would move it, but leave it to a collegue cm with better skills, yet "drive" a ecv with obvious below par capability. Also a powerchair has a smaller foot print allowing him to get closer to a ride vehicle, easier to navigate busy street or store etc. Bonus; now he must transfer to ride, with powerchair on a bad day he has the option on quite a lot of rides to ride in the chair, even if it is just after a "long" day, tred from previous transfers but quite able to go on without transfer. Incl option to safe transfers for when needed, like to and from bed, allowing him to optimise transfer usage/energy to where he has no other option.

Also takes away a lot of worries for you when he does umderstand english better (which will be fast if watching any tv or movies in english with or without subtitels. The standard in my nation with much stuff from the ustaat. Result; kids understand very young). Should be or not, there is more understanding for using a powerchair than ecv in general public.

 

[JenniBugInPink]

I thought I had posted an update before we went on our cruise and then visited WDW afterwards, but obviously I didn't push the right button or my computer didn't finish
I had received a call back from the CM/Park Duty Manager at DHS and the outcome was that after discussion with some higher ups there is now a file on my son with all of the background of our story and that from now on all I would need to do was go by Guest Services and give them the file number and they would issue a blue tag and mark it child driver. He did say, I did not have to have the blue tag and it was up to me if I wanted to stop or not, but that it was all in place now and we should not be delayed again. While this won't necessarily help others, it at least was in place for our trip that was coming up fast. I did tell him that it did not address other child ECV drivers and what should they do. He suggested calling the Special Needs Services number and trying to get the same thing in place before travel or upon entry to the first park.
So after our cruise we went to EPCOT and headed straight to guest services. Well.....I was told I had to wait again for a Park Duty Manager because they do not allow children under 18 to drive an ECV. So much for the file! I had to wait over 30 minutes until 2 Park Duty Managers came from the International Gateway entrance. They told me I would have to wait for a Park Duty Manager each time I had to get a new blue tag (1 per trip- not daily) They also said that EPCOT would be the only park I would have to wait more than a couple of minutes as they have 2 Guest Service offices. Well that is not true as I had to wait longer at DHS when I was waiting for the Park Duty manager the last time. All of this is not acceptable, but after several other CM comments and attitudes, I needed time to decompress before tackling the matter. For those who will say, just forget the tag, I had to point to it several times in the few hours we were there. Most of the time the CM would then nod and smile. Several others still made negative comments or handled it inappropriately. The worst was when we were about halfway through the queue for Journey into Imagination and a CM came running up from somewhere, chasing my son down, yelling "No! No! He can't be driving that! He is not old enough! Stop!" I showed her the blue tag and she argued with me and I explained that there is a file on him and I had already dealt with the Park Duty Managers and he is allowed to drive his personal ECV.
My son had a great time this last time as he is still learning the english language and doesn't really understand that it is all about him using his scooter, but unfortunately WDW went from a place I looked forward to and loved to visit to now a feeling of dread about returning. My choice seems to be 1) take away the independence he has using his scooter (which is his daily mobility device) and push him in a wheelchair 2) wait until he is a few years older and in a power wheelchair(which then means he won't be able to do many of the rides he can now) 3) go and have a stressed filled trip for me, but hopefully fun for my kids. 4) Go higher up in Disney to try to find a better approach to a child using a personal ECV- but still may boil down to the first 3 choices as who knows how long that may take and due to the progression of my sons DMD he may be at option 2 by then.

I have no advice, but just wanted to say how sorry I am that you have had to deal with these hassles during your trip. Life can be hard enough, and we go to Disney to try and escape a little. It shouldn't be harder there!

Thanks for the update. It's ironic that he is being hassled with his own device, when we are here now and have seen several young kids (look like pre-teens or very young teens) riding off-site rentsl ECVs that no one seems to be batting an eye at.

Ridiculous, isn't it? Gagging at gnats and swallowing camels, as an old mentor of mine used to say.

