(2014-2020) Disney's GRAND FLORIDIAN RESORT & SPA + VILLAS Information & Questions

We are staying at the GF in June with a Lagoon View category room and from the layout I want to stay in Boca Chica. Based on the room types summarized on the first page of this thread Boca Chica offers both Lagoon View and Theme Park view room categories. When I look at the map it would look like all of the water facing rooms should be Theme Park view (from the angle of the layout it would look like each of those rooms could see the castle). My question is are there Lagoon View category rooms that also see the castle (even though not classified as Theme Park view). I am trying to understand what the view of a Lagoon View room in Boca Chica is really like.

loveshak22 said:

BlueSkies - you know everyone on here is going to say 'go, go, go' on your weekend trip!! LOL!!

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That's what I like most about you all!!

Sue M said:

Blue- book it!

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Thank for the encouragement!!

trishadono said:

Can someone explain waking day 2 to snowflakes in upstate NY????

So, mvmcp sounds great now, Disney snow is fun snow!!! Go for it!!!

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Snow ..in April... ....Thanks Trish ... I agree..the only snow that I like is Disney snow...lol...

abk96 said:

Just saw over on the restaurant board that BOG has opened breakfast reservations up to 7/18.

Just got 8:30 AM on 7/10.

Now I need to decide if I want to keep the breakfast and cancel the lunch.

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That's great!!! I say keep em both abk..and don't forget to come back here and tell your GF pals what you thought about the breakfast...the menu looks good!

mevelandry said:

Just came back from our trip. Stayed at the GF at the Sugar Loaf on the last night. It was a great stay. We had downgraded from the RPC before the trip and I honestly did not feel like we were missing out on anything since we could visit the lobby as much as we wanted.

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So happy to hear that you had a great stay..SL is so very nice...and you're right relaxing in the lobby in the evenings is a very nice option...

KonaKaiTom said:

Well Blueskies, are you booked? Bumping us back to page 1!

Tom

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Tom Since you all kinda sorta encouraged me...lol.....Switching it up though..going to stay at the BWI..for now... Thinking about BC though...lol...

CinderellaDream said:

Hi everyone! I'm a long time lurker on the GF resort threads and I am staying at GF for the first time ever this June for a convention. I'm so excited! The room I have booked with the convention rate is an Outer Bldg - Garden View and it will be myself, DD6, DD3, my mom and grandmother. Does anyone have a recommendation for a room request? I will be at the convention from 7:30-1:00 each day so mom and grandma would have my two girls during that time. Also, can anyone give me any tips or fun things to consider while we are staying at GF? Thanks!

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Welcome to the GF thread!! ...Sounds like a perfect work trip... ...all how lucky to get to be on a trip with so many generations... ..that's wonderful! Although Tom is right about Sago being the closest to the convention...and everyone has their own preferences...Sago is my least fave GF outer building....it seems a little more removed from it all to me...my preference for a GV room would be in Boca Chica..close to the courtyard pool...and the boat dock too.... During the day..if touring the parks is not on the agenda..there is a whole lot going on at the beach pool..organized activities..pool parties..etc...things that would be perfect for kids your DDs ages...there is also a princess tea party right at the GF in the Garden View Lounge..lots of info on the first page of this thread about it....Happy planning...Have a great trip!

TeacherDL said:

Blue, Thank you for your kind words. The last few days have been great!
And, I agree with the others...Go ahead and book your trip!!

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You are very welcome! And so glad to hear that things are better! Well...since you all are kinda twisting my arm...lol..I'm gonna do it..Its just for a weekend! ..Disney friends..and Disney logic are simply the best!! My friend Maxie has also taught me all about Disney math...lol... ....this helps the Disney logic !

fterie4u said:

I'm so glad to hear this! We are staying SL for the first time(first GF stay) and we are so looking forward to it. We just could not justify the cost difference staying at RPC. Plus one of our kids are still really little so it's not like I will get that much relaxation time anyway! How was your room? What floor were you on? Was it loud? I know it can be loud near the lounge.
Glad you had a great time!

