Seating on Bus

[lovewdwfun]

We will be going to Disney with DS 3.5 who has Down syndrome. He has just learned to walk but cannot walk distances or stand in one place for more than 15 seconds. At the parks, we will use a stroller as a wheelchair for him, but my concern is on the busses. I do not think we will be able to hold him the entire way to a park if we need to stand. Besides the fact that he is very heavy these days, he gets angry when being held standing up and head butts and pinches, injuring us. We are generally used to this and working on it, but it is not something we want to deal with in a crowded bus. Note we will also have a baby with us who must be held by the other parent.

We are staying at a monorail resort, so this is only an issue for AK and HS. Any advice? Obviously, I hope we will get a seat, but should we wait in the disabled area as if it is a scooter or wheelchair? Ask someone for their seat (I feel awkward doing this)? Wait for the next bus (not appealing with four little ones in the evening)

 

[gap2368]

I would wait for the next bus or tell the driver that you have someone with a disability and need to beable to sit I find most people will give up there sets and of the busses are very packed like at the end of the night another one is close by

I have a friend with a child with down syndrom and he is about the same age and just learn to walk he too is heavy and very head strong

 

[HarleenQ]

In your situation I would look into a car rental. It's an added expense but it would guarantee a seat and take the pressure off.

To guarantee a seat, you just have to make sure you're one of the first on or wait for the next bus. The handicap waiting area is for wheelchairs and EVCs so they can be loaded first and tied down.

Everyone is going to be tired and cranky and wanting a seat. People are less than friendly a out giving them up, IMO.

 

[Bete]

I agree with the car rental. Try to do AK and HS in a row then you could get by with a two day car rental just for those parks. Of course, if you do these parks more than 1 day each then you will rent longer. I think your son will be much calmer getting to the parks in the car and you will have a better day.

Even on the monorail you may run into crowds and not get a seat.

 

[SueM in MN]

In your situation I would look into a car rental. It's an added expense but it would guarantee a seat and take the pressure off.

To guarantee a seat, you just have to make sure you're one of the first on or wait for the next bus. The handicap waiting area is for wheelchairs and EVCs so they can be loaded first and tied down.

Everyone is going to be tired and cranky and wanting a seat. People are less than friendly a out giving them up, IMO.

I agree.
The 'stroller as wheelchair' tag is actually just for the Theme Parks, although some bus drivers will allow guests with the tag to use the wheelchair boarding area and be loaded first. Each park (and even many of the bus stops ) are different. Most have guests with mobility devices wait in the line until they get to a 'gate' that leads to the wheelchair boarding area.
Unless you have a special needs stroller that is designed for transport, you will need to fold the stroller and hold it on the bus. Even if you all get seats, holding an infant, a toddler and one or 2 strollers is going to be a challenge.

I agree with the poster I quoted about people being tired, cranky and wanting a seat. You can't count on getting a seat unless you are one of the first groups on the bus. How 'nice' people are about giving up seats really varies.
If it's rainy, cold, late, a long wait between buses or there are lots of people with children, people are less likely to give up seats. In those conditions, we've sometimes heard comments about the space DD's wheelchair takes up - even when we have been first to arrive to wait for the bus and neither my DH nor I took a seat.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

We have often been on the monorail when it is standing room only and people were crowded around and jostling my daughter's stroller. And the monorail has been stopping mid-track a LOT, so it isn't always a quick trip. It seems like forever when it is crowded. Just and FYI.

 

[geek+nerd]

Instead of the expense of a rental car, what about using Uber just for when you go to AK and HS? Even if you needed more than vehicle, I'm sure it would be cheaper than renting a car.

 

[OrthoDad]

I find it so sad that our society has become so selfish that giving up a seat on the bus for a disabled child depends on "people's moods." I agree….we have seen the same thing on the WDW busses with our son in a wheelchair. It's so very sad….

We try to stay at either monorail resorts, or Boardwalk where we can walk/monorail to the parts we're visiting. It works best when we have our own van to go to the parks on the other days, especially DHS and AK.

 

[DisneyOma]

I find it so sad that our society has become so selfish that giving up a seat on the bus for a disabled child depends on "people's moods." I agree….we have seen the same thing on the WDW busses with our son in a wheelchair. It's so very sad….

We try to stay at either monorail resorts, or Boardwalk where we can walk/monorail to the parts we're visiting. It works best when we have our own van to go to the parks on the other days, especially DHS and AK.

I'd think it was because they didn't feel able to do the standing themselves - or perhaps they had waited for another bus just to get a seat? People judge - you think others are able to stand, but maybe they aren't. I don't think it has to do with 'moods' at all, as that would be judging another person as well.

 

[redberyl]

I'd think it was because they didn't feel able to do the standing themselves - or perhaps they had waited for another bus just to get a seat? People judge - you think others are able to stand, but maybe they aren't. I don't think it has to do with 'moods' at all, as that would be judging another person as well.

A whole bus full of people less able to stand than a handicapped child? It has always bothered me when I go to Disney and there are people standing on the bus juggling multiple children, pregnant ,or elderly and none of the childless able bodied adults offer their seat It's very rare to see someone offer up their seat . Whatever happened to common courtesy ?.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

I'd think it was because they didn't feel able to do the standing themselves - or perhaps they had waited for another bus just to get a seat? People judge - you think others are able to stand, but maybe they aren't. I don't think it has to do with 'moods' at all, as that would be judging another person as well.

That certainly happens.

I once had a bus driver ask me to move out of the preferred seating. So someone with a cane could sit down. I flat out said no.

