AoA and given suite upgrade today..how do they choose who gets them?

[kstetz]

We checked in aoa today and had a mermaid room. The cm asked if we wanted a free upgrade to the lion king suites. We have two girls so had to make sure they wanted to give up the mermaid room they have been talking about for 6 months. We forgot to ask, but how do they choose to offer upgrades to?

 

[scdak]

I am not normally a cynical person but my thoughts would be they had lots of Lion King suites available and not enough Little Mermaid rooms so they asked people when checking in if they wanted an upgrade, once they have enough people taking the upgrades to have enough LM rooms they will stop asking. Sort of like airlines - when they are overbooked they ask for people willing to be bumped, they start with the least compensation they can, if they don't get enough volunteers they up the ante! I have sat there many a day listening to the offers increase as flight time gets closer wishing I could take them up on it but usually I am in a time constraint and can't do it.

 

[dansdad]

If the room you were originally assigned is no longer available, for say a maintenance issue, and there are no more rooms of that type available they will ask if you would like an upgrade. If you decline, then they will now assign you a room in the category you booked that was assigned to someone else that hasn't checked in yet. Then, when that group arrives to check in, they will ask them if they want to upgrade. And it goes from there.

 

[Lynne M]

It's usually because of overbooking, or operational reasons - they needed the room that they would originally have assigned you to, so they had to put you somewhere else. For the guest, it's pretty much just a matter of being in the right place at the right time.

 

[chrystalc77]

We checked in aoa today and had a mermaid room. The cm asked if we wanted a free upgrade to the lion king suites. We have two girls so had to make sure they wanted to give up the mermaid room they have been talking about for 6 months. We forgot to ask, but how do they choose to offer upgrades to?

So I'm curious.....did your DDs agree to the upgrade and if so how are you liking the suite?

 

[ADisneyQueen]

Just wondering what time of day you were checking in? Maybe there is more of a chance if it is late at night?

 

[goofy4tink]

I am not normally a cynical person but my thoughts would be they had lots of Lion King suites available and not enough Little Mermaid rooms so they asked people when checking in if they wanted an upgrade, once they have enough people taking the upgrades to have enough LM rooms they will stop asking. Sort of like airlines - when they are overbooked they ask for people willing to be bumped, they start with the least compensation they can, if they don't get enough volunteers they up the ante! I have sat there many a day listening to the offers increase as flight time gets closer wishing I could take them up on it but usually I am in a time constraint and can't do it.

Pretty much why. I know that when a great deal comes out for the value resorts, people flock to them. Disney allows all those people to book the room they want. But, they assume that some will cancel. Well...when the number of expected cancellations doesn't happen, Disney has to now move people around. So, you see people being offered upgrades. There was one time that Pop was ridiculously overbooked...they started putting guests over at SSRs!! Talk about an upgrade. Of course, if your kids had their hearts set on a particular resort, an upgrade to a completely different place might not look so great.

 

[ashleypcarrillo]

They really do try to upgrade as many families that they can. They want as many guests to have a magical moment at check in as possible. However, at Art of Animation, they reach capacity quite quickly so it's not often feasible to upgrade. Occasionally it will happen but not usually during peak season.

 

[maddiebee]

They really do try to upgrade as many families that they can. They want as many guests to have a magical moment at check in as possible. However, at Art of Animation, they reach capacity quite quickly so it's not often feasible to upgrade. Occasionally it will happen but not usually during peak season.

Do upgrades typically happen more for families/larger parties?

 

[ashleypcarrillo]

If you only have 2 people in your party, probably not. But as long as you have kids they understand you can never have too much space haha

 

[wdwfan1]

We were 2 adults when we were upgraded from POP to Yacht Club. The manager of the YC called and asked "if we would do him the honor of staying there". POP must have been seriously overbooked. We enjoyed our stay before moving to BWV.

 

[ashleypcarrillo]

Yes if a hotel is overbooked they have to upgrade you or switch you to a different hotel. But if you're looking for an upgrade within your own hotel, the size of your party is a slight consideration

 

[SmallWorld71]

Do upgrades typically happen more for families/larger parties?

