Anyone confined to WC stay at Disneyland hotel?

[McCall]

I stayed at the Disneyland hotel this weekend in a "fully accessible" room with roll in shower.

It was the worst HC room I have ever encountered. Now in my case I have some mobility and with difficulty was able to work around the problems but the toilet was the lowest I have seen and the sink way too high and the bed! My six foot able bodied husband had to hop up onto the bed surface. I see no way in the world that a person confined to a chair, unable to stand and climb onto this bed could possibly use it, and I am wondering if there are any here that have had one of these inferior rooms and if they were able to cope at all and did they report the room.

I have written a letter to the head of Hotel properties at Disney regarding this and other accessiblity matters and I am waiting to hear back, I will report here what they tell me.

in the meantime if anyone not mobile, has stayed in one of these rooms and had problems or not had problems, please post what your experience was.
Thank you.

 

[ireland_nicole]

I haven't stayed there, but I just wanted to say thank you for letting us know about your experience. That is obviously completely unacceptable. Well done letting the right people know about the problem. I hope you were still able to enjoy your trip.

 

[kaytieeldr]

May I ask why you did not address this when you first realized there was a problem?

I've stayed at Walt Disney World the last several years. I have NO trouble at Pop Century, but the beds at SSR and OKW are too high - even in the accessible rooms.

Four years ago, OKW was able to move me to a room with lower beds.

Last year, SSR said I had been placed in the wrong room and moved me to one with a low bed - I was only going to be there two nights and could have managed on the sofa, but I was concerned about my upcoming week at OKW. I was assured THAT room was accessible.

Nope. I mean, the bathroom was, but the beds weren't. When I called the Front Desk immediately after arriving in my room, they offered to see if the room I'd had in 2004 was empty - but I liked the location of this room. So, Engineering called and we worked something out - while I was out of the room, they came and removed the frame from one of the beds.

eta: I've run into the same problem with bed/mattress heights in Las Vegas. After first rejecting the worst suggestion I've ever heard ("When you're ready to go to sleep, call Security and someone will come help you into bed"!), I reached an intelligent person at the Front Desk who was able to get one of my mattresses switched out for a lower one, both there and at their sister property to which I was moving two days later.

 

[mechurchlady]

kaytieeldr is right about immediately telling the hotel that the room is not up to what you were promised. They need to know any problems so that they can fix the problems and possible find out why the guest did not get what they wanted.

In San Antonio I arrived the weekend before a hurricane hit Texas and left about when it hit the coast. I am from Los Angeles all my life. My room thermometer was set for 65 degrees so I turned the gauge up to 75 as that was what I am used to. The air conditioning started a high pitched whine so I called and they fixed it in about 10 minutes. I did not spend the night with a whining air conditioner but instead had it muted, lol. At the Motel 6 on that trip I asked for and got extra towels.

That is standard business practice. The guest is unhappy or does not get what they should get so they talk to someone and if they still have problems then manager time.

May I ask if you had any fun on your holiday?

 

[McCall]

I did not call immediately because I could make do, and I had one day at Disney. Also because I wanted to address the problem with someone who had the power to change not only that room but any others on property with similiar shortcommings. I was not prepared to spend time waiting for people to meet with me, discuss things or come fix them.
I did address my concern with Guest services the next morning and got the name of who to contact that is in charge of all the Disney hotel properties at Disneyland.
If I had not been able to make do. I would have basically lost my day at Disney trying to make alternative arrangements. or just not stayed over at all.
I was and am trying to improve the overall situation at this and all their hotels for all the disabled persons needing rooms.
That is why I enquired if anyone else had stayed in these rooms and had problems and if they had reported them at all or not.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I do have to disagree that you would have lost your day at DLR trying to work out an immediate solution.

It did take me about thirty-five minutes to resolve my problem at OKW. Nobody called me back the first time; after about 25 minutes, I called the Front Desk again, and almost before I hung up, the Engineering Manager was calling me back. We talked; we worked out a solution; it was perfectly acceptable to me that resort personnel enter my room without me being present; I left; and when I came back many, many hours later the bed frame had been removed.

