UPDATE: Policy Change for Stroller & ECV Delivery at Disney World Hotels
Walt Disney World is again changing its resort delivery policies, this time restricting drop-off of third party strollers, wheelchairs, and ECVs at hotel Bell Services. In this post, we’ll take a look at what’s impacted and what is not–at least for now–along with the likely motivations for these new restrictions.
September 30, 2019 UPDATE: What had previously been reported by stroller and ECV rental companies as an outright “ban” on drop-offs and pick-ups at Walt Disney World resort Bell Services is now something very different. It’s an exclusivity deal with ScooterBug, the company that already provides all such devices at Walt Disney World’s theme parks and Disney Springs.
This new exclusivity deal begins October 1, 2019, and only impacts bookings made with existing, authorized third party mobility device services made after that date. This means that, theoretically, you could make a reservation today for a Walt Disney World trip in March 2020 with your preferred vendor, and they’d still be able to drop off your stroller, ECV, wheelchair, etc. Ultimately, it’s not nearly as cataclysmic restriction or change as previously reported or feared…
This new restriction focuses on ‘mobility’ rentals, and is a good news, bad news scenario. First, the bad news is that as of October 1, 2019, Walt Disney World will no longer allow third-party vendors for strollers and mobility aids to be dropped off at Bell Services prior to guests arrival at the hotel, nor can they be left with Bell Services by guests for vendor pick-up at the end of a trip.
The good news is that third party scooter and stroller rentals are still allowed from vendors that previously did the drop-offs and pick-ups. For reservations made after October 1, 2019, the only difference is that you’ll need to be present in person for the drop-off and pick-up of these devices. This will cut into vacation time, but it’s the same type of workaround that some guests have been utilizing with grocery delivery to avoid paying the handling fees.
The other bit of good news is that, per Garden Grocer, this does not apply to grocery delivery. Garden Grocer “managers have spoken to several different WDW resort bell services managers and employees and we have been assured that this new policy only affects mobility vendors (scooters, strollers, etc.) and that grocery orders will still be allowed to be left at bell services.”
Same goes for Owner’s Locker and other vendors that are not in the ‘mobility device’ business. Since this new exclusivity deal with ScooterBug only pertains to strollers, ECVs, wheelchairs, and that sort of thing, unrelated vendors are unaffected. At least, for now. As we’ve seen, Walt Disney World has recently made several policy changes in this area.
This isn’t the first change of the year concerning deliveries at Bell Services. As we relayed in our Tips for Grocery Delivery at Walt Disney World post, a $6 per item handling fee was implemented in April for each package that is received through the front desk or delivered to your room at all Walt Disney World resorts. Previously, this fee only applied to resorts with convention centers.
As huge advocates (and users) of grocery delivery, this is a relief to us…for the time being. We do worry that Walt Disney World will want to clamp down this more, and a similar exclusivity deal there wouldn’t be surprising. But for now, that is not the case.
Even with the latest update about Scooterbug, this is still a developing story and we’d caution against jumping to dramatic conclusions or worrying about the worst.
As of right now, the details of this story are still coming from third parties. Namely, the vendors that deliver mobility (and other) devices. We won’t know the full details until Walt Disney World publishes the official text of the new policy. (We’ll keep you posted on any new developments on this front!)
It’s been a tough year for third party vendors and guests who utilize these items. To us, it’s not all that surprising that Walt Disney World is implementing more onerous rules with regard to third party vendors. There are a couple of obvious reasons for this, with the first being the burden all of these deliveries pose for Bell Services.
With the proliferation of third party vendors and resources about them, these have become increasingly popular. There are now countless stroller, ECV, grocery, etc. services, and we see their trucks doing drop-offs at Walt Disney World resorts all the time.
Purely anecdotal, but I seldom recall seeing these vehicles a decade ago. It’s likely that the time Bell Services spends dealing with all of this has increased exponentially in recent years. Parking and moving all of these mobility devices and refrigerating all of that beer requires time Cast Members could be spending on other tasks.
