ECV.. is this a thing now

[J_Krafty24]

There's not much they can legally do, but maybe at the very least they could put up some signs reminding people that ECVs are meant for guests who can't enjoy the park otherwise...something to that effect. It might not do much, but it might make at least a few people think twice.

Unfortunatly the only people this would have an effect on would be people who have a legitimate reason for needing one but feel guilty about it. The ones who have no reason for using them but do anyway have no morals or shame for the signs to work on.

 

[HolleBolleGijs]

Unfortunatly the only people this would have an effect on would be people who have a legitimate reason for needing one but feel guilty about it. The ones who have no reason for using them but do anyway have no morals or shame for the signs to work on.

I'm just throwing that out there, because legally it's pretty much all they can do.

 

[LdyApxr]

Unfortunatly the only people this would have an effect on would be people who have a legitimate reason for needing one but feel guilty about it. The ones who have no reason for using them but do anyway have no morals or shame for the signs to work on.

True. I was 43 and 44 when I needed one and because I was not "visibly' hobbled, I got a lot of looks from people and more than once I told my husband that I would rather be on crutches than in a wheelchair but that was not an option either due to my innate clumsiness(I have been known to trip on air and fall upstairs LOL).

 

[LdyApxr]

The other issue I have seen firsthand from working most of my life in pediatrics, are parents who come into the office prior to a trip to DLR or WDW and ask the doctor to write a letter so they do not have to wait in lines. You would not believe(maybe you would actually) how many parents of completely healthy, normal active kids ask for this to be done. No doctor I ever worked for would write this letter for any of the patients who did not have a legitimate medical reason to need something like that. After 25+yrs in the medical field, not much surprises me anymore.

 

[Larry Mondello]

They see me rollin. They hatin.

 

[BaconPancakes]

They see me rollin. They hatin.

View attachment 101175

Aww give Vanilla Ice a break, he hasn't had a hit in decades...

 

[thomas998]

Unfortunately they are looking at it as another fun ride. Hopefully this doesnt become a trend .... "Spinning ECV's around EP".... too bad they can rent them and get away with it. If only they knew/ felt the hardship that comes with people who really need that assistance as a way to be mobile. Where's the all seeing Disney security we all hear about? They should shut this behavior down before someone gets injured.

They can't stop it from happening because this is just another side effect of the poorly written ADA. Because the law was not specific in what disabilities were covered by it the rules around it have sprung up from various bits of litigation... to the point that now if you even ask for evidence that someone is actually disabled you can be sued. In other words Disney has to accept that when Billy Bob Redneck arrives with a ECV in tow that he has a legitimate reason to have it even if he might appear to be in perfect health.

Expect this type of behavior to continue until it starts hurting people and then, just maybe the ADA can be repealed and a more intelligent and reasonable solution to the problem it was intended to solve can be found.

 

[HolleBolleGijs]

Expect this type of behavior to continue until it starts hurting people and then, just maybe the ADA can be repealed and a more intelligent and reasonable solution to the problem it was intended to solve can be found.

It kind of is hurting people though. Not because the behavior is dangerous, but because some people who have a legitimate need can't get an ECV.

 

[darrelljon]

There's not much they can legally do, but maybe at the very least they could put up some signs reminding people that ECVs are meant for guests who can't enjoy the park otherwise...something to that effect. It might not do much, but it might make at least a few people think twice.

Limit the top speed to 2mph below average walking speed of 3mph. Presumably there's a reason bicycles aren't allowed, because their speed would pose a danger to people walking around. Same should apply to ECVs.

 

[jloucks]

. I KNOW I need one, however I don't know why I feel the need to explain my needs to others but I do.

Maybe because everybody else is then inconvenienced by you? I'm not saying you're wrong to use one. I'm just saying it is hard when I am standing in line for a bus after a long day and people on ECVs constantly whisk to the front of the line. ...essentially legal line cutting.

