May 2022: Adventures With The Beverage Cooler aka The Half-Solo Trip

[chaoslobster]

Okay, hi, here goes. My name is Jennilynn. I have nothing better to do in the weeks before I leave and I'm over-excited, so I figured I'd waste some time detailing my adventures in trying to plan a half-solo trip as a severely disabled adult (who can't reach the beverage cooler).

"Half-solo" because I'm arriving on May 18, and my best friend will meet me there on the 23rd before we leave together on the 29th. This is how I've always structured my trips; I like to get there first and check in on my own and spend some time solo, but there's a lot I can't do without an assist so I invite a friend or family member to come along for the second half. I pay for everything and my chosen companion deals with my complete and total inability to do things like, say, stand back up after sitting in a low chair, put the lid onto my mug, or reach anything that's below my knees or above my shoulders, including the damn beverage cooler.

I brought my sister with me for a few years when she was in college, then started bringing friends I'd known online for years. There haven't been all that many people over the years I trust enough to handle my boatload of health issues and limitations without having met them in person, but there's always at least one. This year my best friend is coming with me, and he's never been to Disney World before, so I'm incredibly excited to show him everything I love -- but even if it's the worst trip ever on Disney's side, the company will make up for it.

So, let's talk about the beverage cooler. This has been the bane of my trip and I haven't even arrived yet. No, wait, first let me tell you what you're working with here as you read this.

I've had severe systemic RA (the technical name is Still's disease, and not the adult-onset kind) since I was a child. It has all the fun of regular RA and also includes overall inflammation and internal organ involvement, along with randomly spiking fevers. I also have osteoporosis from decades of high-dose corticosteroids, osteoarthritis, scoliosis, nausea issues, and migraines. I've had 5 total joint replacements and complete fusions of both ankles, with the result that my "balance" (hahahahaha) is atrocious and I don't have any stamina or strength to speak of. I can hobble around my bedroom using a cane, but I get seriously winded just walking out to the car. I've had a personal ECV for well over a decade.

It's sort of pathetic and I haven't done as much as I ought to in the way of PT and exercise since it's not like I can leave the house on my own regardless and it's an incredible amount of effort and a lot of pain to put into being able to do things that I don't ever need to do. The other consideration is that I have issues with being underweight even though I spend all day completely sedentary sitting on my butt, and the last thing I need is to lose more weight. It's easy to pack in extra calories if I eat junk, but for an even vaguely reasonable diet, those extra calories means a lot more food consumed which my stomach does not handle well (at all, really). It also means these awful "nutritional shakes" that often come right back up, and then some doctor leaps to the conclusion that I'm bulimic because of how often I puke. Amazingly, once I stop forcing myself to eat/drink things that set off my gag reflex, I stop puking! It's a whole miracle, truly. I can't tell you how much I dread the words "you've lost a bit more weight than we like to see."

NOW let's talk about the beverage cooler. I've been planning this trip for months now and only a few days ago did I learn that when the Pop Century did its renovations in 2018-2019, the mini-fridges were removed and replaced with "beverage coolers." The beverage coolers do not have a inner door shelf where you can put things; the door is a clear glass viewing pane.

It's a problem because I couldn't ever reach inside the mini-fridge. I can reach downwards if I drag a chair over and sit, but I can't reach down and inside at the same time because of how the joints in my arms and hands are fused (my wrists do not bend whatsoever, they're 100% fused, and my elbows and shoulders bend maybe 25% of the average person's extension). So I used to be able to keep stuff on the door of the mini-fridge but not inside it -- and now there's no door. I don't have the strength or mobility in my hands to use a grabbing tool, so the new beverage coolers are completely off-limits to me. I can look but not touch. Lovely.

I've spent the past few days trying to get an answer from Disney as to whether maintenance CMs are allowed to lift the beverage cooler out of its little cubby on the floor and place it on the desk or the dresser or hell, I'll get some milk cartons to stand it on. I have now made half a dozen phone calls and still don't have an answer. Twice the person I spoke to didn't know what I was talking about, twice was an I don't know (I thought Disney CMs were not allowed to say those words? Turns out they are if they work in a call center) and then I started calling the Pop Century directly and got "we would need to talk to maintenance about that, it depends."

At this point I have to assume the beverage cooler will remain a mere dream for me, so now I'm trying to see about getting a regular cooler to keep in the room. Many helpful people here on the DIS suggested "shelf-stable dairy products" and let me tell you I don't think those people have ever tasted cooked milk. It's not an option even on a good nausea levels day.

Next time: Adventures in getting my ADRs and park reservations to match up!

