Need advice for MIL

[Reese]

We have agrand gatheing of 16 people in Dec.. MY MIL is unable to walk distances at all. I had never checkied into wheelchair rentals and just cruising WDW with a wheelchair. We are staying at POP, do they have chairs there? She doens't have her own chair because she can walk but just not distances. Does anyone have any advice they can or knowledge they can offer?

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Hi and to disABILITIES!

If you click on where it says "disABILTIES" at the top of this page it will take you to the Index. One of the top items is the "disABILTIES FAQ" which will gives lots of useful information.

Once you have looked at the related part of the FAQ, you will bew able to ask more specific questions and we will be able to give better answers.

Or, if you want an easier route, click on the link in my signature.

 

[Reese]

Thank you that thread was very informative . Now I have a couple of specific questions .
Can MIL just come through the que line at the bus stop with us and than fold up the wheelchair and get on like we do with our stroller? I have 7 children and it's only DH, myself and our kids that are familiar with WDW so everyone else has a phobia of getting lost. DH has to handle the stroller while DS and I wrangle my youngest three on the bus so we really can't send someone on ahead but everyone else in our party is more than willing to wait. I've seen the bus driver as soon as they pull up let get out for the wheelchair line so I wasn't sure if MIL can't wait in line than can we just have the majority of us stand in line and when we get up to the front she can get in the wheelchair line, does that make sense?
Also does anyone have feedback on renting from www.walkermobility.com? I think we should probably rent one for the duration of our stay instead of hoping the resort has one for MIL to get her to and from the busses.

 

[SueM in MN]

Also does anyone have feedback on renting from www.walkermobility.com? I think we should probably rent one for the duration of our stay instead of hoping the resort has one for MIL to get her to and from the busses.

This is the easier question.
All of the companied listed in the disABILITIES FAQs thread are there because posters have reported good experiences with them over the years. More people have rented ECVs from the companies.
You can often get one lent by the resort, but there is no guarantee that one will be available.

Can MIL just come through the que line at the bus stop with us and than fold up the wheelchair and get on like we do with our stroller? I have 7 children and it's only DH, myself and our kids that are familiar with WDW so everyone else has a phobia of getting lost. DH has to handle the stroller while DS and I wrangle my youngest three on the bus so we really can't send someone on ahead but everyone else in our party is more than willing to wait. I've seen the bus driver as soon as they pull up let get out for the wheelchair line so I wasn't sure if MIL can't wait in line than can we just have the majority of us stand in line and when we get up to the front she can get in the wheelchair line, does that make sense?

I'm not quite sure what you are asking, so I'll answer what I think you are asking.
If she prefers to not have the wheelchair all tied down in the wheelchair spot in the bus, someone in your party could fold it up and you can carry it on like the stroller.
But, wheelchairs are quite heavy and unwieldy, so you probably still want to bring it into the back door where there is more room.
Wheelchairs are loaded first (or should be) do that there is room to manouver them around on the bus. If you are all in the line, the driver may not see the wheelchair until your MIL is right at the front of the line. There might not be room at that point to load the wheelchair on.
There is a part of the disABILITIES FAQs thread that explains about how the buses work. I don't know if you have read that and still have questions, but we can try to answer if you still have questions.

 

[Reese]

There is a part of the disABILITIES FAQs thread that explains about how the buses work. I don't know if you have read that and still have questions, but we can try to answer if you still have questions.

In reading that part of the thread I wasn't sure if carrying it on like a stroller was an option. If a bus is crowded we just let the people behind us on as we would prefer to wait for the next bus. Our stroller is a huge double one that DH has to take in the back door of the bus anyway. So it shouldn't be an issue if we take MIL through the bus que and fold up the wheelchair and FIL will just hold it like a stroller.
Do you know how far in advance you should order a wheelchair? I seen you can call within 24 hours but I wasn't sure if they only reserve within a certain time.

 

[daisyduck123]

Also does anyone have feedback on renting from www.walkermobility.com? I think we should probably rent one for the duration of our stay instead of hoping the resort has one for MIL to get her to and from the busses.

