another thread about room block!

[DisneyDeeFL]

So we just got the first batch of emails from DFTW in order to put together a contract...and one of the first things we need to send them is the room block

It's so confusing!! With the wedding about 10 months out, it's next to impossible to say who will be staying where, not to mention for how many nights! I want to find a way to politely ask my 100 or so guests where they *think* they'd stay, and for how long, but I don't want them to stress out about it, or feel like they have to commit to something right now. We have a December wedding, so I know it's good to let people know far in advance to give them time to plan around any holiday events...but this is seriously stressin me out!

Any suggestions on the best way to piece together the room block? And is it true that people can essentially book a room at any resort, and still have it count toward the room block? If so, then why do they make you choose 3 resorts in the first place?? Ahh, too much thinking...my brain hurts!

 

[Gina Loves Disney]

I know you don't want to put anyone out, but I would send something to all my guests telling them the situation. Just tell that you have to garuntee a certian number of room nights and if anyone can possibly be so kind as to share their plans with you ASAP it'd be much appreciated.

 

[balatonbabe]

DF & I were stressing about this about a month ago. Our dilema revolves more around our guests not being able to add on the DDP to the wedding discount. So instead of panicking, we are going to set up the minimum room block and the guests will be on their own for booking accomodations from there. Assuming they book early enough, everyone should be able to find accomodations - and yes, as long as it is a DR, it counts toward your room block.

Not to be negative, but it seems backward for us to set up a room block before the save the date even go out to the guests.

 

[DisneyDeeFL]

yeah i don't understand why they need to have this before they send out save-the-dates...it seems very backwards to me too. Our coordinator did say that the room block could be adjusted at a later date (it's not set in stone), but I'd much rather get an accurate count the first time so that this doesn't consume all of my wedding planning energy!

 

[DVCGirl49]

The save-the-dates contain a paper with the reserved room information/pricing/and how to make their reservations. So I guess it is kind of important that DFTW has your room block info before they send it out.

My cousin had a DFTW last Nov, so thankfully we already got to see first hand how the whole process works and have all the information ready to go when our SM calls this week. We did an informal poll of all our wedding party and about 20 other guests, and used that to plot out the rooms.

HTH

 

[pooh98378]

LOL -- we just sent in our room block and I can definitely feel your stress!!

DF and I found out the best way to do the room block is to set up an excel file similar to the one that DFTW sent you. Write your guests names going down the column and group them by hotel (for example: All Star Sports and then list all the guests that are potentially staying at All Star Sports underneath that). Then, write your dates across the top.

We are having about 50 people at our wedding, most of them being family, so we went ahead and explained our situation. When they told us where/when they wanted to stay, we marked a "X" in the spreadsheet. Then, we tallied the numbers up and looked to where we should add the extra 20% of rooms. I have to admit, some of my family members did stress out a bit, but they all eventually came around and did give us fairly specific info.

From what DFTW told me, you can add more rooms to your room block later as long as there are still rooms available to add to the block. Apparently, Disney only allots a certain number of rooms that can be discounted and if all of those rooms are gone, you cannot add more. So, during lower times of the year, it shouldn't be a problem. But, during the peak season, it might be more of an issue from my understanding.

I hope this helps! I know it is very confusing!!!

 

[catmorgan4]

I found the room blocking stressful too. After stressing over who I thought would stay where and for how long I was completely wrong. I am having around 75 guests at my wedding and all of them are staying at the movies resort. Not one person chose the middle or high end resort. All of the room blocks were taken at teh Disney resort and I still had guest that needed to book. I called my planner and they let me block more rooms.

So even if you are not accurate with your choices they will let you add more if you run out. Also, after your save the dates go out you can request a room block sheet that tells you exactly who has booked and where. That form also helped me figure out some guest were coming that I was not anticipating. Good luck and just remember you can always add more room blocks.

Cat

 

[DisneyDeeFL]

thanks everyone for your advice. It's nice to know that we can come to these boards and find that lots of people have the same questions and concerns.

making an Excel spreadsheet sounds like a great idea...i'm a visual person, so it helps to write things down somewhere rather than try to remember everything (got enough info crammed into my brain right now as I finish up graduate school!)

 

[DisneyFairy19]

Wow what stress... I would let you guests know about how many rooms you need to book so no one will feel left out

 

[DisneyDeeFL]

So i've been contacting a bunch of guests (mostly relatives from PA) and letting them know about hotel options..and so far it seems like most them want to take a little mini-vacation, which means there should be no problem filling a room block! Now they'll just have to decide on which hotel. So far, so good!

 

[Tinkerbell77]

We stressed about the room block to and thought we would not even get to the minimum room number that we negotiated down to 13 nights but as we have got close we have now gone over 25 nights and then you have the opposite problem that Disney only allow so many nights at the discounted rate.

My only advise is make sure you have your room sorted and then your close family. The rest will sort themselves out and the rate on certain internet holiday
sites isn't that much more. Also the wedding planners are fantasic and will fit in with almost anything (we are doing a custom wedding so not sure if they are as flexable with an intermate wedding).

Hope that helps.

 

[disprincessatheart]

I've made MANY changes to my room block since we did the initial form. Mostly though I figured if all of the wedding party and immediate family were taken care of, that'd be good enough. The rest ended up getting the discounted rooms, but I wasn't going to stress about it.
In the beginning I picked one resort in each category - let my parents pick where they wanted to stay for the mod, the GF for us and then picked what I thought was the nicest of the 3 all stars and then just booked 5 rooms at each for the whole week of the wedding. As people booked I adjusted (about 3 times in 6 months) to add more rooms to the mod and take rooms off the value (most everyone is now at the CSR instead of the ASMovies).

My advice is start with the rooms you're sure you need plus a couple extra and add on later. HTH