Free upgrade possibly?

[cwt580]

that's awesome! Wish I was your family!

DW and mine 30th and daughters college grad trip(week after her grad).....dad has been doin alot of planning w/o their knowledge(mainly on TheDIS). They know we are going to wdw but DW been on me to go cheap. i agreed but i saved for 5 yrs(moonlighting jobs) to make this big deal(there goes the Harley). So proud of daughter getting done in 4yrs. First ever in the family......


i will say im stuck so far with rack rate.... our dates dont work well with promos but i got what i want. If promo is applicable at our time then i consider it some more "dust"

now to just get the DD to snag a job w/ disney for discounts in future. Maybe that wildlife biology/nat resource management degree might have some payback.....

TO OP: POR is very busy these days w/ reno finishing short time ago. There are many catagories for rooms at POR, so if you want it you should book it. The odds are that Royal room will always be full because it is a very desirable setting for families. Might get lucky on arrival of finding a cancelled room but expect to pay for it unless your booked room has maintenance issues or even a POSSIBLE overbook situation. Book a Royal if you want one. i thnk they are quite nice but for boys its kinda so so......

 

[Gorechick]

It's doubtful that you would get upgraded from a garden view regular room to a Royal Room and asking for a complimentary upgrade will definitely sour the CM. It is more feasible to get upgraded to a water or riverview regular room since you are paying for a regular room if there is availability. As others have said, ask to pay for the upgrade and you might have a chance.

 

[cwt580]

Start your conversation w/ check-in with "when we booked we tried to get a Royal room but there wasnt any. is there any available? whats the upgrade charge?" Be polite..."honey draws more flys than vinegar"

 

[EmmaMagsMom]

This question comes up at least twice a week, and I guess I don't understand why people don't just book the room they really want. Obviously, if you are hoping for an upgrade, you're not 100% happy with what you've booked.

I book, and pay, for the room I want. Then I don't have to worry about what-ifs or hope for pixie dust. Granted, getting something for nothing is always nice...and Disney is a magical place...but I'm still booking the room that I want so there's no disappointment.

I agree with you! When we were checking in 8 years ago at the WL, we were upgraded from a standard room to concierge level with a MK view. We were completely surprised. We didn't ask for it. They hooked us since every stay since, we have stayed WL club level.

 

[NJRRK]

Start your conversation w/ check-in with "when we booked we tried to get a Royal room but there wasnt any. is there any available? whats the upgrade charge?" Be polite..."honey draws more flys than vinegar"

That's basically the way we did it in 2008, and it was the truth we wanted and could have afforded a lake view tower room at the CR, but none were available. Unfortunately they still weren't at checkin but we would have paid the extra. We ended up LOVING our Garden view room.

 

[Polydweller]

I would never have the nerve to ask for an upgrade (it's tacky, IMO), but I've heard asking for one ensures you won't get it.

Asking for an upgrade and asking for a free upgrade are different things. It's is always ok to ask for an upgrade. Where the difficulty comes is when you ask for free. Hotels give upgrades for business reasons and losing revenue is not one of those and essentially that's what asking for a free one is doing.

Sure hotels give free upgrades but they are for operational reasons and even good will to hopefully come back in the future and buy the more expensive room. But the hotel wants to give it you as a surprise because it will make you feel better that way. You asking comes across (intended or not) as trying to take advantage of the hotel and the policy of many hotels and chains is to immediately refuse to give an upgrade. They will not set precedent by giving free on demand.

In the long run, the best way to get a free upgrade is to ask for a paid upgrade and be surprised. You can always turn down the paid if you don't want the expense. So, yes, it's ok and not tacky to ask for an upgrade, just not a good idea to ask for it free.

 

[Polydweller]

Starting multiple threads on the same topic will get the same response, don't ask. See my post in your other thread.

 

[cwt580]

not as tacky as walking up to a full restaurant and demanding a table because your kids are hungry........seen it done too many times at wdw. If you dont plan it dont expect it to happen......or lets say dont be disappointed with a CM .


heres my motto: "wdw is a place where dreams come true...make your dreams happen !!!!"

