How to navigate

[rfholcom]

We are a party of 14 including several different ages. It is possible/probable that we will not all be doing the same thing at the same time as the age ranges great grandparents to 9 month old great granddaughter. One person will need assistance. He uses a walker at home but would not be able to navigate the park without a scooter. I am trying to determine what will work and what won’t. From reading, we need to rent the ECV in advance. We are staying at the contemporary so magic kingdom is no problem. What is the best way to go to the other parks and Disney springs? Should we rent a car and have someone with him that can put the scooter together? It seems like the bus waits are long for an accessible bus. Thank you for any advice.

 

[gap2368]

I would rent form a out side vender for the ECV you can if you choose to rent a car ( or SUV ) instead of taking Disney transportation

 

[Dina]

i have been looking into scooters, so no first hand experience. I am getting tired of my family leaving me places in the wheelchair, and then I push myself, but my arthritis is everywhere.....so I am tired of sore wrists haha. I looked at Buena Vista rentals, and only the portable can be folded up for the trunk. I think you should just rely on the busses personally...You're also going to be able to get onto the monorail for epcot. So...just busses for DHS , Springs and AK

 

[rfholcom]

Has the monorail opened back to Epcot? I am hoping it has or will soon. That would help some of it has/will.

 

[gap2368]

Has the monorail opened back to Epcot? I am hoping it has or will soon. That would help some of it has/will.

not yet and no telling when it will

 

[Evita_W]

not yet and no telling when it will

It likely won't be until all parks are back to full capacity and all resorts have been reopened. At bare minimum all monorail trains need to be able to operate at full capacity with standing. Which also means they need more cast members, something that is becoming harder and harder For them to get.

 

[mamabunny]

We are a party of 14 including several different ages. It is possible/probable that we will not all be doing the same thing at the same time as the age ranges great grandparents to 9 month old great granddaughter. One person will need assistance. He uses a walker at home but would not be able to navigate the park without a scooter. I am trying to determine what will work and what won’t. From reading, we need to rent the ECV in advance. We are staying at the contemporary so magic kingdom is no problem. What is the best way to go to the other parks and Disney springs? Should we rent a car and have someone with him that can put the scooter together? It seems like the bus waits are long for an accessible bus. Thank you for any advice.

Generally speaking, I don't think that you will have an issue with buses from Contemporary... And being so close to MK, you could (in theory) use the MK bus stops as your own personal "hub" for every Disney destination, including Disney Springs (buses will run *from* the Parks to Disney Springs, but not the other way 'round).

 

[Selket]

We are a party of 14 including several different ages. It is possible/probable that we will not all be doing the same thing at the same time as the age ranges great grandparents to 9 month old great granddaughter. One person will need assistance. He uses a walker at home but would not be able to navigate the park without a scooter. I am trying to determine what will work and what won’t. From reading, we need to rent the ECV in advance. We are staying at the contemporary so magic kingdom is no problem. What is the best way to go to the other parks and Disney springs? Should we rent a car and have someone with him that can put the scooter together? It seems like the bus waits are long for an accessible bus. Thank you for any advice.

I haven't been since covid but if you already have a vehicle on property large enough to put the portable ECV in (broken down) and have someone drive him and put it back together - doesn't seem like a bad option. I also like the suggestion of using the MK bus lot to take a bus to other parks or the Springs - that seems a bit more complicated in some ways and less in others lol! If there is someone(s) that are fairly chill and willing to go with his schedule the driving might work. As for splitting up... our family always splits up and there's only 4 of us .... haha! We all like to go different ways and then meet up for meals (dinner usually) and we also meet up in the parks for rides.

When I rented a portable (from Buena Vista several years ago) we never had problems taking it apart and rebuilding it. My husband was fairly quick so someone without back issues, etc. should be fine. I definitely had issues with the battery life in the portable - which could have been the vendor giving me poor batteries. I've rented a regular scooter from Gold Mobility more recently and would probably rent the portable from them if I was getting one as the batteries on their regular ones are amazing. No recent experience with Buena Vista so perhaps they are better these days.

 

[Moliphino]

Generally speaking, I don't think that you will have an issue with buses from Contemporary... And being so close to MK, you could (in theory) use the MK bus stops as your own personal "hub" for every Disney destination, including Disney Springs (buses will run *from* the Parks to Disney Springs, but not the other way 'round).

That hasn't come back post-reopening last year. No buses currently from parks to DS, and even before that it was only after 4pm.

 

[mamabunny]

That hasn't come back post-reopening last year. No buses currently from parks to DS, and even before that it was only after 4pm.

Thank you for letting me know - I will adjust my personal expectations (and advice given) accordingly

 

[Bete]

I think you will definitely be splitting up your group for the parks. For example, some may want to enjoy the thrill rides while others won't be old enough or tall enough to do so. We handle this by having a meeting time and location where to get together again. Also, we coordinate meals together. Planning your day helps keep the group together more. Agree in advance what attractions you can all do and do those together.

Regarding the scooter, we have done it all different ways. We have used our own car and we have used the buses. If we are at Disney only we usually use their transportation. If we are going to Universal, SeaWorld and other attractions outside the Disney bubble but resorting at Disney then we use a car. Depending on the scooter you need it may take two people to get the pieces in and out of the car. The base can be awkward to handle on your own. There are scooters that are more lightweight and then there are scooters that are heavyweights. You pick your scooter partially by the weight of the individual.

We have not been since Covid and we have heard from various forums that Disney transportation is still subpar. You do have to wait your turn; since, there are only two spots per bus available for scooters or buses. This means sometimes you have to wait for a second bus.