Traveling with my DFIL in ECV and have questions

[Cinderellabride]

Hi everyone,

This is my first time posting on this board (though not on the DIS). We are traveling to WDW in the beginning of Dec. Our party will be me, DH, my two sons who will be 21 months and turning 7 months on our trip, my dad, and my husbands parents. My DFIL plans to rent an ECV. Last time he went was a grand gathering with us and several other people, but we ended up being seperated from them most of the trip for reasons I don't feel like getting into now (so he has experience renting one in the parks, but this time we are looking into renting one he can use for the whole vacation, and we don't have experience with slightly larger party size because our whole 8 were rarely ever together except at meals). This time we plan to stay together the whole time. I read the FAQ thread, but I have a couple of questions.

It looks like from what I read that Disney considers a party to be 6 people (the one in the ECV plus 5 more). Our party will be 7 with the two babies. Are they really going to make us separate? I mean the littlest one will never be in his own seat for anything (except meals) and the older one can and probably will usually sit on someone's lap for everything. So my question is are they really going to separate us for stuff? Because frankly that would suck. We are taking a family vacation to be together not to be separated.

My other question is about the busses. The FAQ thread says they only allow 1 person to board with the ECV and that we should wait in line or for another bus. The thing is that we actually need all of the adults to stay together esp on the same bus because between the two kids who will need to be held and the diaper bag and the rest of stuff we need to bring in with us and the double stroller we need everyone to be carrying something and it's not really stuff we can separate. Plus why would we want to separate from our party anyway? I'm sorry if this is being offensive I'm not trying to be. I have always seen the entire party boarded with the wheelchair/ECV, and honestly, I thought that would make getting on the bus with the double stroller and everything else a lot easier not just for us, but for everyone around us.

My third question is how does child swap work with an ECV? I'm not really sure how the whole line thing works either. I know there are some rides where there is a separate line for the ECV and other lines where you go through the regular line, but how does the child swap work?

Thanks, so much. Sorry if these are dumb questions. I've never had to plan for anything like this before, so I'm sure I have lots of misconceptions based on what I have seen.

 

[SueM in MN]

It looks like from what I read that Disney considers a party to be 6 people (the one in the ECV plus 5 more). Our party will be 7 with the two babies. Are they really going to make us separate? I mean the littlest one will never be in his own seat for anything (except meals) and the older one can and probably will usually sit on someone's lap for everything. So my question is are they really going to separate us for stuff? Because frankly that would suck. We are taking a family vacation to be together not to be separated.

The usual party is 5 plus the person with a disability, but they will make exceptions when there are exceptional circumstances (like small children don't really count). For situations where they may ask you to split into a group of 6 total, it will almost always be because of space issues. For example, if you need a wheelchair accessible boat at Small World, that boat does not have room for more than 7 to have seats (6 plus a wheelchair). If you have small children who are sitting on laps, or you don't need the wheelchair boat, that won't affect you. If you are separated, you will be all getting into the attraction at about the same time. If I am understanding correctly, you will have 5 adults plus 2 children?

My other question is about the busses. The FAQ thread says they only allow 1 person to board with the ECV and that we should wait in line or for another bus. The thing is that we actually need all of the adults to stay together esp on the same bus because between the two kids who will need to be held and the diaper bag and the rest of stuff we need to bring in with us and the double stroller we need everyone to be carrying something and it's not really stuff we can separate. Plus why would we want to separate from our party anyway? I'm sorry if this is being offensive I'm not trying to be. I have always seen the entire party boarded with the wheelchair/ECV, and honestly, I thought that would make getting on the bus with the double stroller and everything else a lot easier not just for us, but for everyone around us.