 

[minnie mum]

Starting multiple threads on the same topic will get the same response, don't ask. See my post in your other thread.

I was just going to say the same thing. You already have a thread with the identical topic. You'll get the same advice no matter how many times you pose the question, or where you post it.

 

[Lynne M]

I just merged the OP's two similar threads into one.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Starting multiple threads on the same topic will get the same response, don't ask. See my post in your other thread.

I was just going to say the same thing. You already have a thread with the identical topic. You'll get the same advice no matter how many times you pose the question, or where you post it.

I just merged the OP's two similar threads into one.

In fairness, one thread was started on Theme Parks Attractions & Strategies, and got moved here.

Thanks for consolidating, Esteemed Moderator .

 

[taymorel]

We got an upgrade at AKL, but did not ask for it. So, it was an awesome start to our vacation. So, our next trip we are booking the same sort of room because the likelihood of getting another upgrade is probably low and I loved that savanna room at AKL.

 

[TandLMommy28]

I was upgraded to a royal room but I didn't ask for it. I actually was in contact with the room assignment team about a different issue altogether. They surprised me by offering me a room upgrade, which wasthe furthest thing from what I expected when I contacted them with a question about my situation. It blew me away and was completely magical. But I can't imagine asking outright for something I didn't pay for...

 

[Gorechick]

I was upgraded to a royal room but I didn't ask for it. I actually was in contact with the room assignment team about a different issue altogether. They surprised me by offering me a room upgrade, which wasthe furthest thing from what I expected when I contacted them with a question about my situation. It blew me away and was completely magical. But I can't imagine asking outright for something I didn't pay for...

Your situation was unique so they accommodated it with an upgrade.

 

[aubriee]

not as tacky as walking up to a full restaurant and demanding a table because your kids are hungry........seen it done too many times at wdw. If you dont plan it dont expect it to happen......or lets say dont be disappointed with a CM .


heres my motto: "wdw is a place where dreams come true...make your dreams happen !!!!"

I've seen the same thing more than once too. People's since of entitlement always amaze me. Once during free dining, I heard a woman demanding to be let into Le Cellier, demanding a manager, then screaming at the manager that WDW had 'sold her free dining' then refused to let her family get into any TS restaurant. Of course she was still refused and she demanded his name and yelled she was going to guest services to report him. Also saw a couple at Mama Melrose who refused to leave the podium after being told they could not be seated without an ADR. I thought there was going to be a riot. The man just couldn't comprehend that they could not wait to be seated. He finally flung his hand at all of us behind him and yelled 'are you telling me that everyone of these people made advance reservations months ago?' At the same time we all yelled "yes, now move so we can check in". Also saw a lady checking in ahead of me at Crystal Palace, who kept insisting their party be seated, because she had a little boy and she had promised him, that he would be eating some meals with the characters and no way was she going to break her promise, so they had 'no choice' but to seat them. What was sad was that as they were turned away, the little boy about 4 or 5 y/o gave his mom a sad, but accepting look and said, "They turned us away, like all the others have been doing all week. Mom, your yelling at them, is not helping". She grabbed him by the arm and said she was going to guest services to complain and then she bet they got in. The little boy said that hadn't worked the day before when she'd tried it. The mom told the little boy to look really sad and cry a little and then they'd feel sorry for them and let them in.

Then there was the post on here a few months ago about the man who just didn't want to wait in line because his kids were hungry now and couldn't wait, so he just bypassed the line at Main Street Bakery and went through the exit to order ahead of everyone else and the CM let him get by with it, even though there was a long line and people were upset (including the poster who was next in line to order). He said he couldn't wait, because his kids were hungry and wanted to eat now. I can see him as someone who would book a standard room at AKL, then ask for a free upgrade to a savanna view, because he had kids who wanted to see the animals, or someone who would book a standard room at PORS, then expect a Royal room, because he had a little girl, who loved princesses and deserved to have a princess room.

I always say book what you know you'll be happy with and then if you get an upgrade the pixie dust is just that much sweeter. Asking for a free room upgrade at WDW is just tacky. What makes you so special that you deserve something ahead of others that paid for the same type room or for free that everyone else paid for?