Special Needs Stroller on Disney Buses

[poohbear7]

You should have no problems boarding the bus with your daughter in the stroller. We have done this with a special needs child and had no problems the last time was this month. You can use the ramp at the back doors wheel her on put her in a seat and fold up her stroller. Some times they tie the stroller down without the child in the stroller other times we just fold it up. When we get of the bus we are the last to get off and the child gets back in his stroller and we wheel him of the bus. Tell the driver you have a special needs stroller having the red tag lets the driver reaffirm your stroller is special needs. Ours is large for up to a 100 pounds but looks like a regular stroller except it says it a mobility stroller on it.

 

[seashoreCM]

Just for information, persons in ordinary wheelchairs and scooters are supposed to get off and sit in a regular bus seat for the ride. Much to the chagrin of other riders. It is safer this way. Of course an exception is made for those unable to do so.

 

[cranbiz]

I'm a little late on this one.

Stroller as a wheelchair is allowed on a Disney bus. You will need to get the red tag that hangs on the stroller that identifies the stroller as a wheelchair from guest services. A special needs stroller is built and designed to be secured and they secure just fine. Now some guests try to pawn off a normal stroller and thats when you would be informed that we are not responsible for damages that may occur to the stroller.

Your DD will be allowed to stay in it if you wish, she will need a seat belt of some kind. The built in staps of the stroller are fine, but they will need to be used. You can remove her and use a regular seat if you wish. The stroller will than be strapped in like a wheelchair with 4 straps securing it.

We will load you and the stroller like any other mobility device, you on first and off last. No problems.

 

[dburg30]

As others have said, including at least 2 bus drivers, you will be fine. Just to ditto what others have said also, be ready to have at least one person try to direct you that "Strollers have to board with everyone else, and you'll have to fold it". MOST of those people will just be trying to give you a heads up so you dont get 'in trouble' for not following the rules. You will just have to let them know what you are there for and that this stroller is more a wheel chair type device then a simple stroller. It's sad but too many people TRY to take advantage of things sometimes, that it does make people leary when they see someone doing something that looks 'wrong' .

As someone said, if holding up a bus is your main concern, pfft, dont worry about that. If the safety and comfort and perhaps even the ease of not dealing with the buses is more it, then yes, you may want to use your own transportation or a rental.

Have a magical trip no matter what

 

[SueM in MN]

I still would recommend getting the red tag from Guest services ( I am not sure if you can also get this from the concierge in your hotel lobby or maybe even contact Disney before you go and they can send it or have it available when you check in). Also, you probably should avoid peak travel times, which are the hours near opening and closing

You need to get the tag at a park Guest Relations area. You can go to any park and go to Guest Relations either inside or just outside of the parks.
This is not something that you can contact Disney about beforehand.

I'm a little late on this one.

Stroller as a wheelchair is allowed on a Disney bus. You will need to get the red tag that hangs on the stroller that identifies the stroller as a wheelchair from guest services. A special needs stroller is built and designed to be secured and they secure just fine. Now some guests try to pawn off a normal stroller and thats when you would be informed that we are not responsible for damages that may occur to the stroller.

Your DD will be allowed to stay in it if you wish, she will need a seat belt of some kind. The built in staps of the stroller are fine, but they will need to be used. You can remove her and use a regular seat if you wish. The stroller will than be strapped in like a wheelchair with 4 straps securing it.

We will load you and the stroller like any other mobility device, you on first and off last. No problems.

Not all special needs strollers are designed to be 'transport ready'.
There are some that have a 'non-transport' version and also have a 'transport ready' option that adds things like strengthened areas for attaching tiedown straps and also seat belts that would be appropriate for transport.
The information about whether a special needs stroller is "OK" for transport or not would be in the owner's manual and/or the ordering/purchasing information. It's generally a feature that would be a selling point.
Tieing down a special needs stroller that was not designed for this could lead to stroller damage (frame bent) and, yes, I do know someone this happened to, even without an accident.

The stroller the OP has, Maclaren Major Elite, was not designed for transport and should be folded once on the bus.

 

[Disneylvr]

Here is a photo of my daughter in the stroller. As you can see it looks like an umbrella type stroller but it is much larger. She loves it and feels very safe and comfortable in it. It also has a 5-point harness which I didn't fasten for this photo.

The footrest has be to removed before the stroller can be folded. When folded it is still very large and heavy which is why we are interesting in pre-boarding the bus if we choose to use it.

Last year we got Madelyn's GAC and pink tag for her old Maclaren at the MK guest relations at City Hall. We plan to do the same thing this year. That tag was wonderful!

OT question....can you tell what TV show we are watching today? LOL!