Disney eliminates outside vendor drop off/pickup services. Must meet vendor for drop off/pickup (mobility devices only so far it seems)

[lanejudy]

These companies aren't going to be able to meet everyone at the exact time they arrive, and meetings will need to be scheduled well in advance.

But many vendors have already been doing that for several years now, and it hasn't been the "nightmare" that people are predicting. Only a limited number of vendors have been allowed to deliver via Bell Services, and many more meet the customer directly.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

So ..definitely not as bad as it seems, but it just another Disney decision that looks bad from the outside.
It just feels another step in the wrong direction.

Actually, it is pretty bad. If you think about the number of people who need a ECV at Disney and the number of different arrival times you are looking at, it becomes logistically impossible to accommodate that without adding a significant number of drivers and truck, drastically increasing prices. What is more likely is that there will be a few drop off times per day, and you will need to be there at that time of you are out of luck until the next one, likely with an additional fee. For people who are completely dependent on a scooter for mobility, being without one for multiple hours is not fun.

 

[MsOnceUponATime]

I'm just going to ask because things are clear as mud right now and I cannot find an answer ... are the Instacart deliveries included in this outside vendor drop off policy now? We arrive tomorrow.

 

[Sarahraegraham]

I just read an article that stated that there has since been an adjustment to the date by Disney and it will now become effective Nov 2. I guess we’ll have to wait and see what happens.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

But many vendors have already been doing that for several years now, and it hasn't been the "nightmare" that people are predicting. Only a limited number of vendors have been allowed to deliver via Bell Services, and many more meet the customer directly.

Some smaller vendors have been doing this, and it works on that VERY limited scale but imagine what is going to happen when everyone who needs a scooter has to arrange a meetup. Last time we stayed at the pop there were at least 30 scooters a day waiting to be picked up ,just from one company. That is 30 different deliveries just from one company at one hotel. You are taking about a company increasing its delivery volume by 30 times within a month period. That is a nightmare.

 

[sponica]

But many vendors have already been doing that for several years now, and it hasn't been the "nightmare" that people are predicting. Only a limited number of vendors have been allowed to deliver via Bell Services, and many more meet the customer directly.

I feel like on the stroller side, most people use the featured vendors at least those are the only ones I see discussed on these boards. I almost wish they had gone "here's the dedicated stroller vendor and here's the dedicated mobility vendor" instead of one vendor for everything.

I'm sure if the policy was that kingdom strollers was the exclusive purveyor of strollers, there would be less grumbling.

 

[gerrym51]

So .. sounds like Disney shook down the stroller companies to see who would pay them big bugs to be an exclusive provider . .and THEN made the new rule to not allow strollers to be delivered. Wow. Seems really skeezy.

If Scooterbug has to pay Disney something for that exclusivity, it means that they can offer worse strollerss/ECVs at the same price (or MORE) than their competition .. because of the convenience.

Lack of competition is NEVER a good thing.

Disney acting like a local government. Ugh.

How long before they ban Uber from their property?

for all intenrs purposes disney now owns scooterbug

 

[lanejudy]

Some smaller vendors have been doing this, and it works on that VERY limited scale but imagine what is gonig to happen when everyone who needs a scooter has to arrange a meetup. Last time we stayed at the pop there were at least 30-40 scooters a day waiting to be picked up.

I disagree, though I don't have actual figures (and I suspect you don't either). There are some very popular mobility device vendors who have been meeting the customer for years. Some others may be small volume, but don't assume that everyone was using featured vendors for mobility devices. This same discussion occurred seven years ago when WDW first went to featured vendors. At that time, many posters predicted the non-featured vendors would fail, and it hasn't happened. They still get very positive reviews.

I feel like on the stroller side, most people use the featured vendors

That is probably true. The stroller vendors I heard mentioned most frequently were featured vendors.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

I disagree, though I don't have actual figures (and I suspect you don't either). There are some very popular mobility device vendors who have been meeting the customer for years. Some others may be small volume, but don't assume that everyone was using featured vendors for mobility devices. This same discussion occurred seven years ago when WDW first went to featured vendors. At that time, many posters predicted the non-featured vendors would fail, and it hasn't happened. They still get very positive reviews.



That is probably true. The stroller vendors I heard mentioned most frequently were featured vendors.

I have the firgures for when I was there and what I saw. That's all I claimed to have. I drove by the pick up area every day to get to the lobby. there were at least that many scooters just like mine form the same company waiting there for pickup.

 

[lanejudy]

I have the firgures for when I was there and what I saw. That's all I claimed to have. I drove by the pick up area every day to get to the lobby. there were at least that many scooters just like mine form the same company waiting there for pickup.