It's great that you want to make sure the problem is fixed for everyone, but you don't know what the problem is. Partly, it's that the Disneyland Hotel predates the ADA. In addition, it could be that you were given the wrong room (see my SSR experience). And it could be that there are different types of accessible rooms at DH (see my two OKW experiences - I am positive there is at least one studio with low/transferable beds, but the Front Desk is not aware of any such set-up, which doesn't mean either of us is wrong).

Even there, on my first visit I first got to my room after 10 PM and, despite being relatively certain I was going to have trouble with the beds, chose to stay. Very shortly after that, I called the Front Desk to change rooms - and they were able to accommodate me easily the next day. It took pretty much no time/effort on my part, beyond the two brief phone calls. OKW moved my luggage, I called the resort after 4 PM, and they gave me my new room number.

 

[Echie]

Thank to op and others for posting their experiences. We're going to the GCH this weekend with my mom in a wheelchair. She is very concerned about the beds being too high and not being able to get in or out of bed.

It's good to hear kaytieeldr your experiences with this. At least I know there are several options, whether they can switch us to a room with a lower bed, or swapping the mattresses or removing the frame! Thank you for sharing!

 

[kaytieeldr]

You're welcome - I'm getting good at this Just be polite but firm "This configuration does not work for us, we need a room with ____".

Actually, on my recent Las Vegas trip, I brought a stepstool - it folds in half, it's about an inch thick for storage, and about ten inches high when open (I'm not in a wheelchair, I'm just short with bad joints). And this time, I was at a hotel with normal-height beds - go figure!

 

[McCall]

I resent the implication that I don't know what the problem is or that I am too stupid to know if I was in the correctly assigned room or not. I asked for and got a room with a roll in shower. THAT should denote to Disney that the person is confined to the chair if they need to roll into a shower.
So to have the shower be accessible but the toilet too low and the bed way way too high in such a room is plain stupidity on the part of Disney.
I am a big Disney fan but they are not perfect when it comes to ADA and I fully realize that the hotel is old and that the park itself is old. But they have done renovations to the hotel and ongoing ones to the parks. in fact they are now about to repave main street. What a good time to add some more curb cuts which they very sorely need there. Do you think that was in there current update plans? No it wasn't, maybe since I brought it up it might be. they still have time at this point to add it.
My original post was not asking for advice or how to get something out of Disney for my trouble or a complaint that they did not fix a problem for me. It was an inquiry to see if others confined to a chair had this or a similiar room and if they had complained about it.
Your idea of calling the front desk and getting immediate resolution when possible is fine for the person in the room at the moment and if they come immediately etc. But that first call should never be necessary in the first placce if the room is properly done. A disabled person should not have to miss one minute of their vacation time dealing with such problems because they should not exist. that is my point. that is what I am trying to achieve here. As I said in a previous post I am more than capable of getting attention to a problem I have with a hotel or anywhere else, and I could have dealt with it just for my own sake at the time, but I did not feel that was necessary nor helpful overall.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I resent the implication that I don't know what the problem is or that I am too stupid to know if I was in the correctly assigned room or not. I asked for and got a room with a roll in shower. THAT should denote to Disney that the person is confined to the chair if they need to roll into a shower.

You'd think. But that is EXACTLY what I requested and - at OKW, at least - that is EXACTLY what I got. Yet the beds in my Studio in September/October 2008 were standard height.

I too thought, especially based on the studio in which I ended up in 2004, that requesting "an accessible room with a roll-in shower" (the EXACT words I used, and the EXACT words my brother - an officially-measured genius {so, you see, it's not a matter of intelligence in the least} requested) that I would get, if not the same studio, one with identical facilities.

