ECV's and the Disney Buses

[Pamlur]

We have been planning our trip for over a year, and we're on the countdown to the last few days. My DH is obese, diabetic, and was in the hospital for a week recently due to severe anemia and a couple of other things. He just last night broke down and admitted that he's going to have to have an ECV because he simply doesn't have the energy to walk very far at all.

I have reserved the extra heavy ECV from Walker and now I'm reading that some ECV's are too wide for the lifts on the buses. I'm headed straight into panic mode, because we will have children and grandchildren with us and if he causes a problem for them, it will break his heart!

Please, tell me what to do so I can plan ahead for this.

Our DIL has lost her sight, so I'm thrilled to read about the GAC for her; I was worried about her getting on some of the moving rides.

Should I start the panic attacks over this now?

Thanks!

 

[Cheshire Figment]

The heavy duty ECVs have their base very close to the same size as the standard. It is just the suspension is stronger and the seat is larger. The important thing is the width is the same and the length is only about two inches longer. There should not be any problems with Disney Transportation due to the difference in size.

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

I wouldn't worry about the width of the ECV, but rather the length. I have never seen an ECV that came even close to being too wide for one of our lifts or ramps.

With the low-floor Nova buses, there should be no problems at all. They use ramps that you can just roll onto. (It should be noted that currently, Disney requires guests to go up the ramp in reverse. This is company policy, and us drivers have no say in the matter.)

With the lift-equipped buses, we have two different sized lifts. There's the "Original Hydraulic" lift. If I recall correctly, this lift is approx 42" in length. You can tell this lift, because the stairs fold out from the bottom, and there is a silver safety flap.

Many of our buses have been upgraded with a new "Retro-Lift." This lift is 48" in length. You can tell this lift, because the stairs fold straight out, and it has handle bars on the lift itself.

Most ECV's can fit on the original lift. However, there are some that are too long. In that case, we'll usually dispatch out one of the low-floor buses, with the ramp. If you discover that the ECV is too large to fit on the lift, speak with the driver, and request that he or she call for a low-floor Nova bus.

 

[Pamlur]

Thank you, thank you, thank you! This is a whole new way of life for us, and we are determined to make the best of it and keep on going. He hesitated for a couple of weeks, thinking that if he had to have a cart it would mess up the trip for the rest of us; he was just going to sit in the room or something.

And we'll have two grown sons and a son-in-law with us, so somebody will manage to get the ECV where it should be. DH can walk, just not for very long at a time.

 

[Nanajo1]

You probably know that from the BCV your DH can just "roll" over to Epcot and take the boat to MGM so two parks = Hakuna Matta.
PD coming your way.

 

[SueM in MN]

Thanks Tyler, I really appreciate a bus driver's knowledge.

 

[Pamlur]

We got home last night; we had a GREAT trip! There wasn't ever a problem with the ECV, and we got the GAC for our daughter-in-law (she is blind).

Thanks again for the advice.

 

[SueM in MN]

Glad to hear you had a great trip.
Thanks for letting us know.