Just back, some observations...

[Suellen]

I did say I am not agreeing it should be done.

It would be extremely hard to forge because you would have to get your hands on a blank prescription pad. It is an extremely unprofessional physician who would make it easy to obtain a blank prescription pad.

They are usually "easy" enough to read if they wrote a short sentence.

I work for a physician and yes his handwriting is ATROCIOUS most of the time. But if he is specifically trying to write something so a general "lay person" can read it is fine.

 

[book_junkie]

When we went to WDW with my parents in 2007, we rented them scooters from an off-site company- my dad had had multiple heart surgeries and couldn't walk long distances, and my mom was recovering from cancer and chemo- no way they could walk the distance around the Wilderness Lodge, let alone the parks, but this was where they wanted to go for a family vacation so we went. They delivered them to our resort, and gave them a good hour tutorial on how to run them, and we spent the next hour making sure that they knew how to run them. My husband tigger and I took the tutorial as well, and made sure we knew how to run them as we knew that at times we would have to load them onto the buses/transportation at WDW. If we had had the option of renting ANYTHING that would take TWO ECVs to drive, we would have rather than mess with WDW transportation. The bus and boat drivers were the most courteous people we ever met, helping them every step of the way during the trip, making sure they were settled. They would leave the parks before us, usually at non-busy times just because they were exhausted, and we would walk out with them and make sure they were taken care of, and the bus drivers were just the nicest people on earth. The boat masters (when we took the boat from MK to WL and back) were the same- understanding when there were issues trying to get a running speed for the scooters to the landing dock, or when would get too frustrated and hand of the scooter to me to get it off the boat because he couldn't navigate the corner or the launch. In fact, my parents felt so comfortable with scooter use at WDW for their disabilities, they went back on their own for two additional trips without us.

The WDW cast members were a close second- especially those at the Haunted Mansion. It's favorite attraction, and he was so worried he wouldn't be able to board because of the moving platform- he didn't think he'd be able to transfer from the moving platform to the doom buggy without falling as when he stood and walked he had to use a cane for balance. The cast members stopped the ride, allowed him as much time as he needed to get in and get settled, and since it was extremely slow (during the MVMCP night) we rode it five times in a row- we just had to signal when we wanted to get off. It made his night, and and I went to Guest Services to let them know about the cast member and how they went above and beyond.

The issues we encountered were other WDW guests. We had people try and board the buses using the back doors when we were trying to load the ECVs, glare at my parents when they were wheeling down the street (not even on the sidewalks). and I learned quickly to walk beside and in front of my parents to make sure no one walked out in front or around them or cut in front, and even then accidents happened. One lady stepped behind when he was backing up next to a bench in Epcot, completely ignoring the extremely loud beep beep noise then started cursing when he clipped her ankle. When they parked in the non-handicapped areas to wait for parades, they got rudely told to move by others so that people with strollers could wait there. They got pushed and shoved at the end of parades and shows during exits, then snarled at when people stopped short and the ECVS couldn't.

Through all that I kept my temper, but when someone had the nerve to complain about 'handicappers getting in to the front everywhere' when we had waited six cycles for an attraction that this guy had walked up on because we needed two special seats for my parents, I went off. (It had been a bad day of a whole lot of little slights to my parents about them being untitled to things they were getting, them not feeling well, and just frustrations). Told him all about bypass operation and how we almost lost him on the table, and the mini-strokes that lost brain function and balance and he'll never be the same, the cancer that had been diagnosed with and the chemo and radiation sickness that she had been through, the bone weakness and the beautiful hair under her Mickey ears that was a wig, and that he was a complete *** for complaining about a person, and that he was damn lucky that I wasn't a black Wiccan and would curse his ***. (I'm not a Wiccan anything but had just finished a class on world religions that included voodoo and Wiccan).
and and and everyone else I thought had been out of earshot, but then I hear a big loud THAT'S MY BABY! GO GET HIM! from the ride car.

At least I know that loves me. I get in the ride car and the cast member is smiling at me, and I look at and my face has to be on fire, and he goes, You're really sexy when you're mad...

