Anyone else mad that Disney took your $ for CBR knowing it was closing?

[Kim&Chris]

Sorry, folks, I'm going to vent here.

I'm really concerned that Disney allowed me to make reservations for CBR, knowing the entire time that they were closing it down. In addition, my MIL and SIL also made reservations for CBR for the same time, so we could all be together. Both my SIL and myself made numerous calls to CRO requesting Jamaica, non-smoking, etc. They jotted down our requests, knowing all the while that my reservations were going to be invalid.

So, here we are....playing the waiting game. Based on previous posts, it sounds like Disney may offer us AKL for about $133 per night. That's fine for us, but there's no way my MIL can afford that.

I'm probably just going to switch to POR. I've never stayed there but it looks nice in pictures.

Thanks for reading my post

 

[BoyLovesBuzz]

First off, I am affected and I am disappointed and a little mad. But you have to ask yourself, why would CRO do what you are saying they have done? Why would Disney intentially put themsleves in this position.

I suspect that all the factors that have to come into place for this type of project (i.e. suppliers, funding, workers, etc), happen to fall at this time. Plus, I also suspect after reading these boards that communication is not something that is terriably effcient within Disney.

This has helped me, maybe it will help you.

What is Disney loosing...
- A lot of people who have CBR ressies are mad. A lot will call and scream, and some may cancel.
- A lot of people who don't have CBR ressies are calling to make sure it doesn't happen to them.
- Disney CRO agents will have to make a lot of calls, to really mad people to rectify these ressies. And I mean a lot of calls. Had they made this decision 3 weeks ago, there would have been probably 1 tenth the problems they have now. Probably overtime, or additional workers will be required.
- Disney may have to upgrade some people, at a substantial cost.


What is Disney gaining...
-The only thing that I can think of, is that it could turn into a type of forced upsell. If Disney gets everyone to pay $20 extra a night to put them in a Deluxe, they the have made some money they may not otherwise, but this is a stretch. Why wouldn't the come out with a $109/night rate at the Deluxe instead, and make people think they are getting a great deal.

I agree that Disney hoses the consumer on many levels, but I don't think this is one of them.

 

[TDC Nala]

CRO is probably the last to know about these things.

I did read that WDW was considering leaving the resort open although the restaurants and main pool would be closed, but finally decided against it.

CBR really does need this renovation, and WDW says they need to have it open for the holiday season, but the way construction schedules go these days, who knows.

 

[dgaston]

I had really been looking forward to staying at the CBR in October. I guess I'll just wait for the call and see what I can do then. I'm really disappointed because I had specifically picked the CBR for this visit. Drat!

 

[jaguar9748]

Kim -

I understand your disappointment. Disney management sometimes works in mysterious ways! I feel sorry for the folks at CRO - they are going to get a lot of abuse unfortunately.

POR is a great resort. If you have any questions, let me know.

 

[Terk-1]

Although I am disappointed that CBR will be closed, there is nothing for me to get mad at. According to the CM I spoke to yesterday, CRO just found out about this. I do not believe that they intentionally took my money. I made my ressies awhile ago and have made changes to them to first get the new discount code, then to change it again to get the AP rate (even cheaper). I was looking forward to staying there, since this would have been my first time, but after speaking with the CM last night, I understand the reasoning for the complete closure and will just plan on staying at CBR for my vacation next year. My ressies are not until the the beginning of December, but will wait 2 weeks, then call and check in with CRO to see where I stand in the call list. Since I still have time to play with, I'm not jumping the gun. I currently have ressies at the Animal Kingdom Lodge and the Wilderness Lodge under the AP rate too. I'm hoping for either the Polynesian or Contemporary over by the Magic Kingdom or one of the EPCOT resorts, but will see what they have to say. When I asked her what resorts they would be offering in exchange of the CBR, she said that she would know this Tuesday. The CM was very informative, very polite and very honest. So, to answer your question, nope I'm not mad. There is no point to me getting angry, especially with the CRO CM's. If I do, it will just ruin my trip planning and trust me, I've been planning this trip for a long time.

 

[DeeCeeSW]

I feel for everyone who is going to be displaced because of the renovation. However, I will be *royally* pissed if the Polynesian is offered to you at a lower price than I am paying to stay there, even with the discount codes. The exchange should be an even one--moderate for moderate. Otherwise, I believe that all should pay the deluxe price that I am paying if they want to stay at the Poly or CR.

Just my 2 cents.

Dawn
NJ

 

[WDWHound]

Sorry DeeCeeSW, but I must disagree. Disney has changed the plans of all of us who booked CBR without asking us. I would have scheduled my vacation at another time if I had known CBR would not be available. Now I must take the trip even though the resort I want is not available, since my airline tickets are not refundable. I feel I deserve some form of compensation for having my vacation plans changed against my wishes. An upgrade seems a fair way to do that. It effects no one but those who have had their plans unexpectedly modified by this change.

