Does Disney rent out ECVs to anybody?

[MommytoMJM]

I tried to edit the post above, but it won't let me...so another point...

I agree that the drinking and driving should not be allowed anymore than it is on the road...I would NEVER EVER consider drinking while I am driving my ECV...

 

[MommytoMJM]

I just wanted to point out that I am all for people who need them using ECV's or power chairs. I am glad they exist and think those that have them should bring them to WDW and enjoy the magic just like the rest of us. I just don't think Disney should rent them because the majority of people who rent them have never driven them before and well like I said before Disney is not the place to learn.

I agree that it is the wrong place to learn... on the boards I am on that deal with disabilites, we ALWAYS suggest going to Wal-mart, a mall, whatever to get good at driving BEFORE they come to WDW...

 

[MommytoMJM]

they used those things like toys ? ... I'd expect a castmember seing that would call security and escort them out. :fork:

I'm totally for disabled acces to all areas .. and help them with those scooters and wheelchairs .. but there mus be punisment (in form of banning from the parks) when any abuse is noticed.

The problem is, because of HPPA and ADA laws,they *have* to take the guests word for it that they are disabled, whatever they say goes....so there is no way to *prove* abuse....

 

[MommytoMJM]

I find this really hard to believe considering my mother was run into by someone in one of these ECV's and she wasn't even moving at the time. We had stopped on Main Street down near the hub by Cinderella's Castle to catch the end of Cinderella's Surprise Celebration. We were standing near the horse drawn trolley with no one else around us save the driver and one other person we later learned was a cast member. There was no one behind us or really on either side of us save the 2 cast members. We were stationary and this woman drove her ECV right into my mother, who could have been seriously injured. The woman driving could barely speak English and couldn't figure out how to drive the ECV. Luckily my mom was wearing her running shoes which took the brunt of the impact. If she had been in her sandals, God only knows what having one of those machines ram into her ankles would have done. It's quite obvious that this woman never would have passed this test you speak of and yet she was driving a motorized wheel chair.

Errr, I think you missed the part where he said if the user FAILS the test they are given an ECV, it was tongue in cheek....

 

[Ariellen]

...this obnixous family next to us tells my mom to be quiet because their infant was sleeping! Seriously! She asked me if I wanted to go to a ride after the show! I turned to them and asked if they were going to ask Disney to mute the fireworks and turn off the music.

:lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[clarkstallings]

During my CP, I was selling ice cream and cokes at CW2 at MGM (the cokewagon right infront of the fast pass distribution for Tower of Terror.) This lady on an ECV bought a mickey bar from me and she needed to hand me the money. Well she gunned her ECV and it slammed right into the icecream freezer pushing it back towards me about three feet, wedging me in between the drink wagon and the icecream freezer. Thankfully I was quick and jumped back or the result might have been quite painful. Bottome line, ECVs are scary.

 

[jozzmenia]

I sympathize for the people who do need those wheelchairs and I think they should be completely accessible for them-- however! That being said, when I was at WDW last year with my friend we watched two elderly men take those damned motorized scooters into the living seas and tried to manuever them through that winding walkway before the show! THey got stuck, they went in reverse, the blocked everyone from going in their wives literally were trying to push the carts out of the way-- we eventually got by them and when they came into the auditorium where the show was they literally hit us with those things-- we left. Plenty of people without any need for them rent them on a continuous basis-- because they can. Also-- people use them to cut ahead in lines-- which we also see.
My mother and I were there a few months ago and this fat woman riding around on her rented motorized cart stops in front of us as we are sitting on a bench in World Showcase-- she stops and says to my mom and i "it's the only way to travel through the parks" and keeps going. maybe they shouldn't remove the fast food-- because those of us who can eat it and take care of ourselves shouldn't have to suffer at the hands of lazy people who rent those carts and ride around on them and gain 500 lbs! Generally-- the majority of the people I see driving the rented ones are just lazy-- the people who genuinely have a problem usually have their own or the rent one and drive like a sane person.

But even though there are CMs to make the magic happen, I think it works out better when guests share in the task, as in, whether than watching them struggle and trying to get around, how about try HELPING them to get unstuck?

Not being critical, just a suggestion.

 

[Disney-holic]

I rent an ECV from an off-site company, because I can no longer walk more than about 1/2 block, without having pain. I need it to get around the resorts, as well as around the parks. I wish I had my own ECV, but 1) I cannot afford one, & 2) my car is not big enough to get a disassembled ECV into the trunk, nor is it heavy enough to attach a carrier to the back of it. I can no longer go to any of the malls in my area, because the only mall that used to have ECV's, no longer has them. They only have the regular wheelchairs. I don't have anyone available, most of the time, to push me around. I do have family members that can push me, when necessary, but don't feel like I can ask them to push me around to just "window shop", which I used to enjoy doing. It is also too much to ask someone to push me around the resorts & the parks for 3-4 days, or more. They certainly would not have a good time. I cannot count the number of times that I have had to stop, because someone walking towards me would not take a couple of steps to the side, so that I would not have to steer the ECV around them. Or the times that someone, walking backwards, looking for a straggler in their party, would walk into me, because I could not maneuver quick enough to get out of their way. (due to crowds or a relatively narrow walkway) Or the number of times someone has stopped in the middle of one of those relatively narrow walkways to read a map or find the baby's pacifier, instead of moving over to the side, or waiting until there was more open spaces. Most people are very considerate, & many have offered to assist me, which I appreciate. But, WDW is one of my few pleasures left, that I can enjoy, with or without someone else. & it hurts to know that there are some people that wish I would just disappear, or at least, not be at WDW, at the same time they are there.

