Room Change Rant (Long)

[Sammie]

Originally posted by anniet
You would think Disney would give you an option at check in and tell you "We have a handicapped accessable room available, with these modifications. Is that alright with you or would you like another room?"


The list of requests seems to be growing longer and longer.

"Hi, I'd like a non-smoking, NOT smoking optional, non-handicapped room with a great view with no trees in the way and no noise from the traffic that's near the elevator, not too far from the pool, busstop or hospitality house (or lodge, or whatever) that's clean and doesn't have the maid eating her lunch watching tv on the bed when I get there."

"The list of requests seems to be growing longer and longer."

Yep it does, and it seems to be getting longer just as more and more internet forums discussing Disney Vacations appear. Do you think there is a correlation?

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by CarolA
I hope that those of you who complain and whine about having to use a Handicapped Accessible room never have to travel with a handicapped person who really needs a room when there aren't any available. THEN you will know difficulty, now you are just behaving like children who did not get their way.

I am glad I don't need one. Personally I'D RATHER NOT GO TO WDW THAN HAVE A HC ROOM. As for someone not getting a HC room, that's extremely unlikely as there are more HC rooms than really needed at present and they are booked directly, not just a request. So the only way this would happen is if they truly made a mistake or one went out of service for a problem. Even then I'm sure they'd call someone who had one and didn't need it and have them moved to accomodate the HC needs.

 

[Richyams]

There are too many of them. I have never had one assigned to me. I don't think there are many, if any, HC GVs at OKW.

One thing that puzzled me:

no in room safe, no seperate sink and vanity area

Unless the newest resorts have started something new, no studios in any DVC resort have an in room safe.

Isn't the 'no seperate sink and vanity area' due to it being a dedicated studio?

 

[anniet]

Rich there is an in room safe in the closets in VWL (at least in the studios).

I don't know why a dedicated studio would not have a seperate sink/vanity area and a lock off would.

 

[Pumbaa_]

The BCV villas do have a safe in the room. It is in the closet.

I too prefer not to have a HCA room. I like having a vanity and the storage space. It would be quite the inconvenience not to have this available. And since it is my vacation, I want what I want. Absolutely nothing wrong with that!

 

[PamOKW]

Unless the newest resorts have started something new, no studios in any DVC resort have an in room safe.

All the studios, except OKW, have a safe. I'm also pretty sure that it was reported that at the annual meeting it was mentioned that safes are going to be added to the OKW studios...but I could be dreaming that one.

 

[Chuck S]

Pam OKW is correct, safes are planned for OKW studios. I don't know what the install timeline is, though. Truthfully, we've never had anything come up missing from a studio stay at OKW...but the safe just gives me a little more secure feeling. I think Disney hires wonderful, trustworthy housekeepers...but there may always be a bad apple in the barrel.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Another CM overheard & said she tries to look at the age of the kids when assigning rooms, so that those with little ones do get tubs. SO, if you're booked into a studio with no kids & want a tub, definitely request one!

All DVC units have tubs UNLESS they are HCA. Requesting one is not necessary.

 

[Gillian]

Right Gail. I know the room have tubs! What I meant was, since this discussion is about getting a handicapped room when you really don't want one, is be sure to request non-HC if you want/need a tub. especially if you DON'T have very young children in your party.

I had asked if we were assigned a HC room, not if the room had a tub. I probably said something like, "Is it handicapped? Because we need (would really like to have) a tub for our kid." The CM said that she tries not to assign HC rooms to families with young children. So a couple/single could get that HC room if this CM is doing assignments!

In this case, I was using tub & HC to mean the same thing.

 

[Firefighter Mickey]

Originally posted by Richyams
There are too many of them. I have never had one assigned to me. I don't think there are many, if any, HC GVs at OKW.

There is at least 1 HC GV @ OKW. It's the only ground floor GV and is every bit as nice as the regular GV's with the exception of a lower kitchen sink (no garbage disposal) and the master bath has all the needed bars and such.

We stayed in it during Christmas of 2002, and we were mightly happy to get it as it was great for my mother who has MS and is confined to her wheelchair.

 

[montessori]

Originally posted by CarolA
It takes a LOT for a message board to make my blood boil, but guess what this thread did it!

