Minnie Vans

[dizneefan13]

I know there are Minnie Vans that are wheelchair/ECV accessible that have ramps in the back and you can drive it on and ride staying on the chair.
But can a Minnie Van transport a ECV like an Uber XL where we can simply life the ECV into the back of the van without having to dismantle it?

Is this possible with a Minnie Van?

Thanks.

 

[mamabunny]

We haven't had a chance to try a Minnie Van yet, but it's my understanding that you can indeed just transport the ECV (without a rider), and everyone rides in the van's seats, provided you don't have more passengers than seats.

 

[dizneefan13]

Thank you, mamabunny! This will be perfect for days we take my mom w/ecv to Magic Kingdom.
I hope they don't raise the price again soon. It is expensive, but occasionally worth it, I think.

 

[mamabunny]

I think it's an awesome service, and I'm glad to see Disney has kept it past the trial period!

Remember that if you decide you want to take the bus from the Resort to MK (or anywhere else on property) that your Mom doesn't have to be the one who drives the ECV on and off of the bus - just work with the bus driver, and any member of your travel party who is over 18 can drive it on/off.

Have a great trip!

 

[Staren]

There are a couple of things to remember with the current accessible Minnie Van set up. Disney still only has a couple of them, and they can be on the other side of property when you want them. When I went in January, I was told that the wait could be 45 minutes. You also can't request the accessible Minnie Vans through the app. You have to call to request them and pay through room charge. As much as I wanted to try the accessible Minnie Vans on my last trip, these were deal breakers for me.

As for the regular Minnie Vans, it might be doable to get the ECV into the back of the van depending on the size of the ECV. However, the car seats that the Minnie Vans carry are back there. So at minimum it would take some maneuvering if your group takes up most of the seats. This is something that I want to test with my manual wheelchair.

I ended up just using the buses throughout my trip. They are the most hassle free accessible option in my opinion. As @mamabunny said, someone in your group / the bus driver can help with maneuvering the ECV on and off the bus.

 

[dizneefan13]

Thanks, mamabunny and Staren, yes I know that the accessible Minnie Vans are a lot harder to get, which is why I wondered if an ECV could be loaded in the back of the van. As there are only 3 of us, the car seats can be moved to unused seats, I am assuming. When we have used Uber, the drivers have been wonderful at making sure the ecv could be loaded in the back.
At any rate, we will give this a shot and see what happens. And yes, anyone in our party can drive it onto the bus. Most drivers will even take it out of gear and push it into place on the bus for you.
We will only use the Minnie Van once, when we have an early morning dining reservation. Not having to stress over bus stops and waiting in case the ecv spaces happen to be already taken is worth it for me.

 

[mamabunny]

...And yes, anyone in our party can drive it onto the bus. Most drivers will even take it out of gear and push it into place on the bus for you.

Please note - this may be "Pixie Dust" at it's finest - It's been my understanding that the Drivers actually aren't supposed to do that; we were told by Driver on our last trip that they aren't supposed to "touch" anyone's personal mobility device, except to tie it down. Most of the Drivers do some variation of what we call "The Driver Shuffle" where they scoot the ECVs into and out of the parking spots, but they actually aren't supposed to do that either. They can give you verbal commands, and can allow other members of your party (or any other "trusted adult" you specify) to move the device for you... but technically, according to the rules, (as explained to us) they aren't supposed to.

I personally don't know what would happen if they all suddenly started playing by the rules; I think we might have some *serious* slowdowns in loading/unloading the buses!

 

[SueM in MN]

Please note - this may be "Pixie Dust" at it's finest - It's been my understanding that the Drivers actually aren't supposed to do that; we were told by Driver on our last trip that they aren't supposed to "touch" anyone's personal mobility device, except to tie it down. Most of the Drivers do some variation of what we call "The Driver Shuffle" where they scoot the ECVs into and out of the parking spots, but they actually aren't supposed to do that either. They can give you verbal commands, and can allow other members of your party (or any other "trusted adult" you specify) to move the device for you... but technically, according to the rules, (as explained to us) they aren't supposed to.

I personally don't know what would happen if they all suddenly started playing by the rules; I think we might have some *serious* slowdowns in loading/unloading the buses!

That is also my understanding.