Received email about closings at CBR - help!!

[rotlex]

If you change your mind there will plenty of options.

Ya, it's not that we NEVER eat at the resort, but honestly, other than the pools, the resort is a place to sleep for us. Getting $900 in gift cards for not having a little construction going on on top of the free dining is awesome.

 

[married2mm]

I'm going back and forth on what to do. We currently have two rooms booked in Sept for 5 nights. (Will this make them moving us more difficult if we chose that route?) There are 7 of us (3 adults, 4 kids). We really don't want the inconvenience of no food court--our routine is eating breakfast there every morning and grabbing snacks in the evening.
We've always stayed at CBR, never anywhere else, although we talk about trying somewhere new. So I know nothing about any other resort. If I were to call and they offered a different resort, I feel like I'd be going into our vacation not sure of whether we'd like where we're staying. I know, I know...it's Disney and I'm sure they're all great & we should just be happy to be there.
Any advice? Sorry for rambling.

P.s. I should mention we're taking my mom and my 12yr old niece for their first times. This is what's difficult because I just want things to be perfect. This construction news really threw a wrench in things.

I know it's not quite what you had in mind but somebody got a free of charge move to a 2 bed villa at ssr.
The extra living space ,balcony and laundry would be a definite bonus for your party.
I would most definitely push for this....

 

[lor]

Ok I just found out about this offer, so I apologize if this question has been asked already,
So the $75 per day gift card that they are offering, can this be applied to your package/room etc? Don't really want to spend $75 per day in souvenirs ad stuff, but would love to apply it to my package/room cost.
TIA

 

[NothingSound14]

So here's my conundrum with all this.

I have a trip booked for mid-August. My hope is that free-dining is released for the week we're going since it was last year the same week. Right now we are booked at Pop Century and I would obviously upgrade to a moderate to get free dining. My question is should I upgrade to CBR now and get the $75/night gift card? Will they still offer free dining on top of the gift card? Will there really be no places to get food at the entire resort? Can I even get my morning coffee in my refillable mug? Or should I upgrade to POR or CS since they may fill up even without free dining in light of nobody wanting to be at CBR?

 

[thisismyusername]

Sorry--hate to ask this since I know it's likely somewhere in this thread--but if I were to book a night next week at CBR, would I get a $75 gift card?

 

[pitpat]

Sorry--hate to ask this since I know it's likely somewhere in this thread--but if I were to book a night next week at CBR, would I get a $75 gift card?

No, it's only for late April and beyond.

 

[meanbean527]

Will we get the gift card if we booked with Expedia? Or is only with reservations booked on the Disney site?

 

[SouthernSoprano]

"I know it's not quite what you had in mind but somebody got a free of charge move to a 2 bed villa at ssr.
The extra living space ,balcony and laundry would be a definite bonus for your party.
I would most definitely push for this...." (~married2mm)



It actually might work out better for us. We'd be all together vs being in two seperate rooms (which may not be together). I think I will at least ask about it. Hey, it's worth it, right? If it's yes, then ! If it's no, then I'll still get two rooms somewhere anyway.

 

[focusondisney]

Ok I just found out about this offer, so I apologize if this question has been asked already,
So the $75 per day gift card that they are offering, can this be applied to your package/room etc? Don't really want to spend $75 per day in souvenirs ad stuff, but would love to apply it to my package/room cost.
TIA

If you have a package booked, the final payment must be made 30 days before check in. You will not get the gift card until you arrive. You might get them to refund your prior payment & apply the gift card, but that seems very unlikely. If you have a room only reservation, you should be able to use the gift card for the remaining balance.

So here's my conundrum with all this.

I have a trip booked for mid-August. My hope is that free-dining is released for the week we're going since it was last year the same week. Right now we are booked at Pop Century and I would obviously upgrade to a moderate to get free dining. My question is should I upgrade to CBR now and get the $75/night gift card? Will they still offer free dining on top of the gift card? Will there really be no places to get food at the entire resort? Can I even get my morning coffee in my refillable mug? Or should I upgrade to POR or CS since they may fill up even without free dining in light of nobody wanting to be at CBR?

