Touring Plans Room Request Tool

[djpoore94]

DH & I are staying at BWV for the first time in May. I am also going to try the Touring Plans room request tool for the first time and have a couple of questions.

First, if you have used this, was the request successful?

Second, should I still do the online check in through the Disney website? If I do that, should I leave the room requests there blank?

We usually stay at OKW in a room near the Hospitality House (and don't care much about the view) so I usually just do the general 1st floor, close to transportation, or do a chat and just request a 1st floor with a couple of specific building numbers. But there are some pretty great views available in our "garden/pool view" category at BWV.................

 

[Master Yoda]

While I have never used the tool you are talking about, I am quite familiar with requests.

The number one thing you want to do is have your requests noted on the reservation. This is the only way I know of outside of the limited options provided in online check in to guarantee that the CM assigning rooms will see your requests. Every other method can be hit or miss.

When you are making your requests it is a good idea to make them both somewhat general in nature and give them as much detail as possible. (eg near the stairs, away from the pool, etc.) Some people will request a specific room number and that is it. Requesting a particular room is fine, but if that room is unavailable the CM has no idea why you wanted that room. He/she might think that was because it was near a parking lot, but you wanted it because it was close to the ice machine. Bottom line, the more info they have, the easier it is for them to make you happy.

You will also want to assign an order of importance to your requests. If being on the ground floor is more important than being next to the lobby, make sure they know that.

You will want to make sure that your requests are not actually a bookable room category. If what you are looking for is a bookable category, it is best to book that particular kind of room. While you can request something like a king bed room at Port Orleans, a king bed room is a kind of room you can book and guarantee making the chances of getting that request somewhat slim.

Online check in does not affect your requests. If you do online check in and find your requests have not been met, you can always speak with a CM to see what can be done.

Lastly, you must remember that requests are not guaranteed. Thanks to online forums, Facebook and the like, many guests request exactly the same thing and there are only so many ground level rooms, near the main pool and next to the bus stop to go around.

 

[djpoore94]

Thanks @Master Yoda. I've pretty much always had good luck with requests on all of our prior trips, but they've also always been very general such as ground floor & close to transportaion. The most specific I've ever been is a group of buildings (I think there were 4 building numbers given) at OKW.

I'm not looking to request a specific room number, but a specific building & location within that building for this trip.

Supposedly, the Touring Plans tool faxes the request 5 days before check in, but I think I'll do a chat with DVC member services soon as well.

 

[Master Yoda]

Thanks @Master Yoda. I've pretty much always had good luck with requests on all of our prior trips, but they've also always been very general such as ground floor & close to transportaion. The most specific I've ever been is a group of buildings (I think there were 4 building numbers given) at OKW.

I'm not looking to request a specific room number, but a specific building & location within that building for this trip.

Supposedly, the Touring Plans tool faxes the request 5 days before check in, but I think I'll do a chat with DVC member services soon as well.

Here is the thing about faxes. By policy, CMs are not allowed to take room requests by fax. It has been that way for a long, long time. Some CM's pay attention to this rule, others do not.

If you want to fax in your request, by all means do. Just make sure that is not the only thing you do.

 

[djpoore94]

Here is the thing about faxes. By policy, CMs are not allowed to take room requests by fax. It has been that way for a long, long time. Some CM's pay attention to this rule, others do not.

If you want to fax in your request, by all means do. Just make sure that is not the only thing you do.

That's what I thought. I am definitely not going to rely only on the fax.

 

[NelleBelle]

Here is the thing about faxes. By policy, CMs are not allowed to take room requests by fax. It has been that way for a long, long time. Some CM's pay attention to this rule, others do not.

If you want to fax in your request, by all means do. Just make sure that is not the only thing you do.

What is their policy regarding requests? Submitting via MDE?

 

[allgiggles]

I've used the Touring Plans Room Request service for our last 2 trips. Both of those stays were at AoA. In both cases, we got the room right next door to the specific room I requested which was fine with me as I noted on the request that we didn't need that specific room, but we were hoping to get a room in that hallway. I also indicated in the note section why we requested that specific room/area (upper floor, near the stairs, facing the courtyard). I did not call Disney directly with my requests for those rooms but when I did online check-in, I chose options that complimented the TP requests (upper floor, near transportation).

I used to make my requests directly through Disney but in 6 trips we never got the location we requested even though it was clearly listed on the reservation (and always something simple like "close to transportation") -- in fact, our assigned location was usually the polar opposite of what we requested. Fortunately, we were always able to have our room location changed to a better location at check-in. I've had much better luck just using the TP service and online check in. I will be using them again for our upcoming trip in June. YMMV

 

[Tinkerbella16]

We love this feature on TP's. The past 3 trips, we have gotten our requested room, staying at POR and Beach Club. I never expect anything so when I see that the request was granted, I am pleasantly surprised.

 

[Master Yoda]

What is their policy regarding requests? Submitting via MDE?

Same as adding them to a reservation. The problem, in my experience at least, is inconstancy. Seems like they keep flopping between a text field that you can type in requests and a pull down menu with very limited options.

 

[Kingdom Konsultant]

You can submit a room request using MDE or by calling and having it added to the reservation. Just remember it's just that... a request. There is no guarantee that you are getting it.
I call and add them all the time and Disney does their best to accommodate our clients but we do tell them it's not guaranteed.

Good luck!

Pam

 

[jaygatsby]

I used it over Christmas week. I realized POR was completely booked so I wasn’t expecting to get the exact room. We got a very similar room which was great. My only trouble was that when I looked up the room we were staying in, it said it had a murphy bed when it actually didn’t. Don’t know if that’s TP’s mistake or what, but thought it was odd