Filling a minimum room night questions ???

[linzwylie]

We are trying to plan a wedding in disney from the u.k. which we are really excited about

So far we have 31 people (including us) who are definate yes's. The problems we have though are with the minimum room nights that you have to guarantee. You see, we have some guests who want to stay on int-drive and the rest of us have found two side by side fabby villas in windsor hills resort that we want to stay in.
My dilema is - how on earth are we going to be able to guarantee 25 room nights when no-one wants to stay on-site !!!!!!

I have had 2 sleepless nights worying about this - it may be the thing that stops me having my dream wedding

How set in stone are disney in expecting you to fill these rooms??
I mean, fair enough, I wnat to use their facilities so therefor It is only fair that really we should spend even a couple of nights in their hotels (which we will for the night of the wedding and the night after)
And If it is a case that we do not get our free night then so be it, but there is no way on earth that I can fill these rooms.

What can i do ??

LINZ XXX

 

[Kristen14]

They're pretty set in stone. If you dont meet your minimum you have to pay Disney the difference in room nights, priced at the lowest room in your block. For example, if your block was in ASM, CBR and WL, and if you only used 20 nights, then you owe five nights multiplied by whatever your rate at the ASM is.

The good news is that people on the DISboards are more than happy to help out and use your block if they're gonna be in the world at that time. Just post here in advance and I'm sure you'll get plenty of takers. Everyone loves a good discount!

 

[Skylarr29]

Unfortunately there is really no way around the room minimums... if you don't fill them, not only do you not get your free night, you must pay for the remaining rooms at your lowest price resort. Have you considered staying in villas on property?

 

[linzwylie]

The good news is that people on the DISboards are more than happy to help out and use your block if they're gonna be in the world at that time. Just post here in advance and I'm sure you'll get plenty of takers. Everyone loves a good discount!

That is sooooo helpful for us ! ! !
Are people happy to do this??? It would be great to offer people a dicount, and they would be helping us out
I have just tried a search on 'room block' but some of the threads asking people to help fill room blocks seem to be unanswered or i can not have access to Is it against the forum rules to do this ? I hope not because this would be my only lifeline !

I know if I offered this to friends in the u.k. there would not be many takers as it seems to be the cheapest option to book a package deal from here.

I need to visit next year to see venues etc... and i will be staying onsite, can i use this visit towards my room block???

Have you considered staying in villas on property?

We have considered this, but we have managed to get the 2 villas at a really good price for the fortnight and think disney would end up far too expensive


Thanks for all your help
LINZ XXX

 

[B2B-2008]

We are all staying on Disney property so luckily we will meet the 25 room night minimum.

But we have also booked to stay in the GF the day before the wedding, just me, and two nights after. My parents and bridesmaids are also staying there the night before the wedding so we can all get ready together and I can do the traditional thing of not seeing the groom before the wedding. This all counts towards our minimum and we have got the room discounts. Can you not do this with your family to help a bit?

Another idea is to book a week on disney property on your own as your honeymoon as I think this may count.

 

[disprincessatheart]

If you have others who come from the UK and book a package to stay on property, even if they don't use the discounted rooms you block, those count too. I had an aunt who decided to rent DVC and her rooms counted. For the family that wants to stay on I Drive, is there a particular reason they'd rather stay there than at something like an All Star with a good rate? Maybe they'd do that for a few nights and then move to IDrive? Talk it up to everyone reminding them that they get the free transportation to the parks or free parking at the parks while they stay on property (parking is now $11 per day per car ) and they get the free Extra Magic hours. They also get free Magical Express if they stay on property, so say they flew into Orlando and stayed at Disney for 4 days, they could go without rental cars for those 4 days all together and then if they want to go off property after that they'd get a rental. The financial difference for us to stay off site is so small we never do it any more if we can get a deal on a Disney room.

 

[Kristen14]

I know if I offered this to friends in the u.k. there would not be many takers as it seems to be the cheapest option to book a package deal from here.

You can still have your friends in the UK book packages, and then just turn in all their reservation numbers to your EM and that will count. I have quite a few people getting cast member discounts on rooms, or using DVC points, and as long as I turn in all their reservation numbers it still counts towards the minimum.

I need to visit next year to see venues etc... and i will be staying onsite, can i use this visit towards my room block???

Unfortunately your room block doesnt start until a week or so before your wedding, so they probably wouldnt let this count.

 

[linzwylie]

Unfortunately your room block doesnt start until a week or so before your wedding, so they probably wouldnt let this count.

How long are room blocks for ?? is it say for 2 weeks around the time of your wedding??

LINZ XXX

 

[Kristen14]

How long are room blocks for ?? is it say for 2 weeks around the time of your wedding??

Yeah I think you may be able to get away with this. I'm coming in a week before my wedding, and I have family staying the week after and it all counts.

On a site note... It wasnt as hard as I thought to meet my minimum. I was very worried, but I'm staying 7 nights, my parents will be there for 9, the in laws 4, and then a few other family members are staying 3 nights, so i'm already past it and only a small portion of my guests have booked.

You should call DFTW, ask for Joe DeMattei. You can ask him any and every question you have without feeling obligated to book anything. It's his job to answer questions and make you feel comfortable with your decision. Ask him what the absolute minimum you have to meet is. You can explain to him that it will be very difficult for you to meet the 25, and see what he says. He's very nice and very patient and wont try to push anything on you if you feel uncomfortable with the decision.

 

[linzwylie]

You should call DFTW, ask for Joe DeMattei. You can ask him any and every question you have without feeling obligated to book anything. It's his job to answer questions and make you feel comfortable with your decision. Ask him what the absolute minimum you have to meet is. You can explain to him that it will be very difficult for you to meet the 25, and see what he says. He's very nice and very patient and wont try to push anything on you if you feel uncomfortable with the decision.

Thankyou Can I contact him before I have booked the wedding?
I have read somewhere on this site the minimum room night got to as low as 10, that wouldn't be sooooooo bad

LINZ XXX

 

[orangetiggs]

we have just gone trhough the contracting stage and we asked for 14 nights at 3 differernt resorts and we were told that was fine, when we got the contract to sign we ahve to guarentee 75 nights and we only have 30 guests!! So we changed our room block to include just 10 nights at each resort and that is fine so we just have to guarentee 25 room nights.

We are lucky as we are up to 81 room nights and thats not everyone booked yet

 

[Kristen14]

Thankyou Can I contact him before I have booked the wedding?
I have read somewhere on this site the minimum room night got to as low as 10, that wouldn't be sooooooo bad

Sure! He's one of the consultants (basically sales managers) that you speak with before you sign the contract. Since you're in the UK i think there's a special package available to you, so you wouldnt book directly thru DFTW (But I may be wrong) No matter who you book thru, it doesnt hurt to contact him to ask questions. Like I've said before, hes very nice and will answer any questions you have, no matter if you're super serious about booking, or just want some more information.

 

[B2B-2008]

linzwylie - Being from the UK myself I am booking directly with DFTW. You can book with your travel agent if you want an escape package but with the number of guests you are talking about I think you will need to book a custom wedding.