OKW GV "given" to nonmember for 10 days!

[PKS44]

From THE DISNEY NEWS email newsletter: I quote with editing for brevity the following:

We booked our trip in March of this year and wanted to stay at the Caribbean Beach resort, in the Martinique building, 1st floor, 3 rooms adjoining....
... for 10
days....When we arrived at Disney on Sept 13, we went to check in and ....While speaking with our representative he
started explaining that our room was in Trinidad and on the 2nd
floor, we told him that we made reservations in March and what we had requested...... I said to her, we are not staying here...
Myself and my brother, went back to the front desk and spoke with someone else explaining our problem, so they said they could put us up in Coronado Springs, I said if i wanted to stay there, I would have reserved the rooms there in the first place. I asked to speak with the manager, so about 10 minutes later, he came out explained that he did not know where the mix up was but assured us if we take the room we could have what we originally wanted tomorrow, I said that is still unacceptable and that would take time out of our day to move, he said no problem I will move everything for you, I still said no. I said if you want to make me happy right now, you can give us a 3 bedroom at Old Key West, he said he couldn't.

I told him you have 3 options, put us where we were supposed to
be in first place tonight, get us a 3 bedroom at OKW or a refund
and I am going to Universal. He said he definitely couldn't get
me the first choice tonight so I told him he had 2 options left,
he looked in his computer, made a call, and wallah, we had a 3
bedroom at OKW, no extra charge, apologized for the mix up and
said he didn't know how it happened but he hoped this made up for the inconvenience and it did. He was very nice about it, and I
was not rude, just a little upset. He told me who to talk to when
we arrived at OKW and wished us a great trip.

We went to OKW, checked in and had a grand villa for 10 days, and
that was awesome, very nice place to stay. We stayed at OKW
before but not in one this size.

Comments?

 

[CaliforniaDreaming]

All because their room request wasn't granted!?!?! Requests are on a request basis only, no guarantees. This definetly is not right. I guess being a pain to the CM's get's you what you want. Maybe next time I check into a Disney resort, I'll yell and scream to make them give me a great upgrade.

 

[zulaya]

Some people...

 

[nuthut]

SPOILED ROTTEN BIG BABY!!!

 

[LisaR]

Entitlement at its finest. I would have let her go to universal.

Lisa

 

[floridafam]

 

[PKS44]

I guess they had a cash GV that was going to sit empty for 10 days but I would have given them less---I understand their desire to keep this party on site for 10 days and into the future --and I agree they should point out that they never guarantee room locations that requests are just that- requests...but I would have offered them maybe 3 studios at OKW if they were available or a one bedroom and 2 studios but to give a GV just seems too much to me...for what they likely paid (it was one of these pay for 7 days and get 3 for free--I edited that part out) it probably ended up being a GV for around $300 a night...a steal... I was horrified by this story but it does show two things...Whining and making a fuss can pay and Disney is striving hard to please customers....

but now this story is all over the internet thanks to the email newsletter and my repeating it--sorry about that---I would hope most of the members on this board would never behave as this rotten family did....

Paul

 

[wdwstar]

I just hope no dvc memeber was bumped from this gv, like the post alittle while ago, dvc moved the person from gv to 2-2 bedrooms, i think, ill have to do a search on it

 

[PamOKW]

I'm not sure that I actually believe this story. Sounds like an "urban legend".

(I do believe PKS44 and the fact that the story is out there -- I'm just not sure whether it's "fact or fiction".)

 

[KNWVIKING]

When making a ressie,call well in advance and make very specific requests- building,floor,view,etc - and hope those requests aren't met. Then put on a show for the CM's until you get up graded to what you want.

I love it when people know the rules - no requests are guareenteed - but then demand they be the exception. Rules are for others, NOT for ME.

I would have asked them if they needed courtesy transportation to Universal.

 

[RweTHEREyet]

my very first impression, before reading any responses is "this person behaved like a spoiled brat." I don't think I could have ever behaved like this or demanded what this person did simply because of room location.

