HORRIBLE Wheelchair Experience at SSR

[OrthoDad]

We last stayed at Saratoga Springs 12 years ago. We liked it, but the buses were really bad. Our son has cerebral palsy and has wheelchair, so we asked to stay close to the Springs for the food, pool, etc., to make it easier on us. But, the buses, especially at the Springs stop was really bad.

Flash fwd to 2021: after rescheduling 2 trips, we ended up back at SSR, and were excited to be close to Disney Springs.

The last 2 days though: the WORST Disney bus experience we ever had. We understand that COVID19 has changed things, and we expected delays. But, each day we had OVER 1.5 hours WAIT for MK and AK.

However, the worst happened this am. After waiting 1.5 hours, an AK bus pulled up and said he could take 6. Several families were waiting, but they all wanted us to go first, since we had been waiting the longest. When we moved to load, however, the bus driver looked like someone had approached him with leprosy, saying "he couldn't take the wheelchair."

Now, there was NOT another WC or ECV on the bus. There were some non-mobility users sitting in the WC slot. The buses clearly say that those slots should be vacated (people move) to accommodate mobility users. The bus driver REFUSED to ask anyone to move. Our experience on Disney buses has always been that people are more than happy to move. BUT this guy wouldn't even ask. And, then got so angry at me for questioning him, that he didn't bother trying to let anyone else load either....making 3 more families wait even longer.

We will never stay at SSR again. We complained to Guest services with his name and bus number. This was disability discrimination, plain and simple.

 

[Narcoossee11]

Remember , that guest need to be spread out . One party per area. I imagine that may have been the issue. For the guest to "move' meant people would be sitting by others that are not in their party.

 

[DisLiss]

My first thought was that with social distancing, they can no longer ask guests to move once they are seated. I'm sorry you had to wait so long. There seem to be some really rough delays during the busier times right now with all rides/attractions/restaurants/transportation being at reduced capacity.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

Remember , that guest need to be spread out . One party per area. I imagine that may have been the issue. For the guest to "move' meant people would be sitting by others that are not in their party.

where was the driver going to put the 6 he planned to take? he didnt want to move people already on. he had a spot to put that group

 

[lanejudy]

When WDW first re-opened, buses were loaded back-to-front with each party having their own zone and nobody else was allowed to pass through an occupied zone. I believe they still do. I suspect that is why the other party couldn't move. It is unfortunate the driver didn't hold that zone open on a multi-stop route, but if he had it may have gone unused. I'm sorry you had a difficult time with transportation but hope all else made for a good trip.

 

[OrthoDad]

We understand all about social distancing and covid restrictions, and we are good with that. But, he said that he could take 6 additional passengers....and that meant that those 6 would have to be split into 2 areas in the bus (no bus area takes 6 now) which is fine.

The signs on the bus say that passengers need to move to areas to accommodate wheelchairs. The 3 people sitting there could have moved to another “3 person slot”. The bus driver simply refused to ask them to do that.

 

[DisLiss]

where was the driver going to put the 6 he planned to take? he didnt want to move people already on. he had a spot to put that group

I wasn't there, so I can't say for sure, but the bus seats are broken down into little groupings now and sometimes the number of seats per group don't match the numbers in the groups waiting, if that makes sense. You can't just move people around and puzzle them in where they will fit as easily now as you used to be able to. Plus, I don't know what the rules are about making everyone move around on the bus, putting them all closer to one another an extra time as they switch seats.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

I wasn't there, so I can't say for sure, but the bus seats are broken down into little groupings now and sometimes the number of seats per group don't match the numbers in the groups waiting, if that makes sense. You can't just move people around and puzzle them in where they will fit as easily now as you used to be able to. Plus, I don't know what the rules are about making everyone move around on the bus, putting them all closer to one another an extra time as they switch seats.

but those seats do say about being moved for a wheelchair/ecv so I do agree with the complaint

 

[DisLiss]

but those seats do say about being moved for a wheelchair/ecv so I do agree with the complaint

I understand. I just didn't know if they were new signs or if they were standard Disney signs that COVID regulations might now be negating. If that is the case, though, then I think Disney should remove those signs for now to avoid confusion or even possible confrontation.

 

[ppony]

where was the driver going to put the 6 he planned to take? he didnt want to move people already on. he had a spot to put that group

Agreed. Those spots should be LAST to seat then if they're not allowed to ask ppl to move. If he had room for 6 more, there was room for this family.

 

[Evita_W]

Definitely write Disney and let them know the issues.

 

[Groot]

When WDW first re-opened, buses were loaded back-to-front with each party having their own zone and nobody else was allowed to pass through an occupied zone. I believe they still do. I suspect that is why the other party couldn't move. It is unfortunate the driver didn't hold that zone open on a multi-stop route, but if he had it may have gone unused. I'm sorry you had a difficult time with transportation but hope all else made for a good trip.

Agreed. I think that they should’ve thought out wheelchairs at multi-stop resorts better when they were deciding on how to seat people in the buses.

 

[mamabunny]

@OrthoDad, I'm so sorry your family had this experience.

