Ordeal . . . or no ordeal. My phone conversations last night with Disney.

[icarus]

It took a while, and I had to go around the world via telephone a few times before they got it right, but in the end it all worked out.


I had been calling the Wilderness Lodge for the past few days to see if our reservation had been entered into the system. Finally last night it was in. It took a while to uncover that knowledge.


The first person at the Lodge sent me to some central calling place where, after pushing buttons for about 2 minutes, I was able to speak to a (almost non-english speaking) person. I stated to her that I was just calling to confirm and check on room requests (I had to repeat this 3 times to her). She replied by telling me that "Any changes to my reservation had to be made with my travel agent." I again stated that I wasn't looking to change anything, but to check on the request notes that I had made in february, and add a few more. She repeated herself again . . . in a robotic tone . . . kind of like she was reading a script. I tried to explain again what I was doing, and she cut me off saying there was "nothing more I can do."
[end of call]


. . . Frustrated I called the lodge back. Right after the woman answered the phone I pleaded with her not to send me to the call center. I explained the ordeal, she gave a chuckle and said she was going to ". . . slip me in through the back door to the main desk." The next woman I spoke to Lee, was a breath of fresh air. She confirmed my original room requests and added the one other thing I was really calling about - "Have a Magical Evening!" - done.


I did ask her if she worked at the Wilderness Lodge, and she said, "I work at the front desk.". I followed up with . . ."at the lodge?". She answered "I work on disney property." That is probably better than getting a call center in Alabama or wherever it is, but I do find it interesting that it's so hard to actually speak with people at the resort (not just with Disney hotels). I guess in the end it doesn't really matter, but speaking to the individual on disney property seemed to make a big difference.

 

[dclfun]

I'm glad you found the right person to speak with! I also found it strange to be thinking I was speaking with someone AT the resort, only to find out it wasn't even someone on property, esp. when I dialed the resort directly.---Kathy

 

[MermaidsMom]

When you book with a travel agent you are supposed to deal directly with that agent for any issues related to that booking. The people at the front desk are very busy with the people that are standing in the lines right in front of them, as you will see when you check in for your vacation. I am betting you would not appreciate them spending time talking on the phone with people at home about their upcoming trip's instead of helping you actually check in. That's what CRO and travel agents are for.

I guess if you bother people long enough you can finally get ahold of someone at the actual front desk. But what is the point? It's only a request and the people who grant it are the same people who are at the desk when you check in. If they are too busy answering everyones phone calls they will never have time to look for your special requests when YOU check in anyway.

My point is: If everyone does this, then the desk is too busy to help the people actually in line get their request met when they are actually there.

 

[disnut8]

This is a common misconception for a lot of people not only at Disney World for for hotels and resorts all over the world in general. Unless you call the hotel itself directly, you are not going to be speaking to a person right at the hotel. That's why places like Holiday Inn, Ramada, etc. have 800 numbers. But Disney does have that but a Central Reservations number. So all resort reservations are booked though one number. The operators may be all over the country (or world) but everything goes through one number. For Disney, that's where you would make your requests and ask questions. It does help with having the Front Desk people just deal with the "live" guests that are at the resort.

Your situation was further complicated because you went through a travel agent. The agents don't really want you to call the resort or hotel directly because then they (the agent) aren't aware of things that you are expecting from your trip. If your travel agent made your reservation with two room requests and you call directly with a third one and then tell your agent that you weren't happy because your requests (meaning the third one) weren't met, then that agent has no idea what you are talking about. In a situation like that, you might complain to Disney World and then to your travel agent, then the travel agent would complain to Disney World. So everyone tries to avoid an extra step and a double complaint. One of the reasons I don't use a travel agent but that's another story.

So, the first person you spoke to was correct. You were calling Central Reservations but had made your arraignments through a travel agent. Any changes to that reservation should be made through the agent so both you and the agent are on the same page. Calling the front desk of a Disney proprty isn't going to do you much good since all reservations are kept at Central Reservations until just a few days before you check in anyway.

Hope that helps explain what you went through.

 

[Matt'sMom]

I stated to her that I was just calling to confirm and check on room requests (I had to repeat this 3 times to her). She replied by telling me that "Any changes to my reservation had to be made with my travel agent."

That original reservations CM... and Mermaid'sMom... were both correct. I guess I am having difficulty understanding why you did not just contact your TA regarding your reservation confirmation and room requests?

I use a wonderful TA for booking our WDW vacations & ADRs. When we book, and again when our deposit is recorded, she promptly emails me with our reservation confirmation documents. That way I can print them and have a hard copy of our WDW confirmation in hand. It happens to state right on the document/confirmation from WDW (direct quote): PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING: For reservation information and modifications PRIOR TO ARRIVAL, please call your travel agent.

