Suggestions for an offsite hotel with transportation to WDW with an electric wheelchair worth trying?

[RaySharpton]

Suggestions for an offsite hotel with transportation to WDW with an electric wheelchair worth trying?

I have stayed at a few Disney Spring area hotels and just rolled to Disney Springs to catch a Disney bus.

But I was hoping someone might have stayed offsite elsewhere that I might try.

I do not want to rent a car and I am not that interested in using Uber or Lyft every day to and from the parks.

I was just thinking about this as the prices for everything keep increasing. The WDW Annual Pass just increased. Looking for one day at December prices are really high compared to when I made a reservation this past January.

I am staying on site this December, but I might want to try somewhere else in the future.

 

[mamabunny]

I think the hardest part of offsite is the transportation.

It's been a few years, but we looked into pretty thoroughly a few years (with the help of some of the folks here on the DIS) and what we didn't like about the transportation situation with all of the offsite hotels was the schedule.

Also, at the time, most of their buses/vans had to park waaaaay out in the boonies, and it all just stressed out a couple of my family members too much. So, we continue to stay onsite. For now.

I too, however, am interested in hearing some current information. I would love to know if any of the offsite hotels that offer transportation also have roll-in shower rooms, since that's a requirement for me now.

Good idea for a new topic, @RaySharpton!

 

[Mrsjvb]

with offsite, you basically have to provide your own transportation to have any flexibility or control. most places that offer it only run shuttles to and from a couple of times a day, and only to TTC. and the drop off points might as well be the next county over.

theres no system like at DL where the city runs the shuttles on a fixed schedule that hits all the hotels and motels fairly regularly on the main drag.

 

[gap2368]

You might want to ask on the transportation form. But most only run a few times in the morning and a few times in the evening

 

[dizneefan13]

I think the Disney Springs hotels may be the only ones that have a bus schedule all day long. They're not bad. When we used them they were always on time. We have stayed at The B and like it a lot. And they do have some roll-in showers. We didn't need one, but that's what we got.

 

[SueM in MN]

I think the hardest part of offsite is the transportation.

It's been a few years, but we looked into pretty thoroughly a few years (with the help of some of the folks here on the DIS) and what we didn't like about the transportation situation with all of the offsite hotels was the schedule.

Also, at the time, most of their buses/vans had to park waaaaay out in the boonies, and it all just stressed out a couple of my family members too much. So, we continue to stay onsite. For now.

I too, however, am interested in hearing some current information. I would love to know if any of the offsite hotels that offer transportation also have roll-in shower rooms, since that's a requirement for me now.

Good idea for a new topic, @RaySharpton!

All hotels have rooms with roll in showers.
That is required by the ADA and the number of rooms are specified by the ADA, based on the total number of rooms in the resort.

 

[Bete]

This is a tough one.

Disney Spring resorts are your best option offsite for shuttle service. Besides you get the 60 advance fastpass privilege at least right now.

I can say that some offsite resorts that offer shuttle service do not automatically have a way to deal with handicap vehicles. They may accommodate you but you have to give advance notice and there could be quite a wait to secure alternate transportation.

My best advice is to look for a deal and grab it for a Disney Springs resort. Search dates that are not prime to get a deal. If there's a sale grab it. We have found booking early to be a good way to go. There are senior rates available and AAA.

 

[CJN]

Suggestions for an offsite hotel with transportation to WDW with an electric wheelchair worth trying?

I have stayed at a few Disney Spring area hotels and just rolled to Disney Springs to catch a Disney bus.

But I was hoping someone might have stayed offsite elsewhere that I might try.

I do not want to rent a car and I am not that interested in using Uber or Lyft every day to and from the parks.

I was just thinking about this as the prices for everything keep increasing. The WDW Annual Pass just increased. Looking for one day at December prices are really high compared to when I made a reservation this past January.

I am staying on site this December, but I might want to try somewhere else in the future.

Don’t forget to check the Swan and Dolphin, especially if you qualify for the senior rate (although not trying to make any assumptions here ). Their rates can fluctuate dramatically so I usually book the room and then keep going back to check and modify as warranted. Just recently the rates for the dates of our next trip dropped $100/night so I rebooked.

 

[RaySharpton]

Hi, CJN. Thank you. I didn't know that. And I just turned 69 and retired so no worries, but thank you again.

