Has this happened to you upon checking in?

[mama2tyler]

Has anyone who has made their reservation and asked for very specific things (a roll-in shower with a certain bed combination for example) gotten to check-in to find it was not available despite the fact that it was on your reservation?

 

[Kelly Anne]

I think that when you request things, it's not always guaranteed unless you specifically paid for that type of room....

 

[mama2tyler]

I think that when you request things, it's not always guaranteed unless you specifically paid for that type of room....

So far all I've paid is the deposit. We have less than 2 weeks before arriving. The only thing I'm truly attached to is the roll-in shower, 2 real beds (one of them not being a daybed if possible) and the savanna view. I mentioned in a previous thread that I mentioned in our reservations that we are celebrating (20th wedding anniversary and 40th bdays for both hubby and I) so hoping we might get a free upgrade....a little pixie dust never hurt I'm just happy to get to go and share this with our son. We've never really been on vacation alone as a family. It's always been with extended family so I'm really jazzed about this one.

 

[tobikaye]

Did you book a roll-in shower with 2 beds and a savanna view? If so, then you should be good. If not, then your chances are not that good.

I know that I have looked at AKL and they offer a savanna view roll-in King/Queen. I saw it when considering staying there if my parents go with my sister and I next year to WDW.

 

[gap2368]

get to your hotel as early as you can this way if the room is not what you want need you have a better change of getting a room change

 

[mama2tyler]

Did you book a roll-in shower with 2 beds and a savanna view? If so, then you should be good. If not, then your chances are not that good.

I know that I have looked at AKL and they offer a savanna view roll-in King/Queen. I saw it when considering staying there if my parents go with my sister and I next year to WDW.

Yes that's the one we booked. I've heard of people booking certain things and not getting them upon arrival. That's why I ask. Thanks.

 

[mama2tyler]

get to your hotel as early as you can this way if the room is not what you want need you have a better change of getting a room change

Yep, we are planning on getting there ASAP. We're driving from Miami so should not be too bad.

 

[Bete]

As you get closer to your arrival date like the day before or so, you may want to call the resort and get them to pull up your reservation and double check your room requests. By that time they should have the room assignments set up. If there's a problem, then you can try and resolve it before you get there.

I do this quite often at other non-Disney resorts and it really has helped me to get my requests. We always want a first floor room, for example.

 

[SueM in MN]

Roll in shower is not a request. It is a booking category and is reserved for that specific reservation during the booking process. It is guaranteed if that was what you reserved. There are ADA laws regarding booking, reserving and guaranteeing handicapped accessible rooms.
If something happens and none are available that fit your needs, ADA also has some requirements about meeting the needs that were reserved. (Things like fires, floods or accidents that would make the room unusable are the types of reasons.)

 

[SueM in MN]

Savannah view is a specific booking category, not a request. Guests pay more for Savannah View than for Standard View.
This is true whether you are staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge or staying in the Disney Vacation Villas at AK on points (it takes more points to reserve Savannah View than Value or Standard).

My understanding is that the only time it is a request is if your reservation is for Concierge because not all Concierge rooms have Savannah view.

Since it is a booking category, you are very unlikely to get Savannah view unless that is what you booked and paid for. There are many nice viewing areas in the lobbies and other public areas if you didn't book Savannah View.

 

[SueM in MN]

Regarding beds at Animal Kingdom Lodge - there are different configurations of beds and I believe most of them are booking categories, not requests. Daybeds are in addition to the beds in the room, not a replacement for a double or queen bed. My experience with daybeds in other resorts is that they are small and best suited for a child.

As far as I know, rooms with roll-in showers have 1 king bed, and a small number of roll-in shower rooms have both 1 king bed and 1 double bed.
If a party of 2 is booked for the roll in shower room, you are most likely to have the 1 king bed.
If the group is more than 2, you are likely to get a room with 1 King and 1 double.
I am not sure, but don't think that the rooms with roll in showers have daybeds because of the 'extra' space taken by the toll in shower.

If you are staying in a Disney Vacation Club Studio, as far as I know, they all have one queen size bed and one full size sofa bed.
One bedroom DVC Villas have a king bed in the bedroom and a queen sofa sleeper in the living room.
Two bedroom DVC Villas are a connecting Studio and one bedroom and have beds as listed for those rooms.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

Has anyone who has made their reservation and asked for very specific things (a roll-in shower with a certain bed combination for example) gotten to check-in to find it was not available despite the fact that it was on your reservation?

1) Regardless what is on your reservation or written reservation confirmation, NOTHING is guaranteed.
. . . this includes the room type or category (eg. room view, room location, room size)
. . . this includes the actual resort assigned (eg. Value, Moderate, Deluxe, or even the specific resort you wanted) *
. . . this includes special equipment
2) Yes, we try to accommodate handicap requests, but it is not always possible.
3) There could be
. . . too many people requesting special rooms or special equipment to accommodate everyone
. . . mechanical problems with the room or special equipment

* People are frequently "walked" (a hotel term for redirecting people) to a different resort than they wanted or reserved. I have seen both upgrades and downgrades from the resort and room they ordered. I have personally moved people from Value Resorts to Deluxe or DVC Resorts. I have moved people who reserved suites at Deluxe Resorts to Value Resorts.

