Increasingly, cast members are looking with a wary eye at guests driving mobility scooters, referred to by Disney as “ECVs” (electric convenience vehicles). Careless visitors have driven the 150-pound carts into other guests, cast members, and buildings, inflicting more damage to person and property than could be imagined by even the heaviest or fastest of wheelchair.
The latest casualty was on Disneyland’s Main Street. According to one cast member, “If you walk into the Market House, you will find the old-fashioned stove that sat in the middle of the store missing. One day last month, a guest lost control of their personal ECV and rammed into the stove and knocked it off its stand. The stovepipe was broken off from the ceiling. Then the guest tried to leave the scene! I doubt if the guest had to pay for the damages.”
It’s still unknown when the stove will return to the spot it had sat in since 1955.
The rest of the park, however, is a much different place than it was 56 years ago. The walkways are significantly more congested, packed with hundreds of strollers and a more aggressive breed of guest.
Over the past 10 years, a cast member recalled, “I have seen or heard of guests and cast members having their feet run over by (ECVs), corners of buildings scraped, guests and cast members knocked down. Those are the most common incidents. There is a story where a personal ECV went off the raft dock—the guest got out in time—and ended up on the bottom of the Rivers of America.”
A former employee at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure added, “I have seen people that forget that the ECVs don’t come to a full stop, they kind of roll to a stop. I’ve seen adults run into their families. I remember one elderly lady, while in the Hollywood Pictures Backlot, didn’t know how to stop the ECV and took people out like a bowling ball. I’ve seen ECV riders trying to carry more than one person on the ECV or go off the curbs on Main Street. Trust me, imagine what could happen, it has happened.”
Another cast member speculated as to the most common causes of ECV accidents:
- ECV drivers were not watching where they were going.
- ECV drivers were in a rush and felt the guests ahead of them were walking too slowly.
- ECV drivers had never used an ECV before.
- ECV drivers were allowing their child or grandchild to sit on their lap and drive the ECV.
- Another family member was playing around with the ECV.
Skittish about overstepping access laws of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Disney parks place few restrictions on ECV drivers, beyond hoping the vehicles will be operated in a safe manner. Any guest who arrives at the Main Entrance driving an ECV is allowed to take their vehicle in with them. Anyone who wants to rent an ECV is permitted, no health questions asked, assuming there are vehicles available and the renter is at least 18.
Cast members and other guests may look twice at younger ECV drivers who don’t appear to have any mobility issues. Onlookers may think the guests are just being lazy, although many have ailments that aren’t readily visible.
“I have met some really nice guests who have cancer and get tired easily,” said one employee. “Others use (ECVs) because they have a bad hip or knees.” Still, he suspects there’s an inordinate number of ECVers who ride simply because they’re portly. “A lot of us cast members wonder if they would not be so big if they were walking…”
Looks Like We’ll Have a Smooth Flight to Endor…
With ride operators undergoing training and Imagineers putting the finishing touches on the updated Star Tours 2.0, clues are beginning to trickle out as to what awaits guests when soft openings begin in the next few weeks.
- “The queue features lots of new stuff. One is holographic “wanted” posters of Luke Skywalker and the other Rebel Alliance characters. And the merchandise tie-in for the attraction is huge.”
- “The film will be in 3-D and you will be wearing those glasses like in EO. I’ve heard from those who were in the tests that guests will love the attraction even more, but if you got a little queasy on the old Star Tours, you will be blowing chunks with 2.0.”
- “There will be a cast member exclusive pin for Star Tours. It will have a tiny piece of material from the old costumes—which means the material will be either orange or blue—in a clear bubble. Just like those ‘piece of Disneyland history’ pins. I thought this was a joke, but was told it wasn’t.”
- In addition, operators will be suited up in a redesigned Star Tours costume, which no one sounds particularly pleased with:
“It is one of the worst ever designed by our costuming department. The shirt is dark blue with orange trim, gray epaulets, black sleeves with a red stripe. The pants are gray with a red stripe down the side.”
“It looks like a Jawa threw up on it.”
“The budget must have been cut, because the costumes look like they were made from scraps of leftover material.”
