Success using Touring Plans to secure specific hotel room? UPDATED since travel

[pajammies]

Has anyone here actually used TouringPlans.com to try to get a specific hotel room and succeeded?
I was looking at the rooms realizing I could sit there for two hours trying to pick out the best room and then wondered if it would be worth it. I thought I read on the website that they send a text to Disney on your behalf (of course with the rididulous amount of info on their website, I can't find that anymore) but I'm not positive.
Does it work?
Thanks

 

[LuvtheGoof]

I don't see how. Disney never guarantees any room requests, so it would be a total crap-shoot if the specific room you wanted was available for your stay.

 

[DisneyDreamer08]

I like using Touring Plans to look at the location & view of certain buildings. The resorts are big & spread out so it helps to familiarize yourself with the layout.
We stayed in Pop last November. I paid for a standard room (no upgrade). I used TP to find where the standard rooms were in each building. Sometimes, a standard room & a preferred room are right next to each other, the only difference is the view. If your pool view is blocked by one of those giant building decorations, it can be a standard room.

Anyways, long story short, I found many rooms in the 50's building, super close to the food court & buses, that were considered standard because they overlooked the lake, not the pool. We requested 50's building, lake side, and thankfully got it no problem!

 

[pajammies]

I don't see how. Disney never guarantees any room requests, so it would be a total crap-shoot if the specific room you wanted was available for your stay.

That's my point. But I was wondering if Disney tries harder when it comes to TP for some reason. Either way, I agree, mostly a crap shoot, but it doesn't cost any extra so I thought I might consider it.

I like using Touring Plans to look at the location & view of certain buildings. The resorts are big & spread out so it helps to familiarize yourself with the layout.
We stayed in Pop last November. I paid for a standard room (no upgrade). I used TP to find where the standard rooms were in each building. Sometimes, a standard room & a preferred room are right next to each other, the only difference is the view. If your pool view is blocked by one of those giant building decorations, it can be a standard room.

Anyways, long story short, I found many rooms in the 50's building, super close to the food court & buses, that were considered standard because they overlooked the lake, not the pool. We requested 50's building, lake side, and thankfully got it no problem!

That's exactly what I noticed, is that the lake views (for right now) are still standard rooms. I think I would like one of those rooms by the lake, plus I haven't seen AOA yet and we are going to walk over there and check it out. I also heard the food was good there, so we might make a couple trips over there.

Did you request that through Disney or TP? And when did you request it, at the time of booking or later?

 

[DisneyDreamer08]

I requested it through Disney. Once you do your online check in there is an option to request a room location.
Several years ago we stayed at AKL. I requested a room close the the lobby and when we checked in, the CM pulled out a map and circled all the closest rooms they had available & let us choose. Always request & double check at check in. It can't hurt!

 

[pajammies]

I requested it through Disney. Once you do your online check in there is an option to request a room location.
Several years ago we stayed at AKL. I requested a room close the the lobby and when we checked in, the CM pulled out a map and circled all the closest rooms they had available & let us choose. Always request & double check at check in. It can't hurt!

Thank you, Never even noticed there was a place to request a room during online check-in.

 

[lilclerk]

I don't think a third party can make any requests for you, other than your travel agent if you use one. Are you thinking of the new check in process where you can skip going to the front desk and Disney will text your room number to you?

Plus, I'd think it's best to request what you like about that particular room (view, location, etc) rather than a specific room, just in case that room isn't available.

 

[SummPlumm]

I posted a response earlier but, after awaiting moderation, it appears to have been deleted without explanation. Let's give this another go, with the links removed, as I have a feeling that they triggered the moderation due to my low post count...

I thought I read on the website that they send a text to Disney on your behalf (of course with the rididulous amount of info on their website, I can't find that anymore) but I'm not positive.

I believe you're referring to their Automatic Room Request (search for "touring plans automatic hotel room request") feature which faxes the specific details of your room request (more specific than can be specified using the online check-in) to the resort five days before you check-in, along with any other special requests you wish to add. Of course, it's important to bear in mind that this is still only a request and you're not guaranteed your choice of room, however, the claim is that it improves your odds.

