Room Requests

[NVDISFamily]

I asked them at the front desk and she said there was nothing notated which irritated me because I called and spoke to MS and the agent told me she put in the request.

Overall I've had a much better experience giving a range of rooms. Sometimes I will give up to 6 room numbers and also say if not those I want adjacent to those.

I also usually check in with the hotel very early and check on those requests and make sure they know that A) it's very important to me that those requests are honored unless not possible and if so I'd like to know why and B) I'm willing to get a later check in for the rooms I want. While not always true, I found that they tend to make getting you into your room early vs getting you the room you want. Usually when I get one of the range of rooms I ask for I get into them a little later into the evening (sometimes as late as 6pm).

Hope this helps.

 

[Girlstar30]

I have requested thru chat. It did work for me but I only have one data point.

At the end it does vary by resort. It mostly depend on how busy the resort is, how many people requested before you, and how specific your request is.
Say if there are only 6 rooms that meet your request and there are 6 reservations with the same request earlier than yours, your room will be arranged upon availability and the operator's mood.

I didn't know the sooner you do it, it will take priority, good to know, I need to set up my other ones now

 

[Girlstar30]

I think there are two systems. One that MS enter the request, which is then transferred to the other system in the resort at certain time points (maybe close to when rooms are assigned, like couple weeks earlier than arrival date).
I have no idea how the operator reads it but I would not recommend a long one, as you never know it will be truncated or not.
Also, there is a possibility to call Guest Service a week or so before arrival to double check if the request is there, though it does not necessarily help.

So, my another suggestion is: don't be too obsessed with views of specific rooms you see online. Because you might drive your expectation too high, and you are not the only one can see them. At the same time, you can figure out a wider range that would be satisfying for you

It was kind of a last minute registration so perhaps I didn't submit it on time

 

[Girlstar30]

This is all very helpful everybody, thank you very much

 

[RuntheMouse]

We usually only use the generic MDE options listed for online check in. Because they’re broad, we usually get what we want. I have gotten some really good rooms by not requesting anything, talking about you coveted village green BWV room!

We DO request 5th floor when staying at BRV because I love the sloped ceilings and being in the treetops. Lucky for me a lot of people hate those rooms so we always have that request fulfilled.

 

[Mle8308]

Thanks!

It is a paid feature of Touring Plans, but it's well worth the subscription if you are planning to visit WDW on a regular basis.

 

[Mle8308]

I think there are two systems. One that MS enter the request, which is then transferred to the other system in the resort at certain time points (maybe close to when rooms are assigned, like couple weeks earlier than arrival date).
I have no idea how the operator reads it but I would not recommend a long one, as you never know it will be truncated or not.
Also, there is a possibility to call Guest Service a week or so before arrival to double check if the request is there, though it does not necessarily help.

So, my another suggestion is: don't be too obsessed with views of specific rooms you see online. Because you might drive your expectation too high, and you are not the only one can see them. At the same time, you can figure out a wider range that would be satisfying for you

Not sure if things have changed, but years ago when I was a room assigner, we would see reservations download from the central reservation system 5 days prior to arrival. We would go through requests and block rooms for specific reasons, more often connect requests with children or a HC room request on the reservation. When it was a location request, we would sometimes block, but not always because it could cause a "hole" between reservations that could be hard to fill, especially when the resort was 100% booked, as DVC rooms often are. Contrary to what some have said on the boards, not all rooms are assigned pre-arrival. That would lead to too much swapping of rooms, too much time involved, and too many chances for errors. If upon arrival your room isn't what you would like, don't go to the room. Look it up on a map (like Touring Plans) and stop at the front desk. Tell them you have not gone to the room (so it can be assigned to another arrival) and explain what you would like. As long as it is what you booked. You won't get a theme park view if you book a standard view. They can see what else may be available at the time or you can choose to wait until something is ready (they can see the status of rooms, if they are vacant and dirty, vacant and clean or vacant and inspected). If you are willing to wait, you are more likely to get a room meeting your request. But know you may be waiting until after 4pm. Requests are just that, a request.

 

[MagicDVC]

When I chat with MS, it has helped to give them a block of rooms, or what you want. It gives the room assigner options for you. Our last trip to VGC, we requested a theme park view, and got a Rewoods Challenge view. So technically still a theme park view. Since there are no views for VGC, most reservations have theme park view as a request.

 

[VGCgroupie]

It is a paid feature of Touring Plans, but it's well worth the subscription if you are planning to visit WDW on a regular basis.

Just want to clarify this does work for DVC reservations?

 

[eticketplease]

Just want to clarify this does work for DVC reservations?

Yes they will send them over for you. You just have to put in your confirmation and the lead guest name along with the dates.

 

[Mle8308]

Just want to clarify this does work for DVC reservations?

What @eticketplease said! So yes, though again, it still seems to be hit or miss. I have the best luck stopping at the FD.

 

[VGCgroupie]

Yes they will send them over for you. You just have to put in your confirmation and the lead guest name along with the dates.

What @eticketplease said! So yes, though again, it still seems to be hit or miss. I have the best luck stopping at the FD.

Thanks! I used to use them for all my cash reservations and I swore It didnt work for DVC. Glad to hear it does. I honestly don't like talking to MS at all these days and overall just dont trust them.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

We've always made our requests/preferences through MS, usually through Chat since that's been an option. We do more general, like a particular area of the resort or a particular floor (like at Kidani - near Timone elevator, high floor - or something like that). We've never gotten into the granular actual room numbers! The chances of getting an actual room seem slim - but sometimes we don't get even our general requests! We're probably "successful" 75% of the time. But we've learned to go to the front desk as soon as we can and ask if our room is near where we requested. They won't share the room number unless the room is ready, but they can tell us if our requests are being honored. If not, we've already managed to get our room changed to a location we wanted more.

 

[Mle8308]

Thanks! I used to use them for all my cash reservations and I swore It didnt work for DVC. Glad to hear it does. I honestly don't like talking to MS at all these days and overall just dont trust them.

I find it easier to just stop at the FD if I have not received the room ready request or if I have and it's not where I want to be (and let the FD know I have not been to the assigned room). That way I can go and ask if the room assigned is similar to what I requested (if I did not get the room ready text). If not, I ask if anything meeting my request will be available and that I am happy to wait. I've had the best luck doing this. And the earlier in the day the better because less rooms have been checked into, so more inventory to work with! Have I had to wait until almost 5pm once? Yes, but I was there for nearly 2 weeks and wanted a specific location.