Advice needed please :)

[kaffinito]

Hi all,

I need some advice please. I want to make sure that I'm booking the right resort for our Spring Break trip. We are getting guardianship of D Nephew 4.5 who will be 5 at the time of our trip and who has CP (and a bunch of other things). I am thinking of staying at CBR for the following reasons:

- He can walk a bit but is unsteady
- Uses a wheelchair/stroller
- Would need a zero entry pool
- We can get a preferred room and hopefully a first floor room
- He doesn't need a shower, he only takes baths so we don't need the handicap accessible room

It would be the four of us, DS17 (ASD), DS9 (ASD), and DN5 going on the trip.

Am I off base here or forgetting an important ingredient to all of this? My second runner up was FW Cabins, if that helps. I want to make sure I'm not forgetting something important that he might need/or that I'm not thinking of since this will be DN's very first trip to the House of the Mouse.

TIA!
Karen

 

[mumto2]

Our DD11 sounds a bit like your nephew. She has cp as the result of a stroke. We use a Maclaren special needs stroller. She can walk, but tires easily and is prone to falling when tired. We have stayed at POR, which was a disaster because the travel agent, despite my repeated requests, did not get our requests right, so while we were in the mansions, it was a hike to everything.

We loved POFQ because it is so compact - there is literally not a bad room as far as distance from anything is concerned. There are elevators to the upper levels. We were moments away from buses, the food court and the pool. The boat to DTD was just past the pool. The pool is not zero entry, but DD had no problem navigating the steps (there was an underwater stair case, so she was able to sit on the top step, acclimate, then put her bottom on the next step and so on).

We've stayed at the cabins and loved them, but I'd strongly recommend a golfcart - the resort is huge, and even just to bus stops can be a long walk. I'd also recommend requesting a cabin close to the end of the loop so that you are nearer the bus stop. Our cabin had a ramp and an accessible picnic table on the deck. The bathroom had grab bars, but other than that it was a regular bathroom.

Have a great trip!

 

[SueM in MN]

Where ever you stay, you should make a request for first floor for "Medical Reasons' (make sure to use that language). THose requests are filled before similar requests that are not for medical reasons. Besides not needing a roll in shower, you would not want one of the rooms with a roll in shower because they also include a raised seat toilet - that would be hard for your young ones to use since their feet would not reach the ground (written from experience).
Remember that (other than Preferred location that you pay for) any special requests like location are just requests and are not guaranteed.

Here's a link to a page about the Caribbean Beach pool, which is a zero entry pool. The theme of it is very appealing to young boys especially if they are into Pirates.

If he can walk, and go down steps, you may find that any of the pools will work for him. All of the pools at all of the resorts have steps like the ones on the right side of this picture, with a good handrail. If he would not be able to walk up and down them, he could probably bump down them as the other poster mentioned.
Each resort also has at least one pool with a transfer tier, like the one on the left side of the picture.

Advantages of CBR include:
- the theming is very nice and is very appealing to kids
- the rooms are the largest of all the moderate resorts
- the food court has a good variety of food choices
- you can make a reservation for a 'preferred room' which is in a location closer to the food court, main pool and shop. There is an extra cost for preferred location
- you can't swim in the lake, but there are sandy beaches where children can play in the sand
- there are good paths to get from place to place

The biggest disadvantage is that it is a very large resort and the check in/out place is far away from the other resort buildings.

We have stayed at CBR and really liked it, other than the disadvantage I mentioned. We have never stayed at FW cabins, so I can't give you any personal experience with them.

We have also stayed at both POR and POFQ. Both are nice resorts. POR is larger, but there are paths to get where ever you need to go. This is the main pool at POR, which is not zero entry, but does have steps with a good handrail.

Many people with disabilities/special needs like POFQ for the reasons the other poster mentioned. It is compact and easy to get around. Here's a link to the DIS page about POFQ. Both POFQ and POR have a boat that you can take to Downtown Disney. It is a very nice ride, is free and is wheelchair accessible.

 

[kaffinito]

Our DD11 sounds a bit like your nephew. She has cp as the result of a stroke. We use a Maclaren special needs stroller. She can walk, but tires easily and is prone to falling when tired. We have stayed at POR, which was a disaster because the travel agent, despite my repeated requests, did not get our requests right, so while we were in the mansions, it was a hike to everything.

We loved POFQ because it is so compact - there is literally not a bad room as far as distance from anything is concerned. The pool is not zero entry, but DD had no problem navigating the steps (there was an underwater stair case, so she was able to sit on the top step, acclimate, then put her bottom on the next step and so on).

We've stayed at the cabins and loved them, but I'd strongly recommend a golfcart - the resort is huge, and even just to bus stops can be a long walk.

Have a great trip!

I hadn't thought he could bump down the stairs, I wonder if he would do that? He tends to go full tilt when walking so it's more of a careening lurch than a walk sometimes.

I had thought of POFQ, but the food court isn't that big, and with him along for his first trip, I want to do a lot of CS meals.

You are right about POR, location is everything at POR. I was wondering about the golf carts at FW - they don't appear to have seat belts which worries me a bit. Maybe I'll do that on a future trip.

Thanks for responding!

Where ever you stay, you should make a request for first floor for "Medical Reasons' (make sure to use that language). THose requests are filled before similar requests that are not for medical reasons. Besides not needing a roll in shower, you would not want one of the rooms with a roll in shower because they also include a raised seat toilet - that would be hard for your young ones to use since their feet would not reach the ground (written from experience).
Remember that (other than Preferred location that you pay for) any special requests like location are just requests and are not guaranteed.

If he can walk, and go down steps, you may find that any of the pools will work for him. All of the pools at all of the resorts have steps like the ones on the right side of this picture, with a good handrail. If he would not be able to walk up and down them, he could probably bump down them as the other poster mentioned.
Each resort also has at least one pool with a transfer tier, like the one on the left side of the picture.

We have stayed at CBR and really liked it, other than the disadvantage I mentioned. We have never stayed at FW cabins, so I can't give you any personal experience with them.

We have also stayed at both POR and POFQ. Both are nice resorts. POR is larger, but there are paths to get where ever you need to go.
Many people with disabilities/special needs like POFQ for the reasons the other poster mentioned. It is compact and easy to get around. Here's a link to the DIS page about POFQ. Both POFQ and POR have a boat that you can take to Downtown Disney. It is a very nice ride, is free and is wheelchair accessible.

Humm, so if I make that specific request then we should be able to get a first floor room - that's really good to know! I was thinking about CBR just because you mentioned it when I asked ages ago about a resort for my youngest DS. We toured it last trip and we all really loved the way it looked, so I was thinking that it might be a good place for DN to go.

I honestly hadn't though of the stairs at the pools - my first choice for this trip was 2 rooms at POP so my boys could have a room to themselves. The pool stairs would solve one of my worries - that DN would slip and fall in the kids play area.

Heck - I don't even know yet if he's afraid of the water or not!

Thanks for the help - I'm picking him up today so he can live with us full time.