Ironically, there is no better candidate for a long line then somebody in a mobile chair.

 

[jloucks]

While touring Epcot earlier this year we came across a group of hired ECV's about 8 being ridden by men and women in their early twenty's . Racing each other spinning round popping wheelies or trying to, beer in hand and generally making a nuisance of themselves . They all appeared to be in very good health. Apart from their loutish behavior seeing them made us feel that it was disrespectful to those that need the ECV service .

So was this a one off thing or common these days ?

I've gatta call bull on this one. ECVs are not wheelchairs. If a person is on an ECV and they don't have a handicapped sticker on their car then they are no better or worse than a 20 something on an ECV. They have just as much right to one as anybody else. I am super sore after a long day, why don't I have one? Because I hate cutting in front of people multiple times every day.

I don't care about the 'reason' one might have for a ECV. I get to stand in line and watch you legally cut all the same... and all the time. And based on the groans of the crowds around me, I am not alone.

Sooner or later ECV abuse will have to end, or at least the rules changed to be more equitable.

Do not confuse my belligerent statement as applying to truly handicapped people that trade a wheelchair for an ECV on the way in. I am only referring to people without true handicapped status on ECVs.

 

[JIMINYCR]

They can't stop it from happening because this is just another side effect of the poorly written ADA.

Well my point is really that Disney Security should have stepped in and done something about the behavior that would put guests in danger. I know Disney cant ask bout disabilities and restrict giving ECV's out but they should be able to step in and inform them that the misuse of the EVC's wont be tolerated.

 

[wdwhoneymooner]

I've gatta call bull on this one. ECVs are not wheelchairs. If a person is on an ECV and they don't have a handicapped sticker on their car then they are no better or worse than a 20 something on an ECV. They have just as much right to one as anybody else. I am super sore after a long day, why don't I have one? Because I hate cutting in front of people multiple times every day.

I don't care about the 'reason' one might have for a ECV. I get to stand in line and watch you legally cut all the same... and all the time. And based on the groans of the crowds around me, I am not alone.

Sooner or later ECV abuse will have to end, or at least the rules changed to be more equitable.

Do not confuse my belligerent statement as applying to truly handicapped people that trade a wheelchair for an ECV on the way in. I am only referring to people without true handicapped status on ECVs.

Wow...just, wow. I have a family member with congestive heart failure. Uses a daily cocktail of about 8 drugs to keep her from getting worse. She can walk and function with the meds, but walking for a while in hot, humid conditions will impact her. Anyone meeting her would never guess she has this condition going on inside of her. Her first trip back after getting her situation stabilized enough to go on vacation, she used an EV as recommended by her cardiologist. She really didn't want to, but I insisted because it was the safe thing to to. Her doc still recommends using an EV for Disney trips, but for the last few times she's toughed it out and only uses one when visiting EPCOT because of it's vastness and open area with direct sunlight.

She could apply for a handicap plaque for her car (and her cardiologist would sign off on it too), but chooses instead to make the necessary adjustments to keep from getting one. So would you consider her a person who shouldn't use an EV because she didn't enter the park in a wheelchair?

 

[smk]

In other words Disney has to accept that when Billy Bob Redneck arrives with a ECV in tow that he has a legitimate reason to have it even if he might appear to be in perfect health.

See, this is what I fear. That someone will look at me, with NO visible reason to have an EVC (I am not over weight, I do not drink alcohol or smoke) and decide to judge me or be rude to me or get frustrated when I take the time to load onto a bus with my family, or GOD forbid let my grandson ride on my lap while getting around. I know I should not care what others think, easier said than done tho. Especially when I read some comments about turkey legs, eating too much, drinking and smoking. I am not "billy bob redneck". I know those thoughts are out there and I cannot change what people think. To tell the truth, I would much rather walk around and not be sick, but that is not my reality. I had this trip planned long before this happened and I will go with or without a chair. Now if I can just put aside my own vanity and think about what is healthiest for myself and best for my family.

