Room Requests, we have 2 with special needs and

[Bete]

I'm concerned that all of my room requests will not be granted. I've asked for a non-smoking room (breathing issues), 1st floor (mobility issues), quiet area (no pool or elevator or stairs or vending areas), hand rails, transfer bench, frig for insulin, and 50s building location (This is special for one in our party who grew up in this time period; it's not necessary, but I want a little pixie dust our way).

I'm not being greedy with my requests, but it seems like it; because, I have so many of them. With two, special need guests in the same room, it's difficult to get it down to less requests. I've done my homework with special needs reservations and I know these requests are listed on my reservation. I'm just afraid it's not going to work; I know there's no guarantee on requests. How has everyone elses requests worked out? Do you get what you ask for?

I'm going to call the resort direct 3 to 5 days out of our stay to double check about the requests at that time. Will I need to prioritize the requests to make sure certain ones are absolutely done? I would think the frig would be automatically granted because of the insulin; so, maybe, I don't have to worry about that one.

Is there anything else I should pursue (doctor notes?) to try to make sure I get what I ask for with room requests?

 

[Sue & Co.]

I understood that medical needs had to be accomodated whereas more general requests are just that - requests. So in your case I would have thought that if the special needs dept have accepted your reservation with the stated needs they will have to meet those although I do not think that wanting to be in a 50's building will quite count.

Sue

 

[Talking Hands]

From what I was told by Pop Century there are no tubs with hand rails around the tub. They are only on the back wall. They do have a transfer bench as they got it for me complete with non-skid strips. You may have to accept a fully accessible room with a roll in shower. I had requested the handrails on my last trip because I was travelling alone and would have no one to help me in and out of the tub. Ended up with fully accessible and used the transfer bench in the shower. Room was 1st floor away from noisy areas, non-smoking.

 

[SueM in MN]

Non smoking is not usually that hard to get because there are more non-smoking rooms than smoking rooms. What I have seen people post more is that they had a non-smoking room that someone had smoked in.

And the refrigerator should be something they have. They may not have one of the bigger ones; sometimes for medication people have posted they got little ones about the size of a shoebox.

 

[Jennay]

I used to work in hotels. You can call the hotel directly and ask them for a specific room number. (One that meets all your needs.) The fridge issue won't be a problem. Some hotels have kept things like Insulin in the hotel fridge behind the desk when there were none for the rooms, but most do have some available. Your requests are not too much. All you need to ask for is a handicapped accessible room on the first floor in a quiet area with a fridge. Most all handicap rooms have rails. The transfer bench they may not have, but be flexible. There are other items in the rooms you can utilize (such as the end tables) for this purpose. Be prepared, be flexible, and book your room early. Also, call the hotel and get the specific room number.

 

[Schmeck]

I don't know how they can 100% guarantee a 'quiet area' though - depends on your neighbors! Plus, on the first floor, you'll have people walking by your room to get to the stairs, elevators, etc. The stairs are located at the end of each building, the elevators in the middle.

We did have a very quiet room when we stayed at PC, but we were on the top floor, back side of a 60's building. The first floor just seemed so busy and loud most of the time, even into the late evening. Of course, that was the 60's building, not the 50's.

Hope you get your requests (and you seem to have a great attitude towards it all, that will help!) and have a fantastic vacation!

 

[Talking Hands]

I used to work in hotels. You can call the hotel directly and ask them for a specific room number. (One that meets all your needs.) The fridge issue won't be a problem. Some hotels have kept things like Insulin in the hotel fridge behind the desk when there were none for the rooms, but most do have some available. Your requests are not too much. All you need to ask for is a handicapped accessible room on the first floor in a quiet area with a fridge. Most all handicap rooms have rails. The transfer bench they may not have, but be flexible. There are other items in the rooms you can utilize (such as the end tables) for this purpose. Be prepared, be flexible, and book your room early. Also, call the hotel and get the specific room number.

It is not done this way at Disney. You do not call the hotel directly. Refrigerators are in all the handicapped accessible rooms now. They are small but fine for insulin and a few sodas. As I exxplained before, according to Pop Century there are no rooms with hand rails surrounding the tub, only the roll in shower has these. Also they have handicapped rooms of various types in each of the buildings.