Glad to see I wasn't alone and that some others agree.

 

[Lesley]

Interesting how this person seems to think booking in March should guarantee room preference. I'm guessing this trip was in September? That's not exactly booking far in advance.

I agree that they should have been offered no more than WDW is legally obligated to offer....or maybe a free dinner for their "inconvenience", no more. A polite "room requests cannot be guaranteed...here are your other options..." and if I'm not mistaken they were beyond eligibility for a full refund...their deposit should have been forfeited if they chose to go elsewhere. As far as the CM aplogizing for the "mix up"...the way I see it there was no mix up....requests are not guaranteed.

It really saddens me to think that WDW management would be willing to take a GV away from a DVC member who reserved 11 months in advance to please someone who obviously is unreasonable in their expectations. But, of course, we really don't know if this was the case or not.

And I love the idea of offering courtesy transportation to Universal! LOL Honestly, I bet these folks would have taken what they were offerered as far as rooms at WDW rather than go elsewhere....people love to make idle threats if they think it will get them their way!

 

[dianeschlicht]

It really saddens me to think that WDW management would be willing to take a GV away from a DVC member who reserved 11 months in advance to please someone who obviously is unreasonable in their expectations. But, of course, we really don't know if this was the case or not.

I doubt this was the case. It wouldn't happen unless the GV was sitting there empty anyway.

As for the other poster who was switched to 2-2bedrooms. That GV was scheduled for rehab, so they were down by at least one GV for several weeks. In that case, several folks would have to be moved.

 

[timC]

I'm not sure that I actually believe this story. Sounds like an "urban legend".

Pam. I hope you're right.

I know that I've witnessed first hand, some of these antics that supposed "adults" make at the check-in counter. It's annoying to see people trying to take advantage of Disney's good faith effort to please their customers... but it's also extremely irritating to have to stand in line behind these clowns listening to this crap.

 

[TIdoublegaER]

While I believe this story is out there and the OP, I too have my doubts about its veracity. How likely is it that a GV would be empty for 10 days in September? Also, the GM at OKW would have to agree to this. I would be livid if OKW "bumped" a member because someone who booked FTP in a MODERATE didn't get their rooms in the building they wanted. I know Disney bends over backwards at times to please people, but I don't know if they would go this far or not. That is one hell of an upgrade. I think either 3 rooms at a deluxe or 3 studios would still have been a terrific upgrade considering they were getting deeply discounted moderate rooms to begin with.

I guess the moral of this story is whine, ***** and moan until you get what you really want. Reading this just reminds me of why I will never work with the general public again. There are some real winners out there.

 

[dianeschlicht]

It certainly is possible that a GV was empty. On our first official DVC stay, we met a couple at the quiet pool hot tub each evening who were staying in a GV for 2 weeks on an exchange through II. They had reserved a 1 bedroom, but got upgraded for free because it was available. THey had to scramble to invite folks down to stay with them!

 

[DebbieB]

>>he looked in his computer, made a call, and wallah, we had a 3
bedroom at OKW, no extra charge, apologized for the mix up and
said he didn't know how it happened but he hoped this made up for the inconvenience and it did. He was very nice about it, and I
was not rude, just a little upset. He told me who to talk to when
we arrived at OKW and wished us a great trip.<<

This is the part I don't believe. Why would a manager apologize and grovel for a room location request not being met? "apologized for the mix up and said he didn't know how it happened?". Huh? If there were no rooms available at the resort, I could see it, but just because they didn't get the requested building & floor?

I checked in at CBR 2 weeks ago and requested a room close to the food court. We were assigned a room in Barbados 15, about a 5 minute walk. I guess I should have demanded to move to an OKW 1 bedroom! The worst part is other people will now think they can pull this stunt.

