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Tour Report
Around the World at Epcot on a Segway! |
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I had a little trouble getting through the lines at the rope drop -- had to push my way through the crowd and not all the Cast Members knew about the tour because two other people had trouble getting in as well. Once inside Guest Relations you sign a waiver and are escorted over to the training room. A little video plays and there are table and chairs. I missed the video, so I am not sure what it was about. Everyone is given a helmet. There were
two instructors - Peg and Wil (?) - John Eric who is a manager over at
Innoventions was with us as well. The class begins with an explanation
of what a Segway is, how it works, and how to operate it. Then you put on your helmets and go over to the Segways, drag them away from the wall, and turn them on and put them into balance mode. Then the instructors individually help everyone to get on, no easy task at first, since you want to lean into your step up, and doing so makes the Segway go forward. It just takes a little patience. You practice going forward and back, and then you learn to turn. Segways are able to pivot completely, you simply turn the left handle in the direction of your turn, and the Segway turns on a dime. We practiced weaving in and out of cones. We practiced using power assist to pull the Segway over the back a ramp that you could not ride over. We practiced going up and down a ramp. There was a short break during which you could take pictures in the training room. After the break, we got on the Segways, went up the ramp out of the training area and out into the World Showcase. Since WS doesn't open until 11 it was fairly empty. We started in Mexico and basically followed the instructors over different pavements, bridges, through a garden and weaved through columns. We stopped to take a break by American Adventure, and had the opportunity for more pictures. We also took a few moments for a group photo. Then it was back on the Segways to finish the World Showcase and back to the training room.
All that said, after taking the tour, I can understand why Disney would ban these in the parks -- they are fairly large, have the potential for great speed, and I could easily see people trying to zip around and through crowds and how someone might get hurt. It was a good thing that World Showcase was closed, 13 people (10 + 3 instructors) spread out all across the WS pathway took up a lot of room. I couldn't imagine having them all over. Not all places are wheelchair accessible -- in these places you would have to get off your Segway, put it into power assist and help lift it over the obstacle, like a curb. At 80 pounds, I don't want to have to do that too often. There is also the issue of storing them while on the rides, I don't know that I would want to leave my $5,000 Segway out in front of Small World or Winnie the Pooh, or anywhere else without a place to lean it against. While they do require an individual and encrypted key to turn on, a person interested in stealing it might not know that. I would also be worried about the teenager who thinks it's cool and tries to get on it and falls. Even if I owned my own Segway, at 80 pounds I would not want to have to get it in and out of the car/bus everywhere. I know that some people firmly believe that the Segway is the answer to greater mobility, and this may be for a minority of guests at Disney who currently use wheelchairs. However, I personally can't see it being helpful to the majority, since it still requires you to be fairly strong and active, standing for long periods, and the right/left turn handle is tight enough that a person with arthritis would have a difficult time. All in all,
I liked the tour and think it was well worth the money for the opportunity
to try out a Segway. |
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I
took the Segway tour on Sunday and thought I would share this with you.
They
go over the different modes of the Segway -- the first is power assist,
the second is balance mode. They go over potential problems and the alerts
the Segway has.
The
Disney version of the Segway is set to go a maximum of 5 mph. Normally
the max is 12 mph. The maximum rider weight is 250 pounds. They weigh
about 80 pounds and if you are not in power assist mode they are fairly
difficult to maneuver. They move very smoothly when ridden and are fairly
comfortable and easy to use. They require you to pay attention to your
balance and posture which is interesting, it is sort of like biofeedback
-- if you relax and slouch back, you will slow or stop. It was easy to
get tired after a while, since you aren't walking and stretching. It's
a bit like standing in line for an hour (but more fun).