Oct 29, 2011 - just got back from WDW

[SueM in MN]

We literally arrived home from a 15 day stay at WDW about 3 hrs ago. Chilling out a bit now, in recovery mode, so thought I would post a little bit about our trip.
We were at OKW in a one bedroom villa for the entire time. It had a roll in shower. Room # 2111. That room is almost a one mile walk to Hospitality House and the feature pool, but we like the location because it is very close to the Miller Road bus stop and also the ‘community pool’ by building 20. Most mornings, we walked up to Hospitality House and back to get coffee.
During the first week, it was just my DH, my youngest DD and I.
My older DD and her DH joined us the second week and traveled home with us.

Buses:

• Only saw one lift bus and we were not on it! First time ever that we have not ridden a lift bus several times (I got my heel caught once on the lift and so, don’t like the lift buses ).
• We had no trouble with the buses, but OKW is not typically a busy resort for buses, except for peak times. We also were careful not to travel at peak times.
• We had marked safe tiedown spots on DD’s wheelchair with neon green tape. Before I could point them out, one driver asked us if her chair had loops for tiedown. One started to attach the back tiedowns to a bar that goes across the back of the wheelchair for stabilization, which is not a safe place. All the driver’s liked the green tape and it made it much easier for me because I could just say “You can attach any place you see green tape.”
• We took DD’s backpack off each time for the bus because we normally take it off when using our own van - even though we are familiar with the van and the wheelchair, it’s much faster. So, I don’t know if we would have been asked to remove it or not.
• We went to several resorts and all had painted wheelchair size boxes on the ground in the stop. They also had signs that explained wheelchairs at the resorts would be loaded first with up to 5 members of their party (the same sign I had seen last year at OKW).
• At the parks, our bus dropped us off many times at stops other than ours, so I had a chance to see the bus lines for resorts other than OKW. All of the park stops have had the lines widened. Some of the stops have chains or pipes all the way from entry to the front door of the bus, with no exit once you are in line until you reach the front. Others have bars or chains with a chained opening in the front row where the back door of the bus will be. Others had ropes separating out the queue. The Studio even had chains going between the different bus queues to prevent people from going up to the front where guests with wheelchairs waited previously.
• Watching guests with strollers in line, I think one of the main reasons for widening the lines was to enable strollers to fit in line. Even some of the single strollers are as wide as my DD’s wheelchair and all the double strollers except double umbrellas were wider than my DD’s wheelchair. Some of the larger double strollers were a tight fit for even the widened bus lines.

Parks:

• We used the Undercover Tourist WDW app for iphone and found it quite helpful. We tried to avoid the ‘red’ parks, if possible, and were able to avoid much of the crowds and waits. It was also helpful to check menus at restaurants, although some of the children’s menus were not correct.
• DH and I each took a day to go to MK at opening without DD, so we could go on things like Peter Pan and Space Mountain that she can’t go on. Both of us found very uncrowded conditions (I went to morning EMH and DH did not). I was able to go on Peter Pan, Snow White, Winnie the Pooh, Haunted Mansion, Stitch’s Great Escape (research ) and Small World with Peter Pan, at 10 minutes, the longest wait.
• I also spent some time poking around on Tom Sawyer’s Island to see how accessible it was. I remembered taking DD there when she was little and all I can think is that we must have carried her wheelchair a lot because there is not much you can go on without running into some stairs. Back until she was about 8, we did sometimes go one on each side of her wheelchair and carry it - once went up a full fight of stairs to get into a museum. Looking back, that was a bit nuts.
• I also stayed longer one day at Animal Kingdom than DH and DD. I went on the Safari at about 3pm and ended up seeing more animals than i ever have before, including the male and female lion, walking around.
• We had a very long wait in the accessible line for the Safari and had to let a whole tram full of people go by us because the person ahead of us needed the
• DH went on Star Tours one early morning, but the rest of us didn’t. We had just finished lunch one time we were around there and the other 3 times we were in the area, it was temporarily closed for technical problems. DH said the main difference is that the movie is now 3D.
• Pirates was closed for much of one day and Splash Mountain was closed a good part of the morning on the day I was there for early EMH.
• One thing that was odd - we saw many people, including adults at Epcot in costumes. We didn’t think much about it at MK, but I have never seen it before at Epcot.
• Older DD, her DH and I stayed one evening for EMH at Epcot. We were able to go on Soarin’ with only about a 10 minute wait. We also stayed at MK one night until midnight.

