Does DVC ever upgrade for free?

[RSWA2]

My coworker got an "upgrade." Not a room, but when he went to check into his 1 bedroom at SSR at around 2pm, they told him it wasn't ready yet and to come back at 4pm. He came back at 4pm, still not ready and come back at 7pm, so they gave him a voucher for dinner. He came back at 7pm, finally the room was ready and they credited him back the points for that 1st night.

 

[Micca]

I think we got an upgrade on our last trip at AKV. DW is in charge of DVC and when we checked in she came to me & said "It's going to be a few minutes, I asked for an upgrade." I said you can't do that, they'll dock points for that. She assured me she was working on an upgrade that wouldn't cost extra points. Because I am powerless over DVC/DW, I just waited patiently. We evidently got some sort of upgrade, but I don't know what it was. I didn't think you could get a DVC upgrade without paying points, but I guess we did

 

[LisaS]

You are correct about the room. I doubt it was ever "reclassified" though, as it is not shown as facing a savanna on the map. The rooms on the opposite side of the hall on that segment face the Uzima savanna.

Technically room 5545 is on the Arusha Savanna even though it is on the outside of the horseshoe. The Arusha Savanna wraps around to the Uzima side of the building. The fence that separates the two savannas connects to the building at the upper corner of the GV at the end of topmost the spur, room 5564.

If you take a look at a satellite view of Jambo House (on Google or Bing for example) and zoom in, you can see the fence.

 

[LisaS]

4. AKL-Jambo
Booked standard view room at 5 days out, due to a last minute change in home plans. Given a Savanna View room #5345.

I believe that is a reclassified room. It is near a "people pen" and based on reports here, many of the reclassified rooms are near a people pen.

 

[helenk]

Technically room 5545 is on the Arusha Savanna even though it is on the outside of the horseshoe. The Arusha Savanna wraps around to the Uzima side of the building. The fence that separates the two savannas connects to the building at the upper corner of the GV at the end of topmost the spur, room 5564.

If you take a look at a satellite view of Jambo House (on Google or Bing for example) and zoom in, you can see the fence.

You are correct about the fence, I could see it from my balcony although it was pretty far from where I was located.

 

[melanie18]

I considered this an upgrade and am eternally grateful to VWL for doing this. About 5 yrs ago, we were staying in 2 bdrm @ VWL. The day we were supposed to check out, DD7 woke up vomiting at 4am and did not stop for the rest of the day.

We were scheduled to fly home with our extended family that was staying with us at 11am. DD was in no condition to fly home and no way was I going to put her on a plane and subject the other passengers to her! Called MS to see if there were any studios available. Nope. Went to the front desk and begged for them to please move us to another room because we were taking DD to the hospital and had nowhere to come back to!

The front desk staff at VWL were absolutely wonderful and when we returned, had moved us to the regular hotel on the concierge level and borrowed points from our next use year for a studio rate. We were so thankful and they could not have been nicer. Turns out DD had a severe case of strep throat. It was so nice to have food out & ready for her when so was ready to keep it down.

We ended up driving our rental car home the next day instead of flying and I wrote VWL a letter commending them for helping us when we didn't know whether we were coming or going.

 

[disneybride96]

We were upgraded once from a Jambo Studio to Concierge.
This was pre-Kadani and there was still construction going on in Jambo. They also credited back all our points, so we technically stayed for free. To bad it was just one night!

We were also upgraded from a 2BR to a Grand Villa at Boardwalk. However, that was a cash reservation before we even owned DVC. That was a major amount of pixie dust!

 

[Grammy4Lizzy]

I was staying at GC before DVC was built on points and I got an upgrade to Downtown Disney room. This was not an upgrade. It was noisy and the music went on and on and on.

 

[keishashadow]

We checked into BCV late (slightly before 8 pm) after a cruise last May on a Sunday evening. Had booked studio on points for a few nights. We were told it was our lucky day, got to stay in a 1 BR with a lovely Epcot view.

