Check-in at BLT...view isues

[spiceycat]

No, I understand. Just meant that I don't make any "requests". Different from the reservation categories of course. Although one time I had a standard view booked at BWV (with no add'l requests such as "top floor" or "near elevators") and we were actually UPGRADED to a Garden View room with a view of TOT, the canal and S&D, plus given daily housekeeping (they treated me like CRO). While the upgrade is unusual, I've still always been given great rooms with great locations and great views. Usually the ones I hear people trying to request here: such as the enormous balcony, or Illuminations views, or canal view at BCV; at BWV we always get a great spot with the standard view ressie (high floor away from the bell hops, great view of fireworks), VWL top floor overlooking the water and/or pool; HH was an upgrade from studio to 2 b/r.

When the time comes that I book BLT MK view, I won't be listing "high floor" or anything else as a request, just happily taking what I get, 3rd floor, 6th floor, 13th floor! If nothing else, I figure I'll never be disappointed by not getting a request.

boy you are lucky!

If I was as lucky as you would not need requests at all. Lately have not asked for anything - but my history is still there - so generally get a water view no matter what - even BW standard view. the lagoon near the parking lot is generally what I get there.

at VWL had bad luck twice - got the service area - so after that now ask for the lake side just to avoid that thing. It is the trucks arriving and departing that makes it to avoid - as well as the eye sore in a beautifully resort.

never been upgraded on the DVC side - now with CRO was upgraded fairly often. but with DVC NEVER. So you are very, very lucky.

generally go with standard or even value at AKV and love every room received there.

so to get 3rd floor when paying MK point prices would be a big disappointment to me. that say you really think you would be happy regardless - but with your luck - it would not happen to you in the first place.

 

[spiceycat]

If I recall correctly, he also told us that any rooms below the 5th floor (can't remember if it was including the 5th floor or not) would be considered standard view on the Magic Kingdom side.

And I apologize if any or all of this info has been previously stated.

to my knowledge it has not.

too bad DVC did not stick with that description.

 

[wishicouldgomoreofte]

"Sadly, this will become an issue of the squeaky wheel getting the grease. If you are willing to make an issue at the front desk, chances are you will have your situation improved. Of course, these rooms do not come out of thin air, and someone else who has also paid the preminum points will have to settle for the lesser view. I can guarantee there are many DVC members who just do not have it in their DNA to confront the front desk and make a scene..."snackyx


Yes, that was me. I don't have it in my DNA to make a scene, and would never think of doing so, and so I wound up with the 3rd floor room for our 4 day stay at BLT. They told me there was nothing higher available. I said I would wait. They said there was none and would be none later. I believed them, and had to settle for what I got. I checked in at 11 AM, by the way, so not a last minute trip or late check-in. It was in fact the first 4 days it was open!!! I can tell you definately, 3rd floor leaves alot to be desired view-wise. Parking lot is what you get. However, walking to MK for EMH so quickly and easily, and monorail to TTC to Epcot monorail was really nice. On our last day we walked back to MK Ice Cream Shoppe for a hot fudge sundae. Wouldn't have been able to do that if we had to mess with buses. So the location was a convenience, and it is what sells. The views will always be a problem for the lower floors.

 

[DVC Mike]

Yes, that was me. I don't have it in my DNA to make a scene, and would never think of doing so, and so I wound up with the 3rd floor room for our 4 day stay at BLT. They told me there was nothing higher available. I said I would wait. They said there was none and would be none later. I believed them, and had to settle for what I got.

Good for you! I take the same approach. I kindly ask if another room is available and if they say no, I'm OK with that. Why should I consider myself so special that I'm always entitled to the best view? Everyone will get a great view sometimes and a not-so-great view another time. It's the luck of the draw.

I'm not happy that Disney gives in to the folks that yell and scream until they get the view they want. It's just bad form by those DVC members that do so.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

so 7th floor and above should be MK views - the lower floors especially 5th and under should be standard - water if you can see the lake (either bay lake or seven seas lagoon)

for DVC to say it begans on the 3rd floor. Well that is not what they advertised.

I agree with you spicycat. IMO DVC pushed the limit too far on what they designate as MK view starting it at the 3rd floor. The point premiums are just too high for that. I was really shocked when the first reports started coming in that rooms that low had MK designation.

 

[SueM in MN]

Good story to share.

As for me, my only "must have" request is the special needs room with roll-in shower. I may request certain areas and views on the ressie, but this is the only one I'm sure to fight for as it is absolutely crucial for me. Now you may wonder why I even have to bother checking and rechecking that. Special Needs does lock the room in on reservation but I have arrived and found the Front Office room assigner put us in the HA room with the tub. It's easy to miss the tub vs shower portion of the room description.

