Connecting rooms w/AAA

[1gr8mouse]

I have a AAA reservation with connecting rooms at POP. AAA has advised they cannot guarantee connecting rooms. WDW travel advised they can guarantee connecting rooms if I book with them.
We booked 2 rooms so the teenage boys could have their own beds, DW and I in the other room.
Has anyone not been able to get connecting rooms because they booked with AAA???
We will not stay if we cannot have connecting rooms....I am hoping I can get this cleared up before we go...I dont want to go there wondering if we are going to be split up or if we are heading to Universal for the week!!!
Thanks in advance.

 

[Trekker]

There should be no difference if you book with WDW travel or AAA - AAA books with WDW travel so the policy is the same.

I have to admit this is the first time I've heard WDW travel saying they can gaurantee connecting rooms except when the number of children out numbers the number of adults.

 

[1gr8mouse]

I was a little surprised today when I cby the CM who said "you booked with a third party, we cannot guarantee anything to a third party". Oh well, I am going to speak to my AAA agent Monday afternoon. I'm not impressed with her, I know a heck of alot more about Disney....

 

[tkldisney]

I don't think the CM gave you correct info. Our cast DH, myself, 15 yr. old niece & her 15 yr old friend. I asked for connecting rooms and was told they would not guarantee that. They would book as 1 adult/1jr. in each room. I said so, you'll put an adult male in the room with 15 yr. old girl thats not his daughter and CM said yes! The only way they would guarantee connecting was if we had an addtional person. This was thru Disney.

Trekker is correct in his post about no difference using AAA or whatever TA, they all book thru Disney.

I've requested connecting rooms in the past and have always gotten them. We're just taking our chance in July for connecting rooms. However, we are staying at the Swan.

 

[1gr8mouse]

Thanks for the replies, we will see what happens...I will talk to my AAA agent tomorrow and see whar her response is. I agree AAA just calls WDW travel and books. The cast member today told me they call a different department of WDW travel. It seemed odd to me that when my AAA agent called they even asked her to take the survey after the reservation....I felt she was just calling central reservations (same place I call).
We will be arriving on property early the first day of our trip, hopefully it wont be an issue.

 

[taximomfor4]

They probably try their best to accomodate, and hopefully do so in order of "need" vs "want". For example, if 3 families with connecting sets of rooms are moving out on Monday, and 6 families are checking in who "need" connecting rooms on Monday, I hope the single adult with 5 children under age 11 get connecting rooms for sure, then perhaps the parents with 6 little kids next, then perhaps another single grandma who took her 4 grandkids (all under age 12). Guess that would leave the other 3 families (who have 2 adults or more, and less kids) in non-connecting rooms. Seems like that is as it should be.

In your situation, your adults are not outnumered by kids which means your connecting rooms request is just a request. In fact it sounds like you technically-speaking have the occupancy for only one room. Families with more kids than adults get "guaranteed connecting rooms for families" but that is still based on supply -- even then, they may not get it.

Good luck -- I think people mostly get that request. But if you don't I hope you still have a wonderful vacation!

 

[beth_cam]

The disney cm's will almost always say things are guaranteed when all that means is they will try their best. Nomatter who you book with, connecting rooms are absolutely not guaranteed. They will do their best to accommidate your request, but they absolutely do not jump through hoops to make sure it happens. There are only so many connecting rooms, and since they are not categorized by their own category category, they can not be reserved as such. Each hotel has x number of standard rooms. They reserve those x number of rooms and note what you want. But standard is not broken down into corner room, facing east, smoking/nonsmoking (i know this is becomming a non issue), adjoining, or connecting. They may also promise say 15 people connecting rooms when there are in actuality only 10 at that resort. So everything else is just a note. While there is some discussion of how they assign the rooms prior to your arrival, which helps some with the special requests, this does not solve all issues. They aren't going to adjust where someone checking in on sunday goes so that you have the room you want on friday, even though that person checking on on sunday is staying through friday. Then friday comes and you get there, if there are any connecting rooms available when you check in you will get one, they will do their best to assure that, however they aren't going to kick out the other guests so you can have a connecting room. And it just may happen that all the connecting rooms have had people staying in them for the last 5 nights and they aren't checking out.

Most people will get their request of connecting or atleast adjoining rooms, but there have been many times people haven't. Check out the following link to a thread which if you read down far enough references many other posts/circumstances where people didn't receive it -

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1468434&referrerid=&highlight=connecting+rooms

I absolutely wouldnt count on it if it would ruin your vacation if you get separated. But, chances are pretty good you will get what you want....it just cant be set in stone since there is no way for them to reserve it.

and again this has nothing to do with aaa, it is disney...AAA is just being more knowledgable/honest/straight forward with you than the Disney CM's are.

 

[beth_cam]

In your situation, your adults are not outnumered by kids which means your connecting rooms request is just a request. In fact it sounds like you technically-speaking have the occupancy for only one room. Families with more kids than adults get "guaranteed connecting rooms for families" but that is still based on supply -- even then, they may not get it.
QUOTE]

even when the kids outnumber the adults they dont truely guarantee the connecting, they only do when there are more rooms reserved than there are adults. Each room is its own reservation, and there must be an adult on each reservation...so there must be an adult in each room. I don't know what juggling around they do to push it through the system so that you can reserve more rooms than adults though.

 

[mom1in99]

Thanks for the replies, we will see what happens...I will talk to my AAA agent tomorrow and see whar her response is. I agree AAA just calls WDW travel and books. The cast member today told me they call a different department of WDW travel. It seemed odd to me that when my AAA agent called they even asked her to take the survey after the reservation....I felt she was just calling central reservations (same place I call).
We will be arriving on property early the first day of our trip, hopefully it wont be an issue.

Chances are if you arrive early enough, they will change things around for you if you end up with rooms not connecting. Get this, I booked 2 rooms and specifically requested for them NOT to be adjoining and we got adjoining. CM said it was probably because I booked them together. We got there around 3:15pm and she changed them for us (to not be adjoining) and said it was no problem because we got there early enough. The only time we requested adjoining rooms (during summer season) we got them. They told me they wouldn't guarantee but would make a note of it. I booked thru Disney.

Is there a reason you are booking thru AAA instead of calling Disney directly? You can still get the AAA discount, I just booked our room today for our August trip with a AAA discount and called Disney directly.