I hope that those of you who complain and whine about having to use a Handicapped Accessible room never have to travel with a handicapped person who really needs a room when there aren't any available. THEN you will know difficulty, now you are just behaving like children who did not get their way.

The person who needed a tub for medical reasons should have mentioned it on his/her reservation.

Yes, I have had the handicapped studio at OKW. Guess what I LIVED, you will too.

I don't understand this reasoning. No one is saying there shouldn't be handicapped accessible rooms available for people who need them. Of course, there should be! But people who don't need one or want one, shouldn't have to stay in one.
Save the rooms for people who need them.

I had the same experience at BCV, the CM said the same thing about the shower being the only difference. She also said it was the only studio available.
Well, there are A LOT of differences and we didn't like it so we spoke to a manager and got a regular studio. There WAS one available I guess!
The sink is in the bathroom with the toilet and there is no vanity.
I don't like that. Sure, I could LIVE through it but I like things to be the way I want them when I am on vacation.
I'm sure I would survive if I stayed at a cheap hotel on 1-92 too, but that's not what I want when I go to DW.

No one means any offense and I'm sure that we are all grateful we don't need a handicapped room (at this time).

If there are times when handicapped rooms are not available to people who need them, giving them to people who don't need them is not the solution!

There are major differences between the handicapped and non-handicapped rooms and I don't feel that it's childish to prefer one over the other.

 

[wdwendyd]

No one is saying there shouldn't be handicapped accessible rooms available for people who need them. Of course, there should be! But people who don't need one or want one, shouldn't have to stay in one.

The only way they could do this is keep HC (or smoking optional)rooms seperate. Once all non-HC rooms were requested MS would tell people at the time they are making their reservation that there is no more availability unless you are willing to accept a HC room (or smoking optional room). Is that what people really want? Would you rather not book your trip at all if you couldn't be assured of these things?

 

[sgtdisney]

Originally posted by wdwendyd
The only way they could do this is keep HC (or smoking optional)rooms seperate. Once all non-HC rooms were requested MS would tell people at the time they are making their reservation that there is no more availability unless you are willing to accept a HC room (or smoking optional room). Is that what people really want? Would you rather not book your trip at all if you couldn't be assured of these things?

I wonder why Disney and DVC cannot do this at this time. They have seperate catagories for studio, 1, 2 and GVs. Why not add other 'catagories.' You know, have 4 seperate catagories of each catagory. For example a 1 bedroom-Handicap Accessable and a 1 bedroom-Regular. You could even toss smoking and non-smoking into the mix as well It may complicate things in the reservation process, but I am sure Disney's systems could handle such booking catagories... That way when you call to book a room you can be told, all we have left is a non-smoking, HC 1 bedroom at this time. And it is up to the member to accept or reject it then. It would be first come-first serve at that point instead of getting what you get at check in.

I fully understand why these rooms are in each DVC resort and I am glad there are accomodations built for people who may have special needs. However, there are many people out there, myself included, who at this point in their lives would prefer to have the standard room. Will it make or break a vacation, for some no, but it seems for some yes. Making the type of room confirmed would allow people to make such choices.

As a side note, I have never stayed in a HC room at OKW. My father did once, in a studio, with the roll in shower. He almost fell down twice on the ceramic tile floor when it got wet. There has to be a better way for them to design the bathroom to make sure the floors aren't so slippery for people who don't roll into the showers...

 

[montessori]

Originally posted by wdwendyd
The only way they could do this is keep HC (or smoking optional)rooms seperate. Once all non-HC rooms were requested MS would tell people at the time they are making their reservation that there is no more availability unless you are willing to accept a HC room (or smoking optional room). Is that what people really want? Would you rather not book your trip at all if you couldn't be assured of these things?

I honestly don't know.
I know I don't like the HC rooms and don't want to spend my vacation in a room I don't like. I don't like spending my hard-earned money for a room I don't like.
In my case, and I think someone else posted the same experience, we were told there were no other studios available. But when we talked with the manager there WAS one available.
I'm not sure what to think about the "availability" part of it. ??

I suppose there might be times when HC rooms are really all that are available. If I was planning ahead and had my choice, I'd probably try for another resort before reserving one.

I just don't like the HC rooms.

