Accessibility at OKW or SSR

[Tink1024]

I'm planning on traveling to Disney in August and I am curious as to how accessible OKW and SSR are. I'm in a motorized wheelchair so picking the right resort is very important for me. Is there one resort that you feel is preferred over the other? Please help!!!!

 

[Chuck S]

Both resorts are pretty wheelchair friendly, and have ADA Compliant rooms available. If you are getting a studio, SSR will have more open floor space simply because SSR has a queen bed and full sized sleeper sofa, OKW studios have 2 queen beds.

Also, only 3 buildings at OKW have elevators, so you'd likely be on the first floor at OKW. This is because ADA access laws changed between the time most of OKW opened, and construction of the final 3 buildings (62, 63 & 64).

Overall, I'm sure you'll be happy with either resort. Like all Disney resorts, the busses will have lifts or ramps. There is a boat from OKW to Downtown Disney, and it accomodates wheelchairs, unless the water level is way too low to load a motorized chair safely. There are also busses to DtD.

SSR also has a boat to DtD that also stops at the Treehouse Villas.

If you need an ADA Compliant room (roll-in shower, raised restroom facility, etc) be sure it is booked though Disney's Special Needs department when you make your reservation either through CRO or DVC.

 

[mechurchlady]

http://www.mousesteps.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=15&Itemid=48
That is her walk around Old Key West. OKW was built opened in 1991.

http://www.mousesteps.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=24&Itemid=50
That is her SSR walk which opened about 2004.

Both have to be ADA compliant but which is better I cannot say. I love the above site's images as they show a lot about where ever she is walking.

 

[SueM in MN]

what size room are you staying in?
I have pictures of the 1 bedroom with a roll in shower at SSR and the 1 and 2 bedroom with roll in shower at OKW.

The SSR rooms are quite a bit smaller than the OKW rooms. We have found we need to move things for DD to get into and around the living room at SSR. We don't need to do that at OKW. The kitchen at SSR is totally accessible at SSR and not so much at OKW.

Both have walking paths around the resort. Both of them are large resorts.

SSR does have a zero entry pool with a pool lift at the main pool. The main pool is not very deep though, so if you need deeper water to swim, it may not work really well.
OKW's main pool is not a zero entry pool and does not have a transfer tier. There is another large pool at OKW that does have a transfer tier. There are also a number of smaller 'quiet' pools at OKW that also have transfer tiers.

Both have parking lots in front of the individual buildings/areas, but each SSR building is very large and has many rooms. So the parking lots are quite large and you may not be parked really close to your building. OKW buildings are smaller and you will probably be able to park within 20-40 feet of your building.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Both resorts are pretty wheelchair friendly, and have ADA Compliant rooms available. If you are getting a studio, SSR will have more open floor space simply because SSR has a queen bed and full sized sleeper sofa, OKW studios have 2 queen beds.

Respectfully, Chuck, my (limited) experience belies this.
I've stayed in two OKW studios, and been in two SSR studios. The first was the wrong unit, in that it was not the accessible unit I was supposed to have, so I was able to compare pretty quickly. The bathroom in the accessible studio is larger, so the already-limited floor space in the living area that Sue describes is even less than the standard studio.
While I've never been in a standard studio at OKW, I think the accessible bathroom takes its floor space from the kitchenette area? Anyway, there's plenty of room to get around in an OKW living area.
On the other hand the kitchenette in the SSR studio really is better designed than the one in OKW - especially important when you're alone.

 

[Chuck S]

Actually, the bathrooms in standard OKW studios are quite large, and I never really noticed a smaller kitchette area between the two unit types. But the open floor space in any OKW studio, because of the two queen beds, can be tight for navigating a chair.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Ah, now, see - I couldn't navigate an ECV around the SSR studio. Either studio. I had to back up. Yeah, I know - technically, that's 'around' And I wasn't going to be there long enough to bother considering leaving it outside, i.e. finding a nearby outlet - although there MUCH more covered walkway area in the SSR buildings.

 

[SueM in MN]

this is the bathroom of a roll in shower studio at OKW.

This is the other side of that same bathroom.

This is the bedroom part of the same studio. The door coming into the room from the outside would be off the picture toward the bottom on the left. The kitchenette had a roll under sink, so the refrigerator that would normally be there was next to one bed.

This is another picture showing the refrigerator and the door to the porch. The door to the one bedroom part of the lock off is to the left of this picture.

This is a picture of the OKW accessible studio kitchenette. The refrigerator would normally be on the floor under the microwave. The bathroom is straight ahead to the right of the picture. The bathroom is to the left.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Sue, is that one of the newer buildings? I've been in building 25 and building 13 - and the kitchenettes weren't like that. They were 'standard', with the cabinets above the counter (and so, pretty much inaccessible if you can't stand up).

 

[SueM in MN]

Sue, is that one of the newer buildings? I've been in building 25 and building 13 - and the kitchenettes weren't like that. They were 'standard', with the cabinets above the counter (and so, pretty much inaccessible if you can't stand up).

I don't have the room number, but it was in the Turtle Pond area, so it would have been a number over 30.
You were in buildings in the first groups built. There were design changes made in the rooms numbered over 30, which included a second door to the master bathroom from the hallway. I don't know if the changes included any accessibility changes or not. The 'counter clearing' may have been a retrofit also since it would not be that hard to do.

We were in a 2 bedroom unit. The kitchen part of the 2 bedroom did not have any features to make it accessible. Because of the design of the OKW kitchens, the only parts my DD can't get to in her wheelchair are the sink and the overstove microwave.