My reservation was cancelled! :(

[standingtall]

Okay, here is what happened..
I booked 2 rooms in AOA for december. I paid for one in full on the day of the booking, and the other was to be paid within 7 days.
I received confirmation for one reservation (by email) and was told by the agent that I will be receiving another email with a link to make the payment for the room that was not paid for.
Well the second email never came and my 7 days was going to be up yesterday (11/5) so I got home from work and looked in my email again, checked my spam folder.. etc. Nope no email ever came, so I went into My Reservations on the disney website and typed in the reservation number that was given to me over the phone and it was cancelled! I wasn't aware that if I didn't pay it by 10pm that it would be canceled.. I have never stayed at any of their resorts and the agent didn't mention it had to be done by 10pm of the 7th day.

So I tried calling but they were already closed, I called today and was told that it was cancelled and all there rooms are booked and I'm out of luck, to basically keep calling in case someone drops there reservation. I am so upset by this, I really thought they would have better customer service, the supervisor basically said the only thing she can do is have my conversation with the original agent reviewed to see if she disclosed all the information about the deposit to me and then she will personally give me a call this Friday pending the investigation.

What can I do?? Should I call tomorrow morning and speak to a different supervisor? Has this happened to anyone else?? :\ is this all my fault for not calling when I noticed I didn't get my reservation confirmation??

 

[vicki_c]

I wouldn't say it was all your fault, but I think it was incumbent upon you to look into it sooner when you never got any confirmation - whether that was by calling, going on the website and looking up your reservation # that you were given, etc. I definitely wouldn't have waited until the final day that you could pay to call.

You can call and see if someone would help you more than what they are offering, but I don't think it's on Disney to make it right.

I think they call those unpaid things "courtesy holds" and I often hear that people use those when they want to mail a check to pay their deposit, guessing that most people who do that mail it immediately and it gets there in sufficient time to confirm the reservation.

 

[Sue M]

I would have checked too that both my confirmations came thru. I always do when I book, to make sure everything is correct.
You could try seeing if 2 rooms in another value resort are available, like Pop.

 

[sndral]

Okay, here is what happened..
I wasn't aware that if I didn't pay it by 10pm that it would be canceled.. I have never stayed at any of their resorts and the agent didn't mention it had to be done by 10pm of the 7th day.

So I tried calling but they were already closed, I called today and was told that it was cancelled and all there rooms are booked and I'm out of luck, to basically keep calling in case someone drops there reservation. I am so upset by this, I really thought they would have better customer service, the supervisor basically said the only thing she can do is have my conversation with the original agent reviewed to see if she disclosed all the information about the deposit to me and then she will personally give me a call this Friday pending the investigation.

What can I do?? Should I call tomorrow morning and speak to a different supervisor? Has this happened to anyone else?? :\ is this all my fault for not calling when I noticed I didn't get my reservation confirmation??

It was not so much not calling when you didn't get the email as it was not paying by the deadline, thus freeing the room up to be booked by someone else. I always assume that when there's a deadline it is close of business - which would be 5 pm east coast time for Disney. I assume you made the initial call when the phones were still open, so that final payment would have at least been due by that same time on your 7th day.
Sorry this happened to you, but AOA is very popular and thus the place has apparently sold out since you initially paid the deposit on your second room. Not sure what Disney can do, their payment policy is very clear, the resort has no available rooms, they can't rent a room to you and kick someone else out.
You can ask for 2 rooms at another resort. You can change your dates to dates when they have 2 rooms together at AOA, sometimes it's only one day that's totally booked and by just changing the dates by a day or 2 you'll find open rooms. You can keep your AOA room and book your second room at another resort that has availability and keep checking for an opening @ AOA.
Good luck and I hope it all works out.

 

[aaarcher86]

When exactly did you think you would need to pay it by the 7th day? Close of business day is the common practice for nearly all places when payment is due.

Not only is it close of business, but Disney does you one better and gives you until 10pm EST when the phone lines close to make your payment.

Are you saying that you were going to pay it on the 7th day at 11p?

This is not Disney's fault, or their customer service if the CM advised you that it was due within 7 days. Their business day ends 2 hours away from midnight. If you hadn't paid by then, you probably weren't going to that day. Courtesy hold is exactly what it is called because it is a courtesy.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

Okay, here is what happened..
I booked 2 rooms in AOA for december. I paid for one in full on the day of the booking, and the other was to be paid within 7 days.
I received confirmation for one reservation (by email) and was told by the agent that I will be receiving another email with a link to make the payment for the room that was not paid for.
Well the second email never came and my 7 days was going to be up yesterday (11/5) so I got home from work and looked in my email again, checked my spam folder.. etc. Nope no email ever came, so I went into My Reservations on the disney website and typed in the reservation number that was given to me over the phone and it was cancelled! I wasn't aware that if I didn't pay it by 10pm that it would be canceled.. I have never stayed at any of their resorts and the agent didn't mention it had to be done by 10pm of the 7th day.

