Let the flaming begin!

[brunette8706]

I couldn't agree with you more! I also witnessed this being done at Magic Kingdom..My family and I waited a good 45mins for each bus to come to/from the resort(we were staying at the animal kingdom lodge). We got in line just before the park closed and the line was already long. Finally when we were half way through the line, I assured my niece and nephew who were practically sleeping on the concrete that we would be on the next bus. sure enough the bus started to load and here comes someone in a scooter with atleast 10 family members. Right up to the front of the line they went, as I watched the bus driver make people either switch seats or stand up to accomodate the scooter and their family. I am sorry, but I think that if people are already on the bus sitting, their should be no reason why I have to get out of my seat(if I don't want to) Is their a law that says people on scooters cannot wait in line for the next bus??? But here is the best part, not only does each scooter take up 3-4 seats worth, but then, the people get off the scooter and take up yet another seat!


My suggestion for disney would either A. Have a "Scooter bus" to accomodate the disabled. B. Set some guildlines, If you want to get on this bus, then you can only bring 1 family member...not 50. If you choose to keep everyone together, then you wait in line like everyone else.

*
How could someone do that with a good conscious, go ahead of the line with 10 family members? Something is wrong there. I'm sure there were a lot of UNHAPPY CAMPERS.

 

[klmall]

 

[Queen2PrincessG]

Gee that's not typecasting or ostricizing anyone is it?

Well no it isn't. It allows both them and their families to get to their locations with out slowing down EVERYONE who is not with them, I'm ok with it and I beat they are too.

Let's be real and not so political correct all the time. The truth is what it is. If you have a bus specially made for holding scooters and chairs it would make life easy. Just like how airlines allow those with children to board first. Just makes life easy.

 

[Glendamax]

We just returned from a 6 day trip on Tuesday and had a fabulous time, but I MUST speak my peace about the Bus/Scooters priority loading policy that is currently in place ( and yes I know there is a million threads on this topic)

You'll get NO flames from me. I think they should have their own buses.

 

[jayandstacey]

I have also always found it unfair that because a group has a scooter/wheelchair with them, it somehow means they are entitled to seats ahead of all the people who have been waiting much longer than them.

I actually had a lengthy conversation on a bus one night with a lady who had a guest assistance card, who jumped to the front of the line (right in front of me, who had chosen to wait for the next bus so my daughter could sit). She apparently had ankle surgery years ago after blowing out her ankle from years of gymnastics/cheerleading etc. However, she was able to walk all around the parks for days on end...but when it came bus time she needed a seat. Anyway, I told her I completely understood why needed the GAC to have a seat for herself (although admittedly, I didn't since she could walk miles all day lol), but I didn't understand why her husband, and her two older children also deserved to be seated along side her when we were on a packed standing-room-only bus, and all of those people standing had been there long before her or her family and deserved seats more than them (them as in her healthy family, not her).

I could get a GAC for my daughter's issues but I choose not to (I talked with the lady about all this too). But I guarantee you that even if I did get a GAC card, my husband and teenaged son would not be putting their butts in seats ahead of others who waited longer than us. I might seat my daughter (maybe on my lap) and those two could stand as the rest of the bus loaded.

Same boat - my daughter's eligible for a GAC but we don't get one.

As for the ankle - I could see where a person could walk on it, but not stand on a bus. The bus moves side-to-side, up and down, most of which is absorbed by the ankle.

But to me, that only means that you ask for a seat once you've boarded the bus - not a whole scooter.

So I don't fault the woman, just think that maybe her ankle really is bad (or the scooter is a bit much).

Do they ask for GACs now on the busses?

 

[thptrek]

Here is another issue with scooters, there is so much fraud with them via Medicaid/Medicare. Because of this, many people when they see a person in a scooter they will view the person as a scammer who just shakes down the system. Not a disabled person.

 

[larryz]

I honestly couldn't agree with you more OP. Disney should make special buses for them and their families. I'm thinking their own bus line to and from parks and resorts. That way they can still stay together but not hold up everyone else.

Gee that's not typecasting or ostricizing anyone is it?