 

[chaoslobster]

Here we go again. The last time I was at Disney World, the pandemic had not yet begun, and there were no park pass reservations. I do not like the park passes for a whole list of reasons, the big one being that I can't helpfully schedule my bad pain days a month in advance. That's not how severe disability works. I used to wake up in the morning and decide whether I felt well enough to get up and hit a park, and I'd choose one based on how many hours I could manage for that day. Or sometimes I'd know that it wasn't going to happen that morning and need to rest until the afternoon.

This year I realized that I would need to spend an extra couple hundred dollars or so on park hopper passes even though I'm not capable of doing two parks in one day. I can't take the risk that I have a couple of bad days and don't get to see the things I most want to see because I was forced to leave early on the day I'd reserved those parks. I'm not happy about it, but I'm not happy with any of the changes that occurred since my last trip in 2018 so that's nothing new.

I foolishly assumed that spending on the park hoppers would be the end of my struggles with park pass reservations. HA! HAHAHAHAHA AHAHHHA AAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Not even close.

I'm trying to get reservations to do the Keys to the Kingdom backstage tour at Magic Kingdom. It's something I do every single year because I love it so much, and this year I'm bringing a first-timer friend along with me!

Unfortunately, I did not realize that crowds this year would be so completely, hilariously out of whack; I've been coming to WDW in late May for a decade so I'm familiar with the crowd levels and I know about when I need to start making reservations. None of that is working out this year because of how ridiculous the crowds are compared to usual. I wasn't able to book a hotel to be at Disney on my birthday on May 30th, and I'll miss out on Gay Days too. And there is no availability for KTTK at any point during my 11 day trip.

It's not unusual for slots to open up at the last minute for stuff like this, so with only two people, I should be able to snag some tickets, right? No, wrong. Because it doesn't matter if the tour is available unless I happen to also have park reservations for MK on the same day. Even if I manage to luck out with tour tickets AND slip into MK that morning because of cancellations, changing my itinerary may mean I miss out on other parks because I had to go to MK for the tour on the day that I'd reserved Epcot, and there are no other days open for Epcot that week. The park pass reservations mean you must plan your entire schedule a month in advance, and once it's down, changing any one thing at the last minute means it's too late to change the rest.

I've been plotting for two weeks now to get into various restaurants, with the help of websites that send you a text when there's an opening. I've cancelled and re-reserved a dozen things so far and it will only get worse as the last minute comes ever closer. I'm starting to feel like I am playing a high-stakes game of chess against Disney, except I'm blindfolded and don't know where Disney's pieces are -- and I have to move mine anyway.

So far, on one day we'll have to park hop twice to make the reservations. That day is reserved for Animal Kingdom, with a late "liquid lunch" at Oga's Cantina and then a dinner at Le Cellier. That much time and effort moving from park to park means I won't have much if any energy left to see the actual parks; we'll just be traveling, eating, resting, traveling, resting, and eating again. I haven't yet been able get us into Oga's any other day and my friend is a Star Wars fanatic, so there's no way I am giving up on that reservation even if it means I have to miss Le Cellier later because I can't keep going.

Checkmate, I guess.

 

[TeresaNJ]

I totally agree with you about these park pass reservations. Totally messes with any spontaneity whatsoever, let alone the issues you have to deal with. I hope you get the beverage cooler situation resolved. I noticed on our most recent trip last week when we had to make a call from our room for housekeeping that it went to a central call system. As much as I love vacationing at WDW, the guest experience is definitely on a downward spiral. Looking forward to hearing how your trip went!

 

[DL1WDW2]

Hi I just read your trip planning You are only a few days away now!
I hope you can find some updated photos of the redesign for the POP rooms . In those photos you will see they really do not have a desktop or anyplace to place the beverage cooler more convenient.
I did find a recent article describing a few that might work and can be ordered from AMazon.

 

[DL1WDW2]

I also would consider requesting a room on the ground level but I am not sure if the ice maker is located on ground level or second floor.
When you check in , have you ever asked for a castmember to assist you to the room to “preview” certain other issues that would make your stay enjoyable and safer. They might have suggestions that we are not familiar with. I have read online reports of having difficulty with opening the door for example.
I hope you are able to enjoy the nightly outdoor movie or the afternoon tie dying t-shirts craft located by the food court on certain days. They also have a mid afternoon Twist and Shout Dance entertainment to watch the front desk get groovy !
And Disney, provides a resort TV Channel with some interesting documentaries about Walt Disney and also a replay of their Happily Ever After Fireworks nightly viewing in your room. Channel 74…
I will try to think of other suggestions.
hopeyouhaveagreattrip!

