Where to park a Scooter? In Disney World right now-advice needed

[TikiTikiFan]

I'm thinking I won't have any choice but to rent a scooter today due to the pain I'm in. Usually I tough it out but today it's rough.

I've never used a scooter before and I'm a bit panicked at the idea of renting one on the fly without doing research!

I'm mobile enough I could go from land to land, park it and just ride attractions (we will stick to low wait ones and we have DAS) but is there a place to park it? Or do you need to keep it with you always? What about stores? Thank you!!

 

[Bete]

There's no easy answer to where to park a scooter for a while. There is not a designated area. The best advice is to park it where there's less traffic (crowds). Pick an isolated area where traffic if low. If your scooter is in the way, a Disney cast member may move it out of the way of traffic.

Scooters are expected outside at restrooms and restaurants; so, that might work for you.

Avoid busy areas like Main St. in MK or the hub by the castle in MK, for example.

 

[lanejudy]

Sorry you are in so much pain today! Usually scooters can be parked with strollers. Just ask a CM nearby.

 

[Makmak]

Sorry you are in so much pain today! Usually scooters can be parked with strollers. Just ask a CM nearby.

I was just about to type this same thing! Especially by the Land/Nemo pavilions you’ll see the huge stroller corral and near one side they have a rope with a handicapped symbol for scooters and other mobility device parking. We have seen the same near IASM and 7DMT at MK. Accross from Everest there’s a parking area as well and from experience we have asked CM “where can I park this?” And found lots of good help. I hope you feel better!

 

[Debbie Jean]

I think your question has been well answered already. But I wanted to remind you not to leave anything valuable in the scooter when you park it. Theft isn’t a common issue but it’s better not to take a chance.

 

[Selket]

I park with the strollers (usually you see some scooters in there off to the side). For shopping....I've had to sometimes find an out of the way spot where there doesn't seem to be much traffic because I prefer to walk into a store if I can. For the MK I used to park near Tony's (stroller parking) or at Crystal Palace to walk down Main Street. Sometimes I've parked in a place that isn't getting much foot traffic and doesn't have doors and is not a walkway. There are some nooks here and there where you can park up against a building and be out of the way. I also suggest shopping earlier in the morning if you want to stay in the scooter in the stores. My knees were painful enough I've done this sometimes and that strategy worked well for me.

It's unclear if you're just there for today so you're doing a park rental. If you're going to be there for 3 days or more I suggest you look at renting offsite. Buena Vista can deliver to your hotel if you're on property. You can also rent portable scooters that would break down and go in the car. Many people like Gold Mobility (my preference also).

I'm also mobile enough to park and walk into the ride but remember that wait times can be longer than you think and most lines are main-streamed so it is easy to bring the ECV. I usually bring it with me if the line allows it. Hope you can work it out and enjoy the rest of your trip with less pain!

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

I'm sorry you are in such pain today.

I have always wondered where to park a scooter in Galaxy's Edge. I was in one and wanted to walk into the stores and couldn't find anyplace easy to park the scooter. It got frustrating and CM's didn't have anyplace to direct me to except for the Droid Depot - they had me park outside near the door for that store.
But the others didn't have any good spots.

 

[daisy2013]

If you're in pain and the ECV helps, why not use it in line? If it buys you more painfree time in the park - yay.

 

[Simba's Mom]

I can empathize, "been there-done that" for my first ECV rental. What saved me was asking other ECV riders. I'd never thought "What do I do when I need to go to the restroom?" until I did. I just "scooted" up to some other ECV riders, and they were SO nice and helpful. Don't forget to take your key when you park. And I hope you feel better with the ECV.

 

[Evita_W]

I will say, call Gold Mobility, they are usually good at last minute rentals, but all companies are having issues with selling out right now, so you may have to call a few. I would not recommend the in park rentals as it can be a long walk back to the buses and your room and the in park rentals are pieces of junk. That being said, if you do get an in park rental and a need a chair to get back to the bus, ask the rental counter, they will usually let you take a chair to the bus area and tell you to leave it there or will have someone escort you to the bus area.


As for parking, I would save your strength and take it into the queues with you when you can, but if you really want to park and walk from ride to ride, ask a nearby CM and tell them what you want, they will gladly assist you. Keep in mind there may be some attractions where it is easiest to park once and go on them all, such as:
People Mover, Rocket Jets and Buzz (you could even add in Caurosel of Progress) that you could leave your ECV parked in the same place, again, just let the CM in the area know what you are doing so they don't think the ECV was abandoned.

 

[TikiTikiFan]

Thank you all so, so much for the thoughtful and detailed advice! I really appreciate it. One thing I've noticed while we've been here is that Disney is using many coach style busses which don't allow for scooters so heads up on that for anyone coming soon. Seems like it's 50/50 on what bus we get!

 

[JLTraveling]

People Mover, Rocket Jets and Buzz (you could even add in Caurosel of Progress) that you could leave your ECV parked in the same place, again, just let the CM in the area know what you are doing so they don't think the ECV was abandoned.

I never thought about the whole "abandoned ECV" thing until I was with my dad once at Halloween Horror Nights at Universal. They "daisy chain" a couple of the haunted houses, so the exit to one leads right to the entrance of the next...ends up being a long walk back from the last exit though. So Dad was doing well that night, and he decided to park the ECV and walk the daisy chain. By the time we got back to the ECV, two security guys with flashlights were going over it with a fine tooth comb! We had a package in the basket (nothing valuable, just a couple of bottled drinks and a slice of fudge), and apparently somebody reported it as suspicious lol. Dad doesn't need the scooter anymore these days, but if/when he does again, we will definitely let someone know if we're leaving it for more than a few minutes!

 

[Evita_W]

Thank you all so, so much for the thoughtful and detailed advice! I really appreciate it. One thing I've noticed while we've been here is that Disney is using many coach style busses which don't allow for scooters so heads up on that for anyone coming soon. Seems like it's 50/50 on what bus we get!

Yeah, depending on your resort that can be an issue at the moment, but generally there are transportation CMs at the park bus stops at least, find one that has a radio and let them know where you are going and to request an accessible bus. At the resort, if there isn't a transportation CM (generally there will be) go to the front desk if you can and let them know you need an accessible bus called for whatever location you are headed off to. Just some lessons learned on this last trip when going to other resorts. Luckily we were at OKW and the coach buses can't make the turns necessary, so no coach buses there, except ME.