 

[bairdbeth]

I would love to have a power chair for him and avoid all the hassle, but I do not have an accessible van yet and since he is only 8, he would outgrow or his needs would change before insurance would pay for another chair. I can take the scooter apart and lift it myself to load in my mini van and it was a much more affordable out of pocket option than the power chair (insurance is paying for his manual chair which he will need as a backup in years to come as well. Currently his backup is a loaner Convaid Cruiser which has zero support, but works as backup for now)
I will say that we had a great time at MNSSHP and only received positive comments about his scooter (but then again his scooter was transformed into Bullseye and he was dressed as Woody )

 

[catra121]

I thought I had posted an update before we went on our cruise and then visited WDW afterwards, but obviously I didn't push the right button or my computer didn't finish
I had received a call back from the CM/Park Duty Manager at DHS and the outcome was that after discussion with some higher ups there is now a file on my son with all of the background of our story and that from now on all I would need to do was go by Guest Services and give them the file number and they would issue a blue tag and mark it child driver. He did say, I did not have to have the blue tag and it was up to me if I wanted to stop or not, but that it was all in place now and we should not be delayed again. While this won't necessarily help others, it at least was in place for our trip that was coming up fast. I did tell him that it did not address other child ECV drivers and what should they do. He suggested calling the Special Needs Services number and trying to get the same thing in place before travel or upon entry to the first park.
So after our cruise we went to EPCOT and headed straight to guest services. Well.....I was told I had to wait again for a Park Duty Manager because they do not allow children under 18 to drive an ECV. So much for the file! I had to wait over 30 minutes until 2 Park Duty Managers came from the International Gateway entrance. They told me I would have to wait for a Park Duty Manager each time I had to get a new blue tag (1 per trip- not daily) They also said that EPCOT would be the only park I would have to wait more than a couple of minutes as they have 2 Guest Service offices. Well that is not true as I had to wait longer at DHS when I was waiting for the Park Duty manager the last time. All of this is not acceptable, but after several other CM comments and attitudes, I needed time to decompress before tackling the matter. For those who will say, just forget the tag, I had to point to it several times in the few hours we were there. Most of the time the CM would then nod and smile. Several others still made negative comments or handled it inappropriately. The worst was when we were about halfway through the queue for Journey into Imagination and a CM came running up from somewhere, chasing my son down, yelling "No! No! He can't be driving that! He is not old enough! Stop!" I showed her the blue tag and she argued with me and I explained that there is a file on him and I had already dealt with the Park Duty Managers and he is allowed to drive his personal ECV.
My son had a great time this last time as he is still learning the english language and doesn't really understand that it is all about him using his scooter, but unfortunately WDW went from a place I looked forward to and loved to visit to now a feeling of dread about returning. My choice seems to be 1) take away the independence he has using his scooter (which is his daily mobility device) and push him in a wheelchair 2) wait until he is a few years older and in a power wheelchair(which then means he won't be able to do many of the rides he can now) 3) go and have a stressed filled trip for me, but hopefully fun for my kids. 4) Go higher up in Disney to try to find a better approach to a child using a personal ECV- but still may boil down to the first 3 choices as who knows how long that may take and due to the progression of my sons DMD he may be at option 2 by then.

I am so sorry you have had to go through all of this. In the end...you need to decide for yourself whether it is worth it or not. However...if it were me...I would keep fighting and following up to make sure this is taken care of. Like you said...not just for you but for anyone else with similar issues. Usually in these situations it is so much easier to just walk away and leave it alone...but my personality just doesn't let that fly for myself...but I would never think any less of a person for choosing that it's not worth it for them. You just really need to sit and think about what is best for you and your family and if it is worth the extra stress and frustration to keep fighting to make it right for future visits (not only for yourself but for others). I wish you the best of luck and hope you and your child have many many more Disney trips in your future...hassle free.

 

[MulanMom]

OP, I am so sorry to hear you are experiencing this type of frustration. But, sadly, I am not surprised. My husband has MD and we've had our own issues over the years. Just wanted to add it's a shame that moving to a power wheelchair seems to be what will resolve the situation for your son. In my husband's situation, he prefers an ECV at WDW over a power wheelchair because the ECV has a barrier (front post) which he feels protects him a bit from all the people who seem to have difficulty "seeing" guests in wheelchairs and ECVs. Hopefully, Disney gets better with your situation and your Disney trips become something to look forward to once again.

Blessings to you and your family!