Orbitz booked room request nightmare!

[ADisneyFamilyof5]

So I have spent all morning on the phone on the phone bouncing between Orbitz and Disney and I am ready to cry. I booked GCH for 3 nights and DLH for 3 nights from Nov 27th to Dec 3rd. All I wanted to do was add the baby onto GCH (since they only allow you to book as a party of 4 and kids under 3 don't count) plus make a room request. For DLH I only wanted to make a tower request. The first time I called Orbitz, got the Disney confirmation number for GCH (Why I didn't get both is my own stupidity). Called Disney hotel reservation who promptly transferred me to the Wholesale reservation line. The CM was more than happy to assist me and added on my baby and my room request. Nice! I got off the phone realizing I forgot to add bunk bed to the request and I needed to request the fantasy tower at DLH. Thats when my trouble started...

Called Orbitz to get the Disney confirmation code. He had to call Disney and it would be a few minutes. He returned saying he called 5 times and nobody answered. I asked if I can just call Disney and do it myself and he said yes. So I call and the first CM said he can't help me all he could do is make a new reservation. Um, what? I don't need a new reservation, I just wanted to make a room request. He repeated there was nothing he could do. I told him 10 minutes ago the sent me to the DISNEY wholesale reservation line and they took care of everything, and could he just do that. He said yes and transferred me to Orbitz.

I hung up, called Disney back and told the next CM what had just happened and what I wanted. He told me there are rules and that he didn't think that wholesale reservation could do anything but that he would call and try take care of the DLH request. He put me on hold and came back having completed my request and got my confirmation number. He then told me he didn't know why I wanted the confirmation number because if I gave him that number he could do nothing. I told him I used that number when they sent me to the WHOLESALE RESERVATION LINE like asked to be sent to! So, I asked him (for future reference) who should I contact for things like this in the future, Orbitz or Disney? He said only book through Disney and you won't to worry about it.

Has anyone else come across this kind of problem when booking through Orbitz or another 3rd party? Right now, I am just crossing my fingers and we don't show up and our reservation be a disaster! Plus I never got to request a bunk bed at GCH. Any thoughts or tips would very much calm my rattled nerves!

 

[Malcon10t]

Yes, if you book thru a 3rd party, it really alters things on the other end. I book thru Disney for this reason. I've been told when I do book thru Orbitz or other 3rd parties, you generally need to requests upon arrival and hope for the best. You are paying Orbitz to handle the reservation, not DL.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Yikes! How very frustrating When I booked GCH via Orbitz it was a few days before we appeared in the Disney system and could make our requests. After a few days we did appear and made our requests. If you're not arriving in the next couple days I'd let it all sit for a few days and then call Disney to try your requests again.

Also I have found the Orbitz online chat feature to be less frustrating than calling in by phone.

PS: I had WDW try that "just book a new reservation now" junk with me once. That's all it is- junk. I'd call it something else but we're family friendly and all here

 

[5forMickey]

100% what Malcont10 said, for me the extra savings through third party site isn't worth the troubles you may have. I don't even really like going through wtd but that's your only choice, I liked dealing with the hotel direct. The other thing and I don't know if Disney does this, but if they oversell it's usually the third party reservations that have trouble. Sorry it's been such a nightmare for you.

 

[tzeitel]

I've booked through Orbitz for WDW (never DLR) but from what I had been told on the WDW boards is that if you book through a third party then Disney cannot touch the reservation. From having worked FD at a WDW resort I know this true from the FD side but was not sure if reservations could do anything. I had to add DD to the reservation - Orbitz charges extra for 3rd and 4th person, it does not make a difference if they are kids. To add her (without the extra charge) I had to have Orbitz call Disney to add her, I could not do it myself but I was on hold while they did it.

When I called to add DD I also asked for my Disney reservation # (not the original # Orbitz sends), once i had that I could add the reservation to the MyDisney Experience and add tix, ADRs etc.

 

[Astylla]

Yes, if you book thru a 3rd party, it really alters things on the other end. I book thru Disney for this reason. I've been told when I do book thru Orbitz or other 3rd parties, you generally need to requests upon arrival and hope for the best. You are paying Orbitz to handle the reservation, not DL.

It's true that 3rd party reservations are different than direct as I worked for a hotel chain almost two years. Firstly the reservation doesn't populate automatically when booking non direct so it can take a few days to be "parsed" or forced refreshed into their system.

Also typically they don't have control over it so it's not always ideal for special requests or if special accommodations are required. As only myself and DH travel , we have the luxury of anything works but that's not the case for many and can cause undue stress and frustration. In most 3rd party listings it will state specifically there are no guarantees outside of a room for 2 people and requests are at hotel discretion.

Of course there are many who book Disney hotels through these sites with no issues but understand it isn't as easy as just pulling it up as if it was booked directly.
As always I advise arriving early if possible, and reiterating the request at check in but in a polite manner. If ever it's THAT concerning you can always book direct.

 

[Fire14]

I booked our DL trip thru Costco because of perks we are getting, I SWEAR I am talking to WDT Cm as phone options are pretty much same as what I get calling direct. I'd do my payments online but stupid system can't seem to do Disney Gc as of late. I had issues booking in first place ( with site), it worked for few wks than I broke it again, so have had to call in last 7 payments.

