A (mostly) smooth Segway around the world

Zipping around Epcot on a personal transporter gives a different perspective on the park. Just remember to lean.

By Robert N. Jenkins, Times Staff Writer
Published June 24, 2007

LAKE BUENA VISTA – I bumped a curb in France, almost fell near Norway. Other than that, I glided around the world at a smooth 6 miles per hour.

Segways are so cool.

My route passed the 11 national pavilions circling the World Showcase lagoon at Walt Disney World's Epcot. Park guests can step aboard a Segway - for $85 - but only as part of a guided tour. "Liabilities, " explained my Segway instructor guides. 

And my near-mishap was an example.

Officially the Segway Human Transporter, the device looks like the front half of a Razor scooter on steroids. It has oversized wheels to the side of a tall center post atop which is the handlebar.

Those big wheels are far enough apart to allow riders to stand on a platform between them. Inside the 130-pound Segway are 10 microprocessors, five gyroscopes and two tilt sensors - a marvelous system that ensures rider and machine stay upright and balanced.

The Segway will travel 20 to 25 miles on a fully charged battery.

In a 20-minute rider's ed course, you learn to go in a straight line shift your weight slightly forward or backward, depending on desired direction and to turn (a slight lean to the side).

I had already been on my Segway for more than an hour, had gotten a bit casual, when I put its gyros and sensors to the test.

I must have been tailgating the guide who was leading our group of 10, single-file, through the morning crowds.

This was our only real test, because all but the last few minutes of the two-hour Segway tour take place in the World Showcase while closed to other parkgoers.

My group needed to traverse Future World, Epcot's front section, to return to the Innoventions building. That meant threading single-file through hundreds of pedestrians, most of whom turned to stare or wave.

But one man left a restroom while studying a map of Epcot, stepping into our path.

Our lead guide stopped abruptly but it was a narrow passage and I couldn't just lean my Segway to one side to avoid the guide.

Instead I stumbled off it, while leaning backward to stop its forward motion. That got one of the wheels off the ground, but because I hadn't let go of the Segway, I stood with one foot on Earth, one foot in the future.

Robert N. Jenkins can be contacted at (727) 893-8496 or bjenkins@sptimes.com.

[Last modified June 24, 2007, 20:00:22]