New features on WDW resort reservations webpage

[SueM in MN]

The Disney website recently made some really nice changes to their resort room reservation website.
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resorts/

You can make reservations on-line, using a search engine to find whether your resort has any accessible rooms of the type you need, in the view/location you want for the dates and number of people you want.
It also has pictures of every room type, which includes all parts of the room. So you can actually see what the roll in shower looks like, where a wheelchair could be parked in the bathroom and whether the room with a tub with bars would work for you at that resort.

Some people may still need or prefer to talk to a human, but at very least, you will have more information before you call.
(And, keep in mind that the accessible room only shows one room, there may be other rooms that are set up as a mirror image to the picture.

The changes to the website put it in compliance with new ADA requirements for hotels and places of lodging. The update took effect starting on March 15, 2011 with requirements for compliance as of March 15, 2012 (at least to have started compliance). The new rules require that:
1) Guests needing reservations for accessible guest rooms are able to make reservations in the same manner (telephone, in-person, website) and during the same hours as guests who don't need accessible rooms.

2) The reservation system gives enough detail about accessible features in the hotels and guest rooms to reasonably permit individuals with disabilities to assess independently whether a given hotel or guest room meets his/her accessibility needs.

3) Accessible guest rooms are held for use by individuals with disabilities until all other guest rooms of that type have been rented and the accessible room requested is the only remaining room of that type.

4) When a guest makes reservations for accessible guest rooms or specific types of guest rooms, the guest rooms requested are blocked and removed from all reservations systems.

5) Guarantee that the specific accessible guest room reserved through its reservations service is held for the reserving customer.

You can find the whole regulation here:
http://www.ada.gov/regs2010/titleIII_2010/titleIII_2010_regulations.htm#a302
(scroll down a bit; it is in section e)

 

[Bete]

Thanks for letting us know.

 

[loadsapixiedust]

This would be so useful but we can't access it from the UK, we get a redirect to the WDTC UK site which has no accessibility info. It's so frustrating!

 

[SueM in MN]

This would be so useful but we can't access it from the UK, we get a redirect to the WDTC UK site which has no accessibility info. It's so frustrating!

It just became active on the US site, so hopefully will be added to other country's site too!

 

[stitchlovestink]

It just became active on the US site, so hopefully will be added to other country's site too!

hmmm....I wonder if they added it in bits and pieces because the POP ones have been on there for almost a month. They were on there when my DD and I made a reservation back in april. I thought it was pretty cool!

 

[KPeveler]

hmmm....I wonder if they added it in bits and pieces because the POP ones have been on there for almost a month. They were on there when my DD and I made a reservation back in april. I thought it was pretty cool!

They probably tested parts of the site before the whole thing went live. This is a major change to their system, so the probably divided it down into modules and brought it up one piece at a time. That way if one part breaks (which one part inevitably will - I have worked in IT during a major system upgrade), it doesn't break the whole system.

This system is required for many things - now when I buy tickets for plays or shows, they cannot require me to wait 48 hrs for an email reply or make me call them on the phone where I will inevitably talk to a person who does not know what they are doing. Now I can buy tickets for baseball right on the website, etc. It was part of the update to the ADA, trying to update it for technology.

Also, as Sue said, the change was required by March, and this is May, so it likely was changed by last month.

 

[SueM in MN]

hmmm....I wonder if they added it in bits and pieces because the POP ones have been on there for almost a month. They were on there when my DD and I made a reservation back in april. I thought it was pretty cool!

'Just' in this case is a relative term, not meaning I saw it right before I posted it.
I don't remember exactly when I first saw it, but it was sometime after mid March. I don't know if all parts were working when I first saw it because I only tested a few pages.
As KPeveler mentioned, they may also have made different parts active at times to test.

Also, the new WDW website was not constantly working at first. I didn't want to post it until I was able to consistently see it was working on various computers, iPad, iPhone, etc.
It has been working well for a while (again, I don't know the exact date) , so I posted it.

It is pretty cool - especially the pictures.

 

[goofieslonglostsis]

This would be so useful but we can't access it from the UK, we get a redirect to the WDTC UK site which has no accessibility info. It's so frustrating!

You can very easily bypass this. It's because of your cookies that are on your system since you've been to WDTC UK already. So; remove all cookies from your browser. Close browser. Reopen, then go to https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/

Sometimes it can ask you if you want to go to WDTC International, but then you simply tell them no. And voila, you are on WDTC USA.


It's been this way for YEARS. As soon as you've been on the UK site, it will auto-redirect but purely based on your cookies and not on your actual location. I've always used both sites for pricing (most trips booked through WDTC would be cheaper for me through the US, but have used UK also when that was cheaper) and it takes me nothing more or less than a change of cookies.


Also on the bottom of the side there is an option to change location that will allow you to go from UK site to USA site, but have found that very irratic in sometimes working and sometimes refusing to work.

