Question for all who were "bumped" from PO last year during closing

[Kim&Chris]

In light of what we just learned about CBR, I'm asking those of you who were affected by PO's closing last year to list they type of "deal" that you were offered.

Ideally, I'm hoping that we'd be upgraded to a deluxe, but who knows :confused: .

DH and I had one king room reserved at CBR, while my mother-in-law and sister-in-law had an adjoining room reserved at CBR. Because these are two different reservations, I'd die if we ended up at two different resorts.

Do they let you request the resort you'd like to be changed to??

[eeyore0062]

We didn't wait, I caught DH at a good time, and gave him the option of one of the other moderates (knowing we had just been to CBR, and he dislikes CSR) or the Contemporary or AKL. He told me just to call and see what I could get at the Contemporary... so I did. No, I didn't get one of those fabulous upgrades, but I had the peace of mind of knowing where we would be staying ahead of time, and finally got to stay in a Deluxe on the monorail! BTW, it was well worth the extra money!

[Kim&Chris]

bump

[swankybeth]

I was bumped from Coronado Springs this past January. We originally had an AP rate of $89/night. They called us and offered either AKL or the Poly for $10 more per night. AKL was a pool view, so we took the Polynesian. I tried to press for an Epcot resort, but was told this was all they had. (Not that I was disappointed at all!)

[torismom]

We paid and upgraded to the contemprary.I believe we ended up paying 160.00 a night for a wing room there.

I am just waiting for dw to contact my dreams rep and see what is offered.

I cannot believe this is happening again. Dh was not happy when we were discussing this.

[DisneyFreaks]

We waited a few weeks after we first heard of PO/FQ closing before we called. They didn't offer us any kind of deal at all. Just another moderate. We chose Caribbean Beach and ended up having to change vacation dates because they couldn't book us there at the same time. We changed our ressies to this November. {go figure!} But ironically our plans had to change due to an unfortunate car accident so we are now booked back at French Quarter next May. I'm beginning to wonder what will happen to change us next. LoL But anyway, no, we weren't offered any kind of upgrade even when they couldn't keep us at our same vacation dates. They just said we could get CSR for those dates but we didn't want that beings we had just stayed there two years prior.

[Simba's Mom]

I was moved from POR. I think it was about $105 + tax. I was offered any other moderate for the same price. Or:
All-Star Music-$59 per nite
AKL-$133 per nite standard, $155 per nite savannah
All thes offerings were with tax included. I chose to take a combination of ASMu and AKL savannah (3 nites and 2 nites) so that my total was no more.

[Jeanny]

Oh No Disneyfreaks... now you've got me worried.

I cannot change my vacation dates... there is absolutely no way.. I was going to wait and see what they offer me, but maybe now, I should just try and see what's open at the other moderates. We're going 11/28-12/1 and have no option to change. My daughter cannot get any more time off.

[mrsltg]

I just posted this on another thread.... but here goes ....


Last year we were booked at POFQ. We didn't wait to be called as we were less than 3 weeks from our ressie. We called and were offered no special deals, just a choice of the other three moderates. We chose CSR, and I BEGGED my DH to take me back there on this vacation! Just keep a good outlook and you'll have a blast!

Erin :D

[Ona]

We had real probelms last December through the closure of POR.

It was mostly to do with the fact that we had booked through a TA here in the UK. When I heard of the closures I called several different numbers at Disney and surprise, surprise, got a differnet story each time. I spoke to a CM at checkin at POR on the phone, who confirmed the closures. So I called my TA and she kept on denying that there was ANY kind of closure and that perhaps I was confused with the closure of POFQ! It drove me mad.

Eventually she said that she could move us to CSR at no extra cost (I told her there better not be any extra charge as the room prices are identicle!). We weren't too happy about that (my parents wanted to have the fishing hole near by) so we said that we'd just wait and see what happened.

Anyway.................. to make a long story short, when we arrived at POR (which was a shadow of it's usual self) they didn't have us on their computers! It turned out that our TA had booked us into CSR after all but .............................. all that was available was a non-smoking room, but my Dad smokes so that was no good to us. So eventually the kind CM at the POR checkin got us a room at AKL.

