I have been to Disney several times but I have just become a DVC owner and the later part of our vacation we will be staying at OKW......
We asked for either a bottom floor or a room in one of the 3 elevators because of the scooters, so I am wondering should I plan on over an hour in transpertation time? We never have had to use scooters before so I am a little nervous.
OKW is my familys DVC home resort.
You should not have any problem getting a ground floor room. The buildings are mostly 2 stories, with some 3 stories. So, even with no request at all, you have between a 33 and a 50% chance of getting ground floor.
Many people actually request higher floors because they like the view better.
If you have not already, I would make 1st floor for medical reasons the first request on your list.
In general, WDW says to allow at least one hour to 1 and 1/2 hour transportation time. This allows for waiting and getting there. OKW is no exception. Once your bus leaves the resort, most of the trips are short - EPCOT is less than 10 minutes usually from leaving the resort to the bus parking at EPCOT.
Here is my question: we are planning on going to the
MVMCP but first we have a 5:30 rsv at Cali Grill. What would the best situation to get to dinner. Boat to Downtown to Contemp bus or MK bus and then monerial? Due to medical issues my hubby and I will both be in scooters this year and we have a 12 year old son. So just taking our car would be tough because we can't fit both scooters. Also what about breakfast at kona and mk all day and epcot and other parks. Is there any tricks to getting transportation with scooters?
I agree with the others that your best bet is to take the bus to MK.
The boat to DTD is very nice, if that is where you are headed, but the bus service from DTD to the resorts is very slow and often crowded.
Once at MK, it will be much faster to just walk/roll to the Contemporary than taking the monorail. Exit the bus area into the sort of courtyard before entering MK. You will see a walkway sort of beneath the monorail track that leads to the right, toward Contemporary. Just follow that path and you will be at Contemporary in about 10 minutes. If you think you have lost the path, just keep following the monorail track because it leads to the Contemporary.
To get to Kona, take the bus to MK and then the resort monorail to the Polynesian.
Also after reading some in this thread I quickly got my scooter hand book. At 33 I recently had to get a scooter for any long length walking. I have horrible ankles and the scooter is helping delay very painful surgery. This is depressing enough to have to have a scooter and handicap placard, now I am scared I will not get on the buses. I have a : Merits S131 three wheel scooter with a captain chair (due to back issues) It says it is length 47" width 23" and weighs 179. I am 319lbs. Then my husband will be
renting a scooter from Apple also. He is just over 400lbs and they are giving him a scooter that fits his wieght.(I hubby has neuropathy in his legs and the scooter will save him a lot of pain)
We are only one month out from our trip and budget is beyond very limited. Will I have any problems? I just want smooth sailing. A few years back we rented my mother a scooter and everything went fine but we lined up at where the buses would load the scooter because if we did not we never got on a bus. I don't want to tick anyone off, but with two of us in a scooter with our 12 year old I am thinking that is where we should line up....
I read the board you pointed out and it looks like we will be ok. I am planning on bringing the owners manual that way if they fight me I can prove it fits.
The older lift buses are being phased out and there are few of those left in use. The lift had a capacity of 600 pounds and the lift platform is only 48 inches long.
Almost all the buses you will see will be the ramp buses, which have a weight capacity of 800 pounds. The length is not so much a problem with those buses because there is no lift platform to fit onto.
At all the OKW bus stops, there is a box like this painted on the ground.
Click for bigger picture:
The box is 30 inches wide by 48 inches long and is the fit box which is used to see whether an
ECV will fit on the bus. There are very few that wont fit into that box - many that seem too long will fit with a backpack removed.
All the OKW bus stops also have this sign, which says that
ECvs and wheelchairs, plus their party of up to 5, will be loaded first before other guests.
click for bigger picture:
As far as I know, all the other resorts have similar boxes and signs at their bus stops too. I have personally seen the them at OKW, SSR, POR, POFQ, BW, BC, CBR.
At OKW, many people do have cars, so the bus situation is not as crowded as at some other resorts. All buses can load 2 ECVs/wheelchairs and some can load 3, so you should almost always both get on the same bus. Its important to plan in case you dont though, so be prepared with who will go first, who your son will go with and where you will meet up in case you cant all get on the same bus. It should not happen, but better to be prepared than surprised.
To leave the resort, position yourself close to the painted box, which will place you near the back door of the bus. When the bus drives up, let the driver know whether you want that bus or not (get eye contact and shake head for not wanting it - nod, wave, smile, what ever if you do want that bus.). On our last trip, we did see someone almost get left by the bus because they made no effort to let the driver know. The man was sitting on a bench and the woman was on the scooter, but not paying attention. All the other passengers were loaded for that stop and the bus was about to pull out when the woman kind of waved and people on the bus told the driver they thought she wanted to be loaded.
For leaving the parks, the bus stops for all resorts previously had a marked wheelchair waiting area/gate. The lines for return to all resorts are being made wider and the marked wheelchair areas are being removed.
Our last trip to OKW ended October 30, 2011 and I can tell you that ALL of the OKW bus stops at the parks have been changed and no longer have any marked wheelchair waiting area.
This is a picture of the OKW EPCOT bus area.
and a link to a larger picture:
Once you enter the line, there is not an exit until you get to the very front, by the front door. The EPCOT stop had an area to the left of the picture where you could possibly wait with the ECVs.
The stop at the Studio had chains that prevented doing that and kept everyone going into the chained lines of queue.
We were not there at a particularly busy time and did leave at non-peak times, so probably had a better time getting the buses. We were in the first 10 waiting for the bus each time (and often were the first to arrive at the stop).
If you try to avoid the peak travel times, you will have lots less trouble getting on the buses.
We can transfer onto rides well and stand in line for a little while but not for over 30 minutes. Is there anything else we can do to make the trip easier. Any tips about parking personal non rental scooters to gaurd from theft? I just got my scooter and I use it here at home too and can not afford to replace it. If I empty out the basket and take the key will I be ok at rides and meals?
Also is there places throughout the park we can sit and charge for a minute or so? Just thinking if we stay for extra magic hours we might run out of juice.
As the others said, take your key with you.
Do be aware that CMs do move strollers, wheelchairs and ECVs at times to keep the parking areas tidy, so you may find your ECV is not exactly where you left it. Just look around in the same area and you will find it.
Also, to move ECVs, the CMs put them in freewheel position so the ECV can be pushed. If you come back and your ECV wont go, it is probably still in freewheel or it did not get fully engaged when the CM took it out of freewheel.
For waiting, make use of Fastpasses and also a touring plan is a good idea. A lot of people use smartphone apps, like one from
Undercover Tourist or WDW Lines to help them plan for the places with the shortest waits.
If you have not looked at it already, the disABILITIES FAQs thread has a lot of good information. Be sure to look at post 11 and some of the post on page 2 of the FAQs thread about attractions where guests need to stand if they do not have a mobility device with them.
Buses to and from DTD might be very crowded.
