Lots more scooters riding the buses now

BabybetterDisney

DIS Veteran
Joined
Apr 14, 2018
During our last trip 2 months ago, I noticed a distinct increase in the number of scooters. It used to be that we saw a scooter once in a while. Now there's a scooter in ever bus during busy times, sometimes two. This makes bus travel take a lot longer. The scooter then gets ahead of the line, together with their entire party.

I think Disney should make a rule that a scooter can be accompanied by at most one person. The rest of the party must then wait in line like everybody else, to be fair. The scooter is already taking up much more space and time than an individual; there's no justification that their party should cut ahead also. In the past, scooters were rare enough so that it didn't matter. Now that the number of scooters have increased, the rules should be updated and made more fair to minimize the impact on others. It is true that this way the scooter party may get separated, but with the prevalence of cell phones that shouldn't be much of a problem.

One benefit of the new gondola system is that gondolas can be individually moved over to load a scooter while the rest of the gondolas can keep moving and load the others, so that the scooter will not have much effect in holding things up.
 
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I'm sure you're going to get flamed but I observed the same thing on our Oct 18 - 27 trip this year. I'm not unsympathetic to the plight of these folks, in 2004 my then 78 yr old mother needed a chair but my SIL worked for Pride Mobility and he got her an ECV that came apart so we pulled a pin and he carried one half and I the other so there was no need to park it on the bus. A full half of the bus trips we took this year involved a chair and the delay it caused. I doubt Disney will be changing policy any time soon, it's 'Grin and Bear it' time.

Bill From PA
 
It is true that this way the scooter party may get separated, but with the prevalence of cell phones that shouldn't be much of a problem.
I think Disney should make a rule that a scooter can be accompanied by at most one person.
Do you realize you're suggesting WDW discriminate against individuals with mobility or stamina issues and their parties? Are you, as an apparently able-bodied person, willing to split your party into the same groups of two? How do you suggest they handle a party with one ECV, two total adults, and three toddlers?

Why in the world would you think it is acceptable to split up parties with disabled members, but not split up all groups?
 
During our last trip 2 months ago, I noticed a distinct increase in the number of scooters. It used to be that we saw a scooter once in a while. Now there's a scooter in ever bus during busy times, sometimes two. This makes bus travel take a lot longer. The scooter then gets ahead of the line, together with their entire party.

I think Disney should make a rule that a scooter can be accompanied by at most one person. The rest of the party must then wait in line like everybody else, to be fair. The scooter is already taking up much more space and time than an individual; there's no justification that their party should cut ahead also. In the past, scooters were rare enough so that it didn't matter. Now that the number of scooters have increased, the rules should be updated and made more fair to minimize the impact on others. It is true that this way the scooter party may get separated, but with the prevalence of cell phones that shouldn't be much of a problem.

One benefit of the new gondola system is that gondolas can be individually moved over to load a scooter while the rest of the gondolas can keep moving and load the others, so that the scooter will not have much effect in holding things up.

Given that you are saying EVERY bus had scooters, it is unlikely that getting to the head of the line would be a large advantage for the scooter riders and their families. They are LESS likely to get on the first bus that comes along than you are.

I think that only allowing one other would be ridiculous. As pointed out above, it could be husband in scooter, wife, and 3 kids. I do think that allowing a family reunion to board with each scooter is a little much.
 


I definitely agree. If people would not be belligerent and argumentative, bus drivers could enforce the policy of the wheelchair/ECV visitors and up to five members of their party.
Most bus drivers are unwilling to confront a Guest. When a Guest makes a complaint against a cm, the Guest almost always wins, whether they're in the right or not.

If people don't like waiting for a chair to load, how would they like waiting for a manager & security to arrive to handle a recalcitrant Guest?
 


I don't think you realize how this een sounds but it sounds bad.

I don't think there are more people using scooters but rather that more people are realizing offsite scooter rentals are available for a much smaller price than Disney and so people are doing this instead of renting inside Disney theme parks scooters which cannot be taken out of the park.

Also people on scooters are put on the bus first because otherwise there would be too many people on the bus for the scooter to maneuver.

Suggesting that families be separated by perhaps a couple of buses is ridiculous.

Would you want your party separated? No and you'd just wait for the next bus but the person on the scooter is already on the bus so what choice would those families have if they waited in line and didn't get on that bus?

My opinion is this thread should be closed before the exchanges get heated.
 
I’ll just say that I have had to use a scooter on our last few visits. My need for a scooter is invisible, so I do worry about people like the OP getting annoyed. Trust me, I hate the inconvenience of a scooter and making everyone wait. But you know what? It’s either use a scooter and go to WDW, or stay home. Obviously the scooter wins! I try hard to be considerate of others by staying seated on my scooter on the bus, this helps free up a seat. We also make my kids squish and share a seat, or even stand to make room. Not all scooter riders and families are trying to hold things up....
 