 

[AF Brenda]

I agree 100% WDWHound. IMO, there is really no difference in offering the upgrade than there is in offering other discounts. People paying rack rates are probably irritated that other guests were able to get AP or other discounts.

 

[Kim&Chris]

I also agree, WDWHound.

Had I been able to afford Poly or Contemporary, I would have booked them initially. However, I can't afford the rates, so that's why we booked CBR.

It's not our fault that Disney does this stuff without communicating with the guests or their cast members at CRO. So, if they feel like throwing a little compensation my way, I'm going to take it.

However, with all that in mind, I'd still trade a Poly stay for a CBR stay. We spent our honeymoon at CBR, so it has sentimental value for us

 

[opal]

Disney was taking reservations for CBR as recently as this past Sat. when I called to get room rate info. Called back on Sunday to book and they were no longer booking that resort. My dates are 1/4/03 - 1/10/03. CR told me that they hope to be open in December but they still wouldn't book for Jan?????

I booked PO even though we really don't care for that resort. But at least we have something while we decide if we will stay on or off site.

If you have already booked at CBR, it doesn't it seem fair to offer you something that will cost you more. But if you have already laid out unrefundable $$$$ for airfare and got the family excited about going, I guess they know they have you hooked.

It just seems a little ironic that this decision was announced within a day or two of their less than spectatular earning report.

 

[GeorgeG]

My wife just called CRO about this and they said there is a special team who will be contacting those of us with reservations for the renovation period. I guess they will be the people who can offer the best options, so it may be best to wait for them rather than deal with a CRO rep who is probably just as much in the dark as we are.

I agree that WDW had to know about this when most of made our reservations and they should have offered other options at that time. It sounds like when airlines intentionally overbook flights so they will be guaranteed a full plane even if some cancel.

I've been a die-hard WDW fan for many years and I have to admit a little of the "magic" is beginning to slip away. I'm pretty sure Port Orleans and Coronado Springs will never be able to accomodate everyone from CBR. Unless they will be offering free upgrades to deluxe resorts, that could mean they figured all along a "captive" crowd would rather shell out more money than cancel their vacation plans. The other side of the coin is settling for the All-Star resorts if we aren't willing to pay more.

We certainly shouldn't complain about the CBR being re-done, but had they been up-front about this, we could have planned better from the start.

 

[swankybeth]

I'm actually a little happy that CBR is closing. My boyfriend is supposed to stay there for 8 nights in November, visiting me while I'm on the college program. His first choice would have been CSR, but that wasn't offered at the $79 rate. So, we will probably end up with our first choice resort anyway, or get to stay in an even better one (deluxe!). I figure, we'll eventually get to stay at CBR, now we just might get to move up a category!

 

[jennz]

Kim&Chris, I TOTALLY agree with you. I'm not angry with CRO, but rather Disney management. I don't understand how anyone can NOT be angry at this - my family and I have paid a total of $1800 for a surprise trip for my DH's 40th birthday; our two closest friends and their families are joining us, from different places in the country, also spending thousands of dollars; we all deliberated and finally chose CBR, Disney management apparantly didn't think we needed to know that it wouldn't be available but thought it was okay to take our money. If I was buying a car, paid for it, and then was told "oh gee we don't have this model, but our special team will be contacting you to let you know which one you can have" I'd sue for breach of contract. Not saying that I'm going to sue Disney - don't send me nasty emails! - just trying to make my point of how WRONG I think this is! No, it's not the same as buying a new car, but we sure have been looking forward to it! JMHO

 

[Lewisc]

Disney decided it was better to close the resort rather than keep it open, subjecting you to noise and having to go to another resort to eat and use a pool. I'm sure Disney will get your group rooms in another moderate resort. If all the other moderate resorts are booked I'm sure you'll get an upgrade to deluxe at the same price. If the other moderates are heavily but not fully booked you may get a chance to upggrade to a deluxe at a very attractive rate. If you want to cancel your trip or stay offsite I'm sure Disney will wiave whatever cancellation penalties may be applicable to your reservation.
I'm sure the CM that took your reservation didn't know the resort would be closed.
I understand people who spent time picking a particular resort may be disappointed but let's not make a mountain out of molehill.

