Just called to add DDP and knocked myself off a waitlist!

[AnnetteF]

We arrive at OKW one week from tomorrow. I called today to add the DDP to our reservation.

At the 7 month mark, I had waitlisted for BWV. After I added the dining plan, I just asked how much longer we would actually be on the waitlist, since I know it expires 7 days prior to arrival - I knew we would only be on another day or so anyway. The castmember said "Oh, you were on a waitlist?" She said that when you add the DDP it knocks you off the waitlist. To put me back on, she said she would have to reverse the DDP out of the reservation.

No biggie in this case, since we would only have been on there for another day anyway and I really didn't expect it to come through at this point, but I had no idea that was the case. Just thought it might be good info for everyone to have - or maybe I'm the only one who didn't know?

Now that DDP has to be paid for in advance, I always wait until closer to the trip to add it. Really glad I didn't add it back in July and then not ask about my waitlist. I might never had known that I was knocked off.

 

[bwvBound]

I wish I could say, "Unbelievable!" Sad, just sad.

 

[DenLo]

W h a t? That doesn't make sense. I'm glad it didn't really matter to you.

 

[Disney Princess]

We don't use the DDP, but I certainly don't remember reading that information on the boards. It sounds a little odd to me, but then again the Disney information network has always had quirks that don't make much sense.

 

[BEASLYBOO]

Of course I'm not a person in the know of how Disney things work but really , you have to ask yourself what does one have to do with the other, but I guess it must!

 

[dianeschlicht]

Of course I'm not a person in the know of how Disney things work but really , you have to ask yourself what does one have to do with the other, but I guess it must!

Only in the minds of the Disney IT guys!

 

[AnnetteF]

Glad to know I wasn't the only one who didn't know this. I asked her what would have happened if I had added DDP months before and she said they would have added me back to the waitlist, but then would have told me I had to wait until I was within the 7 days prior to arrival to add my DDP.

I agree with the pp who said "what does one have to do with the other?" .

 

[Dean]

I haven't seen this posted but it makes sense.

 

[disneynutz]

I have learned to double check anything that MS touched. We have had wait lists disappear, requests disappear, points disappear, points added, our name changed, and a programmer added to our membership as an associate.

A few years ago MS and their management at least acted like they cared and would have different people contact us to fix the problem. Now they seem to accept these issues as a normal occurrence. Our requests disappeared for out next visit and the MS CM told me that this happens all of the time and that she would just add the requests again.

Bill

 

[supersuperwendy]

That's great to know OP thanks. We will wait until much closer to our trip to add the DDP then I guess and hopefully my waitlist for 2 queens come through. Sadly we ARE doing DDP afterall for 2012. I think the price is way too high, but for ease of our large group we are going to use it.

 

[Dean]

I have learned to double check anything that MS touched. We have had wait lists disappear, requests disappear, points disappear, points added, our name changed, and a programmer added to our membership as an associate.

A few years ago MS and their management at least acted like they cared and would have different people contact us to fix the problem. Now they seem to accept these issues as a normal occurrence. Our requests disappeared for out next visit and the MS CM told me that this happens all of the time and that she would just add the requests again.

Bill

One of the issues is that DVC has historically been too soft, too flexible with rules, too inconsistent and not very savvy in running a timeshare efficiently. They could afford to be because the product sold itself in spite of their laissez fair attitude and lack of adherence to appropriate and reasonable timesharing practices (both sales and otherwise) and because they had total control. Now it appears they're trying to go in a different direction and having trouble finding their way. They will likely have some growing pains along the way. Past experience on this board and similar places leads me to believe that even an appropriate timeshare approach won't be very popular with these groups. Everyone should remove the "I thought DVC was different" from their vocabulary immediately, it should never have been there to start with because it's never really been true. As a minimum it should be fun discussing the various changes along the way.

 

[AnnetteF]

The more I think about it, the more this puzzles me. Let's suppose you are booked at one resort and waitlist at the 7 month mark for another resort. Then, just before the 6 month mark, you want to add the dining plan and you want to do it then because you want to apply it to your CRT ressie that you are about to make at exactly 6 months out. Their only solution is that you can't add DDP until after the waitlist expires at 7 days out, or what? you have to forfeit your place in line on the waitlist? Neither of these would be very reasonable options in this case. I think I would like to question someone at MS on this a little further. Or maybe try to speak to someone when we are there in 8 more days.

 

[Dean]

The more I think about it, the more this puzzles me. Let's suppose you are booked at one resort and waitlist at the 7 month mark for another resort. Then, just before the 6 month mark, you want to add the dining plan and you want to do it then because you want to apply it to your CRT ressie that you are about to make at exactly 6 months out. Their only solution is that you can't add DDP until after the waitlist expires at 7 days out, or what? you have to forfeit your place in line on the waitlist? Neither of these would be very reasonable options in this case. I think I would like to question someone at MS on this a little further. Or maybe try to speak to someone when we are there in 8 more days.

It's not unreasonable to ask that members have final plans before adding the dining plan. Far too much work to add the dining plan then have a wait list come through that may or may not match the days of the dining plan. It'd be nice if they'd just let people know about this issue though. My guess is they have had issues where people added the dining plan then later matched a WL that didn't match up with all the many nuances and problems that one can imagine in such a situation. The other approach they could take would be a WL canceled your DP option but since this is done by another department where they have to do a 3 way call, that's likely an unworkable option.

 

[AnnetteF]

I see what you mean about the problems that could arise if the number of nights changes if a waitlist comes through, or if the result is a split stay.

In my case however, the change would have been seamless from 8 nights at OKW to 8 nights at BWV, and she was still saying that if I wanted to be back on the waitlist for one more day, she would have had to cancel out the DDP transaction and have me call back for it once my waitlist had expired.

It also concerns me that, had I added the DDP months before and not specifically asked about the waitlist (which I wouldn't think to do at that time), I would never have even known that I had been knocked off the waitlist and would have gone on checking to see if it had come through.

If this is the way it has to be, they should at least make it clear to members, both in the member guidelines and at the time of either requesting a waitlist or DDP, that this is the situation.