room requests..does it help??

[dixiegirl]

i know this has been talked about before but i was wondering which would be better...call the resort we are staying at 4 days before or faxing them or both?? we are staying at por and going down may8 ...we had put in a request through our travel agent for the bayou section of the resort....also for first floor..we are going with my grandmother who is 86yrs old who will be using a wheelchair down in disney as well as my mother in law who is coming who also will be using a wheelchair ( she has very bad knees) so first floor is a must and we really need the bayou section because of the closeness to everything ...well most buildings are.. so should i do both fax or call or both?? need anyones opinion..thanks.. :sohappy:



12 more days to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Fran98765]

I believe they "assign" rooms 3 days beforehand, so faxxing or calling 4 days prior to arrival would be a good idea. Remember to ask again and remind them of your preference at check in.

 

[nicholas]

I heard from someone who used to work at one of the resorts that they never really paid attention to faxes. So it's best to make your request at the time of the reservation, which you did through your travel agent, and then again when you get there to check in. Faxing might be an added assurance, and if they don't pay attention to them, then you've only wasted a couple of minutes doing that fax.

 

[tigsmom]

We always make our requests when we make our reservations. Then 2 or 3 days before we arrive we call to confirm our reservations. If they don't mention our request we make sure to bring it up. The only time we didn't get our requested room (it wasn't ready) they upgraded us.
Last year they let us pick out our own room because the section we requested was empty. We were the first to be assigned there.

 

[alanindy]

I experienced a similar situation at Wilderness Lodge, All Star Music, and at Dixie Landings (now Port Orleans Riverside). I checked in during the morning and each time, I had some choice in my room. Some weren't readily available right then, but I could pick from a few locations. It was especially good at Wilderness Lodge, we had our choice of 4 different sections of the hotel (all the same room type and view), and we chose one near an elevator on the Magic Kingdom side of the hotel and had an incredible view of the castle through the trees. I'd suggest confirming your room type and special needs a few days before, clarifying it when you check in, but most importantly, CHECK IN EARLY IN THE DAY!!! Even though your room may not be ready until later in the afternoon/early evening, you will have a better chance at getting what you want than checking in at 3pm or later.

 

[tigsmom]

I experienced a similar situation at Wilderness Lodge, All Star Music, and at Dixie Landings (now Port Orleans Riverside). I checked in during the morning and each time, I had some choice in my room. Some weren't readily available right then, but I could pick from a few locations. It was especially good at Wilderness Lodge, we had our choice of 4 different sections of the hotel (all the same room type and view), and we chose one near an elevator on the Magic Kingdom side of the hotel and had an incredible view of the castle through the trees. I'd suggest confirming your room type and special needs a few days before, clarifying it when you check in, but most importantly, CHECK IN EARLY IN THE DAY!!! Even though your room may not be ready until later in the afternoon/early evening, you will have a better chance at getting what you want than checking in at 3pm or later.

My experience was at the WL also. We requested room 6032 (with a view of the castle), but ended up with a courtyard view overlooking the quiet pool & the villas. We have chosen that room twice now.

 

[parker kim]

I was tolded something simliar at the all star movie that when we checked in at 6:630 p.m. and could not get our room request met. That its first come first serve bases that day, so the early you check in the more likly they can met your request. After telling the cm how dissappointed the kids would be not staying in the toystory area she suggested a room switch the next day . All we need to do have our bag pack and by the door and they would move them and after the park the next day go to guest service at the all star and get our new room number. this worked out find.

 

[dixiegirl]

well we are arriving into orlando around 10:30 am....so hopefully if we check in around 12 we'll be good...and we are arriving on a sunday which lots of people usually leave on....for the past couple of years we have arrived on a sat and they had said you could have your choice of rooms on sunday so hopefully we'll have a good chance this year...and we allways tell our agent where we like to stay...so lets see, i will though take all of your advice...i knew i could count on you guys!!! :sohappy:

 

[Rcoaster809]

I would call and explain why you are requesting your rooms. If you tell them people in your group will be using wheelchairs, you may have a better chance of getting a 1st floor room.

 

[vilegirl]

I faxed my room request when I stayed at the GF and we got exactly the room we wanted. And, at check-in, the CM thanked me for faxing it! I was really surprised they actually paid attention to the faxes, but apparently they do.

 

[Dwarful]

Well, I am all for the overkill. I make the request when I reserve the room, then I call back about a week prior to remind them of the request. Then I call 4 days prior. This time we are arriving late in the day, so I am calling the resort directly in the am and letting them know that we will be arriving late but that we really would appreciate getting the room we requested. For us at Pop this time its 50's bldg 'C'.

