Help! Haven't even left yet and the Magic is already fading!

[tink38]

Hi, all. I've been lurking on this site since December 2004, when I found out Mom and Dad were taking us to WDW from June 5th - 11th. Believe me, I am just as big a fanatic as all of you are, it's just that usually I don't feel like what I have to say will be any different than what anyone else says on here, so I keep to myself.

The krewe (as we spell it in New Orleans) is as follows:
Me (DW, 38) - DIS freak and Priority seating manager of the trip, cross referencer of 5 guides (soon to be six), and itenerary maker.

DH, 40 - Disney freak since he married me, turkey leg lover, and driver of the trip.

DS, 10 - Disney freak in training and thrill seeker.

Grandmother - reservation manager of the trip.

Gramps - financeer of the trip. (Best Dad in THE WORLD)

DS, 37 - likes Disney but really just there for her DD, 10.

DBIL, (don't know how old he is) - I think he feels the same about DW as DS.

DN, 10 - also a Disney freak in training. Loves RNRC and TOT but gets sick on Goofy's Barnstormer.

Jake, 11 (I think) - DBIL's son - good kid but picky eater.

Olivia, 7 or 8 - DBIL's DD who has been packed since before Mother's day.

This is my 1st trip report so please bear with me. We are going June 5th though 11th and staying at the Contemporary Resort. This excites me because I am a huge future/retro decor person. I also just found out that I am going to Disneyland on June 24th for a convention. What more could a girl ask for?
Anyway, Mom calls me today at work. She is SPITTING mad. Someone from Magical Gatherings staff called to confirm her reservations today. They were all wrong. She says this is her last Disney trip ever. She has never received such bad service from Disney. Keep in mind that we have been there at least a dozen times since it opened. We have gone almost every year since the kids were 3 years old. Originally we were supposed to have a tower room with a castle view. When we received our confirmations (After 3 calls lasting 15 minutes each - long distance) they said "Standard wing room". My mom called and spoke with Goldie, who said she might be able to do something better for us. This was on February 2nd. Today was the 1st callback. She spoke with Rebecca Lynne and Montana at Magical Gatherings and Montana said we had a parking lot view and there was nothing he could do for us at this point. What the?????

What is the point of planning ahead so far in advance if you are goingto get this kind of treatment? I realize that they cannot guarantee a room, but I do know that the request is logged in the system when they receive it. I emailed Guest Communications today and asked that they respond to me. Who knows how long that will take.

Does anyone know of any other route that I can take to resolve this matter? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I respect and follow all of y'all's advice.

Thanks in advance!

Monique

 

[tink38]

In case y'all want to know, I received a reply from Disney this morning. They said someone should be calling me to discuss the situation. I also got the GM's number for the Contemporary and will be calling him sometime today. I'll keep you posted.

 

[Chris]

In case y'all want to know, I received a reply from Disney this morning. They said someone should be calling me to discuss the situation. I also got the GM's number for the Contemporary and will be calling him sometime today. I'll keep you posted.

Good luck~ I hope there is something they can do for you.

 

[Northern Lights]

Tower rooms are significantly extra bucks so at a minimum Goldie should "do something better" for your Dad by giving him a nice refund. Everytime we have stayed Tower we asked for a castle view and got it, but it was never guaranteed at the time of the reservation (regardless of how far in advance we made the request). Either your Mom misunderstood that it was only a request or the CM did a very bad job of communicating that to her.

Now, I know it is busy time of year, but are they saying there are no Tower rooms available? If not, I don't see what the problem is. We are thinking about doing a quick trip over July 4 weekend and we called thinking there was no way we could get a good room, much less at an AP discount. Come to find out, we could stay at CR Tower, Poly, VWL, Y&BC, BWV and AKL all at an AP discount, so I find it hard to believe that the Tower is completely booked for your dates. Also, just make sure to try to check-in around mid to late morning and you should be able to get the MK view. Also, the CM may have been confused by the parking lot view comment b/c the Tower MK views also have a tremendous view of the parking lot.

 

[tink38]

Now, I know it is busy time of year, but are they saying there are no Tower rooms available? Also, just make sure to try to check-in around mid to late morning and you should be able to get the MK view. Also, the CM may have been confused by the parking lot view comment b/c the Tower MK views also have a tremendous view of the parking lot.

I'm not sure if they are saying there are no Tower rooms. I am going to call the GM in a few minutes. I am aware that the North Garden rooms with castle views also overlook parking lots. I'll post after I get off the phone with him. Keep your fingers crossed!

 

[DZNYMGCFAM]

Hope it all works out for you!! Good luck!

