Scooters as a touring strategy

[MJ6987]

Hi,
A colleague of mine went to WDW (from here in UK) last year and said that there seemed to be some people using motorised scooters who didn't necessarily need them, i.e. there didn't appear to be anything physically wrong with them (apart from maybe needing to lose a few pounds in some cases) - e.g. they were getting out of them and walking fine.

He suspected some may have been using them to get on attractions quicker, etc (don't they have special entrances for scooters?)

Has anyone heard of people doing this? I must stress that this is not someting I am considering myself!!

Matthew

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

I'm sure there are those people who take advantage but there are also people who have disabilities that may not be physically obvious so you can't really judge. I'd better get my popcorn for this topic...

 

[Crystal824]

My mom does have a disability and she uses a scooter while at WDW. With that being said, there is not usually a shorter wait. More often than not, you are taken to a separate entrance but the wait is not all that reduced if at all. Occassionally, you have to wait longer.

 

[Crystal824]

Even if you do occassionally get a shorter wait. It is difficult and takes alot longer IMO to get around with the scooter than to just walk. You have to park it and then get back on it and wait for people to move out of your way to get going. My DH and I can get around alot faster when we go without my mom so if people are using this as a touring strategy, it isn't a good one unless they are very slow walkers.

 

[moredisneyplease]

I was actually at WDW in June and had to use a scooter due to broken toes right before the trip. Here's a few things that I realized:

1) yes it does APPEAR that some people use them when they dont "need" to but this is only an appearance. Who knows the issues of each individual

2) Honestly it wasnt very easy to manouver this scooter with heavy crowds! i would have rather been without!

3) Many, many lines do NOT have speacial scooter/wheelchair lines. I think that if you have a handicap sign/special pass its different but being that I didnt have one I went in to the regular line with everyone else. They offered manual wheelchairs for the wait but I usually declined and stood in line like everyone else (sometimes in serios pain towards the end of the day).


I'm certain that there is a small percentage of people who do get scooters just for the jolly of it but I bet most get them for a reason.

 

[IWISHFORDISNEY]

They are really pricey and I dont see how this would be cost effective. I know because my overweight sister had to rent one last year due to recent knee surgery. It would have appeared she was fine unless you knew that an hour on her leg and her knee would have swollen up like a balloon and it did the first day hence why we had to rent her a scooter the rest of the week. I think it was over $50 per day and that is steep if you really dont need it. Maybe it was something similar to this that he saw??

We could not take the scooter in a speacial line and it was parked with the stroller we also had.

 

[uconn01001]

Hi,
A colleague of mine went to WDW (from here in UK) last year and said that there seemed to be some people using motorised scooters who didn't necessarily need them, i.e. there didn't appear to be anything physically wrong with them (apart from maybe needing to lose a few pounds in some cases) - e.g. they were getting out of them and walking fine.

He suspected some may have been using them to get on attractions quicker, etc (don't they have special entrances for scooters?)

Has anyone heard of people doing this? I must stress that this is not someting I am considering myself!!

Matthew

Maybe it's a good thing you live in the "UK". I am handicap and I use a scooter and if you think it enables people like me to get to the attractive faster and get in that "special" entrance you are totally off base. We still have to stay in line and usually have to get to the back of the line after we enter that "special" entrance. So before you post something you should get your facts straight.

 

[MJ6987]

These replies would seem to disprove his theory then!

 

[Lzylitnin]

My husband broke his foot while at WDW in 1990. (Wow, it doesn't seem like it was that long ago?)

Because of his wheelchair, we were able to enter several rides without waiting in the regular line. Usually it was a much shorter line, sometimes no line. I'd say the wheelchair saved us quite a bit of time. I can't remember which rides, but usually a CM would come up to us and direct us where to go.

 

[Belle1962]

To OP: YES there are people who rent a scooter thinking it gives them a better access than people not in one. Every time I read these posts I just start I do not "look" disabled but alas I am. (As you read keep in mind I have a very weird senes of humour--don't mean to offend anyone but....)

