Full Buses

[graygables]

I question the wisdom hauling a family of special needs kids on a crowded bus,unless there is absolutely no other transporation available. (How do your non-standing kids manage the queues in the park?) Yes, I am probably one of the ones giving you dirty looks. You have no right to judge me for judging you.

It *is*, quite frequently, the only mode of transportation, especially with DME. My non-standing kid manages the queues in her "stroller-as-wheelchair" that isn't "officially" a wheelchair, so I still have to fold up the mammoth thing and schlep that onto the bus (dirty looks) while trying to assist my 2 special needs children (sometimes by myself...more dirty looks) and trying to get past people who are so incredibly selfish they can't even begin to see another human being's need. I'll step on your toes and set my stroller on your bag if you're not careful...guess what? You have no right to judge me, either and I'm a verrrrry WISE individual.

 

[Okiemom]

My husband gave his seat up a couple of time for women , especially with very small children. But to expect someone to give it up for a 16 year old son, I don't think is being rude. I would hope my teenagers don't expect adults to give up their seats for them.

 

[goofy4tink]

Taking a deep breath and plunging in here........I really don't think there is too much more Disney can do to relieve this issue. If they tried to add more buses, that means more drivers, that means more money, that means higher rates for us. But, if it bothers people too much they will start renting cars and then be tempted to go off property.
Yes, the buses can get full at the end of the park day. We have stood many tmes. If we don't choose to stand, we wait for the next bus. One experience I had....we had waited for our bus back to AllStarMusic for about 25 minutes...it just seemed longer at the time. There were about 30 or so people in front of us and about 20 behind. A bus had just boarded and left. Well, dd and I got on the bus and sat down. This one woman who had gotten to the end of the line just as the bus pulled in, got on the bus but couldn't find a seat and had to stand. Well, she looked at my dd and myself and muttered..."I don't understand why a healthy child should sit and I should stand!" Well then!!! I guess this woman, who had done nothing but complain about the crowds at the park and the 'long' line at the bus stop as she approached the bus stop line, had no way of knowing that my dd was somewhat sick and felt like she was going to 'be sick' at any moment. I just said to her.."I'm sorry but my dd isn't well and needs to sit." Her response? "An older person should get to sit,,,not a child!!! She doesn't look sick to me." This really got my goat, so to speak, and I lost it...I just looked at her and said..."I have been standing in that line for about 40 minutes, you just got here...my dd is ill. There is no way I am giving you her seat!!!! This is not a personal service for you." So, maybe I was a bit rude, but man, she was obnoxious.
I will give up my seat, or have my dd sit on my lap and she is not light..about 95 lbs at 12, to those that are elderly or 'impaired' in some way.

 

[jarestel]

What's logical about waiting another 20 minutes for a bus? That's ridiculous. The problem is that people are so darn selfish and lazy.

You need to determine which is more important to your particular situation, sitting or saving time. If you don't want to wait and choose to board an SRO bus hoping someone will give up their seat for you, this may work out sometimes and sometimes it won't. Whether someone should give up a seat or not has very little to do with whether they will give up a seat or not.

Again, not to sound unsympathetic, but if one gets on a standing room only bus, one should probably be expecting to stand. If another passenger gives up a seat, great, but it's not something to be relied upon.

 

[pirateofthecarolinas]

When it is standing room only, we always wait on the next bus so that we will have a seat. It is for the safety of our family. So I don't feel sorry for people that cram onto a already crowded bus. It was their own choice to stand and they knew that when they boarded.

My husband has arthritis in his knees and ankles. To look at him you would think that he is perfectly healthy. You can't see all disabilities.

Lori

 

[taximomfor4]

I would offer my bus seat to any kid under about 6, any person old enough to be my parent, any person that is obviously having trouble standing, and any female (even the ugly ones.) In other words, if the bus is full, I usually stand.

There is no way I would ever consider giving up a seat for a 16 year old male, even if he was a little on the short side.

I question the wisdom hauling a family of special needs kids on a crowded bus,unless there is absolutely no other transporation available. (How do your non-standing kids manage the queues in the park?) Yes, I am probably one of the ones giving you dirty looks. You have no right to judge me for judging you.

Not sure if this was about my special needs dd7, but she CAN stand and walk. Her issues are motor planning and balance, mostly. And anyway, parks have strollers and wheelchairs. There are plenty of ways a special needs kid can do WDW, with careful planning. And what is wrong with her being on the bus? If we get her into a seat, she is fine. We just, one of us, keep an arm nearby for big turns the bus makes, while using the other arm to hold the little one.

Honestly, the dirty looks never bothered me much. Maybe if I were there solo, I would feel bad taking up a seat while people stood. But in my situation, with the people I am with, we need 4 seats for the 6 of us. And that is what we use.

