wheelchair/scooter at MK fireworks and buses?

[emailbrittny]

We are debating on the scooter. I think if we rent we will rent for 3 days. We are not on property and have off property hotel transportation to the parks. I have a few questions.

If we rent the scooter which would be easier on the disney buses to take the bus ramp onto the bus or should we store it underneath (where strollers go). He can walk short distances and will be able to climb the few stairs into the bus. I read some issues with bus ramps not working.

Also is there special seating areas for parades or fireworks for wheelchair/scooters?

I believe he can ride most of the rides. Does he wheel in the lines and wait or do they all have wheelchair lines/accesible areas?

Thanks everyone

 

[tobikaye]

We are debating on the scooter. I think if we rent we will rent for 3 days. We are not on property and have off property hotel transportation to the parks. I have a few questions.

If we rent the scooter which would be easier on the disney buses to take the bus ramp onto the bus or should we store it underneath (where strollers go).

I cannot help with this one because I am not sure what type of bus you are talking about. The WDW buses that bus from parks to WDW owned hotels do not have storage under the buses. WC, & ECV go on the bus via ramp and the strollers are carried on.

Also is there special seating areas for parades or fireworks for wheelchair/scooters?

I believe he can ride most of the rides. Does he wheel in the lines and wait or do they all have wheelchair lines/accesible areas?

When you get to the parks, pick up the Map that is the Guide for Disabilities. It will list where the special seating is for parades. If this map is not found at the entrance with the other maps, check with Guest Relations. There is no special seating for the fireworks. Even with the special seating you should plan to get there early as depending on the time of year these areas can fill up.

Once you have the map for disabilities, it will tell you how to proceed at the parks with the lines for the attractions. Most of the attractions have mainstream lines so he would wheel through the lines, but may veer off at a certain point if the ride has stairs. There are a few attractions that have separate entrances for handicap, but there are not too many and they are mostly at MK.

 

[disney david]

as a pp said disney buses do not have any under neath storage you will take it with you up the ramp/lift. When you get on the buses they will tie you down and you will have the CHOICE to transfer to a seat but you do not have to if you don't want. After fire works you will have to take the ferry to the ttc and pick up off site buses from their onoly disney owned buses are allowed to pick up in the front on mk. Know with the monorail closing an hour after park closing they might have a ttc bus but they want everyone taking the ferry.


The low floor buses have the ramps and they really don't have problems with them the older ones have the lifts which they sometimes have problems but once they do they take them out of service to fix them. Remember all off site buses will pick up and drop off in the charter bus lots. They are near the regular bus stops at the parks except for mk where they are located at the TTC.

 

[SueM in MN]

Agreeing with the other posters.

Buses: The WDW buses that go between the resorts and the parks don't have storage underneath. Most have ramps to get wheelchairs and ECVs onto the bus. A few have lifts, but all are accessible with either ramps or lifts. Once on the bus, the driver will attach tiedowns straps to keep the ECV in place. You can choose to stay on the ECV, but it is safer to get off and sit on a seat.
The WDW ramp buses are like this picture. The ramp folds out.

If you are not staying at one of the on-site WDW resorts, you may have one of those type buses or the large tour type buses which do have storage underneath. Those buses do have lifts to get wheelchairs and ECVs onto the bus. The 'problem' with the lifts is that not all the buses have lifts. If he is able to climb the steps, that would give more flexibility because you wouldn't have to necessarily have an accessible bus.
This picture shows a Disney Magical Express bus stairs, but the tour buses with storage underneath would be similar.

Parades and fireworks: There are handicapped viewing spots for all parades. These spots are marked on all the park maps, not just the special maps for guests with disabilities. For the daytime parades, some of the spots are in full sun, so you will want to check them out ahead of time.
For Illuminations in Epcot, you may find it is better to just find a spot along the fence that lines the World Showcase Lagoon because the handicapped viewing spots fill up very quickly and aree crowded.
Other than Illuminations, there are no handicapped viewing spots for fireworks.

Lines/waiting: as was already mentioned, most lines are accessible and you will wait in the same line with everyone else. Those are called Mainstream Lines and Animal Kingdom and the Studio were built with that type of lines.
MK and Epcot were ot built wih Mainstream Lines, but they have been added as much as possible as attractions were renovated or added.
The Guide for Guests with Disabilities are special maps which list the 'Mobility Entrance' for each attraction. I have listed them from the maps in post 11 of the disABILITIES FAQs thread (this is just for general information, you will want to pick up a park map when you get there).
The disABILITIES FAQs thread is near the top of this board or you can follow the link in my signature.
Post 11, plus several posts on page 2 of the disABILITIES FAQs thread, list information about accessibility and what type of transfer is needed for each attraction.

 

[disney david]

Thanks sue op which resort to staying at because most if the downtown disney off site hotels use buses that dont have storage under the bus. The waldof and the Hilton uses the tour buses like magic express which will have compartments under neath. Most of the other hotels use mears which will have the storage under the bus. The shades of green resort use the same buses Disney use unless it really busy then they will also use tour bus style bus to handle the extra load. Very rare but Disney will also bring in a outside company if their are busy to help out and they might be tour buses but that only when they are busy.

 

[emailbrittny]

Wow this board always impresses me! Everyone here has been extremely helpful, so thank you. The pics were a great help.

At home my grandpa usually gets around with a walker & manual wheelchair (he has had multiple strokes). Seeing my grandma is recovering from a wrist injury I dont think pushing the wheelchair all day at MK is logical. My mom also just broke her arm so she wont be able to help and we have a 2 yr old in a stroller. I think renting the ECV would be the best bet and it will allow my grandpa to be more involved in the activities we plan to do!

I was able to read the FAQ and I have the MK map for the disabled printed so I can get familiar until we arrive for the real map.

We are staying at Floridays resort. I will be calling them today to verify what kind of buses they use. If my memory serves me right I think they use the tour bus types, cuz we had to store my DD stroller underneath the bus when we rode last year (not sure if it had a ramp).

The ramp idea sounds easier for WDW busing, so we will have to get familiar on the tie down areas of the EVC we rent.

Thanks again everyone! This has really helped. I couldnt find all my answers in the FAQ thread.