Would this upset you? DVC gave us another HC room.

[MdmMim]

I've been assigned to a HA room many times at BWV, BCV, and OKW. I don't mind the rooms at all, and actually since I'm short, I can easily reach most things in the cabinets, etc. I like the walk-in shower more than a tub, so these rooms work out quite well for me.

 

[alldiz]

OP....I can understand your dissapointment. I was not happy when I walked into my 1BR villa at OKW only to see it was an HA room.
I kept it because I was in the HH area....and I wanted to be close to the action.
While the shower was dissapointing....everything else was perfect. I agree with PP's to get to the resort as early as possible to have a better chance of getting your requests met.
Kerri

 

[drakethib]

Nope. Wouldn't upset me. I've gone to different DVC resorts prob. close to a few few dozen times (with switching resorts mid stay, etc). I've had a few HC rooms. It was not the best situation when I had my son who was 2 at the time at the BWV and was afraid of showers. But I'm always left with the feeling of how lucky I am that I got 'stuck' in the room and not one of the people who really needed it.

My thoughts exactly.

I do understand having a little one who is scared of showers but that is much easier to deal with.

 

[gkrykewy]

The "just get a 1BR to be sure!" suggestion is ludicrous. Why should someone use twice as many points when they don't otherwise need to?

I can totally understand the OP's frustration - 3 times out of 4 is just crazy bad luck. They simply need to make a habit of arriving at the resort earlier in the day.

On our honeymoon we arrived very late to WL (this was before we bought DVC), and got stuck with a first floor HA room, as it was the last available room. I went to the front desk and told them that we were on our honeymoon and didn't care to feel like we were in a hospital (and I'm sorry, but that's how the roll in showers make me feel). They moved us to a different (amazing) room the following day (honeymoon is a magic codeword for WDW).

Non-accessible rooms have been our first requests for 4 DVC reservations so far. Requesting a tub is simpler, and that's a good tip I'll use in the future!

 

[Deb & Bill]

The "just get a 1BR to be sure!" suggestion is ludicrous. Why should someone use twice as many points when they don't otherwise need to?...

If they want to guarantee a bath tub, that's one way to do it. Otherwise there is no guarantee. Sometimes you have to make a choice to get what you really want.

 

[gkrykewy]

If they want to guarantee a bath tub, that's one way to do it. Otherwise there is no guarantee. Sometimes you have to make a choice to get what you really want.

Yes, it is one way to do it, but it's fairly absurd when there are options that do not require doubling the point cost (with arriving early being the simplest). Most people buy the number of points for the accommodations they expect to be regularly using.

If I calculated my DVC buy-in cost/benefit based on studios and later learned that I really needed 1-BRs to get the basic level of amenities I was expecting, I'd probably sell my membership. In fact I did, and I would.

But you're right - for a 100% tub guarantee, I suppose that's the only way to go.

 

[SueM in MN]

Is this true with all DVC units? None of the 1 bedrooms are handicapped accessible rooms? I didn't realize this because we have been getting studios. We are cutting back to 1 trip to WDW a year rather than two (getting too expensive to go twice), so we are planning to start getting a 1BR in the future instead of a studio, so it would be nice to know we won't have to worry about this situation.

DJ

No.
There are one bedroom handicapped accessible units.
It's just that all one bedroom units have a roll in shower and also have a whirlpool tub.

I think you misunderstood. There are HA rooms in every category (by law). The difference with a 1bedroom is that they also have the jacuzzi tub besides a roll-in shower. The roll-in replaces the standard shower in the master bath.

A 2bedroom HA lockoff usually has only one HA bathroom (could be 1bed master or studio bath depending on which room set is assigned).

I don't know about the other resorts, but we have stayed in a number of 2 bedroom lock off rooms at OKW. In all of them, both the one bedroom part and the studio part had roll in showers.

 

[crisi]

I wouldn't be bothered by the occational HA room - we've stayed in one (a two bedroom, so we had the tub) and found the inconviences to be pretty minor. I think with a timeshare like DVC everyone needs to take their turn at getting the less desireable rooms - whether thats the less great views, or a long walk down the hallway, or a HA room, or a room missing a balcony. But if I had a string of HA rooms, I think I'd have a problem with it.

 

[buzz5985]

We were given a HC room at the VWL when my DS was 4. We used it as a learning experience for him - showing him how someone with a wheelchair could ride right into the shower, etc. The whole time being grateful that nobody in my family actually needed the HC room.