Second, and perhaps more importantly, these companies are direct or indirect competitors of Disney (or in this case now that we have more details, Disney’s exclusive third party vendor, ScooterBug). Albeit at much higher prices, Walt Disney World also rents such devices. It should go without saying, but Disney also sells food (thought we’d let you know just in case you missed the hundreds of restaurants pretty much everywhere).
In large part, Walt Disney World guests are a captive audience, and their options for these things are either via third party delivery or directly from Disney. Creating barriers between vendors and guests nudges guests towards Walt Disney World’s own, more convenient options–be that stroller rentals or even dining out instead of preparing breakfast in their hotel rooms.
This is the kind of change that could impact vacation plans for many guests, resulting in new costs either in terms of time or money. It’s unlikely to prompt the type of outrage as occurred in response to last year’s snack price increases or hotel parking fees, but it will nonetheless result in guest behavior shifts. It remains to be seen what the actual, long-term outcome of this new policy is for Walt Disney World guests. We’ll keep you posted!
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
Your Thoughts
What do you think of this rule change? Does this make you more likely to rent directly from Disney, or just waste valuable vacation time dealing with this new policy? Do you think grocery delivery will be next to go? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
The comments here blew up far more than expected, and while I don’t have the time or inclination to respond to each one, a few things are worth pointing out:
1) It’s not a complete ban. As much should be apparent with a full reading *of the post title* let alone the post itself. If people can’t be bothered to read that much before commenting, I’m not sure follow-up is going to have the desired effect.
2) I can understand some of the comments in favor of this, but one thing to keep in mind here is the per night cost of Disney hotels and the simple reality that some services *should* be expected in that–even if you’ll never use them. Given the prices at Deluxes, WDW is already falling well short of its real-world luxury counterparts in terms of service.
Moreover, excusing cost cutting measures because they don’t matter to you is a slippery slope. Look at the race to the bottom currently occurring with the airline industry. While you may not object to any single change there, is anyone going to argue the overall condition of domestic air travel is as good as it was a decade ago?
If Disney doesn’t have the Bell Services staff to handle these deliveries, there’s a pretty simple solution: hire more staff. And don’t think that just because they eliminate this it’s going to free up staff to do other tasks–it might very well serve as justification to cut staffing.
i think this is really sad that Disney has become a money hungry company so much so that they have to make it more inconvenient to people with disabilities to suffer this nasty addition to their lineup of money making plans. Rather than saying how much time it takes to have staff do this or that, how about making an effort to hire extra people to do these tasks and create a few more jobs. The premium price you pay to stay at Disney World should allow some conveniences and no charges to things like parking at the resorts, or assisting those with special needs. You pay 3 or 4 times the amount to rent a scooter or stroller directly from Disney than you do with 3rd party vendors and the vendors deliver to the hotel. When you rent from Disney you rent right at the theme park…. well how do you get to the theme park if you are disabled or you are trying to manage a few children before you get to the park. Same thing on the return…how do you plan for disabled folks to get back to their resorts without the use of a wheelchair or scooter when you have to leave it at the park where you rented it? Disney should be ashamed of themselves. I know this never would be the case if Walt was still in charge.
As a parent of a special needs child, there aren’t any Disney World equivalents to what we tend from Kingdom Strollers. Wheel chairs aren’t an option. This is frustrating. And let’s be honest, WDW can’t handle the volume of ECVs in use.
I will be traveling to Disney next year with two young children. We planned on renting a double stroller from an outside party. The problem would be with the Disney strollers, what if you go to two parks in one day? You have to leave your stroller at one park and then pick up a stroller at the park you go to next. The Disney strollers cannot be taken from one park to the other. Using an outside vendor the stroller folds up easy and is allowed on the transportation ways. Also, it’s a distance to walk from your hotel to transportation. Leaving a park at night with two tired children, and adults, I like the use of a stroller. How will Disney solve this problem if I have to rent a stroller from them? Will I have to pay for a stroller at each Park that I go to in one day?
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/stroller-rentals/
Stroller Return and Replacement
Strollers should be returned to a rental location before leaving the theme park.
Stroller Replacement
Strollers cannot be removed from the parks. When visiting more than one park in a single day, simply present your rental receipt at another park to obtain a replacement.
