Early check in for special needs?

[disneydreamin247]

I know that having a room ready early is a request and is in no way guaranteed, however I also know that there is a line for guests with special needs. My question is if I request that my room is ready early for my DS with ASD would they be able to accommodate that request? I would bring all necessary paperwork from the doctor. I just know that my son would absolutely need to have some down time in the room before we could even think about venturing anywhere else. And I have also thought out taking a later flight, but morning is his absolute best time of the day.

 

[brergnat]

I don't know that there is anything that can be done, honestly. If the hotel is full, especially, it takes a bit AFTER a guest checks out (11am) for the room to be cleaned, etc.

What time do you arrive? I would suggest calling the hotel a few days prior (or faxing a note). Explain the situation, and hope for the best.

Have a backup plan, in case your room is not ready early. I'd not plan for the parks, but there is a lot you can do to occupy a young one for a few hours, if necessary, and much of it can be very calming/relaxing.

I see you'll be at the Poly. VERY convenient! Your son probably loves trains, right? (don't all ASD kids?). He will probably be fascinated by the monorail! You can ride it around and around as long as you want. OR, you can get off and "explore" the different hotels. Or, if that's not something your son would like, just take a walk to the Poly beach and have a seat in one of the hammocks or swing benches. Some gentle swinging might be calming, and you can see the castle from there, and watch the monorails go around. I think it would be really a nice way to pass the time.

I know what you're saying, though. I have a 3.5 year old autistic son, and we did a 3 night stay at DLR last October (his first hotel stay) and since we live so close, we purposely did not leave for the hotel until 2:30pm (check in time is 3pm at GCH), so when we arrived, we knew our room would be ready right away.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

This will not work.

The Special (Medical) Reservations are to make sure that you are assigned to a room which meets the disabled person's physical needs, as there are a limiterd number of rooms in each resort which are accessible.

Normal check out time at the Resorts is 11:00, and normal check in is 3:00. Cleaning of a room cannot start until the departing Guest has actually cheked out. The Front Desk cannot tell Housekeeping a specific order in which to clean rooms; the Housekeepers work according to a schedule based on checkouts and stayovers.

The only way you could be sure to get into your room early is if that particular room was not occupied the night before and therefore does not require cleaning.

About the only thing that you could do is have the requests section of your reservation state you need an early check-in, but this is only a request.

You might also try, about four days prior to arrival, to call the "Rooms Assigner" at your resort and ask if you could be blocked into a room that is scheduled to be vacant the night before. But again this is only a request and other people's plans could change; such as let's say you were assigned to a room where it was expected to be empty the night before. But that day there was a walk-in Guest who needed a room for one night and it was given to them..

And, BTW, as a person who on occasion works in Guest Relations, a doctor's note has no meaning or authority to me. There is no way I am going to do anything to verify that it was done by a doctor and not someone on their home computer.

 

[disneydreamin247]

I don't know that there is anything that can be done, honestly. If the hotel is full, especially, it takes a bit AFTER a guest checks out (11am) for the room to be cleaned, etc.

What time do you arrive? I would suggest calling the hotel a few days prior (or faxing a note). Explain the situation, and hope for the best.

Have a backup plan, in case your room is not ready early. I'd not plan for the parks, but there is a lot you can do to occupy a young one for a few hours, if necessary, and much of it can be very calming/relaxing.

I see you'll be at the Poly. VERY convenient! Your son probably loves trains, right? (don't all ASD kids?). He will probably be fascinated by the monorail! You can ride it around and around as long as you want. OR, you can get off and "explore" the different hotels. Or, if that's not something your son would like, just take a walk to the Poly beach and have a seat in one of the hammocks or swing benches. Some gentle swinging might be calming, and you can see the castle from there, and watch the monorails go around. I think it would be really a nice way to pass the time.

I know what you're saying, though. I have a 3.5 year old autistic son, and we did a 3 night stay at DLR last October (his first hotel stay) and since we live so close, we purposely did not leave for the hotel until 2:30pm (check in time is 3pm at GCH), so when we arrived, we knew our room would be ready right away.

Thank you very much for your help. We do not have a flight YET, but I PLAN on getting one that leaves early enough for him to be dealable, but not TOO early so that by the time we deboard, get to the ME and check in and get to the Poly it will be very close to check in time. I'm hoping for a 10 am flight so by the time we finish it will be around 2:30.

He really will just need to do his stims and being in the room would be easiest to deal and just let him spin, jump, flap, and twitch. Hopefully it will work out, if not his butt is going in the stroller and on the monorail lol. And about the trains, DS loves ALL vehicles lol.