Nope. Roll-in shower? Check. Toilet height? I'll be honest, I don't remember. Bed height? About equal to my waist - and I had nobody with me who could possibly in any way assist me. This is not to say or imply, nor should anyone infer from this statement, that the poster being quoted was accompanied by anyone who could physically assist her if necessary - but it does appear she was traveling with someone.

At any rate, in each case it took me two phone calls, with a total time spent of no more than 45 minutes per hotel, to resolve MY issues.

It's great to want to change the world - but MY situation and MY comfort come first. I take care of THOSE on the spot, at the time there is a problem. I may come home and report my experience on appropriate forums (or, in the case of the "Call Security..." suggestion, I may tell everyone I ever encounter for the rest of my life now that I've calmed down ), but trying to change the world, or one hotel's entire design, doesn't help ME while I'm staying there.

For the record, there is no implication that you are anything but intelligent and aware; we can't be responsible for what any reader of any thread infers from it.

 

[kaytieeldr]

What a good time to add some more curb cuts which they very sorely need there. Do you think that was in there current update plans? No it wasn't, maybe since I brought it up it might be. they still have time at this point to add it.

Do you REALLY think additional curb cuts were not already planned, or that Disney tells its Guests everything?

 

[kaytieeldr]

Your idea of calling the front desk and getting immediate resolution when possible is fine for the person in the room at the moment and if they come immediately etc. But that first call should never be necessary in the first placce if the room is properly done. A disabled person should not have to miss one minute of their vacation time dealing with such problems because they should not exist. that is my point. that is what I am trying to achieve here.

No. I don't think you're getting my point at all. There is no reason you should need to wait in the room to get an issue resolved. Let me try this again.

2004: OKW: Recovering from a broken hip. Arrived in studio for the first time after 10 PM, accompanied by someone from Bell Services. My first words were, "I won't be able to get into bed!". He asked if I wanted to see about changing rooms, but I said I would try to stay. After he left and I literally hauled myself up onto the bed, hand over hand at an angle, holding onto the bedspread, I realized I was right, that wasn't going to work, and called the Front Desk and said I needed to move to an accessible room the next day. I woke up in the morning, the message light was flashing, I was told to leave my luggage by the door and call the resort after 4 PM - they would move my luggage and tell me my new room.

2007: Orleans Hotel, Las Vegas: Got to the room, realized they had gotten new, plush mattresses and I could not get into bed. The first night I dozed on the love seat (being short has its advantages) and called the Front Desk in the morning. After the first ridiculous response, I called back and got an intelligent staffer who immediately arranged to have a mattress from an accessible room (that was not being occupied) moved to my room for the remaining night, rather than make me move. It was there in ten minutes. Ten minutes after that, the Head Housekeeper stopped by to make sure everything was acceptable.

I was moving to the Gold Coast (owned by the same company) the next day. Yet another intelligent staffer at the Orleans called the Gold Coast and arranged to have the mattress in my room swapped out for one I could access.

2008: SSR: My studio was ready when I checked in early. When I got there, it was not accessible at all. I called Member Services, who called the resort, the manager called me and apologized that I had been given the wrong room. The CM at MS also ascertained that I did indeed have an accessible room at OKW two days later. SSR sent someone from Bell Services and I moved to the new, accessible, low-bed, well-located studio.

2008: OKW: Yes, I sure did have an accessible room with a roll-in shower - but, as stated above, the standard-height beds. It took about 35 minutes to get Engineering's return call and the arrangements completed, and I left the room. When I got back, sure enough, I could get into bed.

MY COMFORT COMES BEFORE EVERYTHING, even park time, even if I only have one day there.

When I come home, I can try to change the world. But when I am someplace, being inconvenienced, fixing things FOR ME matters FIRST.

 

[McCall]

Well that is very good for YOU. glad that you come first. as I said if I needed immediate help I would have gotten it.
as for what they plan or don't plan for the curb cuts. I went high up the food change for that answer and it may be a lie but I don't see why they should lie about it. and perhaps the call will do some good.
Anyway I think it is you that don't get it. I am the OP afterall I think I know why I posted and what I was looking for in responses and being told I should have dealt with MY problem at the time was not it. I am happy for you if you always deal with this stuff when it comes up, trouble is it should not ever have to come up.

