One party with 3 ECVs

[mamabunny]

...The bus driver will back it up for those who need help.

That might be a case of "Pixie Dust" - I wouldn't expect to see that every time.

Typically, the drivers will be happy to give you *verbal* guidance. If you were fortunate enough to have a driver who did that, I think it was really nice of the driver - but I would caution you against expecting that every time.

 

[wfjny]

I have had extensive experience with using a ECV for both of my in-laws. Having said that, it has now been about 3 years since they have both come to Disney with us.

Having said that, these were my observations. Please keep in mind, we had two scooters almost all of the times we did this.

Biggest issues were the bus. No issues with the monorail. Some of the boats cannot handle scooters, so they would need to then send a larger boat. This was specifically the case when we stayed at Wilderness Lodge. Again, a few years ago, so things may have changed.

No bus could handle more than two ECV. My MIL could not steer the unit on the bus, so I would often be the one to take her unit on and off the bus. People would sometimes ask questions, or make statements. My answer was always the same. “My 70+ year old in-laws cannot do all the walking. They can walk short distances. My MIL is also a menace on the road, so I drive her ECV onto the bus and park it.”

Having said that, we would often need to split up. In those cases, I would send my father in law with the entire family, and I would wait for the next bus. This was one thing when heading back to the hotel. However, when heading out, not much we could do.

I have never found a cast member who could really help us out with the buses. Then again, they may have been working behind the scenes and just not wanted to promise us anything as they may not know exactly when the next bus would arrive. Not faulting them, just stating the facts.

We too would rent scooters, and I do remember them being about $125 for the week. That was thru Apple Scooter and again several years ago. Looks today like their rate is $30 a day, with a 20% discount for 7 or more days. So I guess that comes out to about $170 for a week now. Either way, it is way more economical than $70 a day at the parks. I have also discovered there are times when the parks run out of ECVs. Again, a few years ago, so perhaps not an issue now. Also, you have the unit with you so it can be used outside the parks as well.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Some of the boats cannot handle scooters, so they would need to then send a larger boat.

To clarify: they don't "send" a larger boat. The WL boats alternate between Friendship boats and launches. The former can accommodate ECVs, the latter - the same size used in the MK>GF>Poly run - cannot.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Some of the newer buses have room for three ECV spaces. If you are the first to enter, you pull up near the driver’s seat before backing into the front space on the left.
At the end of your ride, you back up all the way to the back door. The bus driver will back it up for those who need help.

This would be great. Unfortunately, though, in 4 trips with an ECV, I've not yet seen such a bus.

That might be a case of "Pixie Dust" - I wouldn't expect to see that every time.

Typically, the drivers will be happy to give you *verbal* guidance. If you were fortunate enough to have a driver who did that, I think it was really nice of the driver - but I would caution you against expecting that every time.

I've always had the bus driver offer to move the ECV into position for me, if I'm not comfortable doing it myself. It's like parallel parking. And usually I can without problems, but sometimes I let the bus driver do it if people are waiting, because they're so much faster. Maybe my luck in helpful bus drivers makes up for my poor luck on the 3 ECV buses.

 

[crazylady]

I think your life would be much easier if you'd move to the BWI/BC/YC area.

 

[cmwade77]

I think your life would be much easier if you'd move to the BWI/BC/YC area.

I actually don't disagree there, unfortunately there was no availability for our dates there and since we are going with Disneyland cast members, our dates are limited since the times they can get vacation are very limited this year due to Galaxy's Edge Opening, most likely in June, so we went with Animal Kingdom Lodge since it had availability and doesn't feel like a generic hotel like Contemporary does (which was pretty much the only other resort available for all days of our trip).

 

[Bete]

I think it just amounts to what is more important to you.

With the Contemporary resort you would have access to the monorails. Then, all three scooters could potentially fit on the same monorail ride to two of the four parks.

Another option is to all share the cost of a park scooter it wouldn't be that bad. Then, maybe share the two scooters between the three of you going around the resort and so forth. You could also rent a scooter just for the resort and have another scooter rental at the park. Yes, it costs more, but then your covered with the bus factor. You still can perhaps do the Minnie Van as discussed previously. You do have options, but you just don't want to pay more.

I may be wrong but if you are going with Disneyland cast members then you are getting a very good deal on your resort and tickets; so, splurge on the scooter.

 

[seashoreCM]

... ECV-capable MinnieVan+bus. ...

... Go at off times and the bus wait will kill you. ...

There's gotta be a better way. Get there first and talk things over. Would Disney provide something, anything, to make total wait time all day long (hint hint) comparable to that of a comparable family with no ECVs and with no extra cost?

I am not ruling out splitting up of the family but pixie dust is to be expected if there are delays due to buses with non-working lifts or needed equipment or if comparable families without ECVs all get to their destinations in much less time.

 

[cmwade77]

I think it just amounts to what is more important to you.

With the Contemporary resort you would have access to the monorails. Then, all three scooters could potentially fit on the same monorail ride to two of the four parks.

