Throw away reservations

[lathamary]

There was a lot of talk a bit ago about people reserving a tent site just for getting on-site amenities. Here is a practice I find just as inconsiderate: booking a huge block of time and then cutting it back as you nail down your dates.

As we were waiting for the boat launch one evening, there was a guy on his cell phone behind us telling whoever he was talking to that he always books a 30 day span and then calls and cancels what he doesn't need about a week before his vacation. It sounded like he lived in the area, so he could kind of come and go when his schedule allowed, and cancel whatever days he didn't need on a whim.

I think that stinks! From planning the trip we just took, I know that it is really, really hard to find availability at the Fort. The rule of thumb seems to be to book the few days that you can and then keep calling and calling and calling and hoping and hoping and eventually you'll probably get all the days you need.

That is not good enough for people like us, who have to drive across the country to get there. I need to know far in advance what days I will be able to be there for sure. It took us five days to get there and five days to get back. With jobs and school to schedule around, the first thing I need to do is have exact dates nailed down.

I'd love to see Disney apply a cancellation fee to cancelling reservations. Something to hinder people from taking up coveted reservations and then throwing them away.

What are your thoughts?

 

[clkelley]

Unfortunately, the reservation system seems happy to give you a reservation for 30 days, but not for 3 days.

So unfortunately, you almost have to book for a longer amount of time to get the nights you need.

However, keeping them until 5 days out if you know you are not going to use them is quite rude.

 

[2goofycampers]

Unfortunately, the reservation system seems happy to give you a reservation for 30 days, but not for 3 days.

So unfortunately, you almost have to book for a longer amount of time to get the nights you need.

However, keeping them until 5 days out if you know you are not going to use them is quite rude.

 

[Disneylitch]

Many times you have to book 30 days in order to get the time you want. I've had to do this more than once. This happens alot between September and February. There are quite a few people that winter at The Fort while they are working as seasonal works at Disney. I agree, it doesn't make sense because it prevents many people from getting the vacation times they want. When I have made reservations and nothing is available in the time slot I wanted, the reservations agent has suggested booking for a longer period of time. The campgrounds are the only resort that does this. Go figure!!!

 

[AuburnJen92]

For locals, like us, going weekends used to be something we loved to do. Now, it is a real hassle because there is never a reservation to be had. Why? There are none. They are locked out of the system. You MUST book a week in order to get the weekend. This looks good on the books for WDW. I would really like to see what their booking rate vs their actually occupancy rate is. I think that would be some very interesting statistical crunching of numbers. (ok, I am a geek, I admit it) Deb has a thread on the community board about this very subject, but from a different perspective. I agree with the OP that it is not the "proper" thing to do, however, with the blocking of the dates and sites that FW has done now, I really don't see how else to play their game. You can no longer call and get reservations for dates you want without playing the numbers game.

For instance, let me give you a prime example:
We wanted to go Memorial Day weekend. Several weeks ago on a whim, I looked online to see if it was available. Usually, by this time, it is booked solid as a rock, but I had heard rumors that they had blocked out the weekend so I tried booking a week. Lo and behold, there it was, nice and open. Now, most likely, we will use the majority of the days because I will send the DH up there early, however, there will be days I will have to shave off. It used to be that they would not just block out the weekends, but I tried for 2 hours on pretty much every weekend this year and every single one of them would not go through for just the weekend.

I understand where you are coming from. I honestly do. I am not in favor of them blocking out dates at all, but the sad truth is they want the booking rates to "look" a certain way in my opinion. If I have to book extra, I don't hold on to them, that is for sure.

 

[LORNADUCK]

I was on the phone with the woman I am dealing with in Group Reservations ( I use that term loosley) she said that she has been telling them loud and clear that something is wrong with their system but they don't get it. She said because of the booking system they are down in $ but instead of fixing it they raise the prices. We get *****, but she also said that everyone hurts from it down the line. The people at the top DON'T GET IT. You would think that a company such as Disney would be run a little better. By having the system the way they do isn't even to their advantage.

 

[BigDaddyRog]

Fugeddaboudit....ya's gotta do whatcha's gotta do, capiche?

 

[LORNADUCK]

Fugeddaboudit....ya's gotta do whatcha's gotta do, capiche?

capiche - yep

 

[lathamary]

Interesting information. Thanks for all the comments.

I suppose I understand why people do it, but that doesn't make it any less convenient for long distance travelers trying to make plans. I understand, but I still think it stinks.

Not being able to book just a weekend is terrible. That is just plain shady!