So, in the end we stayed at the AKL at no extra cost. It was fantastic but I really would have prefered to stay at POR if it had meant not having all that hassle.

Ona ;)

[DisneyFreaks]

And I thought we had it bad. Sorry to hear about your bad luck Ona. It really does make you want to pull your hair out sometimes. I'm glad you enjoyed the Animal Kingdom Lodge. I really hope you can make it to PO/Riverside someday soon too if you haven't already. We're still waiting for our vacation to get here with all the changes we have had to go through. But now that I know what is happening to CBR I feel like I am waiting for the other shoe to drop.........again.

[JerseyJanice]

I made reservations at PO-FQ in July, 2001 for a stay in June, 2002 (got a AAA rate of 10% off rack).

Since I'm a DIS regular, I knew of the closing, but because I had time was on my side, I waited it out for Disney to call us. It drove me crazy to wait because I'm not very patient, but I'm glad I did.

I received a phone call from Disney early in March 2002, saying that they would not be able to accommodate us at PO-FQ. They could move our reservation to either POR, CBR or CSR for the same rate OR we could pay $100 more in total for the 4 nights to stay at the Wilderness or Animal Kingdom Lodge.

Our first 4 nights of our trip were at the Wilderness Lodge to begin with (my in-laws were paying for that under a separate reservation), so we took the Wilderness Lodge to avoid the expense and hassle of moving.

Disney is in the business of keeping their customers happy, so I'd say relax and see what you get. They sure made us happy!

[Kim&Chris]

Thanks, everyone, for your replies.

I'm thinking about NOT waiting for Disney's call & switching to POR on my own. My main fear is that they'll call me & offer CSR. We stayed there before & didn't really like it.

Once again, thanks!

[Karebear]

I have ressies for CBR for this November. I am so tempted to call now and switch my reservation. According to the Mousesavers website, the best stategy is to be patient and wait for them to call you because then you have a better chance for an upgrade. I am too impatient to wait! Anyone know how likely it is that upgrades will be offered?

[dcedwards]

Last year when FQ closed we were not really offered any deals. They told us we could switch to another moderate for the same price. We could also upgrade to AKL or WL for about $30 more a night...it could have been more. They were sorry about the closure but that was about it. Take what we have and be happy seemed to be their attitude. Seems like they are handling it the same way this year. I am hoping that they do get CBR opened again by the Dec 1st as we arrive at FQ on the Nov 30th and I imagine it will be crowded in light of this. It would even be nice if they could speed up the construction schedule but...we all know how that works.

We were fortunate to have booked through DU and they handled everything. They stayed right on top of it. I think it is horrible if someone had to change their dates. Although, I'm sure Disney will make sure to accommodate people with their current dates, somehow. Might not be what you want but they will probably have a place for you to stay. Just don't count on any great deals if history proves anything.

[shelby2001]

Well we were part of the Pop Century disaster last year and were going the week of Christmas and New Years checking in on the 27th of December and there were no discounts as there are none this year at that time, however we were offered AKL for $169.00 per night which was the AP rate for check in's up until the 25th, so we went from $114.00 per night to $169.00 and had a Savannah view room which we loved so it worked out for us. Hope all works out for all of you being displaced as I do remember how upset I was when I found out.

[dahess]

In November 2001 we had a 3 day land/4 day cruise staying at POR. We received a note from Dreams Unlimited (whom we booked with) and received a "FREE UPGRADE", we did not know at this time that POR was closing for a few months. We decided to take the upgrade because of postings on this site. Our "free" upgrade was for the Dolphin. This was our 1st trip to WDW. I personally did not like the Dolphin, my opinion don't get mad anyone! I would not recommend staying there nor would I ever want to go back to the Dolphin, once again, my opinion! Our room was outdated, wall paper pealing off, mold in the bath tub, room was stinky, etc. The staff was RUDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We had made apts. for pictures by the pool, the photographer never showed up and we couldn't get a hold of anyone to reshedule, food was not great at restaurants, if you can afford to eat there. I know this is small things that I did not like about the Dolphin but this is my opinion!

