Has anyone NOT gotten connecting rooms?

[minnie61650]

We added a second room to our reservation last week and I got the confirmation letter on Tuesday. We requested connecting rooms and in our list of requests it says Connecting Rooms Guaranteed for Families. I did mention that my 4yr old daughter would be staying in the second room with my sister but maybe this is something new.

Not new and not really true

B]Disney may say they guarantee connecting rooms but in reality Disney does not guarantee connecting rooms.[/B]

As a mother of 4 (All grown now. My oldest is in her 30's and my youngest is 22) I often wished Disney had more options for larger families.
When the children were younger and we would go to Disney they did not have DVC or the family suites. In fact Disney did not have a Moderate until CBR opened in the late 1980's so if we wanted to stay onsite we either rented 2 rooms at a deluxe or stayed in the cabins.

I wrote to Disney many times over the years asking for more options for families so when I heard they were building the New Family Suites at All Star Music it just made me so happy!

In the late 80's I booked 2 connecting rooms at CBR for my family.
When we checked in there were no connecting rooms left but we were able to get rooms next to each other on the second floor.
Our two oldest were teens so I put them in one room and the 2 little ones who were 5 and 7 stayed with us. It worked for us because our older children were able to stay in a room without us but if they were younger DH and I would have had to split up.

Disney may say they guarantee connecting rooms but in reality Disney does not guarantee connecting rooms.

If there are 2 adults Disney can split the adults and children into two rooms that are not connecting. They try hard not to do this but it can and does happen sometimes. If however it is one adult with 5 children Disney should try harder to find connecting rooms since some of the children cannot be left in a room without an adult. But if you look at the threads posted below you will see that sometimes even Disney mixes up.


It does happen. Far too often IMHO.

From this thread;

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1145289

Just wanted to re-iterate what others have said:

We requesting connecting rooms at CBR in January--not really a busy time & we were early for check-in. They did not have us in connecting rooms. They said they could accommodate us, but it would be smoking rooms--which was our #1 request non-smoking.

We were side-by-side, so we just went outside to go next door, so it wasn't a huge deal for us. But if you definitely want to be together--I would go with a suite. You could also look into renting DVC points for a villa.

Here are a couple more threads about guests not getting connecting rooms:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1095679

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=785797&page=1&pp=15

From this thread:

http://disboards.com/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=13528958

One of the threads that Linda posted a link to was my experience last March. I had many conversations with the higher-ups at Guest Services and was told that even if it says "guaranteed" it is not truly "guaranteed." It just has higher priority over the "requests." Because on a given day, there might only be 25 connecting room sets opening up, but 27 "guaranteed connecting rooms for families" ressies checking in. 2 of those families are not going to get their "guarantee."

I know, I was shocked that we had to fight so hard to get put in rooms that had just been fumigated for lice (they were taken out of the inventory, but re-opened because we insisted we needed rooms.) I sort of assumed that if they didn't have the rooms for us, they'd find rooms elsewhere on Disney property. For that stay, we were sometimes 2 adults and sometimes only 1. Now we will book offsite if we need to do that again. If there are 2 of us adults, we book connecting and hope for the best. Otherwise, we'll split the kids.

My point is to make backup plans if you are depending on connecting rooms.

That is one of the main reasons if my family were young I would choose a Suite over 2 connecting rooms or I would be prepared that I may need to split the family up and sleep in a different room than DH.

 

[minnie61650]

You should try a family suite at all star music..they are still a value resort and they are cheaper than cabins or deluxe rooms or vacation villas....and have a master bedroom and then two single kids fold out beds and one sleeper sofa in the other room..plus small kitchenette (no fridge rental) and microwave..plus two full bathrooms...affordable and very nice looking..i have one for seven nites in early november and have seen many favorable reviews on this site and others...take a look at them...good luck

DH and I stayed in a Family Suite at All Star Music ( a value resort) last Sept. (2006)

We really enjoyed the Queen size bed, the kitchenette with the microwave, having a sofa and cushioned chair to sit on and relax after a day at the parks before retiring for the evening.

