scooter during Christmas time

[eiffel]

Hello,
We'll be in WDW for Christmas time with my mother. She'll be driving a scooter as she got a knee surgery last summer. It will be the first time for her to drive a scooter. As it's Christmas time, the crowds will be huge and i'm a little bit anxious on how she will manage to drive the scooter within the crowds.
What do you think? Should I be concerned? Any advice?

As well, she cannot stand for long, she has to sit. We are going to request a GAC (she will have a doctor's form that prove that). So what does it mean for the rides, is she going to wait in other area where she can sit?

Any help or advice will be appreciated...
Thanks in advance.
France

 

[SueM in MN]

Hello,
We'll be in WDW for Christmas time with my mother. She'll be driving a scooter as she got a knee surgery last summer. It will be the first time for her to drive a scooter. As it's Christmas time, the crowds will be huge and i'm a little bit anxious on how she will manage to drive the scooter within the crowds.
What do you think? Should I be concerned? Any advice?

She should practice ahead of time so that she is able to confidently use the scooter. She will need to be able to go forward and reverse, slow and stop in both directions and turn left and right while going forward and in reverse. She will also need to be alert because people do pop out in front of scooters or try to squeeze into the spaces between people. It’s important to be able to stop quickly.

It’s important to know where the control for speed is (it will be a lever, dial or slider) that sets the maximum speed. Usually a picture of a turtle is for slow and a rabbit for faster. Turtle is your friend because it will prevent the scooter from going too fast.

A touring plan will help a lot - even during busy times like Christmas and Easter. You will still have crowds, but want to be in the least crowded park and at the least crowded part of that park. Posters have reported good success with www.easywdw.com and www.touringplans.com

As well, she cannot stand for long, she has to sit. We are going to request a GAC (she will have a doctor's form that prove that). So what does it mean for the rides, is she going to wait in other area where she can sit?

Any help or advice will be appreciated...
Thanks in advance.
France

There is more information about Guest Assistance Cards (GACs) in post 6 of the disABILITIES FAQs thread (near the top if this board or follow the link in my signature.
You don’t need a doctor’s letter to get a GAC.
She will be able to bring the ECV into most lines/attractions all the way to the boarding area without using a GAC. Those lines that are not ECV accessible are wheelchair accessible and have wheelchairs that guests can use. Guests don’t need a GAC to use an ECV or wheelchair in lines.

MOST attractions DON’T have a place to sit unless you bring a wheelchair, ECV or rollator (walker with a seat) with you. So, having a GAC is not going to help much with sitting. In addition, there are quite a few attractions which include standing for a period (usually during a preshow type part of the attraction). Some have a few benches, but in most cases, they are not reserved for guests with disabilities.
Post 22 on page 2 of the disABILITIES FAQs thread has a list of attractions where guests must stand unless they have a mobility device.
Posts 18-21 have information on how atractions work with an ECV, including which are not ECV accessible and which have a step up/down or into a ride car that may be difficult.

 

[Cruelladeville]

You shouldn't depend on ECVs at the parks for your mom, but rent one from one of the rental companies. Disney is always running out of their ECVs, even on regular days, and at Christmas and other holidays you can't even rent a stroller, let alone an ECV, so if Mom really does need an ECV to maneuver around, you will all have a better trip with a rental.

 

[SueM in MN]

Post 2 of the disABILITIES FAQs thread has information including links and phone numbers for off site rental companies recommended by DIS posters.

 

[Piper]

Most lines at WDW are mainstreamed and so she will be able to take the ECV into the same line as everyone else. WDW's answer to mobility problems is to rent an ECV or WC. There is no place to sit so the ECV will serve that function. She will have to transfer from the ECV to a wheelchair on a few rides (like Pirates) but most allow you to take the ECV up to the ride itself.

The FAQs at the top of the Disabilities board has really great and accurate information. Unless they have been there and done that very recently, what people in real life tell you isn't usually accurate. Many people believe that an ECV will shorten wait time, but it sometimes causes you to wait longer because rides can only accommodate one or two vehicles with people who might need assistance in case of malfunction. Also there is no "front of the line" access for people in WC or ECVs.

The ECV may not be handled the same at all attractions or even at the same attraction at different times of the day. It all depends on the conditions at each ride.

