Wheelchair and bus question

[nannato6]

We will be at WDW and POP for 10 days. We leave in 12 days!!
I will be taking my elec. wheelchair. Will we be able to get my chair on the bus to the parks? I can walk short distances. It is my understanding that the monorail does not go to POP. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated. DD and SIL insisted I go with them and I do not want to be a burden on them because of my chair. Although they got me my chair just so I could go with the family to amusement parks and such.

Also we got standard rooms. SIL says they have elevators, so getting into any room should be ok. Is this the case? I don't really need the chair in the room to get around, just to plug in.

I knew it was all downhill after 50, I just didn't realize it was sooooo fast!!!

Thanks for you replies.

 

[mrsksomeday]

If you are using the Magical Express from the airport to Disney make sure to let them know that you will need an accessible bus. When you check in with them let them know this.

All the busses once you get to WDW are accessible. There are two spaces for wheelchairs/ECV's to go. At Pop and other locations there are certain areas where you will wait so the bus driver can clearly see you. They load you before the other passengers for saftey reasons, it is usually first on, last off, others in your party will load when you do.

Will you need a shower chair or hand held shower head? If so you need to have that noted on your reservation. You will be able to fit your chair into the room.

We have stayed at Pop 4 times, my dbf has a power wheelchair, feel free to ask any questions.

 

[nannato6]

Thank you so much for this information. We will be driving down from Illinois so I won't need the airport service. I'm glad that it will not be necessary to drive to the parks also. I can stand and walk for short periods, but due to 2 back surgeries I can not tolerate it for very long. I really did not want to put extra work on to my kids.

 

[SueM in MN]

If you look in the disABILITIES FAQs thread, there are posts about DME (with pictures) and a section about the buses, monorails and boats. WDW is very accessible for someone using a wheelchair.

As was already mentioned, unless you need some special features in your room, you don't need a handicapped room. One thing that is helpful is to bring an extension cord or power strip. That way, if the outlet is not close to the best 'parking spot', you can move the outlet to the wheelchair.

 

[mrsksomeday]

Thank you so much for this information. We will be driving down from Illinois so I won't need the airport service. I'm glad that it will not be necessary to drive to the parks also. I can stand and walk for short periods, but due to 2 back surgeries I can not tolerate it for very long. I really did not want to put extra work on to my kids.

You are very welcome, we are from Illinois too. The disablities FAQs thread is full of great information.

 

[SarahD]

We, too, are staying at Pop and I have a question about the DME. My uncle is renting a power chair that will be waiting at the hotel for him. I'm wondering how to get him onto the DME bus? Can we use the wheelchair that transfers him off the plane and load him into the DMW on it, then remove the chair? At Pop, we can load the power chair onto the lift, transfer him into it and then off via the lift. He can do a couple of steps with rails, but I'm not sure about the skinny bus steps and the steepness. Surely others have had this issue???

 

[Andrew Bichard]

I'm wondering how to get him onto the DME bus? Can we use the wheelchair that transfers him off the plane and load him into the DMW on it, then remove the chair?

Virtually all the airport wheelchairs at Orlndo have flagpoles to stop them being taken out of the terminal building. I know this from bitter experience of my last trip, when the airline damaged my powerchair rendering it unuseable. Eventually (five hours after landing and being transferred chair to chair several times they found me an airline chair and managed to remove the flagpole) This chair, like all airport chairs had fixed armrests so I coukdn't make sliding transfers (another story).

DME coaches are tall with the seating cabin over the top of the luggage compartment. Some have wheelchair lifts. Perhaps they would let your uncle stand on the wheelchair lift to get on the bus?

Andrew

 

[SueM in MN]

DME coaches are tall with the seating cabin over the top of the luggage compartment. Some have wheelchair lifts. Perhaps they would let your uncle stand on the wheelchair lift to get on the bus?

Andrew

There are pictures that show the tall steps and the lift in the disABILITIES FAQs thread.
Some people had reported that they were able to stand on the lift to get on the bus, but a DME bus driver had posted on the Transportation Board in 2008 that is against their policies.
When you call to make your reservations, you should tell them what your needs are. They will have to come up with some alternatives.

 

[nannato6]

Thank you for your replies. I just found this board and I have been spending so much time on here researching. This is the greatest for information!
I read in the diability forum about the airport bus, but was not sure if the park/resort bus was the same. I love Disney and "THE" mouse! I belonged to the Mickey Mouse Club as a child in the 50's! Great memories.

Hope to see you real soon!

 

[SueM in MN]

Thank you for your replies. I just found this board and I have been spending so much time on here researching. This is the greatest for information!
I read in the diability forum about the airport bus, but was not sure if the park/resort bus was the same. I love Disney and "THE" mouse! I belonged to the Mickey Mouse Club as a child in the 50's! Great memories.

Hope to see you real soon!

The buses that go to the parks are much different (and easier) than the Disney Magical Express buses.

Let us know if you have any more questions or need to be pointed to more information.
Hope you all have a great trip.

 

[SarahD]

I called today and talked to a CM about how to get my uncle into the DME bus since he won't have his power chair until we get to the hotel. (He uses a walker when he's not in his chair, but can't climb the bus steps.) She put me on hold to talk to transportation, then came back and assured me they could do it. I'm still a little nervous about the can-you-ride-the-lift-without-a-wheelchair issue, so when I call back with flight info for ME, I"m going to ask to speak to someone in transportation to verify. I did ask Walker Mobility about getting the chair at the airport and they said they can't - there is no one at the airport to accept delivery of the chairs.

 

[SueM in MN]

I called today and talked to a CM about how to get my uncle into the DME bus since he won't have his power chair until we get to the hotel. (He uses a walker when he's not in his chair, but can't climb the bus steps.) She put me on hold to talk to transportation, then came back and assured me they could do it. I'm still a little nervous about the can-you-ride-the-lift-without-a-wheelchair issue, so when I call back with flight info for ME, I"m going to ask to speak to someone in transportation to verify. I did ask Walker Mobility about getting the chair at the airport and they said they can't - there is no one at the airport to accept delivery of the chairs.

I know in at least one situation, the person was able to stand on the lift and ride it up (and I know from personal experience that the lift includes directions for standing on the lift while it goes up).

If they say that he can't ride on the lift standing, then it is up to them to come up with a way for him to get onto the bus. I know in at least one situation, they did provide a manual wheelchair for the person to ride up the lift, the person got out of the wheelchair in the bus and then there was a manual wheelchair waiting when the bus reached the resort. It IS up to the bus company to come up with some way to accommodate his needs.

Please let us know how it works out.

 

[SarahD]

I know in at least one situation, the person was able to stand on the lift and ride it up (and I know from personal experience that the lift includes directions for standing on the lift while it goes up).

If they say that he can't ride on the lift standing, then it is up to them to come up with a way for him to get onto the bus. I know in at least one situation, they did provide a manual wheelchair for the person to ride up the lift, the person got out of the wheelchair in the bus and then there was a manual wheelchair waiting when the bus reached the resort. It IS up to the bus company to come up with some way to accommodate his needs.

Please let us know how it works out.

Will do!