 

[free2div]

People staying on-property are paying for the service, just as they are paying for the use of towels in their bathrooms, a bed to sleep in, air conditioning in their rooms, access to extra magic hours and so on. The WDW buses are one of the paid-for benefits of staying on property.

It is unreasonable to suggest that someone choosing to stay on-property should need to rent a car because of a scarcity imposed by the company providing the service - just as it would be unreasonable to suggest that people pack their own bath towels because WDW was failing to provide a sufficient number in the resort rooms. The problem in both cases is with the company providing the service.

Benefits of Staying at a Disney Resort Hotel
When you stay at a select Walt Disney World Resort hotel, you can enjoy benefits like Extra Magic Hours for extra time in the theme parks, and complimentary ground transportation to and from the Orlando International Airport, and within the Walt Disney World Resort.

 

[maxiesmom]

I did say I am not agreeing it should be done.

It would be extremely hard to forge because you would have to get your hands on a blank prescription pad. It is an extremely unprofessional physician who would make it easy to obtain a blank prescription pad.

They are usually "easy" enough to read if they wrote a short sentence.

I work for a physician and yes his handwriting is ATROCIOUS most of the time. But if he is specifically trying to write something so a general "lay person" can read it is fine.

Ok, maybe this is a stupid question. But what about people that are
not from the USA that want to rent a scooter? Are Dr pads the same world-wide? And if so, wouldn't you then have to be able to read the local language to decipher them?

 

[POOHsie]

When we went to WDW with my parents in 2007, we rented them scooters from an off-site company ...

I loved your story. I agree with you that the Disney workers understand those using scooters and their families. The people who don't understand are those who have not been exposed to disability and medical equipment. Some mean well, some try to build a bridge from the walking world to the wheeled world. Some wish to build a tall wall where the wheeled people are kept out of sight, so as not to inconvenience them in any way. This last group is a small minority, thankfully. And there is room for learning. There are many posts of people being against scooter people, then their family member or they themself needed one, and all-of-a-sudden they understood what scooter advocates were talking about. So there's always hope...

 

[KPeveler]

To answer several previous posts - The way the world handles wheelchairs are not fair, for either people with wheelchairs and everyone else. Life is not fair. Why should it suddenly be fair at Disney?

No, the system in general is not perfect, but it is the best we have right now.

To answer other points - I will not get a doctors note to prove my need for a wheelchair. Last time I was in Florida, I rented a powerchair because my personal powerchair was unavailable. I was not going to make a special doctor's appointment and spend even more money to get a note saying that I was, in fact, disabled.

The ADA is there to protect people without insurance who cannot afford doctors, and to protect my privacy. How do I know the rental company will file my paperwork with my medical information properly? They are not set up for things like that.

Who else am I supposed to show my information to? Store managers? Bus drivers?

Sorry, my disability is my business, and it is up to me to decide what kind of mobility equipment I need at any given time.

But to return to my first point. No, I will admit that the current system is not entirely fair to everyone at all times, but sadly, life is not fair, and this is the best we can do right now...

 

[khertz]

People staying on-property are paying for the service, just as they are paying for the use of towels in their bathrooms, a bed to sleep in, air conditioning in their rooms, access to extra magic hours and so on. The WDW buses are one of the paid-for benefits of staying on property.

It is unreasonable to suggest that someone choosing to stay on-property should need to rent a car because of a scarcity imposed by the company providing the service - just as it would be unreasonable to suggest that people pack their own bath towels because WDW was failing to provide a sufficient number in the resort rooms. The problem in both cases is with the company providing the service.

Disney transportation is a free service provided by Disney for anyone, not a service that people staying on-site pay for. Otherwise, they would have you show proof that you are a guest of that hotel to have you ride the bus. DH and I stayed off site at Bonnet Creek in December, and decided to resort hop our first afternoon before our parents arrived in the rental car. We rode the bus to the Wilderness Lodge from MK just to see the tree. Were this a "paid for" service for people staying on-site, why wouldn't they have us show a room key saying we were staying at the WL (or any Disney property for that matter). Your argument makes no sense.

As for people on-site renting a car, why is it "unreasonable"? Plenty of people do just that because they don't like how the Disney transportation operates.

