Asperger's Son and room availibility

[Tinker*Shell*Bell]

I know that sometimes you get to Disney Resort only to find that the room you reserved is not available. I am traveling in July (busy season) to the Contemporary and due to flight schedule we will not arrive at resort until 11pm.
Here's the problem: My 11 yo son who lives with Aspergers Syndrome will not be able to handle any change in hotel plans at the last second. He will be tired and ready to lay down when we arrive and If the room class we reserved (Tower MK view) is not available this could ruin everyone's trip.
I did not even think of it until he started asking if everything is "done" for our trip. He means DONE...no changes, no variation, show him the reservations and let it sink into his head what the room will look like when we get there DONE.
Will the Disney disability line staff be able to help with this or am I just out of luck?
Any advice anyone can offer would be greatly appreciated. A week full of him obsessing about "the room we were supposed to have" will not be fun for anyone.

 

[kdtwiss]

will he be ok with differnt photos? Perhaps explaining all the rooms look different and our room may look like this or this or this?
I understand he needs to know - will he accept any variable BEFOREHAND?
I guess I would be as vague as is humanly possible so you have a bit of wiggle room.
I also think you should call the hotel directly. You should have the room you are paying for. Though I know they did some renovations and a photo you may have now, may not be what it looks like when you go.

When we went to POR I can not tell you how many different people I spoke to about needing to have our room as close to pool as possible, as my oldest is autistic and will want to go there constantly. When we checked in there was not one note on our ressie. I say call the Cotemporary, and maybe even concierge and see if they can help be sure you get what you need for your son. Get names from everyone that assists you- then people will understand if they make a promise, and do not hold it up - you will know who they are to be accountable. It is easy to yes someone to death - but if you know they have your name - and will complain (with you named) if there is a problem, not only will you be more likely to get the help you need, but you will not be given false or unrealistically high expectations of what you will get.

 

[mamacass]

We will be having the same problem - my son will be obsessing about being on the top floor. Someone had suggested calling Disney's Special Services (I'm assuming it deals with special needs) and letting them know what your issues are and maybe they can block a certain room for you. I haven't tried it yet myself but its just a suggestion for you. Good luck!

 

[Tinker*Shell*Bell]

will he be ok with differnt photos? Yes
Perhaps explaining all the rooms look different and our room may look like this or this or this? We showed renovated and not renovated rooms, he's ok with both.
I understand he needs to know - will he accept any variable BEFOREHAND? Not much.
I guess I would be as vague as is humanly possible so you have a bit of wiggle room. The only thing he is focused on is being in the tower and having the view of the magic kingdom.
We will be having the same problem - my son will be obsessing about being on the top floor. Someone had suggested calling Disney's Special Services (I'm assuming it deals with special needs) and letting them know what your issues are and maybe they can block a certain room for you. I haven't tried it yet myself but its just a suggestion for you. Good luck! Good luck to you too, I will post back for you after I call them!!! I hope they can help both of us!

 

[Schmeck]

Unless you contact Special Services, there's no guarantee of any room, for anyone. Disney has the policy of overbooking, expecting many to cancel plans, etc. About the only thing they guarantee is a room somewhere on property, LOL! It's usually a first come - first serve.

The phone # for Special Services is in one of the stickies at the top of the forum, I think? Call them ASAP! Although, if you are not requesting an accessible room, there might not be anything they can do. Having a certain view doesn't fall under ADA, does it?

 

[Tinker*Shell*Bell]

I just spoke to special services, and besides telling me that I called an internal phone number ( i guess I was supposed to dial the direct 407-wdisney line) they were very nice.
They specified the non-smoking room for ds5 who has asthma.

