Traveling with someone who uses an ECV

[mgmgbook]

I thought I'd share some of our experiences of being at DL (and USH) with someone who is renting a scooter. My 82yo mother was not going to be able to walk for any length of time in the parks so we opted to rent from Deckerts. We were staying at the Desert Inn and Suites and I had a suite reserved for 9 of us and a room reserved for my mom and I indicated to the staff that she had mobility issues. DIS has rooms designed for people with handicaps but whoever came up with the idea of placing the room on the third floor, next to a set of stairs and with an elevator tucked around a tight corner - was an idiot. I kept worrying that my mother was going to make an error and hit the edge of the stairs while on the ECV. The room itself was large, particularly the bathroom, and accommodated the ECV well.

The ECV was in great shape and she had no problems with it all week. We even got it on a bus for transport to USH. The DIS staff, however, was a problem. DIS is currently renovating their lobby area. When we arrived on a Sunday evening, they told us that there was no scooter there for my mom. I knew Deckerts was closed at that point and I was greatly concerned/irritated. Fortunately, after some discussion, another staff person overheard and said that there was a scooter there for me. They had just stashed it out of the way. Problem solved until this morning. When I asked where to leave the ECV, (because Deckerts drops off and picks up at the hotel), I was told that they couldn't let me leave the ECV there. They had no room due to the renovation. The woman was really rude about it. We were leaving for the airport in 30 minutes and now I'm dealing with this? She was totally unaccommodating. I left messages for Deckerts but never heard from them. I ended up leaving the ECV beside the hotel. I still don't know if they picked it up.

Now I'm going to say something controversial - if you've ever been hit by an ECV, 90% of the time, it's probably your own fault. Seriously. Thousands of times people would just step in front of my mom's scooter. An 82yo woman does not have great reflexes. Fortunately she only ever hit two people - and I was one of them. (Someone stopped abruptly in front of me to get their picture taken).

Accessing rides/shows in DL - I think every ride she took, she accessed it via the exit. We got a return time for Peter Pan but all other rides in FL we were able to walk right on. We rode 5 rides in 90 minutes during a pretty busy time of day. If that sounds fabulous, don't get too excited. See the paragraph above. It took a long time to get from ride to ride. In FL, they will only allow a party of 6 max, to access the handicapped area. BTMRR was willing to let all 11 of us to go on together - as did Star Tours, JC(return time for this one), HM, SM and Pirates. In Autopia, she stayed on her scooter until close to the end when there was a separate entrance for handicapped. She still had to take stairs down to the cars. Later, I discovered there was an elevator! Grr. Those stairs were hard for her. Mickey and the Magical Map has an wheelchair entry to the left of the general admission area. There are two areas set aside for the electrical parade. One is near IASM and one is near the entrance/exit of the parade down by the main gate. They allow family members to stand behind the wheelchairs and ECVs.

In CA - these rides were designed to be ADA compliant. That doesn't necessarily mean that they are easy for an ECV driver. TSMM was a tricky one for her to weave thru. At the end, they have the ECV rider and up to 5 others in your party go to the handicapped access area. You're loaded on to a special car. You now wait at least an extra 5 minutes or so than others because of this. Doesn't sound like much but when you've already waited 45 minutes, you are ready to have fun! RSR was the same way. GRR was a much longer wait because of how they pull the boats over for loading and unloading. The other rides were a little easier to deal with and she didn't have an additional wait. There is an area for WOC for scooters/wheelchairs and our whole party was able to join her. It's a pretty good view for those of us standing. Not as great for those sitting so my mom ended up standing for lots of the show. Frozen had some great seats in the orchestra area for her and the rest of us.

USH - traveling with her on an ECV was like having a front of the line pass. They were extremely accommodating and she never had to wait for anything. The elevator to the studio tours is a joke (it can only take one wheelchair or scooter at a time) but otherwise, things were easier there than at Disney.

All in all - it is not easy traveling with someone in an ECV (who is 82 and a little hard of hearing). Every ride had a slightly different way that they wanted her to park and leave her ECV. Getting thru the crowds was exhausting for her and her walking companion. It was nice that there were some positives to the ECV experience and not all negatives. Partly sad to be back and partly glad to be away from the crowds and the chaos.

 

[bumbershoot]

Now I'm going to say something controversial - if you've ever been hit by an ECV, 90% of the time, it's probably your own fault.

Yep.

This does not mean that the 10% doesn't exist. I toured the park for a couple difficult hours with a scooter user who would aim for people. That person caused the 10% of cases. But that person is not the norm.

 

[mgmgbook]

Yep.

This does not mean that the 10% doesn't exist. I toured the park for a couple difficult hours with a scooter user who would aim for people. That person caused the 10% of cases. But that person is not the norm.

I totally agree. I was not inclined to say 100% because not everyone who is on a scooter is going to be nice. I was surprised how few people I saw on scooters this trip. I suppose that older people (statistically more likely to be on scooters) avoid spring break season. The other thing I was surprised about was how few strollers got in our way.