 

[bigcrit]

Keep in mind. At the end of May the South Wing will be closed for refurbishment. We just got back on Sunday from the North Wing and it was terrific. We had the time of our lives. Don't let this ruin your trip. How many rooms did you book? I'm guessing 2. That may be the problem. Getting 2 rooms that connect or are close to each other. Either way I am sure you will love your stay.

 

[tink38]

Keep in mind. At the end of May the South Wing will be closed for refurbishment. We just got back on Sunday from the North Wing and it was terrific. We had the time of our lives. Don't let this ruin your trip. How many rooms did you book? I'm guessing 2. That may be the problem. Getting 2 rooms that connect or are close to each other. Either way I am sure you will love your stay.

I'm aware of the renovations and I realize that will affect the preferences. I won't let this ruin my trip, believe me. We booked three rooms. DH, myself, DS and DN will be staying 7 days. My mom & dad are only staying 3 nights, as are my sister and her husband.
I'm trying to keep my mind on the fact that we are leaving in EIGHT days!!!! That helps alot. I spoke with the online rep at the Contemporary yesterday and he told me to bring all documentation with me when I check in and ask to speak to a manager. I'll try that. Either way, you are right. I KNOW I'll have a great time!!!

 

[jcsbama]

Please keep us posted. I really hope everything works out for your family. It would be very tough for my family to try to vacation together because we all have such different tastes (and tempers ). I hope to read a trip report after you return.

 

[Nanajo1]

PD coming you way.

 

[tink38]

PD coming you way.

Forgive me for souding stupid, but what is a PD?

 

[CharityLynn]

my guess is Pixie Dust

 

[Nanajo1]

my guess is Pixie Dust

Pixie Dust

 

[tink38]

Oh. DUH. Sorry about that. And thanks for all your help and support with this! By the way, I have decided that I am not making any more phone calls. I'll see what I can do at check in. For now, I am concentrating on the fact that we will be experiencing the Magic by this time next week! (Geez...I guess I'd better get started on the laundry!)
To say that we are excited about this trip is the understatement of the century. We play Scene It almost every night (I beat the pants off DH and DS last night) and we follow that with the Magic Kingdom Game. My Hidden Mickey Guide came in the mail yesterday, so if I can restrain myself, I should have adequate reading material for the 11-12 hour drive.
I already have my journal packed and am planning on posting a trip report. I just hope I can be half as good as Delswife! I will need some advice on how to post pics as I have never done that before.
Again, I cannot thank y'all enough for all of the advice and help that I've received, both directly and indirectly. You are truly special people.

 

[TammiMcMan]

This is my 1st trip report so please bear with me. We are going June 5th though 11th and staying at the Contemporary Resort. Originally we were supposed to have a tower room with a castle view. When we received our confirmations (After 3 calls lasting 15 minutes each - long distance) they said "Standard wing room". My mom called and spoke with Goldie, who said she might be able to do something better for us. This was on February 2nd. Today was the 1st callback. She spoke with Rebecca Lynne and Montana at Magical Gatherings and Montana said we had a parking lot view and there was nothing he could do for us at this point.

Monique

I'm guessing that if your confirmation came in as "standard wing room" then your father wasn't charged for the more expensive "tower room". Is there anything in your documentation that you reserved a "tower room"? Perhaps the first night deposit that was charged to your fathers credit card would indicate what the original reservation was put in under. I just did a quick check on your dates using the Disney World on line website and a tower room is coming up available on all your dates except for 6/9 and 6/10. I don't understand why it isn't possible for them to give you the room that you want for at least the first 4 nights and have you waitlisted for the other 2 nights. Worst case scenario is that you'll have to move rooms, but chances are that something will open up. You didn't mention which nights your other family members were staying, so I don't know if the unavailable dates impact them.

As for the view, I don't see how they can tell you now that it's a parking lot view. Rooms aren't assigned until 3 days prior to your arrival.

Well, you have the right attitude and I think if you stay positive and present yourself clearly to the GM, he/she should be able to assist you. Unfortunately, it's not the first bad experience that we've heard about with Magical Gatherings. I hope the remainder of your trip turns out wonderful.

Tammi

 

[tink38]

I'm guessing that if your confirmation came in as "standard wing room" then your father wasn't charged for the more expensive "tower room". Is there anything in your documentation that you reserved a "tower room"? Perhaps the first night deposit that was charged to your fathers credit card would indicate what the original reservation was put in under. I just did a quick check on your dates using the Disney World on line website and a tower room is coming up available on all your dates except for 6/9 and 6/10. I don't understand why it isn't possible for them to give you the room that you want for at least the first 4 nights and have you waitlisted for the other 2 nights. Worst case scenario is that you'll have to move rooms, but chances are that something will open up. You didn't mention which nights your other family members were staying, so I don't know if the unavailable dates impact them.