Ride loading differences

• We were asked to remove DD’s backpack on almost all rides where she stayed in her wheelchair.
• Small World boat has 2 while lines, fairly well back from the front of the boat. Guests previously just pulled up to the front of the boat and locked brakes, which did leave room for 2 wheelchairs. Each time we road, we were to remove DD’s backpack and park the wheelchair between the while lines.
• Toy Story Mania now has QStraint wheelchair tiedowns and a seatbelt. The seatbelt was permanently attached, but the QStraint tiedowns were attached each time as part of the transformation of the car from seating to wheelchair spot.
• As we were waiting at Toy Story Mania, a CM told me they can only ‘process’ one special needs party every 7 minutes, which is why guests in that boarding area can sometimes back up very far. It’s hard to explain, but it sounded like they are only supposed to use the ride car that can be transformed for for wheelchair use in that area for all guests. Each time they transform it so someone can ride in their wheelchair, they are allowed to pull one ‘regular’ ride car pod to make up for the time it takes to transform the wheelchair car.

GAC

• We did not need to use DD’s GAC very often. She had a hard first week (seizure every day) and barely made 3-4 hours at the park those first days. So, she was not around that much to use it. Waits were low for many things and places where we waited a long time (accessible line for Small World, Accessible boarding area for Toy Story Mania and Safari) were points where there was no way for us to avoid a wait.
• Several times when we used the GAC, the CM looked at it and then asked, “Which of you is ------- [DD’s name]”. I have read comments recently on other websites where people were using a family member’s GAC when that family member was not present, so I guess they are trying to crack down on that.
• We went on Small World several times and each time saw people using GACs in the accessible line without a wheelchair when the wait in the regular line was much shorter than the accessible line. I don’t mean to say that people should not be in that line unless they have a wheelchair - only trying to point out that people with wheelchairs or mobility devices have to go into that line. Those who don’t may have a much shorter wait if they can use the regular line.

MNSSHP

• One of the reasons we go in the fall is to go to this party. We arrived about 5:30 pm and got our wristbands right away.
• We ate (well, all except younger DD) before the party officially began at 7pm, so we were ready to party as it started.
• It was quite busy the first hour of the party as people who were not attending left. There were CMs with flashlights at many points doing random checks of guests for wristbands. They also were checking in the end of Main Street and the entrance to each land and did not let guests pass without wristbands.
• Visiting the Fairies was one of our anticipated high points, since younger DD and I were dressed as fairies. The new fairy meeting area is cute, but much smaller than before and there were only 2 fairies - Terrance and Tink. Terrance was OK. Tinkerbell was excellent.
• Our wait for the Fairies was only about 20 minutes (it only felt like an hour for DH and DSIL). Other character lines were very long, so we did not go to any others.
• Trick or Treat Candy areas were very busy until about 8:30, but much quieter after the first parade. Younger DD likes the trick or treat, so we got tons of candy.
• We went to the early parade and the handicapped viewing spot we were in was very busy. It was almost full more than 45 minutes before the parade when we arrived. The CM there was great - his name was Michael - and he somehow kept finding spots for people until right before the parade began without making anyone feel put out or crowded. As the parade was starting, he thanked us all for being such co-operative guests and said he could not do his job without us.
• Some of the costumes were truely awesome. We saw many families dressed in themes - several sets of Dalmation puppies and a family of Tinkerbell, Captain Hook, Peter Pan and (the non-matching) cowboy.

Air Travel

• We had very nice, respectful and gentle TSA agents both going and coming.
• We traveled on AirTran and had no problems, but something kind of strange on our return flight. We asked to preboard and asked for an aisle chair. The gate agent said the 4 of us could preboard together so that older DD and DSIL could help us. A gate person pushed the wheelchair down to the door of the plane, where a flight attendant asked several times “Do they have a certificate of medical need?” He also did not want anyone to board with DD, since the gate staff were putting her on and off the aisle chair. DH said he needed to go with her and the flight attendant did finally allow that, but would not let any of the rest of us board until the rest of the passengers were coming down to the plane. That actually made boarding slower since we had wheelchair pieces, etc to get on the plane. Then during the flight, he must have come and asked us at least 6 times if everything was all right.