 

[SueM in MN]

1) Regardless what is on your reservation or written reservation confirmation, NOTHING is guaranteed.
. . . this includes the room type or category (eg. room view, room location, room size)
. . . this includes the actual resort assigned (eg. Value, Moderate, Deluxe, or even the specific resort you wanted) *
. . . this includes special equipment
2) Yes, we try to accommodate handicap requests, but it is not always possible.
3) There could be
. . . too many people requesting special rooms or special equipment to accommodate everyone
. . . mechanical problems with the room or special equipment

* People are frequently "walked" (a hotel term for redirecting people) to a different resort than they wanted or reserved. I have seen both upgrades and downgrades from the resort and room they ordered. I have personally moved people from Value Resorts to Deluxe or DVC Resorts. I have moved people who reserved suites at Deluxe Resorts to Value Resorts.

The information I bolded does not comply with the ADA. Handicapped accessibility is not a request. It is a reservation for a room of that type, with those accessibility features.

Rules for lodging in the 2010 revised ADA standard say that:

• People with disabilities must be able to make reservations for accessible guest rooms during the same hours and in the same ways that other people are able to make reservations, such as by telephone, in person, email, via websites, or through third parties such as travel agents or online reservation services.....

• Accessible guest rooms must be held back until all other rooms of that type have been rented.
• When a reservation is made for an accessible guest room, the specific accessible guest room reserved must be held for the reserving customer and the room must be removed from the reservation system."

As I mentioned, there may be reasons why the specific accessible room reserved for the guest may not be available. If that happens there are ADA requirements to attempt to provide something that will meet the needs (which could be in a different area of the resort or at a different resort).
https://adata.org/factsheet/accessible-lodging

There is not a guarantee for meeting requests, but those are just requests. For example, on our last stay, we had a reservation for a room with a roll in shower and a request for Miller Pond area at OKW. The room that was reserved to us had an issue that required extra cleaning. We were given the option to take a room without a roll in shower, to take a room with a roll in shower in another area of the resort or to wait - possibly as long as 7pm to get the room that was originally reserved for us.
In another situation, the building the roll in shower room was in had a water leak in the room above, which put both rooms out of use. All of the other roll in shower rooms at that resort were already assigned, so the choice was a room without a roll in shower or change resorts.

Basically, if you didn't pay extra, it's a request (like first floor or Miller Road At OKW) and could be not met because too many other people requested the same thing.

If something was a booking category, they know how many there are and how many have already been reserved, especially if it was one that 'cost' more. If none are available when you make your reservation, the computer or the human will tell you.

If you get a reservation for a booking category, it still not guaranteed, but not getting it means there was some problem , major glitch or error after you made your reservation (things like mechanical issues or a room out of commission). It is a reservation, that the resort will be trying to meet if at all possible; there are not just random downgrades or upgrades for no reason.

 

[rtilner]

Thank goodness it hasn't happen to me. I try to make the reservation early and book and the telephone and I stress a roll in shower and the first floor.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

Accessible guest rooms must be held back until all other rooms of that type have been rented.

SUE:
1) This is "The Out".
2) If all the other handicap rooms are rented or unavailable, the reservation does not have to be met.
3) But, "How does this guy know?".
4) Because, I have Personally taken guests (aka, "walked") to another resort to meet their requirements/requests.
5) Some were upgrades, some were downgrades.
. . . I have taken folks from Moderates to Deluxe or DVC resorts
. . . I have taken folks form Deluxe or DVC resorts to Value resorts.
6) As long as the requests were met, ADA is accomplished.

NOTE: There are simply too many reasons why guest requests cannot or are not met. In such cases, we improvise. USUALLY, we try for an upgrade (eg. Moderate to Deluxe or DVC), but it doesn't always happen that way.

 

[lanejudy]

I believe the point is that HA accessible rooms are not "requests" and therefore it is highly unlikely the OP will arrive to find they have been bumped from the HA room type reserved. That would only occur in a relatively unusual situation such as the room had to be taken out of service due to a maintenance problem with plumbing or such. In that situation, as TheRustyScupper indicates, WDW will find a comparable room somewhere on property to meet the HA needs. This is a fairly rare occurrence considering how many guests reserve HA rooms each day. I'm sure to someone who works the front desk over several years would be aware of multiple incidents, but it is still not common.

OP, I wouldn't worry. If an unusual situation arises, WDW will do anything possible to meet your needs.

Enjoy your vacation!

 

[SueM in MN]

No, that is not an out.
It means when making the reservation, not that a reservation was made and someone is using it as an 'out' when the guest checks in.

When making a reservation for an accessible room, the system (or the human making the reservation) checks whether or not there are any un-reserved accessible rooms for the dates and type of room that the reservation is for.

