Why is Disney so annoying about this?

[Laura]

How come whenever you want to make a change to your reservation they make you cancel your existing reservation and receive a full refund, make a new reservation and send the money right back?? Why can't they just transfer any deposits you've already made to the new reservation??

See the thing is, there's that package deal for the week we're going to Disney in November. Even though I have an annual pass and a DDE card, I calculated that with the special it will be less expensive for me to get a discounted MYW package with dining. My Grandma, cousin, and aunt are going with me (but staying in a different room) and they seem to think the package would be ok, but my grandma is totally against the idea of making a new package reservation and cancelling their existing room-only reservation and receiving a refund in the mail, only to send the money right back to Disney. So I don't know how I'm ever going to talk them into switching over to the package deal. If I switch to the package and they don't then I'll have a bunch of sit down meal credits that they won't have, so that wouldn't work out very well.

I'm just annoyed and wondering why Disney can't make it a little easier to change a reservation from room-only to a package??!

 

[HunnyPot]

Yes, it would be nice if they did that, and I don't have any answers for you. But, just to add my 2 cents, the same thing happened to me for my ressie in January. Not exactly the same situation, but I got refunded and then had to pay right back. Oh well.

 

[X12345]

I made a ressie in June, had to cancel that one and rebook it to a different address because it's a surprise for the family (we leave 4 days after I tell them xmas morning :xmas: )

Anyway, they just moved the funds to the new reservation. I never received a refund, it just showed up as a complete payment the day it was rebooked.

I also upgraded the tickets to park hopper and upgraded to a moderate resort about a month later. No new reservation, just a modification of the current one.

 

[JPVonDrake]

I'll be happy to try to answer your question...

When you book a room-only reservation (your reservation number is 12 digits long) you are booking with Disney's Central Reservation Office (CRO.) The CRO is directly part of the Walt Disney World Company and is the direct reservation office for all 22 Walt Disney World Resorts, plus Vero Beach and Hilton Head Island Resorts.

When you book any vacation package (your reservation number is 8 digits long and may contain letters) you are booked with The Walt Disney Travel Company (WDTC.) The WDTC is a separate travel agency owned by the Walt Disney Company, but is not directly part of WDW.

The WDTC operates in the same manner as other wholesalers (ie, travelocity, Epedia, etc.), purchasing blocks of rooms from CRO, then re-sells them to guest as vacation packages or through internet bookings. In a sense, your resort room has been paid for months in advance before you even made the reservation*.

Whenever you make a payment by a credit card, due to various legal issues, your payment cannot be transferred from one "company" to another. Although part of WDTC, internet bookings fall under different laws that prevent money from being transferred.

To put it simply, if you change resorts, but stay a room-only reservation your money is staying with CRO. If you make any changes but stay booked as a vacation package your money is staying with WDTC. If you switch from room-only to package, package to room-only, internet to package, or internet to room-only, your money must be credited back and a new deposit must be made.

*This is also why sometimes you can find availibility online or with a vacation package but the resort is sold out if you call to book a room-only reservation.

I hope this helps! :sohappy:

 

[ZapperZ]

I'm not involved in this, but it is responses like this is why I love coming here. Learn something new everytime that may come in useful later on.

So thanks, JP!

Zz.

 

[Mickifan17]

*This is also why sometimes you can find availibility online or with a vacation package but the resort is sold out if you call to book a room-only reservation.

Drake, you always have the answers. How about this question. I'm a DVC member and am planning on coming down in December. Currently I'm on the waiting list for a room. I'm getting kind of nervous because I've already got plane tickets, Cirque tickets, MVMCP tickets. (I know I should have waited for confirmed room reservations, but I would never have thought I wouldn't be able to get a room the first week of December. Especially when I booked in July )

Does that mean there is no room availability because WDTC has them blocked from me? And if so, and nobody books them, do I still have a chance of my reservation coming through? With less then 60 days to go, my wife and I are starting to freak out a little. What are my chances?

 

[Laura]

Thank you JP! Makes me a lot less irritated. Maybe if I explain the reasoning to my grandma she'll be ok with it.

However, I did look into switching from a room-only at Movies to a room-only at Pop Century a few weeks back and they told me I would have my money refunded and have to rebook. Sounds like they told me wrong?

 

[Laura]

One more question - if you book a package (no airfare) do you have to pay it all up front or do you just pay for 1 night, or how does that work?

 

[JPVonDrake]

Drake, you always have the answers. How about this question. I'm a DVC member and am planning on coming down in December. Currently I'm on the waiting list for a room. I'm getting kind of nervous because I've already got plane tickets, Cirque tickets, MVMCP tickets. (I know I should have waited for confirmed room reservations, but I would never have thought I wouldn't be able to get a room the first week of December. Especially when I booked in July )

Does that mean there is no room availability because WDTC has them blocked from me? And if so, and nobody books them, do I still have a chance of my reservation coming through? With less then 60 days to go, my wife and I are starting to freak out a little. What are my chances?

First, WDTC buys blocks of rooms from CRO, not directly from DVC.

DVC resorts work a little differently. At 499 days out, a few rooms are availiable throught CRO, however most are held by DVC for members. If the DVC rooms are not booked by members, more rooms are released to CRO to sell at 12, 9, 6, and 3 months out. Within 3 months, room would be bought and sold back as needed between CRO and DVC. If you are on a waiting list for DVC, you will have priority before CRO and therefore before WDTC.

