Questions - newbie ECV user!

[Lil ole moi]

Four sleeps until Disney World! So many questions - so little time! I have plantar fasciitis and heel spurs and have made the decision that I must use an ECV for our 2 week trip. Although I have been to the World more than 20 times, I have never taken notice of how everything might work when using this foot life-saver.

Here are my questions for those who may have experience with such things:

1. I have rented from Apple Scooter and am told they disassemble quite easily and quickly to put in the trunk of our rental car. My husband was quite happy, yet skeptical, to hear this. Is this fact?

2. I'm hoping my feet will feel enough relief from using the scooter to tour the parks, so my plan is to park the ECV and walk through all the line ups. Are there designated ECV spots outside each and every attraction/ride/restaurant at all 4 parks?

3. I understand there are electrical outlets throughout the parks where I can recharge the battery (if needed), yet never once have I noticed them. How will I know where to locate them? Is there some sort of indicator to show me when a charge is needed?

4. I also understand there is a key for the scooter. Do you know if the key comes attached to some sort of coiled bracelet to put around my wrist? If not, are there any tips or hints of what people have used to make it easy not to lose it while off the ECV?

5. If the ECV is parked in among a sea of other ECVs, what are some tips or tricks that people use to find their ECV easily (ie. scarf around the handles, etc.)?

6. It is the first time we have ever rented a car. We will definitely be using it to get back and forth from our resort to the parks. I will be using the ECV to get from our car to the park entrances - will that walking distance be a crazy distance for my husband to walk? We booked our trip using AAA so we will be using the card for the Diamond Parking area, which I assume is quite close to the entrance confused3). But what if that area is full and we have to park farther away. What do most people do when 1 person in their party is using an ECV and have to park a distance away from the park entrance?

7. Last one! Bear with me . Because we always used the Disney busses, I haven't a sweet clue where the walkways are to the parking lots. Please tell me that they will be very visible and I will wonder I ever asked this particular question in the first place.

I know that is a lot of questions to ask and I appreciate any tips you can provide me with the above or any other expertise you can provide to make this trip stress-free. Thanks all!

 

[Cheshire Figment]

1. ECVs are designed to be easily disassembled and reassembled. Some of them (such as the Pride GoGo series) are easier than others.

If you click on where it says "disABILTIES" at the top of this page it will take you to the Index. One of the top items is the "disABILTIES FAQ" which will gives lots of useful information, including Post #5 which discusses cars and ECVs.

Or, if you want an easier route to the FAQs, click on the link in my signature.

2. There are no designated ECV parking spaces. Most people who park them use stroller parking. HOWEVER, some of the lines for attractions are very long; both Safari and Soarin' are about 1/4 mile from the queue entrance until the load area, and just as long from unload to the actual exit. Except for Space Mountain and Pirates, you can ride the ECV all the way to load and it will be waiting for you when you get to unload.

3. Most ECVs will run more than a full day on a charge. There is either a meter or a set of lights which indicate the charge level. Finding outlets does require some looking. I tend to find them inside quick service locations, especially near the restrooms. I also sometimes see them along walls. It just takes some looking.

4. I have both the key to my ECV and the lift on my car on one ring, with a large plastic tag. When I get off I will put it in a pocket.

5. (a) Just about all rental ECVs have both the supplier and a number fairly easily visible. (b) Most people don't leave ECVs in Stroller Parking.

6. If you have a disabled hang tag bring it with you. If you do not, talk to your doctor about getting a temporary hang tag from your province DMV (or whoever issues them). This will allow you to use disabled parking and not worry about Diamond. Also it will work away from the Parks.

7. Don't worry about finding the walkways on leaving the Parks. Since you will know where you parked, just pay attention to how you get from where you are parked to the Park entrance and reverse your route.

 

[pbrim]

My experience with an ECV:

1. It should be quite easy to disassemble into 4 or 5 pieces. I own a Go-Go Elite Traveller Plus and I can disassemble and load it by myself. The two heaviest pieces will be the rear wheels with the motor and the battery pack, which will weigh about 30/35 lbs each. If you don't need to use the scooter around the hotel, you can leave it in your trunk overnight and just take in the battery pack for charging, which will elminate one load/unload cycle.

2. You can leave your ECV in any stroller parking area, and they are everywhere. Don't freak if it's not exactly where you left it when you come out -- as strollers & ECVs come and go, CMs will move them around to consolidate space. (There's a lever on the ECV that puts it in free-wheel mode so it can be pushed around.) Do be open minded about taking the ECV through the line -- some may be as long as 1/4 mile in and another 1/4 miile back out. On the other hand, lines that are not mainstreamed (mostly older rides in the MK) you may miss some themeing by taking the ECV cutoff. There will be a CM at every ride who can give you information about the queue, and tell you where to go if you take the ECV through the line.

3. I can't really speak to this as I never saw them either. It is unlikely you will need to charge during the day. Turn the ECV off whenever you will be sitting very long (parades, shows, meals) and you should be OK. If you need it, ask the CMs, they are very helpful and well aware of the needs of ECVs

4. When I was renting, the key always came on a coiled wrist band. If not, you can just put it in a pocket or on any key ring you have. It's a small but distinctive key.

