Which resort for someone with mobility issues??

[Joy]

My DMIL and DSIL have decided to join us for a few days in WDW. My DMIL has difficulty walking for long distances. We will get her a wheel chair at the parks, but she doesn't want one for the hotel.

We are staying at the BCV. My DSIL is leaning towards the WL because she has stayed there before. It can be a long walk to your room at the WL. Which resort(s) would be the least amount of walking from the car / buses to the room?

Thanks!

 

[DavidHobart]

This is a tough one, given the how big and spread out the resorts are.

If you can afford it, Boardwalk is the smallest of the resorts--tho some of the rooms near the quiet pool can be a hike. A short walk outside the lobby leads you to boats that will take you to MGM and Epcot--at MGM you land very near the buses, which you can use as your own TTC. Buses to AK and MK are a short walk from the lobby as well. Boardwalk also has more dining options within a short walk than most resorts.

Avoid all the values and moderates if you can--walks can be spectacular as they are so big and spread out. Disney will try (wherever you stay) to put you in a centrally located room--but no guarantees--so your best bet is to start with a small resort like Boardwalk

Good luck!

 

[zumbergc]

Why doesn't she want to just get an offsite rental for a wheel chair or ecv, and then she has access to it all the time. Then you don't have to worry about the size of the resort. Then you can pick the resort based on the theming or other amenities that your group likes.

If you goto downtown disney, then again you would have to rent a wheel chair, and from posts here it sounds like they have limited numbers.
Does she like disney themed shopping?

If you decide to just rent in the park, but it becomes overwhelming at the resort the distance for walking. Print out the faq that has the name of a several local rental places. Then after that first day, make a call and get a local rental.
Have a good trip.

 

[BillSears]

Avoid all the values and moderates if you can--walks can be spectacular as they are so big and spread out. Disney will try (wherever you stay) to put you in a centrally located room--but no guarantees--so your best bet is to start with a small resort like Boardwalk

Actually I've heard very good things about Port Orleans French Quarter. It's a moderate but it's supposed to be fairly small.

 

[Joy]

I will talk to my DMIL about renting a wheel chair for the length of her stay. She is a bit on the stubborn side.

What about CR? It looks like the parking lot is right near the South Wing.

 

[SueM in MN]

PO French Quarter is the smallest of the moderates and is a fairly short walk to everything (compared to the other moderates).

WL has a long ramp to walk from the lobby to the boat area. If she has any trouble walking up or down ramps, that might be a concern for her.

I'd also second (or third) the suggestion to at least consider renting a wheelchair or ECV from obe of the off-site companies. Having one available at the resort is very useful.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

As long as you are thinking about CR consider the following items:

1. Is that there is no charge for valet parking if there is a disabled plate or hang tag.

2. Especially if staying in the tower nothing is a long walk. There are only 36 rooms to a floor; each floor is like a capital "H" with the elevators in teh crossbar.

3. The monorail stops inside the Tower, and the bus stops are right outside the tower.

4. They can get directly to the restaurants/food court without having to go outside.

 

[Joy]

Thanks for all of the info! She does have a handicap tag. That is good to know about the valet parking. That will really help out alot.

I'm thinking a deluxe resort is the way to go. Is the Swan hard to navigate?

 

[Juliah]

The Rarotonga building at the Polynesian might be an option. The building with the lobby, restaurants, shops, and monorail platform (the monorail is on 2nd floor, btw, but there's an elevator) is right next to one end of the Rarotonga, and the buses are just around the corner from the other end. There isn't any parking right up by the building, but perhaps someone could get the car and pull up in front of the lobby for her. That said...

To me, half the fun of WDW is enjoying the resort, so if she is limiting herself to only being able to go from her room to the bus, she will be missing a lot of the experience. I hope she will consider renting a wheelchair for the whole time. Unless money is an issue, she could go ahead and rent one and see how she feels getting around the resort. It would give her the freedom to decide when she wants to use it and when she doesn't. Renting a wheelchair would also allow your family to go to other Disney resorts if you want to try the restaurants there or just look around.

 

[minnie61650]

This is a tough one, given the how big and spread out the resorts are.

If you can afford it, Boardwalk is the smallest of the resorts--tho some of the rooms near the quiet pool can be a hike. A short walk outside the lobby leads you to boats that will take you to MGM and Epcot--at MGM you land very near the buses, which you can use as your own TTC. Buses to AK and MK are a short walk from the lobby as well. Boardwalk also has more dining options within a short walk than most resorts.

Avoid all the values and moderates if you can--walks can be spectacular as they are so big and spread out. Disney will try (wherever you stay) to put you in a centrally located room--but no guarantees--so your best bet is to start with a small resort like Boardwalk

Good luck!

You can request a preferred building at the values. That is one of the main reasons I stay At All Star Music in a Calypso building. Those buildings are the nearest to the food court, Bus stop and pool.

I chose to stay at All Star Music for 3 main reasons.

1. I enjoy the theming at the All Stars. All Star Music is also is the quietest of the values. Generally less people stay there and there are more seniors and couples and less young children because children enjoy the themes of the other values more.

2. The bus service at the All Stars is very good. Since I use an ECV good bus transportation is essential.

3. The entry at the values and Mods are much more Handicap friendly.
I am able to get in and out of my All Star room unassisted. This way my husband can go and play a round of golf and know I can leave my room to relax by the pool if I choose.

The Deluxe rooms have a narrow hall with the bath on one side and closet on the other. I cannot open the door from the inside unassisted.

Hope you have a magical vacation wherever you choose to stay!

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I just stayed at the Swan for a convention this month. It was very easy to navigate.

The only shortcoming is it is not actually a Disney hotel. So yuo cannot get a package which includes tickets and/or meals, cannot use your room key for charging, and cannot get prtchases sent back to the hotel. You do use Disney Transportation and am eligible for Extra Magic Hours.

 

[shovan]

The Polynesian has the closest parking to your room with handicap tag/plate. The Rapa Nui Bldg. is also the closest to the TTC, a short walk. At the TTC you can catch all Buses, the Ferry to MK & the Monorail. The Monorail also hooks up to the Poly. You can also catch the buses at the Poly.
If she's going to use the WDW transportation you can't beat it.
I think by far, it is the best resort for someone still trying to walk.

My DH has MD that has slowly worsened so we've gone from him walking to walking w/cane, renting a manual WC in parks only, renting ECV's, his own scooter, & now his own power WC. Over & over again, we chose the Poly. for the convenience. (Now that he's in the WC, we bought into BCV, because of its close walk to Epcot, which is our fav.)


I would try to convince her to get a WC though.

The Dolphin/Swan rooms are also pretty close to the buses.

Good Luck!

 

[spiceycat]

BCV is a good choice - it is closer to the buses than BC.

VWL is also a good choice - again closer to the buses than WL.

VWL is the smallest of the DVC resorts - but then it is BCV. both are good choices.

get her a wheelchair at the resort. first you can kept it the whole time, secondly it is FREE. I really love free.

 

[Muhlenberg]

In 2000 my DH broke his ankle a week before our trip to WDW. We already had reservations at the Contemporary in the tower. We rented an ECV(much to his dismay) from an independant company and kept it in the room. He had it to go everywhere, even though in the tower, nothing is very far away. It was a complete lifesaver. The only thing else I did with regard to the room was call the Contemporary to make sure we were in a room with a slightly wider door so the ECV would fit.

 

[Joy]

Thank you all so much! I am going to arrange for a wheel chair from an outsite company and have it delivered to her resort. That way it will be there for her. She is thrifty, so if it is already paid for, she will want to use it so the money won't go to waste.