 

[chaoslobster]

I also would consider requesting a room on the ground level but I am not sure if the ice maker is located on ground level or second floor.
When you check in , have you ever asked for a castmember to assist you to the room to “preview” certain other issues that would make your stay enjoyable and safer. They might have suggestions that we are not familiar with. I have read online reports of having difficulty with opening the door for example.
I hope you are able to enjoy the nightly outdoor movie or the afternoon tie dying t-shirts craft located by the food court on certain days. They also have a mid afternoon Twist and Shout Dance entertainment to watch the front desk get groovy !
And Disney, provides a resort TV Channel with some interesting documentaries about Walt Disney and also a replay of their Happily Ever After Fireworks nightly viewing in your room. Channel 74…
I will try to think of other suggestions.
hopeyouhaveagreattrip!

Hi I just read your trip planning You are only a few days away now!
I hope you can find some updated photos of the redesign for the POP rooms . In those photos you will see they really do not have a desktop or anyplace to place the beverage cooler more convenient.
I did find a recent article describing a few that might work and can be ordered from AMazon.

Don't worry, I'm familiar with the Pop's new rooms! I was there in 2018 when they'd started renovating and gotten some of the rooms done, and my friend and I were lucky enough to stay in one of the new rooms -- but it was before they swapped out the mini fridges for beverage coolers. There is a dresser with a big flat surface and also a desk if you're not using the second pull-down bed. The cooler could go on either of those, assuming they're allowed to move it out of the cubby at all. Failing that, I'm sure the maintenance department has a milk carton around somewhere!

I did go ahead and just get myself a couple of insulated soft coolers with handles because I was never able to get an answer from Disney about moving the beverage cooler. So I can fill those with ice and keep my perishables safe. It's a pain in the butt but it will work and that's what matters. There are ice machines on every floor, as far as I know, but since I use the scooter it doesn't matter much how far I have to go. I always do request a ground floor room, but in the past dozen trips it's been a toss-up as to whether I actually get one. It's not worth complaining about if they can't meet the request, since the scooter fits easily into the elevators and I feel like there are people who may need the ground floor rooms more than I do.

If you've read about Issues With The Door here on the DISboards, that was probably me talking about it! Those doors are insanely difficult to open because the spring that ensures the door closes automatically is wound so tight that it takes a million pounds of pressure to force it open. You can ask maintenance to come and loosen it up considerably, and voila, the door suddenly pushes easily. I really don't know why they keep it so tight by default, since I'm not the only one who has trouble. It's dangerous to little kids as it is.

 

[chaoslobster]

So it's midnight and I can't go to sleep until I sort through the towering pile of clothing that is heaped onto my bed. My father brought down the bins of "summer stuff" and "stuff I only need once or twice a year" and "no idea what this is, put it in a bin and we'll find out whether I need it" (there's like 3 of that last bin) and I immediately realized there are just not that many places in here to put bins where I can reach the contents. Anything below my knees or above my shoulders is out of bounds. This room is not that big and every available surface is taken up by my packing lol.

One of the bins is balanced on my upended trash can, and it turns out I need that trash can. There's a box of recent purchases specifically for this trip -- hygiene products, sun products, cooling towels, health products, and other miscellany -- and it looks huge, but once I free everything from its packaging and put away the items where it came in a two-pack and I'm only bringing one, that mass of crap will have separated into a small pile of actual items and a giant heap of garbage.

Why do we as a society produce so much trash? It's so unnecessary. My extra Hurrycane (I'm basically a turtle on its back if my cane dies, so I wanted to have a backup) did not need to arrive in a two-piece foam insert inside a box covered by a plastic wrapping inside a second box full of plastic air bubbles.

Anyway, I can't get at the trash can because the bin on top of it is too heavy to lift. One of the other bins was on top of my hamper and that one was only half-full of clothes, so I dumped all the clothes onto my bed, put the empty bin on the floor to toss in clothes I won't be bringing, and now the hamper is my ersatz trash can. It's gonna be 3am by the time I get to bed, and I won't even be finished packing by then; I'll just need to call it for the night otherwise I won't be able to move tomorrow.

In other news, I've managed to get reservations for every restaurant we wanted except Space 220. I'd love to see it but I won't be gutted if it doesn't happen, so that's okay. Still no luck with the Keys to the Kingdom tour, alas. I'm working on being okay with that, since realistically even if an opening pops up, it's unlikely to be on the day we're visiting the Magic Kingdom, and any other day would mean we end up skipping one of the parks. Have I mentioned how much I hate the park pass reservation system?