Likewise, if you misplace your stroller, replacements are available with a receipt at various locations throughout the Resort, based on availability.
Garden Grocer made a statement on their Facebook page. In the statement they say they aren’t affected and that Disney has partnered with a third party to be the exclusive source for ECV rentals. So all this could be just an overreaction to something not unexpected for Disney to do.
I sure hope this is the case. That being said, Disney’s PR department should be more savvy than to not issue some sort of statement if they don’t want an overreaction to this. Of course the 3td party vendors are going to announce it if they don’t If they have a and exclusive source that will deliver to the hotels, then I find that acceptable.
I agree completely. Disney’s PR really screwed up this announcement. They should have announced the ban and the Company that they will be exclusive with in tandem and this whole mess would have been completely avoided. Although, I’ve only seen fan sites report on this so far and nothing changed on Disney’s website. So maybe the insiders released this before Disney was even planning to because they had a story that would get readers? (Not pointing the finger at Tom at all, I saw this pop up on another Disney site first last night, so I’d blame that one first! )
Although I respect their prerogative to make changes as they want, this is a kick in the gut. I have 2 family members that are non-ambulatory, one is a double-leg amputee, and this change impacts us actually wanting to return.
From the plane to Magical Express isn’t a problem as we have the needed aid in the airport. Then from Magical Express to picking up their ECV’s is a challenge, but manageable. Now, it becomes nearly impossible to accommodate them unless the resort itself can provide wheelchairs while we wait for a delivery.
Unfortunately, we are probably in the minority, so this will be, once again, a way for Disney to help their pocket and not their guests.
You are spot on! I hope disney reads your comment.
I completely agree. My daughter uses a wheelchair, but is partially mobile with crutches. Since the airport will provide a wheelchair for her to get on the plane, we were just going to take her crutches, and have the EVC waiting when we get there. I am extremely disappointed in Disney, and to not give any notice is inconsiderate and rude. Even if they made the rule 6 months before, so it doesn’t start until April, at least people could plan. Now, since we are going Nov. 7, I have to rearrange everything. It makes me think they don’t really care about people with disabilities.
We rented a stroller from a third party company two years ago and had to meet the delivery person for drop off and pick up. It went very smoothly and didn’t really take much time out of our vacation. They never even mentioned the possibility of dropping it with bell services. So this rule change isn’t a big deal to me. So far, we haven’t used grocery delivery because we’ve always had a vehicle and just stopped at the store ourselves before checking in, but I could see this being a bigger deal if/when we decide to fly if it turns out that grocery service is included in the rule change.
I am not happy about this change in policy. I just got back from WDW I used Buena Vista Scooter rental and no problem picking up and returning to Bell Services I do t see the need for a change
I can see why they would do this. Every scooter dropped off/picked up represents a cost to them. WDW pays a staff for bell services, and if they are now handling all of the third party deliveries, regardless of what that is, that is a labor cost to them.
They added a fee for grocery delivery, I do not see why they couldn’t add a fee for holding an ECV or wheelchair. I would be willing to pay it.
Why shouldn’t guests be able to expect services like this when they’re paying $500+ a night to stay at a deluxe resort??? Nitpicking labor costs like this just adds pure profit to Disney’s bottom line while slowly eroding the guest experience.
In the past ten years, i have always had to meet the vendor at a specified time to pick-up and drop-off my daughter’s ECV. They were usually very prompt. If your vendor is always late, find another vendor. There are many of them in the area. I have only seen Buena Vista scooters at the bell stations for pick-up. They are much more expensive than other scooter rentals so I have never used them. I have had luck with Apple Scooter and Mobility Scooter for price and arriving on time for delivery or pick-up as scheduled. They were also very prompt when we had an ECV malfunction and they had to deliver a new battery or even a new ECV.
None of the previously ‘preferred’ vendors had power chairs, so we always had to meet the vendor on arrival and before departure. I wonder if the will be cutting bell service staff next in their belt tightening strategy; dealing with all these outside vendors and the amount of space they take up required extra staff.
i wouldn’t necessarily expect those cuts, but if they continued accepting all of these deliveries then maybe that would have to be on the table. i completely agree physical space and staffing are part of this decision.
