HELP! How can I disable All-Star Movies thermostat sensor?

[lynnfitz]

I always wondered why the rooms seemed warm during the night, I was thinking they somehow lowered it to be more economical. Definetely going to try and change that next trip. I then noticed in the morning, when we were getting ready how much cooler it got-question answered!

 

[dansdad]

But I have to say I don't blame them for having some sort of sensor. There should be a way to keep the air running at night, but it is ridiculous to keep your room on deep freeze when you are in the parks.

It is actually MORE economical to keep a room at a constant 68 degrees than it is to let it get up to 75 when nobody is in it and then kicking on and cooling it down to 68 again.

 

[maxiesmom]

It is actually MORE economical to keep a room at a constant 68 degrees than it is to let it get up to 75 when nobody is in it and then kicking on and cooling it down to 68 again.

Good grief, who needs their room at 69? My air is set right now to 75. Maybe that is part of the problem too. People want it so cold they need to use their blankets. My nephew does that too, but it is wasteful, and I would never do it in my own house, so I won't do it when I am at a hotel. But I bet you hit on at least one of Disney's reason for wanting control over the room temperatures.

 

[maxiesmom]

I just googled the question about leaving the air low or having to re-cool the room, and the first response that came up states that the idea of leaving your room set low to be more economical is an Urban Myth and not at all true. It is still cheaper to let the room warm and then kick the air back on.

 

[dansdad]

Good grief, who needs their room at 69? My air is set right now to 75. Maybe that is part of the problem too. People want it so cold they need to use their blankets. My nephew does that too, but it is wasteful, and I would never do it in my own house, so I won't do it when I am at a hotel. But I bet you hit on at least one of Disney's reason for wanting control over the room temperatures.

Ours is set to 68 whether the AC or Heat is on so I don't have a problem with doing that when traveling.

 

[dansdad]

I just googled the question about leaving the air low or having to re-cool the room, and the first response that came up states that the idea of leaving your room set low to be more economical is an Urban Myth and not at all true. It is still cheaper to let the room warm and then kick the air back on.

Well it wasn't a myth for me in real life. Bought a programmable thermostat and set it to let the house get up to 75 when we weren't home then cool down to 68 when we were. We did that for the month of July. For the month of August we set it at 68 constant. Our electric bill was $65 higher for July and August was a hotter month than July.

 

[WDWKOOK]

Maybe there are different types of sensors. On another trip, they tried to tell me that the sensor senses body heat, not motion, therefore falling asleep wouldn't make a difference. Except it did. Then they told me that the sensor must not be angled properly. (This was at a Disney resort) Who knows. I miss the good old days when hotels didn't have these and they seem to be everywhere now, not just Disney

The bolded is hilarious. I miss the good ol' days, too.

Ours is set to 68 whether the AC or Heat is on so I don't have a problem with doing that when traveling.

Exactly. Why would anyone want to be less comfortable on vacation? A constant, lower temperature has many advantages: lower humidity levels and optimal sleeping conditions. Disney makes it easy for guests who don't care about those advantages, but they shouldn't make it nearly impossible for those who do want a constant lower humidity and optimal (lower) sleeping temperature. Now, I wonder if one of the reasons they removed the comforters is so we won't get as hot at night

We've paid for the room, we should be able to have it climate controlled to our liking. Next they'll be limiting the length of our shower and putting timers on our lights. They've already taken away our clocks!

 

[maxiesmom]

Well it wasn't a myth for me in real life. Bought a programmable thermostat and set it to let the house get up to 75 when we weren't home then cool down to 68 when we were. We did that for the month of July. For the month of August we set it at 68 constant. Our electric bill was $65 higher for July and August was a hotter month than July.

It was the opposite for us. Now that someone is home all day our bill is much higher than when we had it programmed to go up during the day and back down once we were home.

 

[ArwenMarie]

I don't mind them using these sensors during the day when most people are out. But at night, let's say from 10 pm to 7 am or so, the sensors should be disabled and the guest should be able to set the temperature.

The sensors actually make it worse than just locking the temp and giving the guest no control. Here is the cycle I went through one night. I set the temp for 70. Went to bed. Then the temperature creeps up. BUT it doesn't show on the thermostat, you never see any number other than the one you put in. Added bonus of messing with your head, because you're like, why am I so hot if it's 70? So then I get up, go to the bathroom, the air clicks on. Ah. Go back to sleep. Two hours later, rinse and repeat all night. I would seriously prefer if they just locked the temp at 74 or whatever the number is so I could know that.

