tough decision

[Iwannabeindisney89]

For my upcoming trip Ive made a preferred room reservation at pop for the week, just looked and for only $89 more we can stay at Caribbean beach. Should be a no brainer right? Nope. My girlfriend has a prosthetic therefore its tough for her to walk long distances, in the florida heat/sun she develops a bad rash thats always very painful and sometimes cracks and bleeds. When i called the only rooms available in pop were preferred which was why i chose it, however I told the cast member the situation and she told me she also put an extra notation on the reservation and that I should always do this in the future. What do you guys think? If i call to change over to CB and ask them to make a note will it help our chances of getting a room closer to Old Port Royale? Again its not us trying to get over on the system i love walking all over, its just because its very painful for her. Id love to stay at cb but I think taking the risk would be selfish of me.

 

[slappy magoo]

I think situations like yours are the reason "special notations" were invented.

 

[HRHPrincessAriel]

I'd call and ask to see if they can accommodate you!

 

[BigTxEars]

I think situations like yours are the reason "special notations" were invented.

Agree!

 

[s&k'smom]

Absolutely call, having had to make requests myself for my son, and working at hotel too we do our best to make requests happens.

 

[Disneydreamer23]

Agree definitely call I went when I was 8 months pregnant and on bed rest I got a preffered room in Trinidad and I was so close to every thing!

 

[JillC LI]

Like I tell my kids all the time, ask! The worst that can happen is they say no and then you are no worse off than you are now. (But I highly doubt they will say no.)

 

[Iwannabeindisney89]

ok so we decided to go with CBR but i still need some advice. I called and spoke to a woman who was very nice and understanding and of course she added that requests arent always fulfilled however she would be able to make a notation because of medical needs. I totally understood this, thanked her, and said i would discuss with my friend to see if we should take the risk & call back. Boy do I wish i wouldve just gone through with it with that agent. When I called back I unfortunately got someone who wasnt really in the mood. Im pretty sure Im partially to blame. I explained the same situation and said how I was calling back and would be taking a chance bla bla... I guess I then made the mistake of asking her to put the "medical notation" on the reservation to see if it would help us out at all. I'm guessing they're trained to put up the red flag when they hear medical? She was very insistent that she couldn't put a request on to do with anything medical. (I understand the laws thing) I said I was sorry and I just worded it wrong, the other agent had called it a "special notation". She said she had no clue what the other agent was referring to and since I wasnt willing to pay for a preferred room there wasn't a notation she could add. She said "I can put in a request for things like water view or ground floor, but the rooms closest to the Port Royale are only for preferred room guests, no exceptions!" I honestly just think the conversation went downhill from the time i said the M word. I just gave up and asked her to just "change the resort please and I will try to talk to a cast member when we check in"... she was extremely flat lol Ive called disney tons of times over the years and shes the only "negative" interaction i've ever had. Now for the advice I still need...should I check in when we arrive and talk to them at the hotel, or check in online. I now see you can make 2 requests with online check in so i would pick the two buildings closest and hope for the best. What are your thoughts? ( sorry its so long i felt i needed to explain)

 

[StarWarsGirl]

ok so we decided to go with CBR but i still need some advice. I called and spoke to a woman who was very nice and understanding and of course she added that requests arent always fulfilled however she would be able to make a notation because of medical needs. I totally understood this, thanked her, and said i would discuss with my friend to see if we should take the risk & call back. Boy do I wish i wouldve just gone through with it with that agent. When I called back I unfortunately got someone who wasnt really in the mood. Im pretty sure Im partially to blame. I explained the same situation and said how I was calling back and would be taking a chance bla bla... I guess I then made the mistake of asking her to put the "medical notation" on the reservation to see if it would help us out at all. I'm guessing they're trained to put up the red flag when they hear medical? She was very insistent that she couldn't put a request on to do with anything medical. (I understand the laws thing) I said I was sorry and I just worded it wrong, the other agent had called it a "special notation". She said she had no clue what the other agent was referring to and since I wasnt willing to pay for a preferred room there wasn't a notation she could add. She said "I can put in a request for things like water view or ground floor, but the rooms closest to the Port Royale are only for preferred room guests, no exceptions!" I honestly just think the conversation went downhill from the time i said the M word. I just gave up and asked her to just "change the resort please and I will try to talk to a cast member when we check in"... she was extremely flat lol Ive called disney tons of times over the years and shes the only "negative" interaction i've ever had. Now for the advice I still need...should I check in when we arrive and talk to them at the hotel, or check in online. I now see you can make 2 requests with online check in so i would pick the two buildings closest and hope for the best. What are your thoughts? ( sorry its so long i felt i needed to explain)

