AAA vs Disney Travel & that whole cannot guarantee adjoined suite thing??

[MagicalMomAZ]

So I was quoted $4000 by AAA & almost $4800 by Disney. Wow...WHY such a huge difference & why even use Disney if I'm a AAA member?

AND....what the heck do they do (GCA) if they can't "guarantee" adjoining rooms? This was about $700 cheaper through Disney. We're thinking early Feb so it "feels" safer than say, July.

If we arrive & OOPS! Sorry, request can't be honored.....how do they rectify? We pay more for a suite? We cancel the reservations, pay penalties & go to a cheap motel across the street? WHAT is next after the request cannot be honored?

Also, can AAA make this room request just as Disney can??

 

[specialks]

You could talk to the hotel directly and ask if you book with AAA can you make a direct request and guarantee adjoining rooms with them. We wanted a deluxe suite in our hotel (more sq ft space) but AAA could only book us a regular suite. So I talked to the reservation manager at the hotel and he said if I booked through AAA he would change us to the deluxe suite. We did that and now are getting the room we want.

 

[MCSfromWA]

You ask a really good question. What happens if the hotel cannot honor your request? We just got back from a stay at GCH. We have been staying there since it opened and often there are 5 of us. We require a room with a day bed. We have never had a problem with getting that type of room ... until this time. My 14 yo DD had to sleep on the floor one night. The hotel said that having a bed for each person (or a space on a bed to sleep on) was a request and therefore they could put us in a 4 person room with a sleeping bag without having to comp us in any way. We were able to move the next day to another room with a daybed, otherwise we would have moved to another hotel that could accomodate our needs. After this experience I have decided that we will never stay at GCH if there are 5 in our party -- because having a bed to sleep on is merely a request. The amount of money that you quoted is a lot of money. February might be a good time to have the connecting room request honored, unless it falls on Presidents weekend and winter break. I really love GCH and the next time I stay there will be at the villas through DVC. But if you plan to go in a busy time and you really need this type of room space you might be happier staying at one of the Good Neighbor Hotels that have suites. Then you will know for sure that you will have the space that you need and that the bedrooms are connected. Good luck with your planning.

 

[cari12]

In my experience staying at hotels, unless you have booked and paid for a suite, they will never guarantee any sort of room request. This is because rooms are given on a first come, first served basis as you check in and they will honour requests as they can but can only do so if when you actually check in something is available. They do not assign rooms before check in so they are not saving a room with your "requests", they are only saving a room at your price point.

 

[specialks]

That isn't always true bc Homewood Suites lets you select your room online. And we have a reservation for a specific room number and notes not to move us. I think some hotels have the ability to assign room numbers. One thing I have noted in traveling is that many times the night workers do the room assignments for the next day. So, calling the night before your resv might give you a better chance at your request.

 

[boscoj]

How many children do you have in your party? I could've sworn that I read somewhere that Disney's hotel policy is that if you have "X" number of kids, they will guarantee adjoining rooms.....I think it was either 3 or 4 children.

 

[boscoj]

How many children do you have in your party? I could've sworn that I read somewhere that Disney's hotel policy is that if you have "X" number of kids, they will guarantee adjoining rooms.....I think it was either 3 or 4 children.

 

[caligirl stuck in va]

Wow, I can't believe that having a BED for each person (or part of a bed) is a REQUEST at a HOTEL. I kinda thought that was what you were paying for.....

I know some people don't mind sleeping on the floor but we don't do that.

 

[MagicalMomAZ]

I don't mind only bc my kids can't agree to go to sleep in the same spot...so we bring the ReadyBed everywhere, seriously - it's come to that.

BUT I DO think that a bed is not a request but a given. THat's why people don't stay in their cars or on a park bench....so they can have the comfort of a bed beneath them after a long day in the parks. Crazy!!

 

[cari12]

I guess though, if you have 5 people and you book a standard room which typically only sleeps 4 (unless you get your requested daybed), you really have booked a room that is too small for your party and that was your choice upon booking.
When booking adjoining rooms, you are booking 2 rooms and requesting they be adjoining but if the hotel has a number of other people with the same request check in ahead of you, there is the risk of not having adjoining rooms available. This happened to my sister's family once but luckily her kids were 16 and 18 so although inconvenient, they were ok.
You may want to book at a hotel that has suites and ensure you have booked one big enough for your party to guarantee the best sleeping arrangements.

 

[MCSfromWA]

I think it is a little crazy, too, that when you book a room for 5 that the hotel thinks that it is okay to give you a room for 4. I told the manager that they had obviously oversold the rooms for 5 as they had no more daybeds but she assured me that indeed they had not because they were offering a thin pad and sleeping bag and in their position that consitituted a bed space. My DD made me promise that we would never be put in that position again. Who wants to stay at a really nice hotel and sleep on the floor? Since we were at GCH I wondered if they would have an extra touch with the sleeping bag by bringing a little tent or tepee so that it would feel like you were camping outside, but no, it was just a sleeping bag.

There are many hotels that have suites nearby Disneyland. I really think that the best way to get connecting rooms or a specific number of bed spaces is to get a suite.

 

[karylrocks]

Just a side note - if you want to request two rooms with a door in between them make sure to request connecting rooms. Adjoining rooms are rooms that are next to each other but not necessarily connecting.

 

[abouley]

Just a side note - if you want to request two rooms with a door in between them make sure to request connecting rooms. Adjoining rooms are rooms that are next to each other but not necessarily connecting.

We had this same problem....requested adjoining rooms and found out later than we needed "connecting" rooms and so did not have a door. It was with my BIL and SIL so was not a huge deal but super frustrating that we had a door that led to someone else's room and not a door to theirs!

We also had the problem with having 5 of us in a room and NOT getting a daybed. We had a tiny room and with someone on the floor, a pack-n-play (we were 3 adults a preschooler and a baby) and a stroller, we were so crowded that you could not walk.

We actually had a series of bad service...room not being available at check-in even though we had gotten in at 8 am and let them know we were there, rooms being cleaned at 3 or 4 in the afternoon when we'd come back to rest, not being able to accomodate our requests, etc. We have not stayed at the DL hotel since. Figure I'd rather save the money and get better service at HoJo's! I do miss staying on-site though :-(

We had SUCH good service at the Beach Club at WDW on our trip in Dec. I was definitely impressed compared to DLH!