 

[Shadeaux]

Originally posted by sgtdisney
I wonder why Disney and DVC cannot do this at this time. That way when you call to book a room you can be told, all we have left is a non-smoking, HC 1 bedroom at this time. And it is up to the member to accept or reject it then. It would be first come-first serve at that point instead of getting what you get at check in.

Whenever I've made reservations at other hotels or motels in the past few years, they've been able to tell me whether or not a non-smoking room would be available. Once or twice, all the non-smoking rooms were booked, so I didn't make the reservation. If other hotel reservation systems can do this, I don't see any reason Disney can't do the same thing with HC, smoking & non-smoking requests. Seems to me it would make things a lot easier for everyone at check in.

 

[sgtdisney]

Originally posted by Shadeaux
Whenever I've made reservations at other hotels or motels in the past few years, they've been able to tell me whether or not a non-smoking room would be available. Once or twice, all the non-smoking rooms were booked, so I didn't make the reservation. If other hotel reservation systems can do this, I don't see any reason Disney can't do the same thing with HC, smoking & non-smoking requests. Seems to me it would make things a lot easier for everyone at check in.

That is what I thought as well. I know I have used other booking engines online and they clearly state whether the room is smoking or not and handicap accessable or not. If Disney would do this, think of all the problems they could prevent at check-in for both the cast members and the members.

 

[lomillerin]

Rented points

 

[Chuck S]

Originally posted by sgtdisney
That is what I thought as well. I know I have used other booking engines online and they clearly state whether the room is smoking or not and handicap accessable or not. If Disney would do this, think of all the problems they could prevent at check-in for both the cast members and the members.

The potential problem I see for this would be that essentially DVC may say they "Guarantee" you a specific room type. But what if something unplanned happens - a room goes down for "emergency rehab" - broken pipe, broken window, fire or even if the previous occupant simply severly trashed the room? I think the room assigner really DOES try to meet requests - but sometimes people will be disappointed. We've been placed in smoking rooms, after having a request for non-smoking (it was our option - smoking room was immediately available - non-smoking would be available after 4pm.) We've also been placed in a HC room, it just wasn't a BIG problem for us. Vacations aren't perfect, life isn't perfect. I understand people with kids wanting a tub, but I don't see how not getting one would just "ruin" a vacation. BTW - don't all 1 bdrm units at all DVC resorts still have the jacuzzi tub, even if it is HCA? If so, the tub problem could be solved by booking a 1 bdrm unit instead of a studio. As far as the higher "potty", I see people with kids using the HC stalls in the parks all the time...sometimes making it hard for people that NEED them for HC reasons to get them.

You should be told at check-in if the unit is HCA, and if another unit is available you should be given the option...but if nothing else is available, I wouldn't make a big deal out of it.

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by lomillerin
I am not a DVC member but we are renting points for BCV for our trip in Aug to see if it is for us.
We have 2 kids and one is 4. She does not take showers and it will be very stressful to have to deal with that each day.
I asked the member to request a non hanicapped room, but if we do not get it and I ask at check in to change and they can't or won't, do I have any recourse since I am a non member and am not paying cash either?
It seems I might not have a choice in this. Now, I am concerned renting is not a good choice.
I am thankful that we do not need HC room, but with kids it will a stressful vacation with one.

Actually you wouldn't have any recourse member or not other than to complain to the manager.

As for booking the rooms specifically they could do this but whether the software will is another question. It would complicate the booking for MS significantly and likely raise dues somewhat. They would still have to fill the rooms as there are too many points to allow the rooms to go unused and still accomodate every member throughout the years.

 

[TIdoublegaER]

Would you rather not book your trip at all if you couldn't be assured of these things?

Yes. I would rather reserve at another resort or change my dates than accept a smoking unit. HC unit - it would depend. If it were for one night, I would take it. Otherwise, I would probably ask if there were something else available if I was in a studio. If it were a 1 or 2 bdrm, I would need to see the unit first.

I understand that requests are not guaranteed; however, I don't think smoking/non-smoking HCA/nonHCA should only be a request.

Other major hotel chains can confirm whether a unit is smoking/non-smoking, HCA or not. I really don't see why Disney could not do this as well. I would rather know before I show up at the front desk whether my unit is smoking or HCA, than be surprised when I get there and be told I have to accept it or be told I have to pay $25 to move.