Best route from Dolphin to MK

[DolphinBoy]

I was considering taking the boat from Dolphin to Epcot and the Monorail to Magic Kingdom instead of the bus. My wife is in a wheel chair and I thought this might be less hassle than the bus. Am I making it more difficult than it should be? Should I just take the bus? Any suggestions?

 

[Cheshire Figment]

You are making it MUCH more difficult than it needs to be..

Your method would involve getting to the pier, waiting for and boarding the boat, getting off at Epcot, going through the Inernational Gateway, going all the way to the front of the park, going up the ramp to the monorail, getting off and changing monorails at the TTC, and finally arriving at the MK.

At both monorails you would have to wait for the limited accessible compartments. In addition, unless it is a power chair, you would have a lot of extra pushing to do as well as the extra walking.

Taking the bus is from almost at the front door of the hotel directly to MK. I think the Dolphin does use the regular Disney Transport, and so they go to the bus station at MK and not to TTC.

 

[Nanajo1]

If mobility is a concern whether you use a w/c, ECV or have trouble walking I would always suggest the bus to MK if you have direct bus service.
Have a great trip.

 

[DolphinBoy]

Thanks for the advice. I appreciate it! It helps alieviate some of my concerns.

 

[SueM in MN]

I agree with the others. It would take you forever (and a lot of extra miles) to do what you were thinking.
I checked a WDW transportation map that I picked up last March. The Dolphin and Swan are listed on it, so their buses would drop you off right at the entrance to WDW.
In case you have never ridden a WDW bus with a wheelchair before, here are some "bus pointers".

1) The bus drivers do load guests in wheelchairs or ecvs first (because it is easiest to do when the bus is more empty and the other guests don't get in the way). If the bus is already standing room only when they pull in to your stop, they may have to turn you down for a ride because there will not be enough room inside the bus to manouver the wheelchair on.
2) The ramp or lift is located at the back door of the bus. Don't get in the line with everyone else who is waiting for the bus. Park the wheelchair or ecv out in the open (but stay on the sidewalk) about where the back door of the bus will be when it stops. That gives the bus driver a chance to see you.
3) When a bus comes, be ready to attract attention to yourself. Stay on the sidewalk, but wave your arms, give exaggerated head nods, etc. to catch the driver's attention and let the driver know that you want to board.
4) When the bus arrives at a stop the driver will usually look toward you. If it is not the one you want, shake your head so that the driver knows you don't want that bus.
5) Several seats in the back of the bus are convertable (across from the back door). They can be used for seating, but are folded up to make room for a wheelchair when necessary. If someone is sitting in them, the driver will ask them to move when a wheelchair needs the space. There is a sign above those seats to advise people that they may need to move.
6) After loading, a wheelchair or ecv is tied down on the bus with adjustable straps. It can't be just parked on the bus and the driver will not be able to let you carry the person and their wheelchair on.
7) Someone in your party should know where safe tiedown places on the wheelchair would be. A safe
tiedown point is part of the frame of the chair; things like swing-away footrests or antitip bars are not parts of the frame, so they would not be safe tiedowns. The drivers can guess (and is probably quite familiar with rental wheelchairs or ecvs), but wheelchairs differ in design, so it's best to know. We mark some safe tiedown points on DD's wheelchair with bright pink tape. It's much easier to tell the driver to look for the tape than to say "that upright pipe to your right is OK." We've had many drivers say that it makes the loading process much faster and they wish everyone would do that.
8) If they are not able to board you, the driver should offer to call dispatch and have a wheelchair accessible bus sent. If they don't, be prepared to ask if they would let dispatch know that you are waiting and need to be boarded.

Have fun.

 

[DolphinBoy]

Once again, thanks for the excellent reply. One follow up question. My wife is basically able to transfer. She has the ability to get out of the wheel chair and board the bus as long as the steps are not too terribly steep. Does this change the procedure? I assume that it might simplify things. Correct?

 

[SueM in MN]

There are 2 kinds of buses.
The older buses have a wheelchair lift at the back of the bus. The steps actually unfold, refold in another way and and become the lift. When they are steps, they are fairly steep. Whether she is in the wheelchair or not, they will still need to bring down the lift to put the wheelchair on. I'm pretty sure they would not let you fold the wheelchair and carry it up the steps (it would be hard anyway).

The newer buses have a ramp at the back. In 2 trips since they got some of those buses, I haven't seen one yet. I know there are not that many of them. From what I have read about those buses, it doesn't sound like it would speed things up for her to get out of the wheelchair since the ramp would still be needed to get the wheelchair on.
Whether she sits in the wheelchair or chooses to sit on a bus seat, they will still fasten the wheelchair down with the tiedown straps.