Nervous about using ECV's again

[Darla2016]

We are planning another trip to WDW in September. Both my husband and I have to use ECV, we are older seniors. Last time it was total insanity with people jumping in front of us and stopping abruptly, we had on lowest setting and creeped along but made no difference. Not sure how to handle on our next trip. We are so afraid of hitting someone but people don't use common sense. Any tips?

 

[powellrj]

No they don't, and if you do hit them after they jump in front of you its your fault. Maybe a flag would help? All I can say is keep it on the lowest speed still, add a flag and use your horn. Maybe a little beep will make people people more aware.

 

[Darla2016]

HaHa, never thought of using the horn, I hope our ECV's have them.

 

[blondietink]

I would also plan your park days around crowd predictions. If MK is predicted to be busy, go to another park where the prediction is not so busy. Also, get there early in the day to take advantage of the sometimes virtually empty parks. Weekdays are better than weekends.

 

[Darla2016]

We found the most problems at MK. Congestion on Main Street was pretty bad. We are going to try to go left after Main Street towards Adventure Land. Thank you for the tip of going less crowded days.

 

[mamabunny]

Actually...

It's *not* your fault if someone walks right into you, or right in front of your vehicle - especially if they are not paying attention because they are playing Pokemon Go, or posting Yet Another Selfie to FaceBook, Instagram or Twitter.

Put your damn phones down and look around, people.

Having said all that...

What I have learned to do is to be as proactive as I can be. My personal ECV has hand brakes - and I know how to use them, and practice "panic stops" prior to WDW trips. Admittedly, I can stop faster than most rental ECVs because of this, however it means I also must be aware of the people (and/or wheelchairs/scooters/strollers) that may be directly behind me.

Besides the hand brakes, I also have learned to smile, wave, and use a loud "Hello!" or "Excuse me!" or if I fear they really aren't paying attention, and are going to actually walk into me then I use "Watch your toes!!!" - always in a loud, cheerful voice, with a big smile. I'm not there for confrontation - I'm just trying to be a part of WDW like everyone else.

Remember a few tips to help out:
- When it's time to board the buses, since there are two of you, make sure that the driver knows you want to stay together.
- At Disney Springs remember that there are many shops & dining venues where folks will pop right out of the building in front of you, with no sidewalk or other buffer.
- in the Magic Kingdom, on Main Street, try to stay off the sidewalks if you can, and stay towards the right-hand side of the street, near the curbs. Go single file here - this is not the place to try and ride side by side. Once you get through the Main Street area, crowds should thin out a bit.
- in the Magic Kingdom, if you can, work counterclockwise - you will often find that you will be going "against" the majority of traffic from TomorrowLand until you get behind the Castle, which can be a big help!
- At Epcot, again use the counterclockwise strategy - start at Canada and work towards Mexico in the World Showcase. Try to stick to the right-hand side, as far over as you can (until you reach Frozen Ever After where all bets are off LOL)
- Hollywood Studios is similar to MK at first - the main idea there is to (again) stay to the right, and try to do things on the "right" side of the park, working your way to the left.
- Animal Kingdom - again, try to stay to the right side. On the narrower paths, drive single file, and try to pull over to let others go by from behind you when you have an opportunity.
- Generally speaking, when it is very crowded you will have to travel single-file at times. Obviously, this is less than ideal, but if you always travel side-by-side, you are blocking a significant portion of the path, road, street or sidewalk. There will be times when you can roll along side by side, but plan ahead for those times when one of you will take the lead, and the other will follow.

As I said before, your best defense is a good offense: Keep smiling, and in your most cheerful voice make a new friend as you holler "Hello!" at the person who is about to walk right in to you!

Have the best possible trip you can!

 

[Bete]

First, if possible go during a low season. There will be less people. Go when the kids are in school. Avoid holiday times.

My best tip is to go to the parks early. Use early extra magic hours if you are staying onsite. There are less crowds in the early morning. If you go with the extra magic hour you can be in the back of the park by the time the general public gets in. Then, you have about a half hour before the herd reaches you.