I would think that checking up on 'requests' seems to fall under the reservation 'information' catagory. Your TA could check/confirm that information for you. No need to tie up the reservations CMs nor the resort front desk CMs for such info. As Mermaid'sMom mentioned, the resort CMs' time is more efficiently spent dealing with those guests currently on site. Since your actual room is not asigned until within a day or so of check in (or, asigned/modified at check in in some cases), there really isn't much point in contacting the resort prior to your arrival. Your TA is capable of seeing that your requests are noted on your reservation.

 

[goofy4tink]

The other thing to keep in mind is that your 'request's are just that...requests. There is nothing etched in stone saying you are going to get what you have requested. Yes, they do try to give you what you want, but if there are 6 guests, checking in before you, and they have similar requests to yours, who do you think is going to get their requests met? Yep, the person checking in first. Your room is not your room until the room keys are handed over to you. I have had a few instances where I have ended up in rooms that were not set aside for me. I've gotten to checkin and when I heard where I was being put, muttered to my dd that they must have heard we were poorly behaved since they put us in the back of the resort..of course, I was only kidding. But the CM overheard me and told me that if I was willing to wait for a room, she could give me a room in the bldg right up front!!! So....remember, even if you call the day before you arrive, and you are told that your requests have been noted, you may not get what you want..it's pretty much the luck of the draw. Most get some requests met most of the time. But, not always.

 

[icarus]

That original reservations CM... and Mermaid'sMom... were both correct. I guess I am having difficulty understanding why you did not just contact your TA regarding your reservation confirmation and room requests?

Actually, the advice of calling the resort directly was given to me on this board (mentioned numerous times in various threads). It is apparantly something that is done more often then not.

As far as the travel agent goes, when I booked my trip in February with her, we were both on the line with Disney and when room requests were brought up, the Disny person said "I can note requests for you, but you should contact the resort the week before your stay to confirm things". This is exactly what she said. Now, whether she was someone who used to work for a resort chain other than Disney prior I don't know, but that was the advice she specifically gave, which I understand is contrary to some of the replies to my original thread.

As far as the issue of going back to my travel agent to deal with things, she could not help me as far as time constraints, ect. But, the woman that I finally did speak to said that what I was asking for was nothing out of the ordinary and she didn't know why the original person didn't help me. If I were asking for upgrades, additional nights, etc. that would have been a different story, but since I was mearly checking on notes to my reservation it was not out of the ordinary, and the last person that I spoke to did NOT understand why I wasn't helped to begin with. .

I guess if you bother people long enough you can finally get ahold of someone at the actual front desk. But what is the point?
My point is: If everyone does this, then the desk is too busy to help the people actually in line get their request met when they are actually there.

As originally stated the last woman I spoke to did not appear to be someone who worked at the lodge

I'm sorry if you feel that I was "bothering" People, because I dont' feel I was in anyway. I would have been fine with the first person, if she was just able to look at things, like the last person did with my reservation. Was I looking to talk directly with the "front desk"? Not nec., but at 7:00pm on a Thursday night when I have the time to do this stuff, and my travel agent isn't around, I don't think I'm asking too much, to get someone without going through all of the buttons and questions, and crap that goes with it. When you book a trip like this, you want to at least feel like you not just another number(even though you are). If these folks weren't on the phone with me, they would have been on the phone with someone else, and if I knew that what I was asking for was an impossible task, then I wouldn't have made the call. But again, the fact, that numerous folks on this board as well as the advice given from Disney was for ME to call back closer to the tirp, I don't think I stepped out of bounds.

. . . and I am far from someone who "bothers" people.

As with any forum the advice will varry from person to person, and in the end I just try to do what I feel is the best course of action for my situation.

 

[LoriZH]

Oh yeah, I've spoken with CR front desk directly and it's a whole new world (pun intended ). Glad you got it straightened out and have a MAGICAL vacation oh...did I mention I was jealous?

 

[MermaidsMom]

It took a while, and I had to go around the world via telephone a few times before they got it right, but in the end it all worked out.


I had been calling the Wilderness Lodge for the past few days to see if our reservation had been entered into the system. Finally last night it was in. It took a while to uncover that knowledge.


The first person at the Lodge sent me to some central calling place where, after pushing buttons for about 2 minutes, I was able to speak to a (almost non-english speaking) person. I stated to her that I was just calling to confirm and check on room requests (I had to repeat this 3 times to her). She replied by telling me that "Any changes to my reservation had to be made with my travel agent." I again stated that I wasn't looking to change anything, but to check on the request notes that I had made in february, and add a few more. She repeated herself again . . . in a robotic tone . . . kind of like she was reading a script. I tried to explain again what I was doing, and she cut me off saying there was "nothing more I can do."
[end of call]


. . . Frustrated I called the lodge back. Right after the woman answered the phone I pleaded with her not to send me to the call center. I explained the ordeal, she gave a chuckle and said she was going to ". . . slip me in through the back door to the main desk." The next woman I spoke to Lee, was a breath of fresh air. She confirmed my original room requests and added the one other thing I was really calling about - "Have a Magical Evening!" - done.


