Possible huge problem with my upcoming trip...Need advice.

[Yellow Strap]

My Brother has a timeshare that he can use in Disney World (they book through DVC). Anyway, as a 10th anniversary gift he booked a 2 bedroom villa at the Boardwalk for our two families. We are also bringing my wife's sister along (she's 16) to help out with the kids...etc. So staying in the room are seven people and two babies in cribs. All fine.

Now my wife's mom wanted to come too. I call the Boardwalk and the front desk says "no problem". The number of actual beds could sleep eight people.
So, my mother-in-law orders her park hopper and plane tickets.
I get her flight numbers and call to set up her on Magical Express and at the Boardwalk.

Disney says NO. We are already at the limit. Only Nine people are allowed in the room. I explain what I was told by the Boardwalk front desk and I get the standard "We're sorry. But they were wrong to tell you that. There is nothing we can do. Fire codes and all"

We didn't budget for more or bigger rooms. My brother cannot get any additional rooms through his time share during that period. All of the plane and park tickets have been purchased.

What do we do?

 

[SleepingMonk]

Hmmmm, so your mother-in-law can't come on the trip.

No mother-in-law.

Nope.

I'm just not seeing the problem here.

 

[agent86]

A couple suggestions of things that I would probably do if I were in your shoes...

1. I'd contact Guest Services and try to speak to someone who is empowered to possibly do something. If the issue is due to them not wanting to violate fire codes, however, their hands may truly be tied on the issue. However it never hurts to double check. Maybe they can suggest an alternative that hasn't been considered yet.

2. If contacting Guest Services still doesn't get you anywhere, then if I were in your shoes, I'd see if maybe one of the kids would be willing to sleep in a sleeping bag. Not the ideal option, I realize, but it would probably beat springing for an additional room. You could either pack the sleeping bag, or even go to Walmart when you arrive and purchase a cheap one (then leave it behind when you leave). All in all, still likely much cheaper than getting another room.

I hope it works out for you!!

 

[yankspy]

My Brother has a timeshare that he can use in Disney World (they book through DVC). Anyway, as a 10th anniversary gift he booked a 2 bedroom villa at the Boardwalk for our two families. We are also bringing my wife's sister along (she's 16) to help out with the kids...etc. So staying in the room are seven people and two babies in cribs. All fine.

Now my wife's mom wanted to come too. I call the Boardwalk and the front desk says "no problem". The number of actual beds could sleep eight people.
So, my mother-in-law orders her park hopper and plane tickets.
I get her flight numbers and call to set up her on Magical Express and at the Boardwalk.

Disney says NO. We are already at the limit. Only Nine people are allowed in the room. I explain what I was told by the Boardwalk front desk and I get the standard "We're sorry. But they were wrong to tell you that. There is nothing we can do. Fire codes and all"

We didn't budget for more or bigger rooms. My brother cannot get any additional rooms through his time share during that period. All of the plane and park tickets have been purchased.

What do we do?

Is the problem that he does not have enough points for an extra room or that he could not find any? If he is unable to find any, my only suggestion would be to keep trying because availability does change. People cancel, etc.

 

[Laura]

Why do the babies in cribs count towards the occupancy?

Honestly I would just go and not sweat it. They're not gonna follow you around and count how many people are in your group.

I just think you're nuts for squeezing 9 people into a 2 bedroom! That's gonna be insane!

 

[Tink313]

Call one more time and tell them they told you she was allowed to stay and ME is giving another story, and if they cant fix it:shrug: ...

Sneek her in....Shhh nobody is gonna tell on you:ROFLOL:

Have a great trip:wave:

And remember its a secret :lookaroun

 

[Fluxuated]

Go throw her in a Value resort, problem solved

 

[WDWTrojan]

hmm...see if they will let you add her to the DME, without dealing with the Boardwalk hotel issue. If not, I'd consider just arranging alternate transportation to the resort (cab, shuttle, etc) and just not telling Disney until you get there. I'm sure the Boardwalk will accommodate you once you are there.

the back up option would be to call 407-824-2222 and ask for boardwalk operations, then ask to speak to the duty guest service manager.

 

[shmmrname]

It's only an issue if you make it an issue. Be EXTREMELY kind and generous to your MouseKeeper(s), and pick up after the extra person every day.

If we were to ever have done this, a la the extra person on the floor, then we would have never told Disney, and we would have done everything in our power to NOT negatively affect the Disney Staff, including MouseKeeping.

 

[WEDisney]

Growing up I don't think my parents ever told the resorts that we were there LOL. As long as you are not expecting a resort ID for EMHs or any other resort amenities I wouldn't worry about it. Like others said Mousekeeping will love you if you keep it clean and tip generously every day and not at the end of the trip.

 

[pjulie75]

I don't think I would draw attention to the extra person. This happened to us, in UK most hotels only accommodate 2 adults and 1 kid and if you travel with anymore people you need to buy an adjoining room - rip off:fork:. We booked a room for my husband and I and our twin girls who weren't even 2 and they wanted us to pay for another room - no way - they were only tiny and spent most nights in our bed anyway:snore:!! We actually had to phone hotel to complain and spoke to someone really helpful and she allowed the girls in our room. Obviously, 2 wee babies shouldn't be put in an adjoining room in a strange hotel. From our carry on before, I would keep QUIET and just SNEAK her in:zipit:. If you keep asking they might enquire when you check it and I doubt they will notice one more person, goodness, they are 9 of you!!! Have a fab time:wave:

 

[dopeylover]

There was one specific time my family snuck me into the room. My family arrived in Disney before I did b/c I was in college and I needed to wait until Spring Break. Once I arrived, they picked me up (this was before ME anyway), and no one was the wiser. 9 times out of 10, there are so many people in and out of the lobby on a daily basis, they don't know what's going on unless you draw attention to the situation. Just make sure you're not leaving clues for housekeeping, and you should be fine. Good luck w/ your trip and w/ NINE people in a room!!!!

