Does Disney Always Honor Room Requests for Medical Reasons?

[sherry8253]

I am a cancer patient and on chemo. I plan to rent a scooter in the parks because I tire very quickly. I want to request a room close to the elevators (if we go deluxe) or close to parking if we decide to stay at CSR. I really don't care about view for this trip - just location. Has anyone ever arrived to find out this type of request was not honored? Some of the rooms at resorts such as the AKL are so far away and after a day at the parks, it would be hard for me to walk that far.

 

[dclfun]

While requests for medical reasons are noted, they are never guaranteed, unless you are travelling in a wheelchair and must have a roll in shower, or ground floor in a resort that doesn't have elevators because physically you can't do stairs. Even for a guest in a wheelchair the only way to have a roll in shower gtd is to have the request noted through Special Services where the room is blocked for you in advance. That said, I've only had issues a few times in the past- once at CSR where we were placed soooo far away from the main building in the summer. It was a long hike to get to the food court for my service dog whose paws were burning on the black-top, but we were close to one of the bus stops- just not convenient at all. My son is on dialysis and also tires easily and I can relate to the long hikes through the halls at AKL we had one time. It was a struggle for him. Be sure you talk to the agent who books the res to put good notes with the request and you may want to contact the resort directly a week or so before arrival to stress that your request for location is based on a medical need, not just a want.---Kathy

 

[clc053103]

We arrived at BWV to find we were assigned a room 1 door over from DHS (seriously, it was like out the window!!) the walk from the elevator was a good 10 minutes. WE immediately called down and advised that our mother (who recovered from two ankle fractures just a month before) could use to be closer to the elevator. they accomodated us no questions asked. If you advise of your medical request prior, I can't see why they wouldn't accomodate you.

Good luck to you, hope to see your cancer-free posting soon!!!!

 

[lunapnp]

While requests for medical reasons are noted, they are never guaranteed, unless you are travelling in a wheelchair and must have a roll in shower, or ground floor in a resort that doesn't have elevators because physically you can't do stairs. Even for a guest in a wheelchair the only way to have a roll in shower gtd is to have the request noted through Special Services where the room is blocked for you in advance. That said, I've only had issues a few times in the past- once at CSR where we were placed soooo far away from the main building in the summer. It was a long hike to get to the food court for my service dog whose paws were burning on the black-top, but we were close to one of the bus stops- just not convenient at all. My son is on dialysis and also tires easily and I can relate to the long hikes through the halls at AKL we had one time. It was a struggle for him. Be sure you talk to the agent who books the res to put good notes with the request and you may want to contact the resort directly a week or so before arrival to stress that your request for location is based on a medical need, not just a want.---Kathy

Hey Kathy. You got me to wondering...are there any Disney resorts that DO NOT have elevators? These days, that seems so far fetched to me...but I'm sure it's possible. We were at the beach recently and went to a restaurant. I knew when we pulled up that the lack of ANY handicap parking was a bad sign. The restaurant was upstairs...and you guessed it...no elevator. Fortunately, DD can walk and do stairs with a lot of assistance so we were able to enjoy a delicious meal...but it blows my mind that some places would not have an elevator. The manager said the restaurant was built before the ADA so they were "grandfathered" in.

BTW--- love your service dog pics! My oldest DD just received a "skilled companion" about a week ago!

 

[safetymom]

Caribbean Beach doesn't have elevators. It is only a 2 story resort.

 

[fla4fun]

Aren't there some buildings at OKW that don't have elevators? I also don't remember elevators at the AB section of POR when we stayed there.

 

[dogodisney]

Aren't there some buildings at OKW that don't have elevators? I also don't remember elevators at the AB section of POR when we stayed there.

No, they do not have elevators.

 

[PatsMom]

I am a cancer patient and on chemo. I plan to rent a scooter in the parks because I tire very quickly. I want to request a room close to the elevators (if we go deluxe) or close to parking if we decide to stay at CSR. I really don't care about view for this trip - just location. Has anyone ever arrived to find out this type of request was not honored? Some of the rooms at resorts such as the AKL are so far away and after a day at the parks, it would be hard for me to walk that far.

You should check out the DISabilities board. The folks over there will have lots of advice on renting scooters. The time I was looking into it I had concluded that it would be cheaper to rent from an outside company than from Disney. With the bonus that the scooter would be with me at all times. So then the distances at the resort wouldn't be such an issue.