No one knows yet if free dining will be offered at all, let alone if it will be available at CBR. This is what the email says for dining options: Centertown buffet for breakfast & dinner, grab & go options at 3 new locations thru out the resort, ala cart options at mobile locations & in room service for pizza, past & sandwiches. Your guess is as good as mine on if the other moderates will fill up without discounts. This is a pretty new situation for Disney resorts so until reports start coming in, everything is speculation. Only you can decide what's right for your family.

Sorry--hate to ask this since I know it's likely somewhere in this thread--but if I were to book a night next week at CBR, would I get a $75 gift card?

The email specifically says "starting in May 2017" construction will begin. There have been some reports of people with reservations in
The end of April getting the email about the gift card. No one has reported getting it yet. I doubt anyone will get it in March with nothing going to start for another 2 months. But you never know.

 

[meohmy]

I can't believe what just happene! I called today since we are booked at cb for December and the woman told me that upon check in we would receive a 75$ gift card per night which for us was 9 nights but she did also say that the construction is supposed to be done by then I mentioned that I heard you could switch resorts to port orlenes saratoga springs or the cabins she she asked and said yes we could do that pending resort availability so I shot for the stars and said Saratoga springs while on hold I looked and saw that the standard room could only hold 4 and we are a party of 5 well she came back on and said I would never believe this they gave us a 2 bedroom villa at the same price! I can't believe it we could never afford this room in our lives we have just been blessed!

Thank you for your post.

I called Disney today to move from CBR and after reading your post and rather than ask to move to Beach Club for an additional fee, I asked for Saratoga Springs.

And they agreed to our request!!!!!!!

We are a family of five and were lucky to stay at Saratoga Springs a few years ago so are beyond delighted to be returning. We are not telling our children, they were so disappointed we were not returning to SSR that they will be more excited than us.

I had only thought that studios at SSR were being offered so your post was both informative and fortuitous.

Thank you again for sharing your good news, I am now sharing mine

 

[thisismyusername]

Thanks!

 

[LongLiveRafiki]

"I know it's not quite what you had in mind but somebody got a free of charge move to a 2 bed villa at ssr.
The extra living space ,balcony and laundry would be a definite bonus for your party.
I would most definitely push for this...." (~married2mm)



It actually might work out better for us. We'd be all together vs being in two seperate rooms (which may not be together). I think I will at least ask about it. Hey, it's worth it, right? If it's yes, then ! If it's no, then I'll still get two rooms somewhere anyway.

Be prepared for them to only offer port Orleans at first. It was only after i mentioned disboards and numerous people posting about receiving Saratoga that I was put on hold and finally offered it. Then I had to ask about the 2 bedroom (originally we were offered two studios), I was put on hold again, and they finally agreed to it. So anyway they may not offer what you want upfront, but if you are persistent and always tell them you know others have received it, you will have a much better chance.

 

[ldymcbth]

I got the $75/night gift card offer for our late June trip, but called to see if we could be moved elsewhere b/c this is my first big vacation post-divorce and I wanted it to be really nice. We always stayed at Deluxe prior to my husband walking out but I thought CBR looked pretty nice and like something the kids might enjoy. I was bummed to hear about the construction and closures while we are there.

So I called about moving and was offered 2 rooms at All Star Sports (we have 5 people.) I said no thanks to that, and she said there was also availability at Bay Lake Tower but that it would not be an upgrade - I would have to pay the difference, which amounted to like $4000 - which I don't have. So I guess we are stuck at CBR. At least we'll have the gift cards to cover meals. I'm jealous of those of you whose requested and got bumped to another hotel. That was my hope - just not down to a value.

 

[LongLiveRafiki]

I got the $75/night gift card offer for our late June trip, but called to see if we could be moved elsewhere b/c this is my first big vacation post-divorce and I wanted it to be really nice. We always stayed at Deluxe prior to my husband walking out but I thought CBR looked pretty nice and like something the kids might enjoy. I was bummed to hear about the construction and closures while we are there.

