Ecv Mayhem!!!

[doop]

On my last visit to WDW, the number of ECV's that I saw was greatly increased from my visit previous to this one. In two instances I wondered if people just use ECV's as an excuse to get in the front of lines or get through the crowds. The first instance was in the Magic Kingdom just before the afternoon parade, and it can be quite congested around that time. This woman, in her ECV, was growing impatient and hit the gas and hit the woman in front of her with force. She then "apologized," but i saw that this was no accident. The second instance was in MGM around the TOT bathrooms. A man in an ECV at about the age of 35-40 who had a ace bandage on his knee, his "injury" I suppose, got up out of his ECV and walked without his crutches to the bathrooms like nothing was wrong with him.

Has anybody else noticed this??

 

[Mickeyrulz]

Doop! Thanks for the story. I haven't noticed anything really, but will look out next time

 

[Number_6]

The second instance was in MGM around the TOT bathrooms. A man in an ECV at about the age of 35-40 who had a ace bandage on his knee, his "injury" I suppose, got up out of his ECV and walked without his crutches to the bathrooms like nothing was wrong with him.

The thing about that is there is a difference between walking for the couple of minutes it would take to go to the bathroom and walking around for several hours in the parks. I know that in February I went to the parks and the first full day down my foot started to hurt quite a bit. I tried walking on it for a couple of days and it only felt worse. I got a wheelchair to use for the last few days of the trip. When I got back I found out that it was actually an infection in my foot that required antibiotics to treat. If I had instead gotten the wheelchair early on, it might have only gotten slightly worse and not to the degree that it reached where I could barely put my foot in my shoe. If I didn't have my sandals with me, I would have had a bare foot for that trip. I know that it can seem out of place for someone that is not that old to be riding around on one of those ECVs, but without knowing the full extent of the individual's situtation, then you can't know that a person is just being lazy and not wanting to walk.

 

[DispatchInhibit]

Although I too sometimes question whether some people really NEED the EVCs, I do know most of them do. Also, EVCs and Wheel chairs do not get in the front of the line anymore. We now give out what is called an "wait return card" in which If the wait time for an attraction is 45min, then we fill out a card for the person in the wheel chair or EVC for them to come back 45min later and then they return through the Fastpass line at that time. The only time we don't bother filling out the cards is if there is less than a 20min wait. The only exception to this is if the person has a Guest Assistance Card specifying immediate access and city hall hands those out to the guests who really need them.

As far as running into people, at my attraction I have had to move EVCs before and there really isn't a brake it only stops when you take your finger off the button and it doesn't stop automatically so maybe that is what happened.

 

[tigsmom]

The thing about that is there is a difference between walking for the couple of minutes it would take to go to the bathroom and walking around for several hours in the parks. I know that in February I went to the parks and the first full day down my foot started to hurt quite a bit. I tried walking on it for a couple of days and it only felt worse. I got a wheelchair to use for the last few days of the trip. When I got back I found out that it was actually an infection in my foot that required antibiotics to treat. If I had instead gotten the wheelchair early on, it might have only gotten slightly worse and not to the degree that it reached where I could barely put my foot in my shoe. If I didn't have my sandals with me, I would have had a bare foot for that trip. I know that it can seem out of place for someone that is not that old to be riding around on one of those ECVs, but without knowing the full extent of the individual's situtation, then you can't know that a person is just being lazy and not wanting to walk.

Very wel lput. Thank you. :wave:

 

[Dwarful]

The thing with ECV's is similar to Strollers...some are responsible and some just don't care. We haven't ever hit a stranger with our strollers..simply by having me (mom) walk in front, dad behind me pushing stroller, single file seems to work best for us. If someone in front of me stops short I'd rather my husband bumps me than a stranger..as you never know who is a hot head. But actually, he has only bumped me twice and neither time could have been avoided due to people running from the rain. But we did notice lots of seemingly healthy teens riding around in ECV's this past june. We were there for 2 weeks and we ran into one family several times and each time a different person was in the ECV.

 

[Pioneer Hall]

People are using ECV's more that wheelchairs now. I guess they are the more popular choice and are easier for the person to operate. I noticed that there are a lot more, but it doesn't really bother me. The ECV's (and wheelchairs) don't get you any special line perks so to me it doesn't matter who has them and whether they need them.

 

[Tramp]

I'm glad I don't need a wheelchair. To me, it defies fate to use a wheelchair when it's not necessary, especially when parents rent them as strollers for older children. This was a problem way out of control a few years ago.
I think Disney has made olympic strides in preventing fraudulent use of the wheelchairs/ecv's, and should be commended for it. :sohappy: I see far less abuse these days.

 

[tigger248]

Although I too sometimes question whether some people really NEED the EVCs, I do know most of them do. Also, EVCs and Wheel chairs do not get in the front of the line anymore. We now give out what is called an "wait return card" in which If the wait time for an attraction is 45min, then we fill out a card for the person in the wheel chair or EVC for them to come back 45min later and then they return through the Fastpass line at that time. The only time we don't bother filling out the cards is if there is less than a 20min wait. The only exception to this is if the person has a Guest Assistance Card specifying immediate access and city hall hands those out to the guests who really need them.

As far as running into people, at my attraction I have had to move EVCs before and there really isn't a brake it only stops when you take your finger off the button and it doesn't stop automatically so maybe that is what happened.

Thanks for the part about it not getting to the front of the lines. My younger brother has spina bifida, and while he walks with the aid of leg braces, he gets tired easily and his feet bother him. As a result, we always have to rent him a wheelchair. I can't tell you how many times we've heard comments such as "Next time I'm renting a wheelchair so I won't have to wait in line anymore." This always angers me to no end, because wheelchairs do not "get you to the front of the line". In fact, we've found that sometimes we wait longer with the chair than we would without it (I know certain rides only have so much space to store them while you ride). I know I've said this before, but my brother would gladly stand in lines at theme parks if it would mean that his legs would work right. People who complain or abuse the system don't realize how lucky they really are.

I think a lot of people sorta abuse the system and may not need ECV's, but I also think that a lot of people actually need them. Once while waiting for a bus back to our resort, there was this guest on a rented ECV from one of those Orlando area rental companies. She was a rather large woman who seemed to be having trouble backing the chair onto the lift ramp. After several failed attempts to back straightly onto the platform, she stood up and lifted the chair (while strattleing it) and placed it where she wanted it on the lift. Now I know those things are very heavy (I almost threw out my back once just trying to budge one a few centimeters by pushing it, I couldn't even try to lift one!). In my opinion, if she was able to lift the thing with no troubles, then maybe she could have survived walking through the park that day (oh and her husband also had one, making them just look like a lazy couple, but I could be wrong on that).

I've also seen trains of ECV's. At super soap weekend a couple years ago, I saw about 4 ECV's tied together as a train plowing through the thick crowds. If you're gonna use one it's one thing, but it sorta annoyed me that they were all tied together, completely blocking paths and entrances in some cases. ECV's annoy me anyways. They may be convenient, but there's too many people who drive them at warp speed without any experience, thus running into both objects and other guests.

 

[imagineer99]

Whenever we have a thread concerning ECV abuse or wheel chair abuse, there are always those posters who explain that even though a person may seem to be fine, they do in fact have a legitimate problem. I agree with this fully. You never truly no what's wrong with anybody unless you are in their shoes. However, everyone must admit that abuse DOES happen.

As tramp mentioned, Disney has really gotten much better regarding their wheel chair/ ECV usage. Nevertheless, there is no way to eliminate all rule-breakers.

Once while waiting for a bus back to our resort, there was this guest on a rented ECV from one of those Orlando area rental companies. She was a rather large woman who seemed to be having trouble backing the chair onto the lift ramp. After several failed attempts to back straightly onto the platform, she stood up and lifted the chair (while strattleing it) and placed it where she wanted it on the lift. Now I know those things are very heavy (I almost threw out my back once just trying to budge one a few centimeters by pushing it, I couldn't even try to lift one!). In my opinion, if she was able to lift the thing with no troubles, then maybe she could have survived walking through the park that day (oh and her husband also had one, making them just look like a lazy couple, but I could be wrong on that).

At this point in time, I would be the sarcastic jerk in the back saying,

*in southern-evangelist accent*

"SHE'S HEALED! IT'S A MIRACLE! The Truth shall set you free!"

----------------------

My Biggest problem with ECV's, are the people who do not know how to use them properly. While waiting in line for the GMR, I saw a women on an ECV repeatedly crash into the glass displays (i.e. Dorothy's slippers). She crashed with such force each time, I'm surprised that the glass didn't break.

In summation, I understand that some people genuinely need asistance in order to go to a Disney Park. However, we can't deny that abuse does happen.

 

[barnum42]

Here is a post I made a while back to clarify the myth about wheelchairs letting you jump the queues:

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=42507

I've pushed my mother around in a wheelchair, which she will get out of to board rides and go to the bathroom. She is capable of walking and standing, but only for a very limited time. She has no visible disability, but I can assure you she would swop a wheelchair for good arthritic free knees and a straight spine :wave:

 

[doop]

Although I too sometimes question whether some people really NEED the EVCs, I do know most of them do. Also, EVCs and Wheel chairs do not get in the front of the line anymore. We now give out what is called an "wait return card" in which If the wait time for an attraction is 45min, then we fill out a card for the person in the wheel chair or EVC for them to come back 45min later and then they return through the Fastpass line at that time. The only time we don't bother filling out the cards is if there is less than a 20min wait. The only exception to this is if the person has a Guest Assistance Card specifying immediate access and city hall hands those out to the guests who really need them.

As far as running into people, at my attraction I have had to move EVCs before and there really isn't a brake it only stops when you take your finger off the button and it doesn't stop automatically so maybe that is what happened.

I never knew this, I always thought they did give people priveleges. I apologize for my ignorance.

 

[Number_6]

It used to give people front of line access in WDW parks(or at least it did when I screwed up my foot in February) but they ended up changing it down there this year or changing it back since it may have been that way before at one point. I know that I felt kinda bad about it since normally I would wait in line just like everyone else, but the amount of pain I was feeling when I walked actually forced me to go back to the hotel a couple of times during the trip so I really couldn't walk or stand for very long. One side note about that trip, since I knew that other than my foot I was okay, I made sure that I got a regular wheelchair so I could push myself instead of using an ECV. If I was going to be off my feet, I was at least going to make sure I didn't inconvenience anyone else by taking more than I needed. I figured if I used an ECV, then that would be one less available to an elderly or disabled person that might actually need it, so a wheelchair was good enough. The cute thing being that my kids kept wanting to help by pushing me when I got tired.

 

[Cynderella]

TeHe this thread made me think of an incident we had w/ my grandparents. They rented the ECVs because they have a hard time walking long distances. We were eating lunch at that restaurant at the opening of tomorrowland..the castle side...I forget what its called. But anyways my grandmother was in hers and well lets just say she hadnt quite gotten the hang of backing up and such and she hit the gas and backed into another table and chairs knocking everything over.....my whole family was there (about 20 of us ) and we were all hysterical :lol: we still remind her of that to this day. Sorry if that was way off topic but it came to my mind and I decided to post it. :wave:

 

[TheDisneyGirl02]

I've pushed my mother around in a wheelchair, which she will get out of to board rides and go to the bathroom. She is capable of walking and standing, but only for a very limited time. She has no visible disability, but I can assure you she would swop a wheelchair for good arthritic free knees and a straight spine :wave:

Well put. I pushed my mom around WDW also. She is sick and the only way she would have been able to see the parks would have been in a wheelchair. She got out of her wheelchair for every ride we went on. Like Barnum said, my mom would give anything to be able to walk around the parks again...

TheDisneyGirl02

 

[Tramp]

Isn't this like everything else...a few violators tend to cast guilt by association on the truly needy. I am the first to admit, that wheelchair abuse was so rampant a few years ago, that I was furious with Disney for allowing it to happen. I filed several complaints at guest services.

I read Barnum's post about debunking the myth of queue jumping and have to agree with most of it. However, queue hopping doesn't have to be an all or nothing proposition. The Magic Kingdom, being built well before the enactment of the disability act, has the highest probability for abuse because of the design of the attractions. Normal access simply isn't feasible for the wheelchair guests. The other parks have been designed to a greater extent to accomodate these guests and I don't see it as a problem.

At the Magic Kingdom, there are separate entrances for all three mountains that can save you hours of waiting time. As late as my visit this past summer, here is what I saw. Entrance to Buzz is gained thru the exit bypassing the queue. Snow White and Peter Pan have separate entrances thru the exit areas bypassing the queue. Small World wasn't open but wheelchairs gain access thru the exit, bypassing the queue. (I can't recall Pooh) Haunted Mansion allows wheelchair guests to bypass the queue and stretch room and go directly to the ride. Indy Speedway has it's own entrance.

The point is that wheelchair abusers have much to gain by renting one chair and using it at the major attractions to bypass hours of waiting in line for their whole family, particularly on busy summer days. Couple the abuse with smart utilization of the fast pass system and you can have one helluva good time at the parks.

In 1996, we took my mother-in-law to WDW but her legs were in bad condition due to blocked arteries. She couldn't walk half way up Main Street without excruciating pain. Looking at her, you could not tell anything was wrong with her. She stubbornly refused to let me push her in a wheelchair and opted to stay back at the hotel or leave early from the parks. She died the next year and I kick myself daily for not insisting she ride in a chair. So my opinion of wheelchair abusers tends to be jaded dramatically and I have zero tolerance for it.

 

[westie]

Its like the "Hells Angels" of the new millenium... :fork:

 

[sun_sational]

When I was in college I worked at Cedar Point and for few weeks I did stroller/ wheel chair rentals, people would rent a wheels chair just to rent it, one time we had no strollers so the people rented whhel chairs instead and when someone who truely needed a wheelchair, we didnt have one for them. I know the point started a policy about requiring a note from doctor if the ailment wasnt visible (in other words if the guest wasnt in a brace, or cast, they had to have a a note from a doctor stating they needed the use of a wheelchair) but I think they stopped that the second year I worked there because of the guests getting into heated arguments with the employees because they wouldnt give them a wheelchair, they couldnt prove they really needed, and it was decided that black eyes were not worth it (the guests at cedar point could really get nasty the inside joke was we were the poor man's disney world)

The reason Im telling this is because people in particular, will take advatage of anything and use for own personal gain not thinking about the others whio might actually need something.