New bus procedures

[LisaBi]

Does anyone who has been the last couple weeks or so have any updates on the bus loading situation for wheelchairs? (Whether to wait in separate spot by back door or wait in the main queue.) When we were there in September, it was very confusing - some places still had the marked spots, and other didn't, and I wasn't sure what we should do. Then there was a long thread here about it, but nothing recently.

I'm OK with either process - but just want to be doing things right. In the past, I've been "yelled" at for waiting in the main line...just want to be sure I'm where we should be. I do have my son walk on, and we fold up the chair - but it would very hard to get the chair thru the front door I would think, and him standing on the bus is out of the question.

Thru a completely unexpected set of circumstances, we are going again later this month!

 

[Mary976]

We were there for Marathon weekend (first weekend in January) so I can share our experience with DD and her chair.

Keep in mind, this is VERY slow time (like the wait time for Everest was 20 minutes mid-day), plus we avoid coming/going at peak times (right at closing), in part because we want DD to get on and in part because she gets grumpy about being "crowded" on the bus.

Coming back from the park, this is what we saw and what we were told to do...the main point is that we did NOT wait in the chained off line all the way to the front. The drivers pulled the front of the bus up to the front of the line, which meant the ramp area of the bus was further down the line.

So this is how we approached it:

If the line was short (only a couple people), we would wait in FRONT of the chain, at the corner where the lift would be (NOT at the head of the line). Sometimes DH would stand behind the chain (so in the line) and would just
tell people we were waiting with DD and they should move up to the front.

If the line was past the bend and snaking through the chained area quite a bit, DD and I waited off to the side, when DH got to "the spot" we would pull DD up to the spot listed above and again DH would wave others past him.

Hope that helps. Have fun on your trip!!

Mary

 

[SueM in MN]

What resort were you at?

I've noticed the bus stops for different resorts have various set ups and at some, it may not be possible to do it the way you did.

 

[I Love Pluto]

We have been met with several scenarios, even within the same trip:

1 - The other guests on the bus line will tell us that we should wait to the side with the ECV, not in the regular line.

2 - The bus driver will tell us that we should wait in the HC area, not in the regular line.

3 - The buses have been so full that we have to wait for the next bus, and the next, etc. Apologies are always expressed by CMs, and assurances that they will send another bus immediately are always expressed.


Based on these differences - I think waiting and boarding the buses depends on the group you are waiting with, and with the bus driver's interpretation of how the system works.

I have never been in the position of having rude comments made to me. I always feel that I am treated fairly. Sometimes we have to wait longer, sometimes we are the first taken care of.

 

[Mary976]

What resort were you at?

I've noticed the bus stops for different resorts have various set ups and at some, it may not be possible to do it the way you did.

My scenario above was just going from park back home to resort. Going from resort to park was something new every time!

We stayed at the Contemporary which was sharing with the Poly (except DTD where I think we also stopped at the GF).

The Contemporary does NOT have an organized waiting area. You basically hang out and then form something resembling a line when the bus you want comes. The good news is that it picks up there first, before the Poly, so the buses were empty when DD was loading.

We generally had DD park herself out near the curb and then we would wave to the driver of the bus we wanted. They always loaded her first and since we avoided the peak rush periods, everyone else wanting that bus could get on too.

But like I said, things varied at the resorts. Some mornings we had an employee organizing the waiting areas, sometimes some buses were going to multiple parks, etc. I'm sure it's a lot different at larger resorts too. We've stayed at Pop with a rental car, but the lines for the buses were much longer.


Mary