It's why we do all we can to not rely on the bus. We're DVC so we usually stay at either VGF (home resort) or Beach Club. I've walked from MGM to EPCOT to Monorail just to avoid the bus.
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I completely agree this is ridiculous but I’m not sure what the solution is?
You wait in line like everybody else you’re in a chair already what necessitates you to skip the line? Again, the disabled should be treated with respect dignity and kindness.
isn’t there a need for wheelchairs to be loaded first though? And that needs to be done without other passengers in the way.
If they wait in the regular line when it’s their turn there could be room for guests to stand but not for them to maneuvre on so they’d have to wait again. I think there would be an argument for discrimination there?
I’m not from the US so I’m not as familiar with the law but where I’m from it would be discriminatory.
I don’t entirely disagree with you but I thought there was a reason for it to have to be this way
honestly who knows, I don’t take the buses anymore after this was nonstop. Much better to take your own car or rental and leave.
I don't know what the solution is, either. Scooters need to go in first so that they're safely strapped in, and don't have to maneuver around a crowd of people to do so. But, imagine it's the end of the day and there are 30 people in line, no scooters. A bus pulls up and all of a sudden scooter person + their entire family get to board first, maybe some people that were there before them don't get to board. I don't know the answer other than maybe putting them in line with everyone else, and the bus driver can gauge whether or not they'd fit on that bus, and if they wouldn't, they'd have to wait. But then you have a backlog of scooters.
Honestly with the influx of people using scooters at WDW I'm shocked they just haven't floated the idea of scooter only buses.
I've had exactly this happen. And of course I want someone with mobility issues to be accommodated but when you're hot or wet or tired and already waited 20 minutes it's just so frustrating to have to wait for the next one. And I also know the person in the scooter would probably give anything to be able-bodied enough to not need the scooter but ARGH it is really annoying in the moment - particularly when it's them and a large group. Disney did announce the purchase of new buses recently that are supposed to make loading the scooters quicker and easier as well as able to accommodate more people for standing room. The USB chargers in the seats is cool too! And hopefully more buses means less waiting (assuming they use them all).
New Buses Debut at Walt Disney World (blogmickey.com)
This is literally what I was just about to say. I was so surprised how many I saw on my last trip!
problem is scooter only busses would actually be 90% scooter party busses. You never know how peoples brains work though.There’s probably a proportion of people who’s reason for having a scooter is to skip the bus line. They might ditch the scooter and start walking.
Last time I was there, they allowed one person to board with the person on the scooter. The rest of the family had to wait in the line, even if it meant they ended up on a different bus. I suppose if the person on the scooter wanted to ride with their entire family, they could just wait until their family was close to the front of the line, right? We've opted to wait for the next bus if, by the time it was our turn to board, it was standing room only. So why couldn't people on scooters do the same?
I agree it’s appropriate to ask questions. We got to get over the stigma that if you have disability that you’re not eligible for questions, concerns, or commentary you will like everybody else we treat you with dignity, respect, and kindness.
There are very few people where I live who use scooters - those that do are mainly the elderly and are 'regular' sized. When visiting WDW last year I was astonished at how scooter use had gone through the roof & it seems like most people using them are obese and middle aged. I would sit in the parks watching the world go by & be bewildered by the number of scooterists who practically fill their machines. And sometimes there would be a fleet of these vehicles with generations of the same family riding them, I would watch as they would park up and hop out when they got to a restaurant. If they aren't actually disabled but instead a bit lazy, should they & their family get priority for anything? If you can show a DAS card that's a different matter but I'm guessing a lot of these folks just don't like walking. This is another thing that needs some scrutiny.
You let the people in the EVs wait off to the side and the rest of the party is in the line. When the bus shows up they look to see how many EVs there are and where the person is in line that has said EV. If that person is n-people back and the party size is x-n back then no problem hop on board. IF not, they're going to have to wait for the next one.
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This is the part where I'll speak out for them, there are hidden disabilities. People on the surface look like they're fine, but under the hood are a hot mess. Maybe they can walk 15-20 yards without being in tons of pain....or maybe they are subject to flares out of the blue. We don't know. But I do know that something has to change.
Like I said, on our last visit I did all I could to avoid the bus. We stayed at Beach Club last go around, so it was easy. Use Uber/Lyft/Minnie Van for Animal Kingdom. Walk to EPCOT and MGM. And for Magic Kingdom, just don't stay there for the fireworks and instead pop smoke early and go MK -> EPCOT -> Hotel
Sure, there are people with hidden disabilities who I have genuine empathy for (I have an elderly mother with severe arthritis who I help look after so I understand). But let's be realistic, there are people who are lazy and/or gaming the system & who jump the queue to the disadvantage of everyone else. Even Disney now recognizes this & are threatening lifetime bans.
The issue is people in ECVs haven't been given priority access to rides in years.
Disney flat out said that needing a wheelchair/mobility device doesn't grant DAS access.
The only thing that the EVC/Wheelchair access gets is priority boarding for the bus.
The scooter transportation situation can get insane with the buses. Either scooter people get left behind because the bus can only fit two (I think) or two scooters along with a lot of family members can take up a chunk of the bus before others board. The scooter onboarding process can be a huge time suck. I have no clue how to fix it. You put a couple scooters on a bus plus two or three mega baby strollers on a bus and suddenly space is tight.
I saw once where a separate van was brought out for a particularly long scooter line, but to hear from the grousing it took a long time for it to happen. The system was not set up with scooters in mind.
I saw once where a separate van was brought out for a particularly long scooter line, but to hear from the grousing it took a long time for it to happen. The system was not set up with scooters in mind.
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Really wish Disney would enforce their own rules with regards to the size of some of these strollers.
One stroller, that's not even being used, taking up the space that could easily have 4-6 adults standing in if needed.
Nothing will change. Disney is afraid to upset its core demographic. And that woman in the Torid outfit rolling down Mainstreet USA in some scooter is the core demo.
jackie?