Throwaway room (read post #2041 or #2710 before posting)

[5Hfan]

at least people are paying for the campsites/throwaway rooms, as opposed to those using multiple sets of magic bands to get more than 3 fast passes...

 

[momtosam]

My "loophole day" is tomorrow. Yesterday I could book for 5/11 and 5/12 off of my throwaway. Today I'm at 59 days out. Can't book past 5/12. Waiting to see if I can book 5/13 tomorrow.

Reporting back: the dates ARE rolling and I was able to book FP+ today for 5/13. It still seems to be tied in some way to ADRs. Here are the details of my trip:

I booked throwaway room for 5/11. I was able to book FP+ for 5/11 and 5/12 on Tuesday. 5/13, 5/15, and 5/16 all showed up as well on my screen for booking FP, but I wasn't able to click on the select button for those dates on Tuesday. 5/14 is the only day we do not have an ADR for. On MDE it says that I'm not eligible for FP+ that day. Hence, it still being tied to ADRs as well as room ressies. I have 5 day MYW tickets from UT linked to my account. I fully plan that I'll be able to book the last two days of my trip for FP as the week goes on.

I hope this helps!

 

[EMode]

Disney seems to allow this, so you shouldn't be afraid to tell Disney you are booking the one night just so you can get FP+. I'm sure they will say it's ok. My father told me many years ago, if you can't be truthful about what you're doing then maybe you shouldn't be doing it.

Does Disney require a reason when you book a vacation? Last time I went there nobody asked me why

If one wanted to tell Disney what they are doing, that person on the other end of the phone isn't going to tell you you can't book the site/room anyway. They get your money either way, that is all they want.

 

[patty57]

Why not just skip over this thread if you don't want to read through another 10 page debate

You know, you're absolutely right. I didn't need to use the term ad nauseum, it was kind of nasty. I just wish that people would stop trying to convince each other that they are right, and the other side is wrong. It's up to me to stay out of these repeat threads.

 

[ampc3]

momtosam....but your 60 days for 5/14 isn't until tomorrow, it is 60 days from each day. So you should be able to book that tomorrow, if it is tied to ADR's that is interesting? Glad to hear it worked today. If you don't mind, could you report back about tomorrow, with your day that you DON't have an ADR to see if there is a link? TIA

wait are you saying that on your screen that has the locked key, that 5/14 doesn't appear at all as a choice?? if so very interesting indeed.

 

[ArwenMarie]

When I first read about these "throwaway" rooms a few weeks ago on another post, I had to pause for a minute and re-read it a few times so I sort of understood what was going on. Then I had to sit back and comtemplate...is this what Disney has brought us too...we are booking phantom rooms in order to be able to book advance FP+ ??..whats wrong with this equation ?? Does Disney really understand the hell they have wrought or do they really care and who's the villain here...Disney or ourselves ??

We use to book our resort and flights and head off to WDW for 5-7 days of fun at WALT DISNEY WORLD...it was exciting and relaxing...no more...

Now we have to make sure the Brazilian cheerleaders are not there when we want to, we have to make sure we get the correct view from our room, we have to call at 180 days to make sure we can eat otherwise we will probably starve, we have to make sure which resort has the best bus service, we can't book the values cause the pop warner kids are there and now to add insult to injury we have to book our FP+ 60 days out so we make sure we get the rides that we absolutely must have in the order that we want them on the days that we want them.

I know this crazy process is great for some people but for me it just seems to take the fun out of Disney...and now....throwaway rooms...whats next...renting handicapped kids ?....oh ya, that was last years new idea....

It is all rather crazy when you think about it.

 

[JimmyV]

momtosam....but your 60 days for 5/14 isn't until tomorrow, it is 60 days from each day. So you should be able to book that tomorrow, if it is tied to ADR's that is interesting? Glad to hear it worked today. If you don't mind, could you report back about tomorrow, with your day that you DON't have an ADR to see if there is a link? TIA

But momtosam is saying that the other days, (13, 15 and 16) are showing up on her screen, but they just aren't bookable yet. There must be some reason why the 14th is conspicuously absent from the screen. The assumption at this point is that this is the only day without an ADR. I guess we'll know for sure in two days. Tomorrow will be the test for the 14th and the day after will be the test for the 15th. If she is able to book the 15th in two days, but gets skipped over for the 14th, I think we'll have our answer.

 

[Laketravis]

I don't know that renting a handicapped child is a fair comparison to renting a campsite.

Campsites are intended to be rented. Children are not.

What anyone does with the campsite they reserved, paid for, and then released back into the pool of availability after their payment no longer covered the space is their business.

Disney doesn't care if any of us actually step foot onto a campsite or into a room anyone has reserved and paid for. Their only interest is in collecting revenue for that resource as close to 100% of the time as possible.

