Room Downgraded in MDE on Check-in Day? (Update on page 7, post #122)

[AngiTN]

Giving you a different category room than you initially paid for is exactly what that bolded phrase covers.

I can't say that's wrong but it does have an IF after that phrase in bold. That IF does seem important, no?

I do think there are 2 different sets of fine print. One set for packages and one for room only. I know I've read through mine before (room only) and was not able to find a reference to their only being obligated to find you a room, not the room you book. Though it's been a long time since I bothered to look

So, I just read the "fine print" - all of it - on my CR TPV ressie and I can't find anything that states Disney is only guaranteeing me a room on property somewhere. This is going to be one of these DREAM vacations and I would be sorely upset if I didn't get the type of room I paid for. The only thing I could find that comes close to what the PP is saying is this: "In addition, Disney reserves the right to cancel or modify a reservation, including the price, at any time prior to guest check-in if the reservation includes or was made as the result of a mistake or error of any kind, including but not limited to, a mistake or error in price or description of the package or package components, or where it appears that a guest has engaged in fraudulent or misleading activity in making the reservation."

FWW: I've been to DW many times and have stayed at every deluxe (except CR) and have never had an issue with room type/view. I would love to know where it states I'm only getting a room somewhere....

 

[DG25]

On a room only resservation you are not giving a choice to paying just $200, you must pay one nights stay at time of booking and he rest upon check in. I never go to Disney without paying in full in advance, my choice, I don't like owing credit card debt. So yes I have 1 notght paid in full at grand and one night paid in full WLCL.

 

[DG25]

Also, no one has proven the terms yet, they can modify or cancel for fraud or error. No one has shown where it states that you are only guaranteed a room on property. At least not in this thread. I looked up and can not find that anywhere, when I home I will check the paperwork the sent me. If those are the terms, than I will not be xcepting there terms any longer, because those are terms for switch and bait which is illegal and I do not feel like those terms. With my DVC those are not the terms, I book BRV studio, I get BRV studio. If something happens I would get a phone call and I'm sure I would get compensated. Now if I was willing to book POP or AS than I would take the terms, all they could do is upgrade me.

 

[DG25]

Ours was. Well, Business Class at CSR. We were moved from that building to a nearby building, in a Standard view room. We were given access to the lounge via our MB.

I wasn't even bent out of shape about the downgrade. I understand things happen. I was annoyed that it was left to me to figure it out. Which I did because I knew what building I should have been in. That and all BC rooms at CSR are at least garden view, no parking lot view possible. We got not only not a BC room but we got a parking lot view

And that is what everyone here is saying it is okay. I would not complain about a down grade, if I was told, if I was up front giving the reason and the compensation. But people saying well your only guaranteed and you should be happen cause you agreed. I did not agree to bait and switch.

 

[KrazeeK120]

And that is what everyone here is saying it is okay. I would not complain about a down grade, if I was told, if I was up front giving the reason and the compensation. But people saying well your only guaranteed and you should be happen cause you agreed. I did not agree to bait and switch.

That's not what a bait and switch is. Disney makes people whole when they have to do the rare downgrade. They are absolutely not doing anything illegal.

 

[AngiTN]

And that is what everyone here is saying it is okay. I would not complain about a down grade, if I was told, if I was up front giving the reason and the compensation. But people saying well your only guaranteed and you should be happen cause you agreed. I did not agree to bait and switch.

It's not bait and switch.

You are really worked up over this and the odds of any downgrade are so small. You may want to worry about oh, say a meteor hitting your car driving home instead. Probably higher odds. Joking of course but point is, stop worrying about it.

 

[IrishNYC]

I can't say that's wrong but it does have an IF after that phrase in bold. That IF does seem important, no?

I do think there are 2 different sets of fine print. One set for packages and one for room only. I know I've read through mine before (room only) and was not able to find a reference to their only being obligated to find you a room, not the room you book. Though it's been a long time since I bothered to look

True. The phrase "if...including but not limited to..." does cover, in fancy legal terms, that they are merely obligated to find you a room. They wouldn't write fine print that wasn't in their own favor.

Most people are happy being refunded for the difference when downgraded. Things happen, life goes on...for most people. They certainly aren't whipping out the cash when getting upgraded because of an "if...including but not limited to" thing happening, right?

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Respectfully, this conversation is comical (and so far off OP's original question it's not even funny).

Both hotel owner and guest rights in this situation are governed by state and/or county "Innkeeper Laws" that go WAY WAY beyond Disney's basic terms and conditions that we all see when we book. There are all sorts of governing legal statutes that technically come into play in the innkeeper/guest relationship in every hotel in the US. These cover everything from safety, security, burden to provide a room, guest rights, anti-discrimination, etc, etc. You name the scenario, there's probably a statute somewhere.