Another option is to all share the cost of a park scooter it wouldn't be that bad. Then, maybe share the two scooters between the three of you going around the resort and so forth. You could also rent a scooter just for the resort and have another scooter rental at the park. Yes, it costs more, but then your covered with the bus factor. You still can perhaps do the Minnie Van as discussed previously. You do have options, but you just don't want to pay more.

I may be wrong but if you are going with Disneyland cast members then you are getting a very good deal on your resort and tickets; so, splurge on the scooter.

Honestly, we are DVC, so changing locations at this late date isn't an option.

As I stated before, we have three people who need the ECVs to even get from their room to the transportation, so a park scooter is completely out of the question even if we put the money aspect aside.

The Minnie vans are an option on some days, but honestly we have all budgeted for this trip and 14 days of using the Minnie Vans would add up to an astronomical amount of money. Having three ECVs was just an unexpected wrinkle, which will indeed work out. Yes, we are getting a good deal on tickets, but again that was factored into the budget and deciding to do this trip.

 

[cmwade77]

There's gotta be a better way. Get there first and talk things over. Would Disney provide something, anything, to make total wait time all day long (hint hint) comparable to that of a comparable family with no ECVs and with no extra cost?

I am not ruling out splitting up of the family but pixie dust is to be expected if there are delays due to buses with non-working lifts or needed equipment or if comparable families without ECVs all get to their destinations in much less time.

I don't know if they would or not, but we will discuss with the front desk what options there are as well, the whole point of the post was to see if anyone had experience in doing this and was familiar with what the best course was. No matter what, even if we do the Minnie vans, we are going to have to split up, so someone will be waiting on someone else, I just didn't know if there were other options we were not aware of.

 

[kaytieeldr]

There's gotta be a better way. Get there first and talk things over. Would Disney provide something, anything, to make total wait time all day long (hint hint) comparable to that of a comparable family with no ECVs and with no extra cost?

I am not ruling out splitting up of the family but pixie dust is to be expected if there are delays due to buses with non-working lifts or needed equipment or if comparable families without ECVs all get to their destinations in much less time.

Pixie dust should never be expected or assumed.

Disney does offer something comparable to that of a comparable family with no ECVs - MinnieVans. Yes, of course at a cost. It's an available option, at a cost to everyone.

Just like large parties have fewer options for hotels, transportation, and expenses than smaller families, parties with numerous mobility devices have fewer options than groups with zero-two such devices.

Perhaps the OP would consider renting a folding wheelchair for one person to use between the resort and the parks, and use Bete's suggestion of renting the third ECV in the parks.
Of course, that cost would be comparable to the MinnieVan price.

 

[cmwade77]

Perhaps the OP would consider renting a folding wheelchair for one person to use between the resort and the parks, and use Bete's suggestion of renting the third ECV in the parks.
Of course, that cost would be comparable to the MinnieVan price.

This frustrates me, as I have no clue how to make this any clearer:

Three members of the party need an ECV to even get from the transportation to their rooms and around the resort. They do not have the stamina to use a folding wheelchair as they would have to push themselves since there are no members of the party that are physically capable of pushing them.

Renting one ECV in the parks would also run around the same price as all three ECVs rented offsite combined, but leaving the massive overpricing out of it, this is NOT and option. I don't know why everyone keeps suggesting that when I have made it abundantly clear that this is not a viable option, not only because of cost, but because of needs.


And as I said, we are not opposed to splitting up, I was just asking in case there was something I didn't know about.

 

[kaytieeldr]

There is nothing you don't already know about. Nobody has any tips you didn't already know about. Your solution of splitting up is the only viable option. You have nobody to push a wheelchair. All three people need the ECVs everywhere. Your budget does not allow for additional expenses such as regular use of a MinnieVan. You can't change properties.

I believe most busses can only accommodate two and since we are being signed in, we all have to go in together and wondering if there are any tips so that we can help others in our party avoid having to wait for the third one to get there.

 

[Malcon10t]

The ECVs can't be broken down, so that won't be an option, but nice thought.

The one I rented at WDW and the ones I rent at DL can all be broken down.

 

[cmwade77]

So we are back from our trip and there are a few things to note:

• Some of the accessible Minnie Vans can handle two ECVs plus 5 people as long as one person stays on the ECV. In general these cost slightly more than the ones that hold a single ECV, in our group's case, it cost $0.01 more, so not going to break the bank, especially since we only needed it to get back from Hoop Dee Doo.
• There is one bus that can handle up to four ECVs that is used only when needed and you can only get it if there is a transportation coordinator there.
• About half of the fleet is capable of handling three ECVs, but the third spot must transfer from the ECV, so let the driver know if you can transfer.
• That being said, in general we found that simply letting the transportation coordinator and/or bus driver know we had three ECVs in our party got a second bus there usually within about 3-5 minutes of the first bus leaving. We were staying at Kidani, which meant there was never an ECV or wheelchair already loaded unless they were coming back from a park and the one time that happened, the person was getting off at Kidani. This was usually the easiest and fastest solution in many cases.

I am just mentioning these things in case it helps someone else out in the future.