Do you realize you're suggesting WDW discriminate against individuals with mobility or stamina issues and their parties?
You are 100% correct, so to be fair to all and treat everyone equally, do away with the priority board first process, and everyone gets in line first come/first serve. That way everyone is being treated equally. But IMHO that doesn't make much sense, though it would be equal treatment.

I'm not trying to kick the hornets nest, that's already been done in previous threads. But, I think what the OP was trying to say, and makes some sense is that those needing accommodations can pre-board with one other person, the rest of the party waits in line with the rest of the crowd. If they get on the bus that's wonderful, if not then they would need to wait. The person needing the accommodation would be assisted, no discrimination in my eyes.
 
No, the mobility device passengers parties would be split at a much higher rate than the fully ambulatory parties. If your entire party is on foot and gets to the door to find not all can fit in the bus, they have the choice to split up or to all wait for the next bus. When you force a split, you take away any choice.

People just need to be a little patient.
 
But, I think what the OP was trying to say, and makes some sense is that those needing accommodations can pre-board with one other person, the rest of the party waits in line with the rest of the crowd.
When the party is two adults, and a 6, 4, and 3 year old - which one goes with the ECV? What about when it's only one adult with two or more children?
 
The way it should work IMHO is that if there are more people in the party than the limit per scooter (whatever that is; it's currently 6 but 3 seems reasonable), then some of the party waits in line with everyone else. When the driver approaches the scooter for loading (before general boarding), he asks how many are accompanying the scooter. If it's more than the limit, he asks the scooter user to identify them in the queue. The driver has a pretty good idea of how far back in the queue will be able to fit on the bus. If the party is so far back that they won't fit, the driver offers the party the options of breaking up the party, or waiting until the rest of the party moves up in the queue enough to all fit on the same bus. If they choose to wait and there are other scooters waiting with less than the limit, the driver asks the scooter to move aside to let them board.

Likewise, if there too many scooters to fit on the bus, and a scooter that won't fit has a party that exceeds the limit who would otherwise be able to board, the driver offers the options of separating the party, or allowing other Guests to board while the scooter party waits for a bus with an available tie-down.

It should be pointed out that the queue does not just determine who gets on the bus, it also assures fair access to available seating. Even if there's enough room for everyone, the part of the party exceeding the limit should wait their turn to board so other Guests get a fair shot at seats.

Of course, this doesn't solve the problem at resort bus stops without park-specific queues, where it basically comes down to courtesy and consideration of others. It also would require drivers to enforce the rules, and know that management will back them up. In my scenario, both resorts and drivers would have cards fully explaining the procedure that would be given to Guests checking in with scooters or wheelchairs, or when boarding for the first time. Expecting Guests to read the rules on a sign is not enough.
 
Every bus has only two spots reserved for wheelchairs and ECVs. There is a big sign on the window above these spots that they are reserved for the disabled. It doesn’t matter how many ECVs people are now seeing, still only two ECVs or wheelchairs can be accommodated on each bus. It is not uncommon for a person using a wheelchair or ECV to have to wait for the next bus, as often the bus arrives with at least one of those spots already has an ECV in one of the handicapped reserved spots.

The newer red and grey Nova buses have fewer seats available for guests in general, but can hold more guests standing. These buses also have only two tie down spots for wheelchairs and ECVs. So while the capacity of the buses for people not burdened with the need for a wheelchair or ECV have increased through standing hang strap spots, there are just two chances for a disabled person to board any bus.

As the baby boomer population ages, one can expect to see more wheelchairs and ECVs in the future. The disabled guest has the same rights as the average guest., just fewer options when it comes to Disney transportation. The disabled guest can’t decide to stand on the bus if the only TWO handicapped spaces are taken or just call an Uber.

The real issue here is Disney needs to be providing more transportation opportunities for all of their guests. More buses and/or more frequent buses should be the goal instead of singling out disabled guests as the problem with overcrowded Disney buses.
 
Of course, this doesn't solve the problem at resort bus stops without park-specific queues, where it basically comes down to courtesy and consideration of others.

This is my biggest concern about moving from Pop to POFQ for our next trip. After reading so many scooter hate threads I expect no courtesy and consideration from resort guests at bus stops. Even at Pop, where there are lines, there were times we were waiting longer for a bus than mobile people and they were still complaining about scooters being loaded first. We are going to POFQ because even when it shares a bus, it loads first. I don't want to go to a resort where there are multiple bus stops as I fear ever being able to board a bus. My in laws used to stay at CB and the trip where they were the next to last bus stop they waited through as many as 6 busses with every one of them loading the people who were mobile. It is the only time I have ever heard my MiL complain about Disney, and it was the last trip they made a breakfast reservation.
 
