Wheelchair/transportation issues on recent stay

[Ninjagrrl]

I mostly post this to make people aware that the usual top notch service you've come to expect from Disney is not on display at the moment.
We just got back from a stay 3/27-4/3, split between ASM and the Poly. This isn't our first rodeo using the buses with our child in a chair. We've never experienced anything like this.
And yes, we brought it up to both guest services and disability services while there.
There were multiple issues that I've never encountered before. At ASM, they were running a ton of non Disney buses, and none of them were wc accessible, so we ended up waiting over an hour on more than one occasion as bus after bus came that couldn't load us.
On one morning, we were the first to arrive at the bus stop at ASM, and went into the separate cordoned off line for wheelchairs. When the bus came (surprisingly a Disney bus) the driver gave us a hard time saying we needed to be in the regular line.
On another evening, the driver loaded my son and then there was a driver change. When we arrived at ASM, the new driver didn't know how to lower the ramp and asked us to carry the wheelchair off the bus!
We had a driver tell us our son didn't look disabled. We had multiple drivers improperly secure his chair.
The thing that made me the angriest was the photo I'm posting. On this evening, on our way back to the Poly from Epcot, the driver told a guest to leave this enormous, unsecured double stroller in the wc area for the ride home. W.T.F. This is dangerous and completely inappropriate. One short stop would have sent this flying into my child or me.

(Worth noting that my child has a custom Convaid wheelchair that is built to look like a stroller. It is WC19 transit compliant and has the required tie downs. I don't get upset when people think it's a stroller, I just show them the tie downs and the verification plaque.)
We were totally taken off guard by the sheer number of problems we experienced this trip.

 

[Groot]

Omg! Can’t believe that this is happening. And the gall of that one driver to say that your child “Didn’t look disabled” is not right.

 

[joanchris]

Wow, so sorry to hear this. We're headed there in less than two weeks. Guess at least we'll be prepared for less than the usual good service. Ugh. We will have our van, but were hoping to mainly use Disney transport.

 

[mamabunny]

It's sounding more and more like we have a *bunch* of untrained or poorly trained drivers on Resort lines right now. I presume they may have tried to staff back up too quickly for the spring break/TGIVaccinated rush that is happening?

We may have to all be more aware, and more proactive. Taking pictures is good, because it offers real, timestamped evidence that Disney can see. I appreciate the OP taking the time out of their vacation to reach out to both Guest Relations and Disability Services. I have said it before, but we will all have to keep it mind going forward - they can't fix what they don't know about. And it appears that most of the folks in the places that matter at WDW have NO idea what it's like to either have wheels under your butt, or love someone who does.

 

[Makmak]

There are reports popping up on many areas of these boards of individuals/families with mobility devices being treated poorly. A lot of the experiences involve busses. This is so terrible as the Disney I had come to know and love had demonstrated above and beyond service in the past. I truly hope this is temporary (not that that makes any of it ok). I’m so sorry you all had to go through that. I wish I could say “I can’t believe” the driver would say that to you but sadly I CAN believe it after our last trip. When we were going through security, the security guard barked “it’s ok if she stays in this time but next time she has to walk. She’s old enough to walk” (Referring to walking through the metal detector thing.) I just stared at him. My child is old enough to understand what he said and started to cry. That’s not Disney.

 

[Ninjagrrl]

It's sounding more and more like we have a *bunch* of untrained or poorly trained drivers on Resort lines right now. I presume they may have tried to staff back up too quickly for the spring break/TGIVaccinated rush that is happening?

We may have to all be more aware, and more proactive. Taking pictures is good, because it offers real, timestamped evidence that Disney can see. I appreciate the OP taking the time out of their vacation to reach out to both Guest Relations and Disability Services. I have said it before, but we will all have to keep it mind going forward - they can't fix what they don't know about. And it appears that most of the folks in the places that matter at WDW have NO idea what it's like to either have wheels under your butt, or love someone who does.

I hate to say this bc it sounds almost prejudiced, but all the problems we encountered were with older males. The younger drivers of both sexes, and the older female drivers were the typical Disney service I have come to expect over the years.

 

[joanchris]

Can they still fit 2 mobility devices on a bus (if they're in the same party)? Or is that not being done due to spacing for Covid? My daughter uses a wheelchair and needs to stay in it, my dad will be using an ECV for stamina issues, but obv. will not be staying in it on busses.
Wondering, if we use busses while there, if we'll have to be separated.

from what I'm hearing, I can only imagine the groans from the problematic drivers, seeing 2 mobility devices!

 

[Evita_W]

Can they still fit 2 mobility devices on a bus (if they're in the same party)? Or is that not being done due to spacing for Covid? My daughter uses a wheelchair and needs to stay in it, my dad will be using an ECV for stamina issues, but obv. will not be staying in it on busses.
Wondering, if we use busses while there, if we'll have to be separated.

from what I'm hearing, I can only imagine the groans from the problematic drivers, seeing 2 mobility devices!

They can fit two mobility devices in the same bus, definitely if in the same party, but I believe even separate parties now.

I still maintain the drivers should put without mobility devices into the wheelchair seats last.