[sanddune]

We had ressies for FQR last Dec.19-30th. Disney called 2 weeks before our ressie. Told us Merry Christmas we're moving you to the POLY for the same price !!! ($99.00 a night!!!!:bounce: :Pinkbounc ) Hang in there and do nothing .Alot fo us hung in and got a Deluxe when they called!! Good Luck,Chris

[DisneyFreaks]

I so totally agree with sanddune and some of you others that suggest waiting until you hear from Disney. It seemed to me that those who waited during the PO closing really did get better deals than the ones who called right away. But I guess it's the luck of the draw. We needed three rooms so we were actually afraid to wait. We didn't want to end up in three different resorts. I feel too that you have a better chance for upgrading when you only have one room. We have gone to Disney World several times and have always needed multiple rooms. We have never ever been offered a free upgrade.

[Sandi]

We were caught in the POFQ situation last November. We had ressies through DU. We were offered POR and CBR at the same price or could have had Wilderness Lodge or AKL at a discount (still more than what I was willing to pay). We transferred to POR and absolutely loved it. We stayed there again in February and are going back next month.

I didn't find it a huge inconvenience. It's just uncomfortable when you don't know where you'll end up. I know a lot of people feel that WDW "owes" a free upgrade, but I disagree. It's nice when it happens, but is it really fair to those who are paying full price because that's what they wanted and were willing to pay? I felt bad for all those who booked at the deluxes and then read about the discounts and free upgrades.

[DisneyFreaks]

That is so true Sandi. I know from first hand experience what it feels like to read about other people getting such great deals handed to them for free when it has never happened for us. We always book the preferred view because that is what we want. Recently a friend told me she books standard view everytime and usually gets a free upgrade to a preferred area. I don't even ask about upgrades at check in because needing multiple rooms would make that a very difficult task to perform. I wouldn't want to put the check-in CM in an uncomfortable position. I do envy everyone who does have good luck when situations like these arise though.

[Gemm01]

We were also caught up in the big closures last December. We originally had a reservation for POFQ. When that resort closed we were moved to POR. Shortly after that I read here that POR was closing. I was very undecided as to waiting it out or calling and making a change so that there would be no worries. I decided to wait.....and it payed off. We finally got the call and were upgraded AKL at no additional cost to us. I know it's hard but I would try to wait.

[Minnie's Mate]

We were booked at POR the last week of December 2001. I called several times and was not offered any discount or upgrade, so I waited. I figured, what would they do, turn us away and loose our business? About a week before our scheduled check-in date, we were called and offered AKL upgrade for same as POR. We chose a standard room. We received a pool view room when we arrived.

We are sooo glad we stayed at AKL. We decided to stay there again in April 2002. We just returned from CBR and I am surprised that they are rehabing. Our room looked as though it had recently been constructed (4521, corner room with two doubles). Oh well, I guess their is a reason or just time wheather it needs it or not.

[mickey2001]

I had a problem last Christmas with Disney. I have stayed at every resort and wanted to try a new one on my list. Thus I was going to POP Century. I was also suppose to wait for a call however didn't trust Disney to wait. Disney wanted to put me in AS resort ! I said that I had already been there and "Don't think so". I explained why I chose the PC resort .
After 3 phone calls they finally got me 11 nights at AK lodge Savana view with tax for $109 per night. What a smart move for them as I have returned to that resort an additional 3 times. Its the best!
I honestly believe Disney could referbish the resort in the spring!
However we are all missing the point why its closing so quickly.
Their stock is at an 8 year low mmmmm!

LOS ANGELES, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Shares of Walt Disney Co. (DIS) fell sharply on Friday to their lowest levels in nearly eight years after it posted weak quarterly results from slack theme park attendance and warned of worse conditions ahead.

Disney's tumbling share price also sent stocks of travel and leisure companies downward in sympathy as much of the company's current weakness was tied to sluggish tourism at Disney's theme parks like Walt Disney World in Florida.

Debt rating agency Standard & Poor's weighed in, too, saying it may cut Disney's long-term corporate credit rating.

Following Disney's fiscal third quarter earnings report late Thursday, Chief Financial Officer Tom Staggs said theme park reservations were down about 10 percent in the current quarter, leading to lower-than-expected fourth quarter profits.

"The company's outlook was decidedly more negative than our expectations," Merrill Lynch analyst Jessica Reif Cohen said.