Bus nightmare with great resolution

[taxyphile]

Hi all - I'm new here and just returned from my first WDW trip. I discovered this board about a week before my trip - and wish I had found it sooner!

Had an experience towards the end of our trip that I wanted to relate in case anyone has a similar issue arise. My Mom's youngest brother was with us (he lives with my Mom and Dad). He is physically and mentally challenged. Although he walks with a walker at home, we decided to take a wheelchair for the trip (glad we did on several counts).

We stayed at All-Star Sports and were well pleased with the transportaion on the buses to the Parks. However on the day before our last there, we had a very frustrating experience trying to get to MK in the afternoon. 3 of us were already at MK and my Dad, Mom, Uncle, and youngest child were tying to catch the bus from our hotel.

A bus came along, fairly full, and picked up passengers. However when Dad tried to tell the driver that we had a person in a wheelchair, he told us he was too full and would call ahead to another bus. Another one came by, slowed down, but would not stop. The 3rd bus finally got them loaded, after a mishap involving the motorized lift that ended with my Uncle getting a small cut on his leg.

By this point my Dad was very rattled. The bus driver told him that the first bus should *never* have turned them down and should have put other passengers off to make room for my Uncle and his party. The driver gave Dad his name and number and told Dad where to go to discuss it with someone, and said he would corroborate the story.

Anyway, for the remainder of our stay, we would call ahead and have a *Special* bus ready for us, whether going to or leaving the parks. It really made up for it. I know my Uncle felt uncomfortable on a crowded bus with people standing above his wheelchair, afraid they would bump into him, etc. And it eliminated that.

I do not know if we got this because of the problem we had encountered or not. But the impression I had was that anyone with special transportation concerns could request it. I could be wrong. We sort of felt bad about having one whole bus to ourselves - we just wanted a guarantee that my Uncle would be able to get on.

So if anyone with a wheelchair, medical stroller, or ecv are told there isn't room on the bus to accomodate you - know that is not the answer you should be given.

 

[SueM in MN]

By this point my Dad was very rattled. The bus driver told him that the first bus should *never* have turned them down and should have put other passengers off to make room for my Uncle and his party.

Sorry to hear you had an unfortunate experience. Actually, this is not correct according to a former bus driver who used to post a lot on this board. Someone also found an ADA reference to back up the information. The drivers can ask if people will move if they are sitting in the seats that are folded to make room for a wheelchair, but if they refuse, they can't be made to move. No one can be put off the bus to make room for a wheelchair either. I was also told that by a bus driver in March, when my DD was loaded in one of the wheelchair spots and 2 people with ecvs wanted my DD to be unloaded so that the 2 of them could ride together ("She can wait for the next bus" was what they told him. The driver told us that even if my DD was not using a wheelchair, he could not leagally require anyone to get off in order to load anotherr guest.
There are drivers who will use "I'm too full" as an excuse to avoid loading a wheelchair (they are not all perfect), but there are times when the bus may really be too full to load a wheelchair. If there is no room to manouver and get the wheelchair safely in place, you can't really do anything except wait for the next bus. What should happen if you can't board, is the driver should radio ahead to find out when the next bus will be there and whether it has any problems with the lift. If the wait will be excessive, they should send the special smaller lift vehicle for you. They will also send that if someone has an unusual wheelchair/ecv that won't fit on the regular bus, 2 or more people with wheelchairs/ecvs traveling together, a need to be somewhere that requires several bus transfers otherwise, etc. You can contact "Transportation" on your WDW resort phone or just call the front desk.

 

[cupcake]

I am glad you had a nice trip. I don't have any of the detailed legal info that Sue does, but I did have one bad bus experience with a person who would not move to allow me to position my ECV (was sitting with legs out on a pretty near empty bus in the seat right in front of the door-- nice guy). I got totally flustered, esp since this was my first time trying to take the ECV on the bus. The driver was very nice and apologetic and told me to have guest services at my resort call about 45 min. before I wanted to go anywhere and tell them where I wanted to go, and they would make it happen by making sure a suitably empty bus was routed over to me. After this bad experience I never had a problem so I didn't do it, but am posting as an FYI for what I was told.