 

[honugirl]

Anyone can have things wrong with their room at any time. It is unreasonable to expect things perfect every time. Sometimes you have to take time out of your vacation to deal with stuff. It's part of life.

Perhaps the person before you needed a taller bed, but an accessible roll in shower? Maybe they used a hoyer lift and it wasn't a problem for them with a higher bed or they needed the extra height to roll the hoyer under the bed.

It's possible that at one point in time, that was a regular room, so rather than rip out a perfectly good toilet, they left it there figuring people can transfer or put a toilet riser on. There are many reasons why things are done and we don't always know why.

The best thing to do is to request what you need and if it's not met at the time, say something and have it righted.

 

[KPeveler]

Well that is very good for YOU. glad that you come first. as I said if I needed immediate help I would have gotten it.
as for what they plan or don't plan for the curb cuts. I went high up the food change for that answer and it may be a lie but I don't see why they should lie about it. and perhaps the call will do some good.
Anyway I think it is you that don't get it. I am the OP afterall I think I know why I posted and what I was looking for in responses and being told I should have dealt with MY problem at the time was not it. I am happy for you if you always deal with this stuff when it comes up, trouble is it should not ever have to come up.

I am not commenting on the above discussion, but my gf's mom works at disneyland and she said they are putting more curb cuts in disneyland. they are also replacing the tracks for hte main street trolley. the curb cuts have been planned for some time and are part of the general revamp of disney.

they ARE happening, and nothing at disney is planned in a moment.

In general, I would caution you and any other from using the term "confined to a wheelchair" when referring to anyone other than yourself (you can call yourself whatever you want).

It is generally an out-of-date term and a lot of people who use wheelchairs daily may find it offensive. just my opinion, but I know several others who find the term impolite as well.

and OP, on your first point - disabilities are HUGELY varied. even someone who must use a wheelchair everday (i.e. "confined to a wheelchair") may not have the same needs as everyone else. I know several people, myself included, who use a wheelchair who cannot use roll in showers. i also know several people who do not use a wheelchair at all who REQUIRE a roll in shower. So just saying "accessible room with roll in shower" does NOT tell them you are "confined to a wheelchair."

i agree that disney and everyone else should make everything easy, but sometime we really do have to plan a little more than everyone else. Life is not fair, so sometimes we have to do more. There are a variety of needs people have, so if you need a low bed AND a roll in shower, then sometimes you have to say it.

i need a regular shower with hand rails and a shower chair. i tell them this before i go every time. and yet there is never a shower chair in the room. but i tell them as i head out to the park and they fix it when i get back.

I never wait in the room for things to be fixed. if i am unable to stay in a room for some reason i leave my bags at the front desk and then have them put them in a room when they get a proper room.

Everyone has their own way of dealing with things. it may just be that some of ours are not the same as yours...

 

[McCall]

Anyone can have things wrong with their room at any time. It is unreasonable to expect things perfect every time. Sometimes you have to take time out of your vacation to deal with stuff. It's part of life.

Perhaps the person before you needed a taller bed, but an accessible roll in shower? Maybe they used a hoyer lift and it wasn't a problem for them with a higher bed or they needed the extra height to roll the hoyer under the bed.

It's possible that at one point in time, that was a regular room, so rather than rip out a perfectly good toilet, they left it there figuring people can transfer or put a toilet riser on. There are many reasons why things are done and we don't always know why.

The best thing to do is to request what you need and if it's not met at the time, say something and have it righted.

Ok fine. I will persue these issues with Disney on my own without the assistance of anyone else who may have had problems with this hotel or any of the other Disney Land hotels.
I fail to see why people feel compelled to respond to threads that clearly ask for specific people to respond. and Yes I know it is a public forum and anyone can post anything, well almost anything, in response to any thread.
I think it is sad that when someone wants to make things better in general that others have to jump on them for it.
Perhaps the moderator could remove this thread.

