MK Train issue we had with EVC - hope to help others

ah10is

DIS Veteran
Joined
Mar 16, 2013
For those with mobility issues and in an electric scooter.....watch the weather. We had a major issue happen while we were there with the Magic Kingdom Train!

We got on at the MK train at the Fantacyland Station and were told that we would have to leave my mom's EVC there and do the whole loop back. Which was fine ..... however by the time the train got to the Frontierland station.....we were all told we had to get off the train as there was some storms in the area. Big problem! My mom has a degenerative back disease and is 90 degrees bent over and can't walk any distance. Now her scooter is all the way back in Fantacyland where we were told to leave it and where we were told we would be brought back to. We were offered no assistance by any of the cast members in getting back to her mobility device that we were told to leave in Fantacyland. I finally tracked down a wheel chair and pushed her all the way back to the Fanacyland station which took a better part of an hour. While pushing her all the way back, I aggravated a leg injury that I already had further! I spent the next 6 days of our trip limping pretty badly and finally broke down & had to rent a park EVC for myself on the last day! Also to note....it did not rain, thunder etc. during that hour it took to wheel mom all the way back to her EVC.

We did get a call from Disney's Communications Services after we were told to email them about what happened and got 2 any time FP each for each day of the rest of our trip. But I really wanted it stressed to them, that if they are going to have people who use mobility devices leave them at the station, then they need to offer some sort of assistance to get people back to them if they are told they have to disembark at a different station!
 
Sorry that happened to you. Sometimes we plan for family that need extra help and you think you have all the bases covered and a wrench is thrown in. That is twice as upsetting.

Do you know if one is allowed to bring a wheelchair onto the train? DH is using a WC but he doesn't need it our normal life. The amount of walking/standing at disney ....it's needed. We could leave it and do the loop like you, but most times we just go part of it. Like from fantasy land to frontier land.
 
You could have had your mom sit somewhere, then gone and retrieved the ECV and ridden it back to her. Or waited for the train to start again.

1. The Train did not run for the rest of the night due to the weather in the area! We would have been sitting there until the next day for them to restart it!

2. You do realize how far the Fronteirland Station is from the Fantacyland Station? I wasn't about to leave my elderly mother for the better part of an hour sitting just somewhere!!! What if it was a kid instead? Would you leave your child there in the same situation?

Seriously!!! I posted our issue for others to be aware! Not to get a silly response such as yours of you could have done this or that!
 
Sorry that happened to you. Sometimes we plan for family that need extra help and you think you have all the bases covered and a wrench is thrown in. That is twice as upsetting.

Do you know if one is allowed to bring a wheelchair onto the train? DH is using a WC but he doesn't need it our normal life. The amount of walking/standing at disney ....it's needed. We could leave it and do the loop like you, but most times we just go part of it. Like from fantasy land to frontier land.


They have room for 1 wheelchair on the train, but if your DH can walk a few steps, they will make you leave it at the station! They only use the wheelchair spot for those that are totally chair reliant.
 
They have room for 1 wheelchair on the train, but if your DH can walk a few steps, they will make you leave it at the station! They only use the wheelchair spot for those that are totally chair reliant.

Thanks for the information. Now we can plan better.
 
1. The Train did not run for the rest of the night due to the weather in the area! We would have been sitting there until the next day for them to restart it!

2. You do realize how far the Fronteirland Station is from the Fantacyland Station? I wasn't about to leave my elderly mother for the better part of an hour sitting just somewhere!!! What if it was a kid instead? Would you leave your child there in the same situation?

Seriously!!! I posted our issue for others to be aware! Not to get a silly response such as yours of you could have done this or that!

Why would it take an hour to walk that distance, then ride the scooter back to get your mom? Fantasyland and Frontierland stations are about a half of a mile from each other.

I guess your situation did make a point - if there is someone who can't be left alone, it is better and safer to have two adults along on the trip, in case something happens to one of the adults. I mean what if you got sick while you were there, and had to go to the ER? That happened to me two weeks ago.
 


