Question for the DVC pro's

[treboats]

My DH and I are considering becoming DVC members but we have a 6 year old with special needs. He can't walk right now but we are working on it and when he does walk he will probably need a walker. My question is are all of the DVC resorts very handicap accesible or is one better than the others? I mean right now we can take him in a regular stroller but as he gets older even if he can walk he may not be able to go all day. What do you guys think?

 

[mom2alix]

Treboats,

I think all resorts would be equally handicap accessible. WDW works really hard at being accessible which is great.

I would recommend that you pose this same question over on the DISabilities board. While there are lots of DVC experts here, I think the folks over there are much more knowledgable about the challenges of getting around WDW in a wheelchair or using a walker.

I wish I could be more help than this, but I didn't want you to think your post was being ignored! Good luck and hopefully we'll be welcoming you as a neighbor soon!

Here's a link to the DISabilities board:

http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=20

 

[Laurabearz]

All the DVC resorts have handicapped units and WDW transportation is great with wheelchairs and such.

The above poster linked you to the DisAbilities board here on the DIS... they are the experts... really truely... about everything WDW has to offer along those lines!

Oh and..... WELCOME TO THE DIS!!! So glad you found us!

 

[jimmytammy]

We have noticed lots of things in WDW in general geared towards people who are physically challenged. These are things that stand out in my mind at VWL....the ramp leading towards the villas from the main lodge is on a decline easy to manuever for a wheelchair, and is wide also. All the main doors slide upon approach. The boat and bus areas are easily accessible.

When making ressies, you can request a handicap room. Also, you can request a 1st floor if this would help. Make sure MS services is aware of your reasons for these requests. We have learned to not be so concerned with the view requests as for a non-smoking request. I have bronchial problems that once I start coughing, all of VWL guests will be up with me before the night ends

I cant say I know what your going through with your DS, but our DS has had physical and mental challenges since his birth. He is 10 now. Because of this we seem to notice things that might help handicapped folks lives to be a little easier. WDW does a great job at this I think.

I think you will find that all DVC resorts are relatively the same in the detail.

I suggest looking closely at the resort you would like to call home, and if
possible ask to stay in a handicap room for a couple of nights to see what you think.

Good luck in your decision!!

 

[Eeyore'sthebest]

We were at SSR this past Saturday and did become DVC members. My DH uses an ECV although he does have some limited mobility. We specifically went to look at the resort because we wanted to check for handicap accessibility. With the standard 1 bedroom he was able to manuever his ECV in and out of the room. I'm sure it will be better with a HC specific room. We liked the fact that we could drive right up to the building instead of walking through the lobby.
There are ramps, etc through out the entire place. The pool has a zero entry and also a wheelchair for entry into the pool (check out the pictures on this website). There is also the jumping fountain (I'm sure it has a different name) with Donald Duck. Definitely something your DS can use.
My DH went on a recon mission while I was speaking with the CM. He used the excuse of checking out our DD in the kid center. When he came back he noted that the visitor center, while HC accessible, was hard for a handicapped individual to physically get in the doors without someone else. There were no push buttons for the doors to open! The woman sat there, thought about it and said "You're right!" She promised to bring it up to mgmt. Other than that oversight there weren't any other issues that he had with the resort. We were very happy and we bought our points.

We stayed at the AKL on this past trip and were happy with the HCA room. The roll-in shower was wonderful. It had the fold-down bench to sit on which helped with my DD5 who isn't too fond of showers. We made it into a game for her.
Good Luck with everything!

 

[treboats]

I cant say I know what your going through with your DS, but our DS has had physical and mental challenges since his birth. He is 10 now. Because of this we seem to notice things that might help handicapped folks lives to be a little easier. WDW does a great job at this I think.

Thanks everybody for your help!

My DS is also both physically and mentally delayed. He is loves the parks and is the main reason we want to buy there. I guess I'll just have to tell DH that we have to go on vacation so we can make a decision!

 

[JudithM]

I rent an ECV (scooter) from an off site company, & I stay at OKW. I have never had a problem getting around the resort. I do request either an elevator building or first floor for medical reasons.

