Two ECV’s and 5 adults in GF standard room

[Lewisc]

Buenavistascooters is a board sponsor


From their site


DO NOT leave equipment in the hallway of your hotel, at the bellman, or the front desk.

 

[DonMacGregor]

As with many laws it seems that there is always wriggle room provided in the choice of wording. In the sections cited it refers to impeding the access to hallways that meet the minimum width. It doesn’t speak to whether or not it is within the guidelines if the space exceeds the minimum.

True, but it's not "wriggle room". The Code only requires "minimum" widths: you can make the corridor as wide as you like, and it's no secret or hidden "hack". The Code simply requires the minimum width for a specific occupancy, with a baseline occupant load, then requires that the corridor be widened by a specific width for each additional occupant utilizing that means of egress (based on the maximum possible occupant load).

Having said all of that and not knowing what the design occupant load is for any specific resort, building, or floor, it's impossible to determine how much additional corridor width/capacity was provided by the original architects at each resort. It's not an unrealistic assumption that some additional width was provided beyond the code-required minimums, and that is to be expected, but no one is going to go overboard on designing overly wide corridors when they take away rentable space within the building footprint (corridors don't make money, so there is a balance between the two, leaning towards the side of safety of course). They base their design on Code minimums, plus reasonable expectations with an additional safety factor baked in.

With some of the older resorts, built before the proliferation of ECV's, it's an additional capacity that likely wouldn't have been envisioned at the time of original design. ECV's seem to be getting bigger as well, and how would the designer anticipate the orientation of a parked scooter? Is it parallel to the wall, perpendicular (because people will do what people do), parked side-by-side? Some of the bigger ECV's are now up to 50" long and 30" wide. Put a couple of those in the corridor close to each other (because they're going to be grouped around wall receptacles) and you know no one added an extra 5 or 6 feet to the corridor design width in anticipation of that.

 

[Debbie Jean]

We had to evacuate BWV one night a few years ago for a fire alarm. It was chaotic in the first place with some panicking and kids crying or having to be carried as dead weight, but the obstacle course to leave with scooters parked on both sides of the hallway was crazy. If a family had a double stroller (or even a single) to corral their kids, they would have been stuck at several points. Last year at WL CL, we didn’t have an evacuation, but coming back after an AH, it was the same situation with ECV along both walls, and I told my kid that I hoped we didn’t have another fire alarm. It felt like the WL hallways were especially narrow, but that was probably just my perspective. I really, really wish I had taken pictures, but I’m old and never think about doing that kind of thing.

Totally agree! Had the same experience when we evacuated in the early hours of the morning at AKL… scooters in the hall made an upsetting situation so much more dangerous and difficult… for what? More square feet in your room? It was awful watching parents try to maneuver and shepard their little ones in the middle of the night past the scooters and charging cords.

I’m old, too. I’ve used a scooter at Disney for many years. I have stayed EVERWHERE on property and always find a way to fit it in the room. I move furniture if I need to and have even used the bathroom plugs to charge. If you need help figuring it out call housekeeping.

 

[Sweettears]

True, but it's not "wriggle room". The Code only requires "minimum" widths: you can make the corridor as wide as you like, and it's no secret or hidden "hack". The Code simply requires the minimum width for a specific occupancy, with a baseline occupant load, then requires that the corridor be widened by a specific width for each additional occupant utilizing that means of egress (based on the maximum possible occupant load).

Having said all of that and not knowing what the design occupant load is for any specific resort, building, or floor, it's impossible to determine how much additional corridor width/capacity was provided by the original architects at each resort. It's not an unfair assumption that some additional width was provided beyond the code-required minimums, and that is to be expected, but no one is not going to go overboard on designing overly wide corridors when they take away rentable space within the building footprint (corridors don't make money, so there is a balance between the two, leaning towards the side of safety of course). They base their design on Code minimums, plus reasonable expectations with an additional safety factor baked in.

With some of the older resorts, built before the proliferation of ECV's, it's an additional capacity that likely wouldn't have been envisioned at the time of original design. ECV's seem to be getting bigger as well, and how would the designer anticipate the orientation of a parked scooter? Is it parallel to the wall, perpendicular (because people will do what people do), parked side-by-side? Some of the bigger ECV's are now up to 50" long and 30" wide. Put a couple of those in the corridor close to each other (because they're going to be grouped around wall receptacles) and you know no one added an extra 5 or 6 feet to the corridor design width in anticipation of that.

Pretty much what I was thinking when I responded but didn’t want to take the time.