I thought the pullouts very comfortable.

They are designed so the back cushion and seat cushion of the pullout support the pullout. There is no metal bar to hurt the sleepers back.

Info thread--Pullouts in Family Suites at ASMU with photos of how the pullout is supported.

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?p=18100990#post18100990

Here is the layout of the Family Suites:

Here is my review of the Suites:

www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=17640774&postcount=7

For more photos and info please see this info thread:

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1392879

Have fun at Disney wherever you choose to stay!

 

[Sammie]

At Disney, Reservations will tell you they are guaranteed, they will put it on your confirmation, but the reality is that the resort has the last say and sometimes they just can't make it work.

It is a request, you are not booking a category. First priority is given to those with only one adult in the group. If you have 2 adults, yes you could be split up and it does happen.

They try very hard but sometimes you just can't get that other family out of the room next door.

Make it your only request.

 

[Sophie's Mom]

We just returned from POFQ where we requested connecting rooms. We did not get them and I was told there were none to be had. It wasn't so bad for us as the kids are 15 and 11. Maybe their ages made a difference

 

[cheerforchelsea]

I have to say that the Pop Century has always been to provide us with the connecting rooms that we have requested - even when we arrived at midnight during Thanksgiving week. The only time I have had a problem was at the Caribbean Beach and we had adjoining rooms.

 

[Golden Rose]

We've never requested connecting rooms yet, we've always done suites instead. We're probably going to try to request them for the first time for next May, so wish us luck.

We have friends who "booked" connecting rooms for two (out of three) parts of their family. The grandparents were taking both sets of children, the kids' spouses, and the grandkids. The put the son and his spouse in a suite and booked connecting rooms for themselves and the daughter, her husband, and their two children under three. The grandparents planned to spend a lot of time in the room with one grandkid (and sometimes both) while the kids enjoyed WDW. This is a family who goes almost yearly to WDW and they always stay at the CR, they pay rack rate, pay for the DDP (or whatever the food plan is), and they always stay concierge level. The spend a lot of money every year... and low and behold, no connecting rooms available when they check in. The grandmother had a fit, as she had been promised connecting rooms and their vacation had been planned around it. So some cast member gave them the (a?) Vice Presidential Suite. I don't know anyone else who has ever been so lucky, but I don't know anyone else whose family has regularly spent so much money at WDW. I sort of suspect they must keep some sort of record of those things...

 

[Disneyfan1977]

When I was last in Disney (may 07) we requesting connecting rooms at the Grand Floridian. We got the connecting rooms, however, our view was greatly compromised because of this request. I don't think it should have been and I did call down to the front desk and they switched us to non adjoining rooms (next to each other) and they view was only better for one of the rooms. I would have gladly stayed farther apart to get the view we actually paid for (MK View)

But hey...it's Disney...and don't believe there is such a thing as a bad time in disney ...so it was ok.

 

[wdw71]

Do you think that checking in early helps you to get the connecting rooms or any of your requests for that matter?

 

[jjohnson]

No we did not receive our guaranteed connecting rooms (and yes I knew before arrival this may happen). Reservation was for 2 rooms at the BWI. At checkin they had DH & I in a room on the Inn side and the four children in a studio 3 floors up on the Villa side.

Lesson learned & will not do it again.

OP; if it's very important to you to have your family together, I would definitely look into other options.

 

[Ihave3daughters]

I appreciate all the responses, y'all. I will make it my one request, and hopefully it'll work out. Honestly, I wanted an ASM family suite, but they were all booked up. The lady I talked to (who was absolutely the most wonderful CM ever) told me connecting rooms were not a problem. I didn't even think about it until I started reading through some of the threads...

But if HALF the rooms at POP are connecting, we'll most likely be okay, right?

 

[minnie61650]

I appreciate all the responses, y'all. I will make it my one request, and hopefully it'll work out. Honestly, I wanted an ASM family suite, but they were all booked up. The lady I talked to (who was absolutely the most wonderful CM ever) told me connecting rooms were not a problem. I didn't even think about it until I started reading through some of the threads...