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SL is so centrally located on the GF grounds..close to the courtyard pool..and the dock..and the main building too...and to top it off...it has the added bonus of being CL..a win win IMO....and has always been popular with my family.... the lounge being located in the lobby is a bonus too..so easy to grab a beverage or snack when coming or going!When our kids were little we always preferred first floor rooms...and only a few rooms are right there in there in the lobby area..room numbers that end with 01..farthest from the lounge... to 09/10..closest.. are right off of the lobby...but in a separate hallway..which has doors that are closed in the evening until about 7am...in many stays noise has never been an issue to us...HTH..Enjoy your trip! I am sure that it will be grand!!

Dispro1 said:

If my kids were still young, I probably couldn't justify the price of RPC either. We always stayed in SL when my girls were younger, and we loved it!

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Same here...we all loved it! Funny thing is..during a recent stay in RPC the kids mentioned that they missed staying in SL...we are pool people..and always enjoy winding down out there at the courtyard pool...but it was winter..and there was no swimming going on...lol..

grannyminnie Safe travels...and have a magical vacation!! WL is getting a whole lot of love over on the CL thread... Can't wait to hear all about your stay! And your visits to the GF...

~ New policy regarding modifying reservations... Just a heads up..I was not so pleasantly surprised the other day when I called to modify the dates of our fall trip...had to take 2 nights off due to a family event that fortunately only impacted the end of our trip...when I called to modify the CM told me she was sorry that the dates were not available with the discount for a shorter stay.... ..what...the dates already are available...I have them...as part of my reservation....seems that the new policy is that if you are changing a ressie..the dates have to be available in the inventory...with whatever discount that you are using..this includes bounce backs....so that they can re book your reservation for a shorter stay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!??????????????????????? Now I understand certain restrictions in booking ..like a 2 or 3 night minimum...but...when you are calling months in advance to make a modification....gee whiz..life happens ..things change...Much as I love WDW..this policy will be a deal breaker for us...If I have to book months in advance..to be able to obtain a discount...and also to be able to book dining..and FPP...then I also want to be able to change that reservation with out being penalized...In the end we were able to modify...as the ressie was booked before this new policy went into place....but a word to the wise...this seems to be what we will be dealing with in the future....

Hope that all of my fellow GF fans are having a super Saturday.... preppy GF gal appreciates being encouraged to book another trip!!

BlueSkies said:

~ New policy regarding modifying reservations... Just a heads up..I was not so pleasantly surprised the other day when I called to modify the dates of our fall trip...had to take 2 nights off due to a family event that fortunately only impacted the end of our trip...when I called to modify the CM told me she was sorry that the dates were not available with the discount for a shorter stay.... ..what...the dates already are available...I have them...as part of my reservation....seems that the new policy is that if you are changing a ressie..the dates have to be available in the inventory...with whatever discount that you are using..this includes bounce backs....so that they can re book your reservation for a shorter stay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!??????????????????????? Now I understand certain restrictions in booking ..like a 2 or 3 night minimum...but...when you are calling months in advance to make a modification....gee whiz..life happens ..things change...Much as I love WDW..this policy will be a deal breaker for us...If I have to book months in advance..to be able to obtain a discount...and also to be able to book dining..and FPP...then I also want to be able to change that reservation with out being penalized...In the end we were able to modify...as the ressie was booked before this new policy went into place....but a word to the wise...this seems to be what we will be dealing with in the future....