Disney - nor any hotel - is under any obligation to make sure you know the myriad of laws the really govern innkeeper/guest rights. The burden there is on the guest.

Most of these laws do permit a hotel owner to overbook, potentially creating a situation where they can't provide the room you have contracted for. At the same time, these laws also protect the consumer and dictate what rights you have if this were to happen. These laws usually create a "best efforts" obligation for the hotel to find reasonable substitute accommodations, will govern reimbursement of any money due, etc, etc.

So yes, in most states Innkeepers can absolutely "walk the reservation" in such circumstances so long as it's a reasonable substitute and adequate compensation is provided, if it is called for in that particular circumstance.

I am not a lawyer nor do I know Florida and/or Orange County law that governs here, but I'll say again, it's very important to realize all of this is goverened by much broader hotel/guest laws that are not explicitly spelled out in Disney's terms and conditions.

One would really need dig into the specific law in place here to have a complete/full picture on this topic.

But with all of that said, this is just not a situation I would spend more than one second worrying about!

 

[Regan117]

The thing is, Disney only guarantees a room on property somewhere. I know a lot of people don't read fine print, but it really is right there. I can understand being disappointed, but to expect more than being made whole is a little silly, IMO, given that Disney is fulfilling its end of the deal by giving you a room somewhere and making you whole. Sometimes, something in a room breaks and renders that room unusable. Would you rather stay in a room with an unusable toilet, tub, or sink, or would you rather stay in a functional room elsewhere?

I dunno, I guess I just wouldn't expect a business to do more than to uphold their end of a contract, which Disney is doing in all cases described.

Just because they CAN do something, doesn't mean they SHOULD. If the need to downgrade someone happens, not only should they contact the person BEFORE they arrive, but they should compensate them beyond just the difference in the price of the room as a gesture of goodwill for their error in overbooking (extra fast passes, meal vouchers, etc.) A room view or type can literally make or break a trip, especially for people who spend a lot of time at the resorts.

This is exactly the kind of thing that has us looking towards booking the Four Seasons for future trips.

 

[KrazeeK120]

Just because they CAN do something, doesn't mean they SHOULD. If the need to downgrade someone happens, not only should they contact the person BEFORE they arrive, but they should compensate them beyond just the difference in the price of the room as a gesture of goodwill for their error in overbooking (extra fast passes, meal vouchers, etc.) A room view or type can literally make or break a trip, especially for people who spend a lot of time at the resorts.

This is exactly the kind of thing that has us looking towards booking the Four Seasons for future trips.

Other hotels "guarantee" things and then don't deliver, too. This issue isn't exclusive to Disney.

 

[DG25]

At least 5 people have stated, Disney did not tell them, Disney did not give them warning, they gave them a room not the room they booked and they would not have know if they didn't go back. Those people said Disney up front did jot offer them a refund. Even the OP did not unless I missed it get a refund, and Disney did not tell her. They ask for your phone number when you book, your address, yet they knew before she even left her home they down graded her, yet they did not call her, or tell her when she go there. If that is not bait and switch what is. They sell you the use of a room in a catagory which is more money, then they know they don't have that room, they down load you and don't tell you, they don't tell you when you check in if you read the post, one person at the poly did not get a room on the club floor, another did not get a business room at CBR, several at pop did not get a preferred room. That is illegal practices if they are doing it a lot. And to me in this short post at least 5 people have been down graded that's a lot.

I read my reservations, it says that my reservations are guaranteed, unless changed or modified. I have on all three reservations what type room, what price and what hotel, which to me means that is guaranteed. Bedding is not guaranteed, I take that to mean they could put us in a king with day bed since there is three, or they could put us in a queen with bunks, although it says 2 queens on both the ressies in the resorts.

You can all say okay I don't care Disney can downgrade me and not offer to tell me upfront and not offer a refund unless I ask. Me if they did it without telling me and offering upfront a make whole offer, I would demand money back because that would be bad business practices. I don't love Disney that much to want to visit a place that would try not to tell me they downgraded me. and I'm glad your all wrong that it says Disney only has to offer me a room.

 

[LukDuk]

I have gone to Disney many times and have never asked or received an upgrade. I am completely fine with that. I also put in room requests and because they are requests, I completely understand when they are not met and have just smiled and keep my Disney magic. .

This! After all the daydreaming, touring plans, floor plans, room requests, ADRs, FP bookings and general fussification -- TRIP HAPPENS. Vonnegut wrote that "strange travel plans are dancing lessons from god." when the unexpected happens I hope I can make it a waltz, and as Suzanne74 says, "...keep my Disney magic."

 

[Crispity]

On our last trip, we added on one night in an AKL pool view room, booked last minute at full price (over $400). We booked pool view because we wanted to be close to the pool and Mara.

I got a call from Disney on our check-in day, telling me that we had been downgraded to a standard view room because they had unexpectedly had to take several pool view rooms out of service. The CM was very apologetic, and before I asked for any form of compensation, she told me that they would be refunding me the full room charge for the inconvenience.