Whatever. Makes more sense than charging people to park their car at a resort where they are already paying huge amounts of money to stay (AND there are huge parking lots where all the cars fit!) while those on planes pay ZERO to take magical express to the hotel. At least banning the delivery of strollers makes sense as it actually takes away from Disney’s bottom line when someone has a stroller delivered instead of renting a Disney stroller (which by the way is MUCH easier and worth the money…better than hogging space and the hassle of taking a stroller on the Disney bus-and are strollers even allowed on the gondolas? I hope not).
Charging for parking. We weren’t costing you anything. You just wanted to take more money from us. Disgusting deal breaker.
We have a baby – Disney does not provide any strollers suitable. Furthermore we need a stroller to get to the bus stops, monorail platforms etc. It is not as simple as “just get a Disney one!”
Make time and plan ahead. If you need a specific stroller bring it with you. Same for scooters bring them with you or make time to go and pick up rentals. Bell services should not be accepting any deliveries. If you need groceries take Uber. Very simple people should take care of there own needs before starting there vacation.
Of course strollers will be allowed on skyliners, just like power scooters. What would you prefer we do with them? Yes you can rent from Disney, they are not as good a quality and you can’t take them out of the park. After an exhaustingly long day at the park I don’t want to carry a toddler the trek back to our resort or even to transportation. I won’t mind too much meeting the vendor for pick up.
I don’t mind
I agree, the parking lots are huge, so charging for parking is all about money.
This is an acceptable option as long as Disney starts ECV rentals available from the resorts and also allowable for a continuous period e.g. 7 day rental. Currently for those people that cannot walk then EVC rental and return at the park entrance only is not an option. My Mother wouldn’t even be able to make it to the entrance from the bus stop. Most of us are only at Disney for a short time and have flown from varying destinations, we are excited to have arrived in Disney World and having to wait for an ECV delivery takes away some of the magic.
Linda I totally agree. I need a scooter to & from the parks. I think this is a slap in the face to the handicap that wants to have their scooter waiting for us. I will pay for the service to have them accept it & for when I get there.
I agree. I would pay. The Disney scooter is hard to use. Easier to use a 3rd party scooter.
I have rented a scooter many times over the years from a few different companies and I only remember maybe twice doing the drop off and pick up through bell services. Just this past August when I had a scooter delivered I was told to call the company when we were ten minutes away from the hotel and they would meet us there. I chose to wait until we arrived and then called them. They were there with my scooter ten minutes later. I met them outside and they handed me the key. They will show you how to use the scooter if needed and even how to break it down if you plan to put it in your vehicle, which is something that bell services isn’t equipped to do. When it was time to go home, I called the scooter company and they met me in the lobby ten minutes later to pick it up. Never a problem.
Which scooter company was this? They seem very accommodating.
This is disappointing news. The Disney ecv’s and strollers are far less maneuverable than the 3rd party options. Cost aside, (though it is a significant difference), most people who need these items need them from arrival to check out, especially at larger resorts, like CBR., POR, etc. I hate that many of these recent changes force me to cross out a lot of the “pros” in my “staying on property pros and cons list.” The more amenities they remove, the harder it is to justify the cost.
During our visit in May, we experienced a few incidents where Disney dropped the ball. First they misplaced our Amazon packages, insisting they never received them. Amazon gave us the names of the cast members who took receipt, allowing bell services to finally locate them. Took two hours out of our day. There were apologies all around, service charges were removed and we were given a $25 credit.
The next incident (same trip) was when I hurt my foot at the pool, requiring a wheelchair. We were told to order the wheelchair and present the bill at the front desk for a full credit. Delivery was set for 2:00 PM. I waited the entire day. The problem wasn’t with the wheelchair company, it was with Disney bell services again. The wheelchair was there the entire time. We were given another credit.
Then, (same trip) we had problems with our Magicbands. We were back and forth to the front desk numerous times before the problem was resolved. This time we were given an even larger credit, along with some fast passes.
Even when you are there to accept delivery, losing part of an expensive vacation day, Disney can still botch things up. They should just leave well enough alone and keep the policy of accepting delivery of wheelchairs and strollers.
