Disneyland.. bringing ECV.. parking help (or UBER)

[muffyn]

(*asked in Disneyland thread about UBER, but thought this group might have more insight on the ECV)

trying to decide to drive & park our RV with 2 ECV's in one of the parking areas at Disneyland, or to try to get an UBER from a rental ( that is within 2 miles).

how do you navigate the parking lots? which one do you suggest? how difficult is it to get an ECV on the Bus at toy story lot? (& how long would you have to wait until there is space on a bus?) what about a tram from Mickey lot? ( i don't think they take them, right?) then how far to travel into the parks?

we are also thinking of trying an UBER, anyone have experience with this & an ECV? how difficult is it to get one in morning & closing?

any other helpful suggestions?

 

[Mrsjvb]

I would highly discourage Uber. especially with 2 ECVs. you would need their most expensive category x2. and no guarantees that 2 will be available at the same time. ( plus does DL even permit Uber? )

we always stayed on site and the hotels are close enough to the two parks and downtown that it was never an issue getting from point a to point b on our own. plus I just had a wheelchair, not an ECV

 

[cmwade77]

Here are my thoughts:

• If you take Uber, you will need at least two of the larger vehicles because they would be unable to accomodate to ECVs.
• The Toy Story lost is super easy with ECVs
  • You may need to wait for a second bus if there is already an ECV or Wheelchair in front of you, but since the busses are about 60 seconds apart, at most, it shouldn't be a big deal.
• At Mickey and Friends the wait time can exceed 45 minutes for the Mickey Van and/or Trams and yes both can accomodate ECVs.
• The other question is where are you parking your RV when not in the parks? If close to the Toy Story lot, I say don't pay for parking and ride the ECVs into the Toy Story lot, probably would be faster as you wouldn't have to park and get the ECVs out of the RV each day. Just a thought.

 

[Morningsun70]

Honestly, I personally wouldn't bother loading my ECV on a bus at the toy story lot. I've never parked there, but I've ridden past that lot on my ECV from properties further away on both of my previous trips. I do not personally enjoy the bus loading experience and I feel like I'd be saving less than 5 minutes on the bus vs just taking my ECV down the sidewalks. I did this every day, multiple times a day, in the day or at night and never a problem. My family took the bus and I just met them at our destination.

I've never been in the Mickey & Friends garage so I don't know if there is a safe "walking" path out and through DTD. If there is I would not use a tram or van there either.

 

[cmwade77]

Honestly, I personally wouldn't bother loading my ECV on a bus at the toy story lot. I've never parked there, but I've ridden past that lot on my ECV from properties further away on both of my previous trips. I do not personally enjoy the bus loading experience and I feel like I'd be saving less than 5 minutes on the bus vs just taking my ECV down the sidewalks. I did this every day, multiple times a day, in the day or at night and never a problem. My family took the bus and I just met them at our destination.

I've never been in the Mickey & Friends garage so I don't know if there is a safe "walking" path out and through DTD. If there is I would not use a tram or van there either.

This works for those with extra large battery packs, but I know many that barely have enough power for the day in the park and are pushing it (sometimes literally) back to their car or hotel at the end of the day. Just food for thought on that one.

Really the bus loading and unloading of ECVs at the Toy Story lot isn't bad at all if you need it. Now Mickey and Friends you may indeed be right that it would be easier and faster to simply use the walking path, but if you have people who are not in ECVs with you, the extra walking may be more than they are willing to do.

 

[bluecruiser]

This works for those with extra large battery packs, but I know many that barely have enough power for the day in the park and are pushing it (sometimes literally) back to their car or hotel at the end of the day. Just food for thought on that one.

One option to consider if your battery doesn't last out the day is to take your charger with you and charge your ECV when you have any extended down time like meals and breaks. If you ask CMs you may be able to find outlets close by.

 

[Morningsun70]

I think you make very good points cmwade77. Battery power should definitely be considered! And you made a good point too bluecruiser about charging in the park. I've been fortunate with my rentals. And I also always took a midday hotel break and topped off the battery.

I also agree that loading on the bus isn't a bad experience (I did it twice). The actually process was good and the driver was great. I am overly self conscious and impatient and that's why I didn't like it.

I feel like people don't always realize that just taking the ECV down the sidewalks and skipping the bus is even an option, and that it doesn't take much longer. I really enjoyed my sidewalk time, looking in store windows and seeing what is nearby. And it was convenient for quick stops at CVS or wherever for water and snacks and things.

 

[cmwade77]

One option to consider if your battery doesn't last out the day is to take your charger with you and charge your ECV when you have any extended down time like meals and breaks. If you ask CMs you may be able to find outlets close by.

You can no longer do this, almost all outlets in the parks are now turned off until they are needed for official use. Additionally, security will tell you to unplug from the outlets because they use power that is different from the norm and could damage your equipment.

Officially, ECVs can only be plugged in at the ECV rental station, even First Aid is no longer allowed to let you plug them in.

I saw people asking about charging their ECVs at some outlets on Saturday and this is what they were told and this has been the case for at least the past 6 months or so.

Every once in a great while you will get a CM that will look the other way if there is power to the outlet, but it isn't common anymore.

 

[bluecruiser]

Thanks for posting that @cmwade77, I was not aware of the changes. Based on the difference in power outlets (wonder exactly what's different?), it's not worth the danger of possible equipment damage.

 

[cmwade77]

The power operates at a slightly different frequency and voltage, plus the voyage spikes a but more than typical. Most commercial grade equipment, such as what Disney would be using has the ability to handle this, but a lot of conaumer grade equipment, including many ECVs and cell phones can be damaged by this, particularly the spikes in power. There is some equipment that can handle it, but it would be difficult to impossible for Disney to train every cast member on how to determine if it will be safe or not, so Disney errs on the side of caution and they probably should, I mean you think the Note 7s catching fire were bad, can you imagine if say even 30% of ECVs plugged in at Disneyland caught on fire, people would be all over that.

And we weren' aware of the change either until we were with a friend in an ECV and her battery died in the middle of the park. I have since seen this policy enforced on several other occasions with other people as well. If yo u can get the ECV to the wheelchairnrental station they will allow you to leave it there charging and will usually provide a complimentary wheel chair rental until charged, but they will not do even a discounted ECV rental as the ECV rentals are actually done by an outside company and Disney handles the wheelchair rentals themselves, even thoiugg as far as the public is concerned all are handled by the same CMs.

Ahh, the things we learn the hard way, huh?