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I was reading about this also, and was lucky in that I needed to take a day off of our upcoming trip and was able to. It was a WL deluxe room, I guess there must have been availability so they let me modify it Anyway, this will drastically alter how we book, as i can't book a bounceback for months out and know my DH's work schedule for sure and now that my son is getting older he will have some activities we may have to plan around slightly that we won't know months in advance. But we have to book ADRs and Fps months in advance if we want anything hard to get it makes me both sad and irritated and a little angry that they are suddenly changing their generous policy regarding modifying reservations. I think this might bite them in the, ahem, butt, because if we try to modify a reservation due to an unchangeable event we won't rebook at a much higher rate, we'll just cancel. I would probably stay at a downtown disney resort, or try the four seasons, but my DH, who isn't as much of a disney fan as I am, will likely just prefer to branch our and travel elsewhere. We tend to stay in expensive rooms at deluxe resorts for a lot of our stays, so that's a lot of money disney will potentially lose. I know our trips are a drop in the bucket to disney, but if a lot of people feel like we do it might make a difference... I guess we'll have to see, maybe we're in the minority and most people just pick dates and stick to them.

Yikes! That is the stupidest cancellation/modification policy ever! It doesn't even make sense, I agree. If you already have the room, it's available!! Wonder who stayed up nights thinking of that doozy!!! They will loose business. If I had to cancel a day or 2 off my res, and they told me I couldn't keep my discount, those DTD hotels would be looking very good.

That is a crazy policy and I agree wholeheartedly that with all this push/need for advance planning that they should be more flexible with modifications when it's moving reservations around within a few days.

ninafeliz said:

I was reading about this also, and was lucky in that I needed to take a day off of our upcoming trip and was able to. It was a WL deluxe room, I guess there must have been availability so they let me modify it Anyway, this will drastically alter how we book, as i canp't book a bounceback for months out and know my DH's work schedule for sure and now that my son is getting older he will have some activities we may have to plan around slightly that we won't know months in advance. But we have to book ADRs and Fps months in advance if we want anything hard to get it makes me both sad and irritated and a little angry that they are suddenly changing their generous policy regarding modifying reservations. I think this might bite them in the, ahem, butt, because if we try to modify a reservation due to an unchangeable event we won't rebook at a much higher rate, we'll just cancel. I would probably stay at a downtown disney resort, or try the four seasons, but my DH, who isn't as much of a disney fan as I am, will likely just prefer to branch our and travel elsewhere. We tend to stay in expensive rooms at deluxe resorts for a lot of our stays, so that's a lot of money disney will potentially lose. I know our trips are a drop in the bucket to disney, but if a lot of people feel like we do it might make a difference... I guess we'll have to see, maybe we're in the minority and most people just pick dates and stick to them.

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nina We feel the exact same way...If unable to modify a reservation and keep the offer that it was booked with due to having to change things some..then we would surely do the same as you...Four Seasons is a wonderful option... as it DTD...I find this policy to be very guest unfriendly...Glad that you were able to modify your reservation too....

Sue M said:

Yikes! That is the stupidest cancellation/modification policy ever! It doesn't even make sense, I agree. If you already have the room, it's available!! Wonder who stayed up nights thinking of that doozy!!! They will loose business. If I had to cancel a day or 2 off my res, and they told me I couldn't keep my discount, those DTD hotels would be looking very good.

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Well said Sue...

loveshak22 said:

That is a crazy policy and I agree wholeheartedly that with all this push/need for advance planning that they should be more flexible with modifications when it's moving reservations around within a few days.

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So true...There really is such a push for advanced planning....it makes no sense to me... .........

abk After reading your post about the BOG breakfast being extended I decided to see if there was any availability during our trip..and... there was!!! Thanks so much for sharing that info here!!! Can't wait to try it!! You know its always about the food!!

You guys are scaring me. We booked a BB offer in December for October and booked a week at the end of October. They told me on the phone when I booked it that taking days off would be fine. I only half believed them, but still! We have 7 nights booked and really only need to go for 5. Grrrr.

Aurora0427 said:

You guys are scaring me. We booked a BB offer in December for October and booked a week at the end of October. They told me on the phone when I booked it that taking days off would be fine. I only half believed them, but still! We have 7 nights booked and really only need to go for 5. Grrrr.

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If you're sure about the 5 nights call now, from what I understand you can change if there is still availability with your dates and discount, and the sooner you do it the better chance of that.

