Disney Reservations Questions

[magicjojo]

Hi! I am new to these forums and have already learned so much from reading. My family and I are going to WDW next January/early February and I am starting to plan our trip. We have decided to stay at the Contemporary resort in the garden wing. We want to stay there in the standard room because it is the least expensive option at the resort and because we will be travelling with a 2.5 year old and a 4.5 year old and we want to be within walking distance of the Magic Kingdom.

Tonight I called to make a room only reservation at the Contemporary...mostly because I want to guarantee we will be be able to stay in the standard room in the garden wing. I know I can add a package/code later when/if they come out. I asked if we had a pin attached to our name and the CM said we did...but she couldn't (or wouldn't?) tell me for how much off it was. Is this normal? We couldn't use this pin for our dates anyway because it was for 2011 and we are going in 2012. The conversation was just confusing though...she couldn't be specific about the pin. She couldn't gurantee the rates which I expected. Also I am going to have to pay for one night (refundable if I cancel within 6 days of the ressie) to guarantee the room. Is this normal?

Thank you for your help, and any advice would be great if you think I should go about this differently!

 

[graceesmom]

First, welcome to the Disboards. We have stayed at the CR in Apr. 09 and Apr. 10. It is one of my favorite resorts. We splurged last year and stayed in a MK view room last year and it was fabulous, but we were equally as happy with our stay when we were in a garden wing room. I think you have made a great decision based on the information you gave about your party.

I have tried to answer a couple of your questions below.

Tonight I called to make a room only reservation at the Contemporary...mostly because I want to guarantee we will be be able to stay in the standard room in the garden wing. I know I can add a package/code later when/if they come out. I asked if we had a pin attached to our name and the CM said we did...but she couldn't (or wouldn't?) tell me for how much off it was. Is this normal?

I AM NOT SURE. IT SEEMS THAT IF A CM CAN TELL YOU THAT YOU HAVE A PIN, THEY SHOULD BE ABLE TO TELL YOU THE DATES IT APPLIES AND THE DEAL THAT IS AVAILABLE TO YOU.

Also I am going to have to pay for one night (refundable if I cancel within 6 days of the ressie) to guarantee the room. Is this normal? J

FOR A ROOM ONLY RESERVATION THIS IS CORRECT. IF YOU HAVE A PACKAGE, YOU MUST CANCEL/CHANGE WITHIN 45 DAYS OF YOUR ARRIVAL AND YOU ONLY PAY A $200 DEPOSIT.

 

[jedijohn]

I asked if we had a pin attached to our name

What do you mean by a pin? Do you mean like a pin # to keep your account secure like at a bank? If so, they probably don't want to tell it to you over the phone for security reasons.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

The reason why you couldn't be told what the rate is because WDW hasn't released the rates for 2012 and they usually release next years rates sometime during mid August.

 

[JJsmama]

Actually, the same thing happened to me this week. The CM said, "there is already a pin on there." I said "Oh really? What is it for?" She said " I don't know."

Huh?? Plus, even stranger, the total amount did not look any different than what I had priced out online. So, I don't have much faith in that mysterious code...

 

[magicjojo]

The reason why you couldn't be told what the rate is because WDW hasn't released the rates for 2012 and they usually release next years rates sometime during mid August.

No, that makes sense, and I didn't expect to get a 2012 rate yet. What I was confused by was this: having read on here and other places that one might get a "pin" (aka discount code) after requesting the Disney vacation DVD (and I had done that) I asked the CM if there was a "pin" attached to my name. She said their was. I expected her to be able to tell me that is was for 10% off or 20% off or whatever...instead she didn't seem to be able to tell me/know. So that was confusing and unexpected for me. I was wondering if that was normal for these "pins." I would have understood if she'd said, "well it depends on what type of resort you book (although she already knew I wanted to book the Contemporary) or it depends on the time of year you book...but she was not able to be more specific. ??? It was confusing. I can't use it for my dates anyway, but I just expected that info to be more...straitforward. Thought maybe someone here could enlighten me?