So I tried calling but they were already closed, I called today and was told that it was cancelled and all there rooms are booked and I'm out of luck, to basically keep calling in case someone drops there reservation. I am so upset by this, I really thought they would have better customer service, the supervisor basically said the only thing she can do is have my conversation with the original agent reviewed to see if she disclosed all the information about the deposit to me and then she will personally give me a call this Friday pending the investigation.

What can I do?? Should I call tomorrow morning and speak to a different supervisor? Has this happened to anyone else?? :\ is this all my fault for not calling when I noticed I didn't get my reservation confirmation??

I would say it is your fault for not calling when you noticed the second confirmation didn't come through. Call WDW and see ask to speak to guest relations to see if there's anyway they can sprinkle a little pixie dust for you. While they are under no obligation to do so, they still might help you out.

I do wonder why you paid one room in full but didn't pay at least the deposit on the second room at the time of booking.

 

[digiMom]

As others have said, I would move forward from where you are to try to book a second choice in case this can't be resolved. I've goofed up on things like this before (not a Disney reservation, but other things like waiting on a airfare price or a ADR) and you just can't get stuck on it. In your case, I'd try two rooms at POP (just across the lake by bridge) or a family suite (which I realize is more $$) depending on your preferences. Then keep checking by phone to see if two rooms in LM open up and you can switch back. Good luck...

 

[MinnieGirl33]

I am so upset by this, I really thought they would have better customer service,

They can't make a room appear that doesn't exist. If they are booked, then they are booked. What are they supposed to do, kick someone else out to fix your mistake? Maybe you will get lucky & someone will cancel.

Curious as to why you just didn't deposit both at the time of booking instead of paying one in full & leaving the other on courtesy hold?

Regardless, it really was your responsibility to know (not assume) what the terms were & to follow up if something was off. Sorry.

 

[Marionnette]

They can't make a room appear that doesn't exist. If they are booked, then they are booked. What are they supposed to do, kick someone else out to fix your mistake? Maybe you will get lucky & someone will cancel.

Curious as to why you just didn't deposit both at the time of booking instead of paying one in full & leaving the other on courtesy hold?

Regardless, it really was your responsibility to know (not assume) what the terms were & to follow up if something was off. Sorry.

I was wondering the same thing? It would have guaranteed both reservations. Plus, room-only reservations do not need to be paid in full until arrival.

OP, did you book packages?

 

[standingtall]

The reason I didn't leave a deposit for the other room was because I wasn't asked too and didn't know, the second room was being paid by a relative so that's why I didn't pay it over the phone at the same time I did mine. I goofed up and the fact that I don't travel often just goes to show that I'm not very aware of the hotel policies and stuff, but I also believe disney goofed up by not sending me the confirmation email with my details on exactly when it needs to be paid by.

Some of you need to calm down and realize that not everyone is as experienced as you when it comes to these things, it's not like we purposely sat around and waited until the very last minute to pay.. it was more like busy life, then the hurricane cutting off all our power and realizing the last day to pay was coming up. That's what happened, I'm not blaming anyone and now I know how this whole thing works and glad it was resolved.

Thanks to those of you that provided good feed back and some encouraging support, to those that have all their I's dotted and T's crossed well sorry we can't be perfect and not make mistakes.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

If you really weren't told about the deposit requirements, then WDW does bear some responsibility. That would be a huge mistake on the part of its CM. That's why they will review the recording of the phone call.

In 2008, I made reservations for myself (and DD) and for a friend and his family. I made both reservations because we were using a 40% PIN code that I'd received. The CM was very clear that my friend had to call and pay the deposit within the grace period. There was no way I could have not understood unless I just wasn't paying attention to what they were telling me.

 

[ZehnJahren]

The reason I didn't leave a deposit for the other room was because I wasn't asked too and didn't know, the second room was being paid by a relative so that's why I didn't pay it over the phone at the same time I did mine. I goofed up and the fact that I don't travel often just goes to show that I'm not very aware of the hotel policies and stuff, but I also believe disney goofed up by not sending me the confirmation email with my details on exactly when it needs to be paid by.

Some of you need to calm down and realize that not everyone is as experienced as you when it comes to these things, it's not like we purposely sat around and waited until the very last minute to pay.. it was more like busy life, then the hurricane cutting off all our power and realizing the last day to pay was coming up. That's what happened, I'm not blaming anyone and now I know how this whole thing works and glad it was resolved.

Thanks to those of you that provided good feed back and some encouraging support, to those that have all their I's dotted and T's crossed well sorry we can't be perfect and not make mistakes.

Agreed that there are too many people on the "you messed up!" bandwagon.

I don't see it that way.

