Magical Express

[nyck]

We will be taking my grandmother with us to WDW for the 1st time since she has been on dialysis. She can walk, but not long distances and not up and down stairs very well. We are flying to MCO but I am concerned about the magical express. I don't ever remember seeing wheelchair/ECV ramps of any kind and now that I think about it I have never seen any stored under the buses as well. So now I m wondering if I should just get a Mears shuttle instead? That is horrible if they do not offer the free service for people with disabilities! Any advice is appreciated. Thank you!

 

[disney david]

We will be taking my grandmother with us to WDW for the 1st time since she has been on dialysis. She can walk, but not long distances and not up and down stairs very well. We are flying to MCO but I am concerned about the magical express. I don't ever remember seeing wheelchair/ECV ramps of any kind and now that I think about it I have never seen any stored under the buses as well. So now I m wondering if I should just get a Mears shuttle instead? That is horrible if they do not offer the free service for people with disabilities! Any advice is appreciated. Thank you!

If you need a lift bus let them know ahead of time and they will have one their when you land. But you have to be in a wheelchair or ecv the lift goes to High I safely stand on it. What you can do is keep her in the wheelchair they have at the airport then transfer to a seat. Then they will take the wheelchair back and at Disney you could borrow one and do the same as to board. They offer the same bus as they do to everyone but that one will have a lift so you need to let ten know for both the airport or resort so they can have it their when you get their. Or you will have to wait till they can get one to you. Mears won't provide you with a wheelchair as they not required to but will let you use the airport one to get on and then use one from Disney to get off.

 

[disney david]

They use tour bus style buses which have different rules they have to follow then disney buses and public transportation buses have to follow. they don't all have to be accessible they just have to have a certain percent of non accessible buses to accessible buses. They have to have one if you ask they may even offer to put you in a van for free if you explains to them what you need but their regular buses will be able to take them.

 

[nyck]

Thank you guys for the quick reply! I looked at the FAQ on WDW regarding magical express and see that I just need to click on the "wheelchair lift" option. We are bringing her own manual wheelchair on the plane so we should be ok after all. I just did the magical express reservations online and called DVC member services to request a raised toilet seat in our room! This is the first time I am traveling with someone who needs disability services and I am soo happy that Disney can do all this. It is a blessing we can bring her with us since my grandfather just passed away. Now I just need to arrange her dialysis in Celebration Florida for the time we are there!

 

[disney david]

Thank you guys for the quick reply! I looked at the FAQ on WDW regarding magical express and see that I just need to click on the "wheelchair lift" option. We are bringing her own manual wheelchair on the plane so we should be ok after all. I just did the magical express reservations online and called DVC member services to request a raised toilet seat in our room! This is the first time I am traveling with someone who needs disability services and I am soo happy that Disney can do all this. It is a blessing we can bring her with us since my grandfather just passed away. Now I just need to arrange her dialysis in Celebration Florida for the time we are there!

Yeah then she can stay in her wheelchair on the bus and have a fun and safe ride to her Disney resort. It easy I would just call a magical express and let them know you need that bus at both points. Sometimes buses get delayed a d your bus might show up after another bus and some people thing they forgot or messed up but didn't it just due to traffic and how long it takes to unload and pick up guest it might be a little late. So if it not heir when you get their and their another bus just ask the driver if your at the resort and they can check. At the airport they will be mears people to help or at the resort ask the cms that have the iPad because they are their to help with magical express and great the guest as they Come off and be more the. Happy to help you if you need.


She not afraid of heights because the bus use a loft hat will go higher off the ground then the old Disney buses and sometimes people do t expect it to go that high. As to can see in the FAQ section sue has posted great photos.

 

[SueM in MN]

Just time for quick reply.

Follow the link in my signature or look near the top of this board for the disABILITIES FAQs thread.
The last post on page one is about air travel and the first post on page 2 is about DME (Disney's Magical Express).

There is a lot of other information on that thread that may be helpful. The first post is an index to the information in the rest of the thread.

 

[stitchlovestink]

If you need a lift bus let them know ahead of time and they will have one their when you land. But you have to be in a wheelchair or ecv the lift goes to High I safely stand on it. What you can do is keep her in the wheelchair they have at the airport then transfer to a seat. Then they will take the wheelchair back and at Disney you could borrow one and do the same as to board. They offer the same bus as they do to everyone but that one will have a lift so you need to let ten know for both the airport or resort so they can have it their when you get their. Or you will have to wait till they can get one to you. Mears won't provide you with a wheelchair as they not required to but will let you use the airport one to get on and then use one from Disney to get off.