 

[eiffel]

My mother is able to go on the ride by herself, she wouldn,t need her ECV for the ride. But she cannot stand for long and i'm expecting that during Christmas, lines will be long.
If she goes in the waiting lines with her ECV, will she be able to leave it once getting into the ride's car?

 

[jdb in AZ]

My mother is able to go on the ride by herself, she wouldn,t need her ECV for the ride. But she cannot stand for long and i'm expecting that during Christmas, lines will be long.
If she goes in the waiting lines with her ECV, will she be able to leave it once getting into the ride's car?

Yes, she can park it just before getting into the ride car -- the cast members will direct her where to go. Sometimes a CM will move the ECV to meet you at the end of the ride.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

The lines for almost all attractions at WDW are "mainstreamed". This means that the queue is set up to allow wheelchairs and/or ECVs to go through the line just as a person without a mobility problem. As it was built prior to the ADA, the Magic Kingdom is most likely to have non-mainstreamed lines. Some attractions, such as Splash Mountain and Haunted Mansion you will go part way through the regular queue and then be diverted. Other attractions, such as Big Thunder Mountain or SpaceShip Earth you will initially be directed to an accessible entrance.

All the theaters are set up with seats (usually in the back row) removed so a wheelchair or ECV can pull into a space and there will be regular seating on either side of the space for the others in the party.

Where there are quantity limits on space, or other limitation involving accessibility, you may have to wait longer to see a show or ride an attraction than people without disabilities.

 

[Bete]

as much as possible. Depending on the size of your party you can hopefully guard her on all four sides of the scooter. Have someone walk in front of the scooter and on the sides and even the back. The front is probably the most important, but it can be a dangerous spot to be in if your mom doesn't stop in time for whatever reasons. The front guard person should be the navigator of where you are going to next. The more you can block anyone from your mom's scooter the better off she will be.

If it gets really bad for whatever reasons you may want to switch to a wheelchair, but that's not fun during Christmas, either. My mom would never be able to do a scooter and we utilize a wheelchair for her.

There may be times you may have to take over on the scooter; because, it could get to be too hard for her to do it. Examples would be parking the scooter for her once you are boarding the ride; so, she can go directly to the ride (assuming there is another person to help her on the ride); getting the scooter on and off buses (using Disney transportation from the resorts) can be a challenge for some especially parking it on to the bus; and some ride queues can be tough with a lot of quick turns and that can be hard and tiring to do. To do Soarin' in the Land in EPCOT you actually have to do an elevator to get the scooter down to that level; I strongly suggest someone else doing it for her on the elevator.

I find Disney to be one of the toughest places to do scootering for many reasons. Now, add to it that it's one of the busiest times and it makes it down right difficult to do especially day after day. Don't get me wrong; it's still better than walking, but it takes a while to get use to everything you need to do.

Please keep in mind that scooters can't do curbs. You need to find sidewalk ramps to allow the scooter to go just like a wheelchair would do. With heavy crowds it can be tough finding the sidewalk ramps to move on. Again, this is where a front navigator will be very useful.

If you can practice at a local zoo I feel that's the best preparation you can do ahead of time. It will still be a lot harder at Disney, but you will have a feel for scootering before encountering the big crowds and so forth.

As others have suggested it will be best to rent off site for a scooter. It will be cheaper and the scooter will be available at all times.

 

[rj137]

Holidays are very busy and I'd suggest a front guide and side person through some of the more congested areas, everyone is looking ahead and not side to side and can be frustrating at times. I would also suggest an easy to use scooter like the Go-Go from Walker Mobility, very easy to maneuver and compact, may make things a little easier in a crowd. And have bottled water, the lines for water can be HUGE during warmers days in December.

 

[klmall]

I just wanted to add that I used the advice given here and the hints several times during our trip between Dec. 12 and 20 at WDW and Universal to walk with DH in his scooter. Actually, things went quite well much of the time and we fared far better with walking through crowds at Epcot and MK than I thought we would.

Whenever I began to worry about crowds I would walk in front of his scooter and DS would walk on one side and that seemed to be sufficient to keep the pathways clear.

I can't tell you how much of an improvement having DH on a scooter made to our overall trip. This board was a lifesaver in preparing for scooter use too!