Medical request ignored at CBR

[heavenleigh412]

Got back from DW Monday morning, and mostly had a very enjoyable trip.
My biggest problem was that I had requested special room assistance at CBR, and was not accomodated at all.
I suffer from dysautonomia, CFS and fibro (they are mostly inter-related) and when I booked my water view room at CBR, I asked to be close to Old Port Royale and a bus stop. I don't think they could have put us any further away from a bus stop!
I do understand that a request is just that a request, BUT... I did have medical reasons for my requests, and I had already paid extra for a preferred room location.
I had a very hard time making it back to the room after even 1/2 day in the parks.
Anyone else have a similar problem? Any way to rectify this for our next trip in Dec 2006?

 

[ducklite]

Did you make your request through special services? That's about the only way to make sure "medical requests" get honored. They can block off a room for you that can't be overridden. Otherwise, you're in with the rest of the pack and requests are honored on an availability basis.

Anne

 

[heavenleigh412]

yep... request was made through special services. I spent almost 30 minutes on the phone with them.

 

[ducklite]

I'd get in touch with them then, something went wrong along the way, and they need to know about it.

Anne

 

[SueM in MN]

I'd get in touch with them then, something went wrong along the way, and they need to know about it.

Anne

Several people have mentioned lately that they were told their room was blocked for them, but when they arrived, the blocked room had been given to another guest.
One of the things I'm wondering is at what point the "block" is taken off. For example, if you arrive at 8 pm, is the block still there or do they remove the blocks at 6pm??? Or maybe they think the block is staying on, but there is some glitch with their computer system??
There seems to be something going on that just started recently since it's not something people have been complaining about for very long.

 

[dclfun]

I've also had recent issues with my request not being met but immediately called the front desk when I got to the room and found it unacceptable. Often they can move you at that point and usually will review your records- this way you can ask what requests they can see that were made on your behalf and if it was noted "for medical reasons". I've had to be moved to a different resort in the past since there wasn't a room at the resort that would work for me. At this point though I'm sure a follow up call to the reservation center to at least alert them to what happened may help in preventing this sort of thing from continuing. Kathy

 

[taximomfor4]

Had similar problem in March at AS Music. Long story, it has its own thread and is about to appear in the NY Times 7/24.

Anyway, I spent a loooong time in the hotel lobby trying to get the correct rooms, but ended up settling for ONE of the things -- connecting rooms, which was the one need that was NOT Disability-related (it was because of all the young children, and just me several of the nights.) The hotel actually flat-out refused to find me rooms that met our needs elsewhere.

The final story I was given, after months of dealing with Guest Relations after my return home, was that when Disabilities blocked off my rooms, they were looking at some sort of schematic. They are not AT that resort. So they booked what LOOKED like it was right for us. The room assigner had no reason to look at the needs to compare them to the room assignment, the rooms were blocked. So nobody caught the problems till we arrived.

I don't know what to tell you, to avoid this on your future trip. We chose NOT to book through Disabilities this time. That way, our room is not blocked off by someone who might not know THAT PARTICULAR resort very well. My hope is that, by listing our pressing needs (three of them, but very broad!) the room assigner who DOES know the resort can choose our rooms appropriately. Hopefully.

 

[seashoreCM]

I do understand that a request is just that a request, BUT... I did have medical reasons for my requests, and I had already paid extra for a preferred room location.
I had a very hard time making it back to the room after even 1/2 day in the parks.

You should have brought up the problem the very next day with guest services. An extra fast pass for each member of your party would not be unreasonable to ask for each time.

Now that you are home, include with your complaint letter a request for refund of the extra you paid for the preferred room location plus an extra ten percent rebate off of your room rate.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

 

[Schmeck]

At CBR, the bus stops are on the other side of the buildings, away from a water view. I don't think you can get both?

adding link to resort map:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/resortmaps/cbrmap.jpg

 

[SueM in MN]

At CBR, the bus stops are on the other side of the buildings, away from a water view. I don't think you can get both?

adding link to resort map:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/resortmaps/cbrmap.jpg

I think you are right. The building that is close to Old Port Royale is building 26, which I don't think is water view. Buildings 24 and 25 are pretty close (we've stayed in both in the past), but may not be what some people consider close. Some of the non-water view rooms might actually be closeer. All the other buildings are about as far away as building 24.

One thing people with mobility or stamina concerns should seriously consider is renting a wheelchair or ecv because some of the resorts are very large and even if your room is in the closest location to the bus stop, etc, it may be quite a hike.
Also, it's important to look at the resort map and see if there might be a bus stop closer than the one you first notice. I do know people who stayed building 24 and walked up to Old Port Royale each day to the bus stop, without realizing that the one labeled Martinique on the map was actually much closer.