 

[SMD]

Now I'm going to say something controversial - if you've ever been hit by an ECV, 90% of the time, it's probably your own fault. Seriously. Thousands of times people would just step in front of my mom's scooter. An 82yo woman does not have great reflexes. Fortunately she only ever hit two people - and I was one of them. (Someone stopped abruptly in front of me to get their picture taken).

If her reflexes don't allow her to stop an ECV to avoid hitting someone else, she has no business operating it in a crowded theme park. I've been hit twice by an ECV while I wasn't moving and had been in one case standing and in another kneeling for several minutes before the ECV hit me. On another occasion I was hit when a child riding in a lap grabbed the steering column. Last night I barely got my legs out of the way before MSEP when a grandfather and child sharing the ECV seat side by side and dragging a backpack down Main St decided to do a u-turn to check for their family behind them and made the turn way too wide. From my weekly trips to the park, many fewer people step off the curb in front of ECVs being operated at a walking pace than the speed demons and texting and drivers would have you believe.

 

[VandVsmama]

Thanks for the trip report! My mother-in-law was thinking of joining us 4 years ago on a trip to Disneyland and she was going to use a scooter while she was there. She ended up deciding not to go and I've always thought since then how the trip would have gone if she HAD joined us. After reading your post above, I'm glad that she decided not to join us because she would have ended up exhausted!

 

[geergirl]

We saw the 10% last week. An ECV took out a shelf and nearly hit kids more than once in a shop. A cast member was right on top of it and was clearly not impressed with the driver. Apparently the backup beeper was broken and instead of warning people she was reversing she just backed up into people (kids) browsing behind her.

 

[NannyBeBe]

I feel sorry for the handicapped and the elderly.

 

[mgmgbook]

If her reflexes don't allow her to stop an ECV to avoid hitting someone else, she has no business operating it in a crowded theme park. I've been hit twice by an ECV while I wasn't moving and had been in one case standing and in another kneeling for several minutes before the ECV hit me. On another occasion I was hit when a child riding in a lap grabbed the steering column. Last night I barely got my legs out of the way before MSEP when a grandfather and child sharing the ECV seat side by side and dragging a backpack down Main St decided to do a u-turn to check for their family behind them and made the turn way too wide. From my weekly trips to the park, many fewer people step off the curb in front of ECVs being operated at a walking pace than the speed demons and texting and drivers would have you believe.

Sorry to hear that you have been hit by scooters. It is ridiculous that someone would drive one of those things with a child on their lap. Sheesh. Now to be fair to scooter drivers - imagine how many times you've bumped shoulders or hips or something with someone in the crowd. It's fairly normal. On a scooter, that's not acceptable so it really takes extra care on part of the driver to avoid any physical contact. It's amazing how much more empathetic I am since it was my mom. During the really intense crowds - like during parade and fireworks time - I can totally understand why everyone is in "every person for him/herself" mode. I totally understand the frustration with scooters - and strollers - and people who decide to have conversations in the middle of the pathway. Crowds just make me less tolerant. I'm guessing I'll be more tolerant as I move into an advanced age group.

 

[starshine514]

It is ridiculous that someone would drive one of those things with a child on their lap. Sheesh.

You can't push a stroller and drive an ECV at the same time, nor can you keep up with a toddler running around while you are driving one. The solution? Hold the toddler on your lap while you drive.

 

[ddwlms]

The only person I've ever hit on an ECV jumped in front of me. Literally, jumped in front of me. Apparently, when the line for the monorail started to move, I didn't take off quickly enough for him. -We were on the incline and I wanted the people in front of me to move enough to make a safe space between me and them. This guy jumped the bars into the exit side to pass me, and jumped back into the open space in front of me right at the exact moment that I took off. I felt horrid, as it was not just a little bump. I ran into him / over him. Even though it was completely his fault (and maybe a little bit of karma), it put a temporary damper into my trip.

Weird thing was, that was the only trip where I've had a bad experience due to the ECV, but on that trip we had two. Getting off the elevator, to board CS, the area in front of the elevator was blocked with single riders who had been directed to go that way. They didn't want to even let us off the elevator as they felt we might get in front of them. DD tried to explain that we were in a different line then them. When the CM called us forward (you have a different color boarding pass, so they know that you're to be seated with your group and that you already waited in a longer line than the single riders) one of the single riders started yelling that they were there first. The CM tried to explain to him, but he was still yelling as they ushered us onto the ride. It was a bit intimidating.

 

[mgmgbook]

You can't push a stroller and drive an ECV at the same time, nor can you keep up with a toddler running around while you are driving one. The solution? Hold the toddler on your lap while you drive.

Good point.

 

[SMD]

You can't push a stroller and drive an ECV at the same time, nor can you keep up with a toddler running around while you are driving one. The solution? Hold the toddler on your lap while you drive.

Disney's rules are ECVs are for a single passenger. If the toddler can't walk next to the ECV or someone else isn't available to push a stroller, operate your ECV elsewhere with a toddler on your lap. Of course, like all rules, Disney doesn't enforce it until there's a high profile incident, but not being able to push a stroller doesn't make having a toddler on your lap while operating an ECV safe.