inspired by Bill's letter - resort accomodation

[SueM in MN]

I think the letter is great, Bill! I've seen some upcoming issues that I'm concerned about too, but it involves the resorts. Lately I've had trouble getting an accessible room with roll in shower at the resort of my choice. I have to wonder if too many people are requesting them that don't truly need them or due to the issue of accomodations for party size ( that I detest every time someone mentions the "comp" room on this message board ) just so they can get more space, or if truly there are so many more disabled guests travelling that need a roll in shower. There are many people who, as you mentioned, really need an ECV to get around WDW when they don't normally use one at home, who also then feel that they need an accessible resort room. It's not their fault in this case but rather a misperception. It then takes a room out of inventory that's truly needed by a disabled guest who cannot travel w/o an accessible room/roll-in shower.

I think this is a good subject matter too and deserves its own thread, so I am going to copy this part of your post and make a new thread.

 

[KPeveler]

I prefer a room with extra hand rails in the bathroom, and preferably a shower seat to help with my disabilities. however, i am fairly sure disney can put a bench in any shower, and that is all i need... i would not take a roll in shower unless that was the only thing available...

 

[shovan]

I have often heard many friends, relatives & people here on the Dis say they (non-disabled) were put into a HA Room with a roll in shower! Why are people who did not request a HA room at all being placed in the few rooms that are available for those with special needs? I have asked these people who put into HA rooms if they asked for a room change. More often than not they didn't want to take the time, since the room was still okay for them.

 

[GEM]

I have often heard many friends, relatives & people here on the Dis say they (non-disabled) were put into a HA Room with a roll in shower! Why are people who did not request a HA room at all being placed in the few rooms that are available for those with special needs? I have asked these people who put into HA rooms if they asked for a room change. More often than not they didn't want to take the time, since the room was still okay for them.

Our family of three non-disabled people had a room with a roll in shower at Pop last Feb. I guess maybe it was because we had requested a king bed at check in.

It did have a king bed, but also the wheelchair bathroom. We weren't crazy about it because it caused a big flood every time we used the shower and the toilet was much higer off the ground, a problem for our three year old. We didn't ask to move, though, because it wasn't that big of a deal and we liked the room location.

 

[Mickiethepooh]

If HC rooms are not booked ahead of time they are fair game for other guests and of course are handed out, that does not mean that on the occasion that you call looking for one with roll in shower that they have not already been booked by other disabled guests. There are only so many, particularly with the roll in, but that does not mean they should be kept out of inventory for the immediate time if they have not been booked previously.
Now of course a WC guest might show up unannounced looking for a room with roll in shower, but it would be foolish of them to do so.

 

[SueM in MN]

I have often heard many friends, relatives & people here on the Dis say they (non-disabled) were put into a HA Room with a roll in shower! Why are people who did not request a HA room at all being placed in the few rooms that are available for those with special needs? I have asked these people who put into HA rooms if they asked for a room change. More often than not they didn't want to take the time, since the room was still okay for them.

There is a grid that is part of the ADA requirements for hotels which details how many handicapped accessible rooms are needed per 100 hotel rooms.

I can't post it as a table, but it amounts to about 5 handicapped accessible rooms per 100 hotel rooms. About 4% of the rooms have to meet the guideline for handicapped accessible (which involves amount of room in the bathroom, grab bars, etc). About 1% of the rooms need to be fully accessible, with a roll in shower, grab bars, fold down shower seat, etc.

I don't know exactly how many rooms WDW resorts have in each category, but from what I have been able to find out over the years, they have more in each category than they are required to.

When people who need an accessible room make their reservation, a room is arranged for and blocked for them ahead of time.
A few days before people arrive the room assigner starts assigning rooms. Any handicapped accessible rooms that were not pre-assigned are left in the general number of rooms that can be assigned.
CMs who work as room assigners have posted that some of those rooms are typically left empty in case someone requests one at check in, but the majority of them are just assigned to people.
That would be how the people that you are writing about got those rooms - because there was no on at the time requesting one.

Our family of three non-disabled people had a room with a roll in shower at Pop last Feb. I guess maybe it was because we had requested a king bed at check in.

It did have a king bed, but also the wheelchair bathroom. We weren't crazy about it because it caused a big flood every time we used the shower and the toilet was much higer off the ground, a problem for our three year old. We didn't ask to move, though, because it wasn't that big of a deal and we liked the room location.

You are probably correct that you ended up with the roll in shower room because you requested a king bed.

Many people who don't need the accessability actually ask not to have a roll in shower room because they don't like the higher seat toilet, the lack of counter space and the roll in shower.

 

[pugdog]

I think alot of the non-disabled people getting the king roll in are getting them because they requested a king bed. The room handler is just looking at the requests they have. So hopefully the roll in request gets priority over the king bed request. If that's the case then we should always be able to get the roll in as long as we don't all decide to go at the same time.