I worked at a hotel through college, and we would always overbook. There were always cancellations at the last minute, so it was not unusual to book to 102 - 104% capacity in hopes to actually fill. So I have some sense of the tricks of the trade.

Not letting people book just weekends makes sense from a business standpoint, but I find it incredibly un-Disney-ish-like

 

[BRDof3]

I understand the weekend issue from their point of view. If people have it heavily booked for just a weekend, then those of us from across the country would not be able to book a block big enough to come down. No way I'm driving for 6-7 days just to stay for 4 week nights. That leaves the Fort pretty empty during the week. I know its harder on the in-staters, but Disney is trying to fill it up every day, not just on weekends.

On the other hand, forcing you to book for a month just to get the week you want is absurd. And it worsens the very pressures they are trying to relieve. Your basic corporate management. Make it better or make it worse, it doesn't matter. Just DO something, that's all that counts.

 

[AuburnJen92]

One of the issues I have with the blocking is that they also don't unblock them until the very last minute, which makes it hard on everyone, locals and long distancers. You try to make plans, but really can't because you can't trust the system to give you dates so you go somewhere else or just don't go. So, the actual sites are empty like they were last weekend like Deb saw when she rode her bike through with her DH. I know there actual occupancy numbers are down, they have to be based on observations I have heard from CM's, postings here and from other friends who have visited. There has to be another and better way to get their actual occupancy rates up. There are MANY hotel rooms and a LIMITED amount of campsites. One would think, even in a recession, they would still be all full.

 

[drafthorsecrazy]

OK, there really is two sides to this discussion. As someone who has spent Jan. & Feb. at FW, I've observed a few things. On most weekends the fort is near or at full capacity. During the week there are many, many open sites. Is this because the locals have booked up the weekends (and possibly the entire week to get the weekend--and cancel the rest)? Lets say the fort is open Sun - Thurs. every week. I wouldn't travel thousands of miles just for 5 days and hope something opens up. Don't flame me please. I KNOW all the locals coming in on weekends provide a big income for Disney. But, are weekenders filling spots that would have been empty anyway......or are they taking the same site away from a family that wants to be there 7+ days? It's a problem for everyone. Unfortunately I think someday the option of making reservations with only one day deposits will change. Many campgrounds require payment in full at time of booking with a small fee for cancellations or later changes. (off to find a flame proof suit)

 

[DaveInTN]

OK, there really is two sides to this discussion. As someone who has spent Jan. & Feb. at FW, I've observed a few things. On most weekends the fort is near or at full capacity. During the week there are many, many open sites. Is this because the locals have booked up the weekends (and possibly the entire week to get the weekend--and cancel the rest)? Lets say the fort is open Sun - Thurs. every week. I wouldn't travel thousands of miles just for 5 days and hope something opens up. Don't flame me please. I KNOW all the locals coming in on weekends provide a big income for Disney. But, are weekenders filling spots that would have been empty anyway......or are they taking the same site away from a family that wants to be there 7+ days? It's a problem for everyone. Unfortunately I think someday the option of making reservations with only one day deposits will change. Many campgrounds require payment in full at time of booking with a small fee for cancellations or later changes. (off to find a flame proof suit)

Susan, no flame suit necessary. I don't think you have said anything inflammatory. Anytime there is a valuable resource that is finite, there will be competing interests trying to purchase it. There are only so many campsites at the Fort (799 I think?), and at varying times of the year there are more than 799 people interested in using one.

Those that live close and have been visiting the Fort for many years have enjoyed being able to spend a weekend there, just as I do at my favorite lakeside campground here in TN. Of course, those of us that travel a great distance to vacation at the Fort wouldn't think of arriving without a reservation, and we typically like to stay a minimum of 5 days, hopefully more like 7-10 days. Theoretically, there are always folks checking out on any given day to open a site for those arriving, but if weekenders are arriving on Friday in large numbers, there probably aren't enough people checking out to open those sites up. That means there will be empty sites during the week that weren't booked, as when people were checking for reservations for a full week it would come up unavailable due to being fully booked on the weekend days.

IMO, there is nothing wrong with either group. The early bird gets the worm...as long as they are actually using the site! But, per another thread going on, it appears that Disney may be rigging the reservation system now to accomplish a couple of things; first to try to get longer term reservations over short ones, and second to try to push people into the Premium sites over the Full and Partials. For someone like me that visits about once a year, it doesn't impact me much as I can plan way ahead, be patient and play the game if necessary to string my dates together. But, it would seem that Disney is alienating the local clientele with these moves. We've already seen on another thread how TCD is pretty fed up with the direction the Fort has taken. Maybe Disney doesn't care, but if I were in the hospitality business I don't think I would purposefully piss off my most loyal, long time customers.

