We have been to WDW many times but usually during times when the crowds are light. We are going to be in WDW this year during the Thanksgiving holiday so I don't think we will see the light crowds we are use to.
My son is 10 and uses a wheelchair for safety and endurance. He can walk but functions at about a 12 month level in terms of cognition and also has multiple seizures daily so when out and about we use a wheelchair. On our past trips getting the wheelchair on the bus has never been a problem as there were never buses that were full and rarely was there lines at the bus stops (we always stay at Saratoga). What happens at the bustops when there is a long line (regular line) and no line for wheelchairs?
We are here now (staying at OKW) and they have changed the bus stops at the parks (again).
There are no posted instructions at the parks, but at the resorts, there are signs that say a guest in a wheelchair plus up to 5 additional guests.
http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/member-galleries/p64648-bus-stop-sign-at-okw.html
At most parks, there is no actual wheelchair line, but as the line snakes around, there is a wheelchair gate at the last turn before getting to the front of the bus.
The lines are set up so that guests with wheelchairs and
ECVs get into the regular line. When they reach that gate, the guest with a wheelchair/
ECV plus no more than 5 other members of their party go thru the gate and will be boarded before the rest of the people in line.
Some parks have a space next the the gate between bus stops, so it would be possible to go directly to the area the gate leads to. I have seen the driver not load people who bypassed going into the line, especially when it was busy. just the other night, leaving MK, a woman using an ECV was left behind to catch the next bus because she did that. There were more people in line at the time than would fit on the first bus.
We will be a group of 12 (my sisters family and our parents). Do 2 of us, Broc and my wife or I, go in the wheelchair line and everyone else goes in the regular line?
Expect that your whole group may not always get onto the same bus if you have a group or 12. If you are all waiting in the line together as I described before, then your whole group will be on the same bus (more people will fit on one bus than will fit in the area of the line from the door of the bus back to the turn where the wheelchair gate is).
If you bypass going into the line in some way, the only people you can guarantee will be on the same bus with the wheelchair are the up to 5 waiting with the wheelchair.
Just plan who will be boarding with the wheelchair - make sure you have enough to handle your son plus equipment, but no more than 6 total (including him).
Should we just fold up the chair and carry it on? It folds up like an umbrella stroller but it is still a bit bulky.
You have some choices.
1) You could load the chair thru the back door with your son in it, then have it tied down and have him stay in it for the ride.
2) You could load the chair thru the back door with your son in it, then have it tied down and have him transfer to a bus seat.
3) You could load the chair thru the back door (folded or unfolded) without your son, have him go up the ramp, then hold the folded chair.
4) Load thru the front door like everyone else with the chair folded like a stroller.
I believe you posted someplace else that you have a larger Convaid Cruiser.
If that is the case, I would only do #1 or 2 if you have the transport option for that chair. Tying it down without the transport option is not safe to ride in and could bend the frame of the chair.
When the buses are full, my DH and I always stand by DD's wheelchair - if it's standing room only, someone will be standing there and we would rather have it be one of us.
#3 is a good option because loading from the back would give him a guaranteed place to sit.
The folded chair will be faster to load and unload, plus you don't have the issue of all the wheelchair spots already filled when you get onto the bus. It would be no larger and bulkier than many of the regular strollers - many of the huge strollers (even single strollers) folded are as big or bigger than my DD's narrow adult size wheelchair with her in it!
#4 would pretty much guarantee that your whole party would get on, but you may all have to stand.
Maybe they run more buses when there are more people so this won't be a problem?
Mike
They do run more buses, but the busy times are very busy, so more buses do not totally cover the amount of people. I would still expect to sometimes run into full buses and sometimes have to break your party up and/or stand, especially since SSR has many bus stops.
Plan to meet up later at the park or back at your resort.
At the resort, I would have a few people wait with the wheelchair where the driver will be able to see you. I would have the rest of your party wait in the line and if you are not loaded first, they can tell the driver when they get to the front that there is a wheelchair to load.
