Can someone tell me if this is true?

[lucyanna girl]

We leave next week for WDW. I originally had reservations for Caribbean Beach but had to swap to Port Orleans Riverside when AP rates came out.

We live in Louisiana so the Port Orleans resorts are very much like our home state. I would prefer to see something different while on vacation. Due to the fact that I am taking two of DD's friends on this trip and paying all of their expenses a moderate is as much as I am willing to spend on a room.

I have been calling periodically to try to switch to either Caribbean Beach or Coronado Springs for a different atmosphere. CMs have all been nice but no other availability.

Today the CM I spoke with told me that if there is a cancellation the room does not go back at AP rates but at full price.
Is this true?

I would not have expected this and feel that if it is true it really isn't quite right. Maybe my opinion is incorrect but I would think that if a room is earmarked as AP rate it should go back into the system as such.

Penny

 

[Buzz2001]

I believe that is true.

 

[lucyanna girl]

Thanks. I guess there isn't any use checking back for a resort swap. Oh well, I'm just excited to be going!

Penny

 

[aynt79]

I don't know how the system works, but I don't think it's completely true. There are many times I've tried for FL resident rates and got nothing, but searched again and suddenly a room with a discount is available. Could they be from canceled reservations? I don't know, I would keep trying. Also be sure to check the Disney online reservations as well, sometimes they can show different availability than CRO.

 

[SnowWtch]

It's still a nice resort and I'm sure you'll have fun. I grew up in Louisiana (born and raised in New Orleans) so I know where you're coming from but we love both of the Port Orleans resorts b/c they feel like home. I thought I wouldn't b/c of the theme but I've found that it makes it even more special b/c it feels like coming home.

 

[gigi1313]

may i make a suggestion... go thru w/your ressie and when you get to POR just explain that the theming feels "too close to home" and indicate that you think you made a mistake in choosing a resort and ask if there is any way you could switch over to CBR or CSR for a change of pace... if there is availability at that time, they will likely let you switch w/no add'l fees...

it's worth a try!

 

[mickeyluv'r]

One thing about POFQ is that it is the most compact of all the mods. Therefore you will spend a LOT less time walking from place to place (room, pool room restaurant room - at the other mods it can take up to 15 minutes to talk from your room to the pool/food court. Most rooms will be at least 10min to make a one way trip.) It is close to POR either, so staying at one kind of gives you some of both. The pool at POFQ is one of the best themed pools on property. POR has horse carriage rides, another restaurant) POFQ has a boat ride to DTD- these two are the only moderate resorts that have somethig other than a bus as transportation from the resort.

Funny thing is that I grew up in NE and have always felt the same way about BC/YC...now though, I would love to stay there.

Theming is an important reason to pick a resort, but not the only one. Before you pre-decide you DON't like it, take a little time to explore it. The theming there is quite fanciful. Many people find it is their favorite moderate. It is the only place on property that will give you a taste of home, as far as the food goes.

 

[NHTikiBeckie]

Yes it is true basically. They have a certain number of rooms at that rate, and unless someone with that rate cancels, you will not get the discount.

 

[CleveRocks]

Here is the correct answer:

Disney offers and/or allows discounts in order to sell rooms that are not otherwise selling well enough. Rooms that are selling well enough are not offered at a lower rate ... Disney has no need to reduce the price or offer incentives such as Free Dining on rooms that are selling perfectly well by themselves.

For each level of room at each resort for each date, Disney has a super-secret target occupancy rate. So let's take Caribbean Beach Resort as an example. It has 2,112 rooms (and for simplicity, I'll ignore the fact that there are 4 different classes/levels of rooms there, I'll just blend it all together for this example).

So let's hypothetically say that the super-secret target occupancy rate for any given day is 80%. That means that for any given day, if CBR has more than 1,690 rooms already reserved for that day then no further discounts/promotions are honored or offered.

So let's say they have 2,001 rooms already rented for the days you want to stay there on a AAA discount. Even if one person cancels their AAA-discounted reservation, CBR still has 2,000 rooms rented for your time period. Since 2,000 is well above the target occupancy of 1,690 rooms, no further discounts are offered.

So it's not a matter of a certain number of rooms set aside for a discount ... it's whether or not the occupancy rate is currently above or below the target occupancy rate. It's unlikely that one cancellation will dip the occupancy rate below the target number, but it does happen on occasion.

 

[iloverags2]

I have often called looking for a particular resort and discount rate (be it AP or FL resident) and after having no luck for several days, will happen upon a discount finally. So there is a chance a room will be available at the discount, albeit a small chance.