But if HALF the rooms at POP are connecting, we'll most likely be okay, right?

I hope so.
I would call 1 or 2 days ahead of time and remind them you want connecting rooms.
Try to check in as early as possible and remind the front desk you need connecting rooms.
If none are availible keep checking back until they find some for you.

Good luck.

Have fun at Disney!

 

[JJ&JSMOM]

We're a family of 5 as well. Our 3rd child is under 3 so we could actually have stayed anywhere. We looked into connecting rooms but w/our kids so young (8,4 &2) I didn't want to chance it so we went deluxe. Good luck w/the connecting rooms I hope it works out for you.

 

[TnTWalter]

Yikes. When something says 'guaranteed' silly me thinks it means guaranteed. I believe I verified with a CM before my trip that it was guaranteed and they assured me it was. That would have ticked me off since I didn't know it wasn't really 'guaranteed'. Oy! We had 3 rooms in a row; our room connected with the kids and my parents were next door to them. It was POP Century in January. I think I would have expected to either be next door to the kids or moved to a resort that could accomodate us. Our kids were 6,4,3 at the time.

I don't like the idea of the Suites. I think they could have been great with bunk beds & a pull out or other configurations based on needs [like you can choose at booking 1 Q & bunks + pullout or 2 F in each Room or 1 Q and pullout only, etc. Plus they are NEVER discounted and so far I've only booked with a discount. I hope if they ever finish off POP and make it 'suites' they will make it better for larger families on a budget.

Trish

 

[JJ&JSMOM]

I hope so.
I would call 1 or 2 days ahead of time and remind them you want connecting rooms.
Try to check in as early as possible and remind the front desk you need connecting rooms.
If none are availible keep checking back until they find some for you.

Good luck.

Have fun at Disney!

Just wanted to say sorry about Tabby. I noticed in your signature that you lost your kitty. We lost our dog Baxter last month as well. I hope you're doing ok. Its really tough and hard to get used to having them gone.

 

[maxiesmom]

I appreciate all the responses, y'all. I will make it my one request, and hopefully it'll work out. Honestly, I wanted an ASM family suite, but they were all booked up. The lady I talked to (who was absolutely the most wonderful CM ever) told me connecting rooms were not a problem. I didn't even think about it until I started reading through some of the threads...

But if HALF the rooms at POP are connecting, we'll most likely be okay, right?

If you wanted a suite to start with, just keep calling back and maybe you will get lucky. Room inventory changes all the time, and you might be able to snag one when someone else cancels.

 

[minnie61650]

......Plus they are NEVER discounted and so far I've only booked with a discount. I hope if they ever finish off POP and make it 'suites' they will make it better for larger families on a budget.

Trish

Just and FYI :

Disney has not offered the free dining special at any of their Suites at any of their resorts including the Family Suites at All Star Music. The Family Suites have been included in some their recent discounts and codes so there is hope they will be included in more specials in the months and years to come.

Just wanted to say sorry about Tabby. I noticed in your signature that you lost your kitty. We lost our dog Baxter last month as well. I hope you're doing ok. Its really tough and hard to get used to having them gone.

Thank you so much for your kind works. We enjoyed Tabby for 18 wonderful years and miss him dearly.

I am so sorry to hear about Baxter. It is very hard and I am sure Baxter is missed greatly also.
My sympathies for your loss.

 

[ElizabethB]

Requested connecting rooms at AKL Concierge. Did not get them. The ironic thing is we often seem to get them when we don't request them and don't want them. We had a connecting room at CSR. We've had a one-bedroom villa that connects to the studio next door.

I should think WDW could do a better job of assigning connecting rooms to those who actually want them!

 

[DznyLvr2005]

We requested connecting rooms last year @ CSR 9-29-10-5 and we got them... No kids, just adults.

This year we also requested connecting rooms at AKL.. Hopefully we;ll get it because I've heard AKL has been pretty empty