Special Needs Strollers

[coruth4]

I posted this on the family section - but this is the better spot.

Here's one that I have not seen anywhere on the boards yet. I have a 10 yr old daughter with a mitochondrial disorder. The long & short of it is that she is unable to do a lot of walking and we have a "special needs stroller" for her. What that translates to is a stroller that can handle an individual up to 125 lbs. Basically a "grown up" stroller. It looks exactly like your typical toddler stroller with the shade cover, drink holders, etc. The only downside is that is does not fold down like a typicall stroller.
As you can imagine, a stroller that large is very large even when colapsed down. And it folds down flat (about 3 feet long) instead of in half.
I am wondering if there is anyone else there that has something similar and has taken it to Disney? My thought is that we would need to treat it the same as a wheelchair on the buses - it would have to be strapped in rather than folded down.
We are thinking of going in December when the crowd levels should be lower & hopefully the buses less crowded.

 

[ORMom2Four]

We have the Maclaren Major. I LOVE it. It folds up so quickly and easily to the size of a regular stroller. The only thing that you need to take off is the footrest. I would be happy to take a video of it or some pictures of the stroller if you would like!

We use it for our 5 year old, but my 5'8", 130 lb. 15 year old has sat in it to test it out. It easily strolls her too.

I'm pretty sure they can be rented at one of the wheelchair rental places in the Orlando area.

 

[coruth4]

Mine is a Axiom. I love it - but doesn't fold down to the size of a regular stroller. When folded it is 24" X 40" - kind of large. Do you think I would be able to leave it open and treat it like a wheelchair that just needs to be strapped in on the buses?

 

[SueM in MN]

We are thinking of going in December when the crowd levels should be lower & hopefully the buses less crowded.

If you are going in early December, it is usually not that crowded.

We have the Maclaren Major. I LOVE it. It folds up so quickly and easily to the size of a regular stroller. The only thing that you need to take off is the footrest. I would be happy to take a video of it or some pictures of the stroller if you would like!

We use it for our 5 year old, but my 5'8", 130 lb. 15 year old has sat in it to test it out. It easily strolls her too.

I'm pretty sure they can be rented at one of the wheelchair rental places in the Orlando area.

You are right. There are links in the disABILITIES FAQs thread to some places that rent them. Most of the rental places rent Maclaren Major strollers.

My thought is that we would need to treat it the same as a wheelchair on the buses - it would have to be strapped in rather than folded down.

Mine is a Axiom. I love it - but doesn't fold down to the size of a regular stroller. When folded it is 24" X 40" - kind of large. Do you think I would be able to leave it open and treat it like a wheelchair that just needs to be strapped in on the buses?

Wheelchairs and some special needs strollers are meant to be fastened down using the wheelchair tie downs. Those types have even been crash tested and the person can remain in them while in a moving vehicle as long as they are correctly tied down.
If the stroller is not designed to be tied down, it's not safe to ride in while on the bus. There is also a possibility of the stroller getting bent if the tiedown straps are fastened too tightly, so many people just fold up the special needs strollers. There is more information in the bus section of the disABILITIES FAQs thread.

 

[DannysMom]

Mine is a Axiom. I love it - but doesn't fold down to the size of a regular stroller. When folded it is 24" X 40" - kind of large. Do you think I would be able to leave it open and treat it like a wheelchair that just needs to be strapped in on the buses?

Maybe Sue will have a chance to chime in, but I'm fairly sure that unless your stroller is also a transport chair (has appropriate & *safe* tie downs for use on a bus) your DD would have to get out of it & you would have to fold it as best you could. See Adapive Mall for their page of bus transport chairs to see what I mean http://www.adaptivemall.com/bustranstrol.html

I'm not familiar w/ your model SN stroller, but when I checked out a picture it did not look like a chair that could be safely tied down in a bus. If that is indeed the case you might call around and see about renting a Maclaren Major SN stroller for your trip, it's not for bus use either but at least it would fold down reasonably small for the bus.

 

[SueM in MN]

Maybe Sue will have a chance to chime in, but I'm fairly sure that unless your stroller is also a transport chair (has appropriate & *safe* tie downs for use on a bus) your DD would have to get out of it & you would have to fold it as best you could. See Adapive Mall for their page of bus transport chairs to see what I mean http://www.adaptivemall.com/bustranstrol.html

I'm not familiar w/ your model SN stroller, but when I checked out a picture it did not look like a chair that could be safely tied down in a bus. If that is indeed the case you might call around and see about renting a Maclaren Major SN stroller for your trip, it's not for bus use either but at least it would fold down reasonably small for the bus.

You were probably typing while I was posting.
You added a lot to what I posted though.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

A couple of the Bus Drivers at WDW (all of whom have Commercial Driver's Licenses) have said that Federal Law requires strollers to be folded on a bus. If it is Special Needs and you have the "Stroller as Wheelchair" card and it can be tied down then it will not have to be folded.

 

[SueM in MN]

A couple of the Bus Drivers at WDW (all of whom have Commercial Driver's Licenses) have said that Federal Law requires strollers to be folded on a bus. If it is Special Needs and you have the "Stroller as Wheelchair" card and it can be tied down then it will not have to be folded.

just for clarification,
If it is not designed to be used for transport, then it is not considered safe by the compnay that made the stroller for anyone to ride in it on the bus, even if it is tied down.
And, because it has not been designed for tiedowns, it is possible that the stroller could be damaged if it is tied down (that's not to say it will be damaged, just that it could be). If damage occurred, the manufacturer might consider it was the user's fault since they are not recommended for that purpose.
With a "Stroller as a Wheelchair" card, you could use the rear door to load it onto the bus, whether or not it is folded. Some bus drivers will let people with a regular (but very large) stroller use the back door also since it is easier to get into the bus that way.

 

[LauraVV]

Hi,

We're leaving for Disney next week. My kids and I also are suspected of having mito. The last time we were at Disney was about four years ago. We took my daughter's Convaid. We didn't have any problems with it at all. Hers is transportation ready. She doesn't usually ride in it though (on bus/monorail). This year I'm bringing a scooter for myself. The kids also have service dogs which are coming with us.