Is this my only option with an Anxiety prone ASD Kiddo, big stroller *UPDATED*

[maxiesmom]

Op here again

And again I say WOW and thank you for all the time and effort you guys have put into this. Now I have more options to consider. I will say I'm still leaning towards just heading to the back so all of us can sit. This also makes it a "one size fits all buses solution" so we don't have to try and remember which bus we sit where on - we just do the same thing on all buses. The back up plan would be to hail a cab and hope for a nicer bus driver the next time we need the bus till we get the van.

It is going to take all sorts of luck for you to be able to grab one of the few seats you can surround your daughter in, time after time. And once you are on the bus it is all but impossible to go back out if you find those seats are already taken. Please have a plan B bus ride seating arrangement in mind.

 

[DisneyOma]

Just looked up what the wike is - I'd suggest bringing along a battery powered fan or some kind of cooling device if you plan to keep the canopy with sides attached during the day - even in the winter the sun is strong in WDW and enclosed spaces heat up quickly.

 

[SueM in MN]

I would also suggest you have a back up plan in case the Wike turns out to be too cumbersome or not work out well.

 

[OpiesMom]

Op again.

I hear what you saying. Plan A is the back of the bus, plan B is where ever we will fit. Most buses going to and from Pop I believe ( and please correct me if I'm wrong) arrive empty. So unless there is another person / group waiting for the back door, chances are we will get those back seats. Those few times we don't, we either wait for next bus or we see enough seats elsewhere on the bus and sit there having to deal with the fallout of grumpy folks having to squeeze by the stroller ( not ideal but we'd be as curtious as possible in that situation)

At this point I'm pretty sure we're good to go.

 

[disney david]

Op again.

I hear what you saying. Plan A is the back of the bus, plan B is where ever we will fit. Most buses going to and from Pop I believe ( and please correct me if I'm wrong) arrive empty. So unless there is another person / group waiting for the back door, chances are we will get those back seats. Those few times we don't, we either wait for next bus or we see enough seats elsewhere on the bus and sit there having to deal with the fallout of grumpy folks having to squeeze by the stroller ( not ideal but we'd be as curtious as possible in that situation)

At this point I'm pretty sure we're good to go.

They will be most likely comin from a theme park or Disney springs so the driver will unload the guest first. Then if their an ecv or wheelchair guest they my load them first then offer you boarding. But they shouldn't take your seat unless their party sits in the seats. But most likely their go by who ever their first in line for the back door. If the bus is full the driver can call dispatch and ask if hey could send an empty bus so you don't have to wait as long.

The important thing is when bus pulls up if driver didn't see you to go up to front door before general boarding begins and nicely tell them you need the ramp to board. That on the small chance they miss you or not sure if you need the back door since they don't see and ecv or wheelchair.

 

[trvlqueen]

Long story short:

We have a "wike stroller" goggle that term to see what I'm referring to. It folds down but not inward.

We have an amazing kiddo who doesn't do well in loud small crowded places especially if she doesn't have enough personal space. (Main reason we got the Wike for Disney - it's like a tent on wheels)

We are flying down and renting a van after the first 4 days of our trip (first 4 days are low crowded days at the parks - only going to the parks those 4 days for no more than a few hours). We will be using Disney buses to get to and from the parks these first 4 days.

We are getting her headphones to reduce the loud noise part of the equation.

Here is my conundrum.

I know from reading these board extensively that the Wheelchair as Stroller tag isn't meant to be used for the buses.

I am pretty sure we will not be able to get the stroller through the front door of the bus, I don't believe it's wide enough.

I know from past experiences with kiddo that we will have no troubles on the bus if we can get on it while it's low or no occupancy and we can position mom and dad and folded up stroller around kiddo so as to give her a nice large person space to play her I pad while we're in transit.

I'm thinking my only option is to go into the wheelchair lane so:

1) I can get the stroller into the bus (Rolling it up the ramp)
2) We can get Kiddo willingly onto the bus
3) Surround kiddo with Mom, Dad (sitting either side of her) and stroller (in front of her) to give her the personal space she needs.

We would go to the back of the bus so to make sure we only took up 3 spots.

I know this isn't proper procedure, but I think it's the only way to get this to work.

