Handicapped "slightly"

[walterandkathy]

will be heading back to Disney World for the 8th time in 30 years, have aged a bit and have a couple of questions. We are planning on staying at Coronado Springs. I have read in a couple different places that some rooms can be quite a distant walk (10 minutes or so) I am not wheelchair bound, however, I do have trouble walking long distances and am a little concerned about this. If the room they give is "way out there" will they move us closer if we ask?

 

[livndisney]

will be heading back to Disney World for the 8th time in 30 years, have aged a bit and have a couple of questions. We are planning on staying at Coronado Springs. I have read in a couple different places that some rooms can be quite a distant walk (10 minutes or so) I am not wheelchair bound, however, I do have trouble walking long distances and am a little concerned about this. If the room they give is "way out there" will they move us closer if we ask?

You can always ask for another room at the resort. You may have to wait a bit until the room is ready. You can explain that you have trouble walking and would like to be closer. You can also make the request when you book the room. Just let them know you would like to be closer due to limited walking ability.

You may want to consider booking a a preferred room which is generally closer to the "action".

Another idea you may want to consider is renting an ecv. There is walking at the resorts to consider, but also the walking in the parks. An ecv or wheelchair gives you a place to sit when you need it and also helps conserve your energy.

You can rent an ecv/wheelchair at the parks(but they cannot leave the park) or you can rent offsite and have it delivered to your hotel-so you have it to use at the hotel).

There is a list of rental companies posted in the sticky at the start of this thread.

 

[walterandkathy]

Thanks - question - is there an up-grade fee for a "preferred" room?
We did rent an ECV the last time we went as I had an ulcer on my foot, I did find it a bit hard getting it on the different forms of transportation - especially the buses and was constantly having to break as people did not see me coming and would walk right in front of me suddenly.

 

[livndisney]

Thanks - question - is there an up-grade fee for a "preferred" room?
We did rent an ECV the last time we went as I had an ulcer on my foot, I did find it a bit hard getting it on the different forms of transportation - especially the buses and was constantly having to break as people did not see me coming and would walk right in front of me suddenly.

There is about a 10.00 a night charge for the preferred rooms. Sometimes it can be worth it.

 

[dclfun]

You can always ask for another room at the resort. You may have to wait a bit until the room is ready. You can explain that you have trouble walking and would like to be closer. You can also make the request when you book the room. Just let them know you would like to be closer due to limited walking ability.

You may want to consider booking a a preferred room which is generally closer to the "action".

Another idea you may want to consider is renting an ecv. There is walking at the resorts to consider, but also the walking in the parks. An ecv or wheelchair gives you a place to sit when you need it and also helps conserve your energy.

You can rent an ecv/wheelchair at the parks(but they cannot leave the park) or you can rent offsite and have it delivered to your hotel-so you have it to use at the hotel).

There is a list of rental companies posted in the sticky at the start of this thread.

What she said! The $10 per night for preferred would be well worth it at CS as it is so spread out. While you'll be close to a bus stop no matter where your room is located, if you want to refill mugs or visit the food court and gift shop and you're in Ranchos, it's a LONG hike. If it's raining or scorching hot, it's a real advantage to be closer.---Kathy

 

[SueM in MN]

I think you meant to post this in the disABILITIES Board instead of the disABILITIES Community Board, so I moved it for you.

I agree totally with the other posters.
We stayed once at CS and it is a very large resort. You will really need to figure out what things you want to be close to.
The preferred rooms are the most centrally located. The Food court area is not that close to the pool though, so being near one may not put you that close to the other.

This is a link to a map of CS, so you can see for yourself where things are. I’m not sure which area the preferred rooms are, but you can probably find out from the Resorts Board.

I realize you found it difficult to use an ECV on the buses, but you may want to consider renting one to use at the resort only since CS is very large. That way, if you requested a room close to the bus stop, you would not have to walk far to the bus. And, you could use the ECV to get around from place ot place at the resort.

 

[KPeveler]

Definitely get an ECV you can use at the resort - When I was there I had a fairly centrally located room (Casitas Building 3) and it was a MILE round trip walk to the pool! Everything is very spaced out there, so I would really look into renting a scooter you can use at CSR. It is my absolute favorite resort, but it is definitely big!

 

[aubriee]

This is a link to a map of CS, so you can see for yourself where things are. I’m not sure which area the preferred rooms are, but you can probably find out from the Resorts Board.

I realize you found it difficult to use an ECV on the buses, but you may want to consider renting one to use at the resort only since CS is very large. That way, if you requested a room close to the bus stop, you would not have to walk far to the bus. And, you could use the ECV to get around from place ot place at the resort.

