DVC ownership /specials needs

[bababear_50]

Suppose I am a DVC owner and my home resort is OKW,,,now in a few years I can't use stairs anymore ,,,what would be my options ,,I still want to be able to use the 11th month window and want to stay at OKW.

Can I request ground floor no stairs -medical ?and would i have a guaranteee this would happen?
Would a medical note help?



What if no rooms avaliable at OKW with my needs would they allow me to make a ressie at SSR at the 11th month window even if it wasn't my home resort.

Thanks for your help

 

[bababear_50]

I just realized many here might not be aware of what special needs means I see alot of Handicap postings .

'I'm a special needs teacher which just means I work with kids and adults who have special needs (Handicap),,crummy I'd actually get fired for using that antiquated word .anyhow hope someone can help .
Mel

 

[Chuck S]

I don't think you'll have a problem at OKW, except perhaps if you want a Grand Villa. There is only one ground floor Grand Villa, and none of the OKW grand Villas have access to the second floor bedrooms.

Other than that 1/3 of OKW rooms are first floor rooms, plus the handful of rooms in the elevator buildings (62,63 & 64)

Be sure to note that it is a medical necessity to be on the ground floor. However, the odds change a little if you HAVE to have a HA modified unit (roll in shower, lower beds, lower counter tops) not all ground floor units are HA modified. But, if you DO need a modified unit, they can be blocked for you by special services.

 

[bababear_50]

Thanks Chuck
I've been trying to convince myself that I'd have to buy into another resort than OKW as my home resort since I got home from Disney.

As much as every resort I saw was wow, OKW just felt like "HOME" to me.
Thanks again

 

[DrShifty]

It's important that you do as Chuck says and tell them "medical necessity" and not just "request". You get priority over all of the other requests. When I've requested first floor or near elevators for special needs (in-laws coming with bad knees and use wheelchair intermittently, etc.), have never had a problem. WHen, I've requested it for convenience (strollers, etc.), have not always gotten it.

 

[Dean]

The only way to guarantee access without stairs is to get a HC unit and jump through the additional hoops with DVC for the department that coordinates such. I do agree that if you request and say for medical reasons you'll have a great chance of success though if you make that request and won't accept a HC unit, you may be setting yourself up.

 

[bababear_50]

I guess that makes me just plain Grrrrr angry

I have been in the field of working with people with special needs for years ,and NOT all of us are the same . We all have different needs.

Just because I might not be able to climb stairs doesn't mean I need a H/A
room.
Guess I'll have to work harder to help Disney see each person as an individual.

 

[Dean]

I guess that makes me just plain Grrrrr angry

I have been in the field of working with people with special needs for years ,and NOT all of us are the same . We all have different needs.

Just because I might not be able to climb stairs doesn't mean I need a H/A
room.
Guess I'll have to work harder to help Disney see each person as an individual.

I understand what you're saying but what would you have them do? The only way to guarantee a room you can access is to get a HC unit, anything else simply becomes a request that is not guaranteed. Such is the world of timeshares, DVC is actually pretty good in this area. They don't have different types of HC units and no other way to guarantee any request. My experience is that a medical request is usually granted, but not always. Or one could chose a resort where all units would be accessible without stairs, OKW and HH are the only two that don't fit that bill from my recollection.

 

[bababear_50]

I guess what I've learned from the past is "Nothing is impossible "

I'll go for the request and when the time comes I'll go for the guarantee .

I do think Disney is World Class for the accomadations they have made for people with special needs . I also believe this will only get better in the future ,but as the population ages Disney may need some direction on how to meet that supply of needs .

 

[Dean]

I guess what I've learned from the past is "Nothing is impossible "

I'll go for the request and when the time comes I'll go for the guarantee .

I do think Disney is World Class for the accomadations they have made for people with special needs . I also believe this will only get better in the future ,but as the population ages Disney may need some direction on how to meet that supply of needs .

To be honest, I only see this getting worse as the population that owns OKW & HH age though right now there are more HC units than are needed. I sincerely doubt we'll see any system changes that will affect these issues. DVC has moved toward less emphasis on requests now than in the past. By offering a HC option, they've fulfilled their legal requirements. If it's not available, the ball is back in the members court.

 

[bababear_50]

That's ok cause this future member is used to fighting for kids and adult's rights so let me at em

You are right though only DVC members can help Disney address any changes for the future of DVC . I can understand the future difficulties OKW may face but solutions can and are found everyday .

 

[CarolA]

You could also ask for one of the new units with the eleveators.

When I took my friends MIL I requested first floor or elevator unit for medical reasons. We got a first floor unit with no issue. (There are LOTS of them at OKW so unless you are checking in on something like Christmas Day I can't see it's a huge problem LOL!)

However, having stayed in several accessible rooms at OKW I can attest that (A) you don't only get them on request and (B) contrary to this boards views they are fine. So you might get one just because that's what's on the first floor NOT because you requested a first floor unit for Medical Reasons (And I believe in Karma don't complain or you may find you need it some day and it's NOT available!)

 

[BCV23]

At BCV the 2 BR units with rollin showers are all lockoffs. I called once to reserve one and there was no availbility for lockoffs although there were still 2 BR dedicated. So we were (temporarily) out of luck. I don't think that is just. We could not even get to the next step of requesting an accessible unit because no lockoffs were available.

In the end, a lockoff opened up But the situation does frustrate me.

 

[Pootle]

The only way to guarantee access without stairs is to get a HC unit and jump through the additional hoops with DVC for the department that coordinates such. I do agree that if you request and say for medical reasons you'll have a great chance of success though if you make that request and won't accept a HC unit, you may be setting yourself up.

I need a first floor room for medical reasons - but not HC - and have never been disappointed at OKW in more than 25 check-ins.

Next month I'll be there again and I just took a look at my confirmation and to my surprise it actually says 'Guaranteed ground floor/medical reasons'. I've never had the word 'Guaranteed' before.

 

[Dean]

I need a first floor room for medical reasons - but not HC - and have never been disappointed at OKW in more than 25 check-ins.

Next month I'll be there again and I just took a look at my confirmation and to my surprise it actually says 'Guaranteed ground floor/medical reasons'. I've never had the word 'Guaranteed' before.

There was a post recently about someone who had a HC unit booked and was bumped because it wasn't coordinated with the Disney special needs people. I agree the current chances of success are very high but not 100% by any means.