New Reservation Policy - Have Your Names Ready

[LibertyBelle]

Hi LibertyBelle:

DH & I are arriving on 1/22 - Not looking forward to that long check-in line...should I call MS and add his name to the ressie now?

TIA
- Sharon

Welcome Home Honestly we were told that "Member Services did not have that function" so to see this thread made my entire day , cause I tell you what, the last week has been LONG (the procedure went into affect with MYW on Jan 2). You can call and have his name added if you want, but if it is just the two of you it is a quick add (one extra step)... it is when you get the rooms with a lot of people that it gets lengthy

 

[EmptyNester]

Welcome Home Honestly we were told that "Member Services did not have that function" so to see this thread made my entire day , cause I tell you what, the last week has been LONG (the procedure went into affect with MYW on Jan 2). You can call and have his name added if you want, but if it is just the two of you it is a quick add (one extra step)... it is when you get the rooms with a lot of people that it gets lengthy

Ooohhh, thanks for the early "Welcome Home"! That will help tide me over until the 22nd

I think I'll call and add DH's name now. It can't hurt and maybe it will shorten someone else's wait time.

Eleven days and counting...
- Sharon

 

[DeeCee735]

I was asked for this specific information two years ago, when we took one of the kids friends with us, they asked for not only her name, but the spelling, and she had her own card.

 

[ClarabelleCow]

Just booked our trip to HH for August, they asked all names and ages, I bet it may also havea to do with activities, if they know they have 300 kids under the age of 6, they will have more counselers for them (IE HH or Vero), have never utilized the activites at the other resorts.

Or could it be a way of preventing people from bookiing a reservation then selling it? I don't see how, because once the reservation is booked, you can always call and make changes?

But it could be a way to track peoples activities?

Who knows, at Vero we also would ask to have cards made up with the kids name on them, they loved that! (And they would as long as they were not busy)

 

[Shadeaux]

As for the age question, they do not need specific ages for those over 18 years old, just anyone under, as the ID cards are personalized they have to know who is a Junior (10-17 years old) and who is a child (3-9).

Thanks for clarifying the age thing. Unless Disney starts offering senior discounts, all they need to know is about me is I'm over 18.

 

[LibertyBelle]

Just booked our trip to HH for August, they asked all names and ages, I bet it may also havea to do with activities, if they know they have 300 kids under the age of 6, they will have more counselers for them (IE HH or Vero), have never utilized the activites at the other resorts.

Or could it be a way of preventing people from bookiing a reservation then selling it? I don't see how, because once the reservation is booked, you can always call and make changes?

But it could be a way to track peoples activities?

Hilton Head and Vero Beach are considered Walt Disney World resorts under the Company umbrella. So all the CM's that work at them are considered WDW Cast Members. Because they are "WDW" resorts they have the same computer system. All upgrades and additions are made to their hotels as well, so even though they might not be selling MYW ticket, the MYW system is in use so they are on the same system (we have access to their system and they have access to ours). So names would also be required at both of those simply because the new system is across the board.

Also to clarify something that was brought up earlier. The charging remains the same, only one CC can be applied to a reservation at a time, so there was some mis-information issued as the post on page one stated they were told that they thought you could have mutiple cards on one res now that everyone has their own KTTW card. This is not the case.

 

[inky dinky doo]

As for the age question, they do not need specific ages for those over 18 years old, just anyone under, as the ID cards are personalized they have to know who is a Junior (10-17 years old) and who is a child (3-9).

I'm curious, LibertyBelle. Why would they need to know who's a junior and who's a child? There isn't any difference in pricing, is there? I know there was years ago--like in '87, when we stayed at the Contemporary--but I thought that went away a long time ago.

Pat

 

[stephen11]

I can confirm that we checked into a BWV Studio on 12/30 and the two keys were in my name... we then moved to a 1-BR on 1/2/05 and we each had individual keys with our own name... it did not seem to be a problem at all and the lines were very short....

 

[DisneyHumbug]

Called MS today to reserve August and was asked how many and were they adults or children, but no names, other than mine. Last week when I added a weekend day at POFQ to my Feb. reservation, I was asked for the names of everyone in my party.

 

[doubletrouble_vb]

I still don't see the point except to harvest marketing information from the guests. The LAST thing I'd want to have happen is that a CM asks me who I'm bringing and names names from my previous trip. Kids...if there are activities at the resort I can see why they would want to know their ages to ensure appropriate staffing. Names...an explanation is in order here...names don't do the GUEST any good unless someone is going to ask them to show ID. It really sounds like a poor programming decision...you'll need names for the MYW tickets won't you? Why not get them from EVERYBODY checking into the room because they must be going into the parks with KTTW.

 

[inky dinky doo]

The LAST thing I'd want to have happen is that a CM asks me who I'm bringing and names names from my previous trip.

I thought that was a little wierd, too. It's seems a little personal to ask whether Jack, Sally, Joan are coming with you this time. Other than security purposes, I can't think of any reason they need to know, let alone start suggesting people's names. It's just odd.