When we rode it, they had a wheelchair available for me to use to board & ride the train while my ECV was left at the station. That wouldn't help much if you were didn't have someone with you capable of pushing you. The wheelchairs they provide aren't usually ones you could propel yourself that distance unless you were strong.

I'm glad you posted this. I'll think twice about riding the train & agree that they should've helped you out in getting your mom back to her ECV. At least bring you a wheelchair. Anytime a person rides something that requires them to leave their ECV, they make that decision based on the assumption that they will unload the ride close to their ECV. If they can't count on that, they need to be aware of that. I guess any ride could break down but I would hope that assistance would always be provided for any that need it.
 
For those with mobility issues and in an electric scooter.....watch the weather. We had a major issue happen while we were there with the Magic Kingdom Train!

We got on at the MK train at the Fantacyland Station and were told that we would have to leave my mom's EVC there and do the whole loop back. Which was fine ..... however by the time the train got to the Frontierland station.....we were all told we had to get off the train as there was some storms in the area. Big problem! My mom has a degenerative back disease and is 90 degrees bent over and can't walk any distance. Now her scooter is all the way back in Fantacyland where we were told to leave it and where we were told we would be brought back to. We were offered no assistance by any of the cast members in getting back to her mobility device that we were told to leave in Fantacyland. I finally tracked down a wheel chair and pushed her all the way back to the Fanacyland station which took a better part of an hour. While pushing her all the way back, I aggravated a leg injury that I already had further! I spent the next 6 days of our trip limping pretty badly and finally broke down & had to rent a park EVC for myself on the last day! Also to note....it did not rain, thunder etc. during that hour it took to wheel mom all the way back to her EVC.

We did get a call from Disney's Communications Services after we were told to email them about what happened and got 2 any time FP each for each day of the rest of our trip. But I really wanted it stressed to them, that if they are going to have people who use mobility devices leave them at the station, then they need to offer some sort of assistance to get people back to them if they are told they have to disembark at a different station!

Some questions before I offer more input - when you were at the Frontierland station, and told to get off, did you ask for specific assistance? Did you ask to speak to a manager? Who knew you had a need to get the ECV from the Fantasyland station? Who helped you track down a wheelchair?
 
For those with mobility issues and in an electric scooter.....watch the weather. We had a major issue happen while we were there with the Magic Kingdom Train!

We got on at the MK train at the Fantacyland Station and were told that we would have to leave my mom's EVC there and do the whole loop back. Which was fine ..... however by the time the train got to the Frontierland station.....we were all told we had to get off the train as there was some storms in the area. Big problem! My mom has a degenerative back disease and is 90 degrees bent over and can't walk any distance. Now her scooter is all the way back in Fantacyland where we were told to leave it and where we were told we would be brought back to. We were offered no assistance by any of the cast members in getting back to her mobility device that we were told to leave in Fantacyland. I finally tracked down a wheel chair and pushed her all the way back to the Fanacyland station which took a better part of an hour. While pushing her all the way back, I aggravated a leg injury that I already had further! I spent the next 6 days of our trip limping pretty badly and finally broke down & had to rent a park EVC for myself on the last day! Also to note....it did not rain, thunder etc. during that hour it took to wheel mom all the way back to her EVC.

We did get a call from Disney's Communications Services after we were told to email them about what happened and got 2 any time FP each for each day of the rest of our trip. But I really wanted it stressed to them, that if they are going to have people who use mobility devices leave them at the station, then they need to offer some sort of assistance to get people back to them if they are told they have to disembark at a different station!

Thanks so much for the information! I use an ECV and I'm considering a solo trip. In a case like that, I'd really be in trouble since likeyour Mom, walking is out of the question for me. Guess I'd be safer avoiding the train if I do go solo. I really feel bad for your mom, but you did help by sharing the story-I wouldn't have thought of that.
 
