Am I crazy? Cribs not guaranteed?

[Figment&Piglet]

No flames, please. I just have to ask/vent:

I made my ressie for BWV 11 months out (home resort), and checked in on 5/8 at exactly check-in time (4:00). On my original ressie, I'd requested a full-size crib, because the Pack 'n' Plays that are provided are, above all, playpens, without a suitable mattress and are not intended to be a primary bed. I had requested a crib for our trip a year ago, and had received one with absolutely no problem.

So, at check-in, I reiterated my need for a crib at the front desk, then went to dinner for a couple hours. We had a voice mail message waiting for us when we got back to our room that there were no cribs available and we were out of luck! I was truly surprised! I then called Housekeeping from the phone in our room to ask if there were any at another resort that could be obtained. She told me "no," that I'd have to go on a wait list to see if I could get a crib for the next night. To this I responded, "Yes, I guess I'll have to," which was met with a sarcastic, "yes, I guess you will." I then went back down to the BW front desk, and the CM simply said, "We don't guarantee anything." When I asked for a supervisor, I was told (through the front desk CM, a supervisor never did actually come out to speak to me) said there were no cribs available anywhere on property for the night. I just said, "you really, really need to make sure you tell people this when they reserve, because we're not talking about an optional request here, we're talking about a place for a child to sleep."

Now I can understand not guaranteeing a request for a particular view, or floor, etc., but not guaranteeing a member a suitable place for their child to sleep? And not make a special point to tell you whether you'll have one? Should I have just assumed that when they say "requests aren't guaranteed," that it applied to your child not having a bed? Don't they know how many cribs they have on any given night, and whether they need to inform guests to make alternative plans (rent one perhaps?)?

Needless to say, I was never called from the "waitlist," and fortunately our DD2 did OK sleeping in our bed (tucked in with sofa cushions lining the floor just in case).

I just had to write and see if anyone else had this same experience and what you think of it...

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Unfortunately, requests are not guaranteed. In reality, they did provide a bed for the little one, unfortunately, it was not suitable.


The bottom of your reservations says it all:

"Special requests for adjoining Vacation Homes, specific view or location, and other requests have been noted but are NOT guaranteed. We will do everything possible to fulfill these requests."

And not make a special point to tell you whether you'll have one? Should I have just assumed that when they say "requests aren't guaranteed," that it applied to your child not having a bed? Don't they know how many cribs they have on any given night, and whether they need to inform guests to make alternative plans (rent one perhaps?)?

The disclaimer on the bottom of your reservation confirmation pretty much takes care of that issue.

 

[Sammie]

Originally posted by Figment&Piglet
No flames, please. I just have to ask/vent:

I made my ressie for BWV 11 months out (home resort), and checked in on 5/8 at exactly check-in time (4:00). On my original ressie, I'd requested a full-size crib, because the Pack 'n' Plays that are provided are, above all, playpens, without a suitable mattress and are not intended to be a primary bed. I had requested a crib for our trip a year ago, and had received one with absolutely no problem.

So, at check-in, I reiterated my need for a crib at the front desk, then went to dinner for a couple hours. We had a voice mail message waiting for us when we got back to our room that there were no cribs available and we were out of luck! I was truly surprised! I then called Housekeeping from the phone in our room to ask if there were any at another resort that could be obtained. She told me "no," that I'd have to go on a wait list to see if I could get a crib for the next night. To this I responded, "Yes, I guess I'll have to," which was met with a sarcastic, "yes, I guess you will." I then went back down to the BW front desk, and the CM simply said, "We don't guarantee anything." When I asked for a supervisor, I was told (through the front desk CM, a supervisor never did actually come out to speak to me) said there were no cribs available anywhere on property for the night. I just said, "you really, really need to make sure you tell people this when they reserve, because we're not talking about an optional request here, we're talking about a place for a child to sleep."

Now I can understand not guaranteeing a request for a particular view, or floor, etc., but not guaranteeing a member a suitable place for their child to sleep? And not make a special point to tell you whether you'll have one? Should I have just assumed that when they say "requests aren't guaranteed," that it applied to your child not having a bed? Don't they know how many cribs they have on any given night, and whether they need to inform guests to make alternative plans (rent one perhaps?)?

Needless to say, I was never called from the "waitlist," and fortunately our DD2 did OK sleeping in our bed (tucked in with sofa cushions lining the floor just in case).

I just had to write and see if anyone else had this same experience and what you think of it...

You asked and my answer is I would not expect it to be any other way. Do you travel to other areas other than Disney World? Cribs, rollaways, irons, etc are first come first serve.

At least you know now and can plan accordingly.

 

[5infam]

We were in a similar situation at BWV this year, however, I was told by MS that cribs were optional but not guaranteed. MS should have explained this to you when you made the ressie. That is where the breakdown in communication lies (IMO).

