Questions about MK View/Accessible Room at The Poly

[Mr. Sanders]

Hello All!

I've been reading the forums for some time and I think I've got the gist of it now Finally worked up the courage to post a thread with some specific questions about our upcoming trip. Hope I'm doing this right!

I've run through all of the Poly FAQ threads, this one and the others about making room/building requests with special needs guests. But I'm still left a bit worried....

A little history, first to put things in perspective if that's ok?

My wife, son and I have been to WDW each year for the past four. Each time we've stayed at the moderates - CBR, POFQ or PO riverside. And each time we've gone, we have made sure there is a notation on our reservation that my boy uses a wheelchair, and requested accessible rooms. We've never made specific building or view requests before.

Never once have any of those requests been met in advance. It has, on every visit come down to the unseemly moment of frustration at check-in of asking for what we reserved, and settling for something else. (Once we did get bumped to joining rooms at CBR so we would have room for my son's wheelchair and medical equipment. But no roll-in shower. No tub rails.)

Look, I understand that room requests are just that, "requests." And we do always go in March during his spring break and I understand it's "peak season." The accessible rooms always seem booked by the time we check in.

The last two trips, I took the advice of fellow posters here and made the calls and faxed the faxes about our requests- in advance. No luck with that, either. It's always an earnest apology and "the next best thing" from the front desk CM.

Ok, so here we are about to make our annual Disney pilgrimage. Again in March. Except this time I'm recovering from knee surgery, so I'm not as mobile as I have been.

But as a treat for my son we are going just the same. We've saved up all year and are going to splurge on a Deluxe. He's always wanted to stay at the Poly and this year thanks to a bounceback we can afford it. Here's how the ressie looks in our confirmation from Disney:
*******************************************************
HOTEL
POLYNESIAN- NOKPOLYNESIAN-THEME PARK VIEW

SPECIAL REQUEST: GUEST WITH DISABILITIES

SPECIAL REQUEST: GUEST HAS DIFFICULTY WALKING

PLEASE NOTE: HIGHEST FLOOR/BEST VIEW REQ

*********************************************************

Ok, so now to on to my worries. I've studied the maps of the Poly, looked at the pics here (and elsewhere), and compared the location of accessible rooms. I'm afraid our requests for Theme Park View AND Accessible are at odds with each other when it comes to most of the longhouses. Looks like Tahiti would be our best bet - close to the TTC and MK view.

But I've lost faith in all the methods we have attempted in the past to convey our needs. And just this once, I'd really love for this trip to be perfect. I'm not expecting anything I'm not willing to pay for. But I am expecting to get *at least* that. Just once.

So, wise fellow-Disney travelers - what have I been doing wrong? Am I missing something? Is there some "Magic Number" to call? A secret handshake? Or am I yet again at the whim of whichever CM happens to be working the desk the day we check in?

Apologies for the length of this post. Hope I haven't violated some forum rules on my first time out.

Any suggestions or advice would be much appreciated!

And thanks

 

[BroganMc]

You're not noting your needs correctly on reservations. Your reservation request is not for someone with a wheelchair. You need to specifically request a "wheelchair accessible room with roll-in shower".

Call Special Needs tomorrow and get them to block a room for you. Special Reservations Line: (407) 939-7807

You'll need your reservation number on hand. Special Needs can hold a particular room configuration for you. This room will be held for you before the Front Desk gets a crack at it. AFAIK, the accessible rooms in the Poly are not Theme Park view. They're in the building closest to the TTC. Not a bad location in the resort, just not with a view of the Magic Kingdom.

 

[Mr. Sanders]

Hmmm...so all this time it was me not using the correct Disney lingo? Thanks very much for the heads up. And I'll call that number you posted and be more specific about our family's needs.

So, one more question?

Does the person at Special Needs have the authority to resolve the conflict you mention between the room we need and the MK View we payed for? If I understand you correctly it's either one or the other at the Poly?

That's a shame.

Although looking at the charts and maps, it would appear to me at least that Tahiti Longhouse rooms 1016 and 1017 are wheelchair accessible - albeit with tub rails rather than roll in shower. That would be workable, I think.

I don't mean to be daft, but can I be as specific as that when I call Special Needs?

And again, thank you so very much!

 

[Mr. Sanders]

Ok, I called the Special Reservations number posted above, and was more specific about our particular needs.

It was an, um..."interesting" conversation. After the call taker had me explain in as much detail as I could what specifically our requirements are he put me on hold for about 10 minutes to "check with the resort."

I guess my concerns about the combination of TPV and an accessible room were out least somewhat valid. There really *are* a very limited number of rooms that are fully accessible and have the view we wanted unless you book Poly CL. Maybe next trip, after we see it all first hand.

Crossing my fingers it will work out

I plan on taking a ton of pictures during our stay. Any interest from you guys about a "trip report"? I know I would have loved to have seen some details and pics of the accessible rooms to ease my concerns before the trip. But I don't want to be duplicating efforts if there's already that info here.

(I haven't fully scoured the forums just yet...though I sure am trying...LOL)

 

[twinmum]

Ok, I called the Special Reservations number posted above, and was more specific about our particular needs.

It was an, um..."interesting" conversation. After the call taker had me explain in as much detail as I could what specifically our requirements are he put me on hold for about 10 minutes to "check with the resort."

I guess my concerns about the combination of TPV and an accessible room were out least somewhat valid. There really *are* a very limited number of rooms that are fully accessible and have the view we wanted unless you book Poly CL. Maybe next trip, after we see it all first hand.

Crossing my fingers it will work out

I plan on taking a ton of pictures during our stay. Any interest from you guys about a "trip report"? I know I would have loved to have seen some details and pics of the accessible rooms to ease my concerns before the trip. But I don't want to be duplicating efforts if there's already that info here.

(I haven't fully scoured the forums just yet...though I sure am trying...LOL)

Hello! First, let me tell you...I feel and share your pain! Long story made short, we too have struggled with conveying some of our son's needs.

Your thread interested me because we will be at the Poly in 10 days (!!!) for the first time. This trip, it's just me, our twin boys (one of whom uses a walker or wheelchair) and their best friend. Based on some great past experience with CL at the GF,I booked CL at the Poly...but after looking at a very detailed Poly fan website (tikiman), it seemed to me that the accessible rooms were all GV. Which makes me kinda mad, right? Shouldn't our kids enjoy that view, too? I am interested in moving to TPV (and we'll deal with the issues of a non-handicapped accessible room), but none available so far.

We'll see where we end up!

 

[Mr. Sanders]

Yeah, I found the "tikiman" website to be an invaluable resource, as well. It was hard to decide between Hawaii CL - they *do* have more accessible rooms there, but as you mention they all appear to be GV - and a TPV room.

In the end, we've decided to take our chances (like you) and see what we get. If you haven't already, I suggest calling the Special Reservations number posted up-thread. It took a fair amount of explaining, a little cajoling and a great deal of patience to navigate that call but I think it may have done some good.

I'd be very interested to hear about how your trip went once you get back, if you get a chance to hit the forums when you return. We're going towards the end of March and it'll certainly be great to have some first-hand info on how you are treated at the Poly.

Have a great trip!