Disney Reservation System Stinks

captainkidd

Well-Known Member
Quick background. Decided to switch our summer reservation from Wilderness to the Polynesian. Unfortunately, they didn't have 1 room at the Poly for the entire 13 nights. I had met a TA on the DIS a while back. Very nice woman. She said she would keep checking if she could get me in to the Poly for the entire time. Within a week, she found something. I don't like using TA's as they're usually slow as hell getting back to you and you can't handle your reservation direct, but we really wanted the Poly for the entire time, so I went with her. This is where Disney ticks me off:

We had 3 reservations:
1 was for the first week at the Poly.
2 was for 2nd week at the WL.
3 was for 2nd room at WL for 2nd week.

Obviously, we wanted to get a AAA or AP discount if available. TA said it was, but only for certain nights, at the beginning and end of trip. So Disney forces her to make 3 seperate reservations for each "leg" of the trip. Now, the whole thing with the exception of about $200 was paid off already. Instead of just switching the money paid over to the new reservations, they refunded my credit card, supposedly. I say supposedly because there's still about $1,400 that hasn't shown up yet.

The next part that stinks, is because of the type of reservation it is, Disney won't allow me to pay the balance off until we check in. This doesn't seem like a big deal, but I don't like leaving that much money in my bank account. Twice in the past year alone, I've had to get a new debit card, because somewhere that I shopped had their system breached. One of those times I actually had money stolen from my account.

Why the heck does Disney have to make everything so complicated? It's not like the resorts are privately owned and have seperate accounts. All the money goes to the same place. Easy solution - Make the customer happy:

1.Change reservation so there's only one confirmation number.
2.Let me pay balance off with credit card.

What is so difficult about that? Instead, I have to leave over $3,000 in my checking account for 2 more months. I have to waste my time checking my bank account for this refunded money daily. I'll have to waste time on my vacation, checking out and checking back in, not once, but TWICE!
 

captainkidd

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
We have booked room only the last 5 years in arow. I have always (except for last year) paid for the whole room before I got there. Something doesn't sound right.

Talked with TA again. She got Disney to change the ressie to a reservation where it could be paid off in advance.

I too always book room only. Never had a problem paying in advance. It has something to do with it being booked online or something. I don't know. Makes no sense to me.
 
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JPVonDrake

Well-Known Member
Let me be of help and chime to try to explain the reasoning behind the challenges you are experiencing...


...we wanted to get a AAA or AP discount if available. TA said it was, but only for certain nights, at the beginning and end of trip...

A Resort reservation (both room-only and vacation package) must contain 1 resort, 1 room category, 1 rate code and 1 consecutive set of dates. As DisneyJoe correctly stated this is for accurate accounting purposes, inventory control, and our contracts with various discount offer sponsors, both internal and external.

As your TA stated if there was a discount offer available on at the beginning and end of your trip, then you would be required to book 1 reservation for each rate code. The first discounted dates, the middle rack rate dates, and the ending discounted dates.

...I made it VERY clear to Disney, the AAA rate was not important if I couldn't get the resort I wanted or if I had to change rooms...

If you are willing to completely forgo the AAA discount on the portions of your stay that are available, you could extend the dates on your one rack rate reservation to cover all of your travel dates, and cancel the two discounted stays. This would give you one reservation number with one check-in and one rate code.

...CRO ASSURED me I would not have to change rooms. The rate, though limited to a number of rooms, is not room number specific. Therefore, they can arrange reservation as continuous so we can stay in the same room. If they can work the system like that, why can't they work it to flow as 1 reservation?...

First, let me apologize you were give some incorrect information here. Although the resort will do everything possible to keep you in the same room for each of your continuing stays, this cannot be guaranteed by the Disney Reservation Center. We book your room category, but the actual room number assignment is made by the Resort when you check-in. In 99.9% of the time, your room assignment for your continuing stay will be pre-blocked by the Resort to keep you in the same room as long as the resort knows at your initial check-in that you will be continuing your stay on separate reservations.

...because of the type of reservation it is, Disney won't allow me to pay the balance off until we check in...

If the booking was a Room-Only Reservation that was booked online by your travel agent, then this is correct.

When you book a Disney Vacation you are working with one of two different companies, both owned by Disney, but operate as separate units.

Central Reservations Office (CRO) is part of the Walt Disney World Resort and is the direct booking agent for room-only reservations. When you book a CRO reservation you are essentially booking directly with the WDW Resort Hotels. All CRO reservations are handled by phone by the Disney Reservation Center. Most CRO Reservations carry a 5 day cancellation policy, require a deposit of one night’s lodging, and you can pay any additional portion of your balance in advance, or pay it when you check in.

The Walt Disney Travel Company (WDTC) is a Travel Package Agency owned by The Walt Disney Company, and books vacation packages for Walt Disney World, Disneyland CA, The Disney Cruise Line, and Disneyland Paris. The WDTC pre-purchases blocks of rooms from CRO, combines them with other products and services, and resells them as Vacation Packages. Most WDTC Reservations carry a 45 day cancellation policy, and your balance must be paid 45 days in advance of your arrival.