Thanks for posting, Taxyphile!!! Again, I am glad that you had a good trip and am sorry that you had a bad bus experience. It is very disconcerting.

Cupcake

 

[taxyphile]

Sue - thanks for the info! See, that sounds more correct to me. I'm am guessing that my Dad, having just been through that bad experience, misunderstood what he had been told and/or misspoke while relaying the info to me.. What I seem to be getting from your and Cupcake's posts is that the first driver should have perhaps explained this better - that he could call and make sure a less full bus was sent and when we could expect it.

But it is good to know that if there ever is a problem, they work very hard to ensure it is corrected and doesn't happen again.

Cupcake - that is awful about the horrid man who wouldn't move his legs! We were treated so well by all the CM's - it really did make for a Magical time. And most of our fellow visitors were wonderful too, but I did note one or two grumblers who whined about "man it takes so long to load those things". Makes you want to tell them to 'grow up'!

I'm glad you didn't have to call ahead and make special arrangements, but it is good to hear what you were told also so that if the need ever arises you have that there.

 

[OJoyfulOne]

Hi Taxyphile,

Me and my sister had a similar experience when we were there on our first trip in 2000. We actually drove down to WDW, but wanted to use the WDW transportation to make sure that we would be able to use it.

We were at the boardwalk trying to get to DTD to get a bus back to our resort. This all happened later in the evening and I know that there was something big going on that night bacause it was even hard to get a bus at DTD. There were lines of people waiting. But to finish my story, we couldn't get on the first bus at the boardwalk and the second bus said that they would call ahead to make sure there was another bus coming. It seemed like the first bus didn't want to take us. Someone finally came to get us though. That incident was a little disturbing, but all the other transportaion was fine. We tried it all.

I'm glad everything worked out for you on your trip taxyphile.

Joy

 

[pumpkinboy]

OK, this is great info! I just figured if the bus was too full, we just had to wait; and being a BWV owner and fan, the wait for an empty bus gets a bit tiresome. I would havce no problem at all calling to make special arrangements 45 mins ahead of time any time we were planning to take a bus somewhere (given that we'd only need a bus for MK, AK or DTD; the rest we do on foot*3 & wheels*1 or by boat).

So my question is: Whom do we call to make special arrangements? Do we talk to the valets, or the folks who call cabs, or...?

Some friends, who also have a wheelchair-bound DS, stayed at POR over a year ago and had a hellish time with the buses; they were at the final stop and buses were always full when they arrived. When staying at BWV, we have sometimes hoofed it over to the Swan to be at the first Epcot resorts loop bus stop. But I'd much rather call a little ahead of time, and know that they are expecting us.

Thx in advance.

 

[SueM in MN]

Who you gonna call?
Ghostbusters (OK, silly, but I couldn't resist).
I was told to just call the number listed on the WDW resort phone for the front desk if we needed transportation. There was a number that a bus driver gave me, but I'm not sure he meant it to be posted (so, if anyone has it, please don't post it).

 

[cupcake]

I was told to call guest services. Note that the people at the front desk may not know you can do this and you may have to explain that you were told this is an accommodation for you to address the fact that the buses at your resort are very crowded which causes problems for your wc. I got this from a manager at the Swan where we were staying. I spoke with her the night of my bad experience. She also said that people sometimes request a specific type of bus or have problems with crowding due to where they are on the bus loop and that it is possible for guest services to call Disney transportation for you, you just have to give them plenty of notice.

Crowding is really only an issue getting TO where you are going as when they pick you up at a park, you get on first onto an empty bus.

I hate to even mention this, though, bc really, the buses have overall worked out great.

Re encounters with inconsiderate people, if anyone is reconsidering using a wc to to concerns about this kind of thing, please don't! I think that wc or no wc, there are unfortunately a whole bunch of rude and self-centered people out there. Haven't we all seen people yelling at CMs, cutting into line, etc.? They are just thinking of themselves and have no ability to empathize with others. I am not going to be brought down or have my life limited because there are some jerks out there. [hop off soapbox].

Cupcake

 

[mbb]

Originally posted by pumpkinboy
OK, this is great info! I just figured if the bus was too full, we just had to wait; and being a BWV owner and fan, the wait for an empty bus gets a bit tiresome. ...
...
When staying at BWV, we have sometimes hoofed it over to the Swan to be at the first Epcot resorts loop bus stop. But I'd much rather call a little ahead of time, and know that they are expecting us.