You misunderstood one part:
For the buses with lifts, one person can board on the lift along with the person using the wheelchair. The lifts are only used for boarding with a wheelchair or ECV; the steps at the back of the bus actually fold flat to make a platform, which is lowered to the ground so the person using a wheelchair or ECV can drive on. Then the platform is raised up to the level of the floor of the bus. The lifts can be dangerous, so they only allow one person to accompany a wheelchair on the lift (I can attest they can be dangerous; on one trip, I was standing behind DD's wheelchair. As the lift raised up, my shoe caught on the back of the lift and my heel was badly scraped).
Often, the driver will ask how many are with the wheelchair/ECV party and will have them board after the wheelchair/ECV has been loaded and is safely tied down. The newer buses have ramps and are much safer and easier than the lift buses, but you should still wait to board until the driver has told you to get on. This is primarily for safety so that you are not in the way while he/she ties the ECV down. In some buses, the ramp needs to be put back into its 'usual' position before the driver will let you board.
You should never board at the back of the bus unless the driver has seen you and invited you to board there. I have seen the door shut on people several times because the driver did not see the person who was in the doorway.

Again, if your party is 7 counting the children, you should have no problems with the driver all loading together. Also, if you are traveling when the buses are not packed, you will not have a problem.
The suggestions on the FAQs thread are just suggestions about how things could be handled. I can tell you from personal experience that people are often NOT nice to the 'wheelchair/ECV' parties. They make rude comments as if the person with the wheelchair/ECV can't hear them, they yell at the driver. I have been in tears on the bus from people's mean comments. It's just more pleasant if you are not getting on a really full bus with a large party.

My third question is how does child swap work with an ECV? I'm not really sure how the whole line thing works either. I know there are some rides where there is a separate line for the ECV and other lines where you go through the regular line, but how does the child swap work?

AK and the Studio were built with mostly Mainstream Lines, which means that the 'regular, mainstream line' is accessible for guests using wheelchairs and ECVs. There are a few lines which are wheelchair accessible, but not ECV accessible. For those, they have wheelchairs at the entance that the ECV user can transfer to for use in the line.
When you get to the park, go to Guest Relations to pick up a Guidebook for Guests with Disabilities. The current one is a map format and lists the access point for guests with disabiities. In most cases, it just tells you to enter thru the Mainstream (regular) line.
For child swap, if it is a Mainstream Line, it will work the same as for guests without ECV/wheelchairs. Child Swap will not necessarily work the same at all attractions. The best advice is to talk with the CM at the entrance and explain you want to do a child swap and have an ECV.

 

[Cinderellabride]

Thank you so much! You helped a lot. I feel much better now.

I don't understand why people are so rude to people in ecvs and wheelchairs, though I have seen it many times. I tend to be the type who would probably say something back to them, as would my DH. I will probably have to prepare my DFIL for it though because he hates being in anyone's way or inconviencing people. I'm sure he is aware from last time and people walking right in front of him and stuff though.

I thought of one more question too if you don't mind. We are going to be staying at CBR. What will happen if we are at the last bus stop or towards the end and all the buses are already full in the morning? Also what about departure when there are multiple stops if we are not the last stop? Do they make everyone get off and get back on to unload the ecv?

 

[Cinderellabride]

Oh and yes it is 5 adults (including my FIL) and 2 babies.

 

[SueM in MN]

What will happen if we are at the last bus stop or towards the end and all the buses are already full in the morning? Also what about departure when there are multiple stops if we are not the last stop? Do they make everyone get off and get back on to unload the ecv?

If the wheelchair/ECV spots are already full when they get to your stop, the driver will usually tell you why he/she can't load you and will notify the dispatcher that another bus is needed. If they don't offer, ask nicely if they will call for another bus. Usually, the driver will know when the next scheduled bus is due and will inform you of that.

In order to make room for a parking spot for an ECV or wheelchair, a bus seat needs to be raised up. If there are people sitting on that seat, they will be asked to move (there is a sign over those seats that alerts people that they will be asked to move if the seat is needed for someone with a disability). If the bus is so full that an ECV could not be safely loaded, the driver should let you know that and call another bus. But, usually people who are on the bus will move to the back or move around to make room for the ECV to board. In our experience, people are much nicer getting on the bus at the resort than they are getting on the bus at the parks at the end of the day. It doesn't really take that much room to load the ECV.

 

[Cinderellabride]

Thanks so much for all your help. Have a great night!

I'm sure I'll have more questions by the time we go.