A moral gray area? (Disney hotels question)

[disneylarks]

Okay, a little back story: On our last visit, our group stayed in a standard room at the Disneyland Hotel. Two queen beds for four adults and a 2 year old child.

Since our last trip, we've had another baby and it feels to me that we should still be able to book that same kind of room with the addition of our son, but the system won't let us. Is it morally incorrect to leave him off the reservation when we do the booking? He doesn't really "count" as he doesn't need a ticket, is listed as an infant and the same number of people will be in the room/beds, just with the addition of a baby in a pack and play. We don't want to be dishonest, but it does seem like this should be allowed. We aren't swindlers, but we also don't have the funds to book an $800/night suite just to add a baby to our room. What is the okay thing to do here?

Any advice/kind comments will be appreciated!

 

[BigAlsGal]

So you're trying to get 6 in a standard room? The money factor aside it sounds like a nightmare!

The reason you can't is because that room is only meant to hold 4 people plus an infant. Now you have 4 adults, a child, AND an infant. Technically you have 5 and an infant. The room doesn't hold that many. Personally I wouldn't. Can you? Sure you could leave baby off the reservation. Should you? Meh. Fire codes, safety, and all that jazz. Your call.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Personally, I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving the baby off the reservation. The hotel needs an accurate head count in case of emergency. The fire department would need to have an exact guest count for safety. I would rather be safe than sorry.

 

[Minniesgal]

You can't do this you exceed the room occupancy which is dictated by fire code. If Disney find out you have done this you will be asked to leave with no refund.

Most hotels have clear warnings about exceeding occupancy posted.

 

[Kittyskyfish]

The right thing to do is comply with hotel policy and get two rooms or a larger suite. Also, growing families often reach a threshold where their accommodation needs make staying offsite the economical choice. You can still enjoy a wonderful Disneyland vacation at offsite hotels and maybe even moreso, since the lower cost allows more spending and affording better dining in and around the parks.

 

[Happy2BMommy0812]

How old is the child that used to be 2? Assumingthe child is over 3 now and you still have the 4 adults, if you don't count the infant that would be 5 people and some of the rooms do have 2 queens and a pull down, making the max occupancy 5. But even at max occupancy, if memory serves, you still should be able to add an infant in the pack and play.

Honestly, I would call them directly and ask.

 

[MrsJackSparrow4Life]

I don't believe Disney allows 6 in a standard room even if one of them is an infant. If you want to stay on property without paying for a suite or two rooms you would have to sneak one of your party in. This is something people do all the time but you are not going to get someone to tell you it is okay to do. Even those who do it know it is technically wrong.

Personally I would book one of the offsite propeties across the street on harbor. They are not fancy but they have much more room and are a closer walk than the DLH and PPH. Some of them even come with free breakfast.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Call and ask if the room you want at DLH can hold 5 adults plus an infant. If they say yes you know it's an online booking problem & you can book over the phone!

If they say no... You aren't going to be able to hide all that baby stuff/young kids stuff from an enterprising housekeeper who decides today is the day they report a guest exceeding occupancy. (Don't have housekeeping, just put the tag out one could say. I have been in more than 1 hotel where kids favorite hallway pastime was stealing those. Last time was at GCH.) What if there's a noise complaint against you (valid or not) & security comes knocking & finds you out? In those instances you'll have to pay hundreds of dollars more anyway for a hotel after Disney kicks you out. It sounds like you don't have the budget to afford that so you should just start at a place you can legally occupy. Other options could include: 2 rooms at Paradise Pier if you're committed to onsite, off-site suites or 2 rooms off-site. There are some great insights into nearby offsite hotels right here on the DIS if you have to go that route.

 

[Christina-B-Na]

As others have said... try calling the hotel directly and tell them of your situation. Sometimes its just a matter of how online booking is programed to book you. I had a similar issue with a different hotel. I told the hotel that we had a toddler that would be sleeping with us in the bed and therefore did not want or need the extra bed. In my situation they said it was not a problem and to leave the child off the reservation when using online booking.
Its worth a try to call them and see what their policy is. If they say yes, make note of who you spoke with...just in case.

