Need to vent about WL

[Diznejen1]

Thank you all very much for your comments and ideas. The most common response I got from everyone was to call CRO. I think once I get home from work tomorrow I will place a call to them. I did fill out a resevation request through the WDW web site, but they are M-F and have not responded. My TA is through Dreamunlimited. I was just plain old shocked when he said that there were NO standard handicap rooms. It wasn't that the ones they had were booked..I told the TA we could travel any weekend of this year. I gave him no specific dates..so them being booked already is not an option.
I will let you all know what I find out after I call. Thanks again...you all are the best!

 

[pearlieq]

Please call Disney directly, also check the disAbilities board. I think that if you reserve a handicap room for 4 people, and the only handicap room they have as a king bed, they will, at no extra charge also give you a standard room(usually connecting). They cannot legally charge more for a handicap room than a standard room, and if the only handicap room will not accomodate the size of your party(assuming your party would fit in a standard room) they have to give you the other room.
You may also need to contact special services, since they are the ones who will block of your room.
Do Not use a TA, if you do that then you will not be able to contact special services, since technically the TA owns the reservation, not you.

This is correct.

The ADA requires a hotel to offer equal accomodations to travelers with disabilites. They must either offer accessible rooms in all room categories (standard, woods, etc.) or they must give you the room, even if it's in an "upgraded" category at the cost of the standard room.

So, if WL has handicap accessible rooms in the Standard category, but they are all booked up for your dates, you would either need to choose another date or pay for the Woods View room. But, if they only offer handicap accessible rooms in the Woods View category, they must book you into that room and charge you the Standard rate.

Also, they have to offer accessible rooms in all bedding configurations they offer (king, 2 queens, etc.) If they choose not to do that, they have to offer you an additional room with enough beds to accomodate your party at no extra charge.

We just did this at POFQ--since the party was me, DH, and my mom (who is disabled) and all of the fully accessible rooms at POFQ are king rooms, we were given the connecting room at no charge.

While it sounds like it's just a nice thing they do, they are actually legally required to do it, so don't hesitate to ask for it and insist on it if necessary. The first time we called in we got a real stinker of a woman was very reluctant to comply and acted like we were getting away with something. I was surprised at that attitude from someone in the special reservations group, but I guess there's always one bad apple.

Luckily, I called special reservations back the next day and got a nice man named Ellwood who took care of our reservation properly.

 

[hoosll]

According to Passporter, there are only 37 rooms with king beds, these are the handicap rooms. WL is actually one of the smallest resorts and JUST does not have many handicap rooms.

If your Dad wants WL, go for it and forget about standard vs woods. It is our favorite resort, you will love it.

 

[pearlieq]

1) I have never seen this happen, and I was personally involved.
2) Disney is not responsible for the make-up of your party.
. . . they are required to offer accessible rooms, which they do
. . . the volume of rooms is not mandated, let alone the price category
. . . for a normal room, you would need a second room
. . . for a deluxe room, you could use the other room

3) As for available handicapped "Standard" rooms, they could be sold out.
4) There are not that many.
5) You should be able to get a "Woods'" or "Courtyard" handicap room.
6) To another post, WL does comply with ADA, so there is no foul or penalty.
7) And, they do not have to give a free upgrade for handicap accessible.
8) If they upgrade, consider it Pixie Dust.

NOTE: They usually keep 1-5 handicap rooms unassigned until the day of check-in for people who need them at the last minute. In this manner, a last-minute handicap room can be assigned, although not necessarily in the cheaper categories.

I don't know any other way to say this, but this is completely and totally wrong. OP, please don't let it discourage you.

I'm pointing this out not to pick on the poster I quoted, but because misinformation causes so many disabled people to either think that places are inaccesible to them, or that they must pay extra to be accomodated.

The law, as stated in the ADA Accessibility Guideline for Buildings and Facilities (http://www.access-board.gov/adaag/about/index.htm for those playing along at home) reads:

9.1.4 Classes of Sleeping Accommodations.

(1) In order to provide persons with disabilities a range of options equivalent to those available to other persons served by the facility, sleeping rooms and suites required to be accessible by 9.1.2 shall be dispersed among the various classes of sleeping accommodations available to patrons of the place of transient lodging. Factors to be considered include room size, cost, amenities provided, and the number of beds provided.

(2) Equivalent Facilitation. For purposes of this section, it shall be deemed equivalent facilitation if the operator of a facility elects to limit construction of accessible rooms to those intended for multiple occupancy, provided that such rooms are made available at the cost of a single occupancy room to an individual with disabilities who requests a single-occupancy room.


Disney, and any hotel subject to ADA, is responsible for providing equal accomodations for handicapped. They are not responsible for your party size, but they are not allowed to charge you more simply due to their configurations of handicap rooms.

Again, I'll use our trip as an example. DH, my mom, and I chose to stay at POFQ. They offer, at a standard rate, a double bedded room that will sleep 4 people. Therefore, when accomodating disabled people, they are responsible for providing sleeping space for 4 people at the standard room rate.