We rented 2 ECVs for a week from Walker Mobility in May 2007. We were staying at SSR & they delivered them to the resort. On our check-out day, we left them with bell-services, for pick-up later.

The ECVs worked great all week. The only drawback was how HEAVY they are. They were a pain to take apart & put in our cars every day.

I remember that about 1/2 way thru our week, my FIL got so tired of it, that we returned that one early, & FIL just rented an ECV at the park each day.

**Walker has a couple different kinds of ECVs. We got the ones that can hold "heavier" people.

 

[Schmeck]

Our stroller is a huge double one that DH has to take in the back door of the bus anyway.

I thought that you were not allowed to board through the back door unless accessibility was an issue. Every bus that I have been on closes those back doors and does not let people enter that way. When people try to enter that way the bus driver yells at them...

 

[SueM in MN]

I thought that you were not allowed to board through the back door unless accessibility was an issue. Every bus that I have been on closes those back doors and does not let people enter that way. When people try to enter that way the bus driver yells at them...

The bus drivers will sometimes open the back door (not put down the lift) when people with large strollers are at the front door and ask to enter at the rear.
People should NEVER enter thru the rear door unless they have gotten OK to do so from the driver.
It is very dangerous to enter thru the rear door without the driver's knowledge. Drivers have told us that they can't see the back door very well. The driver does have mirrors to view the area, but when people are getting into the bus thru the front door, their bodies block the driver's view. Also, as people get out of the bus, they sometimes hit/move the mirrors that help the driver see the back.
We saw one situation where the back door was still open after the driver had loaded my DD's wheelchair. The driver had gone back to the front to close the door and let other passengers in. A man with a large stroller started to send his young DD in the door, while he followed with the stroller. I told him not to come in because the driver had gone to shut it and the door was open because a wheelchair had just been loaded. He replied with an 'attitude', something about he was going in that door and I had no right to tell him not to. As his DD got in, the door shut on her. My DH had run up to tell the driver (since the driver had not heard us), but DH was too late. The man got a talking to from the driver and a scared child, but luckily she was not hurt, just scared.
We have seen many situations of people trying to come into the back door, but this was the first time we saw a child get hit by the door.

 

[Reese]

The bus drivers will sometimes open the back door (not put down the lift) when people with large strollers are at the front door and ask to enter at the rear.
People should NEVER enter thru the rear door unless they have gotten OK to do so from the driver.

DH always talks to the driver and he opens the back door and lets him through. They have never put the lift down. He just gets the stroller in and stands at one of the bars holding it. I always take the kids in the front door. Some of the aisles are very narrow so the bus driver seems very happy to have him take it in the back. I didn't realize it was an actual issue. We had never even thought of taking it in the back until our first trip with it after our second bus ride the driver asked DH if he wanted to take it in the back. Now I'll have to let Dh know that he might not be able to.
Thank you for your links and knowledge. I think we will rent her a wheelchair for the duration of our stay. As for individual rides and shows I'm sure the CM's will be helpful as it seems different for each show and ride.

 

[SueM in MN]

DH always talks to the driver and he opens the back door and lets him through. They have never put the lift down. He just gets the stroller in and stands at one of the bars holding it. I always take the kids in the front door. Some of the aisles are very narrow so the bus driver seems very happy to have him take it in the back. I didn't realize it was an actual issue. We had never even thought of taking it in the back until our first trip with it after our second bus ride the driver asked DH if he wanted to take it in the back. Now I'll have to let Dh know that he might not be able to.
Thank you for your links and knowledge. I think we will rent her a wheelchair for the duration of our stay. As for individual rides and shows I'm sure the CM's will be helpful as it seems different for each show and ride.

It's not an issue if you ask the driver and the driver agrees. People who ask nicely will usually have a reasonable driver who agrees (especially if it is one of the older buses that have very narrow aisles).

When it becomes an issue is when people either just try to sneak in the back door when it happens to be open or when people stand at the back door with their stroller and demand it be put in there. Someone had posted about a year ago about a person leaving the park with a large stroller who was refusing to fold their stroller and said it could not be folded. Apparently that person became very belligerant to the driver.

As long as people are nice about it and ask, it's not a problem usually.