Disney will continue to raise prices, that’s a given, but I see them offering less amenities in the future. Before you know it, we’ll be cleaning our own hotel rooms, washing the windows and cooking our food, thereby saving Disney a ton of money. And isn’t that really their goal?
Why doesn’t Disney just select one third party vendor and allow that vendor to have the rights to supply strollers to Disney resorts ? Disney can take a small profit from the vendor and still supply the needed benefit to vacationers.
On our last visit to WDW, I brought one scooter that I bought used on eBay and the battery was not in the Best shape. I called one of the local rental companies and they sold me a new battery also larger baskets for the scooter. And after me walking and my wife riding our scooter I had then rent a scooter for me. All of this was delivered to the resort at a schedule time to up. I was told by the company that if was planning on coming to WDW often I could Buy a scooter from them and they would store it for me and drop the scooters off at my convenients in the future.
As for buying our own and traveling with it, we drive 23 hours to get there. Even with a mini van we have 7 people and no room for 2 wheelchairs. We tried takin a wheelchair ona previous trip, before we needed 2. Guess what. Even with one wheelchair we ended up leaving the wheelchair in Florida just to have room on the way home. As for setting up meeting times at the resort, with traffic and travel there is no way to estimate when we will get there. So are you saying call when we get there and sit around the resort for hours? Are disabled people’s vacation time not as valuable as able-bodied people?
One of the reasons we selected Disney to vacation at was because they made it very easy for one with a physical disability to enjoy the parks and resorts. While my late husband was alive, he had to use a mobility scooter to get around. Has anyone ever wondered what it would be like as an amputee? And, if one were an amputee having lost a right limb, what it would be like to have to drive to get a mobility scooter? Did anyone stop to wonder what it would be like having a chronic medical condition and heart issues to lift/build a mobility scooter? I am stunned by the article written. The cost to rent a mobility scooter at the park is astronomical! And, it can’t be taken out of the park. I would give anything to have my husband back and would do whatever I had to do to insure he could enjoy Disney. I hope the powers to be revisit this issue.
The ability to use these third party vendors was infinitely convenient for families. First, not having to carry on or check a stroller is one less, rather large, bag that you have deal with. Second, the use of third party vendors for strollers reduced wear and tear on your own stroller. Third, the ability to pick the stroller up when you arrived and not have to coordinate meeting times when you arrive and just want to get to the parks was excellent. Disney World’s strollers are horrific so I cannot imagine they can meet the demand.
I didn’t expect this “ban” to be such a hot button issue with so many people. Is it not possible to ask your third-party vendor who is supplying you of an estimated delivery time? Although this does depend on whether or not the third-party delivers outside of “normal” work hours. Especially with this new rule, I can’t imagine they would tell people they don’t know, since it would most likely hurt their business. It’s obviously become such an issue for Disney that they would need to implement a rule that says a person will need to do face-to-face delivery of third-party rentals. I feel like Disney doesn’t want to be in a liability situation, either, if something were to happen to the rented item (if someone is going to sue Disney for a wild bird hitting them in the head while outdoors, I can only imagine what would happen in this type of situation). While I haven’t seen first hand how many rented strollers or ECVs can be sitting at the bell hop desk, space is probably an issue, not to mention having to do their main duties on top of keeping track of rentals.
Maybe this means Disney will allow property-wide ECV/stroller rentals in the near future? Hopefully this isn’t as bad a situation as a lot of people are making it out to be, and it all gets worked out in the end.
100% agree with everything you said, i’ve been trying to point all of this out and people are jumping down my throat. people are taking it as some kind of personal attack. and i’ve seen in multiple places people wanting to sue for violation of ADA. that isn’t what this is at all. they aren’t banning anything. if they were, then sue away. they are just not signing on your behalf anymore, but people are taking everything so personally. i get it, some people have mobility issues, but the system will adjust. and if there is an additional cost, think about this- it’s disney, cost increases are inevitable. would you rather disney upcharge you to sign on your behalf, or the third party company raise their price to deliver? i’m guessing with the third party company peopel still come out way ahead.