ECV Questions

[maleka23]

I'm asking this question for my aunt who is going back and forth on renting an ECV from an outside vendor.

She knows that she probably will need it for the trip but is wondering what she does with the ECV when she feels up to walking.

Is there ECV parking like there is for stroller parking? If so, can you leave it there for a few hours? I guess another concern of hers if this can be done is the chance of it being stollen.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[krisnme]

you can park and leave your ECV in any stroller/ECV parking area. just take your key with you. Don't freak if you come back hours later and it has been moved, the CM's sometimes "organize" the parking area.

 

[SueM in MN]

you can park and leave your ECV in any stroller/ECV parking area. just take your key with you. Don't freak if you come back hours later and it has been moved, the CM's sometimes "organize" the parking area.

If you have any doubt on where to leave it, ask the CM at the stroller parking area.

Quite a few people use the ECV to get from one general area to the next, then park the ECV and walk around that area. When ready to go to the next area, they just retrieve the ECC and head to the next area.

 

[maleka23]

Thanks so much for the advice!! I'll be sure to pass the info along.

Silly question though... how do the CMs move the ECV without a key in it?

 

[krisnme]

Thanks so much for the advice!! I'll be sure to pass the info along.

Silly question though... how do the CMs move the ECV without a key in it?

All ECV's have a manual release switch, it allows the ECV to be pushed but does not start the motor. (not silly, I did not know either untill Mom got her first scooter!)

 

[SueM in MN]

Thanks so much for the advice!! I'll be sure to pass the info along.

Silly question though... how do the CMs move the ECV without a key in it?

There is a lever that can be pushed one way to drive the ECV with power. Putting the lever in the opposite direction, takes it out of gear so that it can be pushed.

That is something important to be aware of:
1) Sometimes, it is helpful to take it out of gear and push it a short distance if you have trouble maneuvering it while driving it.

2) If you go back to it and find it doesn't go, the first thing to check is that lever. Often, a CM took it out of gear, but did not get the lever quite back to the driving position, so it won't move when you try to drive it.

 

[mom3sonstt]

There is a lever that can be pushed one way to drive the ECV with power. Putting the lever in the opposite direction, takes it out of gear so that it can be pushed.

That is something important to be aware of:
1) Sometimes, it is helpful to take it out of gear and push it a short distance if you have trouble maneuvering it while driving it.

2) If you go back to it and find it doesn't go, the first thing to check is that lever. Often, a CM took it out of gear, but did not get the lever quite back to the driving position, so it won't move when you try to drive it.

When I went to claim my ECV at check in last year, the CM who went back in their backroom to get it for me said the battery was dead. I had a hard time believing that unless it had a defective battery, because I have never run one down after using it all day, and sometime forgetting to charge it at night. She called the place I rented if from, talked to them for awhile, went back and checked something, came back and told them that they didn't leave a charger. They told her to look in the bag on the back of the seat, so off she went again, and came back and said there was no bag. She was starting to get snippy with them....I guess on my behalf. Finally they said they would send somebody over to look at it. He got there, went in their back room and drove my fully charged scooter out to me. Somebody had pulled the lever into free wheel mode so it wouldn't start, and I had just a cord charger instead of the one with the big battery attached to it (per my request) and it was in a bag in the pocket of the back of the seat. Wasted a good 45 minutes of my check-in time because she wasn't aware of the free wheel lever. It never occurred to me that the lever could be the problem. Had it been sitting in where I could see it and get to it I may have thought about it and checked it, but I assumed she had dealt with them often enough to know what she was talking about...

 

[Donut23]

....let me add....a little off topic but here I go.

If your Aunt is thinking about, it's probably time to rent one. Actually, the scooters rented from outside are FAR less cumbersome than the ones at the parks. My favorite is the Pride Revo which will break down into 5 pieces and fit in our rental cars.

Oh yes, and you have them 24 hours a day.


I'm going to eventually get a brand new knee because of an accident 3 years ago. I can walk, I often will walk down to the lobby of the Beach Club....but I cannot do a park without the scooter. When I feel spunky, I'll park "Seabiscuit" and walk around....enjoying the flowers or just to get the blood flowing. It's no problem at all. As others have said, just place them in stroller parking and you will be fine.


....a suggestion. Take a backpack to attach to the back of the seat for additional storage....especially in cooler months. I always decorate my scooter but some are not as.........nutty as I am.

This little scooter will make such a difference to your Aunt. We were going to cancel our trip after the accident. My rental scooters have saved every Disney trip since then.

Go to Walmart and buy a little bike bell to attach to the basket when you get the scooter. It's such a happy sound and it's a "little people magnet"....children always want to ring my scooter bell!!


Now....have a GREAT TIME and give your Aunt a hug from all of us!!

 

[maleka23]

Thank you all for such great advice and tips!!

She is going to rent one from an outside vendor so that way she can enjoy touring POP Century as well as Downtown Disney!

I've already made up a sign for the ECV and will look into a bag for her!

This will be her first time to Disney World and I want her to have the best experience possible!!

 

[SueM in MN]

When I went to claim my ECV at check in last year, the CM who went back in their backroom to get it for me said the battery was dead. I had a hard time believing that unless it had a defective battery, because I have never run one down after using it all day, and sometime forgetting to charge it at night. She called the place I rented if from, talked to them for awhile, went back and checked something, came back and told them that they didn't leave a charger. They told her to look in the bag on the back of the seat, so off she went again, and came back and said there was no bag. She was starting to get snippy with them....I guess on my behalf. Finally they said they would send somebody over to look at it. He got there, went in their back room and drove my fully charged scooter out to me. Somebody had pulled the lever into free wheel mode so it wouldn't start, and I had just a cord charger instead of the one with the big battery attached to it (per my request) and it was in a bag in the pocket of the back of the seat. Wasted a good 45 minutes of my check-in time because she wasn't aware of the free wheel lever. It never occurred to me that the lever could be the problem. Had it been sitting in where I could see it and get to it I may have thought about it and checked it, but I assumed she had dealt with them often enough to know what she was talking about...

That happened with my DD's power wheelchair at school once. Power wheelchairs (at least all the ones I am aware of) have 2 free wheel levers because there are 2 motors - one for each driving wheel.
Someone had nudged one of the free wheel levers out of position and it could not move. So, they called me to say the wheelchair had run out of power. I came, nudged the lever back into place, and away DD drove!

 

[KPeveler]

Some ECVs you also need to make sure the free wheel levers are engaged (the motors are "on") BEFORE you sit in it, otherwise it will not turn on. We had to watch a family discover this the hard way the other day at TSM in DCA.