Are connecting rooms guaranteed or not?

[Orleanslady]

I ask because I was told by WDW that my family of 7 did not have to stay at a Villa to visit WDW and stay together. I was told that because our 5 children are really young our 2 rooms would be guaranteed connecting. WDW specifies that not all guaranteed connecting rooms are always granted, but that for families with young children there is an exception made. However on the threads people always say that connecting rooms are never guaranteed and that it is a risk. Does anyone on the disboards know the true policy regarding this question?

 

[momtoejanda]

I was told that as long as the children out number the adults, Disney would guarantee the connecting rooms. However, 2 years ago when we showed up for our connecting rooms at Coronado Springs (Me, DH, DD(5)DS(2) DS(2) they were not connecting. The manager told me that was "too bad, we dont guarantee connecting rooms, and we are sold out there is nothing I can do"

we did end up getting connecting rooms but it was highly unpleasant.

 

[Orleanslady]

I was told that as long as the children out number the adults, Disney would guarantee the connecting rooms. However, 2 years ago when we showed up for our connecting rooms at Coronado Springs (Me, DH, DD(5)DS(2) DS(2) they were not connecting. The manager told me that was "too bad, we dont guarantee connecting rooms, and we are sold out there is nothing I can do"

we did end up getting connecting rooms but it was highly unpleasant.

This really worries me

 

[Lillian Gracey]

You have two extra people than the previous poster so you may have better luck. Also, when are you going? You may have a better chance during a slower time of year.

 

[Orleanslady]

You have two extra people than the previous poster so you may have better luck. Also, when are you going? You may have a better chance during a slower time of year.

We check in the Sunday after Thanksgiving. I'm wondering if I should cut our trip a day short and upgrade to a Villa. It would be terrible to go all the way to Florida to celebrate our anniversary and end up in seperate rooms.

 

[LilyWDW]

They do NOT guarantee connecting rooms. Even if they say it, it doesn't always happen. We have seen this enough on these boards to know that there is no such thing as a guarantee.

When you have seen someone who was the ONLY adult with multiple kids that was over the occupancy limit and they couldn't get the connecting rooms they were "guaranteed", it is hard to expect anyone with more then one adult will get them.

 

[Travelingdad]

When I booked at the Riverside in Feb I asked for connecting rooms. I was told they would make note of it and do what they could but could not gaurantee. I planned on calling back to try and get a confirmation a little closer to our date (July) so thanks for the reminder.

I'll post an update it I have any luck getting it confirmed this time.

 

[Orleanslady]

I am so totally bummed about our trip now. I talked to my husband and since we switched from the villa a while back, we can't upgrade now. Our trip is just aboyt paid for in full. It would be a hardship for our budget to add to our expenses. I thought celebrating our anniversary with the kids I could live with, but finding out at check in that we'll have to spend our nights in different rooms and or on different floors is very unappealing.

 

[Baltazar]

It's not 100% guaranteed but they do go to extraordinary effort to make it so.

Because of the family suites, Allstar Music does not guarantee.

Make sure you mention you need connecting rooms when you check in.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

1) As mentioned . . .
. . . no room type is guaranteed (eg. king, bunk, suite)
. . . no room arrangement is guaranteed (eg. connecting, adjoining)
. . . no room view is guaranteed (eg. water, garden, MK)
. . . no room classification is guaranteed (eg. regular, standard, preferred)
. . . no room resort is guaranteed (eg. GF, WL, POFQ, POP)

2) In short . . .
. . . whether paid as an extra or just requested, no room is guaranteed

3) However . . .
. . . they do try to accommodate requests (connecting, adjoining, etc)
. . . if you don't get it first day, you can usually transfer later in the week

 

[dzorn]

When I booked at the Riverside in Feb I asked for connecting rooms. I was told they would make note of it and do what they could but could not gaurantee. I planned on calling back to try and get a confirmation a little closer to our date (July) so thanks for the reminder.