 

[zaksmom]

I've put this in other posts, but this looks like a good place to put it again. Just a piece of advice. Last year we booked a roll-in shower room the first weekend in Nov. probably in July. Spoke directly with the special reservations people. We got there early, checked in, got our cards and went to the parks to wait for the room to be ready. CHECK YOUR ROOM FIRST or have them do it. We got back around 4, the room did not have the roll-in shower. The computer said that our room had one. They finally came to the room and looked and I was right! We were at All-stars Music -- all the roll-in showers were taken. We spent until about 9 oclock trying to find a room. They kept calling around and finally got one at All Stars Sports. This is the first time we've had any problems, always smooth and considerate. This time they did spend a lot of time trying to help us out. But I was exhausted transferring my son in and out of the car so many times before going to EPCOT for dinner. Lucky it was an EMH night and we had a late dinner. I'll always have them check the room first now.

 

[dclfun]

First of all, thank you Sue for making a thread and to others for discussing. I don't have a problem with someone getting a h/a room if they weren't needed by a disabled guest. There seems to be far more roll in shower rooms at the value resorts, perhaps as Sue mentioned because of the sheer volume of rooms at those resorts to start with, but much less at the moderate resorts and seems like hardly any at the deluxes. Lately I have tried to help a friend book a mod or deluxe resort and all have been taken that have a roll in shower very far out from the requested dates at her preferred resort. I have had trouble for myself also. At least the last two times I've spoken with a CM, they have been very clear about questioning exactly what I mean by "accessible room" and since I now know the lingo "fully accessible with roll in shower" there's no confusion since there are accessible rooms with tubs/rails. I made that mistake before as I arrived in a room with a tub/rails and couldn't get into the bathroom with my w/c. I was then told by the front desk that those rooms were for someone who could walk but needed stability. Not everyone knows what to ask for or what they really do need. As was mentioned above, a shower bench can be provided in any room and I've heard that hand-held showers can also be requested. Still it's very disappointing to find all the fully accessible h/a rooms gone months in advance on a non-holiday, non-peak week. I've spoken with one friend who is a t/a who states she absolutely knew one family only requested a h/a room to get the comp room. She felt terrible as she had to service the guest but knew they didn't need the room and had blocked it from someone who did. That's why I would ask anyone discussing party size and accomodations given NOT to mention how things are done, only to indicate that your party size will be accomodated the same as a non-disabled guest so there will be a bed for each guest. This keeps people trolling from finding information they can use to cheat the system and hurt those of us who cannot travel without a roll in shower while still reassuring someone that their party with a disabled guest will be taken care of. ----Kathy

 

[shellybaxter]

I am concerned about my requests on my next trip. I will have an ECV. I do not need an accessable room but do need ground floor or a building with an elevator as we are staying at POR and OKW where some (most?) of the buildings don't have elevators. I explained my needs to the reservations person at CRO and member services. The member services person seemed to get it but the CRO person really didn't and kept trying to request a fully accessable room. I'm crossing my fingers that it will be correct when I check in. I am planning on checking in early and asking lots of questions before accepting a room. I don't want to take a room away from someone who needs it; I just need to be able to bring my ECV inside.

 

[clkelley]

I think part of the problem lies in not being allowed to talk to Special Services unless you know their number directly. I called CRO requesting a 1st Floor Accessible Room with Grab Bars at Pop Century. They "spoke" with Special Services supposedly. I wanted it for the fridge for hubby's meds. What did we get, a 3rd floor room, King Bed, with a roll-in shower.

We did ask to be moved after the first night and ended up with a regular room, two doubles on the first floor. (I think though it must have been an accessible room at one time, because there were two peepholes, the armoire "used" to have a fridge (no shelves), and the bed frames were standard bed frames, not the platforms that POP normally has, and there was still a grab bar on the tub.

I despise upper floor rooms, and that King bed in the original room was hard as a brick.

I will no longer ask for an accessible room, as the first floor is far more important to us. I will now pack a hard sided cooler full of bottled water as a checked item, and keep that iced up for hubby's meds. (We did that this last trip "just in case", and it worked beautifully)

 

[BroganMc]

Ah my favorite pet peeve!

I'm both a Disney Vacation Club owner and Marriott Vacation Club owner who visits Orlando twice a year and stays at both resorts. The way these two handle their room requests is very different. And I have to say I give the leg up to Marriott.

With Marriott I first make my week request 6-12 months out. Then a month before check-in, I call the resort directly, speak to a Rooms Operator and put in my request for an accessible roll-in shower room. That's when it is blocked out for me.

