I was wondering, I have a compromised immune system due to a weak heart. Should I call the special guest services line and ask that my blankets and room is thoroughly cleaned or does that sound rude??? The bedspread situation at any hotel just really freaks me out. TIA!!!!
I don't want to frighten you and...don't get me wrong...I love Disney...but you should know...On our May 2007 trip we stayed at Carib Beach (first for DS, age 11 at the time, who has numerous environmental allergies, asthma, and
extremely sensitive skin), I sent a fax about a week ahead of time to the resort, explaining his situation and asking for the room to be specially cleaned.
**I actually got the idea from the book
"PassPorter's Walt Disney World for your Special Needs,"(which you might want to check out if you haven't done so yet...) I was thinking of taking linens and towels for him from home...and then a day or two before our departure, a manager from CBR called, said that he'd gotten my fax, and assured me that they had an allergy-cleaning protocol that they would follow...the room would be specially-cleaned, the linens would be washed specially-washed throughout our stay, etc, etc..I think we were on the phone for 45 minutes and I felt great about everything that was going to occur so I didn't take anything special with me except for his own pillowcase.
Well...our room was FAR from clean. We had to move the beds when we arrived to accomodate my mom's wheelchair...and you don't even want to know what was under there!

So we had to call housekeeping to come and sweep that up. Then later that day when we went to close the curtains, they were covered with dust bunnies (I truly wish I'd taken a picture but I was so mad that I didn't think of it). We called again and they came to clean them...There were stains on the carpet as if someone had dumped a cup of coffee and it had never been cleaned up. By the fourth day of the trip, DS had a nasty rash all over his legs.
Although we called the Front Desk and they came each time to take care of the problem, I didn't take things up with a manager...which I now regret. (We also had plumbing issues in the room...clogged toilet four days running...they ended up
replacing the toilet on the 5th day!)
Lessons learned...I now take sheets and towels from home for DS anytime/anywhere we travel - even with family - and plan to do so for upcoming Disney trip June 2009.
(re: Mousekeeping -I just make a note to put on the bed stating that this bed is not to be changed/contains linens from home.) At hotels, I always remove bedspreads and just fold and put in a corner on the floor- I agree, they don't get cleaned right. Our current reservation with Disney actually states that my son has "very sensitive skin" - you can put such things on your reservation, my
travel agent did because she was very upset with what happened in 2007. I will contact POP ahead of time this year to request a special cleaning...but if it doesn't happen correctly I will know this time to complain to someone beyond the person who comes to mop up!
Just a little extra prep...and you'll have a wonderful trip!!
**I re-checked book and - indeed - I missed a (very important) step involving "Special Reservations" (as did my travel agent, apparently). I went straight to the second step of contacting the resort four to five days prior to arrival to discuss details.
Thanks to "Minnie and Nana" for setting me straight - I'll be contacting Special Reservations this week for our upcoming trip!!!