 

[Gisele]

6 in a small room sounds like the beginning of a bad punch line. Don't risk it man!

 

[Allison]

Here is the thing-what we think should be allowed doesn't really matter. What matters is what the entity controlling the terms and conditions thinks should be allowed.

 

[avalovesminnie]

Lots of hotels have infant policies where they don't count for max occupancy. Inline reservations don't account for this. I believe PP has a higher max occupancy if you are set on staying onsite. Way, way more comfortable would be to stay across the street. Both Camelot and desert inn/suites have 2 room suites for about $225/ night. I found a standard hotel room too small for 2 adults 3 kids who were all 6 and under...everyone kept waking each other up!

 

[Malcon10t]

Contact the hotel directly. While they do limit the room to 5, if it is an infant, they will often list them separately. The room occupancy is set by the fire marshal. The child needs to be listed on the room one way or another. The hotel will tell you if they can do this or not.

 

[Skiton]

I agree that it sounds miserable, especially when you could get something much more spacious and comfortable for less money by staying off-site. One other point, I'm not sure I would want to be in the room next to you if you were cramming that many people into such a small space. That happened to us once, where we were in a room designed to accommodate 4 and the family next to us had 6 crammed into theirs. They were SO loud. I don't think they were unusually noisy people or anything, it's just that 6 people makes for a lot more conversation/banging/crying etc. than 4, and it's all happening in that one little space. If you have four adults + a young child + a crying baby, I don't know that your neighbors are going to be very happy.

 

[Ndusmama]

Have you tried calling Disney? I personally have stayed in rooms with an extra person beyond the 5 max. Disney was aware of it when I checked in and the cast members (multiple times) usually say it's a fire code issue. If there is a fire or earthquake they need to have everyone accounted for. But they also don't always count an infant in a crib towards the 5 person occupancy. So in reality it is your call and your judgement on what to do. But I would call and see what they say.

 

[Belle83]

Call and ask. Our reservation for 2 adults and our 2 year old son doesn't list our son anywhere on the paperwork even though we added him. The real question is: do you really want 4 adults and 2 kids in one room? Pack n play is going to be in the way, all those suitcases, one bathroom, nap logistics...yikes. 2 adults should get their own room.

 

[beachdreamr1229]

I'll be honest here in saying I've done that at other hotels (not Disneyland) only because I have a family of 5 including twins and good lord, some smaller town hotels just don't have space for more than 4 without paying an arm and a leg or getting 2 rooms. That being said, there are quite a few hotels in the Disneyland neighborhood that do have accommodations for 6 at a very reasonable price. I would recommend staying offsite, specifically at the Courtyard across the street. We've stayed there with 6 in a room and there's plenty of space. This is not the case with any of the rooms at DLH unless you get a suite. I realize that means leaving the Disney bubble for a bit, but the walk isn't bad and to me, the hotel is superior to PPH in terms of quality. The only true downside is the lack of EMH privileges, but that can be worked around by just going to the park that doesn't have EMH each morning.

 

[DizMe]

To tell you the truth, I wouldn't think too much about having that many in a room if it wasn't for the fact that 4 of them are adults. Do you mean Disney adults (over 10) or true adults? If it's true adults, I think it's a little unfair on housekeeping to put that many in a room, plus I don't think you'd have much wiggle room or sleep If you're just talking about older kids, then I agree that speaking to the CMs directly is a good place to start and I don't see a big deal about it if it's ok with management--I know what it's like. We're a family of 5 and we don't like to be separated and we love to stay on site. Luckily, we can do it, but in Hawaii we can't. Their fire policy is 4 to a hotel room regardless of room size (even suites). We once stayed in a Hawaiian hotel where we were attending a family event and "snuck" our 5th person in. I was told no over the phone but in person, they told me no problem.

 

[bumbershoot]

If you're squishing that many into a room, do it at Paradise Pier instead. They have bigger rooms.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

This isn't a gray area at all. You already know that it is wrong.