Good luck with your chemo. Its a tough road to travel. Make sure to use hand sanitizer a lot and you might also want to bring disinfectant wipes to give an extra swipe to some surfaces in your room like the remote control, doorknobs, etc. I'm not normally picky about that stuff but with a compromised immune system from the chemo, you could be vulnerable to infection.

 

[mbanks21]

Yes Disney will do their best to accomodate medical requests but they cant make more rooms appear if there are none. nothing is guaranteed

 

[aubriee]

Last Sept I had requested Buildings 14, 18, or 27 at PORS and had them add it was for medical reasons for my elderly mom with diabetes and really bad knees. When we got the confirmation our request was noted on it along with the fact that it was for medical reasons. When we arrived we were assigned to the backside of Acadia House. After explaining the situation and why my mom needed to be closer to the food court, the very nice CM found us a room on the ground floor in Building 18.

 

[cinderkeli]

No nothing is guarenteed. Last year I went during my chemo treatments as well. I tried for months to get a preferred room and there was none. I wanted a room on the ground floor and near the food court or bus stop because I tire soooo quickly. When I got there they had assigned me a room on the third floor at POP and it was so far away. I ask if they could check if there was another room available and they tried very hard to do that for me and we did end up with a first floor (I just could not do stairs) near the bus stop. They even want to provide me with a wheelchair for my whole trip. I thought that was really nice of them to do that. Good Luck on your treatments and have a wonderful trip. I did.

 

[DebbieB]

Aren't there some buildings at OKW that don't have elevators? I also don't remember elevators at the AB section of POR when we stayed there.

Only the 3 newest buildings at OKW have elevators - 62, 63, 64. The rest do not, some are 3 stories.

 

[Pooh Bear Hugs]

In all the years we have traveled to Disneyworld they have never once failed to honour a medical needs request. Sometimes they forget but it gets sorted.

 

[sherry8253]

No nothing is guarenteed. Last year I went during my chemo treatments as well. I tried for months to get a preferred room and there was none. I wanted a room on the ground floor and near the food court or bus stop because I tire soooo quickly. When I got there they had assigned me a room on the third floor at POP and it was so far away. I ask if they could check if there was another room available and they tried very hard to do that for me and we did end up with a first floor (I just could not do stairs) near the bus stop. They even want to provide me with a wheelchair for my whole trip. I thought that was really nice of them to do that. Good Luck on your treatments and have a wonderful trip. I did.

Thanks everyone for your input. The resorts that are lacking elevators listing is also very helpful. I will check out the disabilities board about a scooter. Cinderkeli, hope you are finished with your chemo and are cancer free. I know what you mean about not being about to walk up to the third floor. I don't think I would make it, especially toward the end of the day. I am planning on having a wonderful trip. I just finished my first 6 mos of chemo last week. No more chemo until after my surgery in early Oct. Then back on 6 more months of chemo. I am so looking forward to the magic of Disney.

 

[twoplustwins]

what happens if they do not honor the request? If a request is made because of a medical condition, it is not the vacationer's fault.
I would prefer a room closer to the food court, but it is not a necessity. However, it is a medical necessity to be away from the designated smoking area.

I just wonder how they handle these situations.

 

[AJA]

what happens if they do not honor the request? If a request is made because of a medical condition, it is not the vacationer's fault.
I would prefer a room closer to the food court, but it is not a necessity. However, it is a medical necessity to be away from the designated smoking area.

I just wonder how they handle these situations.

It's not a guarantee even with a medical necessity. Last year I requested a building/room that had always been non smoking (I know all resorts are now no smoking in rooms but you can sometimes still tell they had been smoked in if someone is very sensitive) due to DD's having serious asthma issues (we always bring rescue inhalers, meds, the whole 9 yards with us just in case) on the phone the CM's acted like everything would totally be honored, no problem, well...when we arrived to our 'used to be smoking building' I called to let the front desk know due to our 'medical necessity' we needed to be moved, we were informed they didn't have anything else for us. of course it turned out to be fine, DD never had a problem.

We do travel a few times a year, every single hotel I've ever made ressies at has been more than happy to make sure we were in a totally non-smoking room (section that had never been used for smoking) but not Disney.