 

[AEfx]

I understand the issues. I too have in the past pushed people around the parks in a wheelchair all day. But in my opinion those that need an electric wheelchair most likely have there own and know how to drive it. Those who do not have there own and do not know how to drive one, should not practice at WDW.

Agree completely.

Someone that truly needs one can rent one from an outside company, they deliver and are cheaper than renting daily at WDW.

There is simply too much abuse. I too travel with someone who is disabled, and in fact that makes me believe it more strenuously.

AEfx

 

[awalkinthepark]

Totally agree that WDW is not the place one should practice driving it. I think alot of the people who don't know how to drive them, decide that this is the perfect opportunity to try one out before spending all that money to buy one.

My FIL was in major denial about how much his knees have deteriorated over the years....he either sits in his chair all day or he rides around in a golf cart on normal days....we rented an ECV for him at the parks and he realized how much he was missing by refusing to acknowledge his limitations...he went out and bought an ECV and a Jazzy chair ...and he is going on cruises and shopping now.

 

[Badger Brent]

I've posted before about my DD's issues while at WDW. She broke her leg now going on 4 years ago. She plays sports and walks just fine. Here's our problem, the terrain at WDW has more inclines and declines than you realize. After the second day of the last two vacations, she's in tears and her knee is swollen really bad. We do rent a wheelchair, but don't use it while in ANY lines. Just to get from attraction to attraction. I actually had people staring at her because she seems healthy and you can see their sceptitism. If they only saw her scars from the broken leg and the swelling they would mind their own bussiness. We always bring knee wrap or knee brace knowing it will eventually get worse. Don't judge the book by it's cover.
Now the abuse of wheelchairs and scooter's should be enforced!! I know CM's have bettter things to do than watch or monitor horseplay with these devices. But if they are pulling a fast one and it's obvious, yank the thing away. I'm talking about the blatant ones not using them properly. Just my 2 cents...

 

[shoppingnut]

My FIL was in major denial about how much his knees have deteriorated over the years....he either sits in his chair all day or he rides around in a golf cart on normal days....we rented an ECV for him at the parks and he realized how much he was missing by refusing to acknowledge his limitations...he went out and bought an ECV and a Jazzy chair ...and he is going on cruises and shopping now.

So do you really think it's okay that everyone should come to WDW to test drive them in a crowd. Just because your FIL had no problem with driving it, doesn't mean that others who are renting them to test drive them are just as capable. If you need one, you need one. I just don't think that WDW should be an ECV test track.

 

[wedoada]

The problem is, because of HPPA and ADA laws,they *have* to take the guests word for it that they are disabled, whatever they say goes....so there is no way to *prove* abuse....

Just to clarify one point -- The American's with Disabilities Act (ADA) only prohibits them from making "unreasonable" inquiries and then only if it is used to "exclude" people with disabilities.

Renting wheelchairs & ECV's is not required by the ADA so it is a specialized service specifically intended FOR PWD and as such you would need to be a PWD to be eligible to receive those services.

Now they still can't make "unreasonable" inquiries. I have bent legs and use a wheelchair...my disability is obvious. But if an otherwise healthy looking and acting person requested an ECV rental, Guest Services COULD, if they chose to, ask if they had a disability. No medical records or detailed history just do they have a disability.

There could be a clearly posted policy and maybe even a line in the rental agreement stating that rentals are only for PWD then if they were discovered as frauds later there would be some recourse.

Letting just anyone rent them is fine...but it is their choice and is not the fault of the ADA.

RGW - ADA Consultant

I'm not making it up.....I do this for a living. :wave:

 

[sydsmom1997]

I am not someone with a disability, however on my last visit to the world, I ended up spending 1/2 a day in a wheelchair. You see, I have "bad feet". Normal everyday walking is fine, but on this particular day (day 5 in the parks) I was in tears, with blood soaked socks. We were at AK, and I ended up being pushed around by DH. I felt horrible about it. Yes, I got some looks like...."She looks healthy...what is her deal?". More often than that, the looks I got were more like, "That poor girl, I wonder what is wrong with her." To be perfectly honest, I was uncomfortable with both of these looks. I was just a mom with bunions, corns, hammer toes, and fallen arches! (I know that was an overshare....yuck lol) Needless to say, I never used my chair status to get ahead in line. ( I was able to stand and hobble through the lines). It really was an eye opener as to what people with disabilities face in this world. I hope people are not abusing the wheelchair and ECV rentals. I think people that honestly need to use these things would much rather have the option of being able to stand up and walk with the rest of the people. So, to all the people who need these things....Have fun and roll on!!! (just try not to roll over people!)

Going back in August, and looking for good shoe recommendations to avoid this situation from reoccurring. Anyone know a good Podiatrist?....j/k lol