 

[Dean]

I won't repeat what others have said, though I agree with it. The actual occupancy of the units are 4/4/8, even the "plus a child under 3" is an addition beyond what is promised in the POS. Bedding is provided for the 4 and they do provide the pack n play. Most timeshare don't provide cribs at all but will refer you to a rental agency or tell you you're on your own. It would have been nice if you'd known up front this was a possibility.

 

[rocketriter]

Our family had a similar experience once when staying at a very posh non-Disney non-Orlando hotel, when our request for a crib was not met. I was a new father with a first child, I was very upset, and I used a technique that my father taught me. I took a step back from the hotel desk, then raised my voice just a little to make it cross the distance (and start to carry through the hotel lobby). Then I politely but firmly began to run up the management levels, not stopping but not losing my temper either. After a while a manager got exhausted, called his wife and had her buy a folding crib at K-Mart and bring it to the hotel.

I'm not sure this would work at Disney, where they can be very sophisticated about handling all sorts of people. But my story does serve as a reminder that even the best hotels don't guarantee cribs.

On the other hand, a CM using sarcasm with you is unacceptable customer service, whether or not your own behavior was diplomatic. In your shoes I'd complain to management now. They may need to tone up their customer service training around this issue, regarding both what they communicated to you in advance and how they treated you after letting you down.

 

[SleepyatDVC]

Originally posted by Figment&Piglet
Needless to say, I was never called from the "waitlist," and fortunately our DD2 did OK sleeping in our bed (tucked in with sofa cushions lining the floor just in case).

I just had to write and see if anyone else had this same experience and what you think of it...

FYI, for future reference, in case you don't get a crib again, you can get bed rails for your child. We usually have them on one side of the king bed and put our DD there.

But once again, bed rails are requested but not guaranteed. First come, first serve. Doesn't matter when the reservation was made, if someone requests the last crib/bed rail the day before you check-in, they won't deny them. And if no one returns one on your check-in day, then you are out of luck.

If housekeeping were out of cribs and bed rails, I would probably ask them if we could have some extra linens (w/o charge) to make a make shift bed on the floor for the little ones so I wouldn't worry about them falling off the bed. I'm sure that they will try to be accomodating in this case.

Unfortunately, requests are non-guaranteed. It's too bad that they sometimes don't clarify it when a reservation is made.

 

[Beca]

I agree it can be very frustrating (I have a 2 yr old DD). We are staying at VWL and BWV in Dec. We are not so concerned with sleeping (she co-sleeps with us...boy, do I need about 2yrs of "real" sleep!!!! ), but because of her age, she cannot take a shower...so, we cannot accept a handicapped room. There are other requests as well, non-smoking, upper floor, village green or "no dumpster"... but, they are much lower on our priority list. If I were to get a handicapped room right now I would be pretty upset because there really is NO way to bathe her in that room (at least, from what I can understand from others' posts. Someone feel free to correct me if I am wrong.) But, to remedy that, we will not wait until 4:00 to check in. I will be at the desk of each respective hotel MUCH earlier, and do what I can to see what rooms will be coming available later that day, and see if I can "sweet talk" myself into a pretty good room.

We are completely across the country. So, if we were not able to get a flight that gets us there early (which, isn't a problem...Thank God for Soutwest), we would probably stay off-site the night we arrived and then go to our real resort the next day.

My point is this...requests that really are neccessities sometimes mean a little extra perserverance on the part of the person making the request. I don't know if this would've helped you in this situation, but I am also not sure that you actually "stayed" on the waitlist after your conversation with the MS (who really was wrong!!). Your request might have become "lost" at that point.

I'm sorry that you didn't realize that cribs are "just a request", and not guaranteed. That can really put a "cramp" in your plans!! But for now...rest up...sleeping with a 2 yr old is NO vacation!!!



Beca

 

[Skip Wiley]

I can understand why you are upset, I agree with 5infam, when you made the reservation they should have told you cribs were optional and not guaranteed, it should not have been left to your interpretation of the “request” policy. I also agree with rocketriter that sarcasm is unacceptable customer service and would make sure someone knew about the experience. It's a shame your vacation got off to a rough start, at least a bad day on vacation is better than a good day at work.

 

[WDW4metoo]

I can relate to your frustration figment and piglet (and Beca ...your nightmare)...when we visited WL in Nov 03, I had requested a non-handicapped room with two queen beds because our DD was 2. Unfortunately, our plane was delayed and we didn't arrive until 11pm. We were given a room with a king bed and it was handicapped. The porter that was carting our luggage called reservations and was told to use his passkey and put us in another room that had queen beds and non handicapped...realize by now it's 11:30. We drag ourselves to the other wing of the lodge to find that the room is locked and occupied. Back to the lobby where they find us another room. Up to the 6th floor, only to find that this room has bunk beds...I say that's fine for tonight but we'll need bedrails for tonight and you can move us in the morning...no bedrails available. By now it's nearly 12:30am...and there are no other rooms available. So we went back to the original room and DD slept with us in the king bed and she had her first shower the next morning. When we returned from MK the next day at 1pm for naps, our luggage had been moved to our new room.

