AKL room type ?

[Gaynor Smith]

Hello

I was hoping one (or several) of you lovely people could help me ? Just a bit of background about us, we have visited Disney many times and always stay onsite at the AKL as this is our favourite resort but this is our first visit since my health has declined (I have MS) and my daughter (adult) became disabled due to an accident. We both have mobility issues but she is not using her wheelchair any longer, she uses her crutches or crutch. We have booked for September 2017 cheer2 at the AKL.

I booked a "standard" (i.e. non wheelchair accessible room) but now realise we really need one the has a walk in shower and seat as neither of us are mobile enough to get in and out of a shower or bath. Do I need to amend the booking to an accessible room or are there any rooms that just have the walk in shower ? My daughter spent 6 years in a wheelchair so we know how difficult it can be so we are reluctant to take an accessible room from someone who may need it more as we really only need the walk in shower.

Any recommendations about what type of room to ask for would be gratefully received, I have been a member for years but lost my old log in details and had to create a new account.

 

[lanejudy]

You need to book a wheelchair accessible room with a roll-in shower. That's what it's called. And make sure it specifies "roll-in shower" or you may get a tub with rails which sounds like that won't work for you. HA rooms are a separate booking from regular rooms, and the only way to guarantee you'll get the bath/shower you need. You or your TA should call soon to be sure you have secured what you need; don't just add a "request" to your current reservation. You need this shower as much as anyone else, don't feel you are taking it away from someone.

If you can make do with a transfer bench and a regular tub, you could keep the current reservation and I suggest renting the seat from a place like Care Medical. You could request it from WDW, but the style may not suit your needs and/or may not be available when you arrive. But if you need the walk-in/roll-in shower, you'll have to change your reservation to an HA room.

Enjoy your vacation!

 

[Gaynor Smith]

Thank you for that, it's really helpful ! I have checked out Care Medical and they also have the a similar system to the elevated toilet chair we use at home, to be honest I didn't even think about that (I suppose when you have adaptions at home you forget about them !), so when they time comes I will probably enquire about hiring one of those too. Once again many thanks, it's much appreciated.

 

[SueM in MN]

I agree with lanejudy.

If there are handicapped accessible rooms that have not been reserve, they are assigned to some guest checking in. So, there is a small (very small) chance that you could possibly (possibly, not likely) get one without reserving one specifically. You need one (and might need one even more a year from now when you actually go), so your need for it is as important for you as anyone else's.

You need to make a specific reservation for a room that will meet your needs. This is a situation where I would call, rather then trying to do on line. They might be able to amend your reservation, but might need yo cancel it entirely and rebook again for the specific type of room you need. As lanejudy mentioned, a roll in shower room is a specific booking category for reservation, not a request.

If there are no rooms with roll in showers available for your dates, you will need to consider what other type of things might meet your needs - the things lanejudy mentioned, or maybe a handicapped accessible room that has a seat and grab bars for the tub.
If you are not sure, keep asking questions. Good luck on your trip.