Personal ECVs

[Disneyfan754321]

I will be bringing my personal ECV. How easy is it to find a plug so I can charge it during the day?

 

[Evita_W]

I will be bringing my personal ECV. How easy is it to find a plug so I can charge it during the day?

Find a plug easy, finding one that works, won't damage your equipment and you are allowed to use? A lot harder.

As for the second point there, always ask a CM before plugging in, as not all outlets are created equal.

 

[Disneyfan754321]

Find a plug easy, finding one that works, won't damage your equipment and you are allowed to use? A lot harder.

As for the second point there, always ask a CM before plugging in, as not all outlets are created equal.

Umm guess we need to stop for a sit down meal ever so often. Maybe better luck.

 

[Evita_W]

Umm guess we need to stop for a sit down meal ever do often. Maybe better luck.

I can tell you Morocco has a plug. DH mare a very rapid trip back to the room after mobile ordering Figment popcorn buckets, which involved a bunch of extra hills and his battery was down before we were ready to leave.

 

[Bete]

Usually by restaurants and restrooms are plugs. I've heard if you go to scooter rentals in the park they will let you plug in with them. You might want to consider buying an extra battery; that would be the safest approach. You would keep the extra battery in the basket or a backpack. Some go back to their resort for an afternoon break and charge up.

Conserving your battery helps. Some will park their scooter outside of an attraction and walk the ride queue. Obviously, you will want to check wait times to see how plausible this would be for you. When seeing a show make sure you shut off your scooter.

 

[Evita_W]

Usually by restaurants and restrooms are plugs. I've heard if you go to scooter rentals in the park they will let you plug in with them. You might want to consider buying an extra battery; that would be the safest approach. You would keep the extra battery in the basket or a backpack. Some go back to their resort for an afternoon break and charge up.

Conserving your battery helps. Some will park their scooter outside of an attraction and walk the ride queue. Obviously, you will want to check wait times to see how plausible this would be for you. When seeing a show make sure you shut off your scooter.

Depending on the model, the extra battery is likely to add enough weight that you wouldn't get much benefit from the extended range provided by the battery. It may also add enough weight that it will trip the overload protection. This is especially true if you have heavier extended range batteries, so be sure to keep an eye on the weight.

 

[Disneyfan754321]

Depending on the model, the extra battery is likely to add enough weight that you wouldn't get much benefit from the extended range provided by the battery. It may also add enough weight that it will trip the overload protection. This is especially true if you have heavier extended range batteries, so be sure to keep an eye on the weight.

I'm not sure how easily the battery is changed.. or like you said with the weight.
It's a zero turn chair and has very little storage... besides a backpack.

 

[Evita_W]

I'm not sure how easily the battery is changed.. or like you said with the weight.
It's a zero turn chair and has very little storage... besides a backpack.

I would just make sure the batteries are new (or at least not degraded), a good name brand like Interstate and are the highest capacity your device can handle.

Also, fully charge every night. I would think that would yield the best results.

Also, test how many miles you can go on a charge around your home town where someone could pick you up if your battery gets too low. If you can do 12 to 15 miles with hills on a charge, you should be pretty good in the parks.

 

[Bete]

I'm not sure how easily the battery is changed.. or like you said with the weight.
It's a zero turn chair and has very little storage... besides a backpack.

An extra battery can be stored in lockers at the park if need be. Most batteries weigh about 30 pounds. If you bought from a mobility vendor they can show you how to change your battery. There may be a utube video available that can show you how, as well. You may have an instruction booklet that will tell you how or get a booklet download if possible with instructions.

It sounds like you have a mobility chair and not a scooter. That may be more difficult to carry an extra battery.

The ultimate factors on your battery is your weight and what the device is rated for in regards to the maximum weight. If you are close to maximum weight then your battery will not last as long. Again, your mobility device has to be rated for a certain amount of miles per charge. You may want to practice with it at a local zoo or whatever and see how far you can get on one charge. Keep a tracker with you to see the miles you get.

 

[RoseGold]

It's a zero turn chair and has very little storage... besides a backpack.

I’ve used a zero turn chair, a whill, plenty at Disney. It’s really the only place my relative needs the extra battery, and it’s pretty consistently needed. Heck, there have been days two batteries was cutting it close. We always swap out the first one at 10% just to make sure there’s a little juice to get home.

My relative is not able to get out of the chair. If you could leave it and walk around some, I would be less worried. Relying on a plug at Disney would completely stress me out.

 

[Disneyfan754321]

I’ve used a zero turn chair, a whill, plenty at Disney. It’s really the only place my relative needs the extra battery, and it’s pretty consistently needed. Heck, there have been days two batteries was cutting it close. We always swap out the first one at 10% just to make sure there’s a little juice to get home.

