CBR refurb -what would you do..

[Dazed]

I've just received the e-mail from Disney about planned refurb at CBR. It sounds MAJOR. ''There WILL BE construction work and ADDITIONALLY, the food court, the dining room, the shop and the pool bar WILL BE closed for refurb..''
It's a very expensive trip for us. Myself and 3 DSs to celebrate youngest's 21st. May 20th ,13 nights preferred room/DDP/tickets/flights from Uk all booked. There's no doubt we will still want to stay on site. Is there any point in contacting Disney? Have others in a similar position had any luck with being moved to alternate resort?
What would others who have stayed while major refurb at their food courts has happened suggest?
I was really looking forward to a first visit to CBR and spent happy hours trawling these boards for resort pictures etc. Just now feeling a bit gutted.

 

[CanadianMouseDad]

I contacted them and spoke to the highest on the food chain (or so they told me) and they said there was nothing they could do.

 

[HopperFan]

Since you are on the DDP, I would be looking at my schedule to utilize it in the parks and Disney Springs. The offerings at the resort are going to be scaled back and without any atmosphere. No reason you shouldn't enjoy your meals.

 

[rosiebean]

I've just received the e-mail from Disney about planned refurb at CBR. It sounds MAJOR. ''There WILL BE construction work and ADDITIONALLY, the food court, the dining room, the shop and the pool bar WILL BE closed for refurb..''
It's a very expensive trip for us. Myself and 3 DSs to celebrate youngest's 21st. May 20th ,13 nights preferred room/DDP/tickets/flights from Uk all booked. There's no doubt we will still want to stay on site. Is there any point in contacting Disney? Have others in a similar position had any luck with being moved to alternate resort?
What would others who have stayed while major refurb at their food courts has happened suggest?
I was really looking forward to a first visit to CBR and spent happy hours trawling these boards for resort pictures etc. Just now feeling a bit gutted.

Honestly, if WDW refused to discount my rate (given that I was getting reduced services), I would cancel altogether and not go or move to an offsite resort. And I would send as many emails/letters up the food chain as possible letting the bigwigs know why while simultaneously publicizing the poor customer service to my friends/family via social networking sites.

The construction that will be going on at CBR this summer is major, and as someone who has worked in PR (in the hospitality industry during parts of my career), I do not understand how seemingly unprepared WDW has been at dealing with the fall out from this. With so many reduced services, at the very least, they should be offering a discount to people who are impacted and who call and ask about that. Even if they legally can say "well, you pay what you pay and we can take away services at any time", it looks bad bad bad that they expect a large amount of people to pay the same price for no table service, no pool bar, no gift shop, etc. (major reasons why some people CHOOSE CBR) as people who got those same services before. It. Just. Looks. Bad. A 10% discount for that kind of inconvenience will pay out in the long run. Saying, "nope, sorry, sucks to be you" is not good business, even a business as big as Disney.

I imagine that discounts will be offered soon (as discounts at Poly during their major construction were available at that time). Just surprised they weren't prepared to deal with this ahead of time.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I would ask to be moved and if it wasn't possible I would cancel my trip. No way would I stay there during that much construction. I pushed back a trip when the Poly had construction. Disney will be there next month or next year.

 

[mousehockey37]

Hey mods, sounds like we got some threads to merge... https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...ings-at-cbr-help.3580432/page-5#post-57158913

 

[Moxiepup]

I just got off the phone with guest services. We ended up moving from CBR to PORS. The CM, although very nice, said they weren't giving any compensation, so we ended up having to pay $112 more. I was really looking forward to staying at CBR. I've actually always wanted to stay at the Poly, but CBR seemed to at least have a nice tropical feel to it. I requested the Alligator Bayou section, as at least that has nice lush plantings, as opposed to the more formal looking Magnolia Bend section. Hopefully we're able to get in that area, otherwise the whole "feel" of what I was looking forward to will be lost. This is our very first time staying on Disney Property. I spent several weeks researching resorts and then tonight had to do all that research in the course of an hour.
I hope we made the right decision!

 

[MamaJessie]

DH and I have gone back and forth on this one. We are sticking with our CBR reservation - and will hope for the best. If it is so intrusive we cannot enjoy ourselves we will have to address that with Disney then.

 

[Tia1977]

We moved earlier today to PORS too (well my awesome TA helped facilitate). $374 more bc we bumped up to pref (we had water view @ CBR). Pref wasn't necessary, but not being familiar with it; I wanted less stress worrying about getting a good room/building location. Breaks my Disney heart bc we LOVE CBR But for the cost, that's a huge inconvenience. Especially if you have the DDP. We have an AP & are in the parks a lot. But, we do still eat @ the resort. Not to mention we like the option of a bar for our pool time (don't judge lol!) It makes the only "perk" being there the transportation (in my opinion). I just can't justify the inconvenience. I'd rather settle for another resort in the meantime, and go back to our CBR home when it's all said and done.