This is an example of a "need" rather than a "want."

I know the special needs room with a roll in shower is blocked for us at the time of the reservation. We can make a request for certain views or areas, but don't usually get a choice of view - what's blocked for us is what is available at the time of the reservation.
Even so, we have run into times when we arrived and our blocked room was not available for us - in fact, there were no rooms with roll in showers available at the resort.
I wonder how often that happened because someone did not like their location or view and were given the room that was blocked for us??

If we don't have a room with a roll in shower, it will make our stay very inconvenient (and really hard to give DD a shower or wash her hair). When it has happened, we have managed and not let it ruin our vacation.

If we don't get a particular view, that would certainly not be enough for me to have a tantrum.

 

[senator74]

Personally, I think you acted a bit like a spoiled brat with a sense of entitlement. While I agree the MK view should be raised a bit in floors (or maybe split between 2 different tiers), those are the current rules and setup, and everyone lives by them. Why are you specifically entitled to be on the top floors vs others who play by the same rules? Basically, you just displaced someone else who had a MK view room.

Don't get me wrong, I have no problem for asking for a better room if its available, I do it often. I also think you were right in calling out that you are a DVC member. But the way it sounds like you (twice) refused the room, called them unacceptable, and demanded a better view because you're entitled to it, or somehow have more right to a better room because you are paying $3,000, smacks of selfishness and arrogance. I might give you a pass on the first complaint being on the 3rd floor, but to still throw a fit after getting the 6th floor was uncalled for. You obviously just didn't want a good view, you felt you were entitled to the BEST view.

Could not agree more. As I read the OP, all I could think was someone and their family got "bumped" out of a great room on the 12th floor by your demands. I do agree that the lower floors should be re-considered in the future as MK views, but no is entitled to negotiate/demand at check-in the perfect room request because they are paying cash.

 

[1andrea]

I want to reiterate that I have no problem with requesting a different room if available. There is an element of first come-first serve to the system, which I am fine with, so if a better room within your category is available, I have no problem requesting the change. Of course, this is so long as they don't disregard room requests which should be first honored on a time-made basis In other words, they shouldn't bump a person out of their recorded room request just because somebody gets there earlier, who didn't have the foresight of a request, just because they think they deserve a better room.

If you have planned well, made your reservation and request early, and checked in as early as possible, you deserve the better room. If its a last minute trip, didn't make a request, and check in late in the day, and then throw a fit because you think you we entitled to a better room, tough doo-doo (and I really want to use the real expletive).

I don't agree with the first come first served comments.

We travel from England and usually arrive in the resort at 4.30pm if we encounter no delays at all an this is on the first flight of the day so its impossible for us to arrive any earlier.

 

[CarolMN]

This is an example of a "need" rather than a "want."

I know the special needs room with a roll in shower is blocked for us at the time of the reservation. We can make a request for certain views or areas, but don't usually get a choice of view - what's blocked for us is what is available at the time of the reservation.
Even so, we have run into times when we arrived and our blocked room was not available for us - in fact, there were no rooms with roll in showers available at the resort.
I wonder how often that happened because someone did not like their location or view and were given the room that was blocked for us??

If we don't have a room with a roll in shower, it will make our stay very inconvenient (and really hard to give DD a shower or wash her hair). When it has happened, we have managed and not let it ruin our vacation.

If we don't get a particular view, that would certainly not be enough for me to have a tantrum.

You have a great attitude!

That said, I hope that you and everyone else sends a report back to the special needs group whenever you don't get what has been blocked for you.

For those who may not know, there is a special group that blocks out rooms for those with special needs. They are the only ones who can do that. (I know that SueMN already knows this).

IMO, the special needs group needs to know when their "blocks" fail. My impression was that the Front Desk CMs are not allowed to "give away" a special needs room blocked by the special needs group. When they do that, I think they should get feedback from special needs on the impact of violating procedures.

 

[mommylo]

It's very interesting to see the OP's post and how she honestly thinks she is being rewarded for being "assertive". Is this what we are expecting from future generations to come? I have noticed that at the parks as well, people complaining about the littlest things. What is wrong with people this days? Honestly I have never asked to change rooms ever, whether to Disney or otherwise. They are rooms, not homes. Agreeably we are spending a lot of money to go away but I honestly feel really sorry for the poor Cast Members who have to put up with some of these really aggressive people day in and day out. Show a little respect for these people, will you?

