Vent about calling to verify medical needs at resort...

[Lillypug]

Grrr! I could just scream! We have 11 days until our check in at POFQ and I decided to call WDW special Needs to verify that we would like a ground floor room and we needed a room witha regular tub and two beds since Noah is ina wheelchair. Granted we did book our package with AAA and told her our needs, but you can never really be too careful as I am sure most of you can empathize. I did not want to check in and have a nightmare to deal and start our trip off on a bad note.
I callled 407-939-7807 and the CM was downright rude. She was snarky and told me that I was not supposed to call about my ressies that I was supposed to only make those requests through my travel agent and if my travel agent did not want to make those requests then I needed to get a new travel agent. She kept repeating that throught the phone call. I was in shock and speechless. I should have been rude right back to her but I took the high road and explained to her why we needed those specific requests.

All this afternoon that call has been on my mind and really bugs me. 11 days at Disney is by no means cheap especially not for us, why can't I call about my son's medical needs myself just to make double sure they are noted on the ressies?!?!?! We have a hard enough time day to day. We go to Disney to get away from all that and the first contact I make with a CM is terrible. I mean really, she was THAT rude. It almost makes me want to cancel the whole thing.

Anyone else have this experience when cxalling medical ressie line?

 

[Chuck S]

While the CM certainly should NOT have been rude to you, I think she is correct in that the travel agent is responsible for calling and making requests/changes, even special needs contact.

 

[SueM in MN]

While the CM certainly should NOT have been rude to you, I think she is correct in that the travel agent is responsible for calling and making requests/changes, even special needs contact.

I agree with Chuck. She should not have been rude and should have been more understanding. I have read about some problems people have posted about recently with travel agents not making requests correctly (specifically AAA), so part of her rudeness may have been related to that (and I'm not saying it was correct for her to be rude to you, just giving another possible piece of it).

As I understand it, your reservation is owned by the travel agent, so it's more than only that the travel agent is responsible for your reservation and requests. The agreement in place is that only the travel agent will call and make requests/changes. If you have a good travel agent, you should not have any problems; but if you have a bad one, you may need a lot of luck. I think anyone dealing with a travel agent would probably get the same general message (but, hopefully not the rudeness).
So, in your situation, I guess your best bet would be to call the travel agent and have him/her do the double checking for you.

The phone number for Special Reservations is in the disABILITIES FAQs thread. I am going to add a note about going thru the travel agent if you are using one to hopefully help other people not end up geting the treatment you did.

 

[SueM in MN]

I didn't think about this until now, but I'm not sure that Special Reservations even deals with 'First Floor for Medical Reasons" which is actually what your request is since you want a regular room on the first floor with a tub.
I think that Special Reservations only blocks the handicapped accessible rooms (at least in our experience and in what we have been told, this has been true). The "Medical Reasons" room requests are filled by the room assigner before the 'general' requests for the same things. That means that the "Medical Requests" for first floor are pretty much always filled (there would not be that many general requests for first floor.

So, check on your confirmation form to see if there is anything on it about medical requests. If so, you should be OK. If not, definately call your travel agent and get the request added that way.

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

For our last trip, which was booked through AAA, I called Special Reservations several times and had no problem what so ever, except that my first request to have the Guests with Disabilites booklets sent they weren't sent, but never had a rude CM and they never told me that the travel agent had to handle anything, except the main reservation. I'm sure my TA didn't even know that there was a place to call for Special Medical Requests. All of our requests were made and I was very happy with their services (we had to have a cabin with a ramp, but a normal tub/bathroom and that is what we got). If I were you, I would call back and talk to another CM.

Suzanne

 

[SueM in MN]

their services (we had to have a cabin with a ramp, but a normal tub/bathroom and that is what we got). If I were you, I would call back and talk to another CM.

Suzanne

I just wanted to point out that was a handicapped room because of the ramp (some handicapped have roll in showers, some have regular tubs).
The reservations for handicapped accessible rooms all go thru Special Reservations, whether the person making the reservation is aware of it or not. The CM taking the reservation has to check that there actually is an accessible room of that type available at the time of the reservation. When the reservation is made, that room is 'blocked' for that reservation, so from then on, that reservation will be in the Special Reservation system (even if the person making the reservation didn't talk to Special Reservation directly).