My relative is not able to get out of the chair. If you could leave it and walk around some, I would be less worried. Relying on a plug at Disney would completely stress me out.

We are still very new to this world.. the chair is brand new. At home we use a walker but there is no way we could do a walker outside the hotel room. I'm going to check out the battery thing.

 

[mamabunny]

We are still very new to this world.. the chair is brand new. At home we use a walker but there is no way we could do a walker outside the hotel room. I'm going to check out the battery thing.

If the chair is brand new, did the vendor tell you what kind of distance (mileage) you can expect on a single charge?

Most recent devices are equipped with batteries that are capable of a "Disney day"; thinking that an average Guest walks between 3 & 10 miles per day, if your device could go... 7 miles before requiring a charge, you might well be OK.

If you are "rope drop to Kiss Goodnight" well... that might be different, although it certainly can be done on 1 battery.

Always make sure you *fully* charge your battery overnight, every night. Starting the day with a fully charged battery makes a huge difference.

Additionally, practicing good battery "hygiene" - like for example, always turning off the device any time you will not be moving for more than 10 seconds (yes, literally 10 seconds) - can add travel time to your day. Don't use undercarriage lighting, or headlights during the day. Don't use your device's main battery to charge other devices (like cellphones or tablets or cameras) And plan your time in the Parks so that you are not doubling-back or criss-crossing all over; a good touring plan can aid battery life as much as anything else!

As @RoseGold mentioned above, if you can "park and walk" a bit, that strategy can save lots of battery life. The idea is that you park the device, and walk around an area, and then use the device to move on to another area, and walk a bit there before you park again. An example would be that you could park by the carousel at MK, and walk around to a few shops there, maybe pop in to Pinocchio's for a treat, and the walk back to where you parked before you move on to another area.

If you have some time before your trip, you might try using the device locally near your home - maybe at a mall, or the zoo, or some place where you could see how much your battery is depleted from a full, complete charge over the course of (for example) 4 hours of use. That will give you a more realistic picture of how your device might do at WDW.

 

[RoseGold]

Battery hygiene matters less if you have someone(s) who can physically push the chair and occupant. That's always possible, in theory, for our family. If that isn't possible for you, then you need to be even more careful.

Even waiting in lines drains battery, and it isn't really possible to turn on and off the chair every thirty seconds in line. Another option would be to turn the chair off and change to manual for something like waiting in line.

 

[Simba's Mom]

I can tell you Morocco has a plug. DH mare a very rapid trip back to the room after mobile ordering Figment popcorn buckets, which involved a bunch of extra hills and his battery was down before we were ready to leave.

I didn't know that! Where in Morocco?
I know there's one in MK outside the Splash Mountain restrooms. And at AK, there's a plug outside the restrooms behind "Finding Nemo". And since the attraction's not currently open, it should be available.

 

[Lewisc]

A CM could unplug and move a scooter if its in a place that's blocking access. Ask and a CM should be able to suggest a place.

I agree with PP. Try and get an idea as to how long your batteries will last. AK has long distances with hills. Same with walkway from EPCOT resorts to EPCOT and DHS. If your battery life is expected to be bad, so bad you might need to charge it twice, you might want to consider renting a scooter

 

[RoseGold]

Even if I could find a plug, I'd have to leave a $600 battery behind and hope no one unplugs it for several hours. I always bring a charger cord to WDW for emergencies, but I don't see how you can expect to use it for this kind of charging.

This isn't exactly a new problem for Disney, and they have chosen not to have charging stations for mobility devices (or phones).

 

[Evita_W]

I didn't know that! Where in Morocco?
I know there's one in MK outside the Splash Mountain restrooms. And at AK, there's a plug outside the restrooms behind "Finding Nemo". And since the attraction's not currently open, it should be available.

Outside where the Dress shop normally is, but it is closed right now, so the outlet is accessible, just under a waterproof plate, no screwdriver necessary. This one is a metal plate, there are ones covered with plastic that aren't accessible. China also has outlets.

 

[Evita_W]

Even if I could find a plug, I'd have to leave a $600 battery behind and hope no one unplugs it for several hours. I always bring a charger cord to WDW for emergencies, but I don't see how you can expect to use it for this kind of charging.

This isn't exactly a new problem for Disney, and they have chosen not to have charging stations for mobility devices (or phones).

No, we didn't leave it, one of us stayed with the scooter and the other ran to get food from the food booths, which worked out well as we didn't have to try to find a table every time.

Now you aren't going to get a full charge this way, but if you just need a little extra to get through the day, it can workout it would be nice if Disney brought back the lockers with outlets in them, then you could leave the battery in a locker and have it charging. I do wonder if you have an external charger if the ECV rental location would allow you to do so.