As a scooter user I will tell you some of our "secrets":
1. Almost all of the lines in WDW are mainstreamed (this is a fairly reccent change) --this means the ecv fits through the line so you must go through the main line (there are however some lines with tight turns and it is watching people try to make the turn and then back up into the people in their own group when they have to try again) Okay not funny all the time but when you suspect it's a faker it is just karma and therefore funny. (YES even us "real" ecv users will sometimes make snap judgements about others.)
2. If you do get pulled aside at a certain point in the line, you tend to wait LONGER than normal. The reason--there are already a ton of wheelchair and scooter people in front of you. It is very frustrating to either wait in the standby line with people, then get pulled aside and see the people who were behind you (and many more after that) pass by you or you take a handicapped accessible route and see the stand by line flying through while you wait behind several other parties (IASW is a perfect example: the stand by line could be walk on but because there are so many ecv/wheelchair families lined up at "their" entrance you are waiting 10 - 15 minutes or CM's are sending boats out EMPTY. Even if you don't need the "accesible" vehicle--if someone in front of you does most times the CM will not load you until that party has loaded (first in first out). So now you have to wait for the parties in front of you that need the ONE accesible vehicle (while everyone in the standyby line keeps getting on).
3. At "reserved viewing areas" for parades/fireworks, the CM's will sometimes limit the number of people you are allowed to have accompany you to those spots. Travelling with a large family? Sorry you will be split up. And they pack you in wheel to wheel so you can't move until the people next to you do, it's like scooter dominos.
4. Your view of any park will be limited to the backside area of the people around you. If you are really tall you may see slightly higher but this does make for "interesting" viewing. As long as you aren't close enough to get a whiff when they pass gas. (You wouldn't believe how much "cheek" is acceptable for public viewing--and on some people who really ought not to)
5. Once you enter a scooter/ecv you become "invisible". (hey--that's a super power!) People will stop dead in front you, try to jump across you, drag their child in front of you, shove their stroller in front of you, try to "outrun" you when crossing a pathway, stand in front of you if you leave even 1/2" for parades and shows, refuse to move from the accessible curb areas, cut in front of you in line for snack carts and food, talk to the people around you but not you (you also loose the ability to speak), keep their cigaratte level with your face, and for the record, no matter what ---it is ALWAYS your fault--no arguing with those people.
6. You will receive the best medical care and advice in the world at WDW. People all around you will be able to tell, SIMPLY BY LOOKING AT YOU, what your diagnosis is, if you are faking and will be able to diagnose your healing time (usually right around the time you have the nerve to actually WALK into a ride or attraction). You save TONS of $$$$$ just by listening to what the people are saying about you.

So yes, I am sure there fakers out there but they are usually in for a rude awakening when they try to put the reality of an ecv into use at a park.

And did I mention the people who feel free to yell at you, grumble in your face and make snide, rude, nasty, unfeeling comments to you becuse they have judged you "unworthy" of an ecv?

The flip side is:
1. People (and generally a lot of younger tween/teens) who will hold open doors for you.
2. People who offer to "grab you something" when they go to a snack cart and you all have been waiting together for a show/parade.
3. People who see you sitting still for awhile or looked "peaked" ask if there is anything they can do for you.
4. People who offer to carry your tray when you are in line for food.
5. People (generally men) who see you struggling to assemble your ecv in the parking lot and offer to help.
6. People who will make their kdis or themselves sit down at a parade if they see you a few rows back.

I prefer to focus on these people. Walt's kind of people.

 

[Vijoge]

Hi,
A colleague of mine went to WDW (from here in UK) last year and said that there seemed to be some people using motorised scooters who didn't necessarily need them, i.e. there didn't appear to be anything physically wrong with them (apart from maybe needing to lose a few pounds in some cases) - e.g. they were getting out of them and walking fine.

He suspected some may have been using them to get on attractions quicker, etc (don't they have special entrances for scooters?)

Has anyone heard of people doing this? I must stress that this is not someting I am considering myself!!

Matthew

ECV user here and I'd like to adress your questions.

I seriously doubt that there are more than a handful of people in the parks at any given time who are using an ECV they don't need.

Just because they don't look "handicapped" , "deformed< or "ill" is no reson to assume they are able to "walk fine". And just because they can get off the ECV and ride a ride or view an attraction or enter a shop is no indication that they are able to walk 10-15 miles a day at WDW.

I use an ECV. I have owned one for about four years and I "don't leave home without it". I have degenerative arthritis in my hips and one knee as well as spinal stenosis in my back. You can't see it but I can sure feel it. Yes, I can get off my ECV and walk into a restaurant, but 100 ft. is usually about my limit. And the pain never goes away, whether on the ECV or off of it. But to you I would look completely healthy and normal. And yes, when you see me walking I will probably look like I am "walking fine".

There are hundreds of medical conditions that make it impossible for a person to walk long distances or stand for long periods of time and most of them are not visible. Perhaps we should all have our diagnoses tattooed on our foreheads so the viewing public is able to know exactly what is wrong with us and why we are using an ECV.

No one uses an ECV at WDW because it is faster to do anything. It takes a lot longer to get through the crowds. We do not get to go through a shorter line or go to the front of the line. We often have to wait for a second bus because the first one didn't have room for our ECV. We don't see nearly as much in one day as those of you who are able to walk.

 

[sjaakie]

Hi,
A colleague of mine went to WDW (from here in UK) last year and said that there seemed to be some people using motorised scooters who didn't necessarily need them, i.e. there didn't appear to be anything physically wrong with them (apart from maybe needing to lose a few pounds in some cases) - e.g. they were getting out of them and walking fine.

