Disney uses Segways, but you can’t

Image: Disney

The Segway briefly took the world by storm when inventor Dean Kamen introduced it in 2001. Disney wishes that he’d built something else instead. The Segway and their reaction to it have cost them a lot of money and negative news cycles over the years. They have no one but themselves to blame, either.

Over the years, The Walt Disney Company has offered mixed signals about their opinion of the Segway. They clearly admire the technology. Why else would they offer Segway Tours of Disney facilities? Even today, they still offer the Wilderness Back Trail Adventure, a two-hour tour at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort. For a time, they also provided a Segway Tour in one of their most popular theme parks, Epcot.

That’s despite the fact that they only recently ended a protracted lawsuit involving the usage of Segways at Disney. Amazingly, they were defending their position of not allowing these electric vehicles. How did Disney get in such an awkward position? They examined the new ride right after it was announced. After investigating all the potential safety concerns, one number stuck with them.

A Segway can travel over 12 miles per hour, which isn’t a lot, but it’s still enough to qualify as dangerous in the right conditions. Imagineers feared the potential of multiple Segways bumping into one another, causing a pile-up in the middle of the park. They also worried about innocent bystanders getting run over by Segways, which may seem unlikely to some. If so, watch this video of Usain Bolt getting knocked down after winning the 200-meter sprint. No competitor could stop the champion runner yet a Segway completely wipes him out. Imagine how an elderly person or child would handle such a collision.

The problem Disney has faced involves the disabled, generally one of the best treated customer bases for the company. After the company banned Segways, guests vented their frustration over the decision. From their perspective, a Segway was a different form of a wheelchair, and Disney could never ban those.

Starting in 2004, lawsuits sprang up across the country. The matter took almost a decade to litigate. You can read one of the first instances here. Eventually, the Supreme Court had to chime in on the subject. They finally ruled in Disney’s favor in 2013.  You can read the details here. That makes the Segway historical in a sense. It’s the only thing banned at Disney that required Supreme Court confirmation to codify. Then again, it’s also the only thing banned at Disney that Disney still sells as a tour.

Don’t have a cow, man

Image: Disney

No matter how much you love your skateboard or roller skates, you can’t bring them with you to the park. It’s the same concern as the Segway. Even Tony Hawk isn’t allowed to bring a skateboard, because Disney fears that you might trip and fall into someone. Given the massive crowds pervasive across their theme parks, it’s an understandable concern. Skateboards can go upwards of 80 miles per hour in the right circumstances. Even a fraction of that surpasses Segways, and a fast roller skater does as well. So, Disney has to hold the same standards across transportation devices, no matter how innocuous. You can’t even wear Heelys, those shoes with wheels.