 

[Jennay]

Where there is a will, there is a way. If you push hard enough, you will get what you need/want. There has to be a direct number to the hotel or a way for you to speak with the hotel manager. If you fight hard enough, you'll get it. The more flexible you are, the easier it will be for you.

 

[Talking Hands]

What do you not understand about there are no rooms with bars surrounding the tub at Pop Century. One of her requests cannot be met at Pop Century. They simply do not have that type of accommodation. That is why I am back to All Star Music as it does have that set up which is what I need and prefer. The only tub bars are the standard bar at the back wall of the tub. The roll in shower is the only place they have bars completely surrounding the area.

 

[princess mom of 4]

I guess I don't understand about a roll in shower...Do people have a wheelchair that gets wet? My DS age 14 has a standard wheelchair (with fabric covered seat). We are booked for handicapped accessible room at Pop Century in 3 weeks, and now I don't know what to expect. My son usually can stand in the shower, holding onto rail. Do they have handheld shower heads?

 

[Bete]

it may be the standard bars. This is ok for us. I'm getting a hand-held shower device in the tub. I forgot to mention this request as part of my list in my first post.

I have talked with POP directly already and depending on who you get really dictates how helpful they are with special needs. It's a little hit and miss with it ahead of time. I will call 3-5 days from our time of arrival; because, special needs told me I could get more verification at that time for my requests. If I get a bad CM, I'll recall until I get a more understanding one.

I just want to do as much as possible ahead of time to make it a better vacation.

 

[SueM in MN]

WDW does handle things thru the Special Reservations system (407-939-7807 (TTY: 407-939-7670). If you dealt with them, your requests should be noted on the computer and a room blocked off for you. You may or may not be able to get any information from the room assigner (the person to call 3-5 days out) because Special Reservations handles their reservations. The manager and other desk staff don't handle those requests at Disney (which is a different set up than many hotels use).

Here is a link to pictures of Pop Century from Deb Will's site. If you scroll down and click the link to the bathroom under the Standard Room, you can see the type of tub grab bars that are in standard rooms. That is enough for some people, but you can see the standard bar across the back wall that Talking Hands mentioned.
The roll in shower picture under the accessible room shows the shower head. You can either use it up on the wall or as a handheld. The picture doesn't really show, but there is no lip/rim on the shower. It is possible to either walk straight in or roll a shower chair in (you don't take a regular wheelchair in). I don't know if they have a pull down seat in the roll in shower (but I'm sure someone probably does and will post).

 

[Talking Hands]

The roll in shower has a fold down seat, hand held shower head as well as bars surrounding the shower enclosure. No lip so you can roll in and transfer to the seat or walk in without having to go over a lip.

 

[princess mom of 4]

The pictures helped me understand the setup pretty well, but led to another question...since the accessible bathroom looks much larger than the standard, does that decrease the square footage of the rest of the room?

 

[Andrew Bichard]

The pictures helped me understand the setup pretty well, but led to another question...since the accessible bathroom looks much larger than the standard, does that decrease the square footage of the rest of the room?

In almost all cases, an oversize handicap accessible bathroom results in a reduced size bedroom, often with one king bed instead of two queens. Others have posted that they will sometimes give you a connecting room at no additional cost.

... and further to your earlier post, yes, some disabled do get their chairs wet. You can hire 'commode' chairs from offsite medical rental companies that can be backed up over the toilet and are waterproof for use in the shower as well. I have even used my regular chair in the shower which I covered with a 'Mickey' cape before sitting back in it.

Andrew

 

[princess mom of 4]

I think my DS could use the fold-down seat and hand-held shower. Doesn't the bathroom floor get totally wet though?

 

[SueM in MN]

I think my DS could use the fold-down seat and hand-held shower. Doesn't the bathroom floor get totally wet though?

A lot depends. If you use the handheld shower, you can often direct the water more into one area and avoid getting some parts of the shower wet. You might need to experiment a bit in order to keep the water where you need it to go.