How do I request certain Poly rooms??

[Kaycie4]

Hi! So glad I found this board! I am booked (me, hubby, and two daughters, ages 3 yrs. and 20 months) into the Poly next week (12/4) for three nights. This was a total last minute trip--I just made the reservations yesterday, so unfortunately all that was available was Garden View, and no concierge--no discounts, either, not even Disney Club (. When I spoke to the reservationist, she didn't ask about room preferences/longhouse preference, etc., and at the time I didn't know to ask. So now what do I do? Since it's such a last minute trip, am I just stuck taking whatever's left? Or do I need to call someone and let them know my preference? If so, do I call the reservation center back and tell them??

On another note, it's possible that we will be moving our trip back one week (my husband's job, of course). No problem with the flight (freq. flier award travel, already checked that it's available) and there's even MORE availablility at the Poly, including regular Lagoon View and Garden View concierge. So, I'm not sure what to do if I get to change my reservation--can't decide if concierge is worth it. With the two kiddies, the snacks might be worth it, and might keep us from having to spend too much time in restaurants (we can get appetizers/dessert in the conc. lounge instead!) and would be nice for breakast, too. But on the other hand, lagoon view would be nice. If the kids were already asleep we could go out on our patio/deck (if we had one) and watch fireworks, boat parade, etc. Do you think the benefits of concierge is really worth losing the view, if we have this option? And is the conc. service really worth the extra money?? Since we'll pretty much be spending most our time at the Magic Kingdom, it seems like it might be worth it to pop back to the hotel for the lounge food service rather than eating in the park itself.

How long do you think it takes to get from the MK back to the Poly?? Keep in mind we will be there during a really slow (less crowded) time.

Okay, that's way too many questions! Sorry about that! I can't wait.

 

[skfulkers]

Well, I'll leave most of your questions to the Poly experts on these boards, but I can answer at least one.
You can certainly request certain longhouses/preferences/floor #'s etc. The best way to accomplish this is to fax your requests to the Room Controller at the Poly. Check out this page for all the details and even a sample fax request.
http://www.wdwig.com/cro1.htm
Also, check out Tikiman's web site for all sorts of info on the Poly.
http://tikiman2001.homestead.com
If he checks this post anytime soon, I'm sure he can give you lots of tips for room requests.
Hope this helps!

 

[princessmomma]

Welcome to Kaycie,

You will find a wealth of information on these boards, it is amazing how much money you are able to save, but more importantly, the amount of time you can save in the parks and in transport.

Unfortunately, a special discount code just expired, I am not sure if it expired Sunday or Monday of this week. If I were you, I would call back CRO and ask if you could apply the code CUL. They may be sold out of rooms with this discount, but it is worth a try. If it did expire yesterday and you booked your room yesterday,...you never know.

Good Luck

 

[chamonix]

I have the same question--is it worth it to give up the view for concierge? I will also be there next week, and the next as well. I hate to give up my lagoon view, but would prefer to have concierge! what a dilemma!

 

[BCV23]

If the cost for GV concierge is close to the cost for lagoon view non-concierge, I'd go for it. The GV rooms are great, concierge or not.

I'd budget about 20 minutes to get back to the Poly. You have three options...monorail, launch directly to the GF and Poly, and ferry to the TTC then make the short walk to the Poly. The ferry is often the fastest midday but they're all fun!

 

[Kaycie4]

Thanks, everyone, for your very helpful responses! Here's an update--my husband is now sure we're moving the dates of the trip, so I called last night to change the dates. I got the MOST helfpul, friendly CSR this time!! He tried looking for all kinds of discounts, tried applying AAA, Disney Club, even the expired 'CUL' code, but no luck. He could not find any concierge availability (even though expedia shows some) so I booked a lagoon view. After we were done with the changes, he told me, without me having to ask, "let me try to make sure that you'll get a great castle view!" and then I could hear him tapping away at the keyboard. So I didn't bother to request a certain longhouse at this point if he put in a request for a good view! He also told me to call back several times (particularly the day after Thanksgiving) as he thought new discount codes might be released and they could apply them then.

Of course, now my dilemma is this...I'm set with the lagoon room with a request for a good view. But Expedia.com is still showing garden view concierge available, exactly $5 more per night. Somehow I feel better making my reservation directly with Disney, but of course I'm still thinking concierge might be worth losing the view for. Oh, decisions.....

The other good thing that has happened is that we've decided to stay at Disney our whole trip (we were originally staying at Disney 3 nights and then heading to our family's beach condo in Ft. Lauderdale for a few days). My new Poly reservation is for 5 nights, although we might switch it to 4 later. Originally, a family friends who is a retired Disney employee was using his passes to get us in free for 2 days, and I was going to buy an additional one-day, one-park ticket for us for the third day. Now, I have to buy Park Hopper passes. Boy, does it all add up fast. I figured I'd also buy tickets for one of the "Mickey Christmas Party" nights since most nights we are there the parks close by 6 p.m. Way too early!


Anyway, thanks again for all the great advice!