Then regarding the tower mk view room they said: You have reserved that specific room class. You will not arrive and not have a room available in that class because it is not a request, it is a paid view. It used to be a request that could not be guaranteed but now they charge for it so they can guarantee it. I hope that is true, I am so worried about this.
I remember being 8 and getting to our Disney resort only to be told that the place yas full and they put us up at the Marriott. If I am a typically functioning adult who still remembers being disappointed (25 years later) how will I get through a week with Matt if they are wrong about this?
To schmeck: no I didn't think it was an ADA issue to guarantee a room with a view I just wanted to know if the special services line could help make sure we get the room we paid for due to the inflexible thinking of my son who has a disability.

 

[Schmeck]

I've seen threads on this board about people not getting the rooms they paid for, even special levels, etc, because Disney overbooked, so I'm glad that you got confirmation through Special Services! Hopefully, you'll be in the system and locked into the room style you want.

I hope I didn't come across as sounding snide about ADA - that's not what I meant. It's just that I know Disney doesn't guarantee much about their rooms, unless it is covered under the ADA. Requests are met if they can, but as long as they give you a room, somewhere on property, then they are covered. I mean, if everyone has paid for that certain level, and Disney overbooks it (because it's their policy to do that) and when you get there all the MK views are filled, they just have to meet ADA requirements, which I don't think has anything to say about a certain view. I think going through Special Services will give you a better chance, but I don't think room view is high on the list of accomodations made. You will not be expected to pay more for a better room, and you should get a refund if your room is not what you reserved.

I hope you get your room, and I hope you have a great trip!

 

[Tinker*Shell*Bell]

I hope I didn't come across as sounding snide about ADA - that's not what I meant.

Thank You for clearing that up!!! I was so worried that you thought I was trying to " use" my son to get the room I wanted. I don't think special services did anything to guarantee us the room, he just said it is guaranteed by having the reservation. I have read a few of the threads you were talking about so I am still a little nervous. He did make a notation that we are arriving late with a special child, so that may or may not help. I didn't think he could do much as far as ADA required help but I was hoping maybe they had some special notation they could make on the reservation to help the check-in CM's not give the room away. KWIM?

I am still new to having a special child so sometimes I say things wrong, I hope no one thinks I want to "get away" with something and that I am not making light of other people's far more serious needs.

 

[dj2]

maybe you could also call the resort directly to confirm your needs 3 days out, the day before, and even the morning you'll be arriving. it sounds really important, so i think it'd be worth the extra phone calls.

 

[jennw26]

Disney is awefull with early check ins. Last year I tried to get my son a room and we had to wait 90 minutes. My son spent that time at the Wilderness Lodge screaming and kicking on the floor of the lobby while I was supposed to pick up a customer service phone and say,"Is my room ready yet?".


Two days later we transferred to Embassy Suites at 11:00 am and we were shown immediately to our room.

Embassy is great because you have two rooms with two TV's. That is really nice when you and your kids want to wind down separately after the parks. Breakfast is a snap and free. You just go downstairs.

I also highly recommend L&M car rental and Fairy Godmothers babysitting.

 

[SueM in MN]

I couldn't get in to reply earlier - could read, but not reply for a while.

Anyway, MK view DID used to be a request, but since everyone requested it, your chance of actually geting it was pretty slim. Most of the resorts have gone to "preferred views" or "preferred location" for just that reason. The people who have paid for it have a reasonable expectation of getting and the ones who have not paid for it are not able to request it.

Since you are getting there late, I would call back and ask them to put a notation on your reservation that says you will be late. That way, they know that you are not a no show and should not give your room away to someone else.
Also, do what dj2 recommended:

maybe you could also call the resort directly to confirm your needs 3 days out, the day before, and even the morning you'll be arriving. it sounds really important, so i think it'd be worth the extra phone calls.

The rooms are actually firmly assigned only a few days before you arrive (that lets them take into account cancellations and rooms out of service for repairs). If your DS is really obsessing about it and would feel better, you can call the resort from a cell phone from the airport for a final check. (My nephew with Aspergers would probably want to do that.)