Hope this helps! :sohappy:

 

[PhotoDave219]

Usually..... and JP can correct me if im wrong, since i live at my own resort :lol: .... generally Balance is due upon checking in. You can just put down the one nights deposit. You shouldnt have to pay for it all at once, unless its within the cancellation period.

 

[JPVonDrake]

Thank you JP! Makes me a lot less irritated. Maybe if I explain the reasoning to my grandma she'll be ok with it.

However, I did look into switching from a room-only at Movies to a room-only at Pop Century a few weeks back and they told me I would have my money refunded and have to rebook. Sounds like they told me wrong?

If you have a 12 digit room-only reservation (booked by phone, directly with Disney Reservations and not a group or convention reservation or booked with a travel agent) and want to switch resorts only, your money can and should be transferred to the new resort. Your resevation number will change however. You may have gotten one of our new hires that may have misunderstood your request, and I do appologize if you were given incorrect information.

:sohappy:

 

[meatloafsfan]

One more question - if you book a package (no airfare) do you have to pay it all up front or do you just pay for 1 night, or how does that work?

When you book a package (with tickets and room with or without the dining), you put down a $200 deposit and the final payment is due at 45 days out. The entire package must be prepaid.

 

[JPVonDrake]

One more question - if you book a package (no airfare) do you have to pay it all up front or do you just pay for 1 night, or how does that work?

On a land only WDTC Vacation Package, booked 60 or more days prior to arrival:

Your deposit of $200 will be due within 14 days, but may be paid today. Your vacation protection plan (if chosen) is non-refundable 14 days from the date of booking. The balance of your package is due 45 days prior to arrival. Your travel documents will be sent after we receive full payment and are within 45 days prior to arrival. Reservation changes occurring 44 days or less prior to arrival will incur a $50 change fee and a $10 Special Handling Fee. The $50 change fee will be waived if the change results in an increase in the land portion of your package. Cancellations occuring between 44 and 6 days prior to arrival will incur a $100 penalty. Cancellations occurring 5 days or less prior to arrival will incur a $200 penalty. For changes or cancellations occurring after travel documents have been issued, all travel documents must be returned before any new documents or refunds are processed.

If Retail Airfare is Booked on:

A deposit of $200 and your full payment of airline tickets and the vacation protection plan are due by 5 PM eastern time today if booked on a Sat, Sun, holiday or the eve of a holiday or by 5 PM eastern time tomorrow if booked Mon - Fri. The airline tickets and vacation protection plan are non-refundable and non-changeable.

Hope this helps! :sohappy:

 

[JPVonDrake]

Usually..... and JP can correct me if im wrong, since i live at my own resort :lol: .... generally Balance is due upon checking in. You can just put down the one nights deposit. You shouldnt have to pay for it all at once, unless its within the cancellation period.

On a room-only reservation booked by phone with Central Reservations 30 or more days prior to arrival:

Your deposit of one night's lodging with tax will be due within 14 days from today. Your final payment is due at Check-In, but may be paid in part or full anytime in advance. Cancellations made within 5 days of arrival are subject to a forfeit of your 1 night's deposit. You can modify your reservation up to 1 day prior to arrival without penalty.



On a room-only reservation booked by the internet, your deposit is still 1 night's lodging with tax, but the remainder cannot be paid prior to arrival. Also terms and conditions may vary from offer to offer booked online.

:sohappy:

 

[cherrynegra]

Wow!! I learned something new today. Thanks for the information Drake. You're always so helpful and are full of great information. You're the best!! :wave:

 

[mousermerf]

If you have a 12 digit room-only reservation (booked by phone, directly with Disney Reservations and not a group or convention reservation or booked with a travel agent) and want to switch resorts only, your money can and should be transferred to the new resort. Your resevation number will change however. You may have gotten one of our new hires that may have misunderstood your request, and I do appologize if you were given incorrect information.

:sohappy:

Or.. a big possibility...

If the agent doesn't book your res but rather modifies it (moving the money around) they don't get paid.

Disney sales agents (yes, they're "sales" agents) have quotas and goals to meet and modifiying a reservation gets them nothing, no matter how polite and grand they are or how much more you purchase.

So, in the unperfect world, some agents force guests to rebook completely in order to get their revenue goal - which makes sense because they're the one doing the work - but that's Disney's own doing because of the goals they set (rediculous at best) and the rules they set up.

Sorry you encountered an area where Disney is coaching their CM's to behave unethically - and turning mostly a blind eye to it too.

I read an article once about sports team ethics. A team with the mission statement of "We will win" cannot be helped ethically as that alone leads to doing things at all costs - just to win. Disney Reservations' mission statement is "We will make money" and spells it out very elaborately - as opposed to the parks and resorts which all are focused on the Guest experience first with no mention of profit.

These are formal declarations of their mission statements too, not some notion or guiding idea. Thus, DRC's general push toward the unethical.

Edit to add: Two things. I commend JP for staying ethical in that enviroment. Management has its head up its butt. Second, as he mentiond before, the above only applies to same-system bookings, but sadly is true

 

[Master Yoda]

JPVonDrake you are the man. By the way and a little off topic are you going to be able to make the meet in December? Here is the to link the thread

 

[Laura]

Wow this thread is a wealth of information. JP - I wish I could just speak with you directly each time I call Disney! I've never talked to a more knowledgable CM before! There should be a tacked thread at the top for all the JP tidbits that have been posted.

Maybe I'll just save some money and hassle and stay at the PhotoDave resort. PhotoDave - do you offer extra magic hour benefits?

:lol: