Oct 7, 20238 min read

Scooters at Disney - Scourge or Necessity?

You may have noticed we took the week off last week. Something happened in a Disney forum we follow that just got under our skin, and we had to take a little break, and also leave that forum for good. We love our Disney community, but not when members of the community lack compassion or grace.

The thing that got under our skin? Someone posted that ECVs (Electric Conveyance Vehicles - aka Scooters) should be BANNED from Walt Disney World because their foot got run over by one. Definitely running over someone's foot, or for that matter injuring another guest, certainly is not allowed at Disney. But banning a mobility device that is necessary to make the parks accessible for some guests just went beyond what we felt was logic.

We get the frustration. We do. We've been there, the guest with full mobility, having to slow down, or work our way around large, slow, unwieldy ECVs. We've even been that person who looks at a guest in an ECV and thought "They don't look disabled to me. They're just lazy and shouldn't be allowed to have one."

And we've learned a lot since then. So bear with us because we want to share what we've learned so perhaps if you find yourself thinking unsavory thoughts about ECVs, you might be able to dredge up some compassion as well. We've also learned a lot about how ECVs actually work, and it's not how you think it does if you haven't used one. So we're going to share our experiences here.

Our Story

My first first-hand experience with an ECV was when my mother, who I often travel to Disney with, had a knee replacement. We visited Disneyland in 2021 and because her knee still bothered her, she needed to use an ECV to be comfortable. After a second knee replacement, she used one again in Walt Disney World in 2022. And honestly, joints don't often get a lot better with age, so we're probably going to be using an ECV in the future.

Meanwhile, over the summer this year, I broke my fifth metatarsal, a bone in my foot. I'll be heading to Walt Disney World soon, and I'm not sure if I can handle the 7-10 miles of walking a day while my foot is still learning how to be strong and flexible again. An ECV is certainly on my mind as a back up plan in the event my foot starts bothering me. And I certainly don't want to push myself so hard that I suffer further injury or a stress fracture on a bone that is still weaker than other bones in my body.

Both of these situations are invisible to others. Neither my mother nor I actively limp. We can walk around just fine, for a few steps, or in my case, even a few miles. But Walt Disney World presents the often overlooked challenge of having to walk for 7 to 10 miles in a day, something that people recovering from surgeries or injuries, or people with bad joints, just cannot do.

This web site offers an interesting infographic right on the landing page about how the ability to walk doesn't mean one can walk several miles: https://hiddenmobilitydisabilities.com/

We Can't Judge a Person's Need of Assistance By Sight Alone.

Also, We ARE NOT the Judge.

The idea that someone might be using mobility assistance because they are lazy is, honestly, a lazy judgement for fully-mobile people to make. We need to stop doing it. I just gave two examples of invisible mobility issues, but there are a LOT more reasons a person may need an ECV. And at a rental price of $70 inside the theme parks, it can pretty well be assured that a person doesn't put themselves in the situation of relying on an ECV by choice.

Add to that, ECVs are downright cumbersome. I know you know because you've seen how awkwardly they can move in crowds. What I didn't know until I had first-hand experience with it was that there's a reason they move awkwardly, and it's typically NOT due to poor operation.

Some ECVs stop slowly. And EVERY ECV I've encountered takes FOREVER to pick up speed again after stopping.

Picture this, you're scootin' along in the park, and a little kid runs in front of your ECV. You slam on the brakes. The ECV comes to a stop, and you once again, try to start it back up again. It rolls sloooooooowly up to speed, at first the movement barely perceptible. And in this time, because people think you are moving too slowly, people start closing in around you, cutting in front of you even more. You get literally trapped in the crowd.

This meme sums up how I feel about this:

I get it. People don't know it's annoying the ECV user. They don't know the person is trying to start back up again. They just know someone has stopped in the path and it makes them angry.

But now you know, don't you?

The best thing to do if you see an ECV stopped in the path is to walk around it. But there is no rule that after passing it, you need to step directly in front of it again. An ideal situation would be to leave a path of several feet in front of the ECV before returning to whatever position you were in on the path.

Chances are, if you got hit by an ECV, it wasn't intentional. I mean, who goes around thinking "Hm, what I want to do at Disney today is run into people." Nobody, that's who. It's more likely the thing had a little braking distance, which is perfectly NORMAL for anything on wheels. And yes, a little nasty, ugly part of me wonders if the person who got their foot run over had stepped in front of an ECV expecting them to stop.

Listen, this is not an ECV-only rule.... it's a general rule of polite behavior in crowds. Do not step directly in front of someone who is moving forward.

Let's talk a little more about accessibility, shall we?

Accessibility means that people of different abilities can enjoy the same experiences. Chances are you may need some help in terms of accessibility at some point in your life, either due to age, injury, or another condition. You have an 80% chance of becoming disabled in some way before you retire (even if it's just a short-term disability like mine).

Mobility disabilities are not the only kind of disability there is. One common conception is that people in an ECV or wheelchair get to skip lines. This is absolutely not true. The ability to "skip" lines is called a DAS pass at Walt Disney World and it applies to all sorts of disabilities or issues. For example, if someone has severe documented claustrophobia and can't stand in a tight queue for the amount of time they would be required to, they may be accommodated. But that accommodation still doesn't mean they skip the line. Usually, they simply wait the same wait time other guests wait, but in a different place rather than the ride queue itself. And just because someone has a mobility disability does not mean they also have a DAS pass.

What people with mobility disabilities often need to help them is crutches, walkers, ECVs or wheelchairs. The type of device a person uses is up to them and their abilities. For example, I was terrible on crutches, and a wheelchair would require my teenager to push me around, something I'm not entirely comfortable with, so I lean toward getting an ECV which would allow me to move fully independently. And independence is important.

Another thing people with mobility issues need are curb cuts (ramps), elevators, and ways to avoid steps. Believe it or not, ECVs are not all-terrain vehicles and they can't go up or down curbs.

One thing I do wish Disney would do better is reduce curbs. There are so many in Magic Kingdom on Main Street, which I get, it's supposed to look like a street, but the curb cuts only appear at every corner. These opportunities to get off or onto the sidewalk are rare, and when they do come along, so does my other pet peeve: People who must cross at a curb-cut even when they are not on wheels, and people who simply stand in the curb-cut.

This is how I feel about that:

Ok, but Why Should I Care???

I get you. Thanks for hanging on through my rant. Let me get to the point:

We need to show more empathy toward others because there's an 80% chance you will need help from others someday as well.

Not only that, but we're Disney people! We can do better than uninformed judgement and anger. What would Walt do?

To help with that, it helps to be informed, which I hope this article up to this point helped you do, but I will summarize the key take-aways for people who may not know:

A lot of reasons people may need mobility assistance are invisible. Just because someone doesn't look disabled doesn't mean they are not disabled.
ECVs do not stop instantly.
ECVs take forever to start after stopping.
ECVs are perhaps the most independent and comfortable option for people who need mobility assistance.
ECVs are expensive.
Using an ECV doesn't mean you get to skip the line.
Using an ECV can unfortunately be very inconvenient because of the ignorance of others and limited accessible options.

And here's a list of things you can do to help (and to reduce your chances of getting accidentally bumped):

Be aware of ECVs near you. They have a lower profile because guests on them are sitting, so they may not stick out immediately in a crowd. However, the same is true for children, and if you can be aware of children near you, you can be aware of an ECV near you which has a motor sound and sometimes a headlight.
Do not step in front of vehicles, including ECVs. Everything on wheels has a brake-time. Everything.
If you come across a stopped ECV in a path, don't jump to conclusions, and give them space as you maneuver around them. Quite often, they are just trying to get started again and no one gave them space.
If you can step off of curbs, use stairs, etc., consider doing so so that people who can't have access to ramps.
Do not stop and talk in a curb-cut. And do not set up there before a parade or fireworks.
If you have brought a stroller and are taking a bus to or from the parks, please heed Disney's official advice and collapse the stroller before boarding. Not collapsing the stroller means you will be taking one of 1-2 wheelchair accessible spots on the bus from someone who may need it. I've seen people do this because their babies are sleeping or simply because they have too much stuff in the stroller and don't want to figure out what to do with all the bags. Again, accessible spots on busses are rare and if you have a choice, consider making a choice that doesn't force someone who doesn't have a choice to wait for the next bus (or two, or three).

If it feels a little bit like I got on my soapbox, let me rewrite those suggestions above as if we were talking about dealing with people in general and not just people using ECVs:

Be aware of your surroundings.
Don't cut people off, and give people room to move.
Don't make assumptions about others.
Don't block paths.
Let people who NEED something have it before people who WANT something.

Put that way it almost sounds like basic manners.

We hope we didn't offend by talking about this issue that's important to us. Our purpose is to inform our readers about things they may not be aware of, and while that's not always the most fun read, it is important. If you have people in your travel party griping about someone using an ECV, please consider sharing this with them. Until next time...