During our last trip 2 months ago, I noticed a distinct increase in the number of scooters. It used to be that we saw a scooter once in a while. Now there's a scooter in ever bus during busy times, sometimes two. This makes bus travel take a lot longer. The scooter then gets ahead of the line, together with their entire party.

I think Disney should make a rule that a scooter can be accompanied by at most one person. The rest of the party must then wait in line like everybody else, to be fair. The scooter is already taking up much more space and time than an individual; there's no justification that their party should cut ahead also. In the past, scooters were rare enough so that it didn't matter. Now that the number of scooters have increased, the rules should be updated and made more fair to minimize the impact on others. It is true that this way the scooter party may get separated, but with the prevalence of cell phones that shouldn't be much of a problem.

One benefit of the new gondola system is that gondolas can be individually moved over to load a scooter while the rest of the gondolas can keep moving and load the others, so that the scooter will not have much effect in holding things up.
You clearly have NO IDEA what it is like to NEED an ECV. I would give almost anything to not.
 
During our last trip 2 months ago, I noticed a distinct increase in the number of scooters. It used to be that we saw a scooter once in a while. Now there's a scooter in ever bus during busy times, sometimes two. This makes bus travel take a lot longer. The scooter then gets ahead of the line, together with their entire party.

I think Disney should make a rule that a scooter can be accompanied by at most one person. The rest of the party must then wait in line like everybody else, to be fair. The scooter is already taking up much more space and time than an individual; there's no justification that their party should cut ahead also. In the past, scooters were rare enough so that it didn't matter. Now that the number of scooters have increased, the rules should be updated and made more fair to minimize the impact on others. It is true that this way the scooter party may get separated, but with the prevalence of cell phones that shouldn't be much of a problem.

One benefit of the new gondola system is that gondolas can be individually moved over to load a scooter while the rest of the gondolas can keep moving and load the others, so that the scooter will not have much effect in holding things up.
okay there is your rule about buses what do you do if you are me and my group is me husband and 4 year old grandson? separate my group. send husband with me in case I need help so 4 year old rides by him? send 4 year old with me who can not tide on scooter with me and I can not hold his hand in crowd at bus drop off. and husband would have his stroller as I could not handle grandson and his stroller by myself. got a better idea for groups like this
 
I think Disney should make a rule that a scooter can be accompanied by at most one person.

Oh gracious. So you’ll go first with splitting up your family group?


Given that you are saying EVERY bus had scooters, it is unlikely that getting to the head of the line would be a large advantage for the scooter riders and their families. They are LESS likely to get on the first bus that comes along than you are.

Agreed.

I don't think you realize how this een sounds but it sounds bad.

Agreed. Even just saying that there are scooters on the bus instead of saying that there were people *using* scooters is icky.

Also people on scooters are put on the bus first because otherwise there would be too many people on the bus for the scooter to maneuver.

Yep!

You are 100% correct, so to be fair to all and treat everyone equally, do away with the priority board first process, and everyone gets in line first come/first serve. That way everyone is being treated equally.

Ok so everyone is boarding, and then they come to the person in the ecv. And the bus is halfway full. To let that person on half the people have to get up or maybe get off in order to allow the person with the ecv on. Then everyone sits back down and it continues. Oh wait, a second person with a scooter! Repeat.

Ridiculous. It’s far better to let the people with ecvs get on first and avoid the mess.

Also, if there is NO room for the ecv and rider, at least a few years ago, because it’s to be equal treatment, if there’s no room for that person (or if the driver doesn’t want to make everyone resituate to allow the ecv and rider on), there’s no room for anyone else. Doors close and the bus leaves.

That’s not better.
 
There really aren't all that many more scooters out there. I'm in the parks at least a week at a time, every two months or so. I have yet to see a huge increase in the number of ECVs at bus stops. Yes, ECVs get boarded first, but they also get unloaded last. Everyone seems to forget that. There is signage asking that only up to six people accompany the ECV guest onto the bus. It is usually fewer than that. Seriously, are we really complaining about an addtl wait of 5 mins? It's pretty much park opening and closing that guests get shut out of a bus due to an ECV and family members. And another bus will be along shortly.
I have stood and watched an elderly couple (in their 80's) sitting on their ECVs, at the MK bus stop. It was July, and around noon. I got to talking with them. Seems they had been sitting there, in that heat/humidity, for 45 mins. They had arrived at the bus stop as the bus was loading, so they weren't able to get on. Then, a bus came along, but it wasn't able to accommodate them....there was something broken on the bus. After standing there for about 20 mins a bus came and this couple was told that they wouldn't be able to get on the bus because the ramp wouldn't go down!!! Seriously?? So, now this poor elderly couple had already waited over an hour, and had to wait yet again?? I 'calmly' explained to the driver what the situation is...seems the couple didn't want to cause any issues. The driver said there was nothing he could do...well, I told him he needed to call in and get some kind of transportation for these guests immediately!!!! He said he would, and to board the bus. Nope, not getting on that bus buddy!!!! I'm not leaving these two people out in that heat/humidity by themselves!!! I also wanted to see how long it would take until they were able to leave! It took another 15/20 mins. Almost 90 mins waiting for them. That's just unacceptable.