Whilst I can't vouch for its effectiveness myself, you can read about the experiences of people that have used the feature in the comments on the previously linked page and this touringplans.com forum thread (a link can be found in the aforementioned comments section, search the page for "forum thread") .

If you do decide to go this route, I'd love to hear how it works out for you. Either way, I wish you all the best in securing your desired room!

 

[pajammies]

I posted a response earlier but, after awaiting moderation, it appears to have been deleted without explanation. Let's give this another go, with the links removed, as I have a feeling that they triggered the moderation due to my low post count...


I believe you're referring to their Automatic Room Request (search for "touring plans automatic hotel room request") feature which faxes the specific details of your room request (more specific than can be specified using the online check-in) to the resort five days before you check-in, along with any other special requests you wish to add. Of course, it's important to bear in mind that this is still only a request and you're not guaranteed your choice of room, however, the claim is that it improves your odds.

Whilst I can't vouch for its effectiveness myself, you can read about the experiences of people that have used the feature in the comments on the previously linked page and this touringplans.com forum thread (the link can be found in the aforementioned comments section, search the page for "forum thread") .

If you do decide to go this route, I'd love to hear how it works out for you. Either way, I wish you all the best in securing your desired room!

Yes, SummPlumm, that is what I was referring to. I was wondering if it I dreamt it.
I totally understand it's not a guarantee, just thought I might try it.
Thanks for the info

 

[Cosmic Commando]

@pajammies , request a room in the 60s; some of the rooms in the back are standard. I got one of these rooms back in 2011, and I'm going to try again this fall. It was close to the lobby, close to the pool, and close to the then-under-construction AoA. We could even see and hear Illuminations from the balcony outside the room! That's a bit random, though.

@lentesta is Mr. Touring Plans, so maybe he could shed some light on things. I know one thing he says on the WDW Today podcast is that you should put categories or reasons in your request, not necessarily actual room numbers. If you request room 5411, but it's full, they don't know why you requested room 5411. They won't know what other rooms you'd like. Hope this helps.

 

[pajammies]

Cosmic Commando, That is the exact spot I was looking at. Glad to hear someone had it and confirmed my thoughts that it would be a good.
Thank you!

 

[Tinkerbella16]

I don't think a third party can make any requests for you, other than your travel agent if you use one. Are you thinking of the new check in process where you can skip going to the front desk and Disney will text your room number to you?

Plus, I'd think it's best to request what you like about that particular room (view, location, etc) rather than a specific room, just in case that room isn't available.

They send a room request fax to your resort 5 days before you check-in. It is basically saving you from doing it yourself, so I am going to use the feature for my Nov trip. Anyone can send a fax to the resort.

I read that so many people did get the exact room number they had on the request form. So why not try it!

 

[lilclerk]

They send a room request fax to your resort 5 days before you check-in. It is basically saving you from doing it yourself, so I am going to use the feature for my Nov trip. Anyone can send a fax to the resort.

I read that so many people did get the exact room number they had on the request form. So why not try it!

That's pretty neat! I thought they did away with faxed requests years ago!

 

[Tinkerbella16]

That's pretty neat! I thought they did away with faxed requests years ago!

That is what I thought also! I guess you still can since these have been successfully working out.

 

[Master Yoda]

That's pretty neat! I thought they did away with faxed requests years ago!

They did which makes me question the effectiveness. I have know a handful of CMs that worked the front desks of the resorts and pretty much all stated that requests via fax went into the circular file.

While I do not see a fax hurting your request, I would not forgo the official method of having your request noted on your reservation and relying entirely on a fax.

 

[lentesta]

@pajammies - thanks for using our site. The new fax requests are working even better than I expected. I am exceptionally happy with it. Use it, please, and let me know if there's anything I can help with.

Most of the credit for this goes to Disney's room assigners, who, I assure you, read and attempt to satisfy those faxed requests. I know this because I've got feedback from them at several resorts over the past week, with ideas for how we can make their jobs easier.

Len

 

[pajammies]

@pajammies - thanks for using our site. The new fax requests are working even better than I expected. I am exceptionally happy with it. Use it, please, and let me know if there's anything I can help with.

