Questions about w/c and rooms.

[Mickeysangel49]

My sister and I are going to ASMo in September and she is unable to walk more than 100 feet without being exhausted and in pain. We have requested a "preferred room" because she doesn't really need a handicap shower or toilet, etc., we just need to be closer to the food court/busses, etc. My concern is that according to what I've read, the 'handicap rooms' all have 1 king sized bed. I called ASMo today and was told that not only do the handicapped rooms have that, but all the preferred rooms do as well. That doesn't sound right to me at all! Anyone have any other info?

We also plan to get a wheelchair at ASMo to have for the whole stay. From what I've read, it's a good idea to reserve one in advance, but when I tried to do that today, she said I couldn't reserve in advance, that it's first come, first served. I'm wondering if that's correct? The other question about chairs - are the ones from the resort (and, actually, the ones in the parks) all standard wheelchairs or do they have companion chairs as well?

Thanks for any help you can give!

87 days and counting!

 

[Mickeysangel49]

OOps! Forgot to add - are the ones from the resorts really free with a refundable $250 deposit?

 

[KPeveler]

the ones at the resort are usually not meant to be taken off the resort property. you can rent one in the parks, or you can rent one from off-site. check out the FAQ at the top of the page.

how old is your sister? She may be able to rent an ECV (scooter) if she is over 18.

 

[Mickeysangel49]

When I spoke to them at ASMo this morning, I specifically asked if they could be used throughout WDW and she said yes, all over the resort and the parks.

My sister is 66 - and this is her first trip to Disney! We can't wait! (And no, she doesn't have any other disabilities besides her inability to walk any distance!) We can't afford to rent an ECV.

 

[SueM in MN]

When I spoke to them at ASMo this morning, I specifically asked if they could be used throughout WDW and she said yes, all over the resort and the parks.

My sister is 66 - and this is her first trip to Disney! We can't wait! (And no, she doesn't have any other disabilities besides her inability to walk any distance!) We can't afford to rent an ECV.

Although most people were told they could borrow the wheelchair from the resort for their whole trip and take it to the parks, occasionally people have reported they were told what KPeveler wrote or were told that they could have it for only a portion of their stay.
They are free with a refundable deposit (there is more information about this on the disABILITIES FAQs thread).

From what I've read, it's a good idea to reserve one in advance, but when I tried to do that today, she said I couldn't reserve in advance, that it's first come, first served. I'm wondering if that's correct?

That is correct. They can't be reserved from the resorts in advance. If you want to reserve them ahead of time, you need to get one from one of the off-site rental places (there are links to those in the disABILITIES FAQs thread.

The other question about chairs - are the ones from the resort (and, actually, the ones in the parks) all standard wheelchairs or do they have companion chairs as well?

They only have standard wheelchairs. Companion (also called transport) wheelchairs are available from some of the off-site rental places.

 

[Mickeysangel49]

Thanks for all the help

We decided to go the "rent from off-site" route so we can relax and not worry about whether or not we'll get a w/c at the resort or the parks. I called and reserved one today so it's all taken care of!

Oh - I also straightened out the room situation as well.

We can't wait!

 

[dclfun]

I'm glad you got the room situation fixed. I was going to say that if you didn't need a roll in shower and only needed the preferred location, then you could certainly get a room close to the food court/bus stop with two double beds if that's what you wanted. Just by being in the preferred section doesn't mean the rooms are accessible when in fact they have accessible room types in both preferred and non-preferred. I hope you both have a great vacation!---Kathy

 

[OneLittleSpark]

You might want to add a comment to your reservation asking to be close to the main building for medical reasons. That way you should hopefully be a really easy wheel away, rather than risk being on one of the outside edges of the preferred section. Just make sure that if you do this that you do state the 'for medical reasons' part, so they know you're not just being fussy!

Have a wonderful trip!