POFQ, like many hotels, cannot put 2 double beds in a room and still meet the legal clearances around furniture/fixtures required to make a room handicap accessible. Therefore, they only offer king bedded rooms as handicap accessible. King bedded rooms, obviously, cannot sleep 4 people, since there is only one bed.

This leaves the owners of POFQ a choice. They can either choose to renovate and enlarge a section of rooms in order to make them contain 2 double beds and still meet the clearance requirements, or they can offer a complementary additional room for handicapped parties that need 2 beds. Obviously it's MUCH cheaper just to comp the occasional room than it is to build or renovate a whole extra section. And so that's what they do.

 

[SueM in MN]

I don't know any other way to say this, but this is completely and totally wrong. OP, please don't let it discourage you.

I'm pointing this out not to pick on the poster I quoted, but because misinformation causes so many disabled people to either think that places are inaccesible to them, or that they must pay extra to be accomodated.

The law, as stated in the ADA Accessibility Guideline for Buildings and Facilities (http://www.access-board.gov/adaag/about/index.htm for those playing along at home) reads:

9.1.4 Classes of Sleeping Accommodations.

(1) In order to provide persons with disabilities a range of options equivalent to those available to other persons served by the facility, sleeping rooms and suites required to be accessible by 9.1.2 shall be dispersed among the various classes of sleeping accommodations available to patrons of the place of transient lodging. Factors to be considered include room size, cost, amenities provided, and the number of beds provided.

(2) Equivalent Facilitation. For purposes of this section, it shall be deemed equivalent facilitation if the operator of a facility elects to limit construction of accessible rooms to those intended for multiple occupancy, provided that such rooms are made available at the cost of a single occupancy room to an individual with disabilities who requests a single-occupancy room.


Disney, and any hotel subject to ADA, is responsible for providing equal accomodations for handicapped. They are not responsible for your party size, but they are not allowed to charge you more simply due to their configurations of handicap rooms.

Again, I'll use our trip as an example. DH, my mom, and I chose to stay at POFQ. They offer, at a standard rate, a double bedded room that will sleep 4 people. Therefore, when accomodating disabled people, they are responsible for providing sleeping space for 4 people at the standard room rate.

POFQ, like many hotels, cannot put 2 double beds in a room and still meet the legal clearances around furniture/fixtures required to make a room handicap accessible. Therefore, they only offer king bedded rooms as handicap accessible. King bedded rooms, obviously, cannot sleep 4 people, since there is only one bed.

This leaves the owners of POFQ a choice. They can either choose to renovate and enlarge a section of rooms in order to make them contain 2 double beds and still meet the clearance requirements, or they can offer a complementary additional room for handicapped parties that need 2 beds. Obviously it's MUCH cheaper just to comp the occasional room than it is to build or renovate a whole extra section. And so that's what they do.

Thank you for posting this.

Someone with a party of 4 who chooses a room with a king size bed because they want a king size bed is in a much different situation than someone who needs a wheelchair accessible room.
If the only wheelchair accessible rooms have king size beds, the person who needs an accessible room has no choice. They have to be in one of those rooms no matter how many people are in their party; even if they want to be in a double room, they can't be if it doesn't meet their needs for accessibility.
If there are 4 in the party, a double room has beds for 4 to sleep, so the hotel would have to 'comp' a room if there are no wheelchair accessible rooms that can sleep 4.
If there are 6 in the party, a double room only has beds for 4, so the resort would not have to 'comp' a bed for them. Their party could not have slept in one double room anyway.
Sometimes there are only 2 in a room, but they don't want to sleep in the same bed. If they are in a double room, they can choose to each sleep in one of the beds. If they are in a wheelchair accessible room with a king bed, the resort has provided bed space for 2 people, so if they choose not to sleep together, the resort doesn't have to 'comp' a room.

According to law, the various handicapped rooms must be "dispersed among the various classes of sleeping accommodations available to patrons of the place of transient lodging. Factors to be considered include room size, cost, amenities provided, and the number of beds provided."
If the resort chooses to put the majority/all their wheelchair accessible handicapped rooms in the more expensive view, it would not be fair (or legal) to charge the higher price to anyone who needs a handicapped room. Doing that would not be equal treatment.

 

[Diznejen1]

Thank you all very much for all of your knowledge about handicap rooms at WL. I did in fact call CRO this afternoon and spoke to a very nice woman who knew very little about handicap rooms. She at first quoted me a standard room price and said that in the special comments section she would request a handicap room. After we picked out dates and before she went to finalize the transaction she put me on hold. She came back and asked me if my father needed the roll in bathroom. I told her if there were handle bars, probably not.
She then said that we would then have to book the Woods view room(b/c there are no bars in the the bathroom) which would have the roll in shower and handle bars. And cost about $28.00 more per night.
Whats strange to me is the number of beds never came up. (IF they booked the king bed I get to sleep with my DH and DAD ) Im not even sure how many beds there are going to be.
I have the room on hold, and have until the 21st. to make a deposit.
Pearlique...you tell me more about special reservations?
Thanks everyone for everything