What do you do if your personal ECV breaks down at a park?

[Debbie-TN]

My cousin always rents an ECV from Walker. She's thinking of buying one and taking it with us. We were talking about it yesterday and she brought up a good point. If we have a problem with the ECV from Walker, we just call them and they take care of the problem. Have any of you with your own ECV's had any breakdowns at the parks or other places and how did you get it fixed?

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I once had a tire go bad and it was deep in the park at DHS. A manager called Stroller Rental at the front of the park. They had someone come to me with a Disney rental which they let me have for the rest of the day. The person who brought the ECV also walked mine all the way to the front to Stroller Rental. So all I had to do was get it out to my car (which was in disabled parking) when I left the park. Next day I had the tire replaced before I returned to the park. (And this was before I started working at WDW.)

I do know that Buena Vista Rentals actually has a repair facility on WDW property. But there are a lot of other places around that can work on an outside ECV.

The key thing to do is make sure the batteries are in good shape before the trip, it is very unlikely that anything else will go wrong.

And most newer ECVs now have solid tires so they cannot go flat.

 

[lovetoscrap]

I had a battery problem with mine at Epcot one day. I didnt get the charging cord all the way in the night before so it hadn't charged and I didn't realize it until I was in the park. I took it to the ECV rental and they had no problem keeping mine in back until the end of the day and I rented one of theirs. When I went back to get it later the guy went into the back to get mine and said they had found a charging cord that matched mine so they had actually been charging it for me for several hours! I was not sure how I was going to get it back to the resort uncharged so I was so thankful! That was a great example of wonderful Disney service.

 

[Bete]

If the scooter is new you should be pretty safe. You'll just have to remember to charge it everyday and I do mean everyday. Some people feel if the gage is still full or close to full they can skip the recharging process, but I wouldn't do that at Disney. Bring your recharger with you to the park. If you go by car to the parks you can leave the charger in your car and only use it if necessary. If you feel you may need to recharge in the park then carry it with you on the scooter. There are electrical outlets at Disney that you can access in an emergency recharging episode. This shouldn't be necessary, but it will depend on your habits. Some people forget to shut off the scooter when not in use like a show, parade, fireworks, etc. This will take your battery down very fast. Some stay for 14 hours at the park and it could become necessary to recharge in that case, as well.

I have heard some others state they recharge while they are eating at a restaurant or a longer show just to be on the safe side at the parks. It gives the scooter a boost; although, it's not a full charge. Some cheaper scooters don't have a long charge; so, they are more suspect to needing recharging while at the park. It's not so easy to find outlets at each park, but a CM will help you if it comes down to needing to do this for your scooter. Usually inside pavillons will have outlets to use like The Land Pavillon in Epcot; there's one near the restrooms. You need to look at the gage through the day to see how your charge is doing to make sure it's not getting too low. Many mishaps could be avoided if you pay attention to your battery charge. Get into good habits right off with your scooter and you should have may years of enjoyment.

If you stop running completely for whatever reason there is a manual override lever on the scooter that will allow you to push the scooter, but this is not a fun task. Don't expect Disney to help; since, it's not one of their rental scooters. You could get lucky and they will help some, but they won't get it back to your car, etc.

Make sure you look the scooter over before a major trip and that includes tires. Solid tires can have issues, too. The older the scooter the more you have to check everything. Batteries don't last a lifetime and they will need replacing eventually.

You really have nothing to lose having your own scooter at Disney; because, there are plenty of places that do repairs in Orlando. You can always rent one if you need to if something bad happens to your scooter while you are there.

If scooters were breaking down all the time, noone would own their own scooter.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Three times - twice on one trip and once in California

A rented scooter broke down completely inside Buzz Lightyear. An area manager was called, and that person contacted (left a message at, since it was after hours) the rental company and called Stroller Rental and had somebody bring me a WDW ECV. That CM escorted me to Guest Services, where I left their scooter and somebody drove me to the Polynesian where my dinner reservation was. After dinner, someone at the Front Desk loaned me a manual wheelchair and told me just to return it at Pop Century.

Next day, Walker brought a replacement ECV to Pop. The following night, as I was leaving Chefs de France about 10 PM, the ECV felt 'off'. One of the few Guests left in the park noticed I had a flat tire. I managed to get out of the park and to the bus area - slowly, carefully, and (as usual ) a bit off-balance. I called from my room the next morning, and they brought me yet another replacement - this one with solid tires .

Disneyland, my experience was not so great. Despite charging the ECV properly and fully every night, two or three days into my trip it was running low on power by early afternoon. A manager was called, and escorted me - in fits and spurts - to the front of the park, where I rented one and left mine to be charged. By the end of the day, and for the next few days, everything was fine. A couple of days before I left, I was on a tour and the same thing happened. The tour (well, the tour leader and the two of us taking it ) were supposed to be enjoying ITtbaB; since I'd just seen it in the last few days, I opted to skip it and not delay them, and head to the front of DCA to repeat the 'rent and recharge' procedure.