I can't think of any other way to do this but I'm open to suggestions I haven't thought of.

Thank you for your assistance.

After reading through your thread, I'm wondering why you don't just rent a wheelchair for the duration of your Disney stay? That would avoid all the issues with the bus - and would allow you to ride the friendship boats as well. Plus, it eliminates all the need for explaining and should help strangers be more understanding. They aren't expensive to rent off site. Just a thought.

 

[OpiesMom]

OP here - I've updated this thread in the first post. I don't know how to change the title to reflect it so if a Mod could just add "updated" to it- that would be great.

Thank you.

 

[disney david]

Wait they tie down the stroller in the tie down spots that was not design to be tied down. The cm that told you they have to honor the tags are wrong it says on the tags their just to be used in theme park not for transportation. So the drivers wouldn't be retrained just that cm.


I am glad it worked out but not happy that the dispatch cms misled you and the drivers would break the law like that. Or tie down a stroller that dose not have tie down points risk breaking it. It was dangerous to tie any stroller that was not built to be tie down the frame could of bent or the bars could broke and the stroller would went flying. But I guess their was no other option of how big it was maybe in the future you can get a special needs stroller with tie down options their treated like wheelchairs and you won't need any pass and their safe to be tied down.

 

[maxiesmom]

What worries me the most is that they tied down your stroller, which they are not supposed to do at all. It would have been horrible if it had broken, how much time that would have taken fro your vacation, and the money you would have spent! I hope others don't read this and think that is a great idea, because it is not.

 

[gap2368]

I am glade you had a good trip ( I think I even saw you once at MK, dose your daughter have pink headphone the kinds that you use if you are working out side not for music if so then I saw someone in a stroller like you said with an iPad walking in to the emporium) sorry I did not stop to ask you I was trying to find a quiet place at the time ( was just about ready to have a malt down) but I think you were walking in and I was going the other way.

this paragraph really has me worried that you typed
"How we travelled with the stroller after the tag: Since the stroller we have starts out as a trailer a bike pulls, it's not make like your typical stroller with tiny metal pipes. These pipes are larger and it has a roll bar on it in case the cyclist and trailer take a spill. Because of this it was easy for the drivers to lock in the stroller unfolded and with kiddo in it (with her safely held in with her stroller seatbelt) We did try folding it up once and having kiddo sit with us. but no one could get passed the stroller in the laneway - so this was a no go. Also my plan about going to the back was stalled at the step up and more narrow aisle way at the back. (I should have studied the pictures better - it shows plain as day there are steps and a narrow path there.) Also kiddo decided about the 3rd bus trip that she rather be in the stroller then sitting on a seat. I'm guessing she's like me and preferred to sit face forward while in a moving vehicle. I get a bit queasy when siting sideways in a bus."


one this was never meant to be used to transport someone it a wheel chair is a ECV is but not a stroller

and the part that I bolded is just well very unsafe for your child if there was a bus accident then she could have been very hurt in there and that would not have been good for you or disney I hope other people do not think this is a good idea at all and they do not try it as it is said that the bus driver did this for you as it stats on the stroller as a wheel chair tag that it is only for in park use so it should have nothing to do with the busses or getting to form the parks ( or it use to say this you might have signed a paper that stated this along with the paper ( the iPad) when you where give a DAS for her

I can see since your stiller was bigger then most the Bus driver being nice and if no one was in a wheel chair or ECV then tying down the stroller for you but that would be it and if I was the bus driver I would make sure you know this was just a nice jester for you to make your trip easer

 

[wilkeliza]

What worries me the most is that they tied down your stroller, which they are not supposed to do at all. It would have been horrible if it had broken, how much time that would have taken fro your vacation, and the money you would have spent! I hope others don't read this and think that is a great idea, because it is not.

I think the difference as the OP pointed out is this is not a standard stroller. It is a bigger more sturdy one. It would be closer to the actual disability strollers which can also be tied down like a wheelchair and less like a City Mini.

 

[disney david]

Sorry

 

[Gracie09]

Honestly the first thing that hit me (no pun intended) was if the stroller broke and came loose from the tether. Not only could your daughter be injured but those around her could also be injured.