 

[polynesiangirl]

Well, it's always worked out for us...here's what I did the last time I booked a trip (which was to the Poly in '03, last year I went with a group and I wasn't the trip-planner.)

When I made my initial reservation I requested a non-smoking room with a patio or porch (at the Poly not ALL standard rooms have one due to the design of the buildings.) They said they'd make a note of it but they couldn't, of course, promise anything 100%.

I called the Polynesian directly (which, I've heard recently, is now a no-no and you're only supposed to call central reservations for this kind of stuff..no idea for sure though,) about 5 days before we left and reiterated my requests. I think they wrote it down, which made me thnk maybe they never got my intial requests (not sure though.)

In any case, when we got there and checked in I casually mentioned it again and they double checked the room they were assigning us to. We got both things we asked for and everything worked out fine, and they didn't seem at all frustrated or annoyed that I was asking (especially since I was very polite and I wouldn't have been enraged if it didn't work out or anything, haha)

One thing I've both noticed firsthand and heard from others is that the less stuff you ask for, the more likely they are to accomodate you (ie asking for a room with a porch is much more easy to do than asking for a specific building, room number, etc.)

Hope that helps!

 

[Trishnh]

i know this has been talked about before but i was wondering which would be better...call the resort we are staying at 4 days before or faxing them or both?? we are staying at por and going down may8 ...we had put in a request through our travel agent for the bayou section of the resort....also for first floor..we are going with my grandmother who is 86yrs old who will be using a wheelchair down in disney as well as my mother in law who is coming who also will be using a wheelchair ( she has very bad knees) so first floor is a must and we really need the bayou section because of the closeness to everything ...well most buildings are.. so should i do both fax or call or both?? need anyones opinion..thanks.. :sohappy:



12 more days to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My daughter also uses a wheelchair & I requested a ground floor for this reason. One CM told me they could not guarantee it, but when I called back to make changes in my reservation and mentioned it again, they noted "guaranteed ground floor for medical reasons". I also requested to be close to the food court area & bus stop for this reason. I guess we will see how it pans out when we go TOMORROW!!!! :sohappy: :sohappy: I didn't request a specific room or area, just those 2 general requests so I don't know which is better!

 

[soin2disney]

castle view at Grand Floridian???????

Hi, I really want to have a castle view in July when I go to the Grand Floridian. I have waited years to stay there and finally my dream has come true. When I booked, they put down Magic Kingdom view. Does this guarantee me or should I fax them too????thanx

 

[Fran98765]

Hi, I really want to have a castle view in July when I go to the Grand Floridian. I have waited years to stay there and finally my dream has come true. When I booked, they put down Magic Kingdom view. Does this guarantee me or should I fax them too????thanx

It's never a guarantee, but they will try to accomodate all requests. But yes you can call again to make sure they note your room request.

 

[surfsupdon]

I think it undoubtedly helps. We have given specific room numbers with our requests and they have been made every single time but once.

We place it on the reservation at time of booking, call about a month before, and then call about 4 days before check in date, and, if necessary, at check in.

Those Disney people surely are great!

 

[HauntedPirate]

My advice from experience - make an initial request when making the reservation, call the resort 5 days ahead of time and make the request again. I think it does help if you explain your situation, since the family we're going with on our next trip has 2 wheelchairs also. Which reminds me, I need to make our building request tomorrow!

 

[daveemtdave]

I have posted this before. We requested a ground floor when we booked. Each time we made a payment, we reminded them again -- when I made my final payment I asked for a last time. I called reservations one week before we left and was told it was noted. When we arrived - we were given third floor.....when we mentioned we requested first floor - we were told they were taken by school groups. At the time my wife had foot surgery and was not all that able to handle stairs or heights. We were told in NO UNCERTAIN TERMS -- 'then use the elevator' -- when we returned home, I did call and complain to guest relations -- we were given a refund for one day and a letter of apology. I was NOT looking for any such action, however, we did everything we were told to do. Also - we arrived by 10 a.m. and said we would gladly leave our luggage for a lower floor room......BUT we were told the computers had crashed and they were just placing people...actually this is the same vacation that we were charged extra charges on our credit card we did not authorize which they said was a flaw with the computers. IT WAS A MESS. But guess what....we are going back because Disney is Disney and we love the place.

 

[Laura]

My experience was at the WL also. We requested room 6032 (with a view of the castle), but ended up with a courtyard view overlooking the quiet pool & the villas. We have chosen that room twice now.

Hey that's the room I just requested the other day when I booked my room. I asked for 4032, 5032, or 6032. Are you saying they upgraded you to a courtyard view for the same price as a wood's view? Or you changed your mind and switched to a courtyard view?

 

[Laura]

Here's a link I found helpful too for anyone looking to request a certain room/area: http://allearsnet.com/acc/cro1.htm