The lesson I learned is that I'll never make plane reservations for the late afternoon again. I don't want to be the last person to check-in at a hotel.

Brenda

 

[Pa@okw95]

I had infants sleep in the pack n play that is what they are for and yes I had a two year old also sleep in one. Cribs are not part of the furniture supplied at OKW as far as I know. Most small children can sleep in these pack and plays without any problem. Sorry, we just had another poster complain that MS is not open on the weekend. All these things cost money. Let us not forget that the two year old gets a free ride in the parks for good reason, they can not go on a lot of the rides and they often will sleep the day away in a stroller. Young kids are like the best sleepers around, the pack n play is just fine. Sorry I do not agree with your complaint.

 

[Scoootch]

My ds is now almost 4 and when he was about 7mos we stayed at OKW and got a full size crib as requested - they were kind of ugly and all metal - looked like a hospital crib BUT...it did the job. Once they start to get bigger tword 2yrs old the pak-n-plays are just too small IMO. The next yr when I requested a crib- I was told they no longer had the full size ones. Don't know why they got rid of the ones they had but they really should consider that the pak-n-plays aren't really suitable for an older baby.

In any case, outside of getting bed rails - which don't cost anything extra, Alot of people on the resorts board have recommended www.abbf.com for crib rentals. Apparently, they will have the crib ready and waiting at the resort for you and posters have reported being happy with them. I'm thinking of trying them myself for my Sept. trip this year. It will cost us to rent the crib but at least my dd (who will be 1yr for our Sept. trip) will have a comfy and suitable place to sleep.

Just thought I'd mention this to anyone who isn't aware of the rental place and might be interested -- I really wish Disney would go back to providing full size cribs though

 

[lisareniff]

Originally posted by Beca
....We are not so concerned with sleeping (she co-sleeps with us...boy, do I need about 2yrs of "real" sleep!!!! ), but because of her age, she cannot take a shower...so, we cannot accept a handicapped room. There are other requests as well, non-smoking, upper floor, village green or "no dumpster"... but, they are much lower on our priority list. If I were to get a handicapped room right now I would be pretty upset because there really is NO way to bathe her in that room (at least, from what I can understand from others' posts.....

Beca.... We always co-shower with our little one!!



She has always loved it from a baby!

 

[mbhoxsie]

My DW and I often travel with our two young children.. (DS is 3, and DD is 1..)

Our DS has slept many nights in the pack and play, and our DD has got initated in it on our last trip... We will usually put down a few blankets on the bottom of the p&p to cushion it, if we are worried...

Two years ago, in Las Vegas, my DS ended up having to sleep on the floor in a hotel room... Housekeeping brought us some extra comforters and we made a makeshift bed on the floor... By the second night, housekeeping figured out what we were doing, and actually started making his bed for him while they were making ours..

Right now, the only thing we usually request is a high chair, but even if we wouldn't have that, I'm sure we would make due by feed the kids either sitting up or on our laps...

A Disney Vacation is all about getting away from it all.. A chance to put aside the normal stresses of our day to day lives, and to just focus on being together in a magical place... While I do think its unfortunate that you did not get your request, I'd hate to see this as being something that detracted from you and your family enjoying your stay... IMO, vacations are just not the place to sweat the small things in life...

 

[Figaro]

We are renting points and staying at OKW (studio) in November. I am in a wheelchair and my friend requested a roll-in shower and no smoking for medical reasons when she made the reservations. I understand that this is not guaranteed, but I am hoping that someone here can reassure me that the odds of us ending up on the top floor of a smoking building with steps and a bath tub aren't very good! I guess I would have to sleep in the rental car if that happened(smile).

Thank you! This board has been such a wonderful source of information and the people here have been just great!

 

[Chuck S]

Figaro, since you requested a Handi-Accessible room for medical reasons, I would certainly feel your chances are 99.99% of getting that . Non-Smoking is also a very ,very good chance, since it has been reported somewhere inthe boards that the number of smoking buildings at OKW has been reduced.

You may get a first floor studio or a studio in one of the 3 "new" buildings that have elevator access, depending on what is available when you check-in and what other "location" type requests you may have made.

 

[Figaro]

Thanks, Chuck! I didn't make any location requests because I didn't know what to ask for and just thought that leaving that totally alone would make it easier to get a roll-in shower. I mean, we are going to be at OKW and that is going to be wonderful, so where the room is really doesn't matter.