With Disney, I call Member Services to request my dates 11 months out. First I must see if there is availability for my room type at the resort. Then I must wait on hold while MS calls Special Services and sees if there is an accessible roll-in shower room. I'm never put on the phone with SS, just given messages back and forth. I can't even make location requests like near a pool or lower floor. At least not unless the MS person remembered to tell the SS person. And forget it if my dates are a busy time when room availability changes by the minute. The first time my actual resort staff see my request for a roll-in shower room is a couple days before check-in. I've had to have my room changed every time I've visited because it wasn't blocked correctly.

<rant>Now for me a roll-in shower is the difference between having a good or third world terrible vacation. I absolutely cannot use a bathtub to bathe. And I cannot manage the threshold step in walk-in showers. Now, of course, they've added these godforsaken high profile beds that mean I need a crane to get in. The doorways are fine in modern construction but everything else is a shambles. Toilets are lower and beds are higher than years past. I keep wondering what is up with the AB world that they have to make things harder to manage.</rant>

Handicapped rooms should be reserved for those who need them and only given out on check-in day when it's apparent there is no need. As soon as someone requests a handicapped room, they should be transferred to Special Services directly. Who better to know and handle a person's need? At the very least a conference call should be started with the guest, reservation CM and special services agent.

 

[bzzymom]

My parents travel to WDW at least 2 times a year. I do think that more and more people with disabilities are going to WDW and staying on site because it is convient. My mom uses an ecv, and does not need the fully accessible shower, and tells CRO that she only needs grab bars and rails. Most of the time, they get the roll in shower. She thinks this is worse than getting a regular room with a regular bathroom because the floor is much more slippery and she is afraid she will fall.

About 2 years ago, when booking a trip staying at AS Movies, she was transfered to special services and was assigned a room over the phone, and she got exactly what she needed. They are going to WDW in early-Nov and are staying at AS Sports. She asked about talking to special services again because in March at Pop, they were given a regular room on the 3rd floor, a long way from the parking lot. It was horrible for her and she swore she wouldn't go backthere ever again. They decided to try the food and wine festival and she told the reservationist what she needed, what happened last time, and asked to talk with special servies like she did once before, she was politely told that they don't do that anymore. Is there a number she can call? If she has a problem again, I know she will never go back to WDW ever again.

 

[zaksmom]

A couple of weeks ago I got to talk to the special reservationist. Every time the CM came back to the phone I had another question or clarification. Then she had to put me on hold again and "go ask." Finally she handed me over to the specialist who quickly booked me for everything I needed. Just need to see if that's what I get when I arrive on the 12th! So maybe having a lot of questions helps put you through.

 

[Schmeck]

I think part of the problem lies in not being allowed to talk to Special Services unless you know their number directly. I called CRO requesting a 1st Floor Accessible Room with Grab Bars at Pop Century. They "spoke" with Special Services supposedly. I wanted it for the fridge for hubby's meds. What did we get, a 3rd floor room, King Bed, with a roll-in shower.

We did ask to be moved after the first night and ended up with a regular room, two doubles on the first floor. (I think though it must have been an accessible room at one time, because there were two peepholes, the armoire "used" to have a fridge (no shelves), and the bed frames were standard bed frames, not the platforms that POP normally has, and there was still a grab bar on the tub.

I despise upper floor rooms, and that King bed in the original room was hard as a brick.

I will no longer ask for an accessible room, as the first floor is far more important to us. I will now pack a hard sided cooler full of bottled water as a checked item, and keep that iced up for hubby's meds. (We did that this last trip "just in case", and it worked beautifully)

I'm confused - do Pop Century accessible rooms come with a fridge now? I thought you had to request a fridge for medical reasons at check-in and they brought one to your room - has this changed?

 

[clkelley]

I'm confused - do Pop Century accessible rooms come with a fridge now? I thought you had to request a fridge for medical reasons at check-in and they brought one to your room - has this changed?

The third floor accessible room we were in for one night already had a fridge in the armoire.

 

[dclfun]

I have stayed at Pop, always in a fully accessible room due to my needs. Sometimes there is a fridge, sometimes there isn't. Since some people think that if they reserve an accessible room, they'll get a free fridge, that's another reason these rooms can get assigned to someone who doesn't need them, and once they get them find out they really aren't comfortable. Meanwhile someone like myself didn't get to choose the resort I wanted because the room I needed was blocked. Now that the fridge's are placed more randomly ( and they aren't a minifridge, they're a minibar if they do have one ) maybe that issue will die down. If anyone needs a refrigerator for medication all they need to do is request it for that reason and can have one brought to any room. Thankfully they are now in all mod and deluxe resorts for everyone so it's only an issue at the value resorts.. I've heard of times though when a resort had no minifridges and instead offered to keep the medication stored behind the front desk which to me, would be a real inconvenience I agree about not being able to speak directly with special services. I can't see how that works out well for anybody and I always dread calling as I know I'll be on hold forever and then have to worry if the original agent communicates my needs correctly. Of course if they don't have the resort we originally wanted, then back and forth all over again....sigh.---Kathy