5. The ECV will have a placard on it with the name of the rental company and the surname of the person on the rental form. You may also want to tie something on the arm or put something bright in the basket. (I would not leave anything valuable in the basket, just in case, but I have left things like a small towel, a bottle of water, a sun-hat, etc.)

6. I have never taken a car, but I understand you can drive up to a drop off area and unload the ECV, then the driver go park the car and catch up with the rest of the party.

7. Sorry, no help here. One reason I stay on-site is so I can use the Disney busss and not have to worry about loading & unloading the ECV.

 

[peemagg]

Just a tip for the rental car and scooter. If you do not need the ECV overnight, leave it in the car and just take the battery back to the room for charging. If you bring one of those collapsible luggage carts with you, you can put the battery on it to transport back and forth from the room.

The batteries alone weigh about 30-35 lbs. That can get quite tiresome to carry back and forth. The luggage cart saves your back and arms very nicely.

 

[Bete]

It sounds like this will be your first time with a scooter. I would practice a little bit with the scooter at the resort before you go to a park; get a feel for the scooter. Turn with it; go in reverse and so forth. Look the scooter over and notice the battery charge panel and so forth. I would even take it apart once and put it together again just to make sure you know how to do it.

Depending on the car you are renting you may have to put one piece of the scooter in the back seat especially if you get a bigger scooter. I find it easier if two people put the base of the scooter in the trunk together.

Remember to charge your scooter every night for a full charge. This takes more than a couple of hours to do it. Shut your scooter off when you are not moving like when you watch a parade or live show and so forth. This conserves the battery. Using outlets at the parks is really designed for an emergency. In most cases it would take at least a two hour charge in the park to maybe get back to your room if your battery ran low. This is done on an emergency level more than anything else. I have heard of some people plugging it in when they can like when eating a meal and such, but that's not really necessary if you gave it a proper overnight charge.

The smallest scooters don't have headlights; we bring bicycle lights and use them for the night. You can get by without head lights at the park, but for us it's better to have the head lights. I know for a fact that the small scooter from Apple has no lights. Other places will not be different in this regard.

Scooters don't like the rain. There are electrical components to a scooter. Seek shelter from the rain and try not to drive in the rain too much. Especially avoid rain puddles.

I do believe getting a handicap placard would be a very good idea for the rental car. Also, getting to the parks early when they open will basically secure you a decent parking space. We leave about 45 minutes from park opening when we go by car.

For Magic Kingdom you will not be able to drive all the way to the park. You will have a choice of taking the ferry or the monorail. For your first time doing it I would choose the ferry if you're driving there. Have your partner clear a path for you the best that he can do it for the ferry. If you are staying at a Disney monorail resort then I would use the monorail even if it's your first time. Infact, if you are at a monorail resort it would probably be in your best interest to use the monorail for Epcot, too and not drive there.

It can be a little challenge to use a scooter at Disney. There will probably be instances where people will dart in front of your scooter without much notice to you. You have to pay attention really well there.

With everything said you will enjoy your vacation much more with a scooter than without.

 

[olwyngdh]

Check the DISigns threads--there are some people who make personalized license plates that you can put on cardstock, cover with clear contact paper and attach to the basket of your scooter with zip-ties so you always know which one is yours.

 

[Lil ole moi]

Thank you to everyone for all your replies! Some great information and tips!

 

[SashaFarce]

01) I was also skeptical about the ease of Apple's assembly/disassembly and my partner rented one on a trip without me and swore it was amazing. We had rented from another company previously and gave up on those scooters after a day or so due to their terrible assembly issues. APPLE IS AMAZING. I can't stress that enough. On our last trip we went in for Fantasmic and a thunderstorm came up and we literally disassembled both scooters and got them in the car in under 2 minutes.

02) Like others said, stroller parking. We usually park at least 1 of ours before getting in a line. I don't like driving mine in lines if I can avoid it because I find not running into something dicey even though I am an experienced scooter user. We are almost always the only people parking ours.

04) Apple Scooters do not come with a coil but a rubber band. You can get coil type things on Amazon for cheap if you want to bring one. Last trip I kept mine on a lanyard and put it around my neck when we were out and about.

05) I don't think this will be an issue as most people don't get off their ECVs.

 

[jdb in AZ]

01)05) I don't think this will be an issue as most people don't get off their ECVs.

Have never seen anybuddy eating dinner on their ECV, tho I've seen lots of ECV's parked amongst the strollers outside restaurants.

 

[SashaFarce]

[/B]

Have never seen anybuddy eating dinner on their ECV, tho I've seen lots of ECV's parked amongst the strollers outside restaurants. The Disney strollers looks alive. The ECV's do not.

I'm not sure what your last 2 sentences mean, but as far as the first part, I've had the reverse experience. We tend to park ours in the nearest available stroller parking as we do everything else. Everyone's mileage varies I suppose.

 

[tpettie]

I have some questions too....

We are going to do the universal tickets with mears transportation can we take the ECV on the mears to take it to universal with us??

Can we take it on the Links aswell when we go to Seaworld??

Can the dinsey van mears taxis transport it aswell if we wanted to cab from the parks back to our resort??