Accessible room ??

[Simba's Mom]

What is the difference between a "Florida special accessibility room" and "Wheelchair accessible room with tub"? And how can a wheelchair accessible room have a tub? Unfortunately, the sticky at the top of the page didn't help.

 

[lanejudy]

"Florida Special" rooms have grab bars near the toilet, and I think the toilet height is lower. No grab bars in the shower, not necessarily a wheelchair accessible route through the room. It's an odd category and I heard they would be phasing these out.

Wheelchair accessible rooms will have a wider pathway through the room for the wheelchair to maneuver. Also a larger doorway into the bathroom, and includes handrails at the toilet and tub/shower. Some have a tub instead of a roll-in shower because some people may prefer a tub; a transfer bench can be provided if needed (and if not already in the room).

 

[SueM in MN]

This is from post 7 of the disABILITIES FAQs thread - probably too much info, so you didn’t find it:
There are a lot of questions about Florida Special Accessible Room/Option for Hearing Accessibility - this is from the Disney website
This room is equipped with toilet grab bars, an open bed frame and lower toilet height. A portable raised toilet seat is available upon request. Optional communication features for Guests with Hearing Disabilities include: visual alarm; visual door knock/door bell alert; visual telephone call alert; a telephone with volume control; and electrical outlet near telephone jack. TTY equipment is available upon request at check-in.

There are wheelchair accessible rooms with tubs; as lanejudy mentioned, some people need and accessible room, but want a tub.
These pictures are of a wheelchair accessible Villa at Old Key West which had a tub. It had roll under sinks, many grab bars in the bathroom and accessible pathways.

 

[SueM in MN]

"Florida Special" rooms have grab bars near the toilet, and I think the toilet height is lower. No grab bars in the shower, not necessarily a wheelchair accessible route through the room. It's an odd category and I heard they would be phasing these out.

Wheelchair accessible rooms will have a wider pathway through the room for the wheelchair to maneuver. Also a larger doorway into the bathroom, and includes handrails at the toilet and tub/shower. Some have a tub instead of a roll-in shower because some people may prefer a tub; a transfer bench can be provided if needed (and if not already in the room).

I also heard they would be phasing them out.
From what I’ve read, it was a category for some of the older Florida hotels to add some accessibility to rooms that had the toilet in a separate room from the rest of the bathroom. Some didn’t have the ability to make enough bathrooms totally accessible to the ADA Guidelines, so it was kind of a stopgap category.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Thanks so much for ll the info. With all the info in the post, I missed the pictures of the accessible unit with a tub in OKW that SueM in MN showed me. Pictures really help!