 

[disney david]

I think the difference as the OP pointed out is this is not a standard stroller. It is a bigger more sturdy one. It would be closer to the actual disability strollers which can also be tied down like a wheelchair and less like a City Mini.

Not all special needs strollers can be tie down if they don't have the tie down option for transportation. They are specially built with things welded tongue frame for the books and the frame renforced to handle being tied down. So it not like a special needs stroller it just bigger and maybe little stronger and yes it didn't break but the op got lucky. But it can still have problems when their home that they my not know of yet.

 

[gap2368]

This is the drivers being nice and this is not the first time the drivers did this. And they have broken strollers before by doing it and Disney had to pay to replace or fix it so I am surprised that Disney has not cracked down on it. so please do not let any driver tie down any stroller wheelchair or Eco that dose not have tie down points or not built to be tied down. It for your safety the drivers should know better but might have felt bad and wanted to be nice and was afraid they might get reported if they don't help.

I do not know why you are quoting what I was saying I just was agreeing that this should not have happened that it is danguse for the stroller to be treated like a wheel chair I do not and I have never worked for disney and yes I do not that stroller have been broken before because a guest was so rude to the CM about the fact that they had to have it tied down and then the stroller broke.... I will just say a 20 minute drive to the MK took over an hour and there was a lot of unhappy guest

 

[disney david]

I do not know why you are quoting what I was saying I just was agreeing that this should not have happened that it is danguse for the stroller to be treated like a wheel chair I do not and I have never worked for disney and yes I do not that stroller have been broken before because a guest was so rude to the CM about the fact that they had to have it tied down and then the stroller broke.... I will just say a 20 minute drive to the MK took over an hour and there was a lot of unhappy guest

I am sorry

 

[OpiesMom]

Yes that was us with the pink headphones.

The stroller is actually a bike trailer - it trails behind a bike going at what ever speed a bike can go when it's got something like that attached to it. Certainly faster then most people can walk or run. It's first and foremost this. Why is this important you might ask - it's important because it was built to take a spill that a bike going at higher speeds (faster then a runner) would have. It's build to keep the kid as safe as possible in that type of situation. It has a roll bar, it's bars are bigger and stronger then a typical stroller think the type of bars used for a mountain bike - it's made extremely sturdy. There is a harness and a seatbelt - it's made to keep a child safe if the bike took a tumble. Of course as a bike trailer you would put a bike helmet on the kid as well. No it doesn't have air bags but it's much safer and certainly much stronger than a typical stroller.

They hooked the stroller in with 3 hooks - 2 at the back around a large bar and 1 at the front. They wrapped the seatbelt around it. She was strapped inside the stroller as well. Honestly if there was a bus accident - she would probably fair better then most of the rest of us in that bus since we are not strapped in.

There was no risk of the hooks breaking, bending or otherwise damaging the stroller again think the strength of a mountain bike's frame.

There is no extra writing on the tag - it just has the symbols, the words Disney world and a line for an expiry date.

I get that the tag was only meant for the parks - heck that was why I started this thread in the first place. But what is "official" and what is practiced isn't always the same. (doesn't make it right it's just the truth) So what I experienced was that the drivers respected the tag. I needed that to get on the bus first (or almost first - was once or twice that wasn't the case but since now she was in the stroller the whole time- it didn't really matter since she had all the space she needed.) The fact that they decided strapping it was the best option worked well for us. We were on the bus a total of 15 times. Only one driver had never seen the tag (actually held it and looked it over) the other wasn't sure what we had but once we explained he was fine with it. Not once in all 15 trips did anyone say they were just being nice to us. Not once did any hint or suggest an alternative because what they were doing could be dangerous to us our kid or to others.

I'd like to think 15 adults, and the parents of the kid in the stroller would only want the best and safest possible way to transport the kid in question from one place to another. I'm a responsible adult. The State of Florida gave these folks a licence to drive buses probably with some training how to deal with transport mechanism for wheelchairs etc., Disney saw enough in them to go through a whole hiring process to have them as their bus drivers and again probably gave them training on how to use the specific transportation mechanisms used in their own fleet. I love my kid just as much as any of you love yours. The kid was not in any danger, the other folks in the bus were not in any danger, the stroller was not at any risk of breaking. Had I felt this or if my hubby felt this was not a safe thing to do - we would have been the first to holler.

