Already booked through Expedia...

[CariRae]

I have read some not-so-great reviews about booking a WDW resort room through Expedia. However, I booked my room for AOA several months ago, room only. We wanted a Little Mermaid room starting 12/6 and they weren't available through Disney via internet or phone. The room that was available on Expedia was for a handicap accessible room. My family didn't need that, but it was the only LM room we could find. A few weeks later, I got an email from Expedia saying there wasn't a handicap room available aferall, but that they would give us an equivalent non-handicap room at AOA. I called them to double check that we would remain in AOA and dealt with a really nice Expedia rep who said yes, we would still get a LM room, just not handicap (or they could change us to a handicap room in an equivalent Disney hotel).

Question I now have is should I be concerned about not having a room when we get there? Is there something I could do to check that my reservation is valid? I'm super nervous about this as its my family's first Disney vacay! Thanks!

(And I'll definitely be looking at the Disney TAs next time, now that I know about them!)

 

[Brandon Bowman]

As far as I've ever read booking through Expedia is just like booking through Disney (Just expedia gets a small commission). I would not be worried if they said they had a room for you!

 

[dreamfinder]

Expedia should be able to provide you with a WDW confirmation number. Not an Expedia confirmation number, but one that ties back into the WDW systems. Once you get that, you can load that reservation into your MDE account and confirm things such as dates, room type, etc. If you are concerned, you can also contact a Disney specialist TA NOW and have then take ownership of the reservation.

 

[Master Yoda]

Expedia should be able to provide you with a WDW confirmation number. Not an Expedia confirmation number, but one that ties back into the WDW systems. Once you get that, you can load that reservation into your MDE account and confirm things such as dates, room type, etc. If you are concerned, you can also contact a Disney specialist TA NOW and have then take ownership of the reservation.

I think that is kind of hard with Experia. I have done takeovers where the client was the person who booked through Disney and those are pretty easy, but as I understand it switching from one TA (which Experia is) to another requires the original TA to release the reservation.

 

[Poofiesdream]

I wouldn't worry if there is any problem at check in just call Expedia while your still at the counter.

 

[Tuvalu]

We booked a standard room at Boardwalk Inn a few years ago through Expedia and got upgraded to a room facing the Boardwalk and Crescent Lake at check-in. It was great!

 

[CariRae]

Thanks, everyone, for the advice and making me feel ok about the Expedia reservation!

 

[luv]

Expedia should be able to provide you with a WDW confirmation number. Not an Expedia confirmation number, but one that ties back into the WDW systems. Once you get that, you can load that reservation into your MDE account and confirm things such as dates, room type, etc. If you are concerned, you can also contact a Disney specialist TA NOW and have then take ownership of the reservation.

I don't know that they can do that. Expedia might not want to give it up.

I've booked through Expedia when Disney was sold out on their end. No problems. But if the Mermaid thing is just a request and not a special thing you paid extra to get, you might get put in another room. That can happen with or without Expedia.

Things happen when you travel. You may get bumped from your flight or walked from your room. Try to take it in stride if it happens.

 

[Longers]

Enjoy your first trip - you will loooooove it!!!

 

[Hot Lava]

Just make sure you have EVERYTHING printed out from Expedia. I would print as I go and have that all with me. I have had the experience of booking through Expedia (not Disney related), getting to the hotel, and the hotel having no record.

Anecdotally, I have heard/read that hotels "look down on" reservations booked through sites such as Expedia. They are the lowest priority reservations, and rarely subject to upgrade. And definitely when problems have occurred, remedies and recourse have been tough if not impossible. ::shrug:: No way to know this for fact, and if true, it would vary by location, employee working, time of year - a whole myriad of possibilities. My feeling is Disney would not be this way (or far less likely to be, anyway), but you never know what can happen, even with a direct reservation.

I know that I cannot even recall the last time I book through Expedia or similar. At least for the large hotel chains, they have really worked to ensure good (or the best) deals are available through their own sites. I still usually look at the Expedia type sites (especially if there is a tough time finding rooms) to check pricing, but I haven't found in a long time those to be any better than the hotel sites themselves.

 

[ToTBellHop]

You will likely end up with a cot in a broom closet or next to the ice machine. I've also heard of Expedia bookers ending up in a closed elevator.

J/K. You'll be fine.

 

[Hot Lava]

Laugh, but when a friend went to Roanoke to take the VA bar, the hotel he booked had no record of his reservation. And b/c the town was booked out for the exam, he would have been SOL. The hotel ended up giving him a room that apparently the employees use. It was basically a converted broom closet. Definitely not a regular room.

Keep those confirmation numbers, folks!

 

[CariRae]

Just an update: I was able to get my Disney reservation number through Expedia. The phone call was a little long because the Expedia rep had to call AOA and talk directly to them for the reservation, which I had to stay on the line and wait for. However, the number the Expedia rep provided me worked on the MDE app and I even got the option to customize my Magic Bands! (And I only had 6 days left to order the colored ones! Whew!)