 

[ADisneyFamilyof5]

I think I got so frustrated because the first call went so smoothly with Disney that I couldn't understand what the problem was when I called back. I understand not every CM has the same amount of knowledge, but I just wished they would have sent me to the wholesale line (like I was asking) and then they could have told me no if that was the case. Oh well, it was just room requests that aren't guaranteed anyways, so it's not going to ruin our vacation. I will ask about them upon check in though just to see.

Thanks everyone for the replies. I feel less crazy now. And I have learned a very important lesson.... just stick to visiting for Dapper Day with the convention rate and deal with the nice people at Disney Group Reservations. Lol

 

[bumbershoot]

It's well known that Orbitz charges wrong for Disney rooms (Uni, too, I believe). It's totally normal to book for the lower number then get the Disney number then call Disney. This is totally and completely normal

This time, email Orbitz asking for the other Disney confirmation number. Though actually, with WDW I believe the Disney number is actually in the email...please double check your email and your account info for that reservation to see if that number is already in there.

Once you have that, call and simply ask for the Wholesale group. That's who you want, obviously. If you took notes from the first conversation, ask for that specific rep.

I booked our DL trip thru Costco because of perks we are getting, I SWEAR I am talking to WDT Cm as phone options are pretty much same as what I get calling direct.

I'm pretty sure you are. I remember that too, back in 2007.

 

[l4dyj8]

Ugh! Sounds so frustrating. I've had other problems before (flights) with Orbitz. But with Disney, I've booked packages through AAA and ran into such complicated issues. I think I just needed to fix my mailing address. Never again. Like others have mentioned, Third party vendors don't seem to have a direct connection with Disney. So many loops to get through.

 

[Angrose]

Call the hotels directly, NOT the reservation line. DLH 714-778-6600, GCH 714-635-2300. Make your requests with the hotel itself. I booked DLH a few years ago through Orbitz, called hotel and put in my request for the Fantasy tower with a fireworks view if possible. The CM was so helpful and we got exactly what we asked for! Another time I had booked two rooms for DLH again through orbitz and called to request the room configuration. Again, super helpful CM who added the extra people and put in our request. I ended up cancelling that trip, but seriously I have always had the best service with the hotel CMs. Both times I gave them the confirmation number from orbitz and they were able to find it. Maybe wait a few days to make sure it's in their system. Good luck!

 

[5forMickey]

Unfortunately you can not book with the Disney hotels direct, the closest is Walt Disney Travel company but once you book with them you can call he hotel front desk and add your request.

 

[DizMe]

I just had 2 separate issues with Orbitz and I doubt I will use them again. My husband needed a quick reservation for 1 night for a business trip, so I put in the information in their booking page and it gave me a hotel and price, which I booked. It wasn't until after I'd printed the receipt, given it to my husband and he was on his way that I noticed it had changed the date somewhere between booking and payment! I should have learned from that, but I did it again. I booked a trip for Labor Day weekend. I didn't even notice that after I'd paid and gotten my confirmation, the second night had been dropped. We didn't find out until we were at the hotel and only had 1 night in their system. Fortunately, they were able to move us to another (cheaper) room for the 2nd night. When I checked my confirmation email, it did indeed show that our 2-night reservation had been changed to 1. My fault for not checking closely, but what the heck? Why does Orbitz randomly change the dates after you've accepted the terms and book?

 

[JKalai]

Room reservation agent here for a big hotel in Vegas.

Unfortunately this is fairly standard with making any modifications or changes when booking through third party websites. I always always always urge friends and family to book through the hotel itself to not have so many hoops to jump through to change things on a reservation. When you click on the little checkmark box on that third party website when you finalize your booking, you are signing a contract with them with whatever their policies and booking procedures are... not the hotel. With most third party websites, you also pay the third party directly, not the hotel. The website actually pays the hotel when you check out. We send a bill to that website saying you owe us $XXX for this reservation.

I do book through third party websites, but I'm never really picky with what room I get and I never make any requests or changes to a reservation. I also book when I'm 1000% sure I'm going (canceling a room reservation is even worse through a third party). When I'm really picky or not totally sure I'm going I book through the hotel direct.

 

[ADisneyFamilyof5]

Call the hotels directly, NOT the reservation line. DLH 714-778-6600, GCH 714-635-2300. Make your requests with the hotel itself. I booked DLH a few years ago through Orbitz, called hotel and put in my request for the Fantasy tower with a fireworks view if possible. The CM was so helpful and we got exactly what we asked for! Another time I had booked two rooms for DLH again through orbitz and called to request the room configuration. Again, super helpful CM who added the extra people and put in our request. I ended up cancelling that trip, but seriously I have always had the best service with the hotel CMs. Both times I gave them the confirmation number from orbitz and they were able to find it. Maybe wait a few days to make sure it's in their system. Good luck!

Thank you so much!!!!! I will call in a few days just to make sure my requests are on there. I feel better hearing of good Orbitz experience!

 

[thatgrljme]

I booked through a travel agency and will never do it again. While helpful I couldn't make any changes to my reservation, I couldn't link my stay to my disneyland profile, and I couldn't make any requests. She had to do everything. They had a price guarantee that they'd rebook if the price dropped and I had to contact my travel agent because she never saw the price drop. Not worth the trouble, do it through disney.

 

[LizzyS]

Stories like this are why I always book directly with hotels and airlines. My peace of mind is worth more to me than saving a little bit of money.