Early at the Magic Kingdom entrance, it's another day of fun about to begin as "Yo Ho, Yo Ho, A Pirate's Life For Me!" blasts on the speakers and the first electric scooters are lined up to go.
But by the time the park officially opens at 9 a.m., half of the scooters available for the day are already rented to anyone at least 18 willing to pay $50 a day. Other park-goers roll in through the turnstiles on motorized scooters they've rented outside the parks or own themselves.
"Will the scooters run out?" asks a woman who looks worried. They are usually gone by 11 a.m., a Disney employee tells her with an apologetic smile.
Scooters are as visible at Disney parks as Mickey Mouse ears and turkey legs, and they provide a lifeline for people, some with hidden disabilities, who can't walk the massive grounds. But amid rapidly growing Disney crowds, the vehicles have brought on a rise of civil lawsuits filed by people complaining about being run over or drivers saying they were injured in accidents.
Disney recently banned oversized strollers, but when it comes to scooters, the theme park is limited how it can regulate them because of federal law governing rights for people with disabilities.
Scooters receive the same protections under the law as wheelchairs, said Kenneth Shiotani, a senior staff attorney at the National Disability Rights Network. That means Disney _ or any other business _ can't ban them outright, although theme parks could potentially add rules like a speed limit or forbid them on a particularly narrow path, if there's real, documented danger, Shiotani said.
He added any such rule would likely require the U.S. Department of Justice's approval.
"People need to realize 'disability' is broadly defined," Shiotani said, adding that anyone who can walk only a few steps or even a few blocks is protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
"People are using (scooters) because they need them," he said about the parks, like Epcot, which is big enough to host a 5K around it.
Disney rents them, and outside companies cater to tourists by dropping rentable ones at their hotels. The devices, which have three and four wheels, typically travel a few miles per hour.
"We expect guests to operate (scooters) with safety and courtesy in mind by being responsible and respectful of other guests while enjoying our parks," said Disney spokeswoman Erica Ettori.
The scooters' popularity comes as baby boomers _ Americans born between 1946 and 1964 _ are aging fast and enduring health problems that can come with being older. By 2029, more than 20 percent of the total U.S. population will be over the age of 65, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
It's a generation that has "been raised going to the Disney theme parks. They're not going to give it up," said theme park blogger and historian Jim Hill. "They are the ones who are renting these things because they don't want to slow down."