Granted, there are more people using ECVs than ever before, and we all know that there is a percentage that really doesn't need them. When ECV rental companies advertise saying that why walk in the theme parks and get exhausted when you can ride in comfort for a small price...well, we know what happens. It's the same with the huge strollers, and those ridiculous covered push wagons!!! We seem to have adopted the 'you first, right after me' mentality at WDW. There just doesn't seem to be any compassion or empathy anymore. Everyone's family comes first, even if it means inconveniencing others.
I think we all need to take a deep breath and take a step back......yes, there is ECV abuse at WDW. But since we can't always be sure who legitimately needs one, and who doesn't, it's going to be better to ere on the side of caution. If speed in getting to the parks is most important to you then Uber or a rental car may be the way to go.
I have said this before...I have spent time in a park with someone who really does need an ECV. She is very experienced using it, very little waits to get on a bus or such. But, when you spend time with someone on an ECV, you start to see the world a bit differently. Suddenly, that person is almost invisible, people walk in front of you. They roll their eyes when they see you coming. They make comments. It was quite eye opening. So, it might be best to adopt the 'there but for the grace of God go I' mentality while in WDW.
 
There really aren't all that many more scooters out there. I'm in the parks at least a week at a time, every two months or so. I have yet to see a huge increase in the number of ECVs at bus stops. Yes, ECVs get boarded first, but they also get unloaded last. Everyone seems to forget that. There is signage asking that only up to six people accompany the ECV guest onto the bus. It is usually fewer than that. Seriously, are we really complaining about an addtl wait of 5 mins? It's pretty much park opening and closing that guests get shut out of a bus due to an ECV and family members. And another bus will be along shortly.
I have stood and watched an elderly couple (in their 80's) sitting on their ECVs, at the MK bus stop. It was July, and around noon. I got to talking with them. Seems they had been sitting there, in that heat/humidity, for 45 mins. They had arrived at the bus stop as the bus was loading, so they weren't able to get on. Then, a bus came along, but it wasn't able to accommodate them....there was something broken on the bus. After standing there for about 20 mins a bus came and this couple was told that they wouldn't be able to get on the bus because the ramp wouldn't go down!!! Seriously?? So, now this poor elderly couple had already waited over an hour, and had to wait yet again?? I 'calmly' explained to the driver what the situation is...seems the couple didn't want to cause any issues. The driver said there was nothing he could do...well, I told him he needed to call in and get some kind of transportation for these guests immediately!!!! He said he would, and to board the bus. Nope, not getting on that bus buddy!!!! I'm not leaving these two people out in that heat/humidity by themselves!!! I also wanted to see how long it would take until they were able to leave! It took another 15/20 mins. Almost 90 mins waiting for them. That's just unacceptable.

Granted, there are more people using ECVs than ever before, and we all know that there is a percentage that really doesn't need them. When ECV rental companies advertise saying that why walk in the theme parks and get exhausted when you can ride in comfort for a small price...well, we know what happens. It's the same with the huge strollers, and those ridiculous covered push wagons!!! We seem to have adopted the 'you first, right after me' mentality at WDW. There just doesn't seem to be any compassion or empathy anymore. Everyone's family comes first, even if it means inconveniencing others.
I think we all need to take a deep breath and take a step back......yes, there is ECV abuse at WDW. But since we can't always be sure who legitimately needs one, and who doesn't, it's going to be better to ere on the side of caution. If speed in getting to the parks is most important to you then Uber or a rental car may be the way to go.
I have said this before...I have spent time in a park with someone who really does need an ECV. She is very experienced using it, very little waits to get on a bus or such. But, when you spend time with someone on an ECV, you start to see the world a bit differently. Suddenly, that person is almost invisible, people walk in front of you. They roll their eyes when they see you coming. They make comments. It was quite eye opening. So, it might be best to adopt the 'there but for the grace of God go I' mentality while in WDW.

I can honestly say that I have never known someone who used any kind of mobility device who did not need it. What would be the advantage of using an ECV if the person was capable of walking and standing all day? I mean, why would it be abused? Especially with the cost, bus waits you described, and general behavior of people that you described.

I see it more in the way that people like my mother-in-law who had a heart attack and surgery in February can now access the parks. She can stand and walk, but there is no way she could do it even a few hours at a theme park. I think ECVs have encouraged people like that to visit WDW when they would have just stayed home. The US also has a large aging population which is naturally going to impact the amount of people with mobility issues in general (and no, I am not discriminating against the elderly, just talking percentages).
 

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