Guaranteed NS and non HA rooms...

[lenshanem]

I wish they woudl make non smoking and non HA rooms a guarante just liek they do lock offs and the BW view. That way you know that if you make your ressie 11 months out you'd get thsoe requests.
Coudl thsi ever happen?
Or wodul it not work?

 

[Chuck S]

Since there is no medical need that I can think of that would REQUIRE a guaranteed non-HA room, I doubt we'll ever see that---unless MS has a major update to their computer system.

Also, the percentage of smoking optional rooms is relatively small vs. the overall number of rooms available. I've only taken a smoking room once in 11 years (by my choice, it was ready - I would have had to wait for a NS room). medical NS requests receive priority over standard NS requests. As the need for smoking rooms will probably decrease over the life of the contract, I would expect more rooms to be converted to NS.

But any room "guarantee" just adds congestion to the room ressie system AND what if rooms have to go down unexpectedly because of problems? Rooms could go out-of-service even as you're boarding the plane for WDW.

 

[lrdgrifter]

My apologies for my ignorance, but could somebody fill me in on "HA"? I get that NS is non-smoking, but what does HA stand for?

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Originally posted by lrdgrifter
My apologies for my ignorance, but could somebody fill me in on "HA"? I get that NS is non-smoking, but what does HA stand for?

I assumed it to mean handicapped accessible.

While I am not sure how practical/possible this change would be, it would certainly be a welcomed change!

MG

 

[Chuck S]

HA is Handicap Accessible.

 

[LoveToDisney]

We have made our first reservation at BCV with a request for Non-smoking, but I didn't think about Non-handicap accessible. How different are those rooms at BCV if we get stuck with one?
Thanks!

 

[Chuck S]

It depends on the room. Studios will have no bathtub, only a roll in shower. 1 bedroom & Larger units will not have a shower stall, but a roll in shower..they still have the jacuzzi tub. LIttle or no under counter storage to allow for wheelchair turning radius. Beds may be lower to the floor and toilets will probably be raised, like the handicap toilets in a public restroom.

 

[LoveToDisney]

Since we reserved our 2 BR villa at the 11 month window and did NOT request to have a handicap access room, what are the chances that they would stick us in one? I would assume those rooms are filled last so they are kept open for requests, but I'm all new to the Disney way of doing villas and how they assign rooms.
Thanks!

 

[Chuck S]

When you arrive at the resort, they will try to find a ready room that meets some of your requests. If you requested NS and a HA room is available that meets that request, and if the HA room is not needed by another arriving guests for medical reasons, you may be offered that room...as far as "getting stuck" with one...
when you check in ASK if it is a HA room...if it is, tell the CM you'd like a different room. I have booked at the 11month window and have been assigned to a HA room without requesting one. While it makes no difference to us, I tell them I don't mind having the HA room BUT if someone else arrives and needs it for medical reasons, they are free to move us...as long as they don't charge us for the move.

 

[crisi]

We reserved eleven months out, our requests were BWV (which became guarenteed during that eleven months) and non-smoking. 2 Bedroom.

We arrived at 1:00 and got a smoking Handicapped Accessible room. Neither was an issue for us. We only knew it was smoking when I noticed it was lacking the non-smoking symbol by the number a few days into the trip. And HA wasn't a big deal at all for us (2 seniors, 2 adults and 2 preschoolers). I wouldn't sweat it and take what you get and decide for yourself if HA is a big deal, unless you have some specific issues (medical needs for non-smoking, getting a studio and need a tub for kids). It would have been nice to have the kitchen bar (missing from a HA room), but we had plenty of counterspace, and quickly figured out how to keep the floor in the bathroom from getting wet.

I'll keep requesting non-smoking (like most non-smokers, if a room is noticeable smoky it bothers me - this one didn't happen to be), but I'd worry about other requests before I worried about HA (at BW - close to the elevators, high floor).

 

[floridafam]

IMO, MS should be able to guarantee NS or S rooms. We MUST have non-smoking. I can't see how it is any different than reserving a particular view.

If their wasn't a NS room available at a resort when I called to book then I would simply book somewhere else.

It seems like both smokers and non-smokers would be happy with guaranteed rooms.

 

[LoveToDisney]

Thanks Crisi and Chuck - your comments help.
I need a non-smoking villa because of a severe allergy so that's the only thing that I put on the request since it was so important (although I didn't mention the allergy). I guess I'll see what I get. Since this is our first time it would be nice to be in a regular room (non HA) so we would know what they look like. I figured since we didn't know about getting an upper level room, we will probably be on the ground floor, but never thought about the HA option being a problem. We are just so thrilled at being on Disney property and at BCV!
Thanks again!