 

[riu girl]

heavenleigh412: sorry to hear that things didn't work out so great for you. I assume special services are not overly familar with the resort layouts. I also feel that the pre-blocked rooms may become "unblocked" at a certain time of the day/evening.

Due to taximomof4's problems with special services I have decided to book through CRO for this trip (as I did with first trip). I am also hoping to arrive at POP early (around noon - 1 pm) in hopes of getting a room with some of the requests. Last trip we booked with CRO (I didn't even know back then that you could book with special services) and received a great room for our situation.

 

[heavenleigh412]

We arrived at the hotel at about 2 PM, which is before check-in at CBR, so I don't see how my room could have become unblocked.
We were assigned Aruba building 52, which is nowhere near any of the busstops.
I had looked at a map of CBR to make sure my requests, along with the water view were not unreasonable. Trinidad North 31 is water front, next to Old Port Royale and directly in front of the bus stop... there are other buildings that work similarly. I pointed this out while on the phone with them.
What is CRO? (sorry I don't always get all the abbreviations)
Does anyone know where I would call or write to complain?
I guess next time I want to book, I will have to put in special requests through the hotel?

I am thinking when we go back in Dec 06, I will rent an ECV, and share with my mother (I doubt she will admit she might need her own, so it probably would work out better if I share mine with her)

 

[SueM in MN]

We arrived at the hotel at about 2 PM, which is before check-in at CBR, so I don't see how my room could have become unblocked.
We were assigned Aruba building 52, which is nowhere near any of the busstops.
I had looked at a map of CBR to make sure my requests, along with the water view were not unreasonable. Trinidad North 31 is water front, next to Old Port Royale and directly in front of the bus stop... there are other buildings that work similarly. I pointed this out while on the phone with them.
What is CRO? (sorry I don't always get all the abbreviations)
Does anyone know where I would call or write to complain?
I guess next time I want to book, I will have to put in special requests through the hotel?

I am thinking when we go back in Dec 06, I will rent an ECV, and share with my mother (I doubt she will admit she might need her own, so it probably would work out better if I share mine with her)

I just mentioned unblocking as a possibility. Some of the people who had problems checked in at a later time (like 6-8pm - not really that late). It's still possible that they had blocked a room for you and it was unblocked for another reason.
It's also possible that Aruba 52 was assigned because it met 2 of your requests; waterview, which you paid extra for and close to Old Port Royale - even though it's not as close as Martinique 24, 25, 26 or Trinidad building 31. Some of the other buildings (Aruba 54, 55 and 56) are much closer to the bus stop, but much farther away from Old Port Royale.
I don't know how many of the room in Trinidad 31 are waterview, but it's possible that all the waterview rooms in that building were already assigned. I don't know.
Also, they assume that requests are listed in the order of what is most important to you - which may make a difference if there is one room that fits what is listed first, but doesn't fit what is listed second.
I don't know what they are currently doing at CBR, but I do know that at one point, the closer to Old Port Royale buildings were a separate "preferred location" that was an extra cost. I'm not sure if that's what you meant by saying you had paid extra for preferred location.

CRO is the place you call for reservations. (I think it stands for Central Reservation Office or something like that). Here's a link to a page with contact information. It has an address for CRO and one for complaints. There is also a link on that page (under resort phone numbers) for CBR that tell the address. I'd send a letter to the complaints address with copies to the CRO and resort addresses.

 

[heavenleigh412]

Thank you very much for everyone's help!
I am in the process of composing a letter, and all of your help has been much appreciated.

 

[dclfun]

I'm so glad you're taking the time to write a letter. Without people expressing themselves as to what challenges they faced, there will never be improvement of a situation ( note the thread above where Lisa kept pressing the issue about how to properly board her chair on a ramp bus). Going through CRO vs special services for those who mentioned that as a solution probably will not be helpful. CRO will forward any requests made "for medical reasons" to this department anyway as they are the only ones who can block a HA room. If someone arrives at a resort hoping to get an accessible room they may very well be gone if not pre-reserved through sp. services. Anyway, good luck to the OP and I hope you keep us posted on the reply you receive. Kathy

 

[D L and K's Mom]

