Requests

[BUTTERHEAD1]

I have never made a room request before but on my upcoming trip we are staying at CBR and my mom is coming with us. My mom has had two strokes and is currently battling lung cancer. She is very excited about the trip but she isn't capable of walking for long periods at a time. I tried to book preferred rooms but none were available so I called and made room requests for us to be as close to the main building as possible as well as a request for first floor rooms. My question is has anyone made these type requests before and did Disney honor your requests?

 

[maryj11]

I know a lot people request the buildings that are right across the bridge from the main buildings they are Jamaica 45 and Aruba 51. They are about as close as you can get without booking preferred. From what I have read most have gotten their requests. People cancel all the time so you can keep calling back every so often and check to see if any preferred rooms have opened up. I have made requests every time I go and have gotten my request every time but 1 time and asked to be moved and they found us a room close to what we wanted. But we go in off season, I would say it depends on when and how busy they will be if you get your request.

 

[BUTTERHEAD1]

Thanks Mary I was thinking of trying again on July 11th because that's the day our bill was due(the 45 day before our trip). I've stayed there twice before and it didn't matter to me where our room and lo and behold we were as far away as possible . My mother is going to skip the parks on a few occasions and spend those days at the hotel .She is a big tea drinker so I definitely want to get a room for her as close as possible to the food court.

 

[aubriee]

Have you thought about renting her an ECV from offsite? Since CBR does not have elevators, an ECV would guarantee you first floor, plus she'd have the ECV to use at the resort and parks. Battling lung cancer and having two strokes, WDW without an ECV may be very, very difficult for her. My mom has had several TIA's that have affected her left side, plus she's a brittle diabetic and has severe arthritis (needs both knees replaced and won't do it). She does fine here at home, but there is no way she could do WDW without an ECV.

As you know requests are not guaranteed. I go to WDW several times a year and take my elderly mom down there some. Sometimes we get our requests and alot of times we do not, even when I have the CM add a note that it's for medical reasons. I know at PORS I had made a request for building #14 for handicapped reasons (back before that building became preferred). They stuck us way over on the back side in the mansions, but at check in was able to get us into AB 18.

 

[maxiesmom]

Are you sure you want to stay at CBR? Requests cannot be guaranteed ahead of time, so you have no way of knowing what building you will be placed in until you are at the resort. What will you do if you end up in a room that is not close to the food court? I've been denied my requests enough times, so it does happen and you may get stuck with a less than ideal room location.

Have you given any though to switching to a smaller resort, like POFQ, or a moderate that does have preferred rooms available?

 

[Missytara]

I have to agree; especially with the prospect of not having elevators and possibly ending up on the second floor.

Also with CBR, I don't like the fact that you have to walk through the parking lot to get to the rooms. I was in Aruba 52 on my visit on a second floor room and after a long day at the parks it was unbearable.

I would also suggest either preferred at POR or POFQ. POFQ drops you off at the main building and the walk back to the room is shaded.

POR as well; it has multiple spots and once you got off the sidewalk and near the buildings, you are in the shade. Much better option.

 

[mamamary]

Are you sure you want to stay at CBR? Requests cannot be guaranteed ahead of time, so you have no way of knowing what building you will be placed in until you are at the resort. What will you do if you end up in a room that is not close to the food court? I've been denied my requests enough times, so it does happen and you may get stuck with a less than ideal room location.

Have you given any though to switching to a smaller resort, like POFQ, or a moderate that does have preferred rooms available?

I was thinking the exact same thing.

 

[DebbieB]

I agree, I would try to switch to POFQ. It's my favorite moderate, everything is close by.

 

[DJFan88]

I agree with the switching. I've stayed at CBR twice. One time I got my request (which was just for Aruba in general --- and we got the furthest one out there, but was a waterview, which we paid for). 2nd time, I did not get my request at all (which was for the ever popular specific Jamaica/Aruba bldg.) and even then, she would have to go over the bridge, so a little walk. Anyway, we ended way up on the parking lot side of Barbados (which was fine for us, and by the way, the bus was right at our back door, so that was a plus). When I asked if they had anything for our room request, it was a no way. We had also checked in bright and early.

You may want to take a different approach if you are set on staying at CBR. Since everyone requests those Jamaica/Aruba bldgs., try requesting the next closest buildings that are not preferred. When the Barbados buildings start (just look at the map), pick the building closest to Martinique to request. That building will be just about as close as a preferred to the OPR and also will be near the Martinique bus stop. Not as many people will request it probably either since they all want those other two buildings, and therefore their may be more availability to it.

The way it was explained to me when we went, was that people checked in like the days before us, and everyone requests those two buildings, so now they are in there for a week, so they are not available.

 

[DisneyMom5]

Make sure you let them know your request is due to a medical situation. They seem to take notice of that (it's not guaranteed, but it helps.) A smaller resort would help too.

