BCV- How to assure medical request for location is honored?

[emma'smom]

We have reservations for a dedicated two-bedroom at BCV for my family and my parents. My mother has severe arthritis and really cannot walk very far at all. We will arrange to rent her an ECV for the duration of the trip, but she may not want to use it to simply walk to our room (making it easier to just leave in the car to go to the parks) or so she just isn't tethered to the ECV the entire tripo. When I made the reservation, I placed two requests- non-smoking and near an elevator (noting it was becase my mother is mobility impaired). I know that my mother will just be worn out and unable to walk if she is forced to walk too far....then she'll just give up and stay in the room.

At the same time, we did not request a handicapped room because this just really offends my mother who specifically says that she "doesn't need this yet". So if the room ends up being handicapped, are both bedrooms in a two bedroom accessible or just one- so that we can just take it so we don't offend her. I'm sure it is a constant emotional struggle for her to come to terms with the reality of aging. We want this to be a fun trip...and make it as pleasant and logistically comfortable as possible.

Is there a way that we could increase the odds that our request for a villa near an elevator will be honored? We can certainly have a doctor verify her arthritis, if necessary (and we'll have the handicapped tag for the car).

Also, we've never stayed at BCV before. How does parking work? We have AP's and she'll have her handicapped tag, so we'll be able to use valet parking. Where is parking in relation to the BCV?

Thanks!

 

[paults]

just so you know the walk from the front desk at BC to The closest room by elevator at the villas is still a long way for someone who has trouble walking.

making it easier to just leave in the car to go to the parks

I would use the EVC or see if BC has a wheelchair to use to room and back.

 

[Disneyaholic]

Actually, you might want to consider requesting one of the rooms closest to the BCV self parking lot. They're a fairly short walk away. I guess it depends on how often you mom will be going to the lobby area or the SAB pool area. As already stated, there's really no place at BCV that can really be considered "close" to the BC lobby.

 

[SueM in MN]

Actually, you might want to consider requesting one of the rooms closest to the BCV self parking lot. They're a fairly short walk away. I guess it depends on how often you mom will be going to the lobby area or the SAB pool area. As already stated, there's really no place at BCV that can really be considered "close" to the BC lobby.

If you are close to the parking lot, you also need to make sure that you are on the first floor or you will need to walk to the elevator (which would be backtracking compared to being able to just go out the door), go down and then backtrack again to get out the door to go out to parking.

But, agreeing with the others, you would not be close to the BC lobby, SAB or the walkway or boats that go to Epcot or MGM no matter where you are in BC.
I've given this suggestion before for people to help family members to understand why they need an ECV. Think of a familiar place like a store or something about 3 miles from her home. Ask if she can walk there - she will probably say no and think you are extremely silly for asking such a ridiculous question. Then explain to her that people report walking 3-9 miles per day at WDW. That is enough to make most people understand they need an ECV. Most people who have tried it, say it helped a lot.

Also here is a recent thread from the disABILITIES Board where someone with RA feels the same at the start as your mom.

 

[colleen costello]

Even the close rooms can be a bit of a hike at BCV. My Mom did in fact have to use her scooter just to get to the lobby. Even if they put you close to the lobby, remember it is still a separate, although close, building.

The good news is there are lots of nooks where you can leave the scooter. My Mom would ride hers down from the room and leave it parked on a covered porch, out of the way of foot traffic. My hubby would then pick her up in our vehicle, and this worked out great if we were going to dinner somewhere that she didn't want to use the scooter. When we returned that night the scooter would be waiting for her to get back up to the room. There are lots of places to park the scooter in the lobby, and Mom also found a route to Stormalong Bay that was scooter-accessible.

Just politely remind them at check-in that the closer the room, the better.

 

[SueM in MN]

The good news is there are lots of nooks where you can leave the scooter. My Mom would ride hers down from the room and leave it parked on a covered porch, out of the way of foot traffic.

Anticipating the next question - How do we prevent the scooter from being stolen?
The scooters have a key. When you leave the scooter, take the key with. No one is going to steal a scooter that they can't drive.

 

[kathleena]

I don't think this is a matter of assuring your location at all, as by getting the dedicated 2br you have left yourself very little wiggle room to be assured.

There are only 25 dedicated 2brs in the whole of BCV. Your chances of getting one close to an elevator are directly porportionate to the number of rooms near an elevator that are vacated on the day you arrive. If you dont' have any being vacated that day - you are very much out of luck.

Add to that that there are two elevators, only one being close to the parking lot. So now you have really decreased your chances even more.

If you will be using valet parking, the door to the BCV is just a short distance and the first elevator is just a little ways more.

 

[NMW]

Good luck with your requests. I hope you have a wonderful trip.

 

[emma'smom]

Thanks for the responses. We've never stayed at BCV, but we walked through it when we were visiting last June. As DVC members, we've only done SSR until now. However, we thought my dad would enjoy doing SB with my daughters and his two favorite parks are MGM and Epcot. It just made sense for this trip. I actually didn't purposely reserve a dedicated two-bedroom. I just said that we would like a two-bedroom and "dedicated" is what appears on the confirmation.

Would it be a better idea to request a villa close to the BC lobby (and does the first floor matter depending upon the location of elevators)? Also, could I change the request to have multiple "OR" statements? Either near the lobby OR near an elevator, etc? How many two-bedrooms are there and where are they located, just to get a sense of the lay-out we are working with.

It seems like my requests (usually just non-smoking and a possible location like "Springs" at SSR) are not usually honored. I understand they are only requests, not promises so I just take the luck of the draw with my immediate family since we're all perfectly mobile. However, I'm hoping the pixie dust flies our way for this one.

Also, would it make any difference if we arrived to check-in early in the day? We're going to fly down and stay in a moderate for a few days before we meet them, so we could go and check in on the morning my parents are scheduled to arrive (not to get into the room, of course, just to have it "reserved" for when it is ready).

Great idea to just park the ECV when we won't need it at Beach Club itself.

 

[colleen costello]

Do get there early. This way if they put you in the next county (approx where the last rooms on the hallway are!) you can plead your case. I have done this on behalf of my parents and they kindly moved them.

You can ask to be close to the lobby and tell them why. There are 2 sets of elevators so I feel the proximity to the lobby will save your family more steps. Call Member Services and ask them to write "Mobility impaired, close to lobby please." This will help.

The elevators are fast and fairly wide, and the back wall of them is mirrored, so getting a scooter in and out was easy for Mom. We were on the 4th floor and did fine

Good luck.

 

[dianeschlicht]

You wont want to leave the ECV in the car, because it will need to be charged up each night. We found we could get a full day on one charge even when it the parks most of the day, but we did have to charge up every night. It was very easy to just park the ECV in the room and plug it in. It is also VERY easy to get to the parks via a bus with an ECV, since they load you cart and all through the back door lift.

 

[emma'smom]

You wont want to leave the ECV in the car, because it will need to be charged up each night. We found we could get a full day on one charge even when it the parks most of the day, but we did have to charge up every night. It was very easy to just park the ECV in the room and plug it in. It is also VERY easy to get to the parks via a bus with an ECV, since they load you cart and all through the back door lift.

Oh...very good point!