Wheelchair accessible Minnie Van

I wish they would allow you to use the Lyft app to call the van verse having to get on the phone to call for the accessible vehicles,
That sounds like the accessible rideshare service in the Boston area - except here you have to call the day before.
 
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Wow, and here I thought the paratransit system in *our* hometown sucked.

Just goes to show that no one has gotten it right yet!
tT
Years ago back in the early 1990s I had the chance to use the Dial-A-Ride program in Helena, MT which was the paratransit and transit for any one bus system in that community at the time. Since it was all mini buses with lifts and one team answering the phones it didn't matter if I called or a friend who used a wheel chair made the call. I do believe that there is now a regular bus service in that community as the population has increased. My fiends and I could call anywhere from 1 hour to a week prior to when we would need a ride say the to and from and number of riders. We would get a time and be told that the bus could be within 10 minutes of that time. If we wanted to go to see a film and it stated at the time we could say 5 riders and we needed to go from our college campus to the name of the movie theater for the 7 PM show. The operator would tell us that the mini bus would be there at 6:25 but that the driver could be 10 minutes either direction.
I was also able to use the bus systems in both Billings and Great Falls during the same time period and while there were actual routes in those communities that would say the bus will be at x point at y time the schedules also stated to plan to be at your stop 10 minutes before stated time and that the bus could be up to 10 minutes past the time.
 
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WDWNT says, Pricing Adjustment for Minnie Van Service at WDW Now in Effect, Most Trips Now Over $30
 
... I will for sure use the service again, but I’m interested to see how it’ll go with the per mile charge...

I am as well. The flat rate that was charged initially probably discouraged a lot of folks from using it unless they were going quite a distance or to a location at WDW that required multiple bus/transportation changes.

This could make it much more compelling to take a Minnie Van from AKL to AK, or from WL to MK - those shorter trips that were too expensive at $25.

Interesting tidbit: The driver we had for our adventure told us that only "veteran" Cast Members are being considered for the Minnie Van positions, and that they have an *average* of 150+ people apply for every Minnie Van driver position that opens!



Just curious - what time was that? I wonder if we are going to see "surge" pricing at Parks open/close... I also wonder how that compares to the exact same route via a "standard" Lyft or Uber there in Orlando at the WDW Resort. As cute as the Minnie Vans are (and as awesome as our driver was) I can fold Angus up and hop into a Lyft or Uber; I do it all the time here at home, and for a whole bunch less for a comparable length trip.

That's a pretty steep increase!
 
Ugh the per mile charge might persuade me not to use the minnie vans, we used them to and from AK our last trip (staying at the Grand Floridian) and to and from Disney Springs (multiple times) and now I’m thinking with the per mile charge it’ll be a good bit more for those same trips. Buses can be more of a hassle with larger parties and multiple wheelchairs/scooters but we might have to break our party up and do it if the prices continue to rise like this. Minnie Vans are nice, but if it is around $35- $40 per trip x2 trips a day, it’s getting a little much for me. Maybe it’ll be an every once in awhile type thing, when you are just to worn out to wait for a bus, but I don’t think it’ll be an as frequent thing for my family anymore (even though we really enjoyed it).
 
From what i’ve read, there is now a “base charge” of $15 plus a charge of $2.75 per mile. Reports seem to be that most rides are now over $30. When the Minnie Van service first started at $20 per ride, I thought that was high. I don’t think we’ll ever do it now.
 


From what i’ve read, there is now a “base charge” of $15 plus a charge of $2.75 per mile. Reports seem to be that most rides are now over $30. When the Minnie Van service first started at $20 per ride, I thought that was high. I don’t think we’ll ever do it now.

Yeah, I think they just priced us out of that market as well.
 
From what i’ve read, there is now a “base charge” of $15 plus a charge of $2.75 per mile. Reports seem to be that most rides are now over $30. When the Minnie Van service first started at $20 per ride, I thought that was high. I don’t think we’ll ever do it now.

We used the Minnie Van service twice on our last trip (sept 2017) and while it was $20 and I felt that was pricey, it was somewhat worth that. I wouldn't pay more than that though. I guess we have been priced out as well.

Just fyi, my dd18 uses a wheelchair in the parks but can transfer fine. So, we were just able to fold up the chair and fit it between the seats in the middle row. We are a fam of 6 and we all fit fine with the chair in a non-accessible van.
 
00882A45-605A-429A-88C0-2D08992E9D71.jpeg I just read new information for the accessible Minnie Vans.
From what I read, the accessible fleet increased to 6 vans and there is a dedicated number to use - you don’t use the Lyft app for an accessible vsn.
 
View attachment 353121 I just read new information for the accessible Minnie Vans.
From what I read, the accessible fleet increased to 6 vans and there is a dedicated number to use - you don’t use the Lyft app for an accessible vsn.

Right - I should have made that more clear in my post! Our driver indicated that you don't try to book the *accessible* Minnie Vans through the app - just call that number on the business card that I posted.

I'm glad that they have increased the number of the accessible vans! I just wish we hadn't seen the price increases...
 
Right - I should have made that more clear in my post! Our driver indicated that you don't try to book the *accessible* Minnie Vans through the app - just call that number on the business card that I posted.

I'm glad that they have increased the number of the accessible vans! I just wish we hadn't seen the price increases...
No worry - it was clear.
I just found the picture and added it since I was adding the information on the increased number of vans.
 
Question about ECVs and Minnie Vans:

My mom will be renting a standard-sized ECV from Buena Vista for our upcoming December trip, and she can transfer easily enough to a car/van seat. Will we need to call for an accessible Minnie Van to be able to transport this scooter? I doubt either of us could lift it into a regular van. Just want to confirm this so I do the right thing.

Also, if we want the van for park opening time, could we still arrange for it the night before? If not, what’s the best strategy to call a van in the morning? Should I be on the phone at 6:30 when to lines open? We will be staying at the Boardwalk.

Thanks for any advice, and thanks RaySharpton for the detailed information and photos on the linked thread!
 
I loved having the option of an accessible Minnie Van for $20 - even though I never used it. But we always drive to WDW and now have a new van with a lift. I'm sure I will never use the Minnie Van now. Especially since that prices are much higher with the pricing per mile and tips are now pretty much standard (according to some). I could easily see a trip costing $100 roundtrip. We'll just deal with traffic and parking for that amount of money. Or just use the buses.
 
We had thought we may use the Accessible Minnie Vans on our upcoming trip because we are doing HDD, but they have now priced us out of the market with $80-100 round trip. It's a shame, but I would rather have a nice dinner for that money. I saw another post that Pop to MK was running about $42 now! That is nuts.
 

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