 

[jctwizzer]

Originally posted by PKS44


A classic piece of troll bait; and a lot of people fell for it. Probably because its unusual, but not unheard of, on DIS. If you believe there were 10 consecutive unused GV days at OKW, I have a bridge you might be interested in.!!!!!!!!

 

[PKS44]

..not sure if I am being accused of being a troll or the author of the piece is...but I doubt it since the story was not placed on a bulletin board it was part of a yahoo groups email newsletter called The Disney News: [TheDisneyNews] Updates From Affordable WDW Vacation

Here is the whole thing un edited:

Kevin writes:

"Just want to tell you about our recent trip to disney, and that
we are no strangers to Disney at all. We booked our trip in March
of this year and wanted to stay at the Caribbean Beach resort, in
the Martinique building, 1st floor, 3 rooms adjoining.

We spoke with our travel agent and she got us a great deal on our
room, tickets, rental car and airfare. After she had made the
arrangements, she phoned us to let us know that our requests for
the room were not a problem and everything was set. "This is the
first time we used a length of stay pass but it was so worth it,
we paid for 7 days and got 3 free, which we were there for 10
days anyway.

When we arrived at Disney on Sept 13, we went to check in and had
no wait in line at all. While speaking with our representative he
started explaining that our room was in Trinidad and on the 2nd
floor, we told him that we made reservations in March and what we
had requested, he said they were probably booked before that, we
had some words but did not get it.

Anyway, we packed everyone into the rental van and went to find
our room, after locating the parking lot, my wife and I went to
find our building and lo and behold it was in the middle of
nothing, and had quite a trip to the parking lot from the room. I
said to her, we are not staying here and told the rest of my
family to put everything back into the van.

Myself and my brother, went back to the front desk and spoke with
someone else explaining our problem, so they said they could put
us up in Coronado Springs, I said if i wanted to stay there, I
would have reserved the rooms there in the first place. I asked
to speak with the manager, so about 10 minutes later, he came out
explained that he did not know where the mix up was but assured
us if we take the room we could have what we originally wanted
tomorrow, I said that is still unacceptable and that would take
time out of our day to move, he said no problem I will move
everything for you, I still said no. I said if you want to make
me happy right now, you can give us a 3 bedroom at Old Key West,
he said he couldn't.

I told him you have 3 options, put us where we were supposed to
be in first place tonight, get us a 3 bedroom at OKW or a refund
and I am going to Universal. He said he definitely couldn't get
me the first choice tonight so I told him he had 2 options left,
he looked in his computer, made a call, and wallah, we had a 3
bedroom at OKW, no extra charge, apologized for the mix up and
said he didn't know how it happened but he hoped this made up for
the inconvenience and it did. He was very nice about it, and I
was not rude, just a little upset. He told me who to talk to when
we arrived at OKW and wished us a great trip.

We went to OKW, checked in and had a grand villa for 10 days, and
that was awesome, very nice place to stay. We stayed at OKW
before but not in one this size. As for the rest of the trip it
was uneventful, we had a character breakfast almost every morning
which my 3yo daughter loved every minute of and 2 character
dinners. We had an awesome time, the weather was great, crowds
were small, and we couldn't have asked for anything more. (well
except for my daughter getting sick and having to take her to
Centra Care)

I cant wait to go back, especially to see the new attractions in
Animal Kingdom. Just wanted to let you know that you can be
treated fairly if you just speak up, after all you are the guest.

Thanks for your book, it is very enlightening and informative."

Glad you were able to get it sorted out. 3 bedrooms at OKW! WOW!
Sorry your daughter got sick. Our son got pneumonia one Xmas and
we had to take him to a clinic for treatment. Thank God he
recovered quickly.

I think my history on these boards of over 800 posts (I think we lost some at some point so I think I am over 1000) pretty much shows I am not a troll.

 

[JOC]

I also get that newsletter, and that letter from "Kevin" was posted in the newsletter. Now, whether or not that incident really happened and "Kevin" really exists is an entirely different story.