Do most buses have ramps or lifts for ECV?

[NightAngelX]

Hello,

DH and I are taking our FIRST trip to Disney this August. DH has severe arthritis and lots of walking/standing is not doable for him so he's agreed to an ECV. With that I tried to find him the nicest, most comfortable, least medical looking ride possible. Thus we decided on the Dream from Scooter Vacations. They told us this in the confirmation:

"At Walt Disney World there are two types of buses, newer mid-ramp versions and older rear-lift models. Disney Transportation has asked that Dream guests use the mid-ramp bus. Disney advises you contact the bus transport manager at your hotel as they will be pleased to assist you. If you are unable to reach the hotel transportation manager or need further assistance you may contact the Disney Transportation Operations Center at 1 (407) 824-7092."

I was just wondering how common the lift vs ramp buses were. If ramp buses are not that common I may have to talk to DH about switching our reservation. But one would think/hope most of the buses would be the newer ones and that it wouldn't be an issue to just let them know we needed a ramp bus.

Thanks for any assistance!

 

[disney david]

Hello,

DH and I are taking our FIRST trip to Disney this August. DH has severe arthritis and lots of walking/standing is not doable for him so he's agreed to an ECV. With that I tried to find him the nicest, most comfortable, least medical looking ride possible. Thus we decided on the Dream from Scooter Vacations. They told us this in the confirmation:

"At Walt Disney World there are two types of buses, newer mid-ramp versions and older rear-lift models. Disney Transportation has asked that Dream guests use the mid-ramp bus. Disney advises you contact the bus transport manager at your hotel as they will be pleased to assist you. If you are unable to reach the hotel transportation manager or need further assistance you may contact the Disney Transportation Operations Center at 1 (407) 824-7092."

I was just wondering how common the lift vs ramp buses were. If ramp buses are not that common I may have to talk to DH about switching our reservation. But one would think/hope most of the buses would be the newer ones and that it wouldn't be an issue to just let them know we needed a ramp bus.

Thanks for any assistance!

They have very few lift buses left and they are getting rid of them as quickly as they can. So the odds a lift bus will be the bus is very slim but could happen but it such a low risk I wouldn't worry about it. If one come their a great chance the next one will be a ramp bus you could ask the driver to call and make sure. They really only use the lift buses when it busy or during peak times. It good to have the number you could call if have problems or to make sure they send a ramp bus but now since they don't have as many left you should be fine.

 

[SueM in MN]

The buses with lifts are older and are being phased out, so you will not see that many of them. If one does come, you can ask the driver or the transportation supervisor to ask for a ramp bus for you.

You should be aware that the Dream scooter is significantly larger than most scooters and some people do find it hard to maneuver, especially if they have not used a scooter before. It is wider, higher and longer than the average scooter, even the very large WDW park rental scooters. It is basically like a small 3 wheel motorcycle. I have seen them in the parks and they are a tight fit for most of the theater or show seating and in queues.
That might be OK for someone who is experienced, but he will need to be careful because there is not much room for error. To be ADA compliant, doorways need to be at least 32 inches wide. The Dream scooter is 30 inches wide. Most scooters, even the heavy duty ones, are only 24 inches wide.
It can NOT be broken down to fit into a car, so you will need to use the WDW transportation.

Some posters, especially experienced ones, have liked it, but a number of people have posted on the DISboards and other boards I read that they would not rent it again and several posted that they called while at WDW to trade for a smaller scooter. Some people have also commented that even though it is very large, it doesn’t have much foot room or as many possible locations for placing their feet and their legs cramped up.
Poster #6 in this thread was a recent poster who didn’t really like it.
Here’s another thread with some information about the Dream scooter.
The poster in post 156 on this thread liked the Dream, but is an experienced user.

The company that rents the Dream scooter has some other modern looking scooters, so don’t be afraid to call and trade it in if he finds it doesn't work out for him.

 

[dvc one day]

My memory is not perfect, so I am not certain, but I think I only rode the older lift buses twice in my last two trips combined (possibly only once).

 

[NightAngelX]

Thanks for the thoughts everyone. My DH is a big guy and he used to ride a motorcycle so he seems to think he won't have any issues driving it. He can walk too, just not for long periods. For instance he would have no issues getting off the ECV and leaving it temporarily if the ECV was a tight fit somewhere. He basically just needs it because he can't handle all the excessive walking standing, but he can do both. I think he's planning on walking himself for stores and restaurants. We know we will have to use Disney transportation. We actual prefer that to having to take it apart and put it together ourself.

Good to know the lift buses are rare. I think we will tell our hotel transportation person when we get there just in case though. Maybe they can make sure no lift buses are assigned to our resort.

Thanks again!

 

[disney david]

Thanks for the thoughts everyone. My DH is a big guy and he used to ride a motorcycle so he seems to think he won't have any issues driving it. He can walk too, just not for long periods. For instance he would have no issues getting off the ECV and leaving it temporarily if the ECV was a tight fit somewhere. He basically just needs it because he can't handle all the excessive walking standing, but he can do both. I think he's planning on walking himself for stores and restaurants. We know we will have to use Disney transportation. We actual prefer that to having to take it apart and put it together ourself.

Good to know the lift buses are rare. I think we will tell our hotel transportation person when we get there just in case though. Maybe they can make sure no lift buses are assigned to our resort.

Thanks again!

If he ride motorcycles then he won't have any problem yeah you could but just keep in mind they my still send a lift bus if they have them in use because it might be out of their control. Ie if a ramp bus breaks down and they replace it with a lift it has to finish the run or if they send an extra bus to help it might be a lift. If a lift bus shows up just ask the driver to radio dispatch that way your get the ramp bus faster. I was their in June and saw maybe 10 lift bus in use for guest at most and a couple parked out of a 300 plus fleet of buses I think the odds your get a lift bus are very slim. Plus before aoa they received 30 brand new gillig buses and once they give them pixie dust and make them Disney buses but not sure have many they used to replace the rtts and how many they add to handle the new resort. For all we know right now heir could be even less of the lift buses and about time your go their could be none so you have a great time on your vacation.

 

[peemagg]

Another thing to be aware of, is that you need to charge it up at night just like the other ECV's. Being it is so much bigger than a regular ECV, it might make it very tight in your room getting around it. I'm not sure where you are staying, but that is something to think about. Leaving it outside the room is not always an option.

 

[SueM in MN]

Since he's used to a motorcycle, he should be OK. Most people I have seen commenting on it in the past rented it because they thought it looked cool, not realizing some of the pitfalls. Sounds like you are pretty prepared though.

The thing he'll have to stay aware of most will be the width since the front will be motorcycle width, but the back is much wider.
Some areas will be very tight, especially getting thru doors and in shows or, as peemag mentioned, into your room. You can ask at the resort if it would be possible to store it somewhere else ( Bell Services is the usual). People have had variable experiences with that - sometimes there is not room and some have had problems with it not being plugged in or staying plugged in to charge.