 

[Dean]

I would rather not go to HH or WDW than have a HC room. However, this is a timeshare and at the present time there are more HC rooms than needed. Thus if the resort is full enough, someone has to get them. The only way to guarantee having a tub is to get a larger unit such that you have a tub even if it is a HC unit. It's a lot more points and each family must decide but it is the ONLY way to ensure a tub, DVC has no way to do so otherwise. Given they've essentially done away with prioritizing requests, there's really not much else to do. In the old days they made a real effort and prioritized based on when one books, now it's essentially luck of the draw. The ones that get me are the ones that want direct access (elevator/ground floor) but still refuse a HC room. In that situation it's still OK to request it but to demand it is over the top selfish, IMO.

 

[castleri]

At OKW I would think requesting upper floor would pretty much guarantee a tub in the studios except for the couple of buildings with elevators.

 

[BroganMc]

I would rather not go to HH or WDW than have a HC room. However, this is a timeshare and at the present time there are more HC rooms than needed. Thus if the resort is full enough, someone has to get them.

I just find it funny how perspective changes everything. For those who hate HC rooms there are far too many; for those who actually need them there are far too few. I wasn't happy I had to double my point costs to get a HA 1bedroom this past April at SSR (the largest resort so assumingly always empty) because there were absolutely no HA studios left at 7 mos. out.

 

[disynut]

"there were absolutely no HA studios left at 7 mos. out."(can't figure out how to do the quote box right now)

Brogan--so when you made your reservation, were they able to tell you that they had one bedroom HA rooms? This is why I"m wondering about the reservations. We were able to request non smoking/smoking before the resorts went to nonsmoking, and it seems to me that this is a similar type of request in that there are so many rooms that are HA.....and there were so many rooms before that were smoking......and those who really do need the HA rooms REALLY need to know that they will be getting their medical needs met. I can see where it would ruin your vacation to not be able to function properly in your "home" for the week---miserable. This was also one of the things I wondered about when they had us assigned a HA room---was there someone that would be checking in that needed it? Except for that, before I had kids I would have taken a HA room without issue, but with little ones I wanted to be able to relax a little in our room at the end of a long day without having to chase the toddlers around making sure they aren't turning on the stove.

 

[SueM in MN]

"there were absolutely no HA studios left at 7 mos. out."(can't figure out how to do the quote box right now)

Brogan--so when you made your reservation, were they able to tell you that they had one bedroom HA rooms? This is why I"m wondering about the reservations. We were able to request non smoking/smoking before the resorts went to nonsmoking, and it seems to me that this is a similar type of request in that there are so many rooms that are HA.....and there were so many rooms before that were smoking......and those who really do need the HA rooms REALLY need to know that they will be getting their medical needs met. I can see where it would ruin your vacation to not be able to function properly in your "home" for the week---miserable. This was also one of the things I wondered about when they had us assigned a HA room---was there someone that would be checking in that needed it? Except for that, before I had kids I would have taken a HA room without issue, but with little ones I wanted to be able to relax a little in our room at the end of a long day without having to chase the toddlers around making sure they aren't turning on the stove.

Anyone who needs a handicapped accessible room with a roll in shower will make arrangements for it when they initially make their reservation.

When someone calls who needs a handicapped accessible room, the MS CM puts the guest on hold while the CM speaks to Special Reservations. They check to make sure there actually is a villa that meets what the guest needs for the dates they want. If there is, that villa is blocked at that point for that guest (the guest is not told the location or number of the villa that has been blocked for them). At that point, it is a guarantee, not a request.

If there are no villas available that 'fit', the CM will let the guest know and the guest has the choice to change to a less accessible room, a different date, different size or different resort. Any of those might mean more points.

 

[disynut]

Thanks Sue. I'm glad to know that those who need the HA room have it blocked off for them. Seems like a pretty important request--and given the usual spiel of "remember this is just a request, we can't guarantee"(that's what they always told me when I requested nonsmoking) I am glad HA rooms can be guaranteed for those who need them.

 

[Dean]

I just find it funny how perspective changes everything. For those who hate HC rooms there are far too many; for those who actually need them there are far too few. I wasn't happy I had to double my point costs to get a HA 1bedroom this past April at SSR (the largest resort so assumingly always empty) because there were absolutely no HA studios left at 7 mos. out.

Actually overall there are more than can be used at present. As the population ages and inevitable things happen, I'm sure this will change. Certainly during peak times there will never be enough rooms of any type.