Walt Disney World Scooters on busses update

[dratomic]

Hi everyone!

I'm not sure if this has been posted yet so if it has, woops!

I'm currently staying at Saratoga Springs and all the Disney buses I've been on have been loading up to 2 mobility scooters at a time. I've previously read they were only loading one. I've only ridden buses associated with Saratoga Springs but I'm assuming this is system wide. I'm moving over to The Polynesian in a few days so I'll update this information if it turns out of be resort specific.

As reported by others it's business as usual for DAS in the parks.

 

[Mrsjvb]

Hey, if two fit on the ramp at once, it would cut down on the time it takes to safely load and tie down. I’m sure the rank and file waiting to board the usual way appreciate that

 

[Simba's Mom]

Are they loading two onto the bus at a time, as suggested above, or are you saying that this is a change from the previous, immediately post-covid-were they loading one scooter per bus at that time, but now they're taking two? Either way, it sounds like, for me who's on an ECV, my chances will be good for not waiting as long for bus transportation.

 

[lanejudy]

Hey, if two fit on the ramp at once, it would cut down on the time it takes to safely load and tie down. I’m sure the rank and file waiting to board the usual way appreciate that

I think OP means 2 allowed per bus, not literally 2 loading at the same moment. Previously it had been reported only 1 allowed per bus unless 2 in the same party.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Thanks! I'd love it if buses are back to taking 2 scooters per bus. I was afraid of a very long wait.

 

[Mrsjvb]

I think OP means 2 allowed per bus, not literally 2 loading at the same moment. Previously it had been reported only 1 allowed per bus unless 2 in the same party.

Aaah okay. That makes more sense. Wasn’t sure a ramp would handle the weight of two scooters plus bodies at once

 

[Betty Rohrer]

Aaah okay. That makes more sense. Wasn’t sure a ramp would handle the weight of two scooters plus bodies at once

ramp also not wide enough for 2 at once side by side add to that aisle of bus not wide enough to handle 2

 

[dratomic]

Are they loading two onto the bus at a time, as suggested above, or are you saying that this is a change from the previous, immediately post-covid-were they loading one scooter per bus at that time, but now they're taking two? Either way, it sounds like, for me who's on an ECV, my chances will be good for not waiting as long for bus transportation.

Currently (based on Saratoga Springs bus service) they are loading 2 ECV's per bus as of at least 9/7/2020 when I got here.

 

[dratomic]

Aaah okay. That makes more sense. Wasn’t sure a ramp would handle the weight of two scooters plus bodies at once

Lanejudy is correct! 2 ECV's per bus loaded one at a time.

 

[DisneyOma]

How are they keeping safe distance between the two ECVs? With two ECVs on a bus, how many people can ride on a bus now?

 

[RaySharpton]

How are they keeping safe distance between the two ECVs? With two ECVs on a bus, how many people can ride on a bus now?

It depends, DisneyOma.

You might recall the previous bus capacity was 72 Guests.

Buses will now hold 25 guests maximum, and no standing will be permitted.

There will be six seating zones on each bus.

When groups board, they are each assigned a “zone” to sit in. If you are traveling by yourself, you will get a whole zone to yourself. If your group is bigger than what one zone can accommodate, your group will get two zones.




This zone #2 is a foldup bench for a mobility scooter and is located near the front of the bus.



This zone #3 is a foldup bench for a mobility scooter and is located directly across from this particular bus's foldout ramp and to the left of the first photo..



This photo is up the steps with more zones marked by zone numbers.



And these signs.



Looking towards the front of the bus.



This a slightly different setup with more partitions and blue seats.

But they all have zones to limit spacial distancing.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Something just occurred to me. Suppose the ECV user gets on the bus, then transfers to a seat, as recommended (some buses even have a sign saying that ECV users should NOT remain on their ECV while the bus is in motion), Then isn't that ECV user taking up 2 "zone"? And taking the theory one step further, suppose buses are now taking 2 scooters, and both scooter drivers are solo, and they transfer to seats (as Disney says is safer). Now those 2 scooter drivers are taking up 4 of the 6 bus zones. I want to know if this is the case, only to prepare myself for all the dirty looks I could get when I get on a bus with my ECV on my solo trip in January!

 

[lanejudy]

Suppose the ECV user gets on the bus, then transfers to a seat ... Then isn't that ECV user taking up 2 "zone"?

Presumably the ECV user would transfer to a seat in the same zone. I believe each zone seats 5 or 6 people. Any party larger than a single zone will need 2 zones, and an individual traveling alone gets a zone to themselves. It is what it is, and why busing can take a while. I'm glad they have been able to zone at least some buses to accommodate 2 separate parties with ECVs.

 

[RaySharpton]

Something just occurred to me. Suppose the ECV user gets on the bus, then transfers to a seat, as recommended (some buses even have a sign saying that ECV users should NOT remain on their ECV while the bus is in motion), Then isn't that ECV user taking up 2 "zone"? And taking the theory one step further, suppose buses are now taking 2 scooters, and both scooter drivers are solo, and they transfer to seats (as Disney says is safer). Now those 2 scooter drivers are taking up 4 of the 6 bus zones. I want to know if this is the case, only to prepare myself for all the dirty looks I could get when I get on a bus with my ECV on my solo trip in January!

You might recall the previous bus capacity was 72 Guests before SARS-CoV-2..

Buses will now hold 25 guests maximum, and no standing will be permitted.

There will be six seating zones on each bus.