Well. The ECV died about halfway to the front of the park. NO power, period. I didn't know where the manual switch was, and I couldn't have pushed it anyway. I was using a single crutch at the time, so I ended up "paddling" my way - pushing off with the crutch. Not ONE Cast Member 'noticed' my predicament. Not one. I was too busy working my way through the park to really notice who I encountered, but I find it unlikely that no Disney employee saw me struggling.

By now, I knew the problem was how I was charging the ECV, it was the vehicle itself. I called the rental company, they replaced it for my last two days, and credited me for one of the Disney rentals. Never again

 

[Bete]

why it's better to own your own scooter.

Rental companies will run the heck out of their scooters. They avoid expense and repair. I sometimes feel they really don't care how disruptive this can be if a scooter breaks down for someone who needs a scooter on a vacation. I don't think the rental companies worry too much on repeat business, either.

A scooter is mechanical and somewhere along the line maintenance will be needed. I didn't mention it before, but some of the lower end scooters have great difficulties in the rain. They want dryness. Some people use shower caps and tarps and covers to protect them from the rain. You should seek shelter as soon as posssible with it when it rains. We are always aware of the weather for a day and we look in the sky many times through the day to see how it is.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I don't think the rental companies worry too much on repeat business, either.

I respectfully disagree with you on this, Bete. I think they rely a great deal on both repeat business and word of mouth/referrals.

I've used Walker's, Randy's, and Scooterama each multiple times. I've been more than satisfied with the service from each, each time. I'd use any of them again. The prices are fairly close; even if they're not identical, value matters more to me than price.

Walker was great when two of their ECVs broke down on me in one trip. I know that doesn't sound impressive , but who's to say I didn't accidentally do something - at least in the case of the tire - to cause the problem? Yet they were very pleasant both times, and prompt in the morning with the replacements.

Randy's is the first company from which I ever rented offsite. I started my trip at an offsite hotel and would be moving to OKW after a few days. I needed an ECV that could be taken apart and having them deliver it TO me and demonstrate that process satisfied my need. Rented from Randy's again on my last trip and got a green ECV. Green is my color; Adam said just to request that color every time in the future They appear to be the only company that satisfies this 'need' for me.

And Scooterama offers an interesting option - they will, at the customer's request, remove the ECV's arms before delivery. Since I don't need the arms for support, and since I almost NEVER remember to drop them back into place before I start moving - so they always get caught on something - this is another seemingly-simple feature/service that would entice me back as a customer.

 

[clkelley]

If you do by chance own an older scooter that has tires that need air, there are a few places on property where you can get that air.

One is the two Hess stations. The other is at the Fort Wilderness Bike barn.

For years DH had an ancient ECV that was my grandmothers (she bought it used and used it for 8 or 9 years, then we used it for 7 or 8 years) and now my mother is using it.

It does have tires with tubes, so periodically they did need air.

As old as that scooter was, it still ran strong. We have replaced the tires, the tubes, the batteries and the battery charger and it is still running well. So if you "own" a scooter and you are the only one using it, you should have fewer problems than you might have with a rental.

Insurance bought a new ECV for my DH last year. Wow that thing is fast and nice, BUT it is VERY heavy.

 

[videogal1]

My cousin always rents an ECV from Walker. She's thinking of buying one and taking it with us. We were talking about it yesterday and she brought up a good point. If we have a problem with the ECV from Walker, we just call them and they take care of the problem. Have any of you with your own ECV's had any breakdowns at the parks or other places and how did you get it fixed?

Man, oh, man, oh, man...
This happened to me three times in three trips...You never know what's gonna happen...First, in an offsite parking lot, a sand hole opened up under my scooter and, by the time I got the poor scooter out of the hole it had sand all over the motor, which is located between the rear wheels...Little did I know at the time but the airlines had somehow cracked the motor housing and, of course, the sand got into the motor... When the scooter ground to a halt at the Beach Club resort the front desk handed me over to the concierge and he called Care Medical, whose fix-it department dispatched a scooter ambulance that picked up my scooter for repair and, at the same time, delivered a loaner for me to rent while mine was being repaired. The repairs were made in good time, paperwork was submitted to me to send off to my insurance, the scooter was repaired, and the loaner was top notch. On my next trip to WDW, I had battery problems several times and Care Medical, who actually remembered me from the motor housing incident, performed equally well. Take phone numbers of scooter rental/repair facilities with you, as well as alternate transport, like Mears accessible taxi, and don't be afraid to ask just about any WDW employee for assistance...believe me, they've seen it all and can steer you in the right direction for advanced assistance, if their own shop can't help you...

 

[Debbie-TN]

fix-it department dispatched a scooter ambulance

That is so cute!

If we get an ECV, it will be a new one. She has always rented one from Walker, so she is definitely a repeat customer. If we have had any problems, we just call them and they fix it. That's why I wanted to know what people do if it's their own ECV that breaks down. Looks like we would have options if something were to happen to it. I would also look for an ECV with the small battery charger. We always request the small battery charger from Walker. That way we can carry it in the back pouch and have it with us if we need to charge it at a park(which we have had to do). Thanks for all the help.

 

[rachaface]

ive never brought my own but absolutely without a doubt bring your charger with you in the parks. whenever ive rented from BV scooters, i've had it lose charge on me and i once didnt bring my charger and my best friend and I had to push that thing up the ramp for the monorail :X