DME

• On arriving, we actually waited 45 minutes and saw the whole bus waiting area clear of people twice before an accessible bus arrived for us. We expected that we might be left off first because of our long wait, but no such luck. The driver announced there would be 4 stops and ours was the last stop. The other 3 stops had one or 2 people at each stop. I don’t know why it was routed that way, other than the driver may not have wanted to listen to other passengers complain about the time it took to unload the wheelchair.
• When our bus arrived this morning, we could see that it was pretty full from the faces in the window. I got on the bus to wait at the top of the lift while DH waited at the bottom for DD to get loaded onto the lift. As I walked to the back of the bus, I could see there were no seats, so I yelled that down to the driver and my DH on the ground. The driver said there should be seats and he came on the bus, walked to the back and then said “I will get 4 seats for your group and tell the other people waiting they won’t fit.” DH said we would need at least one seat across from DD since she can’t really be alone and the driver said he would work something out. One very nice family right in front of the wheelchair spot made room for us. DH ended up standing for the trip to the airport.

 

[SueM in MN]

Forgot something........
To make removing the backpack from DD’s wheelchair easier and to keep the backpack straps away from her shoulders, which she hates, I ordered some hooks from Amazon.com

I had seen some plastic hooks, but they didn’t look very sturdy and I read some reviews that said the hook cracked off. Then I found these hooks by a company called Think King.
The hook is metal and the strap has velcro and is made with a rubbery substance that grips on the side that comes into contact with the wheelchair.
The description says they don’t fall off. We used them every day for the whole 15 days and the hooks stayed put, even with a backpack heavy with Trick or Treat candy.

I took lots of pictures - not sure when I will get around to downloading them, but if you want to see something, let me know and I will download what I have.

I saw a lot of guests using rollators - at least 5 or 6 per day.

And, I saw quite a few guests deep inside the park using the “Courtesy Wheelchairs”. These are marked on the back for use only to get from parking or bus the the wheelchair rental spot. The parking areas at buses and handicapped parking for those wheelchairs were mostly empty.

 

[dclfun]

Sue- thanks for your report! I can't believe your DH had to stand all the way to the airport on DME- I've used DME quite a few times and although it's been full, there's always been a seat for everyone. Sorry to hear your dd had seizures the first week but so glad to hear she was able to enjoy MNSSHP. 15 days at OKW sounds just wonderful!---Kathy

 

[SueM in MN]

Sue- thanks for your report! I can't believe your DH had to stand all the way to the airport on DME- I've used DME quite a few times and although it's been full, there's always been a seat for everyone. Sorry to hear your dd had seizures the first week but so glad to hear she was able to enjoy MNSSHP. 15 days at OKW sounds just wonderful!---Kathy

Thanks.

For DME, as you know, they are not all wheelchair accessible, so those of us who need an accessible bus are pretty careful to be out there early so we don’t miss it.

I think some people were on the wrong bus. One group of 7 said “There are no seats” after the driver said he could find 4 seats and then got off. I said that the driver said there were 4, and we were scheduled for that bus and had to get on because not every bus is accessible. She said again, “There are no seats and then said “The 9:10 bus never came.” (but our scheduled DME time was 8:50 and it arrived at 8:45). So, I think some people were on the wrong bus, whether coming early or missing their bus.

 

[HowdyHeidi]

Did you ever figure out why the flight attendant asked for a certificate of medical need? That seems strange to me.

If your DD could, would it have been better to store the wheelchair in the bottom of the DME and have her sit in a regular seat? I was wondering what I should do for DS. He is small and I maybe could try to use the CARES restraint that I will be using for the plane seat on the bus seat too. Has anyone ever done that before? Are the DME seats two seats / aisle/ two seats or 3 seats?

Would it be clear to a newbie at the parks (specifically AK) where the wheelchairs should go for lines on the bus?

Thanks for all the information! We are packing!!

 

[SueM in MN]

Did you ever figure out why the flight attendant asked for a certificate of medical need? That seems strange to me.

No. That was really weird, which was why I mentioned it. The gate people seemed as perplexed about it as we were. There were some mixed messages where a gate person said to do something and then the flight attendant said no.

If your DD could, would it have been better to store the wheelchair in the bottom of the DME and have her sit in a regular seat?