 

[WDWHound]

Originally posted by Lewisc
Disney decided it was better to close the resort rather than keep it open, subjecting you to noise and having to go to another resort to eat and use a pool. I'm sure Disney will get your group rooms in another moderate resort. If all the other moderate resorts are booked I'm sure you'll get an upgrade to deluxe at the same price. If the other moderates are heavily but not fully booked you may get a chance to upggrade to a deluxe at a very attractive rate. If you want to cancel your trip or stay offsite I'm sure Disney will wiave whatever cancellation penalties may be applicable to your reservation.
I'm sure the CM that took your reservation didn't know the resort would be closed.
I understand people who spent time picking a particular resort may be disappointed but let's not make a mountain out of molehill.

All we are saying is that Disney managament must have known about this months ago, and they should have told CRO to stop taking ressies at that point. They changed my vacation without my permission and yes, that bothers me. If they couldn't have avoided it, it would have been different, but this could have easily been avoided by informing CRO not to take reservations when they made the decision to remodel. I purchased a product in good faith, and Disney switched the product. You may feel that canceling and staying off site is an option, but I don't, I want what I paid for in the first place or at least some effort to indictate they regret changing my plans like this.

Look, I will be reasonable about this. I wont let it ruin my vacation. If offered another morderate (besides CS), I will probably take it, but CBR has a very special, romantic history for us that no other resort has. The option of experiencing that has been removed from me and is nothing they can do to replace it. It may mean nothing to you, but it is a substancial loss to me and my wife. We would not have chosen September for our vacation if we had known CBR would not be available, but now we are commited.

I just expected more from Disney. No mountains from molehills here, just disappointment that Disney management doesn't seem to care about this sort of thing anymore Hopefully Disney will prove me wrong. Only time will tell.

 

[PlutosMom]

I am sorry for those that are affected by the CBR 'unexpected' renovation close. Many of us who had ressies after 9/11 of last year had a similar experience when some of the resorts temporily closed as a result of decreased attendance. We were one of those families and our trip was our first Christmas at Disney.

We had POR ressies and were excited as we'd not previously stayed at that Resort. We got "the call" and were initially offered another moderate resort (CBR). I was slightly disappointed as we'd stayed at CBR our last 3 visits and were looking forward to 'expanding our horizons'! As I was discussing with the CM what other options were available (besides the offer she presented, and yes I had to ask), we ended up getting disconnected. I took a deep breath and decided not to let my annoyance get the best of me -- sometimes hard to do!

The next day another CM called and immediately offered AKL for $89/night; the same rate as my CBR ressie. 2 days prior to our 12/25 arrival, I faxed and politely asked for a Savannah View room with bunk beds for our 15 and 16 year old son and daughter. When we arrived, our wish was granted!

While we were very appreciate of the AKL at this great rate, the fact is once we got to Disney it probably didn't matter where we stayed (on property) ... we, as always, simply loved being there and enjoying our time together as a family. Yes, this is easy for me to say this since my experience resulted in a true "upgrade" and I may have had less positive feelings if that had not happened. Not sure.

My point is ... sometimes the 'process' of getting to Disney is frustrating. Once there, however, the 'process' takes on less importance as you enjoy the Disney magic. Good look to you all on getting a positive resolution to your ressies!

 

[tinkerbell1967]

I just called Disney and the CM told me that they would have people calling everyone that booked around Sept 8. She told me that everyone that had reservations there would be offered another moderate. She also told me that she herself was just given a memo today about the CBR being closed. Whether this is true or not I don't know but this is what she told me.

 

[jennymouse]

I would've been in the same boat had I not switched to AKL when the codes came out. I probably would've laughed more than gotten mad because my origional ressie made 10 months ago was at POR...then I switched to CSR when parts of POR & the boat quit running to DD...then I switched to CBR when there were so many negative reviews coming in and the bus to Boardwalk was stopped. So, if I had CBR ressies and had to switch to POR, it would've been kind of ironic for me.

I'm wondering too if there isn't a connection here somewhere with the fact that CSR wasn't offered in the code rates that just came out. I wonder if they were saving that open for displaced CBR people. I don't know.....I think you guys will probably get some great upgrade rates and probably WL or AKL at the same rate for your discounted moderates. Of course I could be wrong.

 

[jennz]

Lewisc: I guess I feel that it's my mountain if I want it to be. That's great that they don't want to have people at a resort that's being rehabbed. Didn't this idea cross their minds when they planned the rehab? Or are you implying that they just thought of it within the last few hours? Or perhaps a rehab is being planned in 3 weeks? The "they" I refer to, as I stated in my prior post, is management who is in charge of this, not the CM or CRO. Obviously if I wanted to stay off site I wouldn't have booked the CBR, and if I wanted to stay at another resort I would have. Cancel and lose $800 in airfare or pay a penalty for switching? Not an option for us. I'm glad this upset you. It does upset me, and these are my feelings. I'm not looking for approval.