We attached a loud bike horn to our scooter. We try to anticipate those who will not respect the scooter. Look left and right and you will get a strong hit of someone coming towards you. In some ways you have to be more defensive than driving a car.

Late night is another good time to be in the parks, but seniors usually don't care for this too much.

 

[gap2368]

just to give the other side of people jumping in front of you and I know this dose not apply to that many people.

I am just saying about a disability I have others may have it too.

I do not see out of both eyes at the same time so if I am looking out of my right eye I see nothing on the left side at all and the other way around things that make thing even more difficult for me is crows, low light, and the flashing light they sell at disney ( I do every thing in my power to move away from them as quickly as I can) with this said I do my best to get around disney with out running into any one or any thing ( I have lived in the same house for over 30 years and walls still jump out and hit me ) there are things I can do that helps be like covering one eye following someone when I am wth someone else. In all the times I have been to disney I have only had one time where I have bumped into someone ( I think they had a stroller but not sure) It was so crowded that I could not stop it was very dark and there was a CM with a cart that was selling the flashing light things. So I know I am not speaking to ever one but if it looks like someone bumps into you and they are not on a cell phone they are not desctreated by anything that you can see they may be like me and have a vision problem that you can not see.

agin I am not pointing at anyone with this post it is just an FYI

also please use you hone if you have one only when really needed a please excuse me works wonders. there is a youtube video of some one on an ECV at the MK it is packed not one is going any fast ( It looks like after wishes) and she is lying on her horn. ( not saying you would ever do this)

 

[Nanajo1]

No they don't, and if you do hit them after they jump in front of you its your fault. Maybe a flag would help? All I can say is keep it on the lowest speed still, add a flag and use your horn. Maybe a little beep will make people people more aware.

Little beep is all it is! The horn on ECV wouldn't wake a sleeping baby. I have seen folks with bike bells.

 

[Darla2016]

Wow, some great tips. We always go single file, so that one is easy. I checked it out and the days we are planning for MK are 2's so that helps, thank you so much everyone!

 

[Selket]

I started renting an ECV last summer when my knees can't take it now (severe arthritis). I rent the portable scooter from Buena Vista and I've found that thing can stop on a dime - and turn sharply as well when needed (like for line ques or any tight corner). I've been at the busiest times (Spring Break, 4th of July) and not had a problem and I operate the ECV at the walking speed of my family (not the slowest - somewhere in the middle). It just made me wonder if the type of ECV you're renting could have better brakes and handling perhaps? I've not had experience with the larger looking ECV's like Disney rents but they seem much more clunky to operate. I don't recall seeing it discussed here if the type of ECV you rent can give you a better handling experience.

One reason I rented from BV scooters is the way it operates with the hand controls and fingers - it is very comfortable to use which helps a lot. I hope you have a wonderful trip!

 

[Darla2016]

We have always rented from Apple Scooters but had problems every single time so this time we are going with BV, maybe the condition and performance of the scooters will be better.

 

[chaoslobster]

The struggle between Scooters vs Pedestrians at WDW is ongoing and eternal. There will always be selfish, rude people who don't look where they're going, pay no attention to anything, allow their children to run out in front of scooters, and try to blame any accidents on the driver. There will always be selfish, rude people using scooters who are not competent to drive one, running over feet and going much too fast, expecting everyone to move out of their way. Unfortunately it's a part of being at Disney.

Sometimes accidents will happen. They'll happen whether you're the person on the scooter or the person walking, and even if you're acting responsibly and carefully on your feet or your wheels, most of the other people won't be. All you can do is remain aware of your surroundings at all times, be careful and be courteous. If there's an accident, a polite and sincere apology goes a long way regardless of whose fault it was.

Since you'll be using scooters, keep in mind that some people WILL do things like jump in front of you and then stop, or push past you in lines, or generally behave as if the world revolves around them. If you inconvenience these sorts of people in any way, such as the fact that you dare to exist, they will throw fits and screech and blame you and your scooter for ruining their entire lives. All you can do is cheerfully and sincerely apologize and then stop interacting with them if they continue to berate you.

Have a magical vacation and don't worry too much about other people.