Thx in advance.

Been there, done that!! *OT Warning*, the age old question...why do deluxe resorts have to share buses?

Back to topic...we just called guest services too,(after two days of waiting at every stop, only to be told "the next bus will take you" I couldn't take it anymore) and by the time we got out to the Bus stop at BC/YC/BCV, there would also be a CM with a clipboard and a walkie-talkie...very helpful

 

[MarieS]

From reading this thread, it sounds like I should always call ahead and arrange transportation since both of my sons use wheelchairs. I don't want to be stuck waiting in the heat with kids who are tired and need to get out of their chairs. We will have our own lift van with us, so I thought we would drive to MGM, AK and Epcot. I only thought of taking the bus to MK to avoid making another transfer at TCC. We will be staying at CBR. Does this sound like a good plan? Would it be easier to take a bus with both chairs or drive and transfer? Thanks.
Marie

 

[mommie2angels]

We stopped using Disney's transportation some time ago. It was always such a hazzle. We always had to wait for at least the next bus and usually a third bus before we could get on. We have two dds in wheelchairs. We drive now unless we are staying at WL which is wonderful! The biggest thing now is having to lift two wheelchairs in and out of the our van and putting the girls in their carseats. Having them stay in their wheelchairs to be transportated by Disney transportation was much easier as far as that goes.

 

[SueM in MN]

I only thought of taking the bus to MK to avoid making another transfer at TCC. We will be staying at CBR. Does this sound like a good plan? Would it be easier to take a bus with both chairs or drive and transfer? Thanks.

We usually stay at OKW and sometimes take the bus, sometimes drive. The buses at CBR are likely to be more crowded than those at OKW, in our expereince.
We always take the bus to MK because the bus drops you off right near the turnstiles. if you drive, you still have to get to the TTC and ride the boat or monorail to get to where the bus drops you off.
Whether it's better to ride the bus or drive kind of depends on your situation and how much hassle each involves. In our case, to drive means lifting DD (who is about 85 pounds) out of her wheelchair and transferring her to the van seat. Then we have to lift the wheelchair into the van. When we get a Dodge Grand Caravan or Plymouth Grand Voyager, we don't have much trouble doing that because they are low to the ground and the "Grand" vans are longer (have enough storage room behind the back seat), so we can store the wheelchair there without taking it apart. If we've had a van that's harder to transfer to, we've ridden the bus all the time.
Since you have 2 in wheelchairs, I'd call ahead and request a bus. The chances of having 2 wheelchair spots available when you want to get on the bus are smaller. You might not need to call when you are leaving a park (since the buys will be empty then and you will be first loaded).
When you check in, you could ask who to call. We were told the Front Desk, but we were at OKW and the appropraite place to call might be different there than at the other WDW resorts. I'm pretty sure for WDW Swan and Dolphin that they have you call Guest Services (as cupcake says she was told) because those 2 hotels are not operated by Disney. So the front desk there would get you people who are knowledgeable about their hotel, not necessarily people who can direct you to Disney services. They may also give you a direct phone number to call the Transportation offfice directly.

 

[MarieS]

Thanks for the replies! I have received so much great advice from these boards. On another note, I just got our tix for MNSSHP in the mail today. The trip is seeming more"real" now!
Marie

 

[pumpkinboy]

OK, so we're headed down in one week (oh yeah!), and will be trying out the "call guest services ahead" strategy. We're staying at BWV, generally the last stop on the Epcot loop, so the call ahead should save us I am hoping.

I will post our experiences when we're back mid-month.

 

[tammydel]

I am very interested in hearing about using Disney transportatinon with a wheelchair. We will have a party of 10 with my 79 year old grandmother in a wheelchair. We will be in DW THanksgiving week.

We are trying to plan our days so that we change locations as little as possible. We realize that we may not all be able to board a bus together (although of course we would like to).

Mostly I want to make the experience as stress free as possible for the rest of my family. (My hubby, kids and I go often) I have been telling my family that we could do this trip, Disney is accessible, transportation is good, etc...