It gives more flexibility to be able to sit in a regular seat on the DME bus and store the wheelchair underneath. You can ride any bus and don’t need the bus with a lift, which makes things easier.
In this case, the bus was still full, so it would not have mattered.
It isn’t possible for us to get DD onto the bus without her wheelchair. There is a set of fairly steep stairs to get into the bus - you can see a picture of the stairs on the first post on page 2 of the disABILITIES FAQs thread.

I was wondering what I should do for DS. He is small and I maybe could try to use the CARES restraint that I will be using for the plane seat on the bus seat too. Has anyone ever done that before? Are the DME seats two seats / aisle/ two seats or 3 seats?

The bus has 2 seats/aisle/two seats.
BUT, there are no seat belts on the DME buses (or the transportation buses that go between parks/resorts/Downtown Disney).

Would it be clear to a newbie at the parks (specifically AK) where the wheelchairs should go for lines on the bus?

Thanks for all the information! We are packing!!

The bus stops are all marked with signs that show where that bus is going, and there is a board at the entrance to the bus areas from the parks and Downtown Disney that tell which stop to go to.
At the stop, it is not really clear where exactly to go with a wheelchair at any of the parks.

You can get into the bus line and you will be loaded, if there is room once you get to the front. The bus queue is separated off by ropes, chains or bars, with an opening where the front door of the bus will be. By knowing where that is, you can figure out where the back door will be and wait near that point, outside of the line. At some parks and some stops, there is a chained opening where the back door would be when the bus parks and you can also park there.

At most of the resorts, there is no line for the bus and all the guests wait in the bus stop area until the bus for their location comes. For those stops, park where the driver will see you. When a bus comes along, shake your head to let the driver know you don’t want that bus and when your bus does come, point at the wheelchair, nod your head while trying to get eye contact with the driver so he/she knows you want that bus.

 

[peemagg]

I bet the reason that the flight attendant kept coming to check on you was that they were in the wrong and found that out after the fact and was afraid that you might make a complaint about it.

Sounds like you had a great time. I'm jealous. I have to wait until next year before I go again.

Was there any issues with the buses and lines on the way back from the parks? I'm kind of confused on what I will need to do on the next trip as far as buses and returning from the parks.

 

[Bete]

For my trip I'm using large mommy hooks to hold bags/backpacks; they are like carabiners and are 6 inches long and maybe 2-1/2 inches wide at their widest point and they attach very easily on and off the wheelchair. They have padding to make them non-slip. I saw this on a stroller one day and asked the mom about it. They are available at Wal-Mart for $6 each currently and in the baby department. I like these large hooks; because, it completely closes up and they are very strong. You do have to open and close the hook which is a little harder than your open hooks, but you have a closed hook when you are done. My backpack straps are very wide and very padded; so, for me I think the mommy hooks will be better. I'll report about it after our trip. I think it just depends on what you carry as to what works out best. I do like your hooks for the ease of taking everything on and off without dealing with a clasp. I don't really plan on taking the backpack off very much, but, if this is required for the rides that could turn into a hassle especially when I'm doing all of this by myself. I can see myself having to carry the back pack loose and push the wheeelchair at the same time and then hooking the backpack on once I'm off the ride. Do you think it depends on the size and weight of the backpack as to whether or not you need to take it off the wheelchair for rides?


I'm still confused a little about DME. I keep hearing from Disney that all the DME buses have lifts; I've asked more than once. Also, I stated we need to have a lift for our wheelchair in my special needs notes which I'm sure you did, as well. Do you think this depends on which resort you stay at as to how many buses are available with lifts? I think it's ridiculous to wait 45 minutes for a DME bus and then DH having to stand for the whole trip. Could this be because you make multiple stops going to OKW? If we are at POP I know there are devoted buses to that one resort; does this make a difference do you think?

I'm really glad to hear that the TSA experience went smoothly. I'm still concerned for myself and mom for our trip; because, my mom is incontinent and I'll have extra padding and underwear on for the airplane trip.

It still seems from your comments that the waiting for the Disney bus from and to the parks is still rather difficult. I'm glad to hear the green tape helped out for the hook ups; that's a good idea.

As far as the certificate of medical need I think that's to deter you from using an aisle seat. Also, it can be that they have been sued or something handling the special needs person; so, they may want to make it more difficult for all those concerned. The way the form reads to me you have to be very specific about your conditions. Where did the privacy act go with this form?