 

[DebbieB]

I wouldn't worry so much about the non-HA room. Many people talk about them but in reality there aren't that many. In 9 DVC trips, I've never been assigned one. I always ask at the front desk to be sure before I leave but it has never come up. There are some requests that might increase your changes - like first floor at OKW or near the elevators at BWV. Also if you are looking for a ready room early in the day, they may have a HA available, then you have to decide if you want to take it or wait.

I don't think they are going to guarantee smoking pref or HA pref (except for medical reasons). They have to juggle the available rooms on any given day and creating more categories makes it harder.

 

[pmcpmc]

I requested 5th floor BWV got ground floor handicap access and had to pay to move two days later.
MY wife spends a lot of time on the Balcony reading.
We then got 4th floor Boardwalk view first time and she loved it for the rest of the three weeks

 

[CarolMN]

Originally posted by crisi
...(snip).......and quickly figured out how to keep the floor in the bathroom from getting wet.......

Would you mind sharing?

We haven't received an HA room yet, but over the next several years, it's bound to happen sometime.

THANKS!

 

[colleen costello]

HA rooms are mostly a problem in a studio room. There may be no vanity and no closet, and for a family of 4, that's a real problem. As I have commented before, even the Motel 6 has those!

Just ask at check-in. Tell them you need a tub and a closet.

I could not, would not, take a smoking room. We are all allergy folks and it's gross besides. Again, Motel 6 can guarantee S/NS. What's with Mickey?

 

[DisneyMeMa]

My guess is that at least 10% of the DVC accommodations are HA. I have based this guess on the information that was released when BCV opened. I think it was the BCV manager that released the following: 78 dedicated two bedrooms; 74 lock-off two bedrooms; 36 studios and 20 one bedrooms. There are 29 HA rooms. He stated there were a total of 282 keys - this allows for a key to the studio part, and a key for the one bedroom part of the two bedroom lock-offs. Again, this is just a guess based on one DVC resort, but either we had just been unlucky in our room assignments or there is at least this amount. We are a family that does not need, nor do we want HA accommodations -we also want NS. I would like to know when we make our reservations what to expect. If we had this information, then we could decide if we wanted to change resorts, size of accommodations, dates, etc. or just "make do". Sometimes it doesn't make much difference to us, but other times it really does.

 

[lenshanem]

I wodul change resorts if I couldn't get NS and a non HA room. We mostly stay in studios and I need the tub to bathe my kids. I would like to know that if I book t 11 months out I'll get a tub! Like others have siad, most other hotel chains will quarantee thsi.

 

[Dean]

I'd rather stay home than have either smoking or a HA room.

 

[crisi]

Yep,

To keep the floor from getting wet:

In a ha room (at least the room we had) the shower is on a hose - which in some ways is really nice. And the shower is huge -- also in some ways really nice. So trick one is to make sure that the head doesn't point at the shower curtain. If it does point at the curtain, the water will run down the curtain, hit the ramp down, and flood the bathroom. (The shower curtain is set "inside" the ramp, so most of the water goes down the drain. But the curtain isn't anchored and does move, and there is a little ramp so the wheelchair can get into the shower, so water than ends up on the downside of the ramp does get all over the bathroom floor).

The second trick is to swipe some pool towels (for this purpose I feel justified, I'm not advocating swiping towels so you get out of paying for extra clean daily towels) and make sure to set a layer (it may take two) in front of the towel exit, for the water that does leak out. If you actually dismount the shower head from the wall and use that handy hose, you probably will get water on the floor if you don't have towels.

If anyone from Disney is purusing this thread - there should be someway to engineer the shower curtain to attach to the bottom of the shower inside the ramp to keep the floor from getting wet. It might not be too usuable for the mobility impared if they were staying in the room alone, but for those of us that can hook the shower curtain along the bottom, would keep the biggest hassle of a handicaped room (IMO, other than the lack of tub in a studio for the kids), from being such a problem.

I wouldn't choose a HA room over a non-HA room, but it really didn't seem to be to use the huge deal so many people make about it. It was our first trip as well - the room was clean and well decorated. And it being our first trip, I didn't even notice things like the missing kitchen bar that might have been a bigger deal on subsequent trips - our habits (put the kids at the kitchen bar for breakfast) hadn't been set yet.