 

[kelscross]

Disney may not be able to control those standing vs. sitting, but they can control those that cut in line and enter from the side as the bus is loading instead of going to the back of the line right in front of the bus driver. This happened at MGM's bus stop. There was a line of folks that waited patiently and as the bus arrived a family just walked right up to the bus without waiting in line and got on. Consequently the family at the end of the line had to stand. The bus driver didn't say a word to that family and just let them on.

 

[ducklite]

I've heard a lot of reasons that people have an entitlement mentality, but some of the ones listed in this thread take the cake! You are entitled to get on a bus, and take a seat. If no seat is available, you are entitled to stand, or wait for the next bus. Those are the ONLY things you are entitled to.

Disabled, very elderly (and a spry 65 year old who had no problem playing 18 holes earlier in the day is not "elderly" in my book), people with babies, and very young kids (lets say 5 and under) are the only ones who people realistically need to offer seats to. Anyone not fitting those categories has no right to get upset when a seat isn't offered, regardless of age, height, weight, or anything else.

Anne

 

[ducklite]

Disney may not be able to control those standing vs. sitting, but they can control those that cut in line and enter from the side as the bus is loading instead of going to the back of the line right in front of the bus driver. This happened at MGM's bus stop. There was a line of folks that waited patiently and as the bus arrived a family just walked right up to the bus without waiting in line and got on. Consequently the family at the end of the line had to stand. The bus driver didn't say a word to that family and just let them on.

That's just wrong. What comes around goes around, and with any luck they ended up stuck on IASW for three hours the next day.

Anne

 

[Simba's Girl]

To me this is no different than what happens to public transportation in a major city during busy times (ball games/rush hour etc). It happens everywhere, not just at Disney! I'm not shocked at it in the least. Sure it stinks but that's the luck of the draw and another bus would've come...

Heather

 

[clkelley]

The simplest solution to avoiding standing on crowded buses is to not even go NEAR the busses during crowded times. We generally stay at All-Stars or Pop Century which are very crowded resorts.

We get on the buses at the crack of dawn in the morning. (Or if we don't make crack of dawn, we hang at the resort till 10:30 or 11:00) Always get a seat.

We take a break in the middle of the day at a resort (usually, a moderate resort for lunch, then relax at the pool bar or near a lake). Always get a seat on the bus then.

At park closing, we STAY IN THE PARK, in a quiet corner with SEATING, a snack, and a drink, and relax practically until security throws us out. Then we wander out the exit to the EMPTY bus area and always get a seat.

We have been almost every month of the year except August, March, and May, and this works every time.

Carol

 

[Tigger_Magic]

Carol makes some excellent points. If you choose to stay until park closing, you are going to encounter crowded buses. That's just the way it is.

I mean no disrespect to the OP, but they did not indicate any real disability other than not being tall enough to reach the overhead bar. I doubt I would reach it either, so the very few times I've stood I held on the the back of the seat near me. After a couple of times riding the bus back STANDING, you learn to:

(1) leave early or
(2) wait in the park for the crowds to leave and catch a later bus

I agree with many on here that there are few that are truly entitled to a seat. As with much in life and at Disney, it's a "first come, first served (or seated)" world. If you don't want to stand, wait for the next bus or the one after that.

Or rent a car. That's what we do now. Private transportation, A/C set to freezer status to compensate for the FL heat, kids asleep in the back, a Disney CD playing softly... gotta love it! And even when I leave at park closing, we end up getting back to the resort faster than via Disney bus.

 

[SB in KY]

I'm sorry, but unless the OP gave birth to her 16 y/o son at an age that would qualify her for the Guiness book of records....why would she think she was more deserving of a seat than a 30 or 40 someting year old??.... I am no spring chicken anymore, but I do not think 50 something qualifies as so old people should be offering you a seat....everyone is tired, no one wants to stand regardless of age, height, weight or gender and if holding onto a grab bar for 10 minutes makes your 16 year old son's arm sore maybe he could just hold onto a pole!! Jeesh....what does he do on the bus, subway, train, etc at home during rush hour??

We often travel with my 80 something y/o mother and she has NEVER had to stand on a bus....without exception someone has ALWAYS offered her a seat. She is always grateful....but I do not think it is to be expected....it is a generous gift from a stranger....not an entitlement.