I don't see them "addressing" this nor perceiving it as a loophole anymore than I would see them address the fact that some people eat very little or nothing at all at a character buffet because they are there to see the characters.

The OP wondered if they were going to be able to rent a campsite for a surprise trip. All they have to do is go to Disney's website, enter their prospective dates, and see what is available. No need for drama.

 

[ampc3]

But momtosam is saying that the other days, (13, 15 and 16) are showing up on her screen, but they just aren't bookable yet. There must be some reason why the 14th is conspicuously absent from the screen. The assumption at this point is that this is the only day without an ADR. I guess we'll know for sure in two days. Tomorrow will be the test for the 14th and the day after will be the test for the 15th. If she is able to book the 15th in two days, but gets skipped over for the 14th, I think we'll have our answer.

Yes I missed that in the first read, I have never read that before about days being skipped either. So maybe everyone else has had ADR's?? Yes we will know for sure if that day is not an option..

 

[Tarheel girl 1975]

I doubt Disney is terribly worried about this. They were paid in full for a service I did not even use. They are probably laughing all the way to the bank. I doubt they're in a real rush to stop this "problem".

At any rate, the problem will resolve itself once FP+ pre-booking is available to all guests, onsite and off - which from what I hear is very soon.

But the family camping there (or staying at the Value Resort) is more likely to spend money at the store or one of the restaurants on site. And Disney definitely cares about lost revenue.

 

[EMode]

But the family camping there (or staying at the Value Resort) is more likely to spend money at the store or one of the restaurants on site. And Disney definitely cares about lost revenue.

But the people doing it will be in the parks, spending lots of money there. Disney is not losing anything in this scenario.

 

[JimmyV]

But the family camping there (or staying at the Value Resort) is more likely to spend money at the store or one of the restaurants on site. And Disney definitely cares about lost revenue.

This is a hard agrument to make and a harder one to prove. It is likely that campers who book for 4 day or a week (or more) add to Disney's revenue in the way you suggest. But how many campers who book for a single night (and actually use the camp site) come in with their own provisions and cook their own meal and don't shop at the store? We will never know. But I suspect that Disney does not get a whole lot of revenue from one night campers. If Disney really wanted to crack down on this and ensure that campers shopped at the store and ate at restaurants, they would make a minimum stay requirement of, say, 3 days at the least. But as it sits right now, as long as Disney is going to allow "real" campers to book for one night, the difference between them and the "throwaway" campers is probably negligible. I'm sure that Disney would rather have a campsite used by a single family for 7 consecutive days than have it used by 7 different "throwaway" campers over a 7 day period. But I doubt that they care too much about the difference between 7 different "throwaway" campers on 7 straight nights vs. 7 different "real" campers on 7 straight nights. Much is made about people not "actually using the campsite". But if a family pulls in to the campground at 9:00 p.m., goes to sleep, then checks out at 7:00 a.m. and heads to the park for the day and leaves, what have they done differently than the trhowaway camper who never actually showed up?

 

[flutterby3744]

But the people doing it will be in the parks, spending lots of money there. Disney is not losing anything in this scenario.

Actually, they are losing. If someone books a site for 1 night (or even worse every other night), and someone is looking to book a week's stay, this site would be unavailable to them because it is not available for the entire week. Thus Disney is losing an entire week's rental PLUS any money they would have spent in the store ect.

As I stated in the other thread, I'm uncomfortable with the whole practice, but booking the campsites is especially rude. It's one thing to book a value room of which there are thousands available. It's a whole other story to book a campsite when there are only 90. I absolutely think Disney will change the rules for camping to prevent this. They ARE losing money.

 

[momtosam]

My "loophole day" is tomorrow. Yesterday I could book for 5/11 and 5/12 off of my throwaway. Today I'm at 59 days out. Can't book past 5/12. Waiting to see if I can book 5/13 tomorrow.

But momtosam is saying that the other days, (13, 15 and 16) are showing up on her screen, but they just aren't bookable yet. There must be some reason why the 14th is conspicuously absent from the screen. The assumption at this point is that this is the only day without an ADR. I guess we'll know for sure in two days. Tomorrow will be the test for the 14th and the day after will be the test for the 15th. If she is able to book the 15th in two days, but gets skipped over for the 14th, I think we'll have our answer.

Just to clarify, the 14th is not missing from my screen. It is there, but instead of a select button being underneath it, it says, "Your party is ineligible for Fast Pass + selections on this day." It is my only day without an ADR. (We are doing Universal that day so I don't really care ) Every other day of my trip has an ADR tied to it and shows a select button underneath the date. However, I cannot click the select button on days that are more than 60 days out (it rolls). Just trying to be clear because I know so many are trying to deal with this mess of a system!