 

[thomas998]

There's nothing amusing at all at having a drunk vomiting in the bushes next to you during Illuminations, or a group dropping the F-bomb every other word in the Biergarten, or fist fighting outside of Morocco. just sayin'

It really is a good reason to revisit the alcohol ban that has pretty much been lifted at EPCOT... The behavior at the food and whine festival has only gotten worse each year. Pretty much to the point now that if we are at Disney when it is going on we only do EPCOT early in the day and get the hell out

It kind of is hurting people though. Not because the behavior is dangerous, but because some people who have a legitimate need can't get an ECV.

Except that Disney isn't the only option for renting them and most people that really need them will have reserved them from an outside vendor prior to arrival... so I don't think anyone is likely hurt by it the way you are suggesting. I have however been unfortunate enough to have my ankles hit by some idiot on one that didn't know how to use one.

 

[thomas998]

See, this is what I fear. That someone will look at me, with NO visible reason to have an EVC (I am not over weight, I do not drink alcohol or smoke) and decide to judge me or be rude to me or get frustrated when I take the time to load onto a bus with my family, or GOD forbid let my grandson ride on my lap while getting around. I know I should not care what others think, easier said than done tho. Especially when I read some comments about turkey legs, eating too much, drinking and smoking. I am not "billy bob redneck". I know those thoughts are out there and I cannot change what people think. To tell the truth, I would much rather walk around and not be sick, but that is not my reality. I had this trip planned long before this happened and I will go with or without a chair. Now if I can just put aside my own vanity and think about what is healthiest for myself and best for my family.

The perception that people that aren't visibly suffering from some medical issue are just scamming the system won't change... in large part due to the abuse of handicap parking abuse that has gotten to the point that it is a joke. First hand I've heard people bragging about using a relatives hang tag when they went shopping or to an event simply because the wanted better parking... and I've seen way too many clearly able bodied idiot pulling up in sports cars with them while they then jump out and practically sprint into a store.... When that type of abuse is going on all over the place it become very difficult for people to give anyone the benefit of the doubt if they don't had some clearly visible malady.

 

[MaryJaneP]

We wonder how opinions on this issue might change if people on one side of this debate actually were consigned to spend an entire visit as a member of the other side. Pro ECV people, while enjoying the freedom from their challenge, might find objection with the behavior of those in the ECVs, while those Anti-ECV people might find some sympathy after days occupying an ECV, never being free of the limitations/dangers, and enduring the scorn of doubters.

 

[thomas998]

We wonder how opinions on this issue might change if people on one side of this debate actually were consigned to spend an entire visit as a member of the other side. Pro ECV people, while enjoying the freedom from their challenge, might find objection with the behavior of those in the ECVs, while those Anti-ECV people might find some sympathy after days occupying an ECV, never being free of the limitations/dangers, and enduring the scorn of doubters.

Well the rub to your suggestions is that anti-ECV folks aren't against all of them just the ones that aren't really necessary... but if you did magically make that switch I'm guessing a large percentage of the ones that had used ECVs in the past wouldn't be annoyed at all because they were never really confined to them by necessity in the first place they were just an expensive toy to play with on a trip.

 

[DisneyJeff]

I may be mistaken, and I guess that every state is different, but I believe that driving any motorized vehicle (including an ECV) while under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol is considered DUI. I believe the group described by the OP would have fallen into this category.

 

[thomas998]

I may be mistaken, and I guess that every state is different, but I believe that driving any motorized vehicle (including an ECV) while under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol is considered DUI. I believe the group described by the OP would have fallen into this category.

Yes they could have gotten a ticket if they had driven them on a public road, I've heard of someone having that happen in a town near me... but Disney isn't a public road so it wouldn't be any different than if someone in a car was driving drunk in their pasture - not anything the cops would be concerned with unless you were on public roads.