Not from what I've read on here. I've actually read more reports of smaller groups/ parties of 2 being moved, but that just may be coincidence.

I would love to get upgraded to a suite!

OP- Did you take it?

 

[drgnfly30]

We were 2 adults when we were upgraded from POP to Yacht Club. The manager of the YC called and asked "if we would do him the honor of staying there". POP must have been seriously overbooked. We enjoyed our stay before moving to BWV.

Now that's the kind of upgrade I want!!!

 

[kstetz]

We checked in at 1:00. Dd said yes? I told her we would be back again to do an Ariel It was a great decision. So close to the pool, food, bus great space for a 2 and 6 year old! Love the room!

 

[Fivemuggles]

There was one time that Pop was ridiculously overbooked...they started putting guests over at SSRs!! Talk about an upgrade.

Yup this happened to us last trip! They emailed us a choice of either SSR or Old key west I believe- this was during the pre-dis days for me, so we chose SSR. I def would have chosen OKW if I would have done my homework better haha!

 

[fall08CP]

They really do try to upgrade as many families that they can. They want as many guests to have a magical moment at check in as possible. However, at Art of Animation, they reach capacity quite quickly so it's not often feasible to upgrade. Occasionally it will happen but not usually during peak season.

Huh? I've worked at 4 Disney resorts and this is absolutely incorrect It's 100% due to operational need, and usually couples or short stays (1-2 nights) were the ones who were bumped up. The highest cost rooms are regularly left unoccupied. We never upgraded for a magical moment- sorry if that ruins the magic!

 

[debelfish]

We were upgraded on June 16th from a LM room to a Cars Suite. However, I booked the Little Mermaid room just an hour before we checked in. We drove for Virginia and decided to drive straight through. I needed a room quickly and the LM room was cheaper than going to POR where we were checking in on the 17th. So if they weren't any LM rooms left how did we book one from the road?I do think shorter stays make it easier to be upgraded.
Elizabeth

 

[goofy4tink]

They really do try to upgrade as many families that they can. They want as many guests to have a magical moment at check in as possible. However, at Art of Animation, they reach capacity quite quickly so it's not often feasible to upgrade. Occasionally it will happen but not usually during peak season.

If you only have 2 people in your party, probably not. But as long as you have kids they understand you can never have too much space haha

Yes if a hotel is overbooked they have to upgrade you or switch you to a different hotel. But if you're looking for an upgrade within your own hotel, the size of your party is a slight consideration

See below...

Huh? I've worked at 4 Disney resorts and this is absolutely incorrect It's 100% due to operational need, and usually couples or short stays (1-2 nights) were the ones who were bumped up. The highest cost rooms are regularly left unoccupied. We never upgraded for a magical moment- sorry if that ruins the magic!

Yes, Disney CMs like to provide magical moments. But they aren't going to be upgrading a family from a LM room to a family suite just to be magical!! If the LM rooms are overbooked, then yes, they will offer the upgrade.
I have stayed at WDW resorts more than 35 times. Only once did I get an upgrade and I truly think that was due to my TA's asking for one. We got a lake view vs a parking lot view at the old North bldg at the CR. Other than that, dh was the only other time and he was traveling with our dd....other dd and I were already staying at Pop and then moving to BWV. Dh checked into the YC, for business, and was upgraded to concierge!!!

Upgrades, other than for overbooking, just don't happen that often. Yes, we hear of it happening here, on these boards. And it would look like it happens more often than it really does. But look at how many people are checking into WDW resorts, every day. Maybe 1% are given an upgrade. It just isn't all that common.

 

[Missytara]

They really do try to upgrade as many families that they can. They want as many guests to have a magical moment at check in as possible. However, at Art of Animation, they reach capacity quite quickly so it's not often feasible to upgrade. Occasionally it will happen but not usually during peak season.

Huh?

That does not satisfy stockholders if you constantly give away resort rooms that command a much higher price randomly all the time to those who did not pay for them.