 

[barrysprot36]

You can very easily bypass this. It's because of your cookies that are on your system since you've been to WDTC UK already. So; remove all cookies from your browser. Close browser. Reopen, then go to https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/

Sometimes it can ask you if you want to go to WDTC International, but then you simply tell them no. And voila, you are on WDTC USA.


It's been this way for YEARS. As soon as you've been on the UK site, it will auto-redirect but purely based on your cookies and not on your actual location. I've always used both sites for pricing (most trips booked through WDTC would be cheaper for me through the US, but have used UK also when that was cheaper) and it takes me nothing more or less than a change of cookies.


Also on the bottom of the side there is an option to change location that will allow you to go from UK site to USA site, but have found that very irratic in sometimes working and sometimes refusing to work.

I've just done as you suggested and still got re-routed back to the UK site. I used to be able to price up accommodation in $$ but now I have to ring the US to get a price and book. It's even worse than it used to be

 

[Combos]

ADA requirements were present with the initial launch of the new site. If you click on the "accessible rooms" on the search, when you go to look at a resort page you see the special room accommodations.

 

[goofieslonglostsis]

I've just done as you suggested and still got re-routed back to the UK site. I used to be able to price up accommodation in $$ but now I have to ring the US to get a price and book. It's even worse than it used to be

Shoot, that's a shame. Hoped it might be the new website itself, many folks have such trouble that they can price out things or see ADR availability, but as soon as they want to lock something in; "server busy". But obviously the rerouting would not occur than. Must now be rerouting when finding a UK based visitor. Just tried it myself, but no problems with redirecting (but am one of those unable to lock things in), so perhaps a new policy trying to make it less easy for you UK-guys to use both options? (which would be stupid, if you ask me...)

 

[FortForever]

1) Guests needing reservations for accessible guest rooms are able to make reservations in the same manner (telephone, in-person, website) and during the same hours as guests who don't need accessible rooms.

2) The reservation system gives enough detail about accessible features in the hotels and guest rooms to reasonably permit individuals with disabilities to assess independently whether a given hotel or guest room meets his/her accessibility needs.

3) Accessible guest rooms are held for use by individuals with disabilities until all other guest rooms of that type have been rented and the accessible room requested is the only remaining room of that type.

4) When a guest makes reservations for accessible guest rooms or specific types of guest rooms, the guest rooms requested are blocked and removed from all reservations systems.

5) Guarantee that the specific accessible guest room reserved through its reservations service is held for the reserving customer.

You can find the whole regulation here:
http://www.ada.gov/regs2010/titleIII_2010/titleIII_2010_regulations.htm#a302
(scroll down a bit; it is in section e)

Wow, I'm kind of shocked that these things were not always the case.

I can't imagine what a horror it would be to need and reserve an accessible room and then have it not be available when you got there.

 

[joanchris]

This is great, thanks!
And just FYI for others reading this, if you visit the link, just below where it talks about hotel accommodations, it has new guidelines for ticketing at venues (we've had issues with places like the circus, those types of events) that require (can't find the date for that one) 3 consecutive wc companion seats. We've not gone to any ticketed event since my daughter was about 6 because we've not been able to get 4 seats together, they have only ever allowed 2, we want to go as a family not as one adult and one kid each. This is great for us! They also are requiring the same types of ticketing access (online, same hours as others can purchase tickets, not being required to call for tickets). I don't know how Cirque de Soleil has been at Disney, but if they hadn't been as accommodating this should help.

 

[SueM in MN]

Wow, I'm kind of shocked that these things were not always the case.

I can't imagine what a horror it would be to need and reserve an accessible room and then have it not be available when you got there.

Other than one time about 20 yrs ago hen we got assigned a second floor room, we have not had many issues at WDW.

But, over the years, we have had some pretty interesting experiencesoter places.
You are never quite sure what you will find the place'sidea of 'accessible' is.

We had reservations for an accessible room at one place where the room was OK, but there was a sidewalk with 2 steps to get into the room ( no roll I shower, but we knew that ahead of time).

One other time in Northern Minnesota, we requested an accessible room and when we got to the door, there was a step down to get into the front hall of the room and a step up from the front hall into the room. The master bedroom of the villa was sunken compared to the living room and kitchenette.
I went to the desk and explained that they must have assigned us the wrong room because it was not accessible. The desk clerk's answer was that all their rooms were like that and they thought going down one little step would not be an issue for anyone.

 

[KPeveler]

Wow, I'm kind of shocked that these things were not always the case.

I can't imagine what a horror it would be to need and reserve an accessible room and then have it not be available when you got there.

I was in an accessible room my mom booked for me (non-roll in shower, got a shower seat - she did not know there was a difference) in Hilton Downtown Disney - right across the street from Once Upon a Toy. While this is not a Disney hotel, it is a major chain.

I had to store my wheelchair in the bathroom and walk because unmoveable furniture (the dresser and tv build into the wall) was so close to the door I could not fit my wheelchair through.

My wheelchair is 23 inches wide. And this was an accessible room.

Incidentally, my parent's non-accessible room - I could get in that one ::