This new policy is ridiculous! And I do think it will end up biting them in the "butt" because there are a LOT of repeat guests (like all of us) who will not be so loyal if they are not courteous toward us! As I've said before, Beaches Turks and Caicos is amazing but more expensive than even RPC. If they tried to take away my discount, RPC would no longer be cheaper, and Disney would lose some of its appeal!

BlueSkies said:

~ New policy regarding modifying reservations... Just a heads up..I was not so pleasantly surprised the other day when I called to modify the dates of our fall trip...had to take 2 nights off due to a family event that fortunately only impacted the end of our trip...when I called to modify the CM told me she was sorry that the dates were not available with the discount for a shorter stay.... ..what...the dates already are available...I have them...as part of my reservation....seems that the new policy is that if you are changing a ressie..the dates have to be available in the inventory...with whatever discount that you are using..this includes bounce backs....so that they can re book your reservation for a shorter stay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!??????????????????????? Now I understand certain restrictions in booking ..like a 2 or 3 night minimum...but...when you are calling months in advance to make a modification....gee whiz..life happens ..things change...Much as I love WDW..this policy will be a deal breaker for us...If I have to book months in advance..to be able to obtain a discount...and also to be able to book dining..and FPP...then I also want to be able to change that reservation with out being penalized...In the end we were able to modify...as the ressie was booked before this new policy went into place....but a word to the wise...this seems to be what we will be dealing with in the future....

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Hey Blue

I have been reading about this awful change the last couple of days . I have read a few posts of people taking nights off their reservation without any trouble or any mention of this new policy, so not sure just what is going on. However, if this is indeed the new policy, I think Disney is going to get a rude awakening with very disgruntled guests (myself included). I understand Disney is a business and for whatever reason they made this change for reasons in their favor, but I have a feeling it's not going to go over too well with alot of guests. I, for one, will cancel before I will rebook at a higher rate or try to be "forced" to take a longer trip than I'm able to. Sorry for the rant, just my .02 .

ninafeliz said:

But we have to book ADRs and Fps months in advance if we want anything hard to get it makes me both sad and irritated and a little angry that they are suddenly changing their generous policy regarding modifying reservations. I think this might bite them in the, ahem, butt, because if we try to modify a reservation due to an unchangeable event we won't rebook at a much higher rate, we'll just cancel. I would probably stay at a downtown disney resort, or try the four seasons, but my DH, who isn't as much of a disney fan as I am, will likely just prefer to branch our and travel elsewhere. We tend to stay in expensive rooms at deluxe resorts for a lot of our stays, so that's a lot of money disney will potentially lose. I know our trips are a drop in the bucket to disney, but if a lot of people feel like we do it might make a difference... I guess we'll have to see, maybe we're in the minority and most people just pick dates and stick to them.

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ITA .

Sue M said:

Yikes! That is the stupidest cancellation/modification policy ever! It doesn't even make sense, I agree. If you already have the room, it's available!! Wonder who stayed up nights thinking of that doozy!!! They will loose business. If I had to cancel a day or 2 off my res, and they told me I couldn't keep my discount, those DTD hotels would be looking very good.

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The bolded part was exactly my first thought when I read of this new policy. If you already have the room booked, it's obviously available! I sort of understand the logic of it possibly not being available when you go to reduce nights as some people (myself included) book a longer stay as a shorter one sometimes isn't available (especially with discounts), but once you have it booked those nights are "available". I agree Disney will probably lose business over this because some people see in the end that they can't take a longer trip for whatever reason(s) and will most likely go elsewhere if their only choice is to keep the longer stay or have to pay a higher rate for their resort.

loveshak22 said:

That is a crazy policy and I agree wholeheartedly that with all this push/need for advance planning that they should be more flexible with modifications when it's moving reservations around within a few days.

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I couldn't agree more!!!

Dispro1 said:

This new policy is ridiculous! And I do think it will end up biting them in the "butt" because there are a LOT of repeat guests (like all of us) who will not be so loyal if they are not courteous toward us!

