Has anyone else been told this???

[Starwind]

A few years ago I encountered a similar issue with a major hotel chain. I had booked 5 nights and later needed to drop one night due to scheduling and travel changes. I tried to do it online (which is how I had booked in the first place) but it told me there was no availability and I had to call their reservation centre. I did, and found out that the way their reservation computer system worked behind the scenes was that when a modification was made the system was actually booking a new reservation, then cancelling the old. YOu had the same reservation number, so the customer had no idea that is what was done. Most of the time it worked just fine; but if there was no more availability for that room type or at the hotel as a whole there would be a problem. The customer service rep was able to do some things behind the scenes to make the modification actually work -- I am not sure exactly how she managed it, but it took about 20 minutes to pull off.

It is possible Disney's computer system now works in a similar way (or maybe it always did but they were more flexible before and are less so now).

SW

 

[AtlantaDisneyDreamer]

I work in the travel industry and must comment that Disney has always been super flexible with their booking policies.. Try booking a package deal anywhere else through anyone else and you need to set your dates and also pay almost upfront.. Doesn't surprise me how they are now implementing this. especially hearing how many people overbook and then reduce...This must have been driving their revenue management people crazy.. We have been going for years and have always booked BB and NEVER changed our dates.. I would never think of booking 10 days to hold those dates and know I would reduce closer to those dates. you are blocking rooms for sale... Doesn't surprise .

I would think their web masters saw how many people wanted to book but showed no availability ( lost revenue) and then people cancelled last minute who were holding those rooms.. A lot of people plan Disney months ahead, NOT past the 45 day or whatever the cancellation policy is... So I can see a lot of people first making their room night reductions when final payment was due.. and in the end those rooms stood probably empty.

Very well said. This is exactly what I was thinking. When I first started booking with Disney several years ago, I was shocked at how flexible they were.

In addition to people booking 10 nights because they are unsure of dates, other people have been booking 10 nights when they know their dates but want to have priority access to Fastpass+ and ADRs (and with 180 + 10, they receive benefits to which they are technically not entitled). With these things in mind, maybe Disney had to do something to discourage people from taking advantage of the system (thereby costing Disney money, and shortchanging other guests).

 

[mom2rtk]

Very well said. This is exactly what I was thinking. When I first started booking with Disney several years ago, I was shocked at how flexible they were.

In addition to people booking 10 nights because they are unsure of dates, other people have been booking 10 nights when they know their dates but want to have priority access to Fastpass+ and ADRs (and with 180 + 10, they receive benefits to which they are technically not entitled). With these things in mind, maybe Disney had to do something to discourage people from taking advantage of the system (thereby costing Disney money, and shortchanging other guests).

They probably had to do something. But they didn't have to do THIS.

They needed to start with new bookings.

 

[Experiment]

Tota

They probably had to do something. But they didn't have to do THIS.

They needed to start with new bookings.

Totally agree. Customer service is no longer Disney' s priority

 

[maxiesmom]

. Customer service is no longer Disney' s priority

Totally disagree. People confuse good customer service with letting the customer do whatever they want. They are not the same thing.

Though I will say a letter or e-mail about the policy change would have been a good idea.

 

[Ceryssa]

I think the real issue for people who don't have a discount is that they may not be able to book the same room category.

Say, for example, I had a Yacht Club "Water View" room booked for 7 nights and I wanted to drop it down to 6 nights. If there wasn't another Yacht Club "Water View" room available for the exact 6 nights that I wanted, then I would need to switch to an entirely different room category. So, say I make the change and select a "Garden View" because that's the only category available for the 6 nights I want. Now Disney has a 7 night "Water View" room available...since I just dropped it. What is Disney going to do with it? Will they let someone else come along and book 6 of those 7 nights? Will they only offer it as a 7 night booking? It can really make your head spin thinking about all the possibilities...

This is my point exactly. It doesn't make any sense for them to not allow you to modify your reservation, but then turn around and let someone else book it for the exact number of nights you wanted. I understand the concept of a minimum nights' stay; but if the minimum number of nights required going to change depending on what they have available at a given moment, that lack of consistency is going to really frustrate people.

 

[gwynne]

Totally disagree. People confuse good customer service with letting the customer do whatever they want. They are not the same thing.

Though I will say a letter or e-mail about the policy change would have been a good idea.

I don't think it's good customer service to not notify current reservation holders of the change. Different strokes...

On the plus side, I think if WDW is going in this direction there is a silver lining. It makes it much easier to consider other vacation options. WDW has always been priced on the high side, but a bit of flexibility was the thing that was a big plus to us. Now, we'll look at cruise options and other vacation locations that have similar restrictions but one difference... The pricing is far better.

 

[mom2rtk]

This is my point exactly. It doesn't make any sense for them to not allow you to modify your reservation, but then turn around and let someone else book it for the exact number of nights you wanted. I understand the concept of a minimum nights' stay; but if the minimum number of nights required going to change depending on what they have available at a given moment, that lack of consistency is going to really frustrate people.

This has nothing to do with having a minimum night stay or it would not apply to room only reservations.

 

[JohnDaleswife]

How will this help with preventing people from getting in early on the ADRs and FP+? Book the week you want, but book another week, room only, that is much earlier than your actual vacation. Cancel last minute. Wouldn't this still work? It is still working as of now, isn't it? Correct me if I am wrong or if I am missing something. I think Disney will eventually have to cancel out those FP+ or dining reservations for this to work.

 

[tiger4me2]

My view only. When I think about booking a BB or even the military discount I am told by Disney to book the full amount of days they allow you to book. If you don't need them you can drop the days later. Otherwise if you want to add later might not be there. Their words. I get room only no packages. So i am not breaking any rules, according to them. And yes they can resell even if you drop at the allotted time frame which is 5 days for room only. The rooms you drop go back to rack rate room which makes Disney very happy and they do sell them.