I did ask her if she worked at the Wilderness Lodge, and she said, "I work at the front desk.". I followed up with . . ."at the lodge?". She answered "I work on disney property." That is probably better than getting a call center in Alabama or wherever it is, but I do find it interesting that it's so hard to actually speak with people at the resort (not just with Disney hotels). I guess in the end it doesn't really matter, but speaking to the individual on disney property seemed to make a big difference.

OP:"I'm sorry if you feel that I was "bothering" People, because I dont' feel I was in anyway"




Maybe "bother" was a poor choice of words . I do hope you have an awesome trip and get all of your request met!

 

[Sammie]

They started doing this because so many people were calling the front desk it was interferring with thier job of checking people in. Guests really do not like to stand in line for long periods of time due to the CMs being on the phone.

As to the advice from this forum to call a few days out, well not all the advice given here is based on what actually works best.

 

[Chuck S]

And remember, even calling the direct phone number for the resort my not give you the actual front desk. Disney has a virtual front desk system, where basically your calls are answered by the WDW Operator, who has access to many items dealing with your reservation. It used to be you actually had to call the resort to run your charge plate if your on-site credit limit was over the max, now the WDW operator can handle that.

 

[labattblue]

When I made my resort reservations for next April using the main WDW number, I hung up the first two times because the of the poor English skills of the CM. The accents were so thick and grammar so poor, that I was lucky to understand every 2nd or 3rd word....and I work in an environment where I deal with people from all over the world.

The 3rd call was the charm!

 

[Matt'sMom]

that was the advice she specifically gave, which I understand is contrary to some of the replies to my original thread.

As far as the issue of going back to my travel agent to deal with things, she could not help me...

So sorry to learn that you received such poor service from your TA! She should have been available and willing to provide you with confirmation regarding your requests. Guess I need to count my blessings that the TA we use makes such a sincere effort to remain well informed and on top of things.

I do want to wish the OP a magical WDW vacation!

 

[dunbarfamily]

Lots of people have commented that you could be talking to someone from anywhere in the world when you call CRO, which I knew. But until my last trip, I didn't know that when you call "Front Desk" from your in-room phone, you're actually not talking to the front desk at your hotel, but rather a central front desk, so to speak. I learned this from a front desk CM. Just an interesting tidbit.

OP...glad it worked out for you, even if it did take awhile!

 

[Sammie]

Lots of people have commented that you could be talking to someone from anywhere in the world when you call CRO, which I knew. But until my last trip, I didn't know that when you call "Front Desk" from your in-room phone, you're actually not talking to the front desk at your hotel, but rather a central front desk, so to speak. I learned this from a front desk CM. Just an interesting tidbit.

OP...glad it worked out for you, even if it did take awhile!

That is correct and truly they "had" to do this to improve the efficiency of the Front Desk. Many guests would call the Front Desk to ask, what time is the 3pm parade. I am not kidding.

So as Chuck said, the Disney Call Center handles the calls now and they can pull up your reservation if it is in the system, and handles calls that will allow the Front Desk to deal with the guests there at the desk.

 

[teentoddlermom]

My experience in trying to call the resort directly worked out great! We were driving to Disney and getting there a whole day early, and called CRO at 5pm to try to get a room. Alas, no room anywhere. I used my cell phone 411 to get the number for the WL, the front desk manager or room assigner answered, and was able to save a room for us! Granted, it was at rack rate, it was at the end a very long hallway, and we had to check out and recheck in the next day to the same resort. But it was great to not talk to someone in a call center; it was more personal and the manager gave us his name and checked us in when we showed up at 9pm that night to have an early start to our wonderful vacation!

 

[Cindy's Mom]

Lots of people have commented that you could be talking to someone from anywhere in the world when you call CRO, which I knew. But until my last trip, I didn't know that when you call "Front Desk" from your in-room phone, you're actually not talking to the front desk at your hotel, but rather a central front desk, so to speak. I learned this from a front desk CM. Just an interesting tidbit.

OP...glad it worked out for you, even if it did take awhile!

I figured out that I wasn't really talking to the front dest a couple trips ago, when they give you that business card at check in that says to call the Front Desk for your room assignment. I went to a house phone, dialed the 5 digit extension and asked if my room was ready, the operator then asked what resort I was calling about and then she told me that they have a centralized front desk system.

The name of the place is called the FRONT DESK. tricky