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These are my thoughts as well. As I said above, if I need to shorten my trip and my choices are to take a longer trip (that I can't/don't want to take) or pay more money, I will cancel and go elsewhere.

Blue...I'm happy to hear you were able to get a breakfast reservation for BOG. I can't wait to go. I've never been there and just might keep that second reservation for lunch.

And yes it IS all about the food!!

mickeynut1 said:

I have been reading about this awful change the last couple of days . I have read a few posts of people taking nights off their reservation without any trouble or any mention of this new policy, so not sure just what is going on. However, if this is indeed the new policy, I think Disney is going to get a rude awakening with very disgruntled guests (myself included). I understand Disney is a business and for whatever reason they made this change for reasons in their favor, but I have a feeling it's not going to go over too well with alot of guests. I, for one, will cancel before I will rebook at a higher rate or try to be "forced" to take a longer trip than I'm able to. Sorry for the rant, just my .02 .

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My husband questioned whether Blue's experience might be the result of some newbie that doesn't know how things work. We have had quite a few experiences where we would get some idiot on the phone who would try to tell us something we knew was wrong. After hanging up and calling back, we would get someone else that knew what he/she was doing, and we got everything done as we wanted. I REALLY hope this isn't a legitimate policy change! I suppose I am afraid that it truly is a change because the economy has supposedly recovered. We all know that Disney has been lowering the discount amounts Your rant is totally warranted Mickeynut because I think most of us are right there with you! Don't mess with our Disney vacations....the customer is always right!

Aurora0427 said:

You guys are scaring me. We booked a BB offer in December for October and booked a week at the end of October. They told me on the phone when I booked it that taking days off would be fine. I only half believed them, but still! We have 7 nights booked and really only need to go for 5. Grrrr.

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You should be able to be grandfathered as we were due to this being a new policy...

MickeyNut Well said....totally agree!

Dispro Sadly..this was not a fluke...or the case of having an unknowledgeable CM...there are two other threads right here on the resort forums about the same issue.... ....I feel that this is just not good customer service...which is supposed to be the cornerstone of the Disney foundation...I truly hope that this is a policy that is not here to stay...

BlueSkies said:

You should be able to be grandfathered as we were due to this being a new policy...

MickeyNut Well said....totally agree!

Dispro Sadly..this was not a fluke...or the case of having an unknowledgeable CM...there are two other threads right here on the resort forums about the same issue.... ....I feel that this is just not good customer service...which is supposed to be the cornerstone of the Disney foundation...I truly hope that this is a policy that is not here to stay...

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Again, I just want to say this is crazy! I reread your first post about what you wanted to do with your reservation to make sure I understood that all you were trying to do was take 2 nights off - not change weeks or add days - because it is that unbelievable to me that you already have the discounted rooms booked so how can they say they don't have the rooms?? That only makes sense if you wanted to add days and they didn't any more "discount rooms" available. But even that I would find annoying! But to take days off and lose the discount?? Absurd!

BlueSkies said:

Dispro Sadly..this was not a fluke...or the case of having an unknowledgeable CM...there are two other threads right here on the resort forums about the same issue.... ....I feel that this is just not good customer service...which is supposed to be the cornerstone of the Disney foundation...I truly hope that this is a policy that is not here to stay...

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I was really hoping it was a fluke, but deep down, I think I was in denial. I am scared to know what else they have changed...

BlueSkies said:

You should be able to be grandfathered as we were due to this being a new policy...

MickeyNut Well said....totally agree!

Dispro Sadly..this was not a fluke...or the case of having an unknowledgeable CM...there are two other threads right here on the resort forums about the same issue.... ....I feel that this is just not good customer service...which is supposed to be the cornerstone of the Disney foundation...I truly hope that this is a policy that is not here to stay...

