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

[cakebaker]

I honestly think you are exaggerating your "conversations" with WDW.

And I honestly couldn't care less if you think I'm lying. Believe it, don't believe it- makes me no difference at all.

 

[nugov2]

With all due respect, this is pure conjecture. Others have pointed out no problems booking one night stays. We all know how reliable any given conversation with a CM is.

Also, I love how the onsite person in your example is staying at the GF, and the offsite person is staying at the Motel 6.

When the PP dismissed offsiters as staying at the HOJO, it felt elitist, and it feels the same now.

How exactly are you picturing offsiters? Do you really think the only offsite accommodations are the HOJO and the Motel 6?

We have stayed both onsite and offsite. I have never stayed at the Grand Floridian, nor have I stayed at the HoJo or the Motel 6.

And for the record, I have no intention of booking an Anna and Elsa fastpass. Rest easy, the fastpasses you have decided you are entitled to are safe from me.

I know right...we paid much more for our off site 6 bedroom home than any value and most mods. We ate pretty much exclusively onsite(I can guarantee a lot more than most of the people booking from the budget board and staying in values I see posting so often). We planned and paid for lots of extras at Disney as well. I have yet to book a throwaway room for WDW, but probably will for our next trip to get the MB before we get there. I also plan to book a night at Uni deluxe to get their express pass...I have yet to decide if we will sleep in that room. It will depend if we end up booking the despicable me suite or not.

 

[doconeill]

Exactly, so it's not a loophole. It's something Disney is doing intentionally.

I would not ascribe intent as to what can also be explained by random chance...

Disney has many, many hands that don't always know what each one is doing, especially when many are controlled by different brains.

I'd better describe it as "it's not worth their fixing" at this point.

It wasn't worth them "fixing" late Fastpass allowance, despite that some claimed it caused no end of problems, until Disney decided to end the practice, but for other reasons (namely, the coming of Fastpass+ which basically required that they not be accepted for different reasons).

 

[bumbershoot]

How is a room booked by a family of four who doesn't sleep there more taxing on the FP system vs a family of four who books it and sleeps there? Either way a family of four has the option to book....just because you aren't sleeping there it doesn't change the impact.

We are planning a trip to Universal in the near future and it just seems to make the most sense to save up $$ and stay on-site.

Definitely makes sense for Universal.

That said, people book one-nighters there ALL the time because the perks are so incredibly good. DVCers do it a lot b/c they want to stay at their villa but get the perks of Uni onsite.

Lol- That's exactly what I told the supervisor who asked- I'm not giving you the name of the only cm who was trying to be helpful. You have ways of finding it out if you really want to.

If the supervisor was asking that, it means she's not very good at her job. I'm reading backwards so don't have all the backstory yet, but seriously, it's a pretty strong sign that she didn't know what she was doing.

I'm not so sure it's based on how high the occupancy rate is. Booking a single night ties up the room for guests who want to stay longer. And they certainly wanted to turn us down! It took an hour and going up the ladder a couple of times and them calling the resort directly to get permission to to get them to add that night on.

Try it...go to the website and find a night that isn't available for 1 night...don't use high occupancy dates like Christmas. Then try and book it for a longer stay that includes that night. I can't say it will happen every time, but that's exactly how it worked for us. Clearly the room was not booked, but the site nor guest services would allow us to book it.

The supervisor went thru a long spiel on Disney's reasoning for this, but basically they'd rather turn down 1 night stays in hopes of booking a longer stay where they not only get the revenue from the room, but all the spending the longer stay guest will do.

A CM who is going on like that isn't following the company's line. A CM not following the company's line is a CM that is automatically someone who is untrustworthy.

July 28 to 29th, tons of resorts available. I also see a standard room available at Pop (not the only resort that showed as available) for August 6th.

 

[bumbershoot]

Hi all -

I've being following this topic for a few days. I have a question - If someone books a stay for say 7 nights, makes fast pass+ selections for those days and then cancels all but one night, do they keep the fast passes for the other 6 days?