Some questions before I offer more input - when you were at the Frontierland station, and told to get off, did you ask for specific assistance? Did you ask to speak to a manager? Who knew you had a need to get the ECV from the Fantasyland station? Who helped you track down a wheelchair?

No need for more input....I posted what happened to us to help others. Not to be given suggestions of what else we could have or should have done!

I spoke to 5 different cast members when we were told to get off! No assistance what so ever was given! No courtesy wheel chairs were at the station either - which you often see at most rides! No one helped I went to 3 different places before finding a wheelchair at country bears that they let me use! As for who knew.....the Fantacyland Station boarded us!!! They most definitely knew and they should have a system in place to handle these situations!
 
No need for more input....I posted what happened to us to help others. Not to be given suggestions of what else we could have or should have done!

I spoke to 5 different cast members when we were told to get off! No assistance what so ever was given! No courtesy wheel chairs were at the station either - which you often see at most rides! No one helped I went to 3 different places before finding a wheelchair at country bears that they let me use! As for who knew.....the Fantacyland Station boarded us!!! They most definitely knew and they should have a system in place to handle these situations!

That is more input - so thank you. So, when the 5 cast members you asked for help gave you none, did you ask to speak to a manager? This is important, because perhaps all that needed to be done was to ask for a manager, no need to trek across the park for a wheelchair. Yes, there should be a system between the Fantasyland and Frontierland stations for emergency disembarkment. Perhaps there is one, but you need to ask the managers?

BTW, I've never seen courtesy wheelchairs at any attractions except the ones that make you leave your ECV behind. It was good luck to find one at CBJ.
 
No need for more input....I posted what happened to us to help others. Not to be given suggestions of what else we could have or should have done!

Whether you want input or not, you posted your experiences to help others, and part of helping others is to look at what YOU might have done differently to help cast members help you. It's not an indictment of you, nor is it an excuse for the cast members that didn't help you.
 
What did you say to Guest Relations about your experince, either in person before leaving the park, or via e-mail afterwards?
 
2. You do realize how far the Frontrland Station is from the Fantasyland Station? I wasn't about to leave my elderly mother for the better part of an hour sitting just somewhere!!! What if it was a kid instead? Would you leave your child there in the same situation?

No, of course one wouldn't just leave a young child, although an older, responsible child - why not? Rather than criss-cross the park multiple times?s

What do you consider elderly? Is there a reason a mature adult couldn't sit somewhere convenient, other than physical, for the necessary time? What kind of assistance did you request? Im'm a bit surprised that in all the years the railroad has run, nobody ever had issues with the combination of weather-and-mobility device before.
 
Thank you for sharing your experience. That isn't something I had thought about before nor have I seen it mentioned here. Hopefully your experience will have others thinking about options if the same occurs. It's easy to Monday-mornings-quarterback but in the moment it can be hard to think of options. My hope is that some of the suggestions offered here would be remembered by another guest in a similar situation.

So sorry it occurred but I hope you enjoyed your vacation despite that situation!
 
Thank you for the information. We travel to WDW a lot. The train is favorite ride. I never thought about getting the ECV to me if we left it at another station. I often ride the train solo and what happened to you could create an impossible situation for me. Something I will keep in mind. Thanks again for sharing.
 
“Giving suggestions on what could have been done differently will help others who may end up in a similar situation.”


But it’s not being phrased as “What else can I do if this happens to me;” it's being phrased as “Why didn't you do something else when it happened to you?” The former *would have been* a friendly, constructive discussion, but that's not what actually happened.


"Why would it take an hour to walk that distance, then ride the scooter back to get your mom? Fantasyland and Frontierland stations are about a half of a mile from each other."


It seemed to me from the context that the OP also has mobility/health issues, although not as severe as their mother’s. Also, pushing an adult through crowds, over terrain that is surprisingly hilly, takes longer than walking unencumbered.
 

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