That isn't exactly true...
they will provide one, but you may have to wait for it. There was a lady going to the same resort as I was and she needed the lift style bus and we had to wait for it. We waited over 45 minutes for it. Depending on the demand and I don't know how many they have, it is possible to have to wait. Actually there were two people waiting for buses with lifts at the same time and the buses returned within about 5 minutes of one another. Not sure which resort the other person was going to... And the lady going to the same resort as I was only arrived at ME literally a minute or two before I did. We rolled up one behind the other. I must say, that is the longest I have ever waited for ME. Not that it was her fault, but it took over an hour and a half to get to our resort. We were the second stop and we were only at AoA for 5 min...LITERALLY! The driver was efficient. Just took forever to get a bus and get it loaded, and get going.

 

[disney david]

That isn't exactly true...
they will provide one, but you may have to wait for it. There was a lady going to the same resort as I was and she needed the lift style bus and we had to wait for it. We waited over 45 minutes for it. Depending on the demand and I don't know how many they have, it is possible to have to wait. Actually there were two people waiting for buses with lifts at the same time and the buses returned within about 5 minutes of one another. Not sure which resort the other person was going to... And the lady going to the same resort as I was only arrived at ME literally a minute or two before I did. We rolled up one behind the other. I must say, that is the longest I have ever waited for ME. Not that it was her fault, but it took over an hour and a half to get to our resort. We were the second stop and we were only at AoA for 5 min...LITERALLY! The driver was efficient. Just took forever to get a bus and get it loaded, and get going.

Of you let them know ahead of time hey will as I said the bus might get delayed or stuck in traffic but their are people who don't let them know ahead or time and expect the bus to be their. Sorry they made you wait if you didn't need that style bus they should of handled it better as you said sometimes they get delayed but you still need tort the. Know ahead of time so they can try to get it their to so you don't have to wait long.

 

[SueM in MN]

Of you let them know ahead of time hey will as I said the bus might get delayed or stuck in traffic but their are people who don't let them know ahead or time and expect the bus to be their. Sorry they made you wait if you didn't need that style bus they should of handled it better as you said sometimes they get delayed but you still need tort the. Know ahead of time so they can try to get it their to so you don't have to wait long.

Our experience, using DME since it began, is that our wait WILL almost always be longer than it would be if DD did not need a bus with a lift. We have always made sure they knew we need a lift bus when we made our reservation.

There are a lot of possible reasons why the wait may be longer - one could be traffic, bus delay and the fact that not every bus is accessible.

Other issues have to do with the guest - someone who has to wait for their wheelchair to be delivered to the gate will take longer than the average guest to get to the DME location.
Someone who needs to be transferred out of the plane instead of walking out will take s longer time.
They may have also needed to make a restroom stop because the bathroom on the plane was not accessible.
If they have to wait for a Skycap to bring them from the plane, that can take longer too.

So, there are a lot of issues that may make the wait longer for a guest who needs a lift bus. Personally, we are just happy that the bus exists. If it takes a bit longer, it's better than using another way to get to our resort.

 

[disney david]

Our experience, using DME since it began, is that our wait WILL almost always be longer than it would be if DD did not need a bus with a lift. We have always made sure they knew we need a lift bus when we made our reservation.

There are a lot of possible reasons why the wait may be longer - one could be traffic, bus delay and the fact that not every bus is accessible.

Other issues have to do with the guest - someone who has to wait for their wheelchair to be delivered to the gate will take longer than the average guest to get to the DME location.
Someone who needs to be transferred out of the plane instead of walking out will take s longer time.
They may have also needed to make a restroom stop because the bathroom on the plane was not accessible.
If they have to wait for a Skycap to bring them from the plane, that can take longer too.

So, there are a lot of issues that may make the wait longer for a guest who needs a lift bus. Personally, we are just happy that the bus exists. If it takes a bit longer, it's better than using another way to get to our resort.

Once again sue your right and said it better then I could sorry you and stitch are right I also said it could be delayed I still sticking to let them know ahead of time is your best bet of it getting it their sooner. Then if you show up and they have to scramble to get one for you I also think they should only use them for guest in wheelchairs not as regular me buses when they don't have one that will give them a better chance of having one when you are their. I know if their when their is no cruise or no need for the cdl buses they will use a them to handled me sometimes when very busy or use them in Disney for corporate events. So,strikes it mears whose screw up and forget to have the bus dispatched the you have to wait for it to come.

 

[SueM in MN]

Once again sue your right and said it better then I could sorry you and stitch are right I also said it could be delayed I still sticking to let them know ahead of time is your best bet of it getting it their sooner. Then if you show up and they have to scramble to get one for you I also think they should only use them for guest in wheelchairs not as regular me buses when they don't have one that will give them a better chance of having one when you are their. I know if their when their is no cruise or no need for the cdl buses they will use a them to handled me sometimes when very busy or use them in Disney for corporate events. So,strikes it mears whose screw up and forget to have the bus dispatched the you have to wait for it to come.

