Just back from DL. Comments on ECV use

[The Hunchback]

Just returned from 8 days at DL. A few comments.

Rented scooter from Deckerts. Scooter was in good shape but did need to charge it at noon each day. Rented a cane holder too. Very well made and handy on the Go Go 4 wheeler. Would use Deckerts again.

Stayed at Alpine Inn. Scooter fit in room and had a handy plug in spot. Motel was within walking/scooter distance to park. Good motel.

There are not a lot of spots to wait out a rain storm in either park. Take a poncho to cover the scooter tiller.

California Adventure is a great park for scooter use. Wide paths and open spaces ease crowd encounters. Most times ECV users wait in main waiting lines.

Disneyland is bad for scooters. It is tight with no place to park. You sometimes go thru the line and other times you go to the exit. Sometime they let you right in and other rides you get return time. The disabled guide is not always accurate. Cast members do no always have the right answers either. Expect to need patience in Fantasy Land especially.

DL/CA hides its outlets. There are good ones at Flo's and at the Hungary Bear Restaurant on the bottom floor. There is also one by drinking fountain near Tomorrowland Terrace and at the exit from Space Mountain near the women's restroom. Cast members must be told to say they don't know where they are. No one ever knew where they were. Never had that problem at WDW.

The CS folks are glad to let you order a kids meal. Those were good and plenty of food for me, a senior.

People are totally distracted in DL. Worse than any other Disney park including AK. I have never been cut in front of and cussed out so many times. Sitting on my scooter, I actually had people prop bags on my shoulders during parades. I asked them to remove them and they just stared at me. So the bag went down to the ground. I think I was cussed out in Japanese.

I had a good time but think it will be a bunch of years before I go back.

Hope someone can use these comments.

 

[2Bnºoºt2B]

Good info ...

 

[mamabunny]

Yes - that's some great info!

Just curious - Was the scooter delivered with a full charge? and did you charge the scooter fully overnight, every night?

The only thing I would say is that if I rented a scooter and it had to be recharged every day at noon... I would call the vendor and tell them to bring me a scooter that lasted at least 12 hours.

Based on usage patterns at WDW, we (the folks here) know that most rentals should be able to handle about 12 hours before needing a charge. It's fine to carry the charger if you are worried (especially until you see how that particular unit handles battery life) but unless your vendor and the rental agreement specifically says otherwise, a scooter that won't last past noon is not the norm.

 

[The Hunchback]

We are WDW veterans too and had this been a rental from my old FL vendor, I would have called for a replacement (and dropped off the problem one and picked up the new one). My POV scooter goes 12 plus hours at WDW.

We assumed the CA rental was delivered charged. Motel office said they would keep it overnight and charge it. We were having rental car problems and husband was ill that night. I was distracted. I trusted motel staff to charge it. May have been my first mistake.

Scooter made it 10 hours the first day and then died on the walk (ride) back to the motel. We pushed it home. After that we charged it each night. The battery gauge dipped a bit at 6 hours so we just got in the habit of charging it. This was a short (for us) trip and did not want to waste a day waiting for a replacement scooter. The vendor was far away from the park so delivering it back for a swap was not logical.

We may have been pushing the weight limit on a GoGo too. I accounted for my weight and coats when I ordered it. But husband being ill-ish made it carry his camera backpack too. May have been close to the limit which I think was 225. My own scooter could have done it but this was a little guy.

In all fairness to the scooter company, when I called them to pick up the scooter, they said they would have replaced it but we would have lost part of a park day.
That just was not an option trying to get park time in before the flooding rain and awful cold. Charging it worked. I should have explained more fully in the first post.

Next time, I may just take my own scooter. We should have our RV then instead of flying. But if we fly again, I would use the same vendor. Just order a bigger scooter (in case) and supervise the first nights charge myself.

 

[mamabunny]

We are WDW veterans too and had this been a rental from my old FL vendor, I would have called for a replacement (and dropped off the problem one and picked up the new one). My POV scooter goes 12 plus hours at WDW.

We assumed the CA rental was delivered charged. Motel office said they would keep it overnight and charge it. We were having rental car problems and husband was ill that night. I was distracted. I trusted motel staff to charge it. May have been my first mistake.

Scooter made it 10 hours the first day and then died on the walk (ride) back to the motel. We pushed it home. After that we charged it each night. The battery gauge dipped a bit at 6 hours so we just got in the habit of charging it. This was a short (for us) trip and did not want to waste a day waiting for a replacement scooter. The vendor was far away from the park so delivering it back for a swap was not logical.

We may have been pushing the weight limit on a GoGo too. I accounted for my weight and coats when I ordered it. But husband being ill-ish made it carry his camera backpack too. May have been close to the limit which I think was 225. My own scooter could have done it but this was a little guy.

In all fairness to the scooter company, when I called them to pick up the scooter, they said they would have replaced it but we would have lost part of a park day.
That just was not an option trying to get park time in before the flooding rain and awful cold. Charging it worked. I should have explained more fully in the first post.

Next time, I may just take my own scooter. We should have our RV then instead of flying. But if we fly again, I would use the same vendor. Just order a bigger scooter (in case) and supervise the first nights charge myself.

Good grief! I hope you all had a good time - that was a lot going on besides your scooter issues to deal with!

After reading your post, it kind of feels like we are a wee bit spoiled at WDW... I forget sometimes how different things are between DL and WDW; I haven't gone out to Cali to visit family since well before I started using my personal scooter. We keep talking about going to DL, but somehow I keep winding up in Florida!!!

 

[SMD]

I've heard that they'll charge a personal scooter at DL if you leave it at the rental, can anyone confirm? If you're able to walk a short distance, leaving it to charge and going to do Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln just inside the park might be a good solution.

 

[The Hunchback]

We did not think to ask if the park rental place would have charged it for us. Good idea. Will ask next time.

DW had us spoiled when it comes to ECV use. DL is just not the same. It's older and smaller.

Yes MaMa Bunny, we did have a good trip. Just a wet one with a few challenges. Would go back but maybe at a different time of the year. The rides and shows are different and the variety was nice. You could just leave me on Alice in Wonderland all day. That one never gets old for me.