As for the view, I don't see how they can tell you now that it's a parking lot view. Rooms aren't assigned until 3 days prior to your arrival.

Well, you have the right attitude and I think if you stay positive and present yourself clearly to the GM, he/she should be able to assist you. Unfortunately, it's not the first bad experience that we've heard about with Magical Gatherings. I hope the remainder of your trip turns out wonderful.

Tammi

Thanks for your positive feedback, Tammi. There is nothing on the confirmation about a tower room. When I called Friday Seafort at Guest Reservations (or whatever they call it) said there were no tower rooms. My sister and mom and dad will be checking out Wednesday, so perhaps he was referring to not being able to book all 3 rooms. Either way, we are leaving in SIX days and I'm so excited I could scream! I was up three times last night singing Disney songs to myself! Hopefully I can make it through the week without going cuckoo!!!!

 

[TammiMcMan]

When I called Friday Seafort at Guest Reservations (or whatever they call it) said there were no tower rooms. My sister and mom and dad will be checking out Wednesday, so perhaps he was referring to not being able to book all 3 rooms.

It might be worth 1 more phone call to indicate to them that their on line system shows the tower rooms as being available Sunday - Wednesday. You have six days left and you're looking for something to keep you busy . Sometimes they just don't think about taking that extra step and looking at alternatives. Did you get all your other Magical Gatherings reservations fixed?

The last week before the vacation is the worst. I can suggest some projects if you're interested. First, I like to have all my mousekeeping tips taken care of before we go. I buy a package of the small envelopes and then start decorating them. I mark off each day and which service that particular tip envelope belongs to. At the deluxe resorts, you'll have daily mousekeeping and also turndown if you request it. I go to the bank, get the appropriate number of bills, stuff the envelopes and when we arrive at the resort, I put them into the safe and take them out as I need them. Second, how about home made autograph books? I've purchased 3 ring binders that are about 5 x 7, scrapbooking or card stock paper, Disney stickers, and other decorating items. Cut the paper in half, punch holes to line up with the binder and stick on the little hole reinforcers. Decorate the pages with stickers, drawings, etc. Decorate the cover with permanent marker or I've used clear label paper and my computer graphic program. They're a little more bulky to carry around, but I always bring my backpack into the parks, so it's not a big deal. It takes some time and we had great character response when they saw they had their own page, decorated especially for them. When we got home, I picked up some clear photo sheets for holding the pictures.

Here are 2 sites that might help you if you'd like to look into designing envelopes or even CM appreciation cards,
http://www.arwolff.com/heidi/
http://www.tagrel.com/

Have fun and I hope the week goes by fast for you.

Tammi

 

[tink38]

Great suggestions! Thanks again!

 

[Disneys Billpayer]

We also will be there on June 7 to June 13. Just take adeep breath and hold on it will be magic time real soon!!!

And also with your room situation, the squeekiest wheel gets the grease. So when you arrive at the front desk SQUEEEEEEEEEEEK. And they will do thier best to accomodate. And room assignments change up to the minute. Arrive before normal check-in time and negotiate then. Good luck and no matter the room (you spend little time there) I hope you have great time. I love just being in the contemporary. And also if you didnt know there are a coupl of disboard meets planned around the time of your stay. They are posted on another thread. Such as June 9th at 7:30 PM for Illuminations.

Have fun!!!!

 

[tink38]

We also will be there on June 7 to June 13. Just take adeep breath and hold on it will be magic time real soon!!!

And also with your room situation, the squeekiest wheel gets the grease. So when you arrive at the front desk SQUEEEEEEEEEEEK. And they will do thier best to accomodate. And room assignments change up to the minute. Arrive before normal check-in time and negotiate then. Good luck and no matter the room (you spend little time there) I hope you have great time. I love just being in the contemporary. And also if you didnt know there are a coupl of disboard meets planned around the time of your stay. They are posted on another thread. Such as June 9th at 7:30 PM for Illuminations.

Have fun!!!!

You are so right. The Contemporary is my fave by far. It always has been. Can you tell me what threads to check out for the meets, please?

I know, I know!!! Geez...the people at one other site I visit are like the village people from Beauty and the Beast! They are so confrontational. They make my stomach hurt. I will never ask for advice there again.Trust me, I have been lurking on all the Disney sites for quite sometime, so I pretty uch know what is going on.
DIS board meet? Are you kidding? Which thread should I check?

As for the room assignment, please let me update.