 

[honugirl]

We're not trying to jump on you, but we are trying to illustrate that different people need different things. There isn't a clear cut standard for what everyone needs. It's best if each person individually asks for what they need so that everyone can be accommodated appropriately.

I think we're also just trying to say that many people have things wrong with their rooms, AC's break or are noisy, drains stopped up, etc. Things happen. If they are an inconvenience to you at the time, then you need to let them know so they can fix it.

Letting them know after the fact generally doesn't work because they don't understand how it affects you. Most people are visual learners, so if they can see how it affects you, it will stick in their mind that much longer on what they need to do to fix it. It's very hard to visualize something when you have no knowledge of the situation or have never been in that situation. To say that you need a lower bed, well, how low? No frame? Half a frame? If you can show them, they have a better idea of what they need to do.

Sometimes having a disability means you have to educate and you have to take time out of your day to do it, but the next time you're there, you'll be that much farther ahead.

 

[mechurchlady]

I have noticed that the people on this board try to educate people on how to properly get things done. They try to help people know what to do when something happens and what their legal rights and guest rights are.

Many of your statements are puzzling to me and I have an army of park guest, CMs and former CMs that I can turn to as well as the internet and my memory. I had to wonder about your statements about plaids at that just don't make sense. I know enough about Disney to know that they would never leave rides unattended and without a greeter especially ones with limitations, special disabled stuff, or like Bug's Life have stuff that might scare a guest or make them sick (stinkbug scent). That puzzled me. Disabled viewing allows disabled guests to have a viewing spot if they want one instead of parking on the route. There are many better spots for the disabled guests to see fireworks and parades. Said spots are first come, first served just like the parade route.

As a small business owner once, I am confused as to why your room was not adequate. Disney cannot help you if you did not first tell them there was a problem. As stated the hotel is pre ADA and has been remodelled. Did someone give you a nondisabled room and if so why? Was it in the reservations office, computer bugs, or someone in the hotel? If it was designated in the system as a disabled room then why was it not up to ADA standards? Was if housekeeping or maybe the room was changed to accomodate a guest with special needs. It helps a business to know what happened if you contact them immediately.

I am sorry for pointing out things that could have helped you with your trip. I find it upsetting that when I asked if you had a good time on the trip you had no answer. I do note that not one person has come forward to say that they had problems with that hotel. If there was people who were upset with that hotel then they had free and ample time to protest and complain here.

I now will go to the time out corner and wait for the thread to close.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Laurie

You have said what I was thinking of saying, but better. And I have been thinking of closing the thread but want to see what happens further.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Letting them know after the fact generally doesn't work because they don't understand how it affects you. Most people are visual learners, so if they can see how it affects you, it will stick in their mind that much longer on what they need to do to fix it

Agreed. At some point later in my stay at OKW last year, I happened to physically encounter the Engineering Manager - the same gentleman who'd returned my call the previous Friday and gotten my bed frame removed. We had a nice, long, pleasant discussion about accessibility needs (and unrelated issues). I love Disney Cast Members.

Again, to the OP: While it is great to want to change the world - even just Disney - that can't be done when one only has one day to spend in one park, nor should it. WRITE to Disney after the fact with one's general concerns.

But specific issues - those that, for example, make a specific hotel room difficult, uncomfortable, or impossible for the Guest to occupy - need to be addressed RIGHT AT THE TIME. This, no matter how long it takes out of one's vacation/touring time, is MORE important that changing overall policies/designs for all future Guests - and what is the point of staying in a room one can't use? In addition, KNOWING one can't use, or can't comfortably or independently use, the assigned hotel room would tend to negatively affect the person's overall concerns throughout the day's touring (conciously or subconciously). I know I'd be dreading going back to a room where the only place I could sleep is the floor because the beds are too high and the chairs are too small.