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loveshak22 said:

Again, I just want to say this is crazy! I reread your first post about what you wanted to do with your reservation to make sure I understood that all you were trying to do was take 2 nights off - not change weeks or add days - because it is that unbelievable to me that you already have the discounted rooms booked so how can they say they don't have the rooms?? That only makes sense if you wanted to add days and they didn't any more "discount rooms" available. But even that I would find annoying! But to take days off and lose the discount?? Absurd!

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What is happening now is they are canceling your ressie and rebooking...if the dates are available with your discount you can still get it, but if it's not you are losing the discount altogether. It is standard practice in real world hotels, but it shouldn't be at Disney when they make you plan so far in advance...they can't have it both ways. I think they will have a lot of cancellations, I can't see many rebooking at rack rate. This happened to us one year, we had four nights booked at DTD Hilton, plans changed and I wanted to take off two nights and the price was higher for the two than the four so I cancelled and stayed elsewhere.

I shouldn't have read this thread last night before bed because I had this crazy dream that I was at WDW and was standing in the single riders line. However, I was confused because the line went to a desk and the regular line was wrapped around to the beginning of the ride. When I got to the desk I told the woman that I was a single rider so was just waiting in that line. She said there was a new policy a and that I had to pay $27 to stand in that line. I was so mad! And I told her I was getting tired of all these charges Disney is adding to their vacations and I wasn't paying $27!! And so I left...hahaha!

Maxie86 said:

What is happening now is they are canceling your ressie and rebooking...if the dates are available with your discount you can still get it, but if it's not you are losing the discount altogether. It is standard practice in real world hotels, but it shouldn't be at Disney when they make you plan so far in advance...they can't have it both ways. I think they will have a lot of cancellations, I can't see many rebooking at rack rate. This happened to us one year, we had four nights booked at DTD Hilton, plans changed and I wanted to take off two nights and the price was higher for the two than the four so I cancelled and stayed elsewhere.

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I guess I've never seen that at a regular hotel...I travel a lot but I can't think of a time I had a room discount and then tried to change my plans, which is probably why I haven't dealt with it before. Maybe like you said, it's because I never book a hotel 8-months out except Disney. And it does make sense if you are trying to add days or change the time you are there but it seems like a crazy policy if you are taking days off a trip. If they consider it a reservation cancellation and then a rebooking, wouldn't there then be a room available because you just cancelled your discounted room to take off the two days? So then it would be available again? Haha - I guess that not how the logic works!

Morning fellow GF fans!

Hey Maxie ! I am a slowpoke this morning. .lol..so forgive me for being a scrabble slacker in our games! ! ...all caught up now though. ..I am surprised that you have had that kind of booking issue at the Hilton...maybe there is a 3 night minimum due to its proximity to DTD...I have seen the 2 or 3 night minimum policy in certain resort areas that we have visited...but that wasn't the case for us ...Your Disney math isn't gonna help with this policy!! ...lol...

Btw..see ya soon!!

loveshak What a crazy dream!! Didn't mean to give you nightmares!! ...lol...Hey...maybe its not a dream....but yet another new policy...lol!!!!!

On a lighter. .and food oriented note....been reading good things about that BOG breakfast! ! So excited that we were able to snag an ADR...thsnks again abk

Hope you are all having a super Sunday... ...preppy GF gal....who is thinking about that BOG breakfast....

loveshak22 said:

I guess I've never seen that at a regular hotel...I travel a lot but I can't think of a time I had a room discount and then tried to change my plans, which is probably why I haven't dealt with it before. Maybe like you said, it's because I never book a hotel 8-months out except Disney. And it does make sense if you are trying to add days or change the time you are there but it seems like a crazy policy if you are taking days off a trip. If they consider it a reservation cancellation and then a rebooking, wouldn't there then be a room available because you just cancelled your discounted room to take off the two days? So then it would be available again? Haha - I guess that not how the logic works!

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You would think it would work that way, but apparently it's not. I just think there will be so many cancellations that they will eventually change it back. There are too way too many choices of hotels in the area. I don't think very many people book hotels that far in advance except for Disney. I always wait until my plans are set in stone before booking in the real world.