He suspected some may have been using them to get on attractions quicker, etc (don't they have special entrances for scooters?)

Has anyone heard of people doing this? I must stress that this is not someting I am considering myself!!

Matthew

We did see people using scooters and then run into an attraction. I was really amazed seeing this phenomenon.

( I used a wheelchair myself)

 

[selina4disney]

My friend said this topic has been beat to death on here. And people usually get angry about it.

1. YES there are always going to be some who abuse scooters and get them when they don't need them. But that is a very small percentage of those who rent them.

2. MOST of the people you see on them DO need them to enjoy a day at the parks even if you can't see their disability, or even if you think you can see it because they are obese. They may have other problems that prevent them from walking, standing etc...and they DO need the scooters to enjoy their trip.

3. Scooters do not get you to the front of the line. Almost all queues are mainstreamed now so scooter riders wait with everyone else.

4. Yes, some scooters have bumped into people or run over their feet, and some people that are on them are driving one for the first time and they need to be more cautious BUT by the same token, more people have stepped out in front of scooters like they weren't even there than get hit by scooters, because scooter drivers ARE watching. These things don't stop on a dime, folks, you have to watch where you walk too.

Before you judge, walk a mile in their shoes and when you see someone on a scooter, think a minute and be glad you do NOT need one to enjoy Disney. I have been on both sides of the coin and believe me, Disney without an ECV is much more fun.

 

[BillSears]

My husband broke his foot while at WDW in 1990. (Wow, it doesn't seem like it was that long ago?)

Because of his wheelchair, we were able to enter several rides without waiting in the regular line. Usually it was a much shorter line, sometimes no line. I'd say the wheelchair saved us quite a bit of time. I can't remember which rides, but usually a CM would come up to us and direct us where to go.

I just want to piiunt out that that was 1990. Times have changed since then and rarely does using a wheelchair/scooter allow you board a ride faster then anyone else. Usually I wait in the regular line like everyone else and then just before boarding I get sent to a second line to wait again. Often I'll see people who were in line with me getting off of the ride before I get to board.

 

[J&J'sMOM]

UGHHHHH.......
I've been thinking alot lately about our upcoming trip and how I will need a wc or ecv. I broke my foot and am in a walking boot, but I can walk short distances. I was very afraid that everyone would be looking at me and shaking their heads, thinking that I didn't really need to be in a chair, and that I was just being lazy. I went over to the disabilities forum, and my mind was put at ease. We paid alot for this vacation ( way before I broke my foot), and I want to enjoy it!

Let's just all try to enjoy our own vacations and quit worrying about what everyone else is doing!

 

[Cool-Beans]

Another thread designed to pick on people in wheelchairs. Yippee.

You can't always tell who can walk great distances and who can't. There are many, many reasons a person might need that chair about which you know nothing.

I suggest that you spend a day in an ECV and then come back and tell us all how much easier it made your day.

Nobody ever takes me up on that. Wonder why.

 

[Cool-Beans]

My husband broke his foot while at WDW in 1990. (Wow, it doesn't seem like it was that long ago?)

Because of his wheelchair, we were able to enter several rides without waiting in the regular line. Usually it was a much shorter line, sometimes no line. I'd say the wheelchair saved us quite a bit of time. I can't remember which rides, but usually a CM would come up to us and direct us where to go.

Never having paid attention to which lines were designed for chairs and which weren't, I'd walk ahead and ask the CMs.

I went up to one and started to say, "My friend is in a wheelchair, can it fit through this line?" but I only got as far as, "My friend is in a wheelchair" when I was VERY RUDELY interrupted by the CM and VERY RUDELY told, "You have to wait in the line like everyone else."

Instead of treating me (and her) like any other person OR being a little extra nice to someone who has to go through life like that, this particular employee decided to be extra rude.

I was pissed off by that and a little hurt for her that some people decide to be meaner to her because she's in a chair. I will never forget it.

 

[BEASLYBOO]

These scooters are a wonderful tool for people who otherwise would be severely limited in their mobility and enjoyment of life. With that said, there are many who can and should walk but do not simply because it's easier and anyone can rent a scooter. This is an observation, not a criticism of any individual w/ or without a true need for such a device. Over the years I personally have know individuals who rented scooters just because they didn't want the wear and tear of walking, is it right? It's not for me to judge one way or the other, my only concerns are with me and mine!

 

[Vijoge]

Let's just all try to enjoy our own vacations and quit worrying about what everyone else is doing!

I wish! Everytiime I read a post questioning whenther or not someone needs an ECV or W/C or asking if someone is abusing the system my first thought is "Why do you think it's any of your business?"

With all the wonderful things to see and do at WDW it amazes me that people have the time or the interest to worry about how far or how fast I can walk.

 

[MJ6987]

Hopefully threads like this will help to dispel people's misconceptions Just maybe...