I would screen shot, but I'm too inept to figure it out.

 

[JimmyV]

Just to clarify, the 14th is not missing from my screen. It is there, but instead of a select button being underneath it, it says, "Your party is ineligible for Fast Pass + selections on this day." It is my only day without an ADR. (We are doing Universal that day so I don't really care ) Every other day of my trip has an ADR tied to it and shows a select button underneath the date. However, I cannot click the select button on days that are more than 60 days out (it rolls). Just trying to be clear because I know so many are trying to deal with this mess of a system!

I would screen shot, but I'm too inept to figure it out.

Thanks for the clarification. How about this? Make an ADR for the 14th and see what happens. You can always cancel if you don't want it. Actually, I'd be curious to see what happens if you make an ADR, the window opens for booking FP+, you book your FP+, and you then cancel your ADR. Would your FP+ for that day go away?

 

[ampc3]

momtosam.... thanks for explaining... I know you don't care about needing the 14th, but if you would report back to see if anything changed on that day, that would be greatly appreciated! ) Just curious to see how this all plays out, since our 60 day window is end of month. oh and lol about the screen shot, yeah I don't either haha

to Jimmyv I think it "might" be more beneficial to see if anything changes WITHOUT there being an ADR, we sortof already know that ADR's "might" be a link? If there is no ADR then I think like you mentioned before we would know for sure that the ADR's do link something?? Just a thought

 

[amylevan]

But if a family pulls in to the campground at 9:00 p.m., goes to sleep, then checks out at 7:00 a.m. and heads to the park for the day and leaves, what have they done differently than the trhowaway camper who never actually showed up?

While I see your point, it's going to very very rare for a camper do that. It is a lot of work to set up and take down camp. The only time we (or any of my friends that camp) have an overnight stay at a campground is on their way somewhere, like say in Georgia on our way to Florida. And those stays are usually at campgrounds designed for 1 night stays: i.e. have pull through sites, which the Fort does not.

 

[my4girls10]

Thanks for the clarification. How about this? Make an ADR for the 14th and see what happens. You can always cancel if you don't want it. Actually, I'd be curious to see what happens if you make an ADR, the window opens for booking FP+, you book your FP+, and you then cancel your ADR. Would your FP+ for that day go away?

I'm curious about this as well. We will have only 1 ADR during our trip in December. I sure hope that FP+ isn't directly tied to ADRs.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[JimmyV]

While I see your point, it's going to very very rare for a camper do that. It is a lot of work to set up and take down camp. The only time we (or any of my friends that camp) have an overnight stay at a campground is on their way somewhere, like say in Georgia on our way to Florida. And those stays are usually at campgrounds designed for 1 night stays: i.e. have pull through sites, which the Fort does not.

So this suggests that not many "real" campers book for only a single night. If that is the case, then Disney can simply impose a minimum stay requirement and it sounds as if the vast majority of real campers would not complain since they are staying for longer periods anyway. Or, allow a small number of one night stays, leaving most campsites available only for minumum night stays. This might not eliminate the throwaway campers, but it would certainly cut into them significantly. In the end, I don't think we are too far away from off-site guests getting the FP+ pre-booking advantage of somewhere between 14-30 days, so the need for a throwaway room or campsite dissolves for everyone except the few who believe that 60 days is materially better than 14. So far, nothing suggests that this will be the case. The Mine Train will reveal all, however.

 

[Tarheel girl 1975]

This is a hard agrument to make and a harder one to prove. It is likely that campers who book for 4 day or a week (or more) add to Disney's revenue in the way you suggest. But how many campers who book for a single night (and actually use the camp site) come in with their own provisions and cook their own meal and don't shop at the store? We will never know. But I suspect that Disney does not get a whole lot of revenue from one night campers. If Disney really wanted to crack down on this and ensure that campers shopped at the store and ate at restaurants, they would make a minimum stay requirement of, say, 3 days at the least. But as it sits right now, as long as Disney is going to allow "real" campers to book for one night, the difference between them and the "throwaway" campers is probably negligible. I'm sure that Disney would rather have a campsite used by a single family for 7 consecutive days than have it used by 7 different "throwaway" campers over a 7 day period. But I doubt that they care too much about the difference between 7 different "throwaway" campers on 7 straight nights vs. 7 different "real" campers on 7 straight nights. Much is made about people not "actually using the campsite". But if a family pulls in to the campground at 9:00 p.m., goes to sleep, then checks out at 7:00 a.m. and heads to the park for the day and leaves, what have they done differently than the trhowaway camper who never actually showed up?

I agree that it is hard to quantify. Although I am doubtful that many "real" campers only stay for one night. I personally don't really care if someone books a throwaway room. My point was mainly that Disney may care if they feel that they are loosing revenue.