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If you didn’t see this or hear about it, Whoopie Goldberg had a little breakdown on the view yesterday. Her tirade was about the Walt Disney World guests that visit the parks and use scooters to get around. She actually started with people that have kids in strollers and then quickly moved on to the scooter people. Back in June I had written about using a scooter in Walt Disney World. After Whoopie’s Tirade I thought I needed to reprint that article, and maybe clear up the reasons why some guests need the scooters and the Magic it adds to your visit if someone you are with needs one. No matter what Whoopie says, it made our family trip much better having a scooter. Here is that article:
I have mentioned a few times, the Family trip we took a few years, where there were three generations of us there. Well, during that trip, my father was having some health problems, but being the guy he is, he refused to go to the doctor before our trip, because he was afraid he would be given bad news and wouldn’t be able to make the trip. So instead, when we got to Walt Disney World, he couldn’t really walk too well. After a very slow morning at the Magic Kingdom, he mentioned to my Mom that he would have to stay behind the next day. That doesn’t work for a Family Vacation, so we looked into our options. Disney does rent wheelchairs by the day or for your length of stay. All of the Parks have a wheel chair rental area right near the entrance to the park. Our problem with renting a chair instead of a scooter was being able to get to the park, before all the chairs were already rented. So, the best choice for us was to rent a scooter for the rest of our visit. This was a wonderful choice, because Dad was able to go everywhere we went, and do everything we did, without missing any of the Magical Experiences we had that week. (just as an aside, Dad finally did go to the doctor when he got home and found that he had an ulcer that was causing his problems. It was taken care of and Dad is doing well.)
This story leads me into today’s Unknown Magic; using a Scooter in the most Magical Place on Earth. The scooter we rented for my Dad was from a company that was recommended by the cast members at the front desk. The company dropped the scooter off in the morning, after we called the night before and then picked it up in front of the Resort again on the day we were checking out. It was not expensive, I don’t recall the cost, but I know it was reasonable, especially when the other option was Dad missing out on everything. Using the Scooter around Walt Disney World was very easy. The Resort hallways were wide enough as was the elevator, and even the areas outside of the Resort were accessible, to the scooter. When we went to Epcot or Disney Hollywood Studios, the boat ride wasn’t a problem either and riding the Monorail was just as easy. Everywhere we went, Dad was able to go and get around just as we did. Sometimes he even made out better than us. At some attractions in the parks, they have disability sections for seating and ride entrances. The nice part of this was that the family was allowed to go to these areas or entrances along with the person in the scooter, which meant that we could all still ride together. The other nice thing about having the scooter was it had a basket where we could carry the cameras and water bottles. **
I was worried at one point, as we drove to Fort Wilderness Campground for the Hoop Dee Doo revue and when we got there, had to get on the bus to get to Pioneer Hall. The bus couldn’t have been easier to board. The driver got off, shut the front doors up, had the bus lowered, opened the back doors, let the scooter enter and then let the rest of us on. He repeated the process when we disembarked. It was just like everything else in Walt Disney World that week, when it came to the scooter, EASY. It was like the cast members knew my Dad was going to need that scooter that week (even if we didn’t) and made sure that everything that involved him and his ride were taken care of. It was a week filled with many Magical Experiences.
If anyone in your travelling party needs that extra help in getting around, even if they can probably do it themselves, but it will take them some extra time, I would recommend renting the Scooter. First of all they will feel better that they are not slowing you down and you will feel better in knowing that they aren’t missing a Magical Experience. The Other reason I would recommend it is because it does make spending Quality Family time a lot easier and Family is what Disney is all about.
So, now that you know, If you have a family member or travelling partner that needs a little help with mobility, check with the front desk and see about getting them a scooter. It’ll make your trip filled with a few more Magical Experiences.
*** If you do rent a scooter, make sure you get one with a roof/shade top. It is worth the extra $5 a day.
unknownmagicwithinwaltdisneyworld 