new bus system at the Swan

[Pats Dragon]

I have heard that mears cannot accomodate scooters. Does anyone have experience with that. Also how far away is the charter bus section from disney bus stop at disney springs?

 

[gap2368]

my friend used an accessible mears for his power chair not sure about ECV

 

[lanejudy]

I read about this on both the Resorts forum and the Transportation forum. Not much has been reported, other than confirming that the Swan and Dolphin are now using Mears charter buses instead of WDW transportation. They are apparently also using the charter bus stops at the parks, opposed to the WDW resort loop.

I recomend you contact the Swan directly to ask about accessible transportation. Some Mears charter buses have a lift, but I don't believe all buses have them or whether the park shuttles will always have one. Alternatively, if you will have a car with you, I believe Swan/Dolphin guests are allowed free parking at the theme parks.

Please let us know what you find out.

 

[RaySharpton]

I also read that MEARS' accessible buses equal 10% of their fleet.

And those MEARS' accessible buses do not use a ramp. They use a lift like the WDW DME buses.

I wonder how many total MEARS' accessible buses versus MEARS' non-accessible buses will be running at Marriott's Swan and Dolphin. I wonder if all of the MEARS' accessible buses be running at Marriott's Swan and Dolphin.

Or will they be fewer MEARS' accessible buses? Would the guests have to wait for every other bus or worse?

Will each bus stop at both resorts each trip. That might be unfortunate if one hotel takes up both wheelchair/mobility scooters before it goes to the second hotel.

Some people say to travel to BWV or YC or BCV to catch a WDW bus.

I wouldn't like that.

No one really knows, but some people say this might be temporary by WDW because of the number of buses they are using with physical distancing at the other resorts and lower staff. I don't know.

Someone else said this might have been Marriott's choice. Maybe Marriott's Swan and Dolphin had a contract with WDW and MEARS might be cheaper. I don't know.

Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin to Lay Off More Than Eleven Hundred Employees

Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin to Lay Off More Than Eleven Hundred Employees

And since the Cresent Lake Friendship boats are practice running without guests, I wonder if the Cresent Lake Friendship boats will stop at Marriott's Swan and Dolphin.



It sure looks like this ia practice run to the S/D dock?



From BCV.

This is all speculation today, but I guess we will see.

 

[Pats Dragon]

So the bus stops are now moved to charter bus stops. Has anyone with a disability been to those hotels since the change. How much does that increase walking? I heard that Mears cannot accomodate scooters. Is that true?

 

[rlk]

Some people say to travel to BWV or YC or BCV to catch a WDW bus.

I agree. This will increase the numbers at these three resorts.

 

[RaySharpton]

Bus locations at parks and DS for Mears buses to/from Swan/Dolphin



MK....C3/C4 at TTC in blue right of TTC.



MK....C3/C4 at TTC right of TTC.




EP.....29/30 top left



EP.....29/30 top right corner



DHS..62/63 Top right past covered resort bus area



AK.....3/4 I don't know.

?

DS....1/2 I don't know.

 

[lanejudy]

I'm going to merge this with another thread started yesterday...

 

[DL1WDW2]

These are harsh realities of survival.
maybe Disney is aggressively wanting to keep guests on true Disney property and not just next door.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Some people say to travel to BWV or YC or BCV to catch a WDW bus.



This is all speculation today, but I guess we will see.

I definitely wouldn't like this. As it is, as a BCV guest using an ECV, I've had to wait thru three buses which were too full for more ECVs. It ended up taking me 2 hours to get to AK. Now, if Swan and Dolphin guests are coming over also.... I'm wondering if I'd be better off "scooting" over to YC and getting in line there, rather than letting them take all from YC, and leaving BCV to wait.

 

[Pats Dragon]

I understand the problems that Disney has financially and also the problems the hotel industry has had. I do not see how ignoring disabled people's needs in order to save money will help. It would seem to be inviting lawsuits for the noncompliance of the Americans with disabilities act. It also is generating ill will among people who used to love Disney and now are skeptical. Swan and Dolphin have always been listed in a special category by Disney. They have never been in the same group as hotels at Disney Springs. Come on Disney, Rethink.

