Traveling with two disabled parents in March-Reassure me!

[sassyredhead]

We are traveling to the World in March to celebrate my parent's 40th wedding anniversary. My mother, who suffers from severe osteoarthritis of the hips, uses an electric wheelchair in her every day life. We'll be bringing her chair with us. We will be renting a scooter from an off-site company for my father for the duration of the trip; he was diagnosed with Frontotemporal dementia last year and suffers a blood clot in his leg due to genetic clotting condition (Factor V deficiency).

I am very excited about the trip and I know my parents will have a great time. However, I have one worry: transportation. Due to finances, we will be relying soley on Disney transporation. On the other boards, I have read many angry comments regarding ECV's and Disney transportation, which I just don't understand. It never occurred to me to be bothered by the wait for EVC's to load, as I am just grateful I can walk!

If you have traveled with more than one disabled person in your party and used Disney transporation, please share your success story? Also, any tips would be much appeciated! TIA!

 

[KPeveler]

As long as both your parents are comfortable driving their mobility devices, you should be fine. The ECV will have to back either on or off the bus, (there is not enough room to turn around, at least when i watched others do it), and it will definitely have to back onto a bus with a lift. Your dad will have to get out of the scooter on the bus, as it is unsafe to sit in the seat. your mom can stay in the powerchair.

If you are staying at the boardwalk, BC, YC, Swan, or Dolphin, you may have trouble getting both the pc and the ECV on the bus at the same time, as all 5 resorts use the same bus, so it can get very crowded.

if you are at a resort with multiple bus stops, it is generally better to get on at hte first stop, as there are only two spots on a bus at once.

Your dad will have to walk or sit in a regular manual chair in some queues, such as at some lines in fantasyland, as an ECV just wont fit. you will not be able to take anything but disney wheelchairs in the line for POTC (they are provided there), so there will need to be two people who can push them i they cannot walk through the line.

Your mom's powerchair will likely fit in several ride vehicles, such as Buzz Lightyear and TSMM, but your dad will have to transfer to almost all ride vehicles. It is not always easy to get two mobility vehicles next to each other in shows, and sometimes there are not enough seats next to the wheelchair spots for the whole party to sit, such as in American Adventure...

ok, those are the few things that come to mind about travelling with two mobility devices...

 

[sassyredhead]

KP, thank you for the great response! We are staying at SSR, so I will put in a request for a building near the first bus stop.

The ride tips are great. I'm hoping Dad can walk short distances and we can park his wheels during the shows.

 

[KPeveler]

I suggest that you get a copy of Passporter's Open Mouse, as it has great info on every ride and attraction. I hve been to disney many times, both walking and with a wheelchair, and I still find new info in it! It might also help prepare your parents for them to know ahead of time where they will have to leave hte ECV and when the party will be split up.

My grandmother has dementia, and in the beginning (she has had it for at least 10 years) she did better having things written down she could refer to. It may be helpful for your father to have the book ahead of time, and if you get a copy of the Guide/Map for Guests with disabilities in each park (available with the park maps), he will have something tangible to refer to... just a thought!

 

[Bete]

Don't expect to do long hours at the parks. Don't expect to do early EMHs, either. Make sure you have a mixture of rides and shows; this allows for some resting periods. Same with meals; it's a rest time, too. Get fastpass as much as possible. Do early events not late like if there are two Fantasmic shows take in the early one.

I deal with a 73 old husband who scooters around (diabetic) and an 88 mom who is in a manual wheelchair who needs to be pushed by me. For fastpass, I take hubby's scooter and I go ahead to get them and hubby pushes the wheelchair a little bit of the way or they rest while I do it. He knows which way to go. This helps with getting them quicker and for planning purposes.

It probably can get cold at night in March; so, make sure they have coats, gloves, hats, etc. if you plan on being there at night. If they are cold they will get crabby on you.

I have never had issue with the buses in regards to bad comments from others. I have probably gone on about 8 trips with two handicap vehicles. I know it happens, but fortunately it's not that much.

Your father needs to be prepared for crowds using a scooter and he needs to be careful. People (not just kids) will be darting out all the time in front of the scooter. Your dad may want to practice at home with store scooters available at WalMart, Target, and grocery stores. The manuevering on and off the bus is not so easy with a scooter. There are times you may be better off to do it for him. There are some buses that are easier then others with regards to the scooters. It has to do with when the buses were built, etc.

