go cowboys said:
We just returned from 8 days at WDW and had a wonderful time...but I think these electric scooters are out of control! I was personally hit by a lady during
MVMCP and saw another person get run over after Fantasmic.
I understand that some need a little help getting around but it seems that anyone who is not wanting to walk will pay the money to rent one and some have no idea how to drive them.
They also seem to take alot of extra time on the transportation side as we all have to wait for them to load and unload first. Maybe this thread is callous but I saw a lady on a scooter who couldn't get it parked straight, stand up and lift the end around to straighten it up. Then after taking 3 seats on the bus to park her scooter, sat in a separate seat that could have been used for some other tired tourist.
I may get flamed for this but does anyone else feel the same way? Who has the right of way?
I'm answering before I read any responses to your post (so, apologies in advance if I duplicate what anybody else says).
It doesn't actually matter how experienced or inexperienced someone is when operating an
ECV. Many people are under the mistaken impression that these vehicles stop instantly - you know, release the throttle and it stops. Nope. Quite often, the ECV continues to roll a bit or a lot, depending on a variety of factors, not the least of which is incline. Also, many many Guests on foot just don't "see" Guests in wheelchairs or
ECVs and step in front of them, or worse, stop. If you're walking ahead of one, yes, the rider should leave enough space to stop but sometimes can't. But more times than I can count, people will step across my path. My reaction time is pretty good, but not everyone's is.
You can't tell by looking at someone whether they need assistance getting around. Me? I have a variety of medical issues. I look fine. I can, yes, help lift some part of the ECV if necessary. I can even take one apart. I can stand okay, walking is difficult and painful. Without an ECV? There's little point in me traveling anywhere. The last time I tried at Disney, I went from the MK entrance directly to Splash Mountain - by the time I got to the entrance, I was in too much pain to walk in. That was ONE attraction; I never actually rode anything that night. In a twelve-hour day, I could probably experience three or four closely-spaced attractions in a given park. Using an ECV, I can experience as many attractions as anybody else (or Soarin' eighteen times in a row
You also need to pay more attention to ECVs and wheelchairs getting on and off the buses. Yes, you have to wait for them to load using the back-door lift before the driver will let any passengers in through the front door... but ECVs and wheelchairs get off the bus LAST. Really. How many times did your bus driver keep the front door closed at your destination, trapping all the passengers until the ECV Guest was off the bus? Zero - and I wasn't even there. We spend more time on the bus than anyone else. First on, last off.
That woman whose ECV took up three spaces while she sat in a fourth seat? Well, frequently that's at the DRIVER'S request/suggestion. It's SAFER for ALL passenger, but especially the ECV Guest. Or do you think it FUN to be strapped into your seat six different ways?