He had forgotten that the stop before, when I got on the bus, he had to tie down my scooter. So, no, I was not walking to the back of the bus, where the only available seats were. He got a little huffy; until I reminded him that the scooter he was standing next to was mine.

And sorry to say, I would say the same thing to someone holding a baby or small child. I'm sorry, but I can't stand either. Not on a moving bus. And certainly not after being at the parks all day.

 

[married2mm]

Asking an able bodied and non able bodied child/adult to vacate their seats are 100% different scenarios.

 

[HarleenQ]

I'm not judging anyone for not happily jumping off a seat for someone else, honestly. I get it, it'd be courteous. But at the end of the day, everyone hurts, everyone is tired, everyone is having a tough time standing. And IMO, those busses aren't just as simple as standing - they jostle a lot. And I've been the mom stuck holding a 6 year old standing while my 8 year old with autism is being tossed around between bodies as the bus moves around on the trek back to AKL. It sucks. It sucks for EVERYONE.

I think we all know that having someone disabled in our families that requires a little extra care means the planning is on us. It'd be nice to say that we could rely on the kindness of strangers all the time, but it doesn't make them bad people that they aren't jumping to accommodate everyone else in these situations. Who knows, they could have offered up their seat the first 10x on their trip and this 11th time they just can't anymore.

The OPs issue can be easily eliminated without involving strangers - and honestly, I think a lot of strangers know that these possibilities haven't been chosen and that makes them less interested in helping. I'm sure we've all run into someone who expects to be accommodated for whatever reason and it's been super off putting.

married2mm - I think the point is, you don't know who is able bodied and who isn't. So asking someone at all and getting declined may put a bad taste in your mouth, but you don't know why they're declining. If I'm sitting with my ASD kid on my lap so she doesn't have to stand and someone asks me to move, I'd say no. Even if I moved, I'm not making her stand, and I'm not explaining why I'm choosing to decline. I'm sure I look like a jerk, but oh well. I planned for the seat I needed.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

No problem with the bus . . .
1) ALL DISNEY BUSES have seats reserved for the disabled.
. . . they instruct people to give up the seat to anyone disabled
2) Just ask someone sitting in them to relinquish the seat to your child.
3) If they do not, the bus driver can instruct the person to stand.

 

[loves to dive]

I'll be another to add you never can tell by looking. My son is a disabled vet but looks like a healthy young man. He looks very sturdy in truth he has severe nerve damage to his spinal cord and is in constant pain. He will and has, stood up to let a woman or a child sit in his seat on buses while in fact, standing and holding his arm up to hold on to the holders causes him great pain the swaying and using the muscles necessary to not bump into others is very difficult. Never judge a book by it's cover, like I said, he does stand for others and they have no idea that that what looks like a perfectly healthy young man who was polite enough to stand up and give up his seat, was in fact most likely, more disabled then they were.

 

[HarleenQ]

No problem with the bus . . .
1) ALL DISNEY BUSES have seats reserved for the disabled.
. . . they instruct people to give up the seat to anyone disabled
2) Just ask someone sitting in them to relinquish the seat to your child.
3) If they do not, the bus driver can instruct the person to stand.

This is really misleading.

Yes, they have seats for the disabled. No, someone is not obligated to get up for someone else. And HUGE NO, that the bus driver can not require them to stand.

Reason: You can not look at someone and tell if they are disabled and you can not require someone to prove it. The only thing the bus driver could do is ask if anyone would be willing to get up for this person, but they can't force it and I highly doubt they'd ask in most instances anyway because of the backlash it can open up.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

 

[Baklava]

Asking an able bodied and non able bodied child/adult to vacate their seats are 100% different scenarios.

Except that YOU have no idea who is able bodied and who isn't. By asking someone who you imagine to be able-bodied you may well be making someone whose disability is invisible feel shamed and uncomfortable. You create the expectation that they have to justify their need and that's profoundly uncomfortable for a lot of people.

 

[married2mm]

A general request from the driver was once asked on my journey-
Was anyone able to give up their seat?


There was never any individuals requesting others to specifically please leave their seats for another...

I am well aware of the existence of both invisible & visible disabilities.

 

[disneyseniors]

I'll be another to add you never can tell by looking. My son is a disabled vet but looks like a healthy young man. He looks very sturdy in truth he has severe nerve damage to his spinal cord and is in constant pain. He will and has, stood up to let a woman or a child sit in his seat on buses while in fact, standing and holding his arm up to hold on to the holders causes him great pain the swaying and using the muscles necessary to not bump into others is very difficult. Never judge a book by it's cover, like I said, he does stand for others and they have no idea that that what looks like a perfectly healthy young man who was polite enough to stand up and give up his seat, was in fact most likely, more disabled then they were.

I know what you are saying, lovestodive! I have a severe form of fibromyalgia and arthritis, but I look healthy. I am in constant pain just to be able to go to the parks at all, and the pain increases as the day wears on. I take breaks, pain medication, and sit down as much as I can. However, none of it helps by the time to get on the bus. I do tolerate all this because I, too, love Disney and want to keep on visiting as long as I physically can So, I feel your "pain" for your son. Thank him for his service and tell him to do what he has to do, even if he gets looks.
My husband has a bad back and until recent back surgery, had difficulty walking. He can now walk but still limps. He looks healthy too, and does give up his seat if needed, even though he is probably worse off than others at times. It goes against his grain to sit while a lady, child, etc has to stand.
Don't know what the answer is on this, but we that have an invisible disease feel the "stares" and we do feel guilty.