We are staying at VWL planning on busses to MGM, AK, maybe bus to TTC then monorail to EPCOT because I think my Gram would enjoy the monorail ride. I am hoping to use the boat to MK. I know depending on water levels we may not be able to wheel the chair on. But, my gram could get up and walk on so long as the step up or down was not too high. Then we could fold and bring on the chair.?.

We though of renting a car - but agin we would not all fit and would have to travel seperatly and Gram can't get up into a van.

Any suggestions or advise? I'm considering finding out about/using the call ahead plan. I hate to look for "special" treatment or help, but I really want my group to have a good and stress free as possible time.

Thanks!
Tammy

 

[SueM in MN]

Originally posted by tammydel
We are staying at VWL planning on busses to MGM, AK, maybe bus to TTC then monorail to EPCOT because I think my Gram would enjoy the monorail ride. I am hoping to use the boat to MK. I know depending on water levels we may not be able to wheel the chair on. But, my gram could get up and walk on so long as the step up or down was not too high. Then we could fold and bring on the chair.?
Tammy

Yes. The water levels may not be a problem at all, but as long as she has a manual wheelchair and can get out and step into the boat, the water level should not matter for you. The step up or down is usually less than (quite a bit less than) steping up or down a curb. To high for a power wheelchair or ecv, but not a big barrier for a manual wheelchair.

The monorail is not a problem with a wheelchair. They have a specific car designated as the "wheelchair car". They can open both side doors to make a wider space to get in and they have a small ramp they will put up to make rolling in easier. The CMs will see the wheelchair in your party and direct you to the wheelchair car. Just make sure that the person in the wheelchair is at the start of your party and that everyone else is together bhind you. If you don't end up in the same car, the whole monorail is going the same place anyway.

There is some information about buses in the disABILITIES FAQs thread near the top of this board. There is also a link to a thread about boarding rides and to the official WDW site's disabilities information.

Calling for transportation is more for parties that have several wheelchairs or ecvs, so I'm not sure that it would be that helpful for you. The times we've used it, we've either been picked up in a small van that had room for several wheelchairs and only a few people sitting or a fairly large bus that had many wheelchair spots, but limited numbers of seats for people to accompany them.

The largest group we've gone with was 9 and after a few days of trying to stay a group of 9, we split up during the day, re-meeting up during the day. With a group of 10, it's hard to stay together all the time - someone always has to use the bathroom or is tired and wants to sit for a few minutes when the rest of the group is raring to go. Another thing that has worked well for us is to let the early birds go to the park and then those who take longer in the morning to wake up or get ready can meet them later in the park. We found it very stressful to try to have a large number of people all ready to go at the same time. The first ones ready invariable had to wait for the others and the slower ones had to hurry to get ready. Speaking as one of the slower ones (who also is the main "getter-ready" of DD), it gets annoying real fast to be going at full speed to get ready and know people are waiting for you (and getting bored while they wait).

My suggestion would be to have particular times and places set up to meet , like for meals, parades or things you all get fastpasses for at the same time. If some of your party have cell phones or walkie-talkies it makes it easier to hook up. Also, when we did split up, it made for a lot of conversation and sharing later. People talked about what they had done and how they liked it. When we were all together during the day, there was less to share later on because everyone already knew what had happened.

 

[LisaBi]

Hi. I just got home from WDW this afternoon. My son used a wheelchair that we borrowed from the resort (All Star Movies). I found it quite easy to use the buses once I learned to stand IN FRONT of the queues for the buses, near the left (so when the bus pulled up, I was near the rear entrance). On our second day, a CM at the resort told me this. At MK, there were even markings directing you to that area. I was always able to get on the first bus that showed up, and the driver helped board the chair (my son could walk onto the bus, so no need to mess with the lift). It seemed that they always boarded ECV users first, then wheelchairs that needed the lift, then wheelchairs that could be folded.

LisaB

 

[SueM in MN]

Glad to hear you had a good trip.
It is important to stand where the driver can see you when getting on a bus with a wheelchair or ecv. Depending on the stop, they may have to line with the curb and may not be able to do that if they don't see you when they are pulling in.

If there are multiple wheelchairs, they do load ecvs or power wheelchairs first because they need the most room to manouver.