Court sides with Disney on Segway ban

I think they made the right call on this one. How can I 'vote up' the California appeals court?

I totally agree with you. However, this does imply that perhaps the reason they canned the Segway tours at Epcot was this lawsuit. That sucks. That tour was fantastic, especially if you did it early without a guest soul in the park.

^ A "guest soul" sounds like something you'd find at the Haunted Mansion. :)

I wonder if this will ripple through other parks as well. Segway Man at Cedar Point wouldn't be happy about it.

I think the park is wrong in letting him use it in the first place.

Warning: NSFW for language...

mc chris - on his Segway....you HAVE been warned.

Rollin'.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=512B_tQjqN0

I agree Jeff. I was just curious.

On a side note, the only other park I have seen Segways is at Holiday World. I believe I saw security officers using them.

This shouldn't have even gone to court. If Disney wants to ban segways, they shouldn't have to get permission from a judge to do it.

^ It think the reason this ended up in court was due to the person filing under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Otherwise, yes it would have simply been a park policy matter.

Ignoring the safety debate with the Segways, (have you ever been run over by a motorized wheelchair? Those hurt too!) I disagree that scooters and wheelchairs are a suitable alternative. The ability to look at your fellow human beings at eye level is a major selling point for the disabled who choose Segways over wheelchairs. I guess it's hard for an average person to imagine spending a day "beneath" everyone else, but I'm sure it's not easy.

Additionally, there are many disabilities out there where a person can stand just fine, but walking is difficult, and transitioning from sitting to standing is a nearly impossible task. For those people, a seated alternative like a chair or scooter is absolutely not an acceptable alternative.

Massive robot suits would be preferable to wheelchairs as well, but if they were similarly disruptive or dangerous at the park, there's no reason they should be used either. I'm not saying disability is a breeze, but the parks and courts here are tasked with a difficult balancing act, and they did as well as one could expect.

According to the last paragraph of the article, Disney is working on a 4 wheel electric standup vehicle. That would address the "looking people in the eye" issue without the safety issues of Segways.

If you have mobility issues, how does a Segway help that? There's a reason they're not prescribed as medical devices. Have you have ever been on one? Your legs get very tired after awhile. It's a lot like standing without moving for an extended period of time. I can walk for hours, but standing on a Segway for even two hours gets really uncomfortable.

Break Trims said:

Massive robot suits would be preferable to wheelchairs as well...

Yeah, but if you want any kind of selection you have to visit a Big and Metallic shop.

GoBucks89 said:

According to the last paragraph of the article, Disney is working on a 4 wheel electric standup vehicle. That would address the "looking people in the eye" issue without the safety issues of Segways.

They are, I've seen a few of them myself, though I don't believe they're available to guests yet. It is basically their standard ECV body with a bicycle seat on a very long pole where the regular seat would be and a very long handle that looked a little flexible.

Very glad to hear the court took this stance.

Jeff said:

If you have mobility issues, how does a Segway help that?

I went to high school with a guy, and I don't know what the name of his condition was, but he had some sort of muscular issue with his legs. He could stand for hours on end, but walking was tough and often put him at risk of falling over. Moving from a seated position to standing was a feat that took him a couple of minutes and a fair amount of exertion to do.

I was with him at a robotics competition once when he met the inventor of the Segway (it was brand new at the time) and he couldn't get over the possible life-changing implications such a device could have for him and others with his condition. People like him are exactly who I keep going back to in my mind as when I say it's genuinely insulting to suggest a seated alternative is an appropriate alternative.

People like him are a fraction of a fraction of people with mobility issues. Has a Segway ever been prescribed as a medical device? Is it covered by insurance?

Hypothetically, if parks (or any other business) were forced to allow them, I'd want to know the people had proper training in how to drive them. Perhaps some type of certification or license. I'd go so far as to say, anyone driving one should have to carry some type of liability insurance.

I still think people need training and a license to drive those motorized scooters around. I can't count the number of times I have nearly been run over in walmart.