Thank you again for the reassurance! This is new to us and I am so grateful that a dear friend had points she wasn't going to use and we are going to get a chance to stay at OKW. We own a very nice timeshare at Club Regina in Puerta Vallarta, but this trip will be a good chance to see if we fall in love with OKW and might want to buy points there.

 

[jodifla]

DS, now 2 1/2, has slept in the pack n plays about a half dozen times on vacation (just last week, in fact.) I wonder about OP's comment that they're not suitable for overnight sleeping. Is that from his perspective's or the child's?

For kids that young, I find that they are fine as a bed. DS sleeps through the night in them. And because DS sleeps on his knees with his arms tucked under him, he has plenty of room and may sleep in them until he's 4 even though he's a big guy!

If certain equipment is very important, it's best to rent. I don't know of any hotel that guarantees a crib....I don't think it is possible for them to know who is sleeping where when it comes to kids. Lots of kids sleep with their parents, so that would through the numbers off.

 

[ClarabelleCow]

both my kids have vacationed since they were 3 1/2 months, and they always slept in the pack in play! It worked great. I can remember staying at the Wilderness Lodge and my daughter probably 3 at the time loved it!! Was she a little cramped, yes, but she survived! She thought it was fun going from her "big girl bed" to the pack n play! but also both my kids were in twin beds by the time they were 2 with rails.

 

[Figment&Piglet]

Thanks, everyone, for your replies. First, I must say, that I didn't have any idea that cribs aren't guaranteed at any hotel, not just at Disney, so I guess I definitely learned (the hard way) an important point! While I disagree with some of your points (that's OK, we're all entitled to our opinions), I do appreciate your taking the time to reply and have really learned a few things!

Most timeshare don't provide cribs at all but will refer you to a rental agency or tell you you're on your own. It would have been nice if you'd known up front this was a possibility.

Exactly! I would've felt much better about the situation if it had been explained to me that there was a good chance I'd have to find one on my own...

After a while a manager got exhausted, called his wife and had her buy a folding crib at K-Mart and bring it to the hotel.

Wow, that was really great of them! I think I would've kissed his wife!

On the other hand, a CM using sarcasm with you is unacceptable customer service, whether or not your own behavior was diplomatic. In your shoes I'd complain to management now. They may need to tone up their customer service training around this issue, regarding both what they communicated to you in advance and how they treated you after letting you down.

Yes, I totally agree. As with any disappointing situation, I always feel better about it if I'm at least treated with respect and am made to feel like my concern is important and worthwhile listening to...even if there's truly nothing they can do about it at that moment.

FYI, for future reference, in case you don't get a crib again, you can get bed rails for your child. We usually have them on one side of the king bed and put our DD there.

Now THAT I did NOT know, either! Thanks so much for the info! That would've been a perfect alternative! See, now why would none of the 2-3 CMs I spoke to even mention or offer that???!!! That's the type of customer service I would've definitely appreciated. (Unless, of course, those were already gone, too?)

All these things cost money. Let us not forget that the two year old gets a free ride in the parks for good reason, they can not go on a lot of the rides and they often will sleep the day away in a stroller.

With all due respect to your opinion, what does the fact that a 2-year-old does not having to pay admission to the park, have to do with whether they're being provided a crib?? I'm the parent, I made the request -- and I'm paying!

Our DS has slept many nights in the pack and play, and our DD has got initated in it on our last trip... We will usually put down a few blankets on the bottom of the p&p to cushion it, if we are worried...

While this doesn't apply to our 2-y.o., it does occur to me that this could be a SIDS hazard, and shouldn't be done if the baby's less than one... But definitely a good thought for an older child...

Two years ago, in Las Vegas, my DS ended up having to sleep on the floor in a hotel room... Housekeeping brought us some extra comforters and we made a makeshift bed on the floor...

Honestly, it may be me, but the thought of my DD having to sleep on the floor just plain seems wrong, when you're a paying member of DVC and, paying or not, she's as much a guest of the hotel as anyone...

While I do think its unfortunate that you did not get your request, I'd hate to see this as being something that detracted from you and your family enjoying your stay... IMO, vacations are just not the place to sweat the small things in life...

We did enjoy ourselves, of course, and did not let this detract from our stay in the least, but again it might be me and just my way of thinking that this was more than just a small thing...

I wonder about OP's comment that they're not suitable for overnight sleeping. Is that from his perspective's or the child's?

Graco's, actually. They're sold as playyards, not beds.

I don't think it is possible for them to know who is sleeping where when it comes to kids. Lots of kids sleep with their parents, so that would through the numbers off.?

That's true, but I wonder if there's a better way of "allocating" the cribs that are available, given the numbers requesting in advance? Maybe it's too much of a hassle, but just a thought.

Anyway, thanks again for your opinions. And like many of you said, at least now I know!!