Absolutely right -- it is neither "typecasting" nor "ostricizing" anyone.

And neither is it "stereotyping" nor "ostracizing" anyone either.

 

[sharadoc]

As an occasional scooter user, I have seen the issue from both sides. My conclusion is that folks get aggravated because of the time taken to load a scooter or wheelchair. That could come from the bus driver comfort or training issues with loading. I witnessed a bus driver last year at Christmas take 20 minutes to load a scooter. They couldn't quite figure it out. So that made everyone angry at the scooter user, when in reality the bus driver probably needed more training in how to handle the scooter.

Also, the dispatchers should be more aware of a scooter loading, and dispatch another bus pronto! If the buses loaded quicker, once again the wait wouldn't be as long and therefore the anger wouldn't be directed at the scooter user.

Regarding the scooter with a large family issue, Disney needs to be more explicit with that. Yes, the scooter user may very well need help but not with 10 people I'm sure. We witnessed a situation in June - a 3 generation family trip, at least 18 people. Grandma didn't know how to use her scooter so the larger men in the group had to help her maneuver the scooter by literally picking it up and moving it into place, or we would have waited an hour to get it into position. While that went on, the rest of the family sauntered onto the bus and spread themselves out all over the seats! Boy was I smoldering.

It's attitude! I don't know how we can change people's feelings of entitlement.

 

[katrina1122]

Well no it isn't. It allows both them and their families to get to their locations with out slowing down EVERYONE who is not with them, I'm ok with it and I beat they are too.

Let's be real and not so political correct all the time. The truth is what it is. If you have a bus specially made for holding scooters and chairs it would make life easy. Just like how airlines allow those with children to board first. Just makes life easy.

They do have buses equipped, and just like childeren on airlines they are allowing the scooters and wheelchairs on first. It just makes life easier.

Try going with a disabled person, it's not all front of the line fun, it's not easy and they too wait for buses just like everyone else. There are only a few tie downs, when they are full they wait for the next bus. There are only a few accessible roll on cards for rides, you have to wait for one to circle through to you. I'm not being polittically correct, I'm being logical. Do you see airlines with separate flights for kids? Your logic doesn't add up.

 

[zuzu310]

I couldn't agree more! No flames form me! It's absolutely unfair and ridiculous!

 

[rao363]

No, airlines do not have separate flights for kids, But only the kids and kids parents are allowed to board first..not grandma, grandpa, aunts, uncles, cousins,2nd cousins,etc...And as of last year, Airtran and Southwest no longer allow people with children to board first...

 

[buckeev]

WOW!
Going against the grain a bit here, but, assuming you or your Mom or Daughter had a disability where it required a wheelchair or scooter, how would you like to be treated?
It's a tough situation, and sitting in a wheelchair or ECV for an extended period can be very uncomfortable, and for many folks, downright painful. Regardless of the circumstances where the chair was deemed necessary, I much prefer my ability to drag my tired bones through the parks all day, as opposed to having major health issues where I HAD to spend most, if not all of my time limited in a wheelchair.

 

[JerseyJanice]

I started a similar thread after we came home from last year's trip. Good luck with yours, OP. (Mine wound up locked.)

I think buses that can hold more scooters is something Disney and its engineering partners in GM need to look at due to the ever-increasing volume of them. When we started going regularly to Disney World in 1999, it seemed like we encountered a scooter or other mobility device only occasionally. Last year, there was at least one per bus ride. The number of them in use increases every time we go.

It's getting to the point where Disney will be unable to operate its transportation system efficiently unless it can find a way to better accommodate the number of guests who use them.

 

[deegack]

I honestly couldn't agree with you more OP. Disney should make special buses for them and their families. I'm thinking their own bus line to and from parks and resorts. That way they can still stay together but not hold up everyone else.

So your advocating separate but equal. I seem to think that was tries at one point and declared unconstitutional and didn't actually work.

Seriously you're on vacation at Disney world. Waiting an extra ten minutes for a bus is the least of my concerns.

 

[PeterPan09]

it's not about allowing the scooter to board first, or whether someone needs the scooter or not. It's about the scooter family coming up to the bus just as it arrives and getting on ahead of folks who had been waiting for 20 minutes.