We had a bad time checking in at POR on July 1st. We had gonr through Special Services and made it known that we would be checking in and would need 2 adjoining rooms (one regular and one handicapped access) we also had my brother checking in a day later who also needed handicapped access..... We also made arrangements so that when we arrived ( we figured around 1:00 ish) there would be a room (not our room, not even a CLEAN room but just a room ) so we could change our DS who is 15. Well to make the story short....no place to change him, no rooms ready, no rooms even blocked off. We were disappointed. When we finally did get to our rooms only one was clean and the other was not. The medical supplies we were told had been brought to the room had not and didnt arrive for hours after quite a few phone calls and tracing etc....We were told when my brother arrived his room would be all set.....nope not accessiable....it ended up being ok but it was not what we had requested and were promised. I was a little disappointed as I had made these arrangements months and months ago and called a few times to check on them. The CM was very nice but I didnt find the manager helpful at all in fact we never say him. The CM kept leaving the fromt of the check in desk to check with him and then kept coming back etc. I would have asked to see him but we had a 15 year old and a 2 year old who were crabby and tired and I sat with them while DH took care of the matter. We have not had trouble with this in the past so I know it is not an unusual request. We had also asked for a bldg close to the main bldg so it would be easier to wheel DS over etc. We were in the same exact rooms as last time...parking lot rooms. They must block these off for adjoining rooms with accessiuablity? Oh well it worked out but it was a littel disappointing. I am writing so this wont happen to anyone else.

 

[taximomfor4]

I'm so glad you're taking the time to write a letter. Without people expressing themselves as to what challenges they faced, there will never be improvement of a situation ( note the thread above where Lisa kept pressing the issue about how to properly board her chair on a ramp bus). Going through CRO vs special services for those who mentioned that as a solution probably will not be helpful. CRO will forward any requests made "for medical reasons" to this department anyway as they are the only ones who can block a HA room. If someone arrives at a resort hoping to get an accessible room they may very well be gone if not pre-reserved through sp. services. Anyway, good luck to the OP and I hope you keep us posted on the reply you receive. Kathy

Our request did not involve a HA room, and we keep our needs broad enough, I think, where the ressie person can handle it. For me, I tried through Spec Svcs and they blocked a room that we absolutely cound not use. If I hadn't had the rooms blocked by them, the room assignor could have assigned us something that met MOST of the needs.

In the even of HA rooms, I definitely would book through special services so that room can be blocked.

 

[Lewisc]

Disney resorts don't have very many King bedded rooms. I know a King bedded request all but eliminates my other requests. Many of the King bedded rooms are occupied by continuing guests. My trade off is getting my bedding request OR a location request. I suspect HA rooms may work the same way.

This post may not be politically correct but Disney doesn't have that many HA rooms. A request for a HA with a connecting room, in the room category you're paying for, limits the number of rooms that are suitable for you. Some of the rooms may already be occupied by continuing guests who have similar needs and have made a similar request. Requests for a HA room on a specific floor in a specific building with a connecting room may not be that reasonable. You really can't expect Disney to throw another disabled guest out of their room for you. You can't ask them to block out another guest with similar requests and needs who's checking in a few days before you.

I'm not saying Disney is perfect, they've made mistakes. Maybe there are times Disney should just say the requests probably can't be met and suggest another resort.

Just my opinion but a request for a room prior to checkin is reasonable but complaining if it's not available is rude. I'm specifically referring to getting a room prior to the offical checkin time for the resort.

 

[heavenleigh412]

Lewis
I am wondering if you are saying I am rude for making a complaint?
I was VERY specific when I called ... I did not need HA. I needed a room close to the bus stop and close to Old Port Royale.
I have quite a few conditions, but the ones that have the most impact for me are dysautonomia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and fibromyalgia.
I doubt most people know what dysautonomia is even if they have heard of CFS or FMS, so a quick explanation is: it is a condition that affects the autonomic nervous system... anything that your body controls without you having to think about it, my body controls backwards. My heart rate and blood pressure go up and down at will, my normal heart rate is 43 (drops as low as 19, goes as high as 245... and I have a pacemaker) my normal body temp is 95.5. I have a tendency to pass out because my blood pressure drops.
We paid for a water view at CBR. I called the same day I booked and made my medical requests, and explained my reasons for needing them. I offered to give up my water view if that made it easier to grant the medical requests. I was told that there were plenty of rooms that would give me all 3. I did not request a specific building or room, and there are at least 3 buildings that would have met my requests.
Unfortunately, I got a water view and NOTHING else. So my daughter was subjected to her mother laying unconcious on the well manicured paths of CBR.
THAT is the reason I am complaining.
This vacation was supposed to be magical, it was not supposed to scare my daughter by making her deal with the known in an unknown and unfamiliar place.

 

[disneydreamer98]

Although requests are just that, requests...I do not feel you were rude for complaining. As soon as you saw your room I would have called the front desk and asked for a manager. A similar situation happened to me a couple years back at ASMo. I had requested months in advanced a non-smoking room due to my Son's medical conditions and told them that. When we got to our room it was marked a smoking room and was overpowered by the smell of smoke. I called and was moved immediately, completely to the other side of the hotel to a non-smoking room. I think that a request is much different when it revolves around a medical situation and they should have done everything possible to accomodate you. I would also send a copy of your letter to WDW customer service. The email address for that is: wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com

Be sure to include your Name, address and phone number so that someone can contact you.

Good luck!