ECV - leave with bellhop

[DazzleT]

Hello,

I am planning on having 2 ecvs on my next Disney trip. I have been reading that if you use a preferred vendor, you can leave the ecv with the bellhop- is this just for pickup/dropoff? When offsite in California, the hotel allowed us to nightly drop off the ecv, where they had a little closet with outlets, so you could charge overnight without taking up the limited space in your hotel (which then made having a room near the lobby super important). Do the Disney world hotels have a little closet for ecv charging? If using a preferred vendor provided that, it would be worth the extra cost but if it is just pick up drop off, that really isn’t worth the cost difference. Also, that changes room preferences. Thanks for help!

 

[mamabunny]

No. You need to take the ECVs to your room every night, and make sure that they are fully charged overnight for the next day's adventures.

Bell Services will not recharge them if you drop them off; they will just call assume you want to return them, and call the vendor to pick them up.

You are responsible for the ECV for the entire length of the rental, and expected to keep it in your room when you are in your room.

 

[Groot]

No. You need to take the ECVs to your room every night, and make sure that they are fully charged overnight for the next day's adventures.

Bell Services will not recharge them if you drop them off; they will just call assume you want to return them, and call the vendor to pick them up.

You are responsible for the ECV for the entire length of the rental, and expected to keep it in your room when you are in your room.

If needed clear out a little area in your room that’s close to an outlet so you can park and charge the scooter overnight.

 

[mamabunny]

If needed clear out a little area in your room that’s close to an outlet so you can park and charge the scooter overnight.

Yes - that is definitely do-able. If you need more space, you can always go to the Front Desk at your Resort (go to the desk, don't call from the room phone, because it goes to an off-site call center) and ask if they can remove the table and chairs for the length of your stay. That should give more than enough space to park any personal mobility device in any Disney Resort room.

 

[DazzleT]

Thanks, we are at pop so I was a little concerned about it being a space issue.

 

[mamabunny]

Thanks, we are at pop so I was a little concerned about it being a space issue.

There are members here who post regularly, and they have gotten 2 rental ECVs into a POP room, even after the remodel.

In a POP room, you may want to park one between the table bed and the window, and then ask to have the chairs removed o that you can park the second one across from the end of the table bed.

Just as a point of interest, I found this graphic here on the DIS years ago... It shows the relative sizes of the 3 main room categories:



Obviously, this is a generalization, (for example, Wilderness Lodge has the "smallest" Deluxe rooms that are not more than a few square feet larger than the average Moderate sized room) but in our family's experience, this is fairly accurate.

 

[Selket]

Thanks, we are at pop so I was a little concerned about it being a space issue.

I just got back from Pop and noticed several people parking scooters outside their rooms near an outlet and charging them - both on the 1st floor near the elevators and also up by the rooms on my floor. There were always scooters left out every night of our stay. I guess Disney isn't forcing people to put them in their rooms - kinda surprised me though since I've never seen this before at Pop or elsewhere.

I did have housekeeping once at the GF tell me to park my scooter just outside my room (at an outlet by my door) - I was surprised but did it - never had an issue. It was very much out of the way (inside corridor and along a wall so it didn't block anything). At Pop with 3 people in the room it was definitely a struggle to get in and out - always had to put up the murphy bed to come in or out.

 

[mamabunny]

Given that you are responsible for the rental scooter, I think it would be highly inadvisable to leave it outside (especially if it is raining) or outside your room.

If someone decides to tamper with, or move it, (all they have to know is where the brake release is - it's common knowledge thanks to the internet) you could find yourself without your rental, and depending on the contract you signed, on the hook for the replacement cost of a unit that is gone...

 

[bushdianee]

I stayed at the Wilderness Lodge in 2015 with a ecv. When I checked in and picked up the ecv I was told to leave it outside the room and that there were outlets to charge it. They only asked that if there were other ecvs in the hall to park on the same side. I naturally took the key and valuables in with me but left ponchos in the basket. Nothing was ever touched. In 2013 we had 3 adults,a child and an ecv in a room at Caribbean Beach, talk about crowded but we did it!

 

[DisneyOma]

I've seen people in ECVs not able to get to their rooms at Pop Century because others parked ECVs outside in the exterior hallways. I also saw (and reported) a kid pour a soda on an ECV that was out in the hallway. I have no idea what was running through that little brat's head, and I hope he got into serious trouble with parents and Disney!

 

[Shanti]

Thanks, we are at pop so I was a little concerned about it being a space issue.

Request a handicapped room- they're more spacious.

 

[mamabunny]

Request a handicapped room- they're more spacious.

No. This is not true.

All of the Handicapped Accessible rooms at WDW are exactly the same size as every other Resort room. The *only* differences are in the layout of the bathroom, and the fact that the doorways have been made "flush" to the exterior wall at the Moderates and Values that tend to have the angled entry doors. (so, OK - you gain a tiny amount of space, by my husband's estimation, not even 2 square feet total; it just makes entry/exit easier for a mobility device)

The reason it's important to not spread misinformation about the HA rooms is because if (some) "regular" folks think they can get more space by reserving these rooms... they will. And when they do, it means someone here in this forum can't go to WDW, because they can't get the HA room that they *require* to be able to travel.

Trust me, I wish with all of my heart, every day, that I didn't have to have that room type.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I also saw (and reported) a kid pour a soda on an ECV that was out in the hallway.

This potential alone should prevent anyone from leaving the ECV out of their site and complete control for hours and hours overnight.

 

[NeedMoreMickey]

My parents rent two ECV when we stay ay BC and they were told too leave them in the hall. I think they kept one in the room and one in the hall. Since they drove the took a heavy duty extension cord so they didn’t need to park next to an outlet in the room.

 

[mamabunny]

My parents rent two ECV when we stay ay BC and they were told too leave them in the hall. I think they kept one in the room and one in the hall. Since they drove the took a heavy duty extension cord so they didn’t need to park next to an outlet in the room.

Some ECV manufacturers specifically state that their units are not to be charged using extension cords. Not all; but some do. When there is doubt, it's always best to err on the side of caution, and just plug the ECV in directly to an outlet to charge.

 

[gap2368]

Given that you are responsible for the rental scooter, I think it would be highly inadvisable to leave it outside (especially if it is raining) or outside your room.

If someone decides to tamper with, or move it, (all they have to know is where the brake release is - it's common knowledge thanks to the internet) you could find yourself without your rental, and depending on the contract you signed, on the hook for the replacement cost of a unit that is gone...

Yes this I have seen some teens joy riding an ECV even if you take the keys you can still turn it on. And most ECV have universal keys.