 

[disneybliss2]

We've made a room request twice and both times they were honored, but I know there's plenty of others that haven't had their requests honored--it's chancy. We've also never stayed at CBR. I strongly agree with the other posters, I think switching to a smaller resort, such as POFQ, would be very helpful. You could still make a similar request for there and be that much better off. We have stayed at POFQ and loved it. We requested a room close to the bus stop and it was granted. Very short walk to/from our room. Plus, the resort as a whole is much smaller so that would help your mom. I would look into this option.

 

[minnie mum]

Unlike many of the other posters, I'm NOT going to recommend that you switch resorts. We love CBR. Even though I use a wheelchair at WDW, we don't often request a preferred room. We do request the closer Jamaica or Aruba rooms, though. Sometimes we get our request and sometimes we don't. It's all good and we manage just fine.

What I strongly recommend however is that you rent an ECV for your mom from an outside agency so she can have it 24/7. Then your location is more or less moot. She won't be exhausted from her trips to and from the food court if she has wheels. And when you note the ECV on your reservation, she will be guaranteed a ground floor room.

I would, however, continue to check for a preferred room very frequently between now and your arrival day. I don't believe they would charge a change fee if the change was more than 14 days out. You'd just have to pay for the upgraded room rate.

 

[BUTTERHEAD1]

We have already decided on renting an ECV, as for changing resorts that might be a problem. There will be 17 of us staying at CBR. It is a special trip for her, she will have all of her kids and grand kids together in WDW. She is aware of her limitations and has stated that she will take it easy by spending some of the days at the resort and heading to the parks late afternoon or early evening. I forget which company she is renting her ECV from but it will be delivered to the resort on the day of check in.

 

[dburg30]

First of all to your whole family during the battle..

2nd.. I would consider just a wheelchair and have someone push her. That's what we do with my late 70's mom that is a breast cancer survivor.. She just cant walk that much at once, but is able to get up and move around for rides and attractions and such, but there is no way she could walk or stand for long periods of times.. A folding chair is just IMO, easier IF you have people that have no problem being the pusher.. We have many in our family that have no problem pushing, so it works for us. When it comes to buses and stuff the folding chair is just plain faster also. If an ECV you could have to wait a couple of times if there are others waiting. It wasnt that bad to mess with on the bus either as far I was concerned, not for the flexibility and enjoyment we got to have with mom.

 

[BUTTERHEAD1]

None of us would have a problem pushing her in a wheelchair but she seems to want an electric scooter. As for our large party of 17 we all get along great and have no expectations that we will all want to do the same things at the same times. We have a Chef Mickey dinner reservation and we want to take a family photo in front of the Castle, other than that everyone is on their own. As the oldest I will make sure mom has everything she needs and wants. We can all gang at the pools and meet up for EMH nights.

 

[danceintherain]

The problem with requests is that the more you have, the less likely ALL of them will be fulfilled.

Are you trying to get all 17 people in the same area, or would it be alright if one room was separated from all the others?
With 5 rooms at your disposal it seems likely that at least ONE of them will be in a convenient location as long as the reservations aren't otherwise linked, and you could switch her into the best room of the bunch. Then again if all that's left when you check in is Barbados on the second floor, that's what you're going to get.

When I stayed at CBR, I requested a ground floor room and a pack & play and got both, but our room was pretty far away from the main building (Bldg 13).

 

[BUTTERHEAD1]

The truth is I only care that her room is on the first floor and close to the main pool and food court. No one else in our group cares or knows enough to care. I would like to be close to her room in case she needs anything.

 

[DisneyMom5]

The truth is I only care that her room is on the first floor and close to the main pool and food court. No one else in our group cares or knows enough to care. I would like to be close to her room in case she needs anything.

She has an awesome kid in you! Have a GREAT trip!

ETA: request connecting room to her, or at least adjoining, and tell them why. Again, no guarantee, but if you don't ask they won't know.

 

[MYD714]

I've never put in a request at CBR, but I can speak to requests made elsewhere...

We stayed at OKW last year and I requested to be as close to the main pool as possible and a building with an elevator. My dad has a bad neck & back, and had just had surgery on his back and heart in the months preceding our trip.

Luckily, they were amazing at meeting our request. We ended up in a great section.

I wish you the best of luck in getting the area you need.
Hope you have a great time!!!

 

[dclfun]

I've stayed at CBR several times while using a power wheelchair and bringing my service dog. We had to pay for preferred to guarantee the first floor room in a good location but at the time, it was worth it to me. My biggest challenge is/was neck and back pain and having to go over those brick cobblestones to the food court. It was excruciating but I still managed. At this point with 17 people in your party I can see where it would be virtually impossible to switch resorts. I would definitely call back, let them know your Mom has a medical condition and NEEDS the room to be ground floor and close to the food court as she may be spending time on her own relaxing there. While they still won't be able to offer a guarantee, it should help that she has her needs notated and they don't just think it's for convenience. I have stage 4 colon cancer and as such, I can imagine just how important this trip is for your Mom and family. I hope it is perfect in every way.