Don’t forget to check the Swan and Dolphin, especially if you qualify for the senior rate (although not trying to make any assumptions here ). Their rates can fluctuate dramatically so I usually book the room and then keep going back to check and modify as warranted. Just recently the rates for the dates of our next trip dropped $100/night so I rebooked.

 

[RaySharpton]

Thank you, mamabunny, Mrsjvb, and Bete.

I think the hardest part of offsite is the transportation.

It's been a few years, but we looked into pretty thoroughly a few years (with the help of some of the folks here on the DIS) and what we didn't like about the transportation situation with all of the offsite hotels was the schedule.

Also, at the time, most of their buses/vans had to park waaaaay out in the boonies, and it all just stressed out a couple of my family members too much. So, we continue to stay onsite. For now.

I too, however, am interested in hearing some current information. I would love to know if any of the offsite hotels that offer transportation also have roll-in shower rooms, since that's a requirement for me now.

Good idea for a new topic, @RaySharpton!

with offsite, you basically have to provide your own transportation to have any flexibility or control. most places that offer it only run shuttles to and from a couple of times a day, and only to TTC. and the drop off points might as well be the next county over.

theres no system like at DL where the city runs the shuttles on a fixed schedule that hits all the hotels and motels fairly regularly on the main drag.

This is a tough one.

Disney Spring resorts are your best option offsite for shuttle service. Besides you get the 60 advance fastpass privilege at least right now.

I can say that some offsite resorts that offer shuttle service do not automatically have a way to deal with handicap vehicles. They may accommodate you but you have to give advance notice and there could be quite a wait to secure alternate transportation.

My best advice is to look for a deal and grab it for a Disney Springs resort. Search dates that are not prime to get a deal. If there's a sale grab it. We have found booking early to be a good way to go. There are senior rates available and AAA.

 

[mamabunny]

All hotels have rooms with roll in showers.
That is required by the ADA and the number of rooms are specified by the ADA, based on the total number of rooms in the resort.

We were told by a couple of the hotels (in the area around Disney) that we have called over the years that they don't actually have rooms with roll-in showers. My daughter had called Swan & Dolphin several years back and was told there were no rooms like that, they only had bathtubs with rails and they could bring in a bath seat, so it has just automatically been off of our list.

Truth be told, I prefer to stay onsite, so I haven't looked very hard outside the bubble. Having said that, as the pricing on WDW Resort Hotels continues to inch up without any additional perks or benefit to staying onsite - and we see things like parking fees being added... I may be offsite sooner rather than later.

 

[Selket]

Suggestions for an offsite hotel with transportation to WDW with an electric wheelchair worth trying?

Hi Ray. I've stayed at the Orlando World Center Marriott several times (for a conference) and once I had to use an rental ECV there to get around and it's very ECV friendly. I thought I'd google it to see what the room and transport options are like and this article looked interesting: https://wheelchairtravel.org/orlando-world-center-marriott-wheelchair-accessible-resort/
It says their shuttles are WC accessible and I don't know if that includes electric ones or ECV's. I didn't use the shuttle service when I was there. Looks like they have roll in showers.

The resort is beautiful and feels like a resort - pool is gorgeous and huge. But the kicker for me are the rooms that face towards the Disney Parks (which are like half the rooms in the hotel - it wasn't hard to get one when we stayed). There's a balcony for all rooms (as far as I know) and you could see the fireworks from all the WDW parks and from other places around Orlando also. It was a treat to sit out there at night and watch the fireworks. You need to be somewhat high up. I just wanted to put in a good word for it - perhaps check on the transport and prices. I don't know the cost of the room for your dates but it's worth being a Marriott rewards member for discounts and perks with the free membership. I'm a die hard on property person but little in my experience beats sitting on that balcony watching fireworks!

 

[CJN]

We were told by a couple of the hotels (in the area around Disney) that we have called over the years that they don't actually have rooms with roll-in showers. My daughter had called Swan & Dolphin several years back and was told there were no rooms like that, they only had bathtubs with rails and they could bring in a bath seat, so it has just automatically been off of our list.