Most of the credit for this goes to Disney's room assigners, who, I assure you, read and attempt to satisfy those faxed requests. I know this because I've got feedback from them at several resorts over the past week, with ideas for how we can make their jobs easier.

Len

Len, Thanks for the info. I will try it out, I figure why not. If that's one less thing to worry about before I leave... great!
Now if you could just bring those crowd levels in November back down to what they were last week, that would be perfect
just kidding

 

[pajammies]

@lentesta I thought I would update the thread since it seemed to most people it might not work.
Well, sorry to say, it (sort of) did not work. Now mind you, I did not really care too much what happened, so this did not ruin my stay and was not problematic. I was testing it for you, lol

When I went to check in (which was in person, not online, at Pop Century) I asked if they received a fax regarding my room request. She said they did not receive a request for a specific room number, only a building #.
I'm near positive I had listed several room numbers on my request, they were all lake view in building 5.
She then told me that, that whole building was not available at that time. She asked me where the fax came from and I told her Touring Plans, she said she never heard of it and they never take requests unless someone has stayed in the room previously. (They cater to people that continually want the same room? I thought that was strange, but I verified what she said by asking again.)

Anyway, the reason I say "sort of" is because I did get a lake view room in building 4, after she asked what I was looking for, and I told her lake view. So maybe she tried harder to get what I wanted after the first attempt failed.

In any case, it was worth a try, thank you.

 

[Master Yoda]

@lentesta I thought I would update the thread since it seemed to most people it might not work.
Well, sorry to say, it (sort of) did not work. Now mind you, I did not really care too much what happened, so this did not ruin my stay and was not problematic. I was testing it for you, lol

When I went to check in (which was in person, not online, at Pop Century) I asked if they received a fax regarding my room request. She said they did not receive a request for a specific room number, only a building #.
I'm near positive I had listed several room numbers on my request, they were all lake view in building 5.
She then told me that, that whole building was not available at that time. She asked me where the fax came from and I told her Touring Plans, she said she never heard of it and they never take requests unless someone has stayed in the room previously. (They cater to people that continually want the same room? I thought that was strange, but I verified what she said by asking again.)

Anyway, the reason I say "sort of" is because I did get a lake view room in building 4, after she asked what I was looking for, and I told her lake view. So maybe she tried harder to get what I wanted after the first attempt failed.

In any case, it was worth a try, thank you.

Disney's official policy is they do not accept room requests via fax. What actually happens is some CMs will follow the rules and trash them, others will attempt to honor them.

The official way to make room requests is to make them either when you make the reservation via phone or call the reservation and add them after the fact. That is the only by the rules way to have your requests seen every time.

Sending a fax is fine, but you always want to have those requests on your reservation.

It is also a bad idea to request a specific room number with no other additional information. If that room is not available, the CM has no idea why you wanted it. He/she might think that you wanted it because it was close to the elevator when you actually wanted because it had a view of the lake. You can of course request a specific room, but you want to follow it up with something like "If that room is not available I want view of the lake, top floor, etc)

 

[pajammies]

Disney's official policy is they do not accept room requests via fax. What actually happens is some CMs will follow the rules and trash them, others will attempt to honor them.

The official way to make room requests is to make them either when you make the reservation via phone or call the reservation and add them after the fact. That is the only by the rules way to have your requests seen every time.

Sending a fax is fine, but you always want to have those requests on your reservation.

It is also a bad idea to request a specific room number with no other additional information. If that room is not available, the CM has no idea why you wanted it. He/she might think that you wanted it because it was close to the elevator when you actually wanted because it had a view of the lake. You can of course request a specific room, but you want to follow it up with something like "If that room is not available I want view of the lake, top floor, etc)

I understand, like I said, it wasn't a big to me at all. I figured I'd try it.
Do you know what she was talking about when she said they would honor requests of people that stayed there before and asked for the same room number? I thought that would be more of a pain than anything.
I will say, if it is indeed Disney's stance to not accept requests by fax, then I don't think TP should offer it. I may not have cared, but I could see it upsetting some people.