 

[Ninjagrrl]

Yes we rode with a different group with a mobility device on at least one occasion.

 

[olwyngdh]

They can, the question becomes whether they will or not. We only had a problem once with them refusing to put us both on the same bus. If you use the skyliner, you will have to be on 2 separate cars due to balance issues from the way it was explained to me.

 

[Selket]

Your post is just a wow - so sorry this happened and hope you will follow up as much as you can with Disney since this was such a glaring problem. Certainly would make me not want to travel to WDW at the moment.

 

[ElyseInWonderland]

I am so sorry this happened to you, your family and your son. Poor training or not, it sounds like some drivers need a refresher on empathy!

 

[Debbie Jean]

I hope Disney responds and OP will update. This is really so beyond acceptable, I would like to see how they choose to address it.

Kudos, OP, for thinking to take that picture!! There is no way Disney can argue with that

 

[Ninjagrrl]

I did get a response but it's a big nothing burger. :/

"I am terribly sorry for how your family has felt during this current trip in regards to Walt Disney World Bus Transportation. The added convenience of transportation across property is meant to be a relief for our Guests, so knowing that your personal experience has been impacted so negatively by these frustrations is disheartening. I will make sure your comments are shared with top Leadership as they continue to evaluate our offerings and address any additional training that is needed. Thank you, again, for sharing your disappointment with us."

 

[DisneyOma]

I hate to say this bc it sounds almost prejudiced, but all the problems we encountered were with older males. The younger drivers of both sexes, and the older female drivers were the typical Disney service I have come to expect over the years.

My guess is that they laid off all the bus drivers, had to get some back quickly, and a bunch of old retired farts decided to join the ranks. Sounds like they didn't do any training before they got the jobs?

I did get a response but it's a big nothing burger. :/

"I am terribly sorry for how your family has felt during this current trip in regards to Walt Disney World Bus Transportation. The added convenience of transportation across property is meant to be a relief for our Guests, so knowing that your personal experience has been impacted so negatively by these frustrations is disheartening. I will make sure your comments are shared with top Leadership as they continue to evaluate our offerings and address any additional training that is needed. Thank you, again, for sharing your disappointment with us."

They let you know they took the situation seriously, apologized, and said they were letting the powers in charge know about it, alluding to changes and more training. That would fix the issue, right? Or were you looking for some form of compensation? If so, you need to point out exactly what you need compensations for. Missing an ADR, the hours you were not able to access something, etc - they can compensate you on what you have missed out on.

 

[Ninjagrrl]

My guess is that they laid off all the bus drivers, had to get some back quickly, and a bunch of old retired farts decided to join the ranks. Sounds like they didn't do any training before they got the jobs?



They let you know they took the situation seriously, apologized, and said they were letting the powers in charge know about it, alluding to changes and more training. That would fix the issue, right? Or were you looking for some form of compensation? If so, you need to point out exactly what you need compensations for. Missing an ADR, the hours you were not able to access something, etc - they can compensate you on what you have missed out on.

No I didn't want any compensation.
What I wanted was an actual apology. They apologized for *how I felt* not what happened, which implies that they don't feel there was wrongdoing, just that they're sorry it upset me.
I don't have confidence that it will be addressed appropriately with this empty form letter.
Don't assume everyone wants compensation.

 

[Selket]

I did get a response but it's a big nothing burger. :/

It does seem like a canned reply. I am not sure it is possible to get better than that from them these days and I'm sure they don't want to say "yes this was dangerous" because it puts them at some legal risk no doubt. If they actually do share this with leadership and provide more training then it will have been very worth it that you took the time to write and send a picture.

 

[DisneyOma]

No I didn't want any compensation.
What I wanted was an actual apology. They apologized for *how I felt* not what happened, which implies that they don't feel there was wrongdoing, just that they're sorry it upset me.
I don't have confidence that it will be addressed appropriately with this empty form letter.
Don't assume everyone wants compensation.

It's okay to ask for compensation if you were significantly inconvenienced by a situation that WDW had control over. I saw the email you shared as an actual apology and wondered what else you were looking for, hence the suggestion to be more clear about the situation if you felt you didn't get the compensation you were looking for. I'm sorry that I wasn't clear enough in my previous post.

In the future, if you have to wait a significant amount of time for an accessible bus, a good option would be to find a CM in the area. If that CM can't help you, he or she can at least get you connected to a CM that can.

 

[Debbie Jean]

I did get a response but it's a big nothing burger. :/

"I am terribly sorry for how your family has felt during this current trip in regards to Walt Disney World Bus Transportation. The added convenience of transportation across property is meant to be a relief for our Guests, so knowing that your personal experience has been impacted so negatively by these frustrations is disheartening. I will make sure your comments are shared with top Leadership as they continue to evaluate our offerings and address any additional training that is needed. Thank you, again, for sharing your disappointment with us."

Maybe I’m being cynical but this looks like a form letter... they keep a selection of these on hand and decided to send you number 3!

I don’t think one needs to ask for compensation to feel that a more personal response to this situation be provided. OP deserved better... just my opinion.

 

[starry_solo]

They cant really apologize for what happened because it would be an admission....