 

[devoy1701]

I suggest leaving someone off of the reservation. Not one of the babies because you need to order two cribs. You probably won't have to worry about Disney Magical Express. It's run by Mears and the drivers are usually pretty friendly. Just explain the driver your situation...slip him $10.00 bucks and he'll probably just let them through. On that person's luggage, just put the name of someone who you did put on the reservation. I know a good amount of the Mears Drivers personally since I work with them in the cruise industry...They'll gladly make exceptions for alittle extra cash!

Leaving someone off the reservation will not cause a problem with dining reservations since the # of people for dinner has nothing to do with the # in your room reservation.

And as for EMH. Most likely the kids won't make it through the night, so somone will be heading with them back to the hotel after awhile... So just shuffle around the passes. It'll be confusing but it'll work.

 

[Shannon_Yensid]

their hands are tied with the number of occupants. fire codes restrict them and the system doesn't allow for a 9th name if there is already a baby. I would never recommend more than 6 adults in a two bedroom anyways but if you want to squeeze everyone in, call and make up a story about one of the babies not being able to attend and add the mother-in-law. this way, all the adults will get room keys. Again, i still wouldn't recommend it but if thats the only way points will allow for the trip, then good luck and have fun

 

[slappy magoo]

While you possibly probably could get away with hiding an extra person in your room, it would truly suck, imho, if you tried it & got caught. I wouldn't want to base my WDW vacation relying on that kind of risk. I'd suggest talking to a manager at the resort as opposed to guest services; maybe there are exceptions if two of the guests are babies. If there's nothing to be done, you should accept the fact that money might have to be spent. Could all the adults split the cost of an extra room? Could you switch to rooms at Old Key West? They tend to cost fewer points; it might be enough to sneak a extra studio out of the deal. (EDIT: I JUST CHECKED OUT THE POINT CHARTS FOR BOTH RESORTS. BOARDWALK HAS STANDARD VIEW + PREFERRED VIEW. ASSUMING YOU'RE THERE FOR A WEEK, IF YOU HAVE A PREFERRED VIEW, YOU CAN SWITCH TO A STANDARD VIEW OR MOVE TO OKW, AND HAVE TO PAY AT MOST FOR 2 NIGHTS IN A STUDIO. IF YOU'RE ALREADY IN A STANDARD VIEW ROOM, NEVER IND). Some DVC members rent points, and that would be significantly less then paying for the room even with a discount. Good luck.

EDIT: UNLESS THERE'S NON-REFUNDABLE AIRFARE INVOLVED, YOU COULD MAYBE (SHUDDER, I HATE SUGGESTING THIS) MAKING THE VACATION SHORTER AND SPLITTING UP THE POINTS BETWEEN A 2BR AND A STUDIO. OR ALL GROWNUPS SPLITTING THE COST OF A VALUE RESORT ROOM (MAYBE YOU CAN ALL TAKE TURNS STAYING IN IT- IT WILL ALSO AFFORD EACH COUPLE A FEW NIGHTS OF COMPLETE PRIVACY IF THE OTHERS ARE WILLING TO BABYSIT OVERNIGHT, MEOW).

 

[bgraham34]

I would not even bother and just take her. Like someone else said they are not going to follow you all around and count.

 

[devoy1701]

their hands are tied with the number of occupants. fire codes restrict them and the system doesn't allow for a 9th name if there is already a baby. I would never recommend more than 6 adults in a two bedroom anyways but if you want to squeeze everyone in, call and make up a story about one of the babies not being able to attend and add the mother-in-law. this way, all the adults will get room keys. Again, i still wouldn't recommend it but if thats the only way points will allow for the trip, then good luck and have fun

the problem with that is they're going to need two cribs. I was thinking about that too since the babies won't need tickets to get into the parks...

 

[bearboysnc]

the problem with that is they're going to need two cribs. I was thinking about that too since the babies won't need tickets to get into the parks...

Why? Just put the two babies in one crib. We did it with my sisters twins all the time.

 

[The Mom]

I've stayed in this type of villa, and am not seeing the problem?

The master bedroom has a King = 2 people A crib will fit in easily. 3 people
The Living room has a fold out Queen couch = 2 people. Another crib could be set up here. 3 people
The studio has a Queen and a fold out double couch = 4 people

That actually allows for 10 people, (8 plus 2 cribs) if all of them are willing to share a bed. Now your MIL might not want to sleep with your niece, which is where the sleeping bag would come into the picture.

I believe both of the units (which are joined to form a 2 BR) have a port-a-crib in the closet all the time. Ours did; we never requested (or needed) it.

 

[devoy1701]

Why? Just put the two babies in one crib. We did it with my sisters twins all the time.

I don't have kids so I wouldn't have thought of that...but that makes perfect sense. I would call Disney Reservations and say that you've decided to keep one one of the babies with some other family since your mother-in-law had already purchased her tickets and airfare.