I'll post an update it I have any luck getting it confirmed this time.

It does not matter if it confirmed or not. Trip reports have come back with people that had guaranteed on their reservations but Disney did not have connecting rooms available.

Denise in MI

 

[tinka-belle]

The other posters are correct, no real guarantees. That said there ARE several connecting rooms at every WDW resort, more than I've found at other resorts or hotels, and the room assigners do their best to accomodate. Not sure how the new computer assignments work with connecting rooms though.

Best bet to be able to change room assignments at check in is not to arrive late in the day when all the other rooms have been given out. If you're early and the rooms assigned to you don't work, ask if there will be any others available later in the day. Housekeeping only releases rooms when they are completed, so some may not show as available yet. Let the CM at the check in desk know you can wait to get your desired configuration so they are not just giving you the options for rooms you can immediately occupy.

 

[MJAK]

I was told that the connecting room request would be honored if possible. That means they do the best they can. I think they do what they can when they can bc they have top notch customer service. Just make sure you have it noted on your reservation.

 

[eeyoresmom]

And I was told by the CM that booked our last trip that connecting rooms are guaranteed if the children out number the adults

 

[tinkerbell555]

we stayed last october at pop century 4 kids 2 adults. On our paperwork it said guaranteed connecting rooms. We got there at 9 am. The cm said adjoining rooms were ready but not connecting. I said we'll wait. She said it would be a few hours. We went to mk and they texted us when rooms were ready. We got connecting rooms.

 

[maxiesmom]

The other posters are correct, no real guarantees. That said there ARE several connecting rooms at every WDW resort, more than I've found at other resorts or hotels, and the room assigners do their best to accomodate. Not sure how the new computer assignments work with connecting rooms though.

My Dreams Unlimited TA told me to stay away from the All Star Music if we want 2 connecting rooms. They made many of them into the Family Suites, so there are fewer to go around then at the other Value resorts.

In my experiences the Music is pretty horrible with room requests, or even honoring booked for room types. So if you want connecting rooms, or even preferred rooms, you may want to look elsewhere.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

And I was told by the CM that booked our last trip that connecting rooms are guaranteed if the children out number the adults

1) Alas, reservation CM's do not know the system.
. . . they do not book the actual room
. . . they do not know how many other connecting rooms are requested
. . . they do not have contact with Room Assigners
. . . they do not have any control over the computer doing assignments
. . . they spend 6-weeks learning to sell vacations
. . . they do not spend any time on how to assign rooms
2) Trust those that do or have done Room Assigning !

 

[Jetta8300]

1)
. . . no room resort is guaranteed (eg. GF, WL, POFQ, POP)

Is this really true???

 

[Miaka]

Also, before you get all worried, remember, though very knowledgable, the Dis crowd is only a slice of the people who go to Disney World each year. though there are the stories of it not happening for them, or for people they know, there are thousands of reports we don't hear about people getting the connecting rooms. I am in the same situation, we have two preferred rooms at All Star Sports booked with "guarenteed connecting", I also mentioned to my husband what would we do if it happened, he said "we'll worry about it IF it happens."

 

[LilyWDW]

Also, before you get all worried, remember, though very knowledgable, the Dis crowd is only a slice of the people who go to Disney World each year. though there are the stories of it not happening for them, or for people they know, there are thousands of reports we don't hear about people getting the connecting rooms. I am in the same situation, we have two preferred rooms at All Star Sports booked with "guarenteed connecting", I also mentioned to my husband what would we do if it happened, he said "we'll worry about it IF it happens."

The thing is, at least this is how I see it, when you are giving advise on a board such as this it is always better to make sure a person understands what MAY happen. I would rather know that "guaranteed" does not mean guaranteed at Disney because then I could have a back up plan. It wouldn't help someone for use to say otherwise.

Simply put, Disney does it's best to meet requests... but sometimes, they just can't. Disney does not guarantee much of anything.