The sky-is-falling reaction to this is amazing to me.
First of all this makes all the sense in the world to Disney. The mobility rental business has exploded to ridiculous levels in the past decade or so. If they can't support the logistics of a 3rd party's business then they should get out of it. Cynical people scream that WDW is just trying to save another dollar or doesn't care about the guest...but what if it is about refocusing their cast back on their core job? If my resort isn't dealing with 30 mobility devices maybe it means they can cut down on how long it takes my luggage to get to my room or how quickly the valet parking line gets addressed. While people on here complain about the guest services you get for your "$700 a night" I'd be the first to raise my hand to have them shift logistics of this service so that everyone else can have faster bell services to meet that guest service expectation.
Many would look at my first thought and say "he doesn't have to deal with it" but our last trip we had an elderly family member who is awaiting a knee replacement and could barely walk. She used a wheelchair at the airport and used MDE. Having never rented a mobility device we did our extensive research and landed up using Gold Mobility Scooters. Guess what...they require you (have for years) to meet them at your resort. They made it super easy. A month ahead of our trip she gave the company her flight info and arranged a time. Her flight was a bit delayed and she texted the number she was given and was told no problem. The guy showed at the revised time and took the time to answer all her questions, show her how to use it, and even swapped out an accessory on the fly with a supply in the truck. I talked to her later and she simply loved the in-person experience of the pick-up (and drop-off) experience. This company has been doing it right for years, these other companies will adapt. There are always fringe cases (my flight was delayed 39 hours!) but those mobility companies should be able to deal with that (as ours did with our delayed flight). Having that scooter sit around for 39 hours at bell services doesn't make your resort's bell services any more efficient.
Don't get me started on the strollers. We did multiple trips to WDW and DL with three little ones and ALWAYS brought our own stroller (and we live thousands of miles from WDW). Yes, it was a PITA, but we did it. You may decide to avoid the PITA part and take advantage of the convenience of renting a stroller, but that just means you may actually have to make the effort to pick it up. I'm sorry you missed a hour in the park but that was a decision you made. Decisions have consequences.
WDW makes more concessions for strollers and scooters than any vacation destination I've ever seen. Simply needing to pick up the device that you decided to order hardly seems like a big issue. The service providers will adapt. New solutions will emerge. You know, on a recent trip I decided that MDE wasn't for me so I decided to rent a car. Avis wasn't going to drop it off at the hotel so it's waiting for me. I had to make the effort to get it, carry my own bags, and return it. It was something I had to factor in vs MDE.
There are so many parallels to new businesses in our new economy. The mobility companies were few and far between a decade ago, they have exploded and gotten out of hand, and now Disney needs to react. There were no electric (stand-up) scooter rentals in cities a decade ago, they (Lime, etc) have exploded, and cities are needing to react (they can't have them clogging up the sidewalks). Since I pay taxes for the police and city sanitation should they deal with the scooter clutter? Nope...some cities are outright banning them until they can figure out a way to control (e.g. permit) them and shift the burden to the company and end-user. It's simply part of the evolution of new business models.
#endrant