As others have said....if you are not comfortable standing on a full bus, have a seat and wait on the next one...we have made several WDW trips with a friend who has 2 special needs children that do not look terribly "different" we try to avoid peak travel times with them, but if we still run into full buses we just have a seat and wait for the next bus where they can be at the front of the line and find a seat....Even though they are nice tall adolescent males I do not think they need to give up their seats to anyone....they cannot balance on moving vehicles

I guess I think if someone wants to offer their seat to someone for whatever reason that is a nice and generous thing to do....but to expect anyone to give up their seat is not fair (especially because you are short and 40 or 50 something!!) you never know what circumstances someone is under (sick, poor balance, special needs that are not visible to observers, arthritis, recent surgeries....the list is endless.

 

[aladdinsgirl]

You want someone to give up their seat because you are short?? Are you kidding me?? I'm short too--5'1" and I can't really reach the bars either, but I stand and I make the best of the situation (usually hanging on to DH ). Why? Because I'm perfectly healthy and there's nothing stopping me from standing for a 10-20 minute drive back. Maybe you need to look into renting a car and driving to the parks for future trips.

Krista

 

[blueeyez]

I must be the minority here. Every bus we rode on was full. There were many people standing. Everyone that I noticed were very nice about giving up their seats. DD10 thought it was so cool that she was able to stand on the bus while it was moving. I was always right next to her so I knew she'd be okay. If I see people sitting down that could be standing, it doesn't really bother me. I just try to tell myself that they must have a really good reason. I try not to think badly of them becuz I don't know their circumstances. I feel good just knowing that my family is good about giving up their seats for others. (Except for DD4, she definetly has to sit!)

 

[michellex2]

We often travel with my 80 something y/o mother and she has NEVER had to stand on a bus....without exception someone has ALWAYS offered her a seat.

I, too, have found that people tend to be very kind to those with obvious disabilities. My 84 year old mother, silver haired and tiny, is very clearly frail and impaired. She is ALWAYS offered a seat by someone, in a gracious and friendly way -- but then, it is clear by looking at her that she needs the assistance. She's always grateful and friendly in return and tends to smile at everyone, so that may contribute as well, but I've always been impressed with how kind people are to her -- never fails to restore my faith in people.

 

[Jen D]

I'm sorry, but unless the OP gave birth to her 16 y/o son at an age that would qualify her for the Guiness book of records....why would she think she was more deserving of a seat than a 30 or 40 someting year old??.... I am no spring chicken anymore, but I do not think 50 something qualifies as so old people should be offering you a seat....everyone is tired, no one wants to stand regardless of age, height, weight or gender and if holding onto a grab bar for 10 minutes makes your 16 year old son's arm sore maybe he could just hold onto a pole!! Jeesh....what does he do on the bus, subway, train, etc at home during rush hour??

I don't understand why a healthy middle-aged person would expect a seat either. Where I live, offering a seat to a healthy fifty-something woman on public transportation is not something I'd advise... most would assume they are being pegged as feeble and elderly and would probably be offended.

 

[bigbabyblues]

Whenever we encountered a bus that we'd have to stand, we just moved to the side and let people go in front of us. The next bus wasn't too long away, and it was much better than standing (we have a 2-yo, a 4-yo, and a stroller).

I'm sorry you had a hard time with the full busses, but it happens that way when so many people are going from the same place to the same place at th esame time, no way around it. As far as expecting someone to give up their seat, it's nice when it happens, but that person wants to sit for the 20-minute ride as much as I do, I don't think it should be expected. I did put my 4-yo on my lap so his seat could be used by someone else if it was SRO, but a lot of people didn't, and that's their choice too. I don't understand why it's not "logical" to wait for the next bus? If you know it will be a problem, leave 20 minutes early just in case.

 

[PlutosFriend]

That's why I rent a car. I can't stand crowded busses. Love to get in the car, turn up the AC, turn on the radio, and off we go!

Same for me! I would not enjoy waiting for a bus and then being packed on there. We have never had any parking nightmares. I really thought of using the ME next time and not renting a car, but this thread reminds why I should not do that

 

[barbarabee]

Okay...my preachy two cents. I am one of those that has a visible disability, and am frequently (not always...which is just fine) offered a seat by more able bodied people. I rarely accept the offer, because I am so grateful that I CAN stand and CAN walk (albeit not too well), that I prefer to do so.

It just takes too much energy and it is such a negative attitude to spend your time on the bus while you stand glaring at people who aren't giving up seats because you THINK they should. Be glad that you are able-bodied enough to stand.

I remember when I was a small child, four years old, and we were at Disneyland. I so wanted to be in a stroller because I was tired and sore, but my father said that as long as I could walk, I would use my own two feet. It took a lot more work and patience on my parent's part to make me walk all day, but I think I am a better person because of it. I don't expect any special priveleges because of my disability. When I get on a SRO bus, I expect to stand. If I am feeling particularly tired, I'll wait for the next bus or take a taxi.