I won't be rushing to do anything and I'm glad I have that mindset; otherwise, I could see getting frustrated. The only concern I will have is doing DME on the way back to the Orlando airport. I sure hope I get an early time for our DME bus back. Does anyone know if you can request an earlier time if you feel it might be necessary? Who do you go to handle this request?

I think it's very important for all of us to share our experiences.. It prepares us more as to what to expect. Thanks, Sue.

 

[goofieslonglostsis]

Could this be because you make multiple stops going to OKW? If we are at POP I know there are devoted buses to that one resort; does this make a difference do you think?

Your info is actually off. While POP has a dedicated bus from resort to park and vice versa (might chance when AOA opens?) it does NOT have a dedicated DME bus. They will simply combine 2, 3, 4 or sometimes even 5 (had it happen once where we were the only one getting off at the 5th resort) resorts into one DME bus, depending on how high in demand each resort is at each moment. They try to get you "onto" a DME bus a.s.a.p. which will obviously result in sharing of resorts at many, if not most, times.

Does anyone know if you can request an earlier time if you feel it might be necessary? Who do you go to handle this request?

You can request any time or even day you want (within the length of your stay), as being entitled to one ride from the airport and one ride to the airport per booked guest. If you want a different pick up time as scheduled, simply call the number on the papers they will leave on your door the day before check out. Tell them at which time you want to leave, and they'll give you the time of the closest scheduled DME bus for your resort. I always remind them of me needing the lift, never actually needed to do so for a return trip. (always have to call in to change the time as I'm flying international but DME always plans for the standard 2 hours for a national flight. Besides that, I do need the 3 hours prior at the airport with some of the arrangements we always need to recheck again -very specific which tends to get lots of employees involved- and to be able to make my powerchair flight ready.

You could in theory call DME even before an arrival and change the departing time for DME back to the airport, but in practice they will just look at the flight info and still schedule your pick up time using the standard 2-hours-prior most of the times. I found it's not worth the hassle, calling in the day before departure is most smooth and least odds of something getting "lost" or changed in a system.

 

[peemagg]

Bete the DME buses don't all have lifts. The buses going to and from the parks does all have lifts.

 

[goofieslonglostsis]

Sue, that 45 minute for DME at the airport could probably only have been 2 things;

- an accessible bus that was "scheduled" for your party to be on, had already left because they had another guest needing a lift already onboard (whether they let that know before arriving or not) and felt like the bus was sitting there to long. This can easily happen when such a guest that was scheduled to "share" said bus with your party arrives early or for instance was scheduled for a (lot) earlier accessible bus but was hold up because of dealy or having to deal with the paperworks if damage was done to aids or luggage during the flight.

- the need for the lift wasn't in the system.


To be honest; 4 out of 5 times, we had something come up resulting in extra wait time. Three times the system scr*wed up (nothing in there, when it was in there when calling in a day before) and twice just missed a bus (yep, one time we had both happen....). Not only did I have talks with some DME CM's about reasons that cause the wait -never started them myself, apparently I'm nice to talk to - and above 2 reasons were always mentioned as the main cause for longer waits. When they had to call in for a bus with lift, the wait was around 45/50 minutes each time. In 2008 they found the wait would be an hour+ at which moment they called for an accessible Mears bus. After about 30 minutes we ended up with our private ride by an amazing driver that played a very good tourguide about both WDW and Florida.

Once it was a walk on, where the bus was waiting "around the corner". I've basically decided to figure in at least 45 minutes of waiting for DME. It's my personal trackrecord and if it does arrive quicker it only is an even better surprise instead of a bummer when waiting my "average".

 

[SueM in MN]

I bet the reason that the flight attendant kept coming to check on you was that they were in the wrong and found that out after the fact and was afraid that you might make a complaint about it.

That is possible.
He was the senior flight attendant and seemed to take everything very seriously.
It’s possible that he was asking the gate staff if they were certified/trained in use of the aisle chair, but that doesn’t really follow along with how his question was phrased ("do they have a certificate of medical need?”).
It was just odd since we travel a lot and have never heard anything like that or had anyone try to say none of us could get on with DD

Was there any issues with the buses and lines on the way back from the parks? I'm kind of confused on what I will need to do on the next trip as far as buses and returning from the parks.

It is better from the resorts, because they have a marked wheelchair ‘size box' on the ground and a sign that says guests with wheelchairs, plus 5 up to 5 members of their party will board first thru the rear door.
There are no signs at the parks though and no specified waiting place, sign or even wheelchair size box. Hopefully, they will get their act together once all the parks have renovated their bus wait queues.
We did not have any issues, but OKW buses are not usually filled to overflowing and we specifically tried to avoid high use times.