Thanks, Chris

Well, recently, if you even THINK about your reservation you can end up with your FP+s cancelled. So I certainly wouldn't be doing that, personally.

1. Actually have it so that the magic bands for onsite guests don't work until AFTER you check-in physically at the front desk. It can't be that hard to program the badges to "not work" should the guest not check in. This would also encourage that ALL people in the party be present to get their bands "turned on" and even then, for a one night stay, they work for 1 day.

That would go in the exact opposite direction that they JUST started. They just started testing (?) not having to go to the lobby at all. That it's all just working when you arrive. It's like they actually do NOT want to know if people are there or not. It's like...they don't care about where people are actually sleeping or something...

In response to the first paragraph, keep in mind that this whole "throwaway room" concept was birthed in the nether-time between "testing" of FP+, and when the decision was made to let offsite guests have FP+ at 30 days.

I disagree. When I first started looking into WDW (at some point after joining here) people would book the campgrounds for Free Dining. Went on for at least a year until the campground wasn't included anymore. That's long before FP+.

Hadn't heard this yet, but not surprised. But the 180+10, when it actually meant something, was one of the original driving forces of the throwaway room (the other being EMH).

I haven't heard it either. Would love a link.

We had booked a 4 night stay at AOA for late September/early October. A week ago we decided we'd like to add a night on the end of our trip. Odd thing was, when we punched in the date, there showed no availability for that one night, but if we extended it 2 days, then it was available.

We called guest services and I couldn't believe the hoops we had to jump thru. My daughter ended up speaking to the "supervisor's supervisor" who admitted the room was available, but that Disney is cracking down on single night reservations- It didn't matter that we had the previous 4 days booked, we were trying to book a single night. After an hour of arguing and threatening to cancel both the late fall vacation along with the one we're going on in a week, they finally called the hotel directly and got them to ok an extension on our reservation.

There was absolutely no reason for this to happen except that obviously enough people are booking single nights that it's caught their attention. An so, because some are gaming the system to get advantages only intended for on sight guests, it's causing problems for everyone and I resent that.

So yes, they're putting a stop to this but in doing so, it's costing us all.

I don't believe the supervisor for a minute.

All hotels, sometimes, have situations where they want you to book a longer stay. All of 'em. It's no biggie. That hotel at that moment for those dates wasn't available for you. I would have...done nothing. Booked elsewhere. Checked out hotels.com, expedia, hotwire, etc, to see if it was available through them (bet it would have been). I personally wouldn't have called anyone.

If I had called anyone and they started going on like that, the convo would be over. If it wasn't important to me, and if the night hadn't become available (like the 6th opened up between when you checked and when I checked) I would have called again.

But honestly, insisting that you get a room that's otherwise not available isn't THAT different than how you and others feel about throwaway rooms.

Requiring more than a one night stay would not be anything new.

Right now, I'm trying (in vain) to book a hotel in Nashville for one night to take my daughter to a concert. Pretty much nothing within the vicinity is available for that one night. Now, if I extend my search to 2 nights, all kinds of things come up.

Probably because of that concert. Like when it's college reunion season here, hotels require more nights than normal. in our area many HS graduations are held at the Tacoma Dome, and the local hotels require longer stays. They do it because they can!

 

[cakebaker]

If the supervisor was asking that, it means she's not very good at her job. I'm reading backwards so don't have all the backstory yet, but seriously, it's a pretty strong sign that she didn't know what she was doing.

Asking who we spoke with that gave us information that this supervisor deemed to be incorrect? I've had that happen several times when I've had issues with WDW. In fact, it's always recommended that you take note of who you talk with in case you have an issue. Every person we spoke with on this call asked that question. It's a lot easier on them if they know names and dates to track the chat down I would guess.

I don't think it's the company line to tell a guest that what they're wanting to do is "gaming the system" and then refuse to book the reservation...but that's what the first cm did. I don't think it's the company line to tell a guest that what they're wanting to do is "dishonest", but that's what her supervisor said. That's when we got the supervisor's supervisor and they're the ones who we talked to for over an hour.

