Bad news

[VAfamily1998]

You could ask if that swanky room in the castle is open.

I like this idea!

 

[danikoski]

You could ask if one of the bungalows is open...that'd be kind of neat...or if one of the cabins at WL is open...

 

[Mamabun]

I'm so sorry this has happened. Something similar happened with my sister a few years ago. One of the things I love most about my little sister is that she is a heck of a negotiator. Here's what ended up working for her, though certainly not ideal....

1) She checked availability on the website, so she knew at least some of what was available at Disney, for her dates. (of course, there may be availability not showing on the website...).
2) She found an acceptable available suite at an off-site hotel, for a considerably higher cost.
3) She called Disney and asked for
a) what they were offering (it was a no go, an actual downgrade with no compensation)
b) something that she knew was available at Disney and acceptable to her, even though it was more expensive than her original room (but her original room was an expensive suite), they said no
c) for them to pay for the suite she would book offsite, as she had paid and planned for a fancy suite vacation, and they were not providing it - they said no to this, but she was able to get a manager on the line and magically they were now able to say yes to (b).

Note she was always asking for something that was acceptable for her. She never asked for money back, or additional compensation, because that would not have been okay for her.

From the second-hand accounts I got, it seemed like she had to play harder ball with Disney than I would have expected. But in the end, she did a have a wonderful vacation and I hope you do too.

 

[Micca]

Well that's very disappointing. I hope you get to make your case to someone with empathy and the authority to make some magic for you.

 

[DaisyDuck001]

You could ask if one of the bungalows is open...that'd be kind of neat...or if one of the cabins at WL is open...

I was also going to suggest this, or a Treehouse or a Ft. Wilderness cabin.

If none of these are available, then is there any way to re-book your original suite for a later date?

 

[goofy kc]

A couple of summers back we had a truly horrible experience at WL - so bad it left me in tears. Went to the desk and asked to speak to a manager to share our story and we were moved to concierge at GF. It was a nice option but our visit still had a negative cloud...still won't stay at WL no matter what they call it. Point is there are rooms. There are always rooms. Share your disappointment and insist on being taken care of.

 

[AdamEfimoff]

Four Seasons Hotel! (joke)
Is any other suite available pick those. And ask for a refund
or the castle suite.

But really that is not acceptable behaviour by Disney.

 

[jklmw]

We called and spoke to the original CM.
She said nothing was available
My DH asked to speak to a manger.
We are waiting for him to call us back.
My husband asked about the issue and the Manager said it was because of the hurricane, my husband asked why didn't Disney call us 10 days ago? Instead of calling us this morning.
That's when the manager said he would call us back. So, now we wait. I'll keep you all posted. Again. Feeling the positive vibes.

 

[ArwenMarie]

ArwenMarie, curious to see if this situation happened to you before.? if so, how did Disney resolve it? If it hasn't happened to you before, reasonable for you and reasonable for me are obviously two different things. I hope in the future when you reserve what you want, you never have to find a reasonable alternative.

I'm just saying from Disney's point of view, offering you a similar suite at a Deluxe Hotel on the monorail is a reasonable substitution. If they offered you a room at Pop, it wouldn't be. That's all I was saying.

If it was me, I would take my money elsewhere if I wasn't happy.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

Is it a suite at contemporary or just a room? Or club level room?

 

[AdamEfimoff]

Oh in that case I totally forgot about the hurricane (thats no-ones fault). Just go to Portifino Bay, Four Seasons , Waldof. And ask for your money back

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

We called and spoke to the original CM.
She said nothing was available
My DH asked to speak to a manger.
We are waiting for him to call us back.
My husband asked about the issue and the Manager said it was because of the hurricane, my husband asked why didn't Disney call us 10 days ago? Instead of calling us this morning.
That's when the manager said he would call us back. So, now we wait. I'll keep you all posted. Again. Feeling the positive vibes.