I would suggest also reaching out to Disability Services at (407) 560-2547 or email disability.services@disneyparks.com and let them know the details of the incident as well. They can't help advocate for all Guests with wheels if they don't know when things like this happen.

Thanks for letting us know about your experience - sharing info (good and bad) helps everyone here.

 

[olwyngdh]

It isn't just the multi stop resorts. My husband and I both use scooters at Disney and one night going home from a park the bus driver told us from an almost empty bus "sorry, I didn't see you so I can only take one of you since someone is already seated in the other wheelchair spot and we don't like to ask people to move." Hubby sent me first because I had already had a lot of pain that day and needed the meds back at the room. I was really angry but didn't say anything because I wasn't sure how much was overreaction from the pain. I was still angry the next day when I saw the sign was still up that said that people had to move from those seats.

 

[SueM in MN]

It isn't just the multi stop resorts. My husband and I both use scooters at Disney and one night going home from a park the bus driver told us from an almost empty bus "sorry, I didn't see you so I can only take one of you since someone is already seated in the other wheelchair spot and we don't like to ask people to move." Hubby sent me first because I had already had a lot of pain that day and needed the meds back at the room. I was really angry but didn't say anything because I wasn't sure how much was overreaction from the pain. I was still angry the next day when I saw the sign was still up that said that people had to move from those seats.

The operative words are « don’t like to ask people to move »
They can’t force people to move, but they can ask. Some drivers won’t even ask.
We’ve had that experience more than once when we were at a bus stop and the driver refused to ask the people. Sometimes, the people had moved without being asked while the driver was outside talking to us. On more than one occasion, someone from the group interrupted the driver to offer to move. At that point, the driver usually told them they didn’t have to, but they did anyway.
i usually watch those drivers more carefully than usual during the tie down Because I figure if they don’t want to load it in the first place, they might cut corners.

if you are still at WDW, the best way to give feedback is to use the Transportation button on the phone in your room. Have pas much information as you can remember - time of day, where you were, where you were going. We’ve had good luck with doing that.

 

[Debbie Jean]

I was at SSR a few weeks ago with an ECV. Bus service there was very problematic my entire stay. Two separate mornings I waited over an hour for HS... as in, there were none. Twice I waited 1.5 hours for a bus back from MK... 3 buses came but couldn’t take all the people waiting at the bus stop!

I was at the Paddock so was able to board most buses when they eventually came but I know many I rode were full by the time they got to the Springs and never even stopped. With bus service having so many issues, boarding at the last of 5 stops with a wheelchair I’m sure would be very frustrating and the primary reason I never stay in that area.

I’m so sorry OP for your experience. If you could at least count on another bus being dispatched quickly that would at least help. My experience was that there are not nearly enough on the various park routes. Clearly with reduced capacity they need to run more.

 

[Evita_W]

Our experience on our last trip was the driver assigned each group a seat number when boarding. So, they should assign the wheelchair seats last.

 

[DisneyOma]

We last stayed at Saratoga Springs 12 years ago. We liked it, but the buses were really bad. Our son has cerebral palsy and has wheelchair, so we asked to stay close to the Springs for the food, pool, etc., to make it easier on us. But, the buses, especially at the Springs stop was really bad.

Flash fwd to 2021: after rescheduling 2 trips, we ended up back at SSR, and were excited to be close to Disney Springs.

The last 2 days though: the WORST Disney bus experience we ever had. We understand that COVID19 has changed things, and we expected delays. But, each day we had OVER 1.5 hours WAIT for MK and AK.

However, the worst happened this am. After waiting 1.5 hours, an AK bus pulled up and said he could take 6. Several families were waiting, but they all wanted us to go first, since we had been waiting the longest. When we moved to load, however, the bus driver looked like someone had approached him with leprosy, saying "he couldn't take the wheelchair."

Now, there was NOT another WC or ECV on the bus. There were some non-mobility users sitting in the WC slot. The buses clearly say that those slots should be vacated (people move) to accommodate mobility users. The bus driver REFUSED to ask anyone to move. Our experience on Disney buses has always been that people are more than happy to move. BUT this guy wouldn't even ask. And, then got so angry at me for questioning him, that he didn't bother trying to let anyone else load either....making 3 more families wait even longer.

We will never stay at SSR again. We complained to Guest services with his name and bus number. This was disability discrimination, plain and simple.

I have a few questions - how did you know there was no one with a mobility device in the WC spots? And if people were in those spots, how did you know they had no issues that required them to use those seats?

 

[Chickenlady]

I have a few questions - how did you know there was no one with a mobility device in the WC spots? And if people were in those spots, how did you know they had no issues that required them to use those seats?

If there wasn't a mobility device tied down in the space, there was no one needing that space. There is nothing different between those seats, other than they fold up for access to the mobility tie down.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

I have a few questions - how did you know there was no one with a mobility device in the WC spots? And if people were in those spots, how did you know they had no issues that required them to use those seats?

no device tied down there and no one holding onto a folded device. the seats are not different from other seats