My dd's stroller has tie downs for buses, I was wondering if anyone knows what type of system disney has.
This is a picture of my daughter’s manual wheelchair in the tie down on the WDW bus.
The actual tiedown straps are made by Q’straint and hook onto the frame of the wheelchair if there are not built in tiedown securement locations.
Some posters recently have seen a new securement product called the Q’POD on some buses.
If a wheelchair or stroller is not tied down, the person using it will need to get out and sit on a bus seat. The wheelchair or stroller will need to be folded and held out of the way.
Since your daughter now has a special needs stroller with built in tiedown attachment points, you will be able to have her stay in it and have it tied down for travel on the bus.
Last time I went we used a umbrella stroller, I should have got a disability pass as the bus driver made me carry my DD who at the time had major mobility problems on and a folded up stroller, not fun. I don't remember if they even tie the chairs down. She can walk but get's tired faster.
With a Guest Assistance Card (GAC) or a sticker that allowed you to use your stroller as a wheelchair, most bus drivers will let guests board through the back door using the lift or ramp. Without one of those things, the driver has no way to know which children have special needs and would get many parents who want to board that way and leave their child in the stroller without any special needs.
Even if you had a Guest Assistance Card or a sticker, you would have still needed to take your daughter out of the stroller and folded it on the bus.
The frames of regular strollers are not made for the stresses placed on the frame by attaching the tiedowns to the frame; that can result in damage to the stroller or even a child getting hurt if in the stroller in an accident or sudden stop.
Many special needs strollers look very much like regular strollers at first glance, so if there is any chance that your daughter’s may get mistaken for a regular stroller, I would suggest you still get a GAC or sticker (there is more information about GACs in post #6 of the disABILITIES FAQs thread - you can get there by following the link in my signature).
I'm getting her a sticker for sure this trip as the local bus drivers sometimes have a hard time figuring it out even though is has a card on the back to say it's a bus safe chair.