All Internet bookings (both Vacation Packages and Room-Only) are booked through Walt Disney Products & Reservations Online (WDPRO). This is a direct division of the WDTC. WDPRO sells room-only reservation as a convenience to Guests or Travel Agents who wish to book online. Since these bookings are part of WDTC some terms and conditions must be handled differently. Due to the way the funds are handled, you can only pay WDTC for the first night’s lodging at the time of booking, with the balance paid to the resort itself upon arrival.

...Instead of just switching the money paid over to the new reservations, they refunded my credit card...

Due to various credit card bank policies, funds paid to one company cannot be transferred directly to another company. The original funds must be refunded to the card holder, and a new separate charge must be made by the second company. Base on what you stated, your first reservation was booked with CRO and the new reservation was booked through WDTC. Since these are legally two separate companies (but both owned by The Walt Disney Company) the funds could not be transferred.

...there's still about $1,400 that hasn't shown up yet...

When a credit card refund is approved and processed by Disney, the funds are returned to your credit card bank within 72 hours or less in nearly all cases. You bank can take up to 10 business days to process the credit and it can take up to two full billing cycles for the funds to appear on a printed statement.
 
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Sherrybaby

New Member
When a credit card refund is approved and processed by Disney, the funds are returned to your credit card bank within 72 hours or less in nearly all cases. You bank can take up to 10 business days to process the credit and it can take up to two full billing cycles for the funds to appear on a printed statement.

Yes, this is the "pat" Disney answer to when a refund will happen. So you have to pay off the charge or pay finance charges on the money if it takes "two billing cycles". This is complete BUNK. I have NEVER had it take more than a day or two to have something refunded to my credit card. This part is Disney BS but there is nothing we can do about it. I'm still waiting on a refund too due to switching from room only to room and dining (talked into it by a CM) but I have already disputed the charges with my CC company so I don't have to pay it this month. Let Disney deal with my CC company contacting them for the refund. It's paperwork, phone calls, and sometimes a surcharge when the money is finally refunded.

Someone please tell me; when is the last time you returned an item and it took TWO BILLING STATEMENTS (two months) for the refund to show up on your card???--uh, never. Like I said: Disney BS.

Sherry
 
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CleveRocks

Active Member
Also, you should probably get a cc for reservations, not a check card. A credit card allows you to cancel and to not get charged for fraudulent use of your card. A check card is just like cash: if used, it's gone.
This is completely untrue, at least as far as almost all VISA and MasterCard branded debit cards go. Individual bank policies vary, but by and large you are just as protected from fraudulent charges with a V/MC debit card as you are with a V/MC credit card.
 
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Elonwy

Member
When a credit card refund is approved and processed by Disney, the funds are returned to your credit card bank within 72 hours or less in nearly all cases. You bank can take up to 10 business days to process the credit and it can take up to two full billing cycles for the funds to appear on a printed statement.

Question...I cancelled a reservation through a Disney Certified Travel agent and have been waiting for my deposit to be returned. It's been 3 weeks and I don't have the funds back on the card yet. I don't understand the difference of it taking 10 days to process and 60 days to appear on a printed statement.

My bank has said that my online statement is the most up-to-date statement I have so if I don't see it there...I guess it's simply not available.

Why does it take less than 12 hours to take the charge but 60 days to give it back?
 
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JPVonDrake

Well-Known Member
Question...I cancelled a reservation through a Disney Certified Travel agent and have been waiting for my deposit to be returned. It's been 3 weeks and I don't have the funds back on the card yet. I don't understand the difference of it taking 10 days to process and 60 days to appear on a printed statement.

My bank has said that my online statement is the most up-to-date statement I have so if I don't see it there...I guess it's simply not available.

Why does it take less than 12 hours to take the charge but 60 days to give it back?

By printed statement I mean your monthly statement which is generated only once every 30 or so days. Depending on when you credit is posted compared to the closing date on your statements, you may need to wait for one or two statements to arrive to see the credit in writing. If you view your account online, you may be able to see the credit must sooner.

Depending on your situation it could take more time for you to see your refund. If you (or your Travel Agent) have already received any vacation component vouchers (car rental, town-car transfer, etc.) they must be returned to Disney before any refund can be processed. If you paid your Agent directly, you may need to wait for your Agent to be refunded before they process your refund back to you.

When you make a credit card charge, a hold is placed on the funds immediately, however it still can take about 72 hours for the funds to be transferred from the bank to Disney, or in the case of a refund, the reverse. One the Bank has your funds back, due to various internal auditing process they may take an additional week to post the credit on your account.

If it has been over 3 weeks, I would double check with your Travel agent. They would be able to contact Disney to see if the refund has been processes on our end, or discover the reason if there was an unexpected delay.
 
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geubux

Member
This is completely untrue, at least as far as almost all VISA and MasterCard branded debit cards go. Individual bank policies vary, but by and large you are just as protected from fraudulent charges with a V/MC debit card as you are with a V/MC credit card.

As you state, it depends on bank, but is it also a matter of state laws? I believe that in ALL cases, a cc is protected. But, as you stated, your debit card MAY be protected
 
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