So I called about moving and was offered 2 rooms at All Star Sports (we have 5 people.) I said no thanks to that, and she said there was also availability at Bay Lake Tower but that it would not be an upgrade - I would have to pay the difference, which amounted to like $4000 - which I don't have. So I guess we are stuck at CBR. At least we'll have the gift cards to cover meals. I'm jealous of those of you whose requested and got bumped to another hotel. That was my hope - just not down to a value.

Keep trying. Several people have reported on here being moved to AOA family suites, both Port Orleans resorts, FW cabins, and Saratoga. As I said in an earlier post, we were only offered Saratoga after I mentioned that several people on the disboards reported being offered it. They are hoping you will go with the cheapest option they offer. Make it clear that you know others have been offered other resorts. If you really want to switch, keep trying.

 

[prmatz]

I posted this elsewhere also, but FYI:

I emailed Disney regarding our stay, April 24-May 4. I've been uncertain as to whether the $75 gift card would be available each day for the duration of my stay (which is how the email from Disney with my reservation number certainly suggested), beginning May 1 (commencement of construction), or not at all (since checking in prior to May 1). The response I received, below, did not clarify things for me.

"Dear Paul,

Thank you for contacting the Walt Disney World® Resort.

I would be happy to provide clarification in regards to the upcoming refurbishments at Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort. Since you will be checking in prior to the compensation starting, I would recommend talking to the resort Front Desk in regards to the nights you are staying past May 1st, 2017. They will be able to discuss with you the options in regards to the compensation.

If you have questions or need further assistance, feel free to contact us.

Sincerely,

Tasha Wilusz
eCommerce Sales and Service Team

PLEASE NOTE: All information is subject to change without notice and should be confirmed just prior to your visit."

 

[halssister]

I posted this elsewhere also, but FYI:

I emailed Disney regarding our stay, April 24-May 4. I've been uncertain as to whether the $75 gift card would be available each day for the duration of my stay (which is how the email from Disney with my reservation number certainly suggested), beginning May 1 (commencement of construction), or not at all (since checking in prior to May 1). The response I received, below, did not clarify things for me.

"Dear Paul,

Thank you for contacting the Walt Disney World® Resort.

I would be happy to provide clarification in regards to the upcoming refurbishments at Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort. Since you will be checking in prior to the compensation starting, I would recommend talking to the resort Front Desk in regards to the nights you are staying past May 1st, 2017. They will be able to discuss with you the options in regards to the compensation.

If you have questions or need further assistance, feel free to contact us.

Sincerely,

Tasha Wilusz
eCommerce Sales and Service Team

PLEASE NOTE: All information is subject to change without notice and should be confirmed just prior to your visit."

Wow. That email was pretty much pointless, wasn't it?
Hey Tasha, thanks for not telling me absolutely anything!!

 

[iZon]

So I received a reply from Disney (Tasha!). I had asked them to clarify the discrepancy between the email saying I would receive a $75 gift card for each night of my April 29, 30 stay and the website, which stated May 1.

Here it is:

"Thank you for contacting the Walt Disney World® Resort.

I would be happy to provide clarification in regards to the compensation being offered for the refurbishments at Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort. Each reservation checking into Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort® starting May 1st, 2017 will receive a $75 Disney Gift Card per room, per night, which may be used at participating Walt Disney World Resort Food & Beverage and Merchandise locations. For complete terms and conditions, please visit DisneyGiftCard.com. Please know that we are committed to doing everything we can to make your stay magical. The refurbishments are not set to start until May 2017, thus the compensation beginning May 1st, 2017."

So I guess the email was sent in error. And I guess it's not binding.

 

[cruiser21]

No, it's only for late April and beyond.

I thought it started May 1?

 

[pitpat]

I thought it started May 1?

supposedly that's when the construction begins, but myself and some others who are staying at the end of April have also gotten the string of emails promising gift cards.

 

[iZon]

I wanted to clarify the situation so as not to get a surprise at check-in. I certainly don't expect compensation if there is no construction, but it would be bad business to send out the email and not honour it.

It sounds like there are a couple (at least) different departments handling this at Disney's end.