But really, I'm not trying to convince anyone of whether or not what I say is true. I know what I did, I know what I was told. Will it really come to pass? Who knows.

Honestly, I hope it doesn't. I like the flexibility of being able to tack on days if I need to. We've been to Disney a bunch- we don't sweat over grabbing reservations or THE hot fastpass of the moment- we get them or we don't, we'll live and see or do whatever it is next time, but not being able to adjust our vacation dates is a real pia.

 

[bumbershoot]

Would it make anyone feel better if everyone booking a "throwaway room" spent some time there? I actually don't think so. But if so, how much time would one need to spend at a campsite to make it ok? What about people who are in the parks from dusk till dawn, and sleep a bare minimum in their rooms, only to return to the parks? Does it bother anyone that someone is "taking up" a room, but spending so little time in it?

I booked a "throwaway room" at a Universal resort for our upcoming trip. Why does it matter that I'm not staying in the room? I'm paying for the room, same as anyone else. Why is it so galling to people that families are not actually spending the night in these rooms?

Trust me - the hotels don't care whether you stay in the rooms as long as you're paying. Why should anyone else? If I pay for a hotel room, why does anyone get to tell me what I should or should not do with it, provided I'm lawful and not destructive?

I hope this doesn't come off argumentative. My tone is meant to be questioning - nothing else. I legitimately don't know why this strikes such a chord with some ... so I'm asking questions.

I'm with you.

Though I think you should consider staying at the Universal resort, because they are awesome and relaxing. Bring an overnight bag and just stay there and swim and laze and get the perks and have a terrific time there.

There are LOTS of campers who cant get ressis due to fake Camp Wilderness ressies...its a big problem

I am amazed at the lengths people go thru to break the rules

How would they know?

If I try to book a campsite and I can't get it, am I actually then driving around the campground to see how many empty campsites there are? If there are empties, do I then wait at each one to see if anyone ever shows up? Of course I'm not. There's no way to know.

Any given empty campsite could be a person who was delayed. A person who cancelled last minute. Someone who got an invitation to stay with a friend, or who is just hanging out with those friends until late, and will be setting up tomorrow. etc.




I don't book throwaway rooms because I like to book where I want to stay. I get that people feel negative about them. I just don't.

Any choice we make, anything we book or buy impacts someone else down the line. The muffin I order at Starbucks might be the last one; I'm not going to leave it for the next person if I want it, even if I only want a bite, or to give it to a hungry person I saw outside or whatever. Every decision has consequences down the line.

 

[nugov2]

For example, I just checked a particular date at Pop Century;

8/6-8/7- Nothing available in any category

8/3- 8/7- Standard or Preferred is open.

Obviously there is a room open on the 6th, yet I can't book it unless I stay longer.

Just tried to book 8/6-8/7 with no problem at all.

And I honestly couldn't care less if you think I'm lying. Believe it, don't believe it- makes me no difference at all.

Didn't say lying...said exaggerating. Two different things. I think you probably had some sort of conversation where a CM told you something about one night stays(most likely the conversation was initiated by you), but b/c you don't like the practice are making it seem like more than it is to try to persuade others that it is bad. By giving an example of them telling you it is wrong and people shouldn't be doing it, you can back up your view that it is wrong. Again, if they viewed it as a practice they didn't want people doing, it would have been changed already or will be in the next week. It really takes nothing to update the system to only allow people perks for the exact number of days booked. I honestly think WDW likes people paying just to get perks(and probably took a cue from Uni taking advantage of the extra $$ they get from one night stays)...otherwise why didn't they roll out the system to only allow for perks for length of stay? I'm actually shocked people think the people running WDW are so dumb they don't know how to fix this quickly if it is in fact a problem or that they would have ever allowed it in the first place.

 

[bumbershoot]

I don't think it's the company line to tell a guest that what they're wanting to do is "gaming the system" and then refuse to book the reservation...but that's what the first cm did. I don't think it's the company line to tell a guest that what they're wanting to do is "dishonest", but that's what her supervisor said. That's when we got the supervisor's supervisor and they're the ones who we talked to for over an hour.

