Buses with EVC and Wheelchair

[Elana]

We are a group of six seniors. There will be 2 ECV users. Plus, I am thinking of getting a wheelchair for Dad. He can walk. I know the buses can handle 2 EVCs at a time. Dad will not be using the wheelchair to get onto the bus. He can share it with Mom in the parks. I am thinking of renting a chair to make sure we have one available.

Can we take the wheelchair on the same bus? The chair will be empty on the bus. Or should we be planning to go on 2 different buses when we go to the parks?

 

[SueM in MN]

If someone can fold the wheelchair and hold it on the bus, then it can be on the bus with 2 ECVs. It would still be easiest to carry it in the back door and enter at the same time as the ECVs.
If there is more than one bus stop at your resort, it is possible that there would already be one ECV or wheelchair on the bus when it gets to your stop.
So, I guess I would plan that having to get on 2 buses is a possibility and plan what you would do before the situation comes up.

For more information, there is a whole section about buses in WDW in the disABILITIES FAQs thread near the top of this board (or follow the link in my signature).

 

[Elana]

Thank you for the response. I did not know that you would be allowed to hold the folded wheelchair. I know that some of the days we will be going on two buses due to capacity of the buses. We are staying at OKW. We will allow plenty of time to travel to get to our ADRs.

This is our first trip using EVCs. And the first time we will have a wheelchair available to use for my parents. Any additional tips or suggestions would be welcome.

 

[cmesq61]

From a couple with experience (I was the pushee--now ECV rider, DBF was the pusher) you may want to get a 3rd ECV. WC pushing is hard anyway and with Disney and the heat, hills and crowds, the pusher is going to be dead tired.

 

[Elana]

Thought about it, but the wheelchair is mostly for Dad. Dad is Blind. So, he is unable to drive an ECV.

 

[zumbergc]

its been a long while since we've done the wheel chair instead of the ecv. I do remember a few bus drivers who wouldn't let us hold the chair, instead they used the tie straps which hold the wheel chair down.

 

[SueM in MN]

As long as no one is sitting in it and you can fold it, a wheelchair can be carried onto the bus and held. The information in the disABILITIES FAQs thread about buses was mostly written by a WDW bus driver and he did mention carrying wheelchairs on.
We have been on several buses where people carried a wheelchair on. Actually, the wheelchairs we saw were actually smaller than some of the strollers people carry onto the buses.

 

[Elana]

Thank you for the information. We will plan on folding the wheelchair when on the bus. And if we have to wait for another bus, that will be ok. We will leave plenty of time for us to get from one place to another.

I would think that after Fantasmic, Illuninations or Spectromagic, the buses will be full returning to OKW. We will probably have to wait. But knowing that we will need to wait, makes the wait easier.

 

[SueM in MN]

Thank you for the information. We will plan on folding the wheelchair when on the bus. And if we have to wait for another bus, that will be ok. We will leave plenty of time for us to get from one place to another.

I would think that after Fantasmic, Illuninations or Spectromagic, the buses will be full returning to OKW. We will probably have to wait. But knowing that we will need to wait, makes the wait easier.

For those things where lots of people are going to be leaving at the same time we just stay put for a while and let the crowd go out. If you leave right away, you will spend 15 minutes or more in a slow moving, huge crowd before you even get out of the show area. If you wait 15 minutes, you will be able to go out in just a small number of people.
That also allows the first people to get on the first few REALLY PACKED buses. By the time you get to the bus stop, several buses will have left and we have even ended up going back to our resort on a bus that still had seats left when it pulled out of the park!

 

[Elana]

It sounds like there are advantages of taking your time.

 

[Elana]

Update. Everything worked well with the EVCs and wheelchair. An additional advantage of using the wheelchair for Dad, who is blind, were the crowds. It would have been so hard for him to manuever. This way, we did not worry about him getting seperated from the group. Plus, in the parks where the walkways are uneven, we were not concerned about him loosing his balance. I do not know if these were normal crowds for this time of the year, but there were a lot of people in the parks.

We only had one occasion where the bus could not accomodate everyone when it pulled up. So the waits were not long due to the wheelchair spots being occupied. The drivers were very helpful.

 

[SueM in MN]

Thanks for reporting back.
Glad to hear things went well for you

 

[mechurchlady]

I and others here give advice and sometimes we worry and pray and wonder what happened to the person. It is so nice to hear back from you. It is nice to know what worked and did not work as well as the highlights and fun things you did. Also food reports are requested.

Big hugs and glad you had a good time.
Laurie