I suppose it could be the hurricane but sounds strange that 16 days later..now there would be a mechanical issues. The hurricane was September 10th-11th. Having had been there during the hurricane I'm honestly not positive if I heard any issues with the actual rooms/property themselves. The vast vast majority was tree damage. I did see pics of a roof piece here and there from the Poly and I want to say siding damage from one of the resorts at the Boardwalk (trying to remember if am remembering that correctly); there may have been damage though to actual rooms that I didn't hear about. Obviously I've got no idea I'm just truthfully finding it odd that they are finding damage over 2 weeks later that puts the room out of commission. Could still very much be a mechanical issue for sure just musings out loud.

 

[ArwenMarie]

Oh in that case I totally forgot about the hurricane (thats no-ones fault). Just go to Portifino Bay, Four Seasons , Waldof. And ask for your money back

Exactly. Lots of great hotel options in Orlando. No need to beg Disney to take your money!

 

[AdamEfimoff]

I suppose it could be the hurricane but sounds strange that 16 days later..now there would be a mechanical issues. The hurricane was September 10th-11th. Having had been there during the hurricane I'm honestly not positive if I heard any issues with the actual rooms/property themselves. The vast vast majority was tree damage. I did see pics of a roof piece here and there from the Poly and I want to say siding damage from one of the resorts at the Boardwalk (trying to remember if am remembering that correctly); there may have been damage though to actual rooms that I didn't hear about. Obviously I've got no idea I'm just truthfully finding it odd that they are finding damage over 2 weeks later that puts the room out of commission. Could still very much be a mechanical issue for sure just musings out loud.

Even so they could of called the op

 

[ArwenMarie]

Even so they could of called the op

They might have thought it would have been fixed by then?

 

[AdamEfimoff]

They might have thought it would have been fixed by then?

As a hotel you want to under sell and over deliver. Why not say to them your suite might not be ready we are having problems. And then give them options.If the suite was ready then give them that great. If not you reduce your risk of this happening

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Even so they could of called the op

For sure. And I wasn't saying they shouldn't (just because I didn't mention anything about calling part didn't mean I didn't think they should give customers a heads up).

I was explaining that I was finding it odd that they would explain the room being out of commission on the hurricane...that occured..16 days ago moreso based on that again damage was vastly related to trees. The room could still have mechanical issues (not necessarily doubting that). I'm wondering if they are providing the hurricane as a reason to perhaps make the OP more understanding/amicable to the room being out of service ("oh my the hurricane oh well yes I can understand that" is quite easy to imagine someone's response). It's entirely possible there is another reason the room is unavailable too and it's quite possible the room received damage from the hurricane it's just hadn't really heard any reports of rooms actually being damaged (at least me personally hadn't heard).

 

[danikoski]

We called and spoke to the original CM.
She said nothing was available
My DH asked to speak to a manger.
We are waiting for him to call us back.
My husband asked about the issue and the Manager said it was because of the hurricane, my husband asked why didn't Disney call us 10 days ago? Instead of calling us this morning.
That's when the manager said he would call us back. So, now we wait. I'll keep you all posted. Again. Feeling the positive vibes.

Make sure to really think about what would make you happy if you can't have the honeymoon suite. Think of options, suggest those options, and don't back down until you feel satisfied with the result. Disney waited until this morning to call you. It is in their best interest to find a solution that meets everyone's needs, and to a certain extent, wants, because that's good customer service. It's what Disney prides itself on. So keep on pushing...good luck.

 

[mom2rtk]

Four Seasons Hotel! (joke)
Is any other suite available pick those. And ask for a refund
or the castle suite.

But really that is not acceptable behaviour by Disney.

I was only kidding about the castle suite suggestion. That's not going to happen.

 

[ArwenMarie]

As a hotel you want to under sell and over deliver. Why not say to them your suite might not be ready we are having problems. And then give them options.If the suite was ready then give them that great. If not you reduce your risk of this happening

Definitely. I think this is terrible. I'm just not surprised at all coming from Disney.