For my trip I'm using large mommy hooks to hold bags/backpacks; they are like carabiners and are 6 inches long and maybe 2-1/2 inches wide at their widest point and they attach very easily on and off the wheelchair. They have padding to make them non-slip. I saw this on a stroller one day and asked the mom about it. They are available at Wal-Mart for $6 each currently and in the baby department. I like these large hooks; because, it completely closes up and they are very strong. You do have to open and close the hook which is a little harder than your open hooks, but you have a closed hook when you are done. My backpack straps are very wide and very padded; so, for me I think the mommy hooks will be better. I'll report about it after our trip. I think it just depends on what you carry as to what works out best. I do like your hooks for the ease of taking everything on and off without dealing with a clasp.

DD doesn’t like the feel of the backpack straps against her shoulders when we just fling them over the wheelchair push handles, so a few trips ago, I had sewed some long, thin straps of webbing next to the backpack shoulder straps. We used them to fling over her push handles on other trips.
This time, we used those thinner straps on our new hooks and they worked great, although I will probably shorten them for our next trip.

I don't really plan on taking the backpack off very much, but, if this is required for the rides that could turn into a hassle especially when I'm doing all of this by myself. I can see myself having to carry the back pack loose and push the wheeelchair at the same time and then hooking the backpack on once I'm off the ride.

I wonder if you could leave the carabiners attached to the backpack and just slip them off the wheelchair. That would be a lot less hassle if they slip off the wheelchair fairly easily.
If she is not staying in the wheelchair for the ride, you also would have the choice to leave the backpack on the wheelchair. We do that for rides where DD is coming out of her wheelchair and the wheelchair is staying at the board/unload point.

Do you think it depends on the size and weight of the backpack as to whether or not you need to take it off the wheelchair for rides?

No.
There are certain rides where they want the backpack off. For Small World, they had not even seen the backpack yet and said if she had a backpack, it needed to be removed.
They wanted it off, no matter the size, specifically on any where they needed to do a tiedown of the wheelchair. I am assuming that is so they have a good view of where they are attaching the tiedowns.
For those attractions, you will be able to remove it at the boarding area, so won’t need to carry it far.

My DD’s wheelchair has antitip bars in the back to prevent tipping over backwards, but not all wheelchairs have them. My assumption is that besides being able to see where they are attaching the tiedowns, they may have had an issue where someone’s chair tipped backwards. My guess is this may have happened at Small World, since the boats there are now marked to have only one wheelchair and they were very pro-active about backpack removal there.

I'm still confused a little about DME. I keep hearing from Disney that all the DME buses have lifts; I've asked more than once. Also, I stated we need to have a lift for our wheelchair in my special needs notes which I'm sure you did, as well. Do you think this depends on which resort you stay at as to how many buses are available with lifts?

As the others posted, you have been given incorrect information about DME buses.
There are WDW transportation buses that go to/from the resorts to the parks and Downtown Disney that are dedicated to POP.
There are not DME buses dedicated to POP.

All the WDW transportation buses that go to/from the resorts to the parks and Downtown Disney are accessible. I have read that at certain VERY busy times, WDW does use some DME/Mears type buses for getting guests from parks at closing time back to the Value Resorts. Those buses are not accessible.
DME buses don’t all have lifts.
I know from personal experience that all the DME buses do not have lifts. We wait for the bus right in front of the large window that overlooks the DME bus loading area. It’s easy to look at the buses and know whether or not they have a lift because those with a lift have a back door that is marked with a wheelchair symbol and there is a ’seam’ that goes all the way from the back door to the bottom of the bus. Those without a lift don’t have those things.
My guess is that about 25-30% of the DME buses have lifts, but I don’t know for sure. I didn’t count the buses that left while we were waiting, but besides the bus we went on, only one Disney Cruise Line DME bus had a lift.

I think it's ridiculous to wait 45 minutes for a DME bus and then DH having to stand for the whole trip. Could this be because you make multiple stops going to OKW? If we are at POP I know there are devoted buses to that one resort; does this make a difference do you think?

The wait was when we were coming from the airport to our resort. That bus had less than 12 people total on it when we left the airport.