 

[SueM in MN]

Even if the room that was tentatively assigned to you is not ready, there may be a room available when you check in that will meet your needs.
If your room is not available, ask is there are any rooms available that would meet your needs.

 

[brergnat]

Okay, to be honest, let him do his stims wherever he wants! The Poly lobby is plenty spacious and loud (lots of people visit/eat there) and he won't hardly be noticed.

I don't know your son, but my son has his days with stimming behaviors (although, luckily, he's very mildly affected by his autism in general) and I could care less if he is flapping his hands, rolling his head, yelping, or spinning wherever we are. The only times that it is unacceptable is when we're in a restaurant or elsewhere with people in close proximity that may be disturbed. He knows this and usually is able to control himself.

If your room is not ready, walk your son out to the beach. He can run around, spin, yell, etc. No one will be bothered. It's a big beach.

Is this your son's first trip to WDW? Is he a sensory seeker? I would guess so based on his stims (needs to create movement/noise). My son is a seeker and he is at his CALMEST when we go to Disneyland (we go a lot). I think he likes it so much because there is SO much going on around him (noise, music, movement, etc) that for once, HE does not have to be the one making all the noise/creating the movement. He just sits in his stroller and seems to be in some sort of nirvana state. It's wonderful! He never stims at DL...he is just so interested in everything and just soaks it all in very quietly.

 

[disneydreamin247]

Thanks for the tip SueM! Good to know. I don't plan on getting there exorbitantly early, only about a half hour to an hour.

And yes he has lots of sensory and behavior issues. That's his main problem. I wouldn't mind letting him stim in public at all because if other people have an issue with his disability then that's exactly what it is- THEIR problem. But he can be hard to control, especially if I am alone. Sometimes when he starts stimming his behavior gets WILD- they may want to add him to the safari in AK lol. He often gets violent which is my major concern. I'm afraid after containing himself in an airport, on a plane, and all the way to the resort he might be at his exploding point.


I really appreciate everyone's help and advice!! Thank you.

 

[LauraVV]

My question is if I request that my room is ready early for my DS with ASD would they be able to accommodate that request?

Maybe it would be easier to spend an extra day at Disney where you could wind down. The pool and the beach at the poly are wonderful. There's a nice grassy field off to the side of the complex (opposite from the transportation center) that's pretty quiet and nothing but grass. You can watch the monorail and run around there.

 

[SueM in MN]

Maybe it would be easier to spend an extra day at Disney where you could wind down. The pool and the beach at the poly are wonderful. There's a nice grassy field off to the side of the complex (opposite from the transportation center) that's pretty quiet and nothing but grass. You can watch the monorail and run around there.

That made me think of another good point.
Even if the room isn't ready, you can still check in (ie, get all the paperwork done and give your luggage to Bell Services to hold until you can actually get into your room). You get a key and a number to call later to find out if your room is ready and get your room number.
That leaves you free to go on the monorail or grounds without having to worry about your luggage or checking in later. When you get into the room, you just call Bell Services and they will bring your luggage to your room.

 

[dclfun]

I've often gotten to the front desk at a resort and been told my room wasn't ready yet. I've then asked "is there any other room available that we could have instead?" and sometimes that has worked. Since you aren't requiring a special needs room your chances of this being a possibility are much greater. Also, are you using DME? If so, when you check in at the airport before you board the busses, you can ask a CM if they would call over to the Poly to let them know you're on your way and are wanting to be able to get into your room asap due to a special needs child. When I worked in Ground Services for DCL we sometimes had families who were on a land/sea package and thus headed to a resort who had an ill family member. We would call ahead to the resort to let them know to assist this family asap with a room, etc. While your son isn't ill, there's still a medical need. I'm sure they'll do as much as they possibly can to help him settle in. Also, there's a pretty big waiting area before you get into the queue lines to board the busses. Letting your son let off some tension there might not be a bad idea if you think he can tolerate doing some stimming without escalating to the point of becoming harder for you to manage. ---Kathy

 

[disneydreamin247]

You all have been most helpful. Thanks so much. A lot of people never understand, or just roll their eyes like you're over reacting or asking for special treatment. I hate that feeling. Thanks for your understanding! It really means a lot. If we were traveling with someone else to help it wouldn't really be an issue because 2 people can control him, but alone is totally different!

 

[mechurchlady]

I read this suggestion a while back online. Make a business card that states your son's first name, disorder, symptoms, things he likes and dislikes. When someone is staring at your kid you can quietly hand them the card and let them see that your kid is not a spoiled brat. It saves you energy explaining and sometimes makes people feel small for having rolled their eyes, snarled, and had hissy fits over a little boy who cannot help making noise and scurring about.

 

[BeckyScott]

We call them the kiss-off cards. We call them something else when the kids can't hear us.