 

[Suellen]

Ok, maybe this is a stupid question. But what about people that are
not from the USA that want to rent a scooter? Are Dr pads the same world-wide? And if so, wouldn't you then have to be able to read the local language to decipher them?

And I will say for the THIRD time ~ I don't advocate this is a solution.

I have no idea what other countries do for controlled meds. I can't answer to that.

I also do not know if the medical language in other countries are the same. I would assume not but that for "most" languages they would be similar enough.

In an ideal world people wouldn't fake illnesses to get preferential treatment (real or imagined).

Thank you to the poster who admits there is nothing fair about it.

And no ~ life is not fair. My 5 year old would be the first to tell you that. I've taught her well.

 

[maxiesmom]

And I will say for the THIRD time ~ I don't advocate this is a solution.

I have no idea what other countries do for controlled meds. I can't answer to that.

I also do not know if the medical language in other countries are the same. I would assume not but that for "most" languages they would be similar enough.

In an ideal world people wouldn't fake illnesses to get preferential treatment (real or imagined).

Thank you to the poster who admits there is nothing fair about it.

And no ~ life is not fair. My 5 year old would be the first to tell you that. I've taught her well.

I know you are not advocating it, but I'm just trying to figure out how it could possibly work. Especially in a place that has so many visitors from around the world. A Dr note may work for people who live in the USA, but that is the only group of people it would work for.

 

[Lizziejane]

First, I will admit - I have not read every post in this thread (at 16 pages...would take all day!)

My question is, what is the explanation Disney gives for scooters getting 'front of the line" access when the bus arrives? I can appreciate it taking a few minutes longer to load/unload a scooter, and needing to keep families together, but I don't get why a scooter gets to go in front of all those ahead of them. If they're well enough to scoot around the park all day, surely they can wait their turn in the bus queue?

 

[suzannekelder]

???

I work at hotel which requires documentation for service dogs.. is this allowed?

 

[npcougar]

I doubt any kind of medical waiver would ever fly. It is obvious that with all the disadvantages, very few if any people would fake to use a scooter. I really don't care if someone takes a scooter and only has to use it part of the time. Even if you are healthy, a long hot walk can take it out of you. We have used the extra time during loading to talk about to our DD about disabilities. Even she was smart enough to figure out that something that looks fun for a little while wouldn't be fun all day. The system in place seems about as good as it is going to get with today's technology. My only complaint is the lack of enforcement by drivers with the accompanying riders.

I do have one question I'd like opinions on. Which has a bigger impact on the increasing number of scooters: More access to them or the decline in physical health of our society?

 

[triplejen]

First, I will admit - I have not read every post in this thread (at 16 pages...would take all day!)

My question is, what is the explanation Disney gives for scooters getting 'front of the line" access when the bus arrives? I can appreciate it taking a few minutes longer to load/unload a scooter, and needing to keep families together, but I don't get why a scooter gets to go in front of all those ahead of them. If they're well enough to scoot around the park all day, surely they can wait their turn in the bus queue?

This is a question that has been answered a lot in this thread. The drivers load people in wheelchairs & scooters first because it is the easiest/fastest/safest way to get those vehicles on board and secured before a bunch of other bodies start packing into the bus.

 

[JerseyJanice]

I don't think anyone should be required to "prove" that they need a mobility device in order to use one. A lot of conditions are very subjective--pain that is impossible to tolerate for some people might be a discomfort to someone else. Who would sit in judgement of whether or not someone should be using one? Even doctors have differing opinions because pain is a difficult thing to quantity objectively.

What I think is that Disney needs to look outside the current box to accommodate everyone better. Two spots on one bus just aren't going to be enough if the numbers continue to increase. I've been thinking about what does work currently--the monorail and the boat do. I didn't notice any inconvenience to anyone when mobility devices were used there.

Like I said before, I'm no engineer, but I'm thinking what about a double decker bus? One where the whole first level is filled with wheelchair hook-ups and a second level just for people on foot so they could go upstairs and wait in air-conditioned comfort while the multiple mobility devices are loaded below.

Transporting large numbers of mobility devices is something that needs improvement. Sixteen pages of discussion about topic demonstrate that.