 

[puntagordabob]

I sure hope they give us a great MK room for our 1 night stay at BLT in November... we are part of a grand gathering of over 30+ people (we are all staying at Old Key West, its what the majority voted for) and we wanted to rent a room for the MK view to show the rest of the group the view and the fireworks from inside the room if they want to (of course we who are actually staying in the room will likely go to the ToTW lol as I need some breathing room ROFL....

Besides.....who can tell how many of the non-DVC members in the group will be wanting to buy into DVC in the future so everyone is a potential new neighbor!

 

[Deb & Bill]

...If I recall correctly, he also told us that any rooms below the 5th floor (can't remember if it was including the 5th floor or not) would be considered standard view on the Magic Kingdom side.....

But we all know to take what the sales people, oops, I mean, Guides, tell us with a grain of salt. I've heard them tell prospective buyers at the models that the sleeper sofa in the studio was queen sized, same size as the bed. And we all know that the sleeper sofa in the studio is only double sized.

Unless it has been written in Disney Files or in the Public Offering Statement or some other official DVC publication, all you can expect of a MK view is that you can see the MK and that includes any part of the MK - the bus stop, Space Mt, train track, etc.

 

[SueM in MN]

You have a great attitude!

That said, I hope that you and everyone else sends a report back to the special needs group whenever you don't get what has been blocked for you.

For those who may not know, there is a special group that blocks out rooms for those with special needs. They are the only ones who can do that. (I know that SueMN already knows this).

IMO, the special needs group needs to know when their "blocks" fail. My impression was that the Front Desk CMs are not allowed to "give away" a special needs room blocked by the special needs group. When they do that, I think they should get feedback from special needs on the impact of violating procedures.

Thanks.
I think one problem is that the special needs requests are on a computer that does not 'talk' to the DVC MS computer.

A second problem is that some front desk CMs honestly do not know what a room with a roll in shower is or why a bathtub will not work for a particular person.
On our last trip, I asked right before our room keys were being printed to make sure we had been assigned a room with a roll in shower. The CM said it was a "handicapped" room and when I asked to verify it had a roll in shower, it did not. The manager was called and after about 10 minutes in the back said they had no record of us needing a room with a roll in shower.
I was assertive (and, for the record, it is possible to be assertive and still be completely polite without any raised voices, yelling, tantrum or nasty behavior). I showed them our confirmation, which clearly stated that we had a guaranteed room with a roll in shower, plus the dates of each time I had called to check that the information was still in the computer.
The manager went into the back room again and about 15 minutes later, came out and told us they had no roll in shower room for that night, but we could move to one the next day (no guarantee of check in before 4pm).
The next day, we moved, we got our new room, we found no roll in shower.
We could have chosen to go to another resort, but since we had a 2 bedroom and a studio, we would not necessarily even be in the same resort.
So, we stayed put. Luckily, our group included 1 RN, 2LPNs and one of my DD's personal care attendents. Between us, we were able to get DD taken care of.

When we have had problems, we have always given feedback, which makes it especially disturbing when it happens again. We have a trip planned for October and were promised that all our needs will be taken care of and we will be "wowwed."
we'll see.
For the record, we were offered a meal voucher. We turned it down and said all we wanted was for them to fix the problem so it doesn't happen to anyone else.

 

[kevmag]

I happened to be online when the OP was made, and saw how the person got hammered (I admit I chimed in also) for their attitude.
I notice they have not been back to this thread since the OP...probably stunned by the near unanimous disapproval!

 

[dpuck1998]

So we got back last Sunday from a wonderful 16-day trip to the world. We started off by staying 5 nights at BLT in a Magic Kingdom view. We were using all of our points for the remaining 10 nights, so we booked these 5 nights with cash.

At check-in, I was told my room was on the 3rd floor. Ummmm, ya, that wasn't going to fly. I told the CM that was in no way acceptable. He repeatedly told me that the upper floors were reserved for DVC members only. I told him I was, in fact, a DVC member that was paying cash for this ressie. They still refused to move the room. We argued for a bit and then I asked to speak with a manager. He went to the back room, and came out a few moments later to tell me we were on the 6th floor. I told him no way - still unacceptable - and that I wanted to actually speak to his superior. I was paying over $3,000 for 5 nights, and I wanted a good freakin view! He scurried out back and came back out about 5 minutes later to tell me that I was on the 12th floor AND that my room was actually ready (this was at 1:00).

While I was happy with the end-result, there are some things I am disappointed in:

*floors 1-5 should NOT be considered MK views. They are views of the parking lot, with a glance of the top of the castle. They should be standard views!!!! I was not shelling out all that money to look at cars!