Having a policy where the non-disabled members of the family waited in the regular line and when they reached the boarding area THEN the scooter would be loaded would alleviate that. It would be hard to implement that tho, because the scooters must go on first when the bus arrives. It would either require another CM at the queue or an additional job for the driver to police the lines.

 

[Scarlett824]

No flames from me! I agree that they should wait in line like everyone else or Disney should provide separate buses. And yes, I have traveled in WDW with a person in a wheelchair before.

I won't even go into how I think some people abuse using these scooters.

 

[jayandstacey]

SOLUTION:

This requires some technology and investment...

Each bus stop has a screen and a number distributor, like at a deli counter, but digital. People come to the stop, indicate how many in their party and get a 'boarding pass'.

Once the bus leaves the prior stop, there's an indication of how many can be picked up at the next stop (based on how many are on the bus).

The sign at the next stop will then say "next bus arrives in 7 minutes - here are the boarding passes accepted" (note, it may not be perfectly sequential, as a single rider may get on when a group of 8 may need to wait for the next bus).

Once those passes are announced, any persons needing assistance that have one of those boarding passes for that bus are asked to come to the front. A scooter that just showed up will be at the back of the line and won't get bumped to an earlier bus.

THIS WAY, they get loaded first, but as they're loading, people know exectly who's allowed on and who isn't. There isn't that feeling that the 'scooter lady' caused a person to miss this bus and have to wait for the next. No jockying for position in the line.

Will it work?

 

[Queen2PrincessG]

They do have buses equipped, and just like childeren on airlines they are allowing the scooters and wheelchairs on first. It just makes life easier.

Try going with a disabled person, it's not all front of the line fun, it's not easy and they too wait for buses just like everyone else. There are only a few tie downs, when they are full they wait for the next bus. There are only a few accessible roll on cards for rides, you have to wait for one to circle through to you. I'm not being polittically correct, I'm being logical. Do you see airlines with separate flights for kids? Your logic doesn't add up.

I understand that. I've been on the WDW buses numerous times. My suggestion is to have buses that will hold 12 -15 chairs. They do make them, and then a family member can ride with them and the rest can wait in the regular line like everyone else. I never said that is to fun to travel with someone disabled. I know from experience that it is not. My logic makes perfect sense.

If airlines had kid only flights they would sell out. Trust me.

 

[mickey&minnie04]

I have no problem with scooters either. Just the bus procedures for loading them. We have been in line a scooter shows up, they are loaded along with their 15 member group, we do not make it on the bus. Then when the next bus comes we estimate that we will make it, but people come running out of nowhere to where the scooters load and start yelling that a scooter is coming, we wait for said scooter to arrive, they are all loaded and again we do not make the bus! How is that fair that I have now waited for 2 busses for 30-40 minutes when the last scooter showed up as the bus was about to be loaded? And since we didn't make it on the last bus either we have to wait for a 3rd bus with another wait of 10-15 minutes. That's the frustrating part.

 

[Hollymom1229]

Having travelled both with a fully able-bodied crew and someone in a wheelchair, let me assure you that the able-bodied crew is moving faster even with waiting for scooters and wheelchairs to load first.

My MIL uses a wheelchair when we are at WDW. We use a push chair as that tends to make things easier for her. She cannot climb the stairs onto a bus, so she has to be loaded in the wheelchair via the lift. Then once on the bus she tranfers to a regular seat and we fold up the wheelchair to take up minimal room. When we made our last trip that meant that our party of 4 (Mom, sister, niece and I) loaded with her. Our entire party of 5 took up two seats, mom and MIL, with niece sitting on mom's lap, while my sister and I stood.

I'm sorry if we inconvienced or slowed anyone down, we were just trying to have a good time like every other family at WDW. For us, that meant using the wheelchair or no trip. We had nasty things mumbled about us, we had people literally try and push the wheelchair out of their way, we waited for three buses once because of the number of other wheelchairs and scooters in front of us in line. Thank the deity or non-deity of your choice that you are healthy and don't begrudge others the little things that Disney does to make their lives easier.