Just ask any questions and I will try to help.

 

[videogal1]

Your dad will have to get out of the scooter on the bus, as it is unsafe to sit in the seat.

Huh? Unsafe to sit in an ECV seat? Get off the ECV on a bus? What an odd notion. ECVs are tied down, same as power chairs, so what is unsafe about the padded individual seat with arm rests of an ECV, as opposed to the unrestrained public bench seat of a bus? Please say it isn't so...

 

[KPeveler]

There is a big sign on the bottom of the seat where the ECV ties down that says that you must get out of the ECV when on the bus.

There have been reports on here of ECVs tipping on buses (very very few - and usually due to people not tying down properly)

I have never seen a person allowed to remain in the scooter on a bus.

 

[LMC]

You may want to subscribe to TourGuide Mike since March and April are very peak season times! I think there is a link somewhere on this board. I have never used it but probably will this year due to our circumstances. I have heard it is a very useful tool when planning your park days.

 

[clkelley]

There is a big sign on the bottom of the seat where the ECV ties down that says that you must get out of the ECV when on the bus.

There have been reports on here of ECVs tipping on buses (very very few - and usually due to people not tying down properly)

I have never seen a person allowed to remain in the scooter on a bus.

They are taller than the seats on the bus.

 

[LindaDVC]

Just back!

We had me~
dh -quadraplegic and amputee in his power chair
dad- 92 who i insisted use a manual chair pushed by me! he has decreased vision and previous broken hip etc
mom-90 who borrowed dad's walker for support in the crowds! She refused to use a scooter!

We made out okay
with buses -- even with the Christmas crowds

You just need to pace yourselves and do the priority things!

Best moments were at Hoop Dee doo and the Japanese restaurant !!!

 

[hematite153]

Two more things I'd add:

- At SSR the buses take a different route depending upon where they are going and they make a loop so during the middle of the day the "first" stop will still have people on it heading home. So, you may wish to make a point of getting out first thing in the morning to avoid this. (And, when we traveled with my DW's w/c and my DFIL's ECV we generally got off at the first SSR stop and walked from there in order not to be in the way for other guests who might have wanted to get on.)

- Have a plan for what you'll do if/when a bus arrives that has space for only 1 of the two. We split up our party with an agreed upon meeting point and it worked out fine, but, you don't want to be stressing in the moment if you can help it.

 

[SueM in MN]

There is a big sign on the bottom of the seat where the ECV ties down that says that you must get out of the ECV when on the bus.

There have been reports on here of ECVs tipping on buses (very very few - and usually due to people not tying down properly)

I have never seen a person allowed to remain in the scooter on a bus.

I have seen people sit on their ECVs, but it is highly recommended that no one ride on one on the bus. And, as you mentioned, there have been posts from people whose ECVs have tipped over.
It may have been tied down as well as possible, but ECVs have 3 things that make them more likely to tip.
1) They don't have any good tied down spots like a wheelchair does.
2) Many of the ECVs have only 3 wheels, which make it rather easy to tip over sideways.
3) They are rather tall and are top heavy, so can tip over more easily than something that is shorter or heavier on the bottom.
Here is a picture of the sign on the bus.

And a picture of an ECV on the bus. This one had actually tipped over on the bus. The user of it sent me this picture to show how it was tied down after tipping over.

You may want to subscribe to TourGuide Mike since March and April are very peak season times! I think there is a link somewhere on this board. I have never used it but probably will this year due to our circumstances. I have heard it is a very useful tool when planning your park days.

You can just do a google search for Tour Guide Mike.
THere is a link to his website on the Theme Parks Board (he is a sponsor of that board).

 

[sassyredhead]

Thank you for all the replies!

I called CRO to request a building in the Grandstand section, since this area is closest to the bus stop that picks up first.

I am slightly concerned about the crowds, but since my mom is a teacher, it was either spring break or summer, and I thought the crowds plus heat would be the poorer choice. Luckily, we'll have 3 younger adults plus an 11 year old to help, and we are fine with splitting up if need be!