Resort Recommendation for ECVs

[AnnaKate]

Hello, everyone. I need your advice! I am planning a trip to WDW for 6 people: me (DW), DH, DS (16), DS (7), and my FIL and MIL, both of whom will have ECVs. We are trying to decide which resort is best for them in getting around WDW.

We are mainly considering WL, POR, and AKL. My DH thinks WL is best since it has the large boat that can transport ECVs and goes to MK and the Monorail. I think my in-laws would rather not spend the extra money to stay in a deluxe, though, and were thinking about POR. Their concern is using the buses. How difficult is this? Is it worth the extra $ to stay at WL? Is there another better option out there that I should be considering?

One more thing to add - my FIL is an experience ECV driver, but my MIL is not.

Thanks!

 

[disney david]

Hello, everyone. I need your advice! I am planning a trip to WDW for 6 people: me (DW), DH, DS (16), DS (7), and my FIL and MIL, both of whom will have ECVs. We are trying to decide which resort is best for them in getting around WDW.

We are mainly considering WL, POR, and AKL. My DH thinks WL is best since it has the large boat that can transport ECVs and goes to MK and the Monorail. I think my in-laws would rather not spend the extra money to stay in a deluxe, though, and were thinking about POR. Their concern is using the buses. How difficult is this? Is it worth the extra $ to stay at WL? Is there another better option out there that I should be considering?

One more thing to add - my FIL is an experience ECV driver, but my MIL is not.

Thanks!

Buses are easy plus at wl you have to take a bus to dtd and ak and dhs if you want a resort that you don't have to deal with buses as much pick board walk inn their you get to walk to dhs and Epcot and take the monorail to mk. At deluxes you just have one stop with in the resort but might share with other deluxe resorts. unless it ak those buses will make stops at the villa and resort at mods they have multiple stops with in the resort. Wl will share with cr for some of their routes and have their own bus for others. Mybe your fil could give mil some lessons on ECV driving plus the drivers will help guide them on the bus and if needed most will help park the ECV but the policy is they not touch the ECV but most break policy to help the guest out.

They all have their cons and pros like wl you get boat to mk then transfer to monorail to Epcot but have to take bus to dtd,dhs,ak then por will be cheaper and have a boat to dtd which I think can take ECV but not sure then you have to take bus to all other areas. Ak you take bus to every area but can't beat having the animals their and being a nice resort. At board walk inn you get a great resort and options to walk to two parks or take a boar to them and take a monorail or bus to mk their bus is not that bad you share with swan and dolphin going to mk but your the first stop. Then your just have to take the bus to ak and dtd but your be the last stop of all the Epcot resort hotels so basically pick the resort that you all would like to stay at. please don't worry about the buses 99.7 percent of the drivers are great they do work hard to get every guest in wheelchairs and ECV to their destinations as quickly and safely as they can. If you look at it Disney transportation bus division really provide a great service and most of the time they provide guest with ECVs with freedom they beat just about every other bus company they try harder and yes their same driver that might it be up to the Disney standard but if they know south them they will get rid of them. I live in ny and I can say that Disney transportation bus division is so much better then my local bus service and mta plus Disney buses are free and spend more on their buses to Mose it easier for you then bus company's that charge a fare. But their other options sometimes you can get a good rate on a rental car Alamo is good at that or using monorail and bots are also another good option.


I know my post is confusion sorry but it hard to say stay at this resort because you don't want to use the bus you have to decide which park you want to spend the most time at if it mk then pick a mk resort and then if at Epcot or dhs then pick an Epcot resort. And for ak then pick all and for dtd pick a dtd resort.

 

[123LuckyMom]

If you take busses, your party will have to split up since there is only one spot for an ECV on each bus. It's very easy to use the busses with an ECV. The busses actually tip to the ground, and you ride right on. The CM will help park the ECV, so there's no need to be experienced driver.

 

[disney david]

If you take busses, your party will have to split up since there is only one spot for an ECV on each bus. It's very easy to use the busses with an ECV. The busses actually tip to the ground, and you ride right on. The CM will help park the ECV, so there's no need to be experienced driver.

Their two spots for ECVs on every bus some have three and their a few that have four spots for ECVs so as long as their no one in a ECV already on the bus or ahead of the op they should get on the same bus.

 

[ttintagel]

I was worried about buses when I had to use an ECV, but it turned out to be a lot easier than I thought it would be. The drivers are incredibly helpful.

 

[123LuckyMom]

Their two spots for ECVs on every bus some have three and their a few that have four spots for ECVs so as long as their no one in a ECV already on the bus or ahead of the op they should get on the same bus.

Oh, I'm so sorry for providing misinformation!!! When we went, I only saw one spot. It was right in front of the rear side door where the handicapped seating was. I didn't see anywhere else the ECV could go. Thank you for correcting me!