DH having to stand was on our trip back from OKW to the airport. Those buses are often quite full and have had stops before we get picked up. I know there have been times when stops before us included POP because I have heard people talking about their stay there while the bus is going back to the airport.
My guess is that some of the passengers did not belong on that bus, but should have been on an earlier or later bus. We were scheduled for the 8:50 OKW bus and there were about 8 people waiting with us who were also scheduled for that bus time (so a total of 13 people). Only 7 who were scheduled for that bus got on at OKW (our group of 5, plus one group of 2).

The only concern I will have is doing DME on the way back to the Orlando airport. I sure hope I get an early time for our DME bus back. Does anyone know if you can request an earlier time if you feel it might be necessary? Who do you go to handle this request?

We have done that occassionally. When you check in for DME at the airport, they also put in the information for your return trip.
We did ask for an extra early pick up one time and they took care of it then and there.

I'm really glad to hear that the TSA experience went smoothly. I'm still concerned for myself and mom for our trip; because, my mom is incontinent and I'll have extra padding and underwear on for the airplane trip.

That has been our situation and we have never had problems with it.

As far as the certificate of medical need I think that's to deter you from using an aisle seat. Also, it can be that they have been sued or something handling the special needs person; so, they may want to make it more difficult for all those concerned. The way the form reads to me you have to be very specific about your conditions. Where did the privacy act go with this form?

I don’t know why the flight attendant was asking because there is no such form. It would be illegal under the Air Carrier Act (the air equivalent of the ADA) to ask for medical proof that someone needs to preboard or that they need to use an aisle chair.The gate people seemed to be as mystified by the whole thing as my family was, so it not policy.
We have flown AirTran many times in the past and have had no issues. In fact, when we ask for a gate check tag for the wheelchair, the agent usually asks if DD will walk in or we will be using the aisle chair. A few times when he said he will carry her in if our seats are very close to the front, they have really tried hard to talk him into using the aisle chair. There would be a lot more liability from a guest carrying a small adult and tripping when carrying her in.

Sue, that 45 minute for DME at the airport could probably only have been 2 things;

- an accessible bus that was "scheduled" for your party to be on, had already left because they had another guest needing a lift already onboard (whether they let that know before arriving or not) and felt like the bus was sitting there to long. This can easily happen when such a guest that was scheduled to "share" said bus with your party arrives early or for instance was scheduled for a (lot) earlier accessible bus but was hold up because of dealy or having to deal with the paperworks if damage was done to aids or luggage during the flight.

- the need for the lift wasn't in the system.


To be honest; 4 out of 5 times, we had something come up resulting in extra wait time. Three times the system scr*wed up (nothing in there, when it was in there when calling in a day before) and twice just missed a bus (yep, one time we had both happen....). Not only did I have talks with some DME CM's about reasons that cause the wait -never started them myself, apparently I'm nice to talk to - and above 2 reasons were always mentioned as the main cause for longer waits. When they had to call in for a bus with lift, the wait was around 45/50 minutes each time. In 2008 they found the wait would be an hour+ at which moment they called for an accessible Mears bus. After about 30 minutes we ended up with our private ride by an amazing driver that played a very good tourguide about both WDW and Florida.

Once it was a walk on, where the bus was waiting "around the corner". I've basically decided to figure in at least 45 minutes of waiting for DME. It's my personal trackrecord and if it does arrive quicker it only is an even better surprise instead of a bummer when waiting my "average".

We’ve used DME on 2 round trips a year almost every year since it started.
I know that our need for a lift bus was in the system, since it was noted when DH checked us in.
Not sure why the long wait, but it may have been because of the time - it was around 8pm when we arrived, which is a time they are sort of winding down and there may be less buses running. Even with it being in, we usually wait about 30 minutes each time for our bus. But, because we waited longer than the other passengers on the bus, they have usually dropped us off first. In this case, we went to Yacht Club, Beach Club and then PO Riverside before OKW, when they could have easily routed it the other way around. We were also the largest party that got dropped off.

 

[alizesmom]

I am curious about the no backpack rule. What if the item hanging from the chair is a ventilator? Karen

 

[SueM in MN]

I am curious about the no backpack rule. What if the item hanging from the chair is a ventilator? Karen

That would be different.
A backpack hanging from the bag or sitting somewhere else is optional.

A ventilator staying close to the person who is using it and in a specific position is mandatory.