You should have gotten a name and complained. When there is a medical condition, they are supposed to accommodate you.

I will give you an example: I have asthma. Really bad asthma. About five years ago, we stayed at BWV. We got to our room and found out it was moldy! It wasn't healthy for anyone, but especially not for asthmatics (my mother is also asthmatic, but mine is worse). So we went to the front desk to tell them. They put us in a one-bedroom until they could get a room for us. Now they have a note on my record that I have asthma and that the room needs special attention. Not a huge deal at all.

Call back, and if they give you any crap, ask to speak to a supervisor. At the very least they should be able to give you a room close to transportation.

 

[Marijil]

I have a reconstructed leg and WDW was great about getting my family a room at POR that was close to everything....relatively...don't be shy about stressing this

 

[docdebbi]

quick thought, if you are renting a car there are parking spots near many building almost literally at your door, and they are not all preferred would solve the whole problem.
if not, i would just make sure i was close to the bus stop- that would not have to be a preferred building, but certainly less walking.
i know they won't guarantee anything, don't expect it. but do expect that when you check in, they will work with you if you are not happy with your room, to get you what you need. folks on the phone and folks at the front desk are very different. i know the front desk will bend over backwards to get you near a bus stop or parking spot- the phone center can't do that

so bottom line, stay at CBR and don't worry.

 

[daisyduckie]

My concern is that even if you end up with a room that is near a bus stop at CBR, it could end up being a long walk to the main buildings. You can get around that by waiting for the resort shuttle bus that drives around to all of the bus stops, but that may get old fast. I'm honestly not sure I would switch without paying for a preferred room location.

Another thing to consider is that CBR does not have elevators. I'm not sure if the steps would be a problem for your girlfriend, but you may want to think about it. And maybe add a request for a ground floor room too.

 

[Nemo14]

We stayed at CBR several times back in the 90's and really loved it, but the last time we stayed at CBR (2011 or 2012)will be the last time we ever stay there. At the time, I was recovering from a knee injury, and we had mentioned that when we made the reservation. we were assured that they would make note of it on the reservation, and even when we checked in, they said they had a room for us that was quite close to the bus stop and not too far from the food court. When we got to the room, we realized that we had probably the longest walk possible to either bus stops near our room, and to make a long story short, I ended up having to go back to PT after that trip, which was only a weekend getaway. There were a lot of things about CBR that we really disliked, but that was the most critical.I would stay at Pop century if I had to do it again.

 

[Iwannabeindisney89]

Thanks for the replies everyone. We decided to give CB a try and we will talk to them at the front desk when checking in so they see we're truly not trying to get over on them wanting to be close to port royale. We'll see how it goes.

 

[Obi]

last september we stayed at okw. my mom has cancer and that could've been her last trip. she is still wishing for one more trip where the whole family can go.. not sure that'll happen.... anyway, during that trip she was in the middle of chemo treatments which made it hard for her to walk around much. when we got to the resort we told them of my mom's condition and asked if the room she would be in could be on the bottom floor, as the stairs would've been too difficult for her to do, especially at the end of the day. they not only provided her with a bottom floor room, but also helped in providing us with a wheelchair for her and also set up a time, from some local medical facility, to come out to her room at the resort to take her vitals and blood tests to have them sent off to her oncologist in kc. they were INCREDIBLY helpful!

 

[daisyduckie]

Thanks for the replies everyone. We decided to give CB a try and we will talk to them at the front desk when checking in so they see we're truly not trying to get over on them wanting to be close to port royale. We'll see how it goes.