When you're told by a pixie-dust company like Disney that they'll be sending you something, you expect it to happen. After all, how many hundreds of thousands of reservations do they handle in a year? And if a relative is paying for it, it makes sense that they need to put the deposit on it. I think there's a shared blame here: should you have been more proactive? I think you could have been. But should Disney find a GOOD way to fix their mistake of not sending what they promised and then cancelling your desired reservation? Yes.

I think you could be able to eventually get a room there if you keep checking. If not, your relative can stay across the lake at Pop, which is also a wonderful resort, and you guys can go back and forth looking at all the cool stuff at both resorts and eating all the good food!

 

[Sue M]

So how was it resolved? We're you able to get another room somewhere else or switch both rooms?

 

[Marionnette]

The reason I didn't leave a deposit for the other room was because I wasn't asked too and didn't know, the second room was being paid by a relative so that's why I didn't pay it over the phone at the same time I did mine. I goofed up and the fact that I don't travel often just goes to show that I'm not very aware of the hotel policies and stuff, but I also believe disney goofed up by not sending me the confirmation email with my details on exactly when it needs to be paid by.

Some of you need to calm down and realize that not everyone is as experienced as you when it comes to these things, it's not like we purposely sat around and waited until the very last minute to pay.. it was more like busy life, then the hurricane cutting off all our power and realizing the last day to pay was coming up. That's what happened, I'm not blaming anyone and now I know how this whole thing works and glad it was resolved.

Thanks to those of you that provided good feed back and some encouraging support, to those that have all their I's dotted and T's crossed well sorry we can't be perfect and not make mistakes.

I understand that life gets busy and there were more pressing matters for you to attend to. But people on this board are here to help and inform - not just you but also others who may find themselves in a similar positions.

You don't say how this was resolved but I hope that it was to your satisfaction and you can now go about planning your vacation.

 

[Missytara]

The reason I didn't leave a deposit for the other room was because I wasn't asked too and didn't know, the second room was being paid by a relative so that's why I didn't pay it over the phone at the same time I did mine. I goofed up and the fact that I don't travel often just goes to show that I'm not very aware of the hotel policies and stuff, but I also believe disney goofed up by not sending me the confirmation email with my details on exactly when it needs to be paid by.

Some of you need to calm down and realize that not everyone is as experienced as you when it comes to these things, it's not like we purposely sat around and waited until the very last minute to pay.. it was more like busy life, then the hurricane cutting off all our power and realizing the last day to pay was coming up. That's what happened, I'm not blaming anyone and now I know how this whole thing works and glad it was resolved.

Thanks to those of you that provided good feed back and some encouraging support, to those that have all their I's dotted and T's crossed well sorry we can't be perfect and not make mistakes.

While I realize that a lot of people do not travel very often, it should be fairly obvious that when making a purchase for anything in advance, some type of deposit needs to be put down to ensure you are planning on accepting that purchase, I. E. A room at a resort.

 

[standingtall]

A supervisor put in an investigation on the recording and will call me back on Friday (like I said earlier) I called first thing this morning in case a room has opened up (like they advised I do) and was able to book in the same resort (thankfully). So it was resolved in the sense that I got the room we needed, I don't know whether the agent will still call me back on Friday when they have their results from the investigation and if it is in my favor it wouldn't matter since I have already rebooked a room.

I wasn't looking for any special treatment and do feel the original booking agent was partially at fault by not disclosing certain details and by not sending an email confirmation with the details like she said I would receive.

Either way, I am happy that we have our rooms as the airline tickets had already been purchased.

 

[pas130]

The reason I didn't leave a deposit for the other room was because I wasn't asked too and didn't know, the second room was being paid by a relative so that's why I didn't pay it over the phone at the same time I did mine. I goofed up and the fact that I don't travel often just goes to show that I'm not very aware of the hotel policies and stuff, but I also believe disney goofed up by not sending me the confirmation email with my details on exactly when it needs to be paid by.

.

I have had this happen in the past...You don't know, and the CM doesn't always catch they need to take 2 separate deposits...It happens. Glad you did get the rooms you needed

 

[GreenCntryGirl]

I'm glad it turned out well for you.

 

[aaarcher86]

Even though the email didn't come, the OP has stated the CM had said it needed to be paid within 7 days so the OP was aware of the policy. The email is auto generated so it's not as if the CM neglected to send something.

OP - glad it worked out that you got the room you needed. I think the aggravation with your original post was that the blame seemed to be placed on Disney versus you taking responsibility.

Life absolutely happens, which is the reason for the grace period. At least you'll know for next time

 

[sharadoc]

I assume these were packages and not just room only reservations, so most likely they were booked within the 45 day window that would require full payment. The CM probably gave you a break by not requiring both to be paid at the same time, but she should have give you options to make sure the reservation wasn't lost. Hopefully, at the very least, this experience will help that CM and others learn how to deal with last-minute bookings and how to help folks who may not know everything the first time they call.