 

[JerseyJanice]

I do have one question I'd like opinions on. Which has a bigger impact on the increasing number of scooters: More access to them or the decline in physical health of our society?

I don't know! And I'm not sure how to quantity it either.

Honestly, ten years ago, I would have said that if I couldn't manage to tour Disney World on my own two feet, I would take an easier vacation. Now that I'm in late 40s with a few medical issues, I'm not sure. It would be a very depressing thing to consider that I would never go to WDW if I can't walk it.

 

[POOHsie]

I do have one question I'd like opinions on. Which has a bigger impact on the increasing number of scooters: More access to them or the decline in physical health of our society?

I would answer both increased access to scooters and decline in physical health. ADA laws passed in 1990 opened up accessibility, in the form of curb cuts, ramps, accessible bathrooms, accessible transportation. Thus came scooters and power chairs, which the disabled have bought in order to participate as independent individuals in the newly accessible world. That would describe me.

At the very same time, the Baby Boomers, a huge group of people born in certain years after World War II, are getting old now and some are having physical problems. That would describe me, too.

 

[suzannekelder]

Like I said before, I'm no engineer, but I'm thinking what about a double decker bus? One where the whole first level is filled with wheelchair hook-ups and a second level just for people on foot so they could go upstairs and wait in air-conditioned comfort while the multiple mobility devices are loaded below.

QUOTE]

I think this is a great idea, no idea if it would work, but bravo!!!

 

[OhioDisneyDad]

Through all that I kept my temper, but when someone had the nerve to complain about 'handicappers getting in to the front everywhere' when we had waited six cycles for an attraction that this guy had walked up on because we needed two special seats for my parents, I went off. (It had been a bad day of a whole lot of little slights to my parents about them being untitled to things they were getting, them not feeling well, and just frustrations). Told him all about bypass operation and how we almost lost him on the table, and the mini-strokes that lost brain function and balance and he'll never be the same, the cancer that had been diagnosed with and the chemo and radiation sickness that she had been through, the bone weakness and the beautiful hair under her Mickey ears that was a wig, and that he was a complete *** for complaining about a person, and that he was damn lucky that I wasn't a black Wiccan and would curse his ***. (I'm not a Wiccan anything but had just finished a class on world religions that included voodoo and Wiccan).
and and and everyone else I thought had been out of earshot, but then I hear a big loud THAT'S MY BABY! GO GET HIM! from the ride car.

At least I know that loves me. I get in the ride car and the cast member is smiling at me, and I look at and my face has to be on fire, and he goes, You're really sexy when you're mad...

You go girl! The ECV haters need to keep their noses out of other people's business. Judge not lest you be judged! I read that somewhere.

 

[jensen]

This is precisely why we always rent a car and skip the "free" transportation at Disney.

 

[BillSears]

What I think is that Disney needs to look outside the current box to accommodate everyone better. Two spots on one bus just aren't going to be enough if the numbers continue to increase. I've been thinking about what does work currently--the monorail and the boat do. I didn't notice any inconvenience to anyone when mobility devices were used there.

This hasn't been mentioned before but I really think the big problem with the buses vs. the monorail, boat and even normal public transportation buses is the tie down system. It's the largest delay when loading wheelchairs/ECVs. The boats and monorails don't use it and I've never seen a regular public transportation bus that had any more then a quick click system where you back one of your wheels into a slot that clicks shut and holds the chair in place maybe with a seat belt across your lap.

Disney is trying to make it safer for all people on buses by securely tying down the wheelchair. But that takes a lot of time.

I don't know! And I'm not sure how to quantity it either.

Honestly, ten years ago, I would have said that if I couldn't manage to tour Disney World on my own two feet, I would take an easier vacation. Now that I'm in late 40s with a few medical issues, I'm not sure. It would be a very depressing thing to consider that I would never go to WDW if I can't walk it.

I've been a wheelchair user who's been going to WDW for 33 years using a chair. Trust me when I say WDW is the most accessible and easy place I've ever vacationed at. Unless you plan on just sitting in a hotel room on vacation you can't get easier than WDW while using a wheelchair. At WDW I can stop worrying about whether the restaurant/attraction/shows/buildings/etc... will be accessible. I can be normal and just show up without calling in advance.