The preferred rooms are in Casitas 1, 2, and 3. Cabanas 9B is considered their club level and may be reserved by conventioneers if they pay for it. If it is not in use by conventioneers they may place regular guests there (we've been in it twice). In the OP case, I think it would be worth it to pay for the preferred rooms. If you do get placed in one of the other buildings, you can ask to be moved but they may or may not. It will depend on the cast member and if there are any other standard rooms that may be available any closer. However, with Casitas 1, 2, and 3 being all preferred, the number of water view rooms they have, and with Cabanas 9B being considered club level, an available standard room may still be quite aways from the main building. Because CSR is so big and because it is a convention resort people are willing to pay for those preferred rooms, so the chances of them moving someone to one for free is very slim. So if being close to the main building is important to you, I'd go ahead now and book preferred. One thing you could do, is consider how the bus system at CSR works. Going to the parks the first stop is bus stop 2 at the Casitas, then bus stop 3 at the Ranchos, then bus stop 4 at the Cabanas, then finally bus stop 1 at the main building. If you are not near the main building, you can catch any park bus and ride it around to the main building. Just remember not to try it with a DTD bus as they pick up at the main building then go around to the 2, 3, and 4 stops. They used to have little carts that would pick people up and take them to the main buildings. They still have them but now they are only used to deliver luggage to the rooms and if the conventioneers rent them for their attendees. They have been known to pick up an occasional regular guest though. As other said I would look into renting an ECV from offsite. We've taken my mom down there with us several times when we stayed at CSR and have always rented her an ECV from Walker's Mobility. It was well worth the price. She doesn't use an ECV at home, but there is no way she could have stayed at CSR (or gone to the parks for that matter) without an ECV.

 

[SueM in MN]

Meant to add - if you decide to rent an ECV, check out post 2 of the disABILITIES FAQs thread. You can find that thread near the top of the board or follow the link in my signature.

Post 2 includes information and links for companies that rent ECVs and wheelchairs. These are the ones recommended over the years by DIS posters.

 

[lovethattink]

CSR is very spread out, but you can take a resort bus to El Centro the food court and check-in building, from any of the resort's bus stops. I'd suggest making a special request for certain buildings on your reservation. Have you checked out KatMark's thread about CSR? She has it listed how far away each building.

Preferred rooms Casitas 1, 2, and 3 would put you closest to the main building, but furthest from the theme pool.

Casitas 4 would be the next closest building and it's not preferred. It has a nice quiet pool, fitness room, and spa.

Cabanas 9B or 9a would also be fairly close to the main building. 9A would almost be equal distance between the theme pool and the main building, if memory serves me right.

The Ranchos would be the furthest away from the main building and it's quite a hike. It's also round about to get to the theme pool. But they have a beautiful quiet pool at 7b.

My son was not able to walk from our room in 8A to El Centro. We used a stroller. But he loved being near the theme pool and could walk there as it was a hop, skip and jump away from our room. We also had a car, so we drove to El Centro once too.

 

[Selket]

CSR is very spread out, but you can take a resort bus to El Centro the food court and check-in building, from any of the resort's bus stops.

We stay there every other year for a conference and our friends took the resort bus as they were in Ranchos. Sometimes they have a sort of "golf cart" driving around that circle that will give you a ride but in all the time I was there (5 days) that cart passed me once. I'm not sure if they do the cart as regularly as they used ot.

We were just there and sometimes I just drove over to the convention center area or the main building - I'm guessing you don't have a car while there? Driving is actually not a bad option - perhaps renting a car might provide additional benefits other than paying for the preferred room? I like having a car. I actually preferred driving to most of the parks except MK - it seemed so much easier and faster than doing the bus.

 

[SueM in MN]

We stay there every other year for a conference and our friends took the resort bus as they were in Ranchos. Sometimes they have a sort of "golf cart" driving around that circle that will give you a ride but in all the time I was there (5 days) that cart passed me once. I'm not sure if they do the cart as regularly as they used ot.

We were just there and sometimes I just drove over to the convention center area or the main building - I'm guessing you don't have a car while there? Driving is actually not a bad option - perhaps renting a car might provide additional benefits other than paying for the preferred room? I like having a car. I actually preferred driving to most of the parks except MK - it seemed so much easier and faster than doing the bus.

Good point about the car.
If you have a handicapped parking permit, the handicapped parking is fairly close to the park entrances - except for MK, where guests have to walk to the Ticket and Transportation Center and then to either the boat or monorail.

If you don't have a handicapped parking permit or choose not to park in that area, parking in the regular parking lot and riding the parking lot tram will actually get you closer to the entrance gates.