The only time I come into you have to stay x numbers of days are at the beach resorts or rooms like this. I know Williamsburg Va has a number of days you have to stay if you are going on weekends.

Again my views only. I just made a up coming military discount for August and I asked if they changed anything about dropping or adding days. I was told adding might be a problem if they had the room but dropping no. They also never heard of this rule and I have had this person many times in the past and I know she been with Disney for 10 years.

Just to note my son's friend is. Disney train TA and he said he called was told the same thing I was told. ....????

 

[IrishNYC]

On the plus side, I think if WDW is going in this direction there is a silver lining. It makes it much easier to consider other vacation options. WDW has always been priced on the high side, but a bit of flexibility was the thing that was a big plus to us. Now, we'll look at cruise options and other vacation locations that have similar restrictions but one difference... The pricing is far better.

If flexibility is what you desire, a cruise is just about as far from that as you can get, unless you're adding on stays before or after sailing.

 

[dissupermom]

to prevent people from booking just to get a headstart on ADRs or FP+, maybe wdw should require an actual booking, not just a courtesy hold... just a thought

 

[gwynne]

If flexibility is what you desire, a cruise is just about as far from that as you can get, unless you're adding on stays before or after sailing.

I must have been unclear. WDW was always a favorite, because even though it was overpriced, it allowed some room for flexibility. Since that is something we can't count on anymore, I have to take that into consideration. I'm not so happy to pay top dollar and not be able to drop a day if I need to.
I am well aware of the lack of flexibility with other options, including cruises. But, they are often much better priced than WDW, which is why they are now on my consider list.

 

[JohnDaleswife]

to prevent people from booking just to get a headstart on ADRs or FP+, maybe wdw should require an actual booking, not just a courtesy hold... just a thought

An actual booking can be canceled as well.

 

[maxiesmom]

I don't think it's good customer service to not notify current reservation holders of the change. Different strokes...

And I said that too, if you go back and re-read the post you quoted.

 

[Marionnette]

How will this help with preventing people from getting in early on the ADRs and FP+? Book the week you want, but book another week, room only, that is much earlier than your actual vacation. Cancel last minute. Wouldn't this still work? It is still working as of now, isn't it? Correct me if I am wrong or if I am missing something. I think Disney will eventually have to cancel out those FP+ or dining reservations for this to work.

ADRs can only be made for the length of your stay. So, if you have a split stay for 3 nights at one resort and then 7 nights at the second resort, you can do 180+3 for the first resort, but not 180+10 for the entire stay between 2 resorts. With one MDE account, you cannot have overlapping reservations, so you would not be able to make a 10-night throwaway reservation and then another *real* resort reservation that runs concurrent to that phantom reservation.

When it comes to FP+, there is no advantage to having a "throwaway room" if you're staying onsite. You already have a 30-day advantage over guests who are staying offsite. The throwaway rooms are being used by offsite guests in order to get MBs for free and to make FP+ reservations at 60 days out.

 

[AtlantaDisneyDreamer]

ADRs can only be made for the length of your stay. So, if you have a split stay for 3 nights at one resort and then 7 nights at the second resort, you can do 180+3 for the first resort, but not 180+10 for the entire stay between 2 resorts. With one MDE account, you cannot have overlapping reservations, so you would not be able to make a 10-night throwaway reservation and then another *real* resort reservation that runs concurrent to that phantom reservation.

When it comes to FP+, there is no advantage to having a "throwaway room" if you're staying onsite. You already have a 30-day advantage over guests who are staying offsite. The throwaway rooms are being used by offsite guests in order to get MBs for free and to make FP+ reservations at 60 days out.

So many people, so many loopholes to close. Wouldn't be surprised if we see more policies change and more "perks" disappear to prevent people from trying to game the system.

 

[Hi Pluto]

In my excitement yesterday morning over free dining I booked BC for 6 nights. When I opened the offer it said "6 nights/7 days" which is what I assumed I needed to purchase. Well, I read the fine print and only needed to book 3 nights to get the offer. I would like to take off the first night to make it a 5 night stay, which is plenty (and will help with taking off work). Now I'm worried that I won't be able to do this since it's linked with FD and all the rooms are gone for this deal. Anybody have success with removing a day with free dining?

~Cari~

 

[linzjane88]

In my excitement yesterday morning over free dining I booked BC for 6 nights. When I opened the offer it said "6 nights/7 days" which is what I assumed I needed to purchase. Well, I read the fine print and only needed to book 3 nights to get the offer. I would like to take off the first night to make it a 5 night stay, which is plenty (and will help with taking off work). Now I'm worried that I won't be able to do this since it's linked with FD and all the rooms are gone for this deal. Anybody have success with removing a day with free dining?

~Cari~

We sort of did the same thing. CBR showing no availability unless we chose at least 5 nights. We booked with the extra night on there just so it would go through online thinking we could cut the extra day off but now I'm not so sure.

 

[aaarcher86]

In my excitement yesterday morning over free dining I booked BC for 6 nights. When I opened the offer it said "6 nights/7 days" which is what I assumed I needed to purchase. Well, I read the fine print and only needed to book 3 nights to get the offer. I would like to take off the first night to make it a 5 night stay, which is plenty (and will help with taking off work). Now I'm worried that I won't be able to do this since it's linked with FD and all the rooms are gone for this deal. Anybody have success with removing a day with free dining?

~Cari~

Since it just came out yesterday I doubt many people have tried yet.

But seeing that room discounted rooms have had issues you may have some difficulty.