I don't think it is fair to blame Mears for delays. As I mentioned, there are many factors that might mean a delay - many of them have nothing to do with the bus company.

And, there is possibility that they might need an accessible bus for corporate events - they could be transporting someone who has need for a lift.

And reserving the accessible buses for use only when needed by someone who needs the lift would mean buse that could be used are sitting empty, which would mean longer waits for everyone else.

 

[disney david]

I don't think it is fair to blame Mears for delays. As I mentioned, there are many factors that might mean a delay - many of them have nothing to do with the bus company.

And, there is possibility that they might need an accessible bus for corporate events - they could be transporting someone who has need for a lift.

And reserving the accessible buses for use only when needed by someone who needs the lift would mean buse that could be used are sitting empty, which would mean longer waits for everyone else.

I never said blame them for delay stuff happens that out of their Control it the way they handle it that makes difference. Their not allowed to use the me painted buses for other then me I seen them use their other buses to cover me so I don't know if they have enough me buses when it busy so they use their other buses to cover. Your right keeping all them idle would no be practical but keeping a few or better managing when they use them would be better. They have a contract with Disney to provide a service so if that means Disney needs to look at the service and make mears buy more accessible buses then that what they need to do.


I don't want to make the op afraid to use me it a great service. Since you let them know ahead of time you will get a bus that has a lift. And at the resort you get a lift bus to go back to the airport. Mears will make sure you get their safe and happy because they don't want to make Disney unhappy.

 

[stitchlovestink]

Well that particular day, the two that rolled in minutes apart from each other were both specifically ME design buses. And they made ALL the people going to AoA, POP, CBR, and AKL wait too!!! They made sure and sent that bus out full!!! People were starting to 'fume' at the amount of time they were waiting to board a motorcoach. I wasn't the only other person waiting with her. It was an entire bus full of people. It appeared they were doing the same thing with the other motor coach full of people too!! I guess they are trying to run the coaches only when they are full or nearly full with guests. So if we have to wait, we have to wait!

 

[disney david]

Well that particular day, the two that rolled in minutes apart from each other were both specifically ME design buses. And they made ALL the people going to AoA, POP, CBR, and AKL wait too!!! They made sure and sent that bus out full!!! People were starting to 'fume' at the amount of time they were waiting to board a motorcoach. I wasn't the only other person waiting with her. It was an entire bus full of people. It appeared they were doing the same thing with the other motor coach full of people too!! I guess they are trying to run the coaches only when they are full or nearly full with guests. So if we have to wait, we have to wait!

Sorry to hear that they should have come up with something else and not make every guest wait. If they had GPS on the buses they could be able to track them like they do in Disney. I under stand them wanting to send full buses but sometimes it better to just send the bus as is.

 

[Nanajo1]

Yeah then she can stay in her wheelchair on the bus and have a fun and safe ride to her Disney resort. It easy I would just call a magical express and let them know you need that bus at both points. Sometimes buses get delayed a d your bus might show up after another bus and some people thing they forgot or messed up but didn't it just due to traffic and how long it takes to unload and pick up guest it might be a little late. So if it not heir when you get their and their another bus just ask the driver if your at the resort and they can check. At the airport they will be mears people to help or at the resort ask the cms that have the iPad because they are their to help with magical express and great the guest as they Come off and be more the. Happy to help you if you need.

She not afraid of heights because the bus use a loft hat will go higher off the ground then the old Disney buses and sometimes people do t expect it to go that high. As to can see in the FAQ section sue has posted great photos.

If your DGM can transfer I would suggest she do so. The ride is more comfortable in the bus seat.

 

[cantwaittoseemickey]

Our son can walk up the stairs to the ME so they just store his folded wheelchair underneath for us.

 

[SueM in MN]

Our son can walk up the stairs to the ME so they just store his folded wheelchair underneath for us.

Yes - some people can.

That's why I put a picture of the steps in the disABILITIES FAQs thread on the post about DME. People at least have something to look at so they can make a judgement.

 

[Dan1]

We are the same as cantwaittoseemickey.

Our DD has CP and we use a wheelchair in the parks but with my help she can climb up and down the stairs of the DME bus. The drivers have never had any issue asking folks sitting in the front row to mice so we could sit there and folks have never had and issued moving for us.

Yes, they put DD's wheelchair under the bus once I have folded it for them.

This way rather than DD sitting alone in her wheelchair she is more included and sits with the rest of us on the bus ... a small thing but if you are the one in the wheel chair it is a big thing to be included with everyone else.

Dan