Bus Boarding Question

[BuckeyeBelle]

We're leaving for Disney again in 10 days! Yippee!

My son is nine now and he has a lot of special issues including severe hypotonia, so he can only walk short distances. We have a BabyJogger Special Needs buggy at home for times when distance walking is involved, but it's very cumbersome to fold and even then it's still bulky and extremely awkward. So we're renting a MacLaren from Care Medical for the trip because it folds up a lot smaller for the buses.

We've gone before when he could hardly walk at all and couldn't begin to climb into the buses (two years ago), so we always pre-boarded him as a handicapped guest. The bus drivers were usually very good about letting us board in the back because his old stroller was also huge folded up, and there is more floor room back there. Now he can walk a little better, and could get himelf onto to bus, but he's still very slow at it. He also definitely needs a seat because he doesn't have the stregth, endurance or balance skills to stand on a bus.

Here is my dilemma -- he does have the ability to get on the bus the regular way, but I'm afraid the rest of the crowd won't realize his special needs and crowd past him or trip him because he's so slow. He's too big now for me to carry him on like I used to. I'm also worried he won't get a seat every time, which is an absolute must for him. (I've been on Disney buses enought to know that most guests are very considerate, but the few that aren't make all this a real possibility.)

Do you think we'll have any trouble pre-boarding him this time, even though he's somewhat mobile and will have a stoller that folds to a decent size?

If we do have any trouble, what's the best way to handle it? I'm a very non-confrontational person, but if I know how to deal with a situation ahead of time, it helps me be more assertive. Silly but true.

I'd be extremely grateful for any advice or comments. Now that my son is a little stonger, I really want this to be his best trip everl Thanks!!!!

 

[SueM in MN]

Hopefully, you will get some advice from people who have also traveled with a larger child with a special needs stroller.
I don't have any personal experience since DD has had a wheelchair since she was pretty tiny, so we never had a situation where the bus driver didn't know we needed assistance.
Unless someone who has done it has a different suggestion, my suggestion would be to just go to the wheelchair boarding area for the bus with your stroller and child. The stroller will be large enough that it should be obvious that you have a special need. Also, if you have a Guest Assistance Card that says you can use the stroller as a wheelchair, that should help too.
This is what the Maclaren special needs stroller looks like.

 

[BuckeyeBelle]

Thank you, Sue! I had considered renting him regular wheelchair to avoid any confusion, but I think he'd be much more comfortable in a stroller that fits him (not too big). We have our fingers crossed that everything will be fine. If anyone else has any advice, I'd love to hear it.

 

[saymama]

i just typed a huge response and then with one accidental click it was all gone. Let's try this again.

I have 2 boys with autism. My oldest son has hypotonia and I will never do disney again without his own stoller. He needed it all the time and not just in the parks. By the end of the trip is he asked, where's the buggy? My younger son received his medical stoller about one week before we left. It was a life saver. We used it on the buses as a wheelchair. It looks like a cross between a wheelchair and a stoller. We only had a couple of people question us about it. Maybe call the medical supply companies near you and see if you can rent one of those. Or if you have a Families Helping Families center near you, they may lend out equipment if they have it or could get you in contant with a family that does.

Call guest services and explain your situation. Maybe you can use your stoller as a wheelchair on the bus with a GAC? Not sure if this can be done or not.

Lastly, you could wait at the back of the bus, while someone else waits near the front and then ask for them to open the back doors and you need the handicapp entrance. (handicapp doesn't only mean wheelchair and you might have to enlighten some drivers ihn a very polite way.) Don't worry about others, we took our time when we had to and no one complained.

I know on the monorail, that you can just wheel the stoller on, but I don't know where you are staying as to how convienent that will be for you.

Good luck. We just got back yesterday and had a wonderful time.

 

[JudithM]

Last week I noticed the bus drivers of some of the newer busses ask guests, who looked like they needed help getting on the bus, if they would like the bus lowered. That might be an option. The newer bus lowers differently than the older busses.

 

[BuckeyeBelle]

Thanks for the great advice, everybody!

Our trip was fantastic! All the CMs were very friendly and helpful, and everybody in our party had a super time. We can't wait to go again.

We did run into a few minor snags getting handicap boarding onto the busses using the Maclaren stroller, though. But overall, the bus drivers were very polite and helpful, and we were very happy with the service they provided.

The problem we encountered was that none of the bus drivers (not one) recognized the Maclaren stroller as a needing special boarding like a wheelchair. It wasn't that they didn't want to help us. They were always very happy to help! They just didn't always know they should.

At first we boarded in the front with everyone else, and asked the driver what we should do. The first driver immediately saw my son's special need and told us (very kindly!) that whe should line up at the back of the bus next time. That way the driver could see him ahead of time and provide handicap access. But when we tried to line up at the back of the bus, they never saw us, and boarded the regular line at the front first. So back to the front we went, where the driver told us (very kindly!) to line up in back next time.

So after a few go-rounds of this, we did what saymama suggested. We always sent one member of our party to the front door of the bus to tell the driver there was a party that needed to board through the back. (A couple of times the bus stop CMs did this for us.) It worked great! The drivers were all wonderful about it once they knew. They made sure my son could board with plenty of time and plenty of room.

In hindsight, we thought it might have helped to have a sign like a large hadicap symbol to hold up at the bus stop so the driver would see us and know we needed special boarding. That would have saved a lot of hassle.

Next time I think we'll rent him a regular wheelchair, though. He'll be big enough, and things will be so much easier without having to worry about GACs and bus drivers and all that.

Anyway, thanks again for all the good advice. Hopefully somebody can use our experience to have a more magical vacation!

 

[JudithM]

Originally posted by BuckeyeBelle
Our trip was fantastic! All the CMs were very friendly and helpful, and everybody in our party had a super time. We can't wait to go again. ...

I am glad to read you had a fantastic vacation! Thank you for letting us know how your trip went. Get ready to plan the next trip!