 

[rosiebean]

But, we do still eat @ the resort. Not to mention we like the option of a bar for our pool time (don't judge lol!) It makes the only "perk" being there the transportation (in my opinion). I just can't justify the inconvenience. I'd rather settle for another resort in the meantime, and go back to our CBR home when it's all said and done.

First, not judging at all, because being able to enjoy a restful cocktail at various times (depending on our daily schedule) is always a part of my family's WDW trips! Even if we only partake of resort bar service a handful of times during our trip, lack of bar service without nearby options would cross a resort off our list.

And, yes, the only 'perk' with this construction is the transportation and maybe the theming and *maybe* the pool if you have little kids (maybe). Why on earth would someone choose to pay double what they'd pay for a value resort for far fewer perks??? Seriously, food trucks vs a food court and sit down restaurant, no pool bar, no gift shop...and WDW expects people with CBR reservations during that time to pay the *more* than they would at a value??? The mind truly boggles.

I don't necessarily think people staying during such severe construction (esp those who booked before construction was announced) deserve HUGE discounts as has been mentioned. But good googely moogely, they deserve something in return if only as a sign of respect for the customer.

 

[Dazed]

I would ask to be moved and if it wasn't possible I would cancel my trip. No way would I stay there during that much construction. I pushed back a trip when the Poly had construction. Disney will be there next month or next year.

Thanks all. Feeling better after a nights sleep Cancelling not an option -flights non refundable and cost about £2000! I've spoken with disney (after 40 min hold then lost line and 35min hold -thankfully it's a freephone number!)- as others have said, any change will cost and no goodwill gesture offered -available for a move was POR £600 extra or POFQ <£100 extra. I'm considering POFQ but I need to have a think and see what my boys thoughts are. I have an e-mail to disney to compose as well!

 

[Nancyg56]

I just got off the phone with guest services. We ended up moving from CBR to PORS. The CM, although very nice, said they weren't giving any compensation, so we ended up having to pay $112 more. I was really looking forward to staying at CBR. I've actually always wanted to stay at the Poly, but CBR seemed to at least have a nice tropical feel to it. I requested the Alligator Bayou section, as at least that has nice lush plantings, as opposed to the more formal looking Magnolia Bend section. Hopefully we're able to get in that area, otherwise the whole "feel" of what I was looking forward to will be lost. This is our very first time staying on Disney Property. I spent several weeks researching resorts and then tonight had to do all that research in the course of an hour.
I hope we made the right decision!

I think you will be happy with Riverside, and also think that the additional money is money well spent. I have stayed at a resort that was just undergoing a CS restaurant refurb, and will never do so again, so when I saw the amount if disruption CBR was undergoing, I would have suggested you stay anywhere else.

POR is lovely, and the water taxi to DS is a favorite method of travel for us, especially in the evening, It it a pretty trip.

 

[Hopefully]

I would not wait long to decide. I believe POR and POFQ will book fast

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I would not wait long to decide. I believe POR and POFQ will book fast

I agree! I would book POFQ ASAP!!

 

[Nancyg56]

Thanks all. Feeling better after a nights sleep Cancelling not an option -flights non refundable and cost about £2000! I've spoken with disney (after 40 min hold then lost line and 35min hold -thankfully it's a freephone number!)- as others have said, any change will cost and no goodwill gesture offered -available for a move was POR £600 extra or POFQ <£100 extra. I'm considering POFQ but I need to have a think and see what my boys thoughts are. I have an e-mail to disney to compose as well!

Don't wait too long.

I think that a well thought out email to Guest Relations is in order as well. I generally am good with most things that disney does, and feel that as a business they can raise their rates, make changes to their menus, etc. as they see fit. As a consumer, I can decide if I want to pay the freight or go elsewhere. I am NOT okay when Disney changes the level of comfort or amenities on a resort they sold me and then tells me or anyone else, to take it or leave it. I keep bringing up the Poly fiasco, but that one really should have taught Disney a lesson, other than a message that there will be some construction taking place. Coaching CM's to downplay the impact, refusing to move guests unless they agree to pay more to do so, and by refusing to reduce the cost to compensate for the inconveniences that will be in place? This just tells me that there are some in DIsney's decision making "committee" who are grossly overpaid and Underskilled.

I firmly believe that Disney should hear how badly they have handled this issue. No one believes that a refurb should be announced years in advance. What is important is that once Disney decides that a construction site will be a part of a vacation that their guests had no way of foreseeing when they booked their "tropical beaches, tranquil breezes, shebert colored buildings" resort, some sort of reasonable accomodation should be offered. "Pay up or deal with it" should never be a part of that discussion.

 

[IrishNYC]

We switched resorts from CBR to POR for our September trip mainly because DD loves her pool time, and I couldn't see how the pool area won't be disturbed by OPR, including the pool bar, being closed.

If it were just DH and I, or DD was older and not as set on pool time, we would have stayed with CBR. The food court, while having choices we really liked, wasn't that important to us. If what someone has posted elsewhere on here that there will be soda machines for the mugs in several villages, well, that's a bonus to me - I hated walking over to OPR for a drink. The noise isn't a factor to me, because we're not in the room to sleep during the day.