Well, sorry for the rambling.

 

[Disneylitch]

I think the problem started when they changed calling The Fort directly for reservations to the reservation center. For example, we were at The Fort in December and our MH broke down. Luckily, my husband is an exmechanic and was able to make the repairs, but we had to stay at The Fort 3 additional days. When I called the reservation line, I was told nothing was available. I then call The Fort directly and asked to speak to a manager. I explained the situation, and I was able to have the additional days. If they want the reservation line to handle everything, then it shouldn't have made a difference who we spoke to. Many of the people at the reservation line have no idea what Fort Wilderness is all about. They really don't understand the difference between the sites and they can only do what the computer says. Many reservation specialists have told me about the blocking of days and there isn't anything they can do about it. I guess if you really run into a problem, you will have to call Fort Wilderness directly and ask to speak to a manager.

 

[BigDaddyRog]

As far as for most of the info Ive read about booking what you have to book to get what you need......most over-bookers dont wait till the last minute to cancel the days they dont want. They book the dates they can get ahold of...then when the card is charged and the reservation is solid, they call as soon as they can to cancel the extra days...who wants to pay for interst for a ccard balance thats not getting put to use. I think that the overbooked dates are returned to the system as fast as most can dial the phone.

 

[Disneefun]

But, per another thread going on, it appears that Disney may be rigging the reservation system now to accomplish a couple of things; first to try to get longer term reservations over short ones, and second to try to push people into the Premium sites over the Full and Partials. For someone like me that visits about once a year, it doesn't impact me much as I can plan way ahead, be patient and play the game if necessary to string my dates together. But, it would seem that Disney is alienating the local clientele with these moves. We've already seen on another thread how TCD is pretty fed up with the direction the Fort has taken.

Can you provide links to these threads you mention? I'm not having luck finding them and I'd like to read them. Thanks!

 

[lathamary]

Maybe us long distancers should start calling the Fort and asking to talk to a manager in order to book our vacations, explaining that the reservation system is a joke and nothing is listed as available even though we all know that there is availability. If enough people do that, maybe they'll fix the reservation system.

The advice everyone keeps getting on this board when they say they can't get the dates they want is to "keep calling back every day". That still doesn't help when you have to have something booked months ahead of time. You have to know on the day of booking what the exact dates that you will be able to stay. You can't just hope that maybe the days you want will open up a week before you leave.

The more I learn about the reservation system of the Fort, the more it ticks me off!

 

[AuburnJen92]

OK, there really is two sides to this discussion. As someone who has spent Jan. & Feb. at FW, I've observed a few things. On most weekends the fort is near or at full capacity. During the week there are many, many open sites. Is this because the locals have booked up the weekends (and possibly the entire week to get the weekend--and cancel the rest)? Lets say the fort is open Sun - Thurs. every week. I wouldn't travel thousands of miles just for 5 days and hope something opens up. Don't flame me please. I KNOW all the locals coming in on weekends provide a big income for Disney. But, are weekenders filling spots that would have been empty anyway......or are they taking the same site away from a family that wants to be there 7+ days? It's a problem for everyone. Unfortunately I think someday the option of making reservations with only one day deposits will change. Many campgrounds require payment in full at time of booking with a small fee for cancellations or later changes. (off to find a flame proof suit)

Susan, no one is going to flame you from the locals, at least not from me! I absolutely understand both points of view here. Either way, it stinks. I still remember when I would go with my parents on a whim to FW and we would decide at 5pm Friday afternoon to spend the weekend and drive up to the check in and get a cabin. We would also do this with my grandparents in their RV. Ah, those were the times! But, back to today...I know that most of my reservations are planned far, far in advance now because of the booking system. Back when we had a pop up, we had a bit more freedom because we could book a partial, but now that there are less full hook ups and I am not fond of premium and preferred prices, I have to plan. I agree with you that the option of one night deposits might change as well. Each time they "tweak" their system, we all end up losing.

 

[DaveInTN]

Can you provide links to these threads you mention? I'm not having luck finding them and I'd like to read them. Thanks!

Sure...

But, per another thread going on, it appears that Disney may be rigging the reservation system now to accomplish a couple of things;

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2446763

We've already seen on another thread how TCD is pretty fed up with the direction the Fort has taken.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2442951

 

[Disneefun]

Thanks for the links!. It was a duh moment for me. For some reason I always forget about the CAMPING community board. When someone says "community board" I think of the other one. Well, duh.