There used to be a guy on ebay who sold a generic one, and a couple of the autism organizations sell them too.

 

[D L and K's Mom]

My son has quite a few special needs. In the past we have been able to check in and get a room that will not be ours (not handicapped access) to use while we wait. On many occasions the room has not been cleaned yet. All we really need is the tv and a place to change a diaper. At POR they let us go in back and use what I would guess was an employee lounge for an hour or so. I always call 5 days ahead of time and explain why and then I call again the day before. All CMS have been great to us. We only travel the week of July 4th and Christmas (we are both teachers so we can't take time off) and it is busy but they have always been able to help us out. Good Luck!

 

[shellybaxter]

Is it possbile to pay for the night before and therefore have a room that is "already yours" at the hotel when you arrive? I know I've done this before at other hotels (when traveling for business and needing a room to prepare for a conference presentation) but not at Disney so I don't know if they can arrange this set up. If they can you might want to consider whether it would be worth it to you to pay the extra night

 

[D L and K's Mom]

On our last trip we got stuck in Atlanta overnight. When we got to WDW we foudn that they had given our room away...we had asked for a specific kind of room and it was supposed to be handicapped access. We were unable to check in until around 5:00. I dont think paying for an extra night will work. We had paid for Dec 23 and didnt arrive until the 24th and they didnt have a room ready or even a room for us until after check in time . (Then it was the wrong type but I dont want to get into that and it was Christmas time so it really was not their fault) Good luck it is worth a try.

 

[crashbb]

If you call and tell them that you won't be arriving until the next morning, it should work. I've done it when taking redeye flights and wanting to guarantee I had a place to check into right away.

 

[D L and K's Mom]

We had made all arrangement before we left for a handicapped room (with the hotel and Special services) in the Alligator Bayou section something close to the main bldg and the pool so we could use DS wheelchair even if it was raining we didnt need to be near the bus as we had a van with us (we had a problem in the mansion section....same room 2 times in a row., very far from main bldg and food court..) I called the day before and spoke to the Mgr who had been helping us. She talked about her sister who was handicapped etc. we had a nice talk and she told me the rooms were all set. I called the next day when we knew we were going to be stuck in Atlanta (our layover) and was unable to talk to the same person but I was told everything would be all set for us. When we got there we checked in and there were some problems. Rooms were not near each other, none was a handicapped access room and they were in the Mansion section. I know you cannot ask for a specific room but I had spoken to a mgr on numerous occasions about this. I even offered to pay for an upgrade to a different kind of room but was told there was nothing left (Dec 24) Well it took quite some time and we did get 2 rooms close by BUT the handicapped room was the SAME EXACT room we had on our 2 previous trips. I was disappointed as it was very far from the pool and main bldg and it was the one room I requested we not get again and again and again. Calling ahead may not help at all.

 

[shellybaxter]

We had made all arrangement before we left for a handicapped room (with the hotel and Special services) in the Alligator Bayou section something close to the main bldg and the pool so we could use DS wheelchair even if it was raining we didnt need to be near the bus as we had a van with us (we had a problem in the mansion section....same room 2 times in a row., very far from main bldg and food court..) I called the day before and spoke to the Mgr who had been helping us. She talked about her sister who was handicapped etc. we had a nice talk and she told me the rooms were all set. I called the next day when we knew we were going to be stuck in Atlanta (our layover) and was unable to talk to the same person but I was told everything would be all set for us. When we got there we checked in and there were some problems. Rooms were not near each other, none was a handicapped access room and they were in the Mansion section. I know you cannot ask for a specific room but I had spoken to a mgr on numerous occasions about this. I even offered to pay for an upgrade to a different kind of room but was told there was nothing left (Dec 24) Well it took quite some time and we did get 2 rooms close by BUT the handicapped room was the SAME EXACT room we had on our 2 previous trips. I was disappointed as it was very far from the pool and main bldg and it was the one room I requested we not get again and again and again. Calling ahead may not help at all.

But when you called from Atlanta did you offer to pay for the room for the night you would not be staying at Disney (while you were stuck in Atlanta)? That might be the way that the OP could have a room when she checks in. For example, if she is arriving the morning of the 2nd of the month she would arrange to pay for a room on the 1st, that way a room wouldn't be "saved" for her - she'd actually be paying for a room, just as she were already there. Disney may or may not allow this, but they do allow it at other hotels.

 

[D L and K's Mom]

but I think we did pay for it. I am not sure though. We had a package and I know that DH got money back for hotel, park pass and DP for the day from our trip insurance for the part we missed...I think we had paid for it on paper but had not checked in yet??? I am not sure.... Good point though. I never really even thought of it until you wrote it.