Some of the Swan/Dolphin accessible rooms do have a roll-in shower and some don’t. Both hotels underwent a refurbishment and maybe a change was made then to provide some. This is from their website:

“DISABILITY ACCESSIBLE GUEST ROOMS
The Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort offers guest rooms designed to accommodate guests with disabilities. In addition to all of the features of our standard guest rooms, all accessible rooms are furnished with one king bed and are situated next to an optional connecting room with either two queen beds (at the Swan) or two double beds (at the Dolphin). Many of our accessible rooms also provide a roll-in shower with a built-in shower bench in the bathroom. Shower chairs for rooms with a regular bath tub and shower are available upon request.”

 

[SueM in MN]

We were told by a couple of the hotels (in the area around Disney) that we have called over the years that they don't actually have rooms with roll-in showers. My daughter had called Swan & Dolphin several years back and was told there were no rooms like that, they only had bathtubs with rails and they could bring in a bath seat, so it has just automatically been off of our list.

Truth be told, I prefer to stay onsite, so I haven't looked very hard outside the bubble. Having said that, as the pricing on WDW Resort Hotels continues to inch up without any additional perks or benefit to staying onsite - and we see things like parking fees being added... I may be offsite sooner rather than later.

If it was around/before 1992, they may not have had accessible rooms with roll in showers (although they probably had some, the guidelines regarding spaces and how many were different before the ADA passed in 1990).
The ADA required any hotels built, renovated or modified after 1992 to meet specific space/configuration and quantity numbers.
Some took longer than others to comply; if her contact with them was recent, it’s likely that all the accessible rooms with roll in showers were already rented for the time period she was asking about.

Some of the Swan/Dolphin accessible rooms do have a roll-in shower and some don’t. Both hotels underwent a refurbishment and maybe a change was made then to provide some. This is from their website:

“DISABILITY ACCESSIBLE GUEST ROOMS
The Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort offers guest rooms designed to accommodate guests with disabilities. In addition to all of the features of our standard guest rooms, all accessible rooms are furnished with one king bed and are situated next to an optional connecting room with either two queen beds (at the Swan) or two double beds (at the Dolphin). Many of our accessible rooms also provide a roll-in shower with a built-in shower bench in the bathroom. Shower chairs for rooms with a regular bath tub and shower are available upon request.”

The ADA has a guidelines for the number of accessible rooms required, based on the size of the resort. There is one number for rooms that are accessible without a roll in shower and another for roll in shower rooms.
Swan has 756 rooms according to what I can find on the internet.
Using the ADA grid, Swan would need 11 accessible rooms and 6 accessible rooms with roll in showers.

Dolphin has 1514 rooms, so they would need 25 accessible rooms and 15 accessible rooms with roll in showers.

That may seem like a lot, but all it takes is a relatively small number of people who need a roll in shower room at the same time to fill them all up.
The Epcot area resorts are also popular with people who use wheelchairs because of the easy to use boat transportation and walking paths between 2 parks.

 

[RaySharpton]

Thank you, Selket. That is a beautiful resort and I didn't know that they offered shuttles.

I was surprised that they did not have any availability for any rooms for any of my December 2019 dates. I was just checking for prices and I didn't even get an option to choose a roll-in shower room because there was no availability for any rooms.

I found that is amazing.

Something must really going on.

I have been trying for months to get one night for December 8, 2019.

Hi Ray. I've stayed at the Orlando World Center Marriott several times (for a conference) and once I had to use an rental ECV there to get around and it's very ECV friendly. I thought I'd google it to see what the room and transport options are like and this article looked interesting: https://wheelchairtravel.org/orlando-world-center-marriott-wheelchair-accessible-resort/
It says their shuttles are WC accessible and I don't know if that includes electric ones or ECV's. I didn't use the shuttle service when I was there. Looks like they have roll in showers.

The resort is beautiful and feels like a resort - pool is gorgeous and huge. But the kicker for me are the rooms that face towards the Disney Parks (which are like half the rooms in the hotel - it wasn't hard to get one when we stayed). There's a balcony for all rooms (as far as I know) and you could see the fireworks from all the WDW parks and from other places around Orlando also. It was a treat to sit out there at night and watch the fireworks. You need to be somewhat high up. I just wanted to put in a good word for it - perhaps check on the transport and prices. I don't know the cost of the room for your dates but it's worth being a Marriott rewards member for discounts and perks with the free membership. I'm a die hard on property person but little in my experience beats sitting on that balcony watching fireworks!