 

[disney david]

Oh, I'm so sorry for providing misinformation!!! When we went, I only saw one spot. It was right in front of the rear side door where the handicapped seating was. I didn't see anywhere else the ECV could go. Thank you for correcting me!

Nothing to be sorry about if your the only ecv on the bus you might not notice the other spots because their seats that fold down to hide the tie down spots another good way to know how many that bus can hold is a sticker on the bottom of the window. all the window in the front have stickers on top and the tipe down points also have a sticker on the bottom so if your at the stop and can see a sticker on the inside bottom window then that bus can take three or it the sticker asking guest in ecv to transfer to a seat those are new. you was on a bus that could take at least three most buses and the other spots would be across from where you those are on the driver side if that makes sense.

 

[bedogged]

Hello, everyone. I need your advice! I am planning a trip to WDW for 6 people: me (DW), DH, DS (16), DS (7), and my FIL and MIL, both of whom will have ECVs. We are trying to decide which resort is best for them in getting around WDW.

We are mainly considering WL, POR, and AKL. My DH thinks WL is best since it has the large boat that can transport ECVs and goes to MK and the Monorail. I think my in-laws would rather not spend the extra money to stay in a deluxe, though, and were thinking about POR. Their concern is using the buses. How difficult is this? Is it worth the extra $ to stay at WL? Is there another better option out there that I should be considering?

One more thing to add - my FIL is an experience ECV driver, but my MIL is not.

Thanks!

I have stayed at all three, but only WL and AKL using an ECV. We stayed at POR years ago and just hated it. We thought transportation was a nightmare, but a lot of people love the resort.

Both AKL and WL are really good when using an ECV. Comparing the two, I think WL is the best. WL is a smaller, more compact resort. Everything is close by. WL has excellent transportation in my opinion. Buses are shared with other resorts, but WL is the FIRST stop so you have the best chance of all traveling together. Everybody gets a seat. The boat is very quick and I have never ever had to wait more than a very few minutes for the bigger boat. It lands right in front of the main entrance to MK. I can't say enough good about this resort!

We have also stayed at AKL and had a wonderful stay there. It is more expensive if you get a savanna view. The resort is very spread out and it can be quite a hike just to get to the buses. Not a problem for those of us using ECVs, but the rest of the party might not like it. The buses are very good, but if you stay at the main hotel rather than the DVC property, you will be the second stop for pickup with almost all buses. This could prove to be a problem if there are people who are using ECVs staying at DVC resort. The bus trips are a bit longer, but I never had a problem with them.

I don't think that you could go wrong staying at either WL or AKL. I wouldn't hesitate to go back to either one of them.

 

[SueM in MN]

The boats that go to and from Downtown Disney from POR/PO French Quarter, Saratoga Springs and OKW are all accessible.
The boat captain will put down a ramp for getting on and off. Seats fold up to make a space for a wheelchair or ECV.
This is a picture of the OKW boat, but they all are similar, just themed differently.

Oh, I'm so sorry for providing misinformation!!! When we went, I only saw one spot. It was right in front of the rear side door where the handicapped seating was. I didn't see anywhere else the ECV could go. Thank you for correcting me!

This picture shows 2 ECVs secured on a bus, one in front of the other.
Each bus has 2 tiedown spots, but a few buses have a third spot, right across the aisle from the back spot.
As was already mentioned, with the seats down, most people do not realize there are any wheelchair/ECV spots at all on the buses.
It is still possible that you may need to split up if the wheelchair spots are already in use or if the bus is full of seated people (they can ask people to move out of the wheelchair securement seats, but usually won't if there are no seats available for those people to move to).

If your MIL does not feel comfortable driving the ECV on the bus, she can walk up the ramp and someone else can park the ECV for her.

We have stayed at all the resorts mentioned and each have their pluses and minuses.
We had read that AKL is very far from everything, but the bus rides were definitely not as long as we expected. For example, AKL seems very far from Downtown Disney, but the bus ride was about 15 minutes.
I would agree that the walks to the bus area can be quite far!

PO Riverside or New Orleans are both very nice. They are sister resorts, so do share some amenities, like buses. Because they are sister resorts, they also have walkways that go between the resorts along the water, and you are free to use the pool at either resort. They also both have food courts.
Many people with mobility issues prefer New Orleans because it is a smaller, more compact resort.

WL is pretty compact, as far as where the shops and boats, buses are located. It is a very nice resort. It feels far away from all the activity of MK, but is very close by.

 

[AnnaKate]

Thanks for all of the great advice, everyone. We have decided on WL and are very excited! I have wanted to stay there for about 6 years now. Happy Dance!