So, we will be in Disney tomorrow. There are 7 of us (4 adults, 3 kids ages 13,10,10). My mom will need an ECV. The last time we were in Disney was 2015 and my mom was in an ECV and my dad was in a push wheelchair (dad has since passed). Based on that last experience with 2 chairs, I have some questions as I want to handle things the right way and I hope this doesn’t turn into an out of control thread as ECV’s and transportation can sometimes get out of hand from what I’ve seen on other forums
I know when we get to the bus stop, we go to the wheelchair lane. Last time, on one day, we got to the bus stop and there was a decent line of people already there. When the bus arrived, he went to load our group first. I told the driver that everyone else was waiting, so load them first and we’ll take the next bus. He would have none of that and loaded us on first. What is the etiquette for this? If there is a line, should we hang back until the next bus comes? I don’t like “cutting” the people in front of us, but I do understand whey Disney would need to load ECV and wheelchairs first.
The official Disney policy is to load the ECV member and up to 5 guests. We have 6 guests after my mom in the ECV. This wasn’t an issue the last time since we had 2 chairs. Will this be a problem or will it depend on the driver? I would rather us wait for a next bus and all be together than split up. As a side note, if there are others waiting, I always stand if I get on first to make sure those waiting get a seat before I do. I may make my older daughter do the same.
Lastly, do they have places in MK where you can charge an ECV? We have a long day one day where we may be on the go for 12 hours. Even with shutting the chair off, occasionally, we will most likely still need to charge it once or twice.
Thank you for any input. I just want to do things properly without upsetting anyone else’s vacation.
Their policy is to take care of disabled guests which is why they won’t have you wait for the next bus (if you are the 3rd ECV our experience has been that they call another bus to come immediately). You have to load first for health and safety reasons - try loading an ECV on a crowded bus and chances are someone’s toes are getting broken.
They have a sign at the bus stops saying that if you have more than 6 guests, you should consider splitting up and meeting at your destination. But you won’t have any trouble getting more than 6 people on, they don’t insist on it.
I can’t answer your last question. There was only one day we didn’t take an afternoon break but we didn’t need to charge the battery - we were at the bus stop around 7.30am and got back to our room about 7pm that night. I know there are outlets you can use but I don’t know where they are.
Thank you for all of your input on this. I thought I had read it was 5, so that’s good to know. In regards to the quote above, yes, I agree. What I meant was, if there is a long line when we arrive, should we let the people waiting load first and we wait for the next bus and then be the first ones loaded.
Yes that’s the question I answered above. If you’re there in the wheelchair/ECV spot they don’t want you to wait for the next bus. Policy is that they load you. If you want to hang back then don’t get in the spot.
It sounds like you are far too nice, which is rare, so good for you! In this case though, everyone understands that ECV’s load first. No one thinks you guys are taking advantage of anything. As misoverexcited said, it is simply a matter of safety to load the EVC first. And I’d never expect the family of the person with the EVC to not load with them. Go ahead and just load first with the EVC.
I’m sure I am, but I do feel bad if people have been waiting for 10-20 minutes and we come up and wait 2 minutes AND get on first. If everyone waiting gets on also, that’s ok. It’s the first six that miss out that I feel bad for. We’ll roll with it (no pun intended). We will be at BLT, so this is really only an issue for HS and AK.
A visit to WDW is hard enough with an ECV, without also having to worry about loading first. Do not give it a moment’s thought. And don’t worry about the whole party loading at once, either. You are not being rude or cutting in, this is a Disney policy.