*DVC members paying cash should not be treated as lower-tier DVC members. I decided to add-on to my trip and pay more money to experience BLT. If this is the way they are going to treat cash-paying DVC memebers, they need to explain this when you book your stay, disclosing that you will get a lower-level floor and less priority when assigning rooms. Some people may decide to get a larger room with a lake view instead of a smaller room with (essentially) a parking lot view.

I am happy that the end result was a good one, and our room and stay at BLT was incredible. Just thought I would share my experience at check-in!

So what was wrong with the second room? Just being selfish?

I happened to be online when the OP was made, and saw how the person got hammered (I admit I chimed in also) for their attitude.
I notice they have not been back to this thread since the OP...probably stunned by the near unanimous disapproval!

Must not have a good explanation to justify themselves. This me attitude from the OP is sad. That the OP thinks it was something good even sadder.

 

[liznboys]

I don't agree with the first come first served comments.

We travel from England and usually arrive in the resort at 4.30pm if we encounter no delays at all an this is on the first flight of the day so its impossible for us to arrive any earlier.

You could stay somewhere else for one night before you check in. We've done this on our last three trips, partly so that we could check into our DVC resort first thing in the morning. It was our choice to do that, or check in later in the day and get what was available then.

 

[Sandisw]

Yes, they could do that, but remember that the more "guaranteed" room categories there are, the more it will limit availability. For instance, can you imagine calling for an MK view, even at 8 months before it opens to the other owners, and having to move several times because nights aren't available for your entire trip in one "guaranteed" MK view area?

I know, it certainly would change things and potentially cause issues for some with more booking categories.

At least, though, it would cut down on the disappointments.

Personally, I will never spring for a MK view. Knowing that there are LV and SV rooms on that side of the building that can see fireworks (the only reason I would want an MK view anyway), I will take my chances.

The points for an MK view are really high and I just think that Disney should do something to even things out, just like they did with the views at BWV.

 

[DVCJones]

I know, it certainly would change things and potentially cause issues for some with more booking categories.

At least, though, it would cut down on the disappointments.

Personally, I will never spring for a MK view. Knowing that there are LV and SV rooms on that side of the building that can see fireworks (the only reason I would want an MK view anyway), I will take my chances.

The points for an MK view are really high and I just think that Disney should do something to even things out, just like they did with the views at BWV.

I hear ya!!! We just got a LV for our next trip. I just can't see using all those extra points for a MK view when you can go to the observation area on the roof.

 

[LORNA ANN]

I want to reiterate that I have no problem with requesting a different room if available. There is an element of first come-first serve to the system, which I am fine with, so if a better room within your category is available, I have no problem requesting the change. Of course, this is so long as they don't disregard room requests which should be first honored on a time-made basis In other words, they shouldn't bump a person out of their recorded room request just because somebody gets there earlier, who didn't have the foresight of a request, just because they think they deserve a better room.

If you have planned well, made your reservation and request early, and checked in as early as possible, you deserve the better room .

I kind of wanted to add to this you see we are DVC members from the uk now there is no way we are going to be able to book in early to our resort as our flights are 91/2 hrs and we will not get to BLT till 7pm. We have when making the booking requested A higher floor room ie above the 7th floor, we have one bedroom bay lake view but if people are complaining when they arrive what is the likely hood that by the time we arrive we will be bumped to a lower floor !!! That being the case uk DVC members will always be on lower floors unless they moved from another resort !! & a little about this.
We work in hotels & would never speak to a CM unkindly they are all doing a job they are paid to do & do not make up the rules simply try to follow them to the best of their ability..

 

[LORNA ANN]

I want to reiterate that I have no problem with requesting a different room if available. There is an element of first come-first serve to the system, which I am fine with, so if a better room within your category is available, I have no problem requesting the change. Of course, this is so long as they don't disregard room requests which should be first honored on a time-made basis In other words, they shouldn't bump a person out of their recorded room request just because somebody gets there earlier, who didn't have the foresight of a request, just because they think they deserve a better room.

If you have planned well, made your reservation and request early, and checked in as early as possible, you deserve the better room. If its a last minute trip, didn't make a request, and check in late in the day, and then throw a fit because you think you we entitled to a better room, tough doo-doo (and I really want to use the real expletive).

I don't agree with the first come first served comments.

We travel from England and usually arrive in the resort at 4.30pm if we encounter no delays at all an this is on the first flight of the day so its impossible for us to arrive any earlier.

Sorry just read your reply after we had sent ours & could not agree more !