Hotel doorways

[Mary976]

DD may be switching over to a powerchair sometime in the future. Right now she has an ultralight manual chair that is also very narrow, so we don't have any problems with doorways. She can also stand to transfer, so we usually just get a regular room when we stay at Disney, since she doesn't need the roll in shower or anything. My question is, if she gets the powerchair but is still able to do standing transfers, can we continue to reserve regular rooms or will the doorways be too narrow? Do accessible rooms have wider doorways, or are they standard across Disney? This has never been an issue before, so I've never noticed!

Thanks much,
Mary

 

[SueM in MN]

DD may be switching over to a powerchair sometime in the future. Right now she has an ultralight manual chair that is also very narrow, so we don't have any problems with doorways. She can also stand to transfer, so we usually just get a regular room when we stay at Disney, since she doesn't need the roll in shower or anything. My question is, if she gets the powerchair but is still able to do standing transfers, can we continue to reserve regular rooms or will the doorways be too narrow? Do accessible rooms have wider doorways, or are they standard across Disney? This has never been an issue before, so I've never noticed!

Thanks much,
Mary

The doors to the fully accessible rooms are the same as the other doors.
Most power wheelchairs are not as wide as people think. My DD's looks huge to me, but it is only 25 inches wide.
The narrowest room entry doors are 32 inches wide.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I have never had any problems with a large ECV at any of the resorts, invluding the values. And I may check next time, but I think all exterior doors are 36 inches.

 

[Mary976]

Thanks so much! I'm glad to hear that powerchairs aren't always as wide as they look...in addition to altering our vacation plans, I was worried I'd have to start renovating my house! Although I've heard from friends that their kids who use powerchairs sometimes do a number on the walls if they are not careful drivers.

Mary

 

[SueM in MN]

Thanks so much! I'm glad to hear that powerchairs aren't always as wide as they look...in addition to altering our vacation plans, I was worried I'd have to start renovating my house! Although I've heard from friends that their kids who use powerchairs sometimes do a number on the walls if they are not careful drivers.

Mary

Ah, yes.
Which is why DD uses her manual chair in the house (besides, we don't want her to loose the ability to wheel herself. Even though she is slow and can't do long distances, she does fine for short 'house' distances.
We also have installed plexiglass at the bottom of our hallway walls.

For WDW, we did not get an accessible room until we could not manage for baths anymore and needed a roll in shower. DD has used a wheelchair since she was not quite 3, so we have a lot of experience in 'regular' hotel rooms.

 

[toocherie]

can I ask a slightly off-topic question? for those of you who use scooters and travel alone, how do you deal with getting your scooter into the hotel room (I think this might also apply to the power chair users too)? I.e., how do you open the door and get through it? Do you use something to prop the door open? I have not found a good solution to this.

 

[Piper]

can I ask a slightly off-topic question? for those of you who use scooters and travel alone, how do you deal with getting your scooter into the hotel room (I think this might also apply to the power chair users too)? I.e., how do you open the door and get through it? Do you use something to prop the door open? I have not found a good solution to this.

This is going to sound flippant, but I don't mean it to be-------practice, practice, practice!

Most hotel doors don't close by themselves, so it is easier to get in (my apartment door won't stay open for love or money!) I just have to use my foot as an extra appendage to hold the door until I get far enough through to use my other hand. That probably didn't make sense---just thinking about the best way for that door and then knowing your ecv is what works for me.

 

[Andrew Bichard]

how do you deal with getting your scooter into the hotel room (I think this might also apply to the power chair users too)? I.e., how do you open the door and get through it? Do you use something to prop the door open? I have not found a good solution to this.

I beg to differ. At Boardwalk at least (and I assume fire reguations in all hotels make this mandatory), the room doors all have door closers. I always have trouble with the door when alone in my powerchair, with no-one to hold the door for me. Try as I might, the door always closes when I am part way through. I just keep the power on and keep going. My chair is OK, but the room door is always banged up pretty bad by the end of my vacation.

Opening the door from outside needs skill. I park up outside the door with my toes flexed hard against the door before putting my room key in the slot When the lock releases, I can then hold the door open a tiny bit with my toes to stop the door re-locking, take the key card out of the lock and power on in.

Andrew

 

[goofieslonglostsis]

can I ask a slightly off-topic question? for those of you who use scooters and travel alone, how do you deal with getting your scooter into the hotel room (I think this might also apply to the power chair users too)? I.e., how do you open the door and get through it? Do you use something to prop the door open? I have not found a good solution to this.

If the door closing itself is a problem (it is a challenge for sure ); call maintanance! They can disable this function for the time you're staying in the room. No way you'll get stuck. Getting in? Whyle I don't use an ECV anymore but a powerchair, I'm sure this can work with an ECV also.

Getting in; I position myself in such a way I can use the keycard. When it 'takes' I push the door a bit open with my feetrests (with an ECV this would be with the first wheel(s). Best way to do this with ECV is to position yourself in about 45 degrees to the door. At 90 it's easy to drive in but difficult to use the keycard. At 180 it's easy to use the keycars but difficult to drive in without a breeze. Because I let them disable the 'shutting itself', I can now take my time driving in and the door only needs a small amount of pressure to fully open. I drive in and turn around and shut the door. Turning around an ECV might be a bit challenging in the room, but one could for instance get off the ECV and close the door. If need be; position a chair right next to the dooropening, so you can sit down again after making those 2 or 3 steps from the ECV to chair/door.

Getting out; I drive upto the door (front facing door), pull it open and out I go. Outside I make a turn and now pull the door closed while backing up. Now with an ECV this is a pain, because you can't turn around the ECV to face the door in every room. Too little space. This can be solved easily if one can back up. If so back up when entering the room. Hit the door softly with the backside of the ECV to open it (let them disable the 'shutting itself'!!). Back up slowly. Get off the ECV, use a chair if needed and shut the door. Back up the ECV to where ever you want to park it in the room. This way, getting out is now a breeze without the door shutting itself. But remember; SHUT THE DOOR YOURSELF.


By the way Mary (almost forgot you, shame on me!!); I agree with Sue. Powerchairs do look wider then they are. I had no problem getting around the room with it. While I had a room with roll in shower and more room (only one king bed instead of 2 queens), I for sure could've gotten around a basic room lay out except the bathroom. My home has narrower doors than those at WDW and it fits fine. As all, when I started out I made some 'markings' on the wall, but oh well. At least the know I live here.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Going into the room I will approach from the far side of the corridor to be pointed as close as possible to directly at the door and will drive to where the front bumper is touching the door.

I will then reach forward and put the key card into the door. When it unlocks I will push the handle lever down and with my other hand press one of the drive buttons and the ECV will force the door open.

To get out I will again drive up to the door, unlatch it and hold onto the door handle and slowly back the ECV up. Once the door is open a bit I wil quickly move my hand from the lever to the side of the door itself and will back up more.

Once the door is clear of the front of the ECV I will push the door to the full open position and hold it there until until I am able to drive out. I will linger until I hear the door latch shut; if I do not hear it latch I will drive alongside and pull on the handle to make sure it is latched.

 

[Nanajo1]

I agree opening room doors is a challenge. I do get the closing mechanism adjusted so the door opens easier but does take more time for it to close.
I don't have it totoally disabled because I can not reach in and grab it from the hallway.