I believe what you saw, I've seen it too and there are pictures here on the boards. But I also believe there are way more than that number getting delivered directly to the guest. The non-featured vendors have stepped up in the past, modifying their business model to deliver directly to the customer, and I firmly believe the 3 "featured" vendors who are losing that status will do the same going forward.

 

[Lilsia]

AS someone who has used an ECV at Disney, I am upset about this and have written to Disney about it. This isn't just and inconvenience for those who depend on mobility devices, it is a potential nightmare. These companies aren't going to be able to meet everyone at the exact time they arrive, and meetings will need to be scheduled well in advance. If a flight is delayed and they miss their meet up, or have to wait multiple hours for a meet they are basically stranded until their ECV arrives. It's a huge issue, and about nothing more than profit for Disney.

That being said it is their right to do as they see fit, but if I was a company making this choice, I would be making my own ECVs avalible at the resorts at check in for a length of stay rental.

I imagine that they can have an employee at the resorts to meet with their customers. The delivery drivers can bring in a couple of hours worth of fleet and have the agent of the company deal with handing them out and accepting delivery. If a company is really renting that many ECVs and strollers, they can easily have someone stationed at the resorts.

 

[cruisin5]

I had toyed with renting a stroller next year (ours is on it's last legs)....might be cheaper/easier for me to just buy the new parts for my stroller.

Those strollers on the "exclusive" vendor page are AWFUL

There are stroller rental companies which will deliver and pickup from MCO. Might be another option.

 

[Runnsally]

I had toyed with renting a stroller next year (ours is on it's last legs)....might be cheaper/easier for me to just buy the new parts for my stroller.

Those strollers on the "exclusive" vendor page are AWFUL

I consider myself a bit of a stroller aficionado and just looked for fun - those strollers are indeed the worst.

 

[Marionnette]

I imagine that they can have an employee at the resorts to meet with their customers. The delivery drivers can bring in a couple of hours worth of fleet and have the agent of the company deal with handing them out and accepting delivery. If a company is really renting that many ECVs and strollers, they can easily have someone stationed at the resorts.

Can they? Will Disney allow any of the non-preferred vendors sidewalk space to just park their fleet while awaiting their customers’ arrivals? I can’t see that happening.

 

[Sarahraegraham]

I imagine that they can have an employee at the resorts to meet with their customers. The delivery drivers can bring in a couple of hours worth of fleet and have the agent of the company deal with handing them out and accepting delivery. If a company is really renting that many ECVs and strollers, they can easily have someone stationed at the resorts.

I like this idea. But I doubt Disney would allow it, as they would have to contract with the company in order to allow that.

 

[gwynne]

I consider myself a bit of a stroller aficionado and just looked for fun - those strollers are indeed the worst.

There are muliple companies that deliver strollers. It's likely one or more of them will meet individual style/function preferences.

 

[Searc]

Gotcha .. Not too bad then, but it just may not work out for some. I get it - from a business perspective, Disney doesnt need to accomodate all these companies. They have been NICE enough to do that for this long. Is the change now JUST due to the exclusivity? OR a cost savings measure to reduce staff/liability?

So ..definitely not as bad as it seems, but it just another Disney decision that looks bad from the outside.
It just feels another step in the wrong direction.

How long before they crack down on who comes in/out of the resorts? You would think they would want to increase security at the hotel entrances (since they charge for parking). Would reduce traffic too.

How long before the extend this policy to groceries?
How long before they ban Uber from their hotels.
How long before Disney starts banning outside food/drinks in their parks (like most parks and venues do?)

Disney seems to take little steps lately (to avoid super negative PR) ..usually in wrong direction.

They charge for overnight parking, and only guests staying overnight at the hotel pay that. Day guests do not.

 

[Lilsia]

Can they? Will Disney allow any of the non-preferred vendors sidewalk space to just park their fleet while awaiting their customers’ arrivals? I can’t see that happening.

They are going to need some kind of space in order to drop off the orders. I rather they give them a little section of parking lot to drop off/pick up instead of having the trucks out in the port cochere blocking others.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

I imagine that they can have an employee at the resorts to meet with their customers. The delivery drivers can bring in a couple of hours worth of fleet and have the agent of the company deal with handing them out and accepting delivery. If a company is really renting that many ECVs and strollers, they can easily have someone stationed at the resorts.

But will Disney allow them to just loiter around the resort waiting?

 

[Marionnette]

They are going to need some kind of space in order to drop off the orders. I rather they give them a little section of parking lot to drop off/pick up instead of having the trucks out in the port cochere blocking others.

They don’t *need* to supply non-preferred vendors with anything. All of the vendors who weren’t on Disney’s list of featured vendors managed to deliver to their customers just fine without blocking porte-cochères or requiring parking lot space to conduct business.