 

[SamSam]

I was upgraded last December. We were booked in a AKV Jambo House Standard (Pool) View studio and we were upgraded to a Savannah View studio on the Sunset Savannah. We saw very, very few animals so I was dubious about if it was really an "upgrade".

Or it could simply be that you were gone when the animals were out. They are not out all day, just come through to feed during certain times of the day.

 

[Dean]

We have only been DVC members since last year, I was just thinking - sometimes when you book a hotel they occasionally will upgrade you on arrival to a better view or room - does this ever happen when booking via DVC or do you generally get what you book?

Since no one else has mentioned it, there have been reports of people asking for an upgrade only to find out later they were charged the points it cost. IMO it's both inappropriate and risky to ask for an upgrade for a points stay. It rarely happens just like upgrades on cruises rarely happen.

 

[KaystotheKingdom]

Hey all- booked a one bedroom at beach club on points, did online check in. Just got the online notification that the room was ready and it is definitely a dedicated 2 bedroom. I never asked for this, and it was never discussed at the desk.

Should I bring it up to the desk? I’m concerned about being charged points for an upgrade I never asked for after the fact.

Thanks so much!

 

[Sandisw]

Hey all- booked a one bedroom at beach club on points, did online check in. Just got the online notification that the room was ready and it is definitely a dedicated 2 bedroom. I never asked for this, and it was never discussed at the desk.

Should I bring it up to the desk? I’m concerned about being charged points for an upgrade I never asked for after the fact.

Thanks so much!

This happened to use right after Covid. I would not worry about checking with the front desk as it is possible that your room needed to be taken out of service and thus why you needed to be moved.

 

[KaystotheKingdom]

This happened to use right after Covid. I would not worry about checking with the front desk as it is possible that your room needed to be taken out of service and thus why you needed to be moved.

Disney magic!

 

[Sally524]

Best upgrade ever!

Once we had 2 nights booked at BCV in a 1 bedroom for 4 adults. We were waiting forever to check in. It was past 5:30. There was some kind of plumbing issue in the room and they were fully booked. They gave us a 2 bedroom suite at the Yacht club. It included the concierge service. It had two bedrooms, a living room, and a sun room. If you have ever walked by the Yacht club there is an octagon room on the font of the building. That was the sun room. They also refunded our 1 bedroom points for the BCV reservation.

 

[Maleficent's Dad]

We've been upgraded twice.
About 15 years ago, I booked three studios at SSR for my family, my brother & spouse, and my parents. When we arrived and went to the resort, all three rooms were upgraded to 1BR's. No reason given and we weren't complaining!
The second time, about 6 years ago, was a bit more straightforward. We had a studio at the BWV. It was just DS and me. We were on the ground floor, BW view, but on the side of the DVC preview room. The carpet was wet when we entered. Long story short, there was a burst pipe, and they put us on the Inn side, deluxe room club level. Again, we weren't complaining!
They don't happen often, but they do happen. Our first upgrade, we don't know why. Our second upgrade, it was due to a burst pipe.

 

[smjj]

We have only been DVC members since last year, I was just thinking - sometimes when you book a hotel they occasionally will upgrade you on arrival to a better view or room - does this ever happen when booking via DVC or do you generally get what you book?

We were upgraded for a one night stay at Riviera from a deluxe studio to a one bedroom last year when we were there the night before a DCL cruise. We did not request it either.

 

[miksicnarf]

Owner for 26+ years, upgraded once: from a 2BR at VGC to a GV. There are only 2 GVs at VGC so this was really magical! Sadly it was only for 1 night, but it was a great night--DVC Moonlight Magic at DCA so we "payed" the points for a 2BR and everything else was free!

 

[justadreamaway77]

I was upgraded last December. We were booked in a AKV Jambo House Standard (Pool) View studio and we were upgraded to a Savannah View studio on the Sunset Savannah. We saw very, very few animals so I was dubious about if it was really an "upgrade".

I've always gotten an "obstructed savanna" view when booking standard at Jambo

 

[justadreamaway77]

We were upgraded once. Booked a studio and got a 2 bedroom. I think the fewer the days you are booked, the higher the chance. Not that the chance is high to begin with.