 

[The4OfUs]

I'm curious, LibertyBelle. Why would they need to know who's a junior and who's a child? There isn't any difference in pricing, is there? I know there was years ago--like in '87, when we stayed at the Contemporary--but I thought that went away a long time ago.

Pat

Isn't there a difference in pricing with the meals now, as well as tickets? My son is 10, and I thought that at this point, according to Disney, he's an 'adult' all the way around - maybe this is to ensure that you're being charged appropriately?

 

[Shadeaux]

Isn't there a difference in pricing with the meals now, as well as tickets? My son is 10, and I thought that at this point, according to Disney, he's an 'adult' all the way around - maybe this is to ensure that you're being charged appropriately?

But what does any of this have to do with who is staying in your room? If I'm not buying a meal plan or a park pass through the resort, they don't need the ages of anyone in our party.

I still don't see the point except to harvest marketing information from the guests.

This is most likely the real reason behind the new system. I don't think it has anything to do with security as has been suggested. As for asking if so & so is who went on a previous trip is going this time.....in all honesty, I'd probably tell them it wasn't any of their business. What if one of those people has died?

Several times we've had friends or family call us at OKW only to be told we either haven't checked in yet (we'd been there 3 days or longer), we didn't have a reservation, we'd already checked out or perhaps the caller had the name wrong. I believe my mom knows my name. What good does it do to have the names of everyone in the room in the computer when they can't even locate a guest who has been there for days?

 

[The4OfUs]

But what does any of this have to do with who is staying in your room? If I'm not buying a meal plan or a park pass through the resort, they don't need the ages of anyone in our party.

No, I guess I was thinking about folks that go out to one of the restaurants with their 11 yr old who suddenly turns 9 for the night, to save money. *shrug* However, as someone who is never carded for buying alcohol *sob*, I would not like it if we were sitting down, tell the server we want the buffet, and have them ask for my kids' "ID"...so I hope I'm way off base. BUT - that is what they use it for on the ship, I know because on my last cruise, someone brought their 17 yr old daughter along to Palo's, which is 18 and up. They were seated, then some questions kicked in, and they were asked to have her leave.

 

[BEACHCLUBVILLAS]

If it's tied to MYW tickets, maybe its a way to track who didn't buy tickets? How much money did they lose for those folks who had short visits and decided not to go to the parks because of the pricing structure. I know my parents are coming for a weekend and opted not to go to the parks because its too expensive for a couple days.

 

[inky dinky doo]

If it's tied to MYW tickets, maybe its a way to track who didn't buy tickets? How much money did they lose for those folks who had short visits and decided not to go to the parks because of the pricing structure. I know my parents are coming for a weekend and opted not to go to the parks because its too expensive for a couple days.

If that's the case, then I think their data mining is bordering on becoming intrusive.

 

[ClarabelleCow]

As I said in another post, I wonder if it has to do with how many CM's to have on site for "onsite" activities?? Kind of like the cruise ships, that way they can judge how many age groups they have???

 

[LibertyBelle]

I'm curious, LibertyBelle. Why would they need to know who's a junior and who's a child? There isn't any difference in pricing, is there? I know there was years ago--like in '87, when we stayed at the Contemporary--but I thought that went away a long time ago.

Pat

there is a difference in pricing when it comes to tickets. A Junior KTTW card comes out as an adult and a child KTTW card come out as a child. Once the Id cards are printed as a child it can not be changed to a Junior card with out adding and additional person to the party mix. People will book the reservations as 2 adults and 2 children (thinking there 15 year old is a child) and then try and buy passes for that "child". The system looks at the type of ticket (adult/child) and sells the pass accordinly. If you have stated that your 15 year old is a child and you try and buy a pass for them it will not be correct as that 15 year old is actually a junior and considered an adult for pricing purposes.

Also just to say again as it seems that it was missed... The reason that the names are being added is because that is what the guests wanted. From my previous post:

The personalization of the cards was a decision that was made based on guest request. In the surveys that they send out (and from the comments made at check in) it was decided that guests wanted their ID cards to be their own. People always ask if their kids can have their own names on the card, or when you hand the cards out they say "Oh honey this ones yours" not realizing the same name is on every card.

In addition to this it is because of the MYW passes and the Identification purposes, if your Ticket tag doesn't work at the turnstiles they will ask for ID if your name is not the one on the ticket they will deny access... I realize that what you all are saying is that if you don't have tickets it should not matter, but that then falls back to the comment above. It was what guests wanted and the system is the same for all hotels, so to change it for the WDW resorts and not the DVC resorts was not possible.

 

[Nanajo1]

I don't doubt some guests requested individual names on the room key but I wonder how many. It seems whenever Disney implements a change they fall back on "it's what guests want". Two changes that I remember being done at guest requests were the ending of Early Entry and the start of Characters at select resorts both to be reversed at ? guest request??? One could argue that Disney does listen to guest but only after changes fail to please?

 

[LibertyBelle]

Honestly this is the only place I have seen this getting an adverse reaction. The guests that have been checking in at the hotel think it's great. There have been a lot of "Oh look honey I don't have to be you anymore" and "wow son look it has your name on it."