Disabled - Which Resort Hotel is best?

[Tbiafore]

My mother is disabled and while she can walk a little, a scooter wheelchair is going to be used most of the time. We have recently reserved a room at CBR that is one of the preferred rooms that is supposed to be close to the bus/pools/etc...However, I have been hearing about how big Disneyworld is (first visit), I am concerned about every day for the seven day journey that we will have to load her and her scooter up on a bus. Is it an inconvieninece to do this each and every day back and forth to each park? I hear that not every bus has these scooter loaders, is that mean we are going to be waiting longer times at these bus stops each day? Is it much more convienient if I switch hotels to one that uses the monorail rather than buses?

Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated. Also, any information on how loading up a scooter on a bus would clear things up for me some as well.

Thanks in advance

Tbiafore

 

[disneyfan55]

Yes, WDW is HUGE!! They, too, are very helpful with the disabled, chidren and everyone. Most resorts are spread out quite a bit, CBR is spread out. YOu are staying the closest to the food court and stores, but it's still a distance. There are paved walkways so that really shouldn't be a problem. There is a bus stop at each "Island" so no need to worry about that. The WDW buses and drivers all seem to be ADA equiped. They may only fit one, maybe 2 scooters or wheel chairs, but I have ALWAYS seen every bus to have them. If there are others waiting with scooters or wheelchairs, you may have to wait your turn, but that's it. The disabled entrance is in the rear of the bus and you can just wait there with your entire party and they will load you first. THe busdrivers do the loading for the most part, no need to worry about doing it yourself.

The deluxe hotels may have better access to the monorail for some parks, but the bus will be about the same distance as the other hotels. The monorail mainly is for the MK (and EPCOT with a monorail change) so buses are needed for the other parks anyway.

Be prepared the WDW resort is VERY LARGE and spread out, but a motorized scooter will make your about as mobile as you are.

I'm sure others having direct experience with a scooter or wheelchair can help out more but I've tried to give basic info that WDW is very helpful. Also, make sure you have let the reservations area know that your mom is in a scooter, the CBR doesn't have elevators, you you will want a ground floor. They do have handicapped rooms as well with handicap showers as well.

 

[mickeystoontown]

If you stay at any resort other than a monorail resort, you will have to take a bus or boat to get to the theme parks. We have stayed at the CBR four times and have seen the bus drivers load wheelchairs and scooters onto the buses many many times. They have always been able to get it done quickly and efficiently.

 

[SueM in MN]

If you follow the link in my signature to the disABILITIES FAQs, you will find a lot of helpful information. One post in that thread is about bus transportation. Each bus can hold up to 2 wheelchairs or scooters. There are a few new buses that can hold more. There is also information in that thread about other types of tranportation and many things that will be helpful to you.
If you have not rented a scooter yet, post #2 of that thread has rental information.

I would say there is no one 'best' resort for someone who is disabled. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages.
One advantage of CBR is that it has the largest rooms of any of the moderate resorts. It is nicely themed and has paved walkways around the whole resort.
One of the disadvantages is that the check in area is not centrally located; it is close to the entry to the resort, but not close to any of the resort buildings. The main pool and the food court are sort of in the middle of the resort and are readily accessible by pathways where ever you are. The preferred rooms are the ones closest to the food court. There are several bus stops, so even if you are not close to the food court, you may be very close to the bus stop.

You will run into the same problem with distance for any of the moderate resorts. They all are large and not all the rooms are close to the food courtand/or pools. I am also not sure that all of them have preferred areas, so at least at CBR, if you have a preferred room, you will be closer. You should request 1st floor for medical reasons (make sure to state it that way). Since the resort buildings are only 2 stories, you pretty much have a 50/50 chance of getting first floor without making any request.
Here's a link to the DIS site page about CBR.

 

[goofieslonglostsis]

I would say there is no one 'best' resort for someone who is disabled. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages.

AMEN to that! To illustrate; a lot of folks do not like CBR because of how spread out it is. Me? I LOVE it because of this fact! It's not as if I get tired by pushing the joystick of my powerchair forward for a bit longer distance at the resort, or my feet start hurting after a long day of walking. However, because many folks do not like CBR, many of those using mobility aids do not prefer to stay at CBR. Beats me why, but I like it. Less of us simply means less demend for those spots on the bus, which equals a higher chance of getting on the first bus that comes along instead of the WC spots being full. Even at park closings, I've only had it happen once that I had to wait for the next bus because there were 2 ECV's in front of me.

One advantage of CBR is that it has the largest rooms of any of the moderate resorts. It is nicely themed and has paved walkways around the whole resort.
One of the disadvantages is that the check in area is not centrally located; it is close to the entry to the resort, but not close to any of the resort buildings.

I know many folks don't like it, but I never understood that. I check in once, that's it. Hop onto the resort shuttle to your village and you're at the room pretty quickly. Or walk to it, it's a beautifull walk. Because there is a concierge desk inside of Old Port Royale, I find I can take care of all of my needs right there by hopping by when getting myself a drink, something to eat etc.

The main pool and the food court are sort of in the middle of the resort and are readily accessible by pathways where ever you are. The preferred rooms are the ones closest to the food court. There are several bus stops, so even if you are not close to the food court, you may be very close to the bus stop.


Honestly though, it ALL depends on personal wishes, needs, likes and dislikes.

 

[fla4fun]

When we are traveling with a scooter, I prefer to be at one of the Epcot resorts. You can walk (or ride in this case) to Epcot and DHS without using Disney transport at all (or you can take a boat if you prefer). You would only have to take a bus to MK and AK.

My second choice would be one of the monorail resorts, because in our experience it's been easier to get a scooter on and off the monorail than the bus (and we don't hold everyone up loading and unloading either). You would still have to take a bus to two parks though - DHS and AK.

There's no resort on property where you won't have to take a bus somewhere.

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

The easiest will be a monorail resort as you can just wheel onto the monorail.

From what I observed the Poly or GF would be easiest.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

The easiest will be a monorail resort as you can just wheel onto the monorail.

From what I observed the Poly or GF would be easiest.

I would say the Contemporary is the easiest, especially if they go for a room in the Tower. My reasons is all the restaurants, stores, rooms, and lobby would be in one location and all you need is to use the elevator to access everything. Plus while on the 4th floor they also have an elevator that is just for guests in wheelchairs with access to the Monorail station.

 

[Redbudlover]

Having used a scooter I can say that a resort being spread out affected me not at all! It may affect the walking members in your party, but bot the one on a scooter. I loved it. I could move quickly and easily anywhere. Boats and monorails were no problem. Buses take a little time, but boy the bus drivers know how to handle it. I loved being able to enjoy the trip when I used a scooter - no back pain from long walks and no fatigue. Really I would not worry about choosing a resort based on buses or monorails. Choose on other things you want.

 

[ElizabethB]

We stayed at GF RPC specifically so my mom would have easy access to the monorail with her rented ECV. Well, she found it difficult to maneuver the thing onto the monorail and ended up hating trying to get on and off the monorail with it. We never tried Disney buses.

It worked much better to use our rented van. Mom has a handicapped permit and fortunately she brought that along. We loaded the scooter in the van, drove to whichever park or resort we were going to, parked in handicapped parking at the parks, which is usually pretty close to the entrance, and valet-parked at the resorts. Valet parking is free (except for tip) with a handicapped permit.

So, upshot is we spent a ton of money for monorail access and found out it was much easier just to load the ECV in the van and drive where we wanted to go.

So, my recommendation is pick any hotel you want (except OKW since I don't think it has elevators). Then rent a van.