For the OP, the buildings in POFQ do have elevators, so you may not have to be too concerned about whether your request is in the system or not. Unless I'm missing something, it sounds like you just want a regular room, but on the first floor. If that's what you want, you can deal with it at check-in if you don't get things straightened out before.
When you check in, if they have assigned you something other than 1st floor, ask the CM to show you where the elevator in that building is. There are not a lot of elevators there, but they do have them (I think it's one set for each building).

If it's not a convenient/acceptable location for you, you can tell the CM it doesn't meet your need and ask what else they have available (first floor or closer to the elevator).

 

[Princess Stitch]

I'm sorry the CM was rude to you, that's awful

We booked through a travel agent as well and when I called to get my MNSSHP tix, I asked about room requests. Since everything is booked under the TA and you don't have room confirmation numbers, if you call directly through Disney they may not be able to access your reservation , or things may not get tied together properly.

Maybe you could ask your travel agent to verify that the requests have been put in. Their info has to get to Disney somehow, so I'm sure there would be a way to check. Maybe even ask to speak to the person on the phone when the TA calls them?

My requests are not entirely for medical reasons so I'm not as concerned.

 

[Lillypug]

Last year we booked with AAA and I called Medical ressies with no problem, that is why I thought it would be wise (and OK) just to call and double check that our needs were noted.
I called Special Ressies again this AM and got the nicest CM and made some changes with no problems at all. So I guess it depends on the CM. This lady was empathetic and so nice. Also, the reason I called is because my TA is not in the office right now, so I had only called medical ressies to ask a question (I was going to go through my TA) and the CM actually took it into her own hands to change the requests herself without waiting on my TA.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I didn't think about this until now, but I'm not sure that Special Reservations even deals with 'First Floor for Medical Reasons" which is actually what your request is since you want a regular room on the first floor with a tub.

My (one) experience is that - as the OP knows for sure now - that Special Reservations can deal with this specific requirement. Of course, one look at the bed height at OKW and I realized I should have accepted the suggestion of an accessible room, but noooo. I'm too stubborn.

 

[SueM in MN]

So I guess it depends on the CM. This lady was empathetic and so nice. Also, the reason I called is because my TA is not in the office right now, so I had only called medical ressies to ask a question (I was going to go through my TA) and the CM actually took it into her own hands to change the requests herself without waiting on my TA.

I actually checked today with a travel agent who does mostly Disney trips.
She said that the travel agent does have to make any changes. So, whether or not a CM will agree to do it is going to depend on the CM. Some, may go ahead and do it as the one today did. Some may say they can't do it (but should not be rude when they say that).

Glad to hear you got someone to help you.

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

I just wanted to point out that was a handicapped room because of the ramp (some handicapped have roll in showers, some have regular tubs).
The reservations for handicapped accessible rooms all go thru Special Reservations, whether the person making the reservation is aware of it or not. The CM taking the reservation has to check that there actually is an accessible room of that type available at the time of the reservation. When the reservation is made, that room is 'blocked' for that reservation, so from then on, that reservation will be in the Special Reservation system (even if the person making the reservation didn't talk to Special Reservation directly).

I am aware that it is a handicapped room because it has a ramp, but my mother can get in a regular tub, so I requested a regular tub so as not to take a wheelchair accessible tub from someone who might have needed it more.

My TA didn't even know I needed a HC accessible room/ramp, so I called Secial Reservations myself and handled everything myself after reading the Passporter Guide for Disabilities (not exact title). My TA didn't know squat about WDW and I am such a control freak I had to handle everything anyway.

Suzanne

 

[SueM in MN]

I am aware that it is a handicapped room because it has a ramp, but my mother can get in a regular tub, so I requested a regular tub so as not to take a wheelchair accessible tub from someone who might have needed it more.

Sorry, I misunderstood. It sounded to me like you had a reservation for a handicapped room and then called Special Reservations to discuss your requests.

PS- I know that you knew that a room with a ramp was a handicapped room; that explanation was for other people reading. A lot more people read each thread than post.