 

[ArwenMarie]

Good grief, who needs their room at 69? My air is set right now to 75. Maybe that is part of the problem too. People want it so cold they need to use their blankets. My nephew does that too, but it is wasteful, and I would never do it in my own house, so I won't do it when I am at a hotel. But I bet you hit on at least one of Disney's reason for wanting control over the room temperatures.

Well, then they need to just lock all of the temperatures at 74 or 75 or whatever number they are using as the setback and let the guest SEE that number on the thermostat so they can plan accordingly for the night.

 

[chaoslobster]

Huh. I stay at the Pop every year and I have never noticed that the room heats up at night. I tend to leave it at 72 most of the time but kick it down to 68 at night because I'm more comfortable sleeping under a light blanket than just the sheet. I've always had to turn the thermostat back up to 72 when I get up because the moment I throw off the blanket, I'm freezing.

One thing I did notice. The thermostat at the Pop Century is locked between 68 and 74. It will not go higher or lower. I assumed this was normal until I stayed two nights at the Polynesian for my birthday. At the Polynesian, you can turn the thermostat down as low as you want! . I guess it makes sense because you're paying so much more. It just amused me.

 

[ArwenMarie]

It depends if you were in a room with a sensor or not. Not all rooms have them yet. Or you were comfortable at the higher temp or slept well despite it

The time of year also matters. I've never had a problem even with the sensors when we go in the winter, only on our summer trips. Probably because it is cooler as well as cooling down at night.

 

[DisBuckMan]

Well it wasn't a myth for me in real life. Bought a programmable thermostat and set it to let the house get up to 75 when we weren't home then cool down to 68 when we were. We did that for the month of July. For the month of August we set it at 68 constant. Our electric bill was $65 higher for July and August was a hotter month than July.

You've single-handedly proven the entire programmable thermostat industry wrong.

Take THAT, technology.

 

[Minnesota!]

Good grief, who needs their room at 69? My air is set right now to 75. Maybe that is part of the problem too. People want it so cold they need to use their blankets. My nephew does that too, but it is wasteful, and I would never do it in my own house, so I won't do it when I am at a hotel. But I bet you hit on at least one of Disney's reason for wanting control over the room temperatures.

I would melt at 75. I melt at the 72 we have ours at. I need about 67 or so. In the winter we have it set to 65. And I use a light sheet over my mid section.

 

[GATORinaZ28]

Good grief, who needs their room at 69? My air is set right now to 75. Maybe that is part of the problem too. People want it so cold they need to use their blankets. My nephew does that too, but it is wasteful, and I would never do it in my own house, so I won't do it when I am at a hotel. But I bet you hit on at least one of Disney's reason for wanting control over the room temperatures.

Well, others like it cooler. My house is at 68.

 

[KTousha]

My family is hot-natured so our house is usually set at 67. We stayed at Pop about 2 years ago and AKL last year and called maintenance both times about the thermostat. They came pretty quick and did the override and we were good for the rest of our stay!

 

[chartle]

Maybe there are different types of sensors. On another trip, they tried to tell me that the sensor senses body heat, not motion, therefore falling asleep wouldn't make a difference. Except it did.

They are half right, it senses the movement of heat or change in amount of heat. If a warm body stays still it doesn't see it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passive_infrared_sensor#Operation

 

[ArwenMarie]

They are half right, it senses the movement of heat or change in amount of heat. If a warm body stays still it doesn't see it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passive_infrared_sensor#Operation

Oh that makes sense. So maybe that is why the balloons don't work on some of them

 

[ArwenMarie]

My family is hot-natured so our house is usually set at 67. We stayed at Pop about 2 years ago and AKL last year and called maintenance both times about the thermostat. They came pretty quick and did the override and we were good for the rest of our stay!

That's awesome!

 

[goofy4tink]

We don't have A/C in our house, at least not central air. We do have window units in our bedrooms. Those are kept at 70, and during the day they are set to energy saver. But at night, I can't sleep in a room that is warm! The rooms at WDW are unbearable for me to sleep in if I can't adjust the temp. And with them taking away so many ceiling fans, it's getting worse and worse for me!!
Even in the winter, our bedrooms don't use heat. If the room gets to below 55, it will come on, but that doesn't happen often.