 

[RaySharpton]

Thank you Sue for an excellent trip report with great information, and thank you everyone else their excellent comments, too.

I am so glad that you and your family had a great time at WDW and OKW. I love OKW, too.

It has been over a decade since I was able to visit Tom Sawyer's Island. Thank you for that report, too. I wish that I could visit Tom Sawyer's Island again. But it doesn't sound possible.

I would love to see you and your daughter's halloween fairy costume because you sound like both of you really enjoyed your MNSSHP night.

I have learned so much from you, Sue, and this excellent forum and everyone's wonderful advise and personal experiences.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

 

[dclfun]

That would be different.
A backpack hanging from the bag or sitting somewhere else is optional.

A ventilator staying close to the person who is using it and in a specific position is mandatory.

I've never been asked to remove my ventilator, which hangs in a vent backpack on the back of my chair.

 

[SueM in MN]

Thank you Sue for an excellent trip report with great information, and thank you everyone else their excellent comments, too.

I am so glad that you and your family had a great time at WDW and OKW. I love OKW, too.

It has been over a decade since I was able to visit Tom Sawyer's Island. Thank you for that report, too. I wish that I could visit Tom Sawyer's Island again. But it doesn't sound possible.

I would love to see you and your daughter's halloween fairy costume because you sound like both of you really enjoyed your MNSSHP night.

I have learned so much from you, Sue, and this excellent forum and everyone's wonderful advise and personal experiences.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Thanks so much.
I spent some time one morning at Tom Sawyer’s Island on a research trip.
I took what seemed like a ton of pictures, but when I looked them over, it was not as many as I thought. When I get a chance, I will write a post about Tom Sawyer’s Island with many of the pictures.

 

[M5ward]

Thanks for the very informative report. We just got back last night from seven nights at Old Key West. The only thing we found a little confusing was the loading area ( or lack thereof) for my husband's ECV when leaving the parks. He just started riding in front of the line barrier and stopping where he thought the rear door would be. This worked out well especially since there were no markings or information posted for handicapped access. The rest of us (5 adults, 2 toddlers, 1 infant, a single and a double stroller) just got in the regular line and waited. Every single bus driver was polite and helpful..they offered to let us board with him, but we were fine with waiting our turn since he doesn't need assistance once boarded.
We also found the TSA personnel ( especially at Orlando Airport) to be wonderfully friendly and polite.
I'm glad you had a great trip..we did too!

 

[Bete]

First, did you use any TSA cards to state health conditions? Did you have any doctor notes?

I'm still concerned being separated from my mom while I go through myself for TSA. I just don't understand how this works when there are only two of us and I'm the pusher of the wheelchair. How do I get her to where she needs to be when I still have to be checked myself? I don't want her to have any panic attacks which could happen if it takes too long for me to get through it. I have to pick up two backpacks and some other loose items, too before getting back to her. Would I be just better off going through the harder TSA procedure with my mom, the same as my mom? This might even make her more comfortable; I would be doing the same TSA procedure as she would be doing.

I just need more hints. As I said I'm more of a visual person when it comes to instructions and such; so, this TSA process is still making me a little nervous. I'm trying to avoid going to the airport an extra time to see how this might work on our day.

Thanks again.

 

[Dan1]

First, did you use any TSA cards to state health conditions? Did you have any doctor notes?

I'm still concerned being separated from my mom while I go through myself for TSA. I just don't understand how this works when there are only two of us and I'm the pusher of the wheelchair. How do I get her to where she needs to be when I still have to be checked myself? I don't want her to have any panic attacks which could happen if it takes too long for me to get through it. I have to pick up two backpacks and some other loose items, too before getting back to her. Would I be just better off going through the harder TSA procedure with my mom, the same as my mom? This might even make her more comfortable; I would be doing the same TSA procedure as she would be doing.

I just need more hints. As I said I'm more of a visual person when it comes to instructions and such; so, this TSA process is still making me a little nervous. I'm trying to avoid going to the airport an extra time to see how this might work on our day.

Thanks again.

I guess, Bete, I'm not understanding the issue here at the airport (then again, it is Friday afternoon at the end of a long, long week).

When ever we (the 4 of us) travelled with our DD who uses a wheel chair the rest of our party went through the Xray machine and then a TSA agent pushed here wheel chair through that entrance. I can't recall a time when we were not in full view of each other.

Same thing last year when it was just DD and myself.
Dan