 

[Tinker*Shell*Bell]

The rooms are actually firmly assigned only a few days before you arrive (that lets them take into account cancellations and rooms out of service for repairs). If your DS is really obsessing about it and would feel better, you can call the resort from a cell phone from the airport for a final check. (My nephew with Aspergers would probably want to do that.)

I will call them in the morning, before we leave the house, as well as 3 or 4 days before we go, That is great advice. Thank you to all of you!

 

[mamacass]

I finally called special services to see if they could block a room for us on the top floor but said I could only request it, like everyone else. The CM acted like I was bothering her so maybe I'll try back in a few days to see if I have any better luck.

 

[joanchris]

When we went in October the MK view was still only a request. I was stressing over the possibility that we would not get it, I had some ideas in case we didn't get it.....I figured, since we were checking in on a Saturday, we could take whatever room they had available, and ask if we could change to a MK room when it became available, figuring on Sunday people would be checking out.....
Luckily that didn't happen,and we ended up with the MK view DD10 (and DD6) was expecting.
Maybe that could be something you could mention to your son....that there are other good views and maybe you would have one of them for a night or two.....I know he's expecting the MK view, and since it's paid for you should get it though!
Good luck

 

[Hannathy]

Why were these children promised any view at all ? I don't understand why it wasn't stressed from the beginning that you couldn't promise anything.

 

[BCV23]

I finally called special services to see if they could block a room for us on the top floor but said I could only request it, like everyone else. The CM acted like I was bothering her so maybe I'll try back in a few days to see if I have any better luck.

The very top floor is actually California Grill. The top floor of rooms is almost all suites with I think only one regular room but even that is concierge which is lots more money.

So if you want the top floor of rooms, I think you would have to book it like anyone else. In fact, I think it is really hard to get that room from posts I've seen.

 

[mythreemice]

just a note to hannathy
in my experience when planning anything with a child with an autistic disorder you need to take into account that what the plan is, is what they were counting on. its not a matter of what these children were promised or not promised. the game plan (and sticking to that game plan) is a coping mechanism. it is an essential part of the way in which these children view and interact with their world.
as a parent of a 6 year old boy with an autistic disorder we learned this the hard way when we took him to wdw at age 4. we still had a magical time (it is disney after all) but we approached the trip totally differently when we went again recently.

 

[mamacass]

We're staying at the Beach Club and my son has autism and OCD - he's not concerned about a view but rather will obsess about numbers and being on the top floor. Thanks for the replies.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I finally called special services to see if they could block a room for us on the top floor but said I could only request it, like everyone else. The CM acted like I was bothering her so maybe I'll try back in a few days to see if I have any better luck.

I could easily be wrong, but I think the top (residential) floor of the Contemporary is Concierge.

Disney is awefull with early check ins. Last year I tried to get my son a room and we had to wait 90 minutes. My son spent that time at the Wilderness Lodge screaming and kicking on the floor of the lobby while I was supposed to pick up a customer service phone and say,"Is my room ready yet?".

In fairness to the hotel industry as a whole, each property sets a specific check-in time, usually 3 or 4 PM to allow Housekeeping time to clean rooms vacated that day. If being able to access one's room immediately upon arrival is as important as it appears to be in your son's case, it might be best to coordinate arrival time with check-in time. For example, when flying, book flights that arrive early- to mid-afternoon.
It's great that the Embassy Suites happened to have a room available for you when you got there, but it can't reasonably be expected every time one checks into a hotel.

 

[SueM in MN]

If being able to access one's room immediately upon arrival is as important as it appears to be in your son's case, it might be best to coordinate arrival time with check-in time. For example, when flying, book flights that arrive early- to mid-afternoon.
It's great that the Embassy Suites happened to have a room available for you when you got there, but it can't reasonably be expected every time one checks into a hotel.

I would have to agree with that, especially if you have any other requests that are important to you.....if it is even possible to get an early checkin, you may have to take whatever is available.
If the flight time can't work out to arrive when a room is likely to be available, you might need to work something else out to use up the time.