So, we got to start off our vacation with a free room at AKL. Because of the way it was handled, I was actually quite happy about the downgrade! i would have been annoyed if I had only been refunded the difference in price, though, because the standard room was literally as far away from the pool as it was possible to be, and I booked the pool view room for location. If a pool view room had not been available when I booked, I would have chosen another resort entirely, so it was important to me.

Is Disney legally obligated to do anything more than refund the difference in price in the case of a downgrade? Nope. SHOULD they do more, in the interest of making customers happy who spend a premium to stay on property? Absolutely!

 

[danikoski]

I'm glad the downgrade didn't ruin the OP day.
However, to say view isn't important at a resort like AKL is not true. Of I had kids with me and splurged and booked a couple of nights in a Savannah view room and found out I was downgraded, I'd be quite upset. Especially because I usually book room only and that means the down payment is a full night's stay (not $200). And, if I had kids with me who were looking forward to that unique view of the Savannah and highly likely seeing animals outside the room, I'd want that view. A view which I most likely booked months in advance. And, in that situation, I'd want more than just, oh, here's the price difference. AKL would be one of the few resorts where view would be so dramatically different...Maybe Theme Park view at the monorail resorts, but even then, that view isn't quite as unique as that Savannah view.

 

[Allison]

Giving you a different category room than you initially paid for is exactly what that bolded phrase covers.

Actually, it doesn't. You need to take the sentence as a whole, not just a portion of it. The sentence goes on to say the circumstances of when they can do that. I'm not saying Disney can't change up room categories booked, but it isn't because of what you bolded.

 

[KrazeeK120]

At least 5 people have stated, Disney did not tell them, Disney did not give them warning, they gave them a room not the room they booked and they would not have know if they didn't go back. Those people said Disney up front did jot offer them a refund. Even the OP did not unless I missed it get a refund, and Disney did not tell her. They ask for your phone number when you book, your address, yet they knew before she even left her home they down graded her, yet they did not call her, or tell her when she go there. If that is not bait and switch what is. They sell you the use of a room in a catagory which is more money, then they know they don't have that room, they down load you and don't tell you, they don't tell you when you check in if you read the post, one person at the poly did not get a room on the club floor, another did not get a business room at CBR, several at pop did not get a preferred room. That is illegal practices if they are doing it a lot. And to me in this short post at least 5 people have been down graded that's a lot.

I read my reservations, it says that my reservations are guaranteed, unless changed or modified. I have on all three reservations what type room, what price and what hotel, which to me means that is guaranteed. Bedding is not guaranteed, I take that to mean they could put us in a king with day bed since there is three, or they could put us in a queen with bunks, although it says 2 queens on both the ressies in the resorts.

You can all say okay I don't care Disney can downgrade me and not offer to tell me upfront and not offer a refund unless I ask. Me if they did it without telling me and offering upfront a make whole offer, I would demand money back because that would be bad business practices. I don't love Disney that much to want to visit a place that would try not to tell me they downgraded me. and I'm glad your all wrong that it says Disney only has to offer me a room.

You need to get away from this legal/illegal stuff. Nothing they're doing is illegal.

Say you have a room booked for a certain view. A pipe bursts in the hotel, and your room (and perhaps several others) are affected. Do you want to stay in a waterlogged room because that's what you paid for, or would you rather stay in a room with a "lesser" view that is clean and functional?

And in the example with CSR business class, that person was still given access to the lounge. They didn't take her club access away.

Many times, the overselling is due to resorts being refurbished. Do you think Disney should just not refurbish rooms since people already have them booked?

 

[maxiesmom]

As many other posters know I've been downgraded twice. It does happen. It may not make for a happy start to the vacation, but getting so caught up in it that you ruin the whole vacation is not a good idea. Nothing at Disney World is guaranteed. Everything is subject to availability. Restaurants, rides, park hours, rooms, all are subject to availability. If you can't go with the flow at all, a trip to WDW is not a great idea.

 

[maxiesmom]

BTW, a few clicks on line brings up that reservations are subject to change by Disney without notification. All I had to do was put a room in my cart and click on the link.

 

[Amelia :)]

Some people are getting very worked up here while OP is probably off having the time of her life...
It's unfortunate, it's not ideal, she was downgraded, she was compensated, they all lived happily ever after. The end.

 

[disneyvoice]

Luckily we have never had this happen to us yet. In July we are staying at AK and have requested a Savannah view room. Does anyone know if for some reason you are downgraded to a standard room if WDW will allow you to just move to less expensive resort? I am assuming everything will be fine with our reservation but we decided to splurge on Animal Kingdom specifically because we wanted to relax on our balcony and watch the animals. I would hate to end up getting a standard view room and paying more for that room than a room at a Moderate.