 

[RaySharpton]

I understand the problems that Disney has financially and also the problems the hotel industry has had. I do not see how ignoring disabled people's needs in order to save money will help. It would seem to be inviting lawsuits for the noncompliance of the Americans with disabilities act. It also is generating ill will among people who used to love Disney and now are skeptical. Swan and Dolphin have always been listed in a special category by Disney. They have never been in the same group as hotels at Disney Springs. Come on Disney, Rethink.

I'm pretty sure that MEARS will have buses there with handicap lifts.

I just don't know how many at the S/D.

All of WDW buses have lowering buses with handicap ramps.

Even with that, as others have mentioned, sometimes I have to wait for a second or third because of the line of other wheelchairs/mobility scooters in line in front of me.

I'm no expert with ADA non-compliance, but I not sure that that applies if MEARS doesn't have buses there with handicapped lifts for every bus stop. Maybe someone else knows.

It is what it is.

This may only be temporary. Or maybe the Friendship boats will run from the S/D to EP & DHS leaving on MK & AK parks. Or maybe the buses are limited throughout WDW requiring longer times between bus pick-ups.

I just like the ramps better than the lifts.

I don't mind using the DME lifts to and from WDW & MCO, just not every day. Since I don't use a car and because I use a wheelchair, I am grateful for MEARS' DME lift buses t get from MCO to WDW. Just not every day.

For myself, I would choose a WDW resort that uses a ramp.

 

[lanejudy]

It would seem to be inviting lawsuits for the noncompliance of the Americans with disabilities act.

Have you contacted the Swan to ask about accessible transportation? Off-site resorts that offer WDW shuttles use similar buses. I believe they will usually call a cab for guests who need accessible transportation if the shuttles don’t have a lift.

 

[DisneyOma]

I understand the problems that Disney has financially and also the problems the hotel industry has had. I do not see how ignoring disabled people's needs in order to save money will help. It would seem to be inviting lawsuits for the noncompliance of the Americans with disabilities act. It also is generating ill will among people who used to love Disney and now are skeptical. Swan and Dolphin have always been listed in a special category by Disney. They have never been in the same group as hotels at Disney Springs. Come on Disney, Rethink.

Are you sure it's Disney who did this? How do you know? Could it be the Dolphin/Swan wanting more buses so they hired Mears?

 

[maxiesmom]

These are harsh realities of survival.
maybe Disney is aggressively wanting to keep guests on true Disney property and not just next door.

That is my guess.

I can deal with the loss of the Disney bus stop, either by walking to a Disney resort or driving. What would be a real deal breaker would be losing the boats.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

I just want to reiterate that this might not be a Disney decision. It might be a Swan/Dolphin decision.

 

[lanejudy]

I would be surprised if this is a WDW-initiated change. I don't know for certain but I suspect Marriott pays a tidy sum to WDW for the on-site privileges allowed to Swan/Dolphin guests. I read recently that Marriott is hurting due to the impact of the virus on tourism in general, and Orlando specifically for the Swan/Dolphin. They've had layoffs across all levels, with the Swan/Dolphin losing over a thousand jobs next month. I believe these 2 locations held out this long due to the MLS bubble.

 

[RaySharpton]

I would be surprised if this is a WDW-initiated change. I don't know for certain but I suspect Marriott pays a tidy sum to WDW for the on-site privileges allowed to Swan/Dolphin guests. I read recently that Marriott is hurting due to the impact of the virus on tourism in general, and Orlando specifically for the Swan/Dolphin. They've had layoffs across all levels, with the Swan/Dolphin losing over a thousand jobs next month. I believe these 2 locations held out this long due to the MLS bubble.

I agree. Sad to hear. I think calling S/D is a good idea.

I wonder if S/D could get a handicap taxi in time with a ramp or lift for a wheelchair or a mobility scooter when you want to go to a park?

I have never had any luck at all because I had to plan ahead a day to where ever I wanted to go. I have never had any luck for the same day, but that wan before WDW taxi which is no longer running at this time.

Planning ahead you would also need to plan when to leave the park.

It just became too frustrating for me. Especially when they said sorry, they couldn't pick me up or if I wanted to wait until a later time.

The Friendship boats have been seen practicing docking at S/D dock without guests.

All of this will stop me from staying at the Marriott S/D.