If yes, that specific room is set aside for that guest, must be held for that reserving guest and must be removed from the reservation system. (As in the ADA quote I bolded above:

• When a reservation is made for an accessible guest room, the specific accessible guest room reserved must be held for the reserving customer and the room must be removed from the reservation system

That is written into the ADA to prevent overbooking. Could overbooking still occur? Yes, but this makes it very unlikely.

If no, the guest is told there are no rooms that meet their needs for the dates/type of room. The guest then has the choice of trying different dates, a different resort, different requests or different features.

All of this was written into modifications of the ADA to avoid situations where people had made a reservation for a room for a roll in shower (for example), got to their hotel and found that the hotel had overbooked rooms or gave their accessible room to another guest who didn't need it but liked the location better.
It was written because of real life situations like a paraplegic reserving a room with a roll in shower, but by overbooking or giving their room away, they were given a room where they could not get into the bathroom.

Or situation that happened to us many years ago (before the changes) where we arrived very late and had to carry our daughter and her wheelchair up to the second floor at OKW because our accessible room was given to someone who didn't want to climb the steps with their 2 year old's stroller.
People with disabilities who need accessible rooms are given the assurance under the ADA that they will be able to make a reservation and have a reasonable expectation that they will get a room that meets their needs. Without that assurance, many could not travel.

I do believe you have personally walked reservations over for people who had a reservation for an accessible room, but it should be for reasons that the reserved accessible room was not available for unforeseen reasons that make it not available for use. NOT because (for example) there were 11 reservations for one room type, but only 10 rooms and the resort gave the accessible room to one of the other non-disabled guests instead of holding it for the person it was reserved for.
And, finding another room that meets the needs (even if not at the same resort) does meet the ADA requirements, as you mentioned.

 

[BabyFu18]

I can tell you one thing, if I was bumped from a Deluxe to a Value I would be very unhappy. I understand things happen, water leaks, unexpected accidents, etc. that may put rooms out of commission but I would not take a downgrade lightly if it happened to me. I'd expect to be put in an equal resort if I was bumped for any reason or be highly compensated for a downgrade and moved to a deluxe resort as soon as a room became available.

This year we've booked a room at the GF with 2 queen beds and a roll in shower. This is what we booked, it was a specific room category we paid for, now we requested a certain building as well at the time I booked. I would understand if my request (building) wasn't met but not if my room category (HA with roll in shower) wasn't met. Those are two different things request Vs. an actual booking. This is my first time needing a HA room, and without it (the roll in shower) that means bathing will become increasingly difficult. I am sure the resorts do everything they can to set aside the HA rooms for those who need them, I certainly hope they don't give those rooms away to those who don't need them just because they want it for location or convenience, that would be really sad and discouraging.

To the original poster, I think that the resorts should do everything they can to be sure you get what you reserved, I hope your trip is magical!

 

[FortForever]

The only thing I'm truly attached to is the roll-in shower, 2 real beds (one of them not being a daybed if possible) and the savanna view. I mentioned in a previous thread that I mentioned in our reservations that we are celebrating (20th wedding anniversary and 40th bdays for both hubby and I) so hoping we might get a free upgrade....

I'm confused. Do you actually need a roll-in shower, or just want one?

Two things you said that made me wonder are you are "attached to" the idea of having a roll-in shower, as opposed to must have one. The other thing is that you were hoping for an upgrade. Would you be able to accept an upgrade if it was not an accessible room?

The only chance I would think of for getting an upgrade is if there is a maintenance issue and the room was not in service, and possibly putting you in another resort. There is no way they could put someone with an accessible shower into a room without one. Most people who reserve those rooms have no choice. It's the only possible way they can vacation.

As the stepmother of a paraplegic son, and mother of a brain injured son, who sometimes requires a wheelchair, it wold really irk me if people who didn't really need those rooms, reserved them. Even with one son with us who is only in a wheelchair part time, I would never dream of reserving one of those rooms. I only do so when my paraplegic stepson needs one.

If we did need one and checked in to be told it wasn't available, I would flip out. So would anyone else in that position, that is why it would never happen. Never.

 

[SueM in MN]

I'm confused. Do you actually need a roll-in shower, or just want one?

Two things you said that made me wonder are you are "attached to" the idea of having a roll-in shower, as opposed to must have one. The other thing is that you were hoping for an upgrade. Would you be able to accept an upgrade if it was not an accessible room?

The only chance I would think of for getting an upgrade is if there is a maintenance issue and the room was not in service, and possibly putting you in another resort. There is no way they could put someone with an accessible shower into a room without one. Most people who reserve those rooms have no choice. It's the only possible way they can vacation.

As the stepmother of a paraplegic son, and mother of a brain injured son, who sometimes requires a wheelchair, it wold really irk me if people who didn't really need those rooms, reserved them. Even with one son with us who is only in a wheelchair part time, I would never dream of reserving one of those rooms. I only do so when my paraplegic stepson needs one.

If we did need one and checked in to be told it wasn't available, I would flip out. So would anyone else in that position, that is why it would never happen. Never.

the poster said in another thread that she needs the roll in shower.
I think what was meant by "attached to" was that those were the things they are not willing to negotiate on.