When groups board, they are each assigned a “zone” to sit in. If you are traveling by yourself, you will get a whole zone to yourself. If your group is bigger than what one zone can accommodate, your group will get two zones.

If there are no mobility scooters boarding the bus and the first six guests are all solo, the maximum number of guests should be six guests on that particular bus on that particular trip.

If there is only one mobility scooter boarding the bus and that person parked in zone two or zone three and the first six guests are all solo, the maximum number of guests may be five guests because the one mobility scooter will take up one zone and the rider that gets off the parked mobility scooter would sit in another zone if the bus had orange seats.

And so on if there were two mobility scooters boarding the bus and they were all solo.

Buses will now hold 25 guests maximum, and no standing will be permitted.

I used the example of solo guests instead of groups.

So technically, two two mobility scooters boarding the bus would take up two of the six zones whether you stayed on your mobility scooter or not. It looks confusing to me because the orange bus seats don't seem to have a separate seat for zone three.

There are several seats blocked off in longer, continuous rows that don't don't have partitions and marked with a sign below.



I see a couple of zones below that only have two seats between partitions. This is a different blue bus design and I can't see the zone numbers. I see these pairs of seats are across from the two mobility scooter spaces not shown, but you can see the ramp exit.



Wasn't that fun?

 

[bluecruiser]

Something just occurred to me. Suppose the ECV user gets on the bus, then transfers to a seat, as recommended (some buses even have a sign saying that ECV users should NOT remain on their ECV while the bus is in motion), Then isn't that ECV user taking up 2 "zone"? And taking the theory one step further, suppose buses are now taking 2 scooters, and both scooter drivers are solo, and they transfer to seats (as Disney says is safer). Now those 2 scooter drivers are taking up 4 of the 6 bus zones. I want to know if this is the case, only to prepare myself for all the dirty looks I could get when I get on a bus with my ECV on my solo trip in January!

As @lanejudy mentioned, each ECV spot is part of a zone that includes other fixed seats as well. So if an ECV user takes a seat in the same zone, they aren't taking up an extra zone.

There's an example in the image below showing zone 2 seats on a bus - note the fold-up seats / ECV space on the right marked zone 2, and the non-folding seats on the left also marked zone 2.

Note - I looked for images showing both ECV seating zones but couldn't find any. So it's possible that the second ECV zone might only have the fold-up seats, meaning a solo ECV user would take up two zones if they transferred. Your best bet would be to mention it to the bus driver before loading if you plan to transfer.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Thanks! My mistake was that I thought the scooter itself took up an entire zone, but now I feel lots better knowing that the scooter only takes part of a zone.

 

[RaySharpton]

Thanks! My mistake was that I thought the scooter itself took up an entire zone, but now I feel lots better knowing that the scooter only takes part of a zone.

I think you mean zone and not space.

In the photo below is one type of bus design of at least two types of bus designs. Those two sets of gray seats on the right in the photo can be used to park wheelchairs or mobility scooters.

If no wheelchairs or mobility scooters use that space, then they can hold up to three guests in each gray section.

The gray section further back is zone three located in front of the ramp exit, but you can't see the zone numbers in this photo.

What's nice about this photo is you can see some of the zone numbers in this photo.

If you parked in the zone two gray space in this photo, the three gray seats in Zone two area lift together to form a space for your mobility scooter.

On the left in this photo shows at least two orange seats marked Zone two and you could sit in one of those spaces.

I do see one of the orange seats with a white not available sign.

But I can't see the rest of the orange seats on the left closer to the front of the bus.

I'm trying to but together photos of the other bus with purple seats with a different rear or the bus configuration with photos.

What I find interesting in this photo is the second mobility space called zone three gray section doesn't show an orange seat for a zone three guest like zone two. I wonder where that mobility scooter person would sit?



The bus with the blue seats seems to have a different design with possible seats for both mobility scooters unlike the bus with orange seats. But I can't see the zone numbers. I can see the partitions starting from the ramp exit.

It looks like partition,,,two seats...partition,,,two seats...partition,,,two seats.

Extrapolating from the blue seat bus compared to the orange seat bus without partitions in the two photos, I think the blue seat bus might have a seat for both the zone 2 & 3 mobility scooter guest.

 

[MinnieMSue]

Seats across the aisle from each other are the same zone- only way a scooter would take more than one zone is if their family is more than a couple of people - then they would have to occupy a couple of zones. We actually never encountered an ecv or wheelchair on any of our bus rides. There was a scooter stuck on a ramp of a pop bus at MK for a long time. They had to maneuver the other busses around that situation for quite awhile until they were finally able to get it into the bus. Not sure what happened there. Maybe a wheel went off the side or something.

 

[RaySharpton]

Seats across the aisle from each other are the same zone- only way a scooter would take more than one zone is if their family is more than a couple of people - then they would have to occupy a couple of zones. We actually never encountered an ecv or wheelchair on any of our bus rides. There was a scooter stuck on a ramp of a pop bus at MK for a long time. They had to maneuver the other busses around that situation for quite awhile until they were finally able to get it into the bus. Not sure what happened there. Maybe a wheel went off the side or something.

Do you remember if the bus you rode had blue, orange or purple seats?

 

[MinnieMSue]

We rode all 3 and I never noticed a different zone across the aisle from us. The blue seats seemed best because they blocked seats beside the plastic barriers. On one bus we were seated next to someone directly on the other side of the barrier. We were a party of 2 and every time the zone was at least 4 seats that we sat in - usually 2 seats on each side of aisle plus blocked seats most of the time