All I wanted to do was assure others going to Disney not to worry about stuff that doesn't need to be worried about. Look - 5 pages of strategizing how to get kiddo from point A to point B and in the end - it wasn't a worry at all.

 

[disney david]

Yes that was us with the pink headphones.

The stroller is actually a bike trailer - it trails behind a bike going at what ever speed a bike can go when it's got something like that attached to it. Certainly faster then most people can walk or run. It's first and foremost this. Why is this important you might ask - it's important because it was built to take a spill that a bike going at higher speeds (faster then a runner) would have. It's build to keep the kid as safe as possible in that type of situation. It has a roll bar, it's bars are bigger and stronger then a typical stroller think the type of bars used for a mountain bike - it's made extremely sturdy. There is a harness and a seatbelt - it's made to keep a child safe if the bike took a tumble. Of course as a bike trailer you would put a bike helmet on the kid as well. No it doesn't have air bags but it's much safer and certainly much stronger than a typical stroller.

They hooked the stroller in with 3 hooks - 2 at the back around a large bar and 1 at the front. They wrapped the seatbelt around it. She was strapped inside the stroller as well. Honestly if there was a bus accident - she would probably fair better then most of the rest of us in that bus since we are not strapped in.

There was no risk of the hooks breaking, bending or otherwise damaging the stroller again think the strength of a mountain bike's frame.

There is no extra writing on the tag - it just has the symbols, the words Disney world and a line for an expiry date.

I get that the tag was only meant for the parks - heck that was why I started this thread in the first place. But what is "official" and what is practiced isn't always the same. (doesn't make it right it's just the truth) So what I experienced was that the drivers respected the tag. I needed that to get on the bus first (or almost first - was once or twice that wasn't the case but since now she was in the stroller the whole time- it didn't really matter since she had all the space she needed.) The fact that they decided strapping it was the best option worked well for us. We were on the bus a total of 15 times. Only one driver had never seen the tag (actually held it and looked it over) the other wasn't sure what we had but once we explained he was fine with it. Not once in all 15 trips did anyone say they were just being nice to us. Not once did any hint or suggest an alternative because what they were doing could be dangerous to us our kid or to others.

I'd like to think 15 adults, and the parents of the kid in the stroller would only want the best and safest possible way to transport the kid in question from one place to another. I'm a responsible adult. The State of Florida gave these folks a licence to drive buses probably with some training how to deal with transport mechanism for wheelchairs etc., Disney saw enough in them to go through a whole hiring process to have them as their bus drivers and again probably gave them training on how to use the specific transportation mechanisms used in their own fleet. I love my kid just as much as any of you love yours. The kid was not in any danger, the other folks in the bus were not in any danger, the stroller was not at any risk of breaking. Had I felt this or if my hubby felt this was not a safe thing to do - we would have been the first to holler.

All I wanted to do was assure others going to Disney not to worry about stuff that doesn't need to be worried about. Look - 5 pages of strategizing how to get kiddo from point A to point B and in the end - it wasn't a worry at all.

Sorry to make you feel like that it was the drivers fault they should know better. They do tie down strollers that their not supposed to even though they are trained and know their equipment. They do it most of the time because guest wear them down.

The thing you have to think about is the stroller safety rated by the gov to be tied down. It is made to do the stuff you said but it not design to be tied down.

I know you care about your kid and her safety and do dose the drivers but they went against policy to do it.

Also all the drivers would worked with you and helped like we discussed even without the tag. But happy to hear you had a great time on the buses and he great drivers even though they did the wrong thing by tieing down the stroller.

 

[OpiesMom]

Fair enough. Can't argue with the truth. There is a lot of Drivers that need "retraining" then.

 

[disney david]

Fair enough. Can't argue with the truth. There is a lot of Drivers that need "retraining" then.

Well their attest 16 that need to go back to tie down class to learn what can and can't be tied down.


Op I just want you to know as I feel I am coming off to harsh on you I sorry. I got worked up about the drivers and went off little more then I should have and didn't blame you as the drivers shouldn't of done it. They should had a better option for you to make it a safe ride for your kid and you and your husband but I guess that what they felt in that quick time. So again sorry don't let this ruin your bus experience or asking questions on the dis.