Cruise Line Bus with wheelchairs

[mortman05]

Are the Cruise Line buses equiped like the Magical Express and normal Disney buses for transporting wheelchairs? We are cruising in December with two electrical wheelchairs.
How do they handle the scheduling of the buses and embarkation and disembarking the ships with the chairs?
Do they assign specific times like the Magical Express and are prepared to deal with chairs?
It is our first cruise and we are a little concerned with transportation. We are very experienced Disney World travelers, but this is new to us.
Thanks for any and all tips for our upcoming cruise!

 

[peemagg]

When we cruised in March the one bus that we were on was wheelchair accessible. The other one was probably too, but I didn't pay much attention. You might want to check with the cruise line. They will be able to tell you or make arrangements for one for you.

 

[Andrew Bichard]

Are the Cruise Line buses equiped like the Magical Express and normal Disney buses for transporting wheelchairs?

The Cruise Line buses are essentially Magical Express buses with a different paint job and they are both run by the same company (Mears) under contract to Disney.

My reccolection are that the regular seats towards the rear can be folded to make space for wheelchairs or scooters. I have never ridden along with a second electric wheelchair on board, by from memory, I recall they could have managed a second chair.

I am certain that if they know in advance Disney/Mears will make appropriate arrangements.

Andrew

 

[SueM in MN]

The Cruise Line buses are essentially Magical Express buses with a different paint job and they are both run by the same company (Mears) under contract to Disney.

My reccolection are that the regular seats towards the rear can be folded to make space for wheelchairs or scooters. I have never ridden along with a second electric wheelchair on board, by from memory, I recall they could have managed a second chair.

I am certain that if they know in advance Disney/Mears will make appropriate arrangements.

Andrew

The cruise transport buses are the same as the DME; just a different paint job.
This is a picture of the bus lift on the DME bus in the fully 'up' position.

The rear seats are pushed toward the front of the bus to make a space for the wheelchair to be tied down. I have never seen a DME bus with another wheelchair in besides DD's, but I have noticed there are tiedown spots for 2 wheelchairs.

The WDW buses that go between the resorts and the parks have space for 2 wheelchairs - some have spaces for 3. Here is a picture of DD's wheelchair tied down to a WDW transportation bus.

 

[dclfun]

We've used the DCL transportation many times and yes, they do accommodate two power wheelchairs easily. As the motorcoaches are not all equipped with lifts, you do need to note that you'll need the lift for BOTH guests when you make your ground transportation reservations. Are you flying in or departing from a WDW resort? If you are flying be sure to note your flight information as they monitor flights and as such, will know when your flight has landed so they can pull the accessible motorcoach into place for you. Believe it or not, DCL had the motorcoaches first and were the model for Disney's Magical Express which came later. Enjoy your cruise!---Kathy

 

[SueM in MN]

We've used the DCL transportation many times and yes, they do accommodate two power wheelchairs easily. As the motorcoaches are not all equipped with lifts, you do need to note that you'll need the lift for BOTH guests when you make your ground transportation reservations. Are you flying in or departing from a WDW resort? If you are flying be sure to note your flight information as they monitor flights and as such, will know when your flight has landed so they can pull the accessible motorcoach into place for you. Believe it or not, DCL had the motorcoaches first and were the model for Disney's Magical Express which came later. Enjoy your cruise!---Kathy

That is the part I forgot to mention.
It’s not as important when leaving the airport to get to a resort; without pre-arranging it, you may have to wait a little longer. That’s not a problem when going to your resort.

It’s vital to have the need for a lift noted for the bus to get to the cruise and also to get back to the airport. If they don’t send a bus that accommodates the wheelchairs, you risk not making your flight/boat.

 

[Disneywedding2010]

Thank you for the information about the wheelchairs and the ME buses. We will be flying from Dallas to Orlando for Christmas and I will be in my wheelchair. When I booked my ME online a few months back I checked that I will need a bus with a wheelchair lift.

 

[Andrew Bichard]

It’s vital to have the need for a lift noted for the bus to get to the cruise and also to get back to the airport. If they don’t send a bus that accommodates the wheelchairs, you risk not making your flight/boat.

And if they still send a bus without a lift, despite having your need noted and double checking the day before you go back to airport , tell the front desk and they will call a wheelchair accessible taxi (two wheelchair taxis?) 'toute de suite'. You will probably get to the airport before the bus. (at least I did)

Andrew