OKW Grand Villa's

[goldilocks_63]

I need a non-handicapped room Grand Villa at OKW, with either first floor acess or elevator.

I know SSR has elevator, but points are almost 100 higher for same dates.

This is for elderly relatives, who can't walk well or do stairs, but would be insulted if put into a HA room.

Suggestions, Goldi?

 

[SueM in MN]

They really won't have much choice at OKW. Most of the Grand Villas at OKW begin on the second floor and go up to the third floor. There are 2 Grand Villas that are Handicapped accessible - one is in building 48 and begins on the first floor and goes to the second. The other is in building 63, which is one of the buildings with elevators. I believe (but am not sure) that there is at least one Grand Villa in building 63 besides that one. That would make only 3 OKW GVs that are accessible without climbing stairs - and 2 of them are wheelchair accessible.
BUT, the only way to guarantee that you will have first floor or elevator access is to reserve one of the handicapped accessible villas.
If you request "First Floor or elevator building for Medical Reasons", that will generally work for studio, 1 and 2 bedrooms because there are lots that fit that request. For GVs there are very few that meet that request. If someone has reserved one of the wheelchair accessible ones, you will be out of luck because they have a confirmed reservation for that room and you have only a request.

The accessible units are very nice - we stayed in building 48. The only restroom that is accessible is the Master bathroom and the main thing that makes it accessible is that it has a roll in shower with a shower seat that pulls down from the wall. It still has a whirlpool tub in the master bath. The other bathroom on the bottom floor is not wheelchair accessible. The only other differences are a few minor things in the kitchen. There is no cabinet under the kitchen sink and the sinks are a bit shallower than normal. There is also not a garbage disposal. The second floor is not wheelchair accessible.

 

[goldilocks_63]

Can someone please PM or email me with the phone number for the disabilities phone number.

It sounds like the GV in building 63 is what we need, and I have OKW points, and can be flexible on the date, so maybe they could help me to reserve this....

Goldi

 

[Cheshire Figment]

The Special (Medical) Reservations number is 407-939-7807. However, anything involving DVC has to be handled through Member Services.

 

[goldilocks_63]

So do I then make the reservation thru OKW, and then ask to be connected to disabilities....

Last time I put 1st floor access for medical needs, so they put us on 3rd floor OKW, and said oh, that was only a request not a guarantee....

So how do I get the guarantee.....?

 

[SueM in MN]

So do I then make the reservation thru OKW, and then ask to be connected to disabilities....

Last time I put 1st floor access for medical needs, so they put us on 3rd floor OKW, and said oh, that was only a request not a guarantee....

So how do I get the guarantee.....?

The short answer is that that making a reservation for a Handicapped Accessible Grand Villa (GV) is the only was to guarantee a GV on the first floor or in an elevator building at OKW.
The long version is what follows.
NOTE: The first part of this post ONLY applies to studios, one and 2 bedrooms. There are lots of those that are on first floor, so finding one for you should not be hard.
GVs are another matter since there are only a few with first floor or elevator access and most of those are handicapped accessible.

If it was on your confirmation sheet as "First floor or building with elevator for Medical reasons" (or something similar, like disabled guest) AND you have a reservation for a studio, one or two bedroom at OKW, you should not have a problem. In going to OKW since 1992, we have never had a problem with requesting and getting that.
If they are not able to meet your first floor request for some reason, then ask to be changed the next day and that they waive the usual fee they have for making a room change. If you had a medical request written on your confirmation and they didn't meet it, they should have to correct it without charging you.
If you told them it was for medical reasons, but that was not printed on your confirmation sheet, then it is just a request that may or may not be filled. And, they usually try to fill the first request you list if they can, so if it was not listed first, they would give higher priority to what was listed first.
They will not guarantee first floor or elevator even with medical requests, but they do fill the medical requests before the general requests for the same thing. If you have other requests as well, the more requests you have made, the less chance that they will not have a room that meets all your requests. But, they will fill the first floor request first if it is listed as medical needs. So, the chance of you not getting it are pretty small, unless you have a reservation for a GV.

If you have a medical request for a first floor GV, that is just a request and might be able to be met, if no one else has a guarantee for one of the handicapped accessible units. If they do, their guarantee takes priority over your request.

Now to the reservation part:
If you are using points (either your own points or rented/borrowed points from someone else) or are a member paying cash, you would go thru Member Services. They will go thru Special Services to check that what you need is available.

If you are paying cash and are not a member, you would go thru the regular Disney reservations system. They will contact Special Services to check on availability.

You can't get a guaranteed location (like building 63) or first floor, even thru Special Services. We were told they could not guarantee us those things, but could guarantee us a Handicapped Accessible (HA) GV.
You can get a wheelchair accessible unit blocked for you. That doesn't necessarily mean that you will get that exact unit, even if they block it for you. My DH had been told the HA Grand Villa blocked for us would be in building 63; we had an extra studio and Special Services had linked the two and put a note requesting the studio be in building 63 so that it would be close to the GV blocked for us. When we went to check in, our GV was in building 48 (which was HA) and since our reservations were linked, they put the studio we reserved in the same building.
We asked what had heppened to the block in building 63; they couldn't/wouldn't answer, other than that it was occupied (not out of service). They knew that they needed a HA GV for us, so they gave us the only other one in the resort, which was building 48.
My best guess is that since we checked in late in the day, the person who had the other reserved HA GV probably checked in earlier that day. When they were told theirs was in buidling 48, they probably asked for something closer to the Hospitality House. So, they probably got the one that was blocked for us.
Building 48 turned out to be fine. It was a 0.3 mile walk for those of us who could walk to the front. My FIL just hopped on the bus when he wanted to go to the sop/pool area. The bus stop was right outside our door.

 

[spiceycat]

This is for elderly relatives, who can't walk well or do stairs, but would be insulted if put into a HA room.

Suggestions, Goldi?

no offense - but why take people who can't walk well to WDW?

if they don't give up their pride and take a wheelchair you and they are not going to be happy....

you can do 15 miles a day at WDW. not a place for people who would be insulted to be in a hc room, yet seem to need one.

 

[goldilocks_63]

Because they want to go to Florida for the nice weather, and are perfectly content to read a good book on the balcony and watch the golfers go by.....

You are right, they don't go to visit Disney (They don't like it....), so will maybe spend 1 or 2 days with GrandDaughter during an 8 day trip.

So it's not the lure of Disney, but the lure of FLORIDA.

We're from Chicago (Burr,... cold).

Goldi