I'm sorry because I know this is going to sound horribly mean, but unless you are paying for a preferred room location, you are trying to get one over them by asking to be close to port royale. Those rooms are an upgrade from the others. If you are not paying for a preferred room, then you are asking to be treated special, in essence asking for a discount. I have an idea of what you are dealing with--I've been to WDW with my mom right after she has had surgery. And I did what I could do to limit her walking. But if you need a preferred location, you should be willing to pay for it.

Now if you are paying for a preferred room, ignore everything I just said.

 

[Iwannabeindisney89]

I'm sorry because I know this is going to sound horribly mean, but unless you are paying for a preferred room location, you are trying to get one over them by asking to be close to port royale. Those rooms are an upgrade from the others. If you are not paying for a preferred room, then you are asking to be treated special, in essence asking for a discount. I have an idea of what you are dealing with--I've been to WDW with my mom right after she has had surgery. And I did what I could do to limit her walking. But if you need a preferred location, you should be willing to pay for it.

Now if you are paying for a preferred room, ignore everything I just said.

Ouchhhhh that is a tough post lol but I will try to explain and hope you see my point of view. I am not trying to get over on Disney, we understand if they can't give us a close room and are taking the risk simply to stay at this beautiful resort!...this thread was posted because I needed advice from other people with similar issues. I am not asking to be close to old port royale because I don't want to walk!! I am asking to be as close as possible because of the pain she will deal with if she has to walk a long distance in the heat. That being said, these rooms are no different than the others. If they only had SUITES in both buildings closest to old port royale I would understand your argument, however they are exactly the same rooms. Like I said I was willing to pay for preferred and did at pop century. The purpose of this thread was to ask others if they think I should risk it and change to CB knowing it is a very spread out resort. Btw this isn't our first time to disney we have gone more than 15 times (annual pass holders) so we are loyal customers. The difference is that this is the first trip without a car, hence my worries about her having to walk far to old port royale. I guess it's hard for people to understand if you don't live with someone with a disability. It's not about asking for special treatment and "getting over" on companies. It's about asking companies if they can help the person out because they have no control over their condition. If she could have her limb back we'd agree to stay in Trinidad south for the rest of our lives and walk however long it is! No animosity towards you @daisyduckie

 

[daisyduckie]

OP--I would agree with you, if there was nothing you could do for yourself or for your girlfriend that could fix the problem, without asking Disney for something extra. There is. You can book a preferred room, which will guarantee you will be in one of the buildings closest to OPR. That is the reason they charge more for those rooms, location.

I do get from your post that you mean well. But if you are worried, why not simply pay for what you need, instead of asking for it for free? I mean, what will you do if there are no close rooms available when you check in?

 

[Swissmiss]

Jeez - I think some people need to chill out and read what the the OP said before replying: she said she wanted to make a special request to get a room "closer to" Old Port Royale. She did not say closest to, but closer to, meaning between otherwise equal standard rooms, she is asking that the hotel take into consideration a physical disability and assign the room that is closer. This does not imply, at least IMHO, that she is asking for a preferred room on a standard room rate. The request seems pretty reasonable to me.

 

[Iwannabeindisney89]

Jeez - I think some people need to chill out and read what the the OP said before replying: she said she wanted to make a special request to get a room "closer to" Old Port Royale. She did not say closest to, but closer to, meaning between otherwise equal standard rooms, she is asking that the hotel take into consideration a physical disability and assign the room that is closer. This does not imply, at least IMHO, that she is asking for a preferred room on a standard room rate. The request seems pretty reasonable to me.

That's exactly what I mean, I'm just asking for some level of closeness lol. If they give me a close standard room then great, if somehow they give a preferred room wonderful! If they can't give us close we're not going to throw a temper tantrum in the lobby lol We will enjoy our trip and make the best of it, regardless of location, it's what we always do. This thread was meant to ask people's opinions about handicap experience/talking to cast members for this resort. I go to disney many times a year, travel from ny, and always stay on property. I'm a loyal customer who understands it's expensive yet think every penny is worth it, I'm not trying to get over on them! 34 days woohoo