As a side note ... we drove to the Beach club & self-parked. We usually valet park. We got the ECV out of the trunk, put it together & off I went. However, there were only curbs, so I had to ride in the roadway.

 

[JimC]

My wife uses a wheelchair. WDW is known to be very good with such challenges. The only problem we have ever had is the less than stellar record of wheelchair accessible buses with equipment that works. Three trips in a row we had busses with faulty equipment. And it was more than once per trip. We wrote WDW explaining the problem (never got a response) and now just rent cars and drive. Easy solution!

At DVC the only tip we would have for you is to make sure at OKW to request a first floor villa for medical reasons. Most OKW buildings do not have an elevator.

We enjoy WDW and DVC. Best wishes.

 

[Pa@okw95]

My DH and I are considering becoming DVC members but we have a 6 year old with special needs. He can't walk right now but we are working on it and when he does walk he will probably need a walker. My question is are all of the DVC resorts very handicap accesible or is one better than the others? I mean right now we can take him in a regular stroller but as he gets older even if he can walk he may not be able to go all day. What do you guys think?

I would lean toward the DVC that is more hotel like with elevators like BWV or BCV or WLV. I am a member of OKW and you would have to get a ground floor unit which should not be a problem if you stress when making the reservation your situation, you will probably get a HCA room also which would be good. There are two buildings at OKW that have elevators but to the best of my knowledge they do not have any HCA rooms. All the walkways at OKW are HCA but OKW is spread out. WDW has a great history of taking care of the special needs kids as I am sure you know.

 

[OneMoreTry]

We have a handicapped girl. She can walk but has frequent seizures so stairs are scary.

We bought DVC because of the size of our family. It is cheaper than 2 rooms at the hotels, even the moderates. And we want to stay in the same room and have the space of a 2br.

I would recommend DVC only if you're going to go to WDW a lot and you want fairly deluxe accomodations. Consider it CAFEFULLY. It's not as cheap as the value resorts and probably more expensive than the moderates if you are savvy and use discount codes. But WE LOVE IT and it works for us.

WDW is a great place for people with handicaps. They can do fun stuff with their family and there's lots to choose from!!! That's a big reason we go there.

If you are considering OKW you should ask where the HA rooms are and decide if you like those locations. Most of the bldgs do not have elevators.

 

[SueM in MN]

We were at SSR this past Saturday and did become DVC members..........The pool has a zero entry and also a wheelchair for entry into the pool (check out the pictures on this website). There is also the jumping fountain (I'm sure it has a different name) with Donald Duck. Definitely something your DS can use.

We stayed at SSR in July and were excited to see the zero entry pool, but....I was very disappointed when we actually got into the pool. The pool is only a litle over 3 feet deep at the deepest point. I need water at least 4 feet deep in order to bring DD into the pool and do anything other than just sit in a water wheelchair.
Jus wanted to mention that unless you need the features of a wheelchair accessible room (roll in shower, roll under sinks, raised seat toilets), you may be better off not staying in the wheelchair accessible rooms. The raised seat toilets are difficult for children to use (and since my DD is an adult, but barely 5 feet tall, they are too high for her).

We have been members of DVC at OKW since 1993 and we have stayed at all the DVC resorts. They all have pluses and minuses, but for our needs with a DD who uses a wheelchair, we have found OKW works out the best. If you have a vehicle, you can park very close to your villa. We have had occasional problems with buses, but very few. In the past 2 years, WDW has gotten a lot of new accessible buses (some of them can even be operated in a manual mode), so the chances of getting a non-working lift or ramp are much less now.
The villas at OKW are considerably bigger than the comparable units at the other DVC . We have no problem with DD manouvering her small adult wheelchair in a regular room at OKW. To get around the other resorts, we had to move furniture and she could not go out on the porch (the OKW porch is large enough to go out on).
There are only 3 buildings at OKW with elevators (they do have some wheelchair accessible villas in those). We have never had a problem getting a room in either one of those buildings or a first floor unit. It is true that the more "hotel" type resorts have elevators, so getting to your floor isn't hard, but we have usually needed to do a lot of backtracking because our rooms were not that close to the elevator.