I was one of the peer reviewers for the entire Passporter book (some peer reviewers only did portions). The book is called Passporter's Walt Disney World for your Special Needs (kind of a long title).

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

Sorry, I misunderstood. It sounded to me like you had a reservation for a handicapped room and then called Special Reservations to discuss your requests.

PS- I know that you knew that a room with a ramp was a handicapped room; that explanation was for other people reading. A lot more people read each thread than post.

I was one of the peer reviewers for the entire Passporter book (some peer reviewers only did portions). The book is called Passporter's Walt Disney World for your Special Needs (kind of a long title).

I'm sorry, I tend to go on the defensive sometimes, I have been attacked one too many times in my life and here, so it has become a natural instinct.

BTW, that was a great book, so many pointers, but then again, I love my other Passporter too. I couldn't remember the whole title, because my mom has hijacked it from me and won't give it back, but then again I did buy it to help her

Suzanne

 

[SueM in MN]

I'm sorry, I tend to go on the defensive sometimes, I have been attacked one too many times in my life and here, so it has become a natural instinct.

BTW, that was a great book, so many pointers, but then again, I love my other Passporter too. I couldn't remember the whole title, because my mom has hijacked it from me and won't give it back, but then again I did buy it to help her

Suzanne

No harm done. I've got a pretty tough skin. LOL

I do like the Passporter book. Some people on this site had talked about doinng on at one time, but it's a huge undertaking. My suggestion to people using the book (if they can get it from their mom ) is to look it over, then go thru it again with a highlighter and mark the parts that pertain to them.

 

[RNMOM]

This is one of the big reasons I choose not to use a travel agent anymore for WDW trips. I know far more than they do and also am a bit of a micromanager.

I have never booked a trip through AAA. Can you use a AAA discount without going through their travel agents? Just a question.

With the codes and sometimes discounts that come up here and on other boards, I just feel better being able to call up and manage my own situation. Last time I used a TA was for our last Disney cruise and I lost out on some discounts due to them now knowing about it. It was a long time ago but a lesson learned.

Now, just to clarify that I do like travel agents and in fact wanted to be one for a while, I do plan to use them in the future for other trips.

 

[shovan]

I understand your frustration! Although I don't think I've ever a downright rude CM with Special Reservations, I have had many who were clueless and less than helpful. I haven't used a TA in a while, but I know the last time I did, I was still able to check my resv. with Special Services on my own. We have had so many near disasters with rooms, I call & call & call again to make sure everything is set up correctly! I really trust no one on this, it's has been that bad.

After purchasing DVC property, I can't tell you how many different numbers & people we had to call before getting the correct answers. Call DVC, no call Special Reservations, no call the Beach Club directly, it was ridiculous. We were told: "I have no idea" and also were told directly conflicting info from different CM's at the same number!

Sorry to be so negative on this, but that has just been our experiences.

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

This is one of the big reasons I choose not to use a travel agent anymore for WDW trips. I know far more than they do and also am a bit of a micromanager.

I have never booked a trip through AAA. Can you use a AAA discount without going through their travel agents? Just a question.

With the codes and sometimes discounts that come up here and on other boards, I just feel better being able to call up and manage my own situation. Last time I used a TA was for our last Disney cruise and I lost out on some discounts due to them now knowing about it. It was a long time ago but a lesson learned.

Now, just to clarify that I do like travel agents and in fact wanted to be one for a while, I do plan to use them in the future for other trips.

Yes, you can get your AAA discount by calling Disney directly. I decided since my AAA TA didn't know much about Disney, and I had to do everything anyway, I would just make my own reservations next time. You can only get a discount on the room portion and can't book it as a package (or so I was told by a CM), so since we aren't going to use a package for our trip in August, I opted to take the discount. Park tickets are cheaper through Disney than they are through AAA Alabama, so I used my discount on our room for our next trip. Now when I book a MYW package, I guess I won't get a discount, but who knows what wil happen between now and the time I book my next trip.

BTW, when I made my last payment on our last trip, my TA sent me an e-mail that said I could now book all of my dining reservations, I sent her one back letting her know that they had been booked for several months already. Girl needs to go to Disney or pick up a Passporter Guide.

Suzanne