But really, I'm not trying to convince anyone of whether or not what I say is true. I know what I did, I know what I was told. Will it really come to pass? Who knows.

I'm saying you got some bad CMs who had little opinions and said them out loud. Thereby proving that none of them could be trusted.

It's like the CMs who don't know how to bridge tickets, or don't think it's right, and deliberately ignore the whole protocol in their online manual that tells them exactly when tickets should be bridged and HOW. A CM who ignores training is a bad CM. A CM who knows about it but won't do it because they don't agree with it is a bad CM. A CM who makes up a long story about how things are changing and they wont' allow one-night stays anymore because of xyz, when in all likelihood that availability was going to change in a period of time (like the one-night availability at Pop for the 6th did between when we checked), is a bad CM. You got a string of them. And then you got a supervisor's supervisor who didn't appear to know how to do her job, either.

Not fun to get CMs who don't know what they are talking about.

I once booked DME with a CM, or tried to, who knew exactly what sorts of tequilas to order at La Cava, but had NO clue that you could book one-way flights. Was absolutely befuddled that I had booked Alaska one way and United the other. Thought I was doing something wrong. Convinced that I was paying far more doing it that way (nothing could have been further from the truth). I still doubt if he believes me, LOL. CMs should know how to do their jobs.

 

[Luckybee]

They very much cared that I was trying to book a single night. In fact, they tried their best to get me to give them the name of the online agent I chatted with on their website who encouraged me to book a longer stay than I intended, then cancel the days I did not need. The higher up I spoke with actually told me that had I given them the name, they would've been fired.


To say Disney doesn't care or that they endorse this method of getting benefits you aren't entitled to simply because you can get away with it, is as you say, plain silly. It's more of a matter that they've put up with as it hasn't been a huge issue that was costing them money up till the start of fastpass +.
I'm pretty sure when all you were gaining was the ability to spend more money with them, they even kinda liked it.

But now, there are apparently enough doing it that it's causing problems with bookings and that costs them money. They also realize it's taxing their precious fastpass + system they spent millions on. They want their guests to love the system. They want those staying offsite to love it enough that they'll move to onsite and when mom and dad who's staying in a suite at the Grand Floridian can't get little Suzie her meeting with Anna and Elsa cause mom and dad staying at Motel Six booked a night at the campgrounds- it's a problem. When a guest can't get their 10 day package vacation booked because the middle of the week is broken up with single night throwaway rooms- it's a problem.

Everything they've done in the last few years has been to encourage more people to stay within the bounds of Disney World. Do you really think they want people not staying onsite to get the same benefits as those that do? Xtra magic hours, early ADR, 60 days FP+- all to encourage people to stay onsite.

From the conversations I've had, they care a great deal now and are working to put a stop to it and close the loophole. My gripe is that in stopping the abuse of the system, they are penalizing guests who shouldn't be.

With all due respect There is a BIG difference in booking a throwaway night and booking for longer than you intend to stay with the intent to cancel nights.

 

[itchin2go]

I read all your posts above ... well said.

With regards to:

I disagree. When I first started looking into WDW (at some point after joining here) people would book the campgrounds for Free Dining. Went on for at least a year until the campground wasn't included anymore. That's long before FP+.

I guess MY saga with "throwaway rooms" started with the clumsy rollout of FP+. Interesting to know that the concept predates my Disney World knowledge. There is nothing new, really ...

I *think* you asked about more information regarding 180+10 being reduced to 180+ length of stay. I don't have a link for you. This was my own personal experience, and I think it's documented to some extent in earlier pages of this thread. I had a one night stay booked, and in MDE, only the length of stay opened up at 180. I then called in to make later ADRs. One CM was reluctant. The others (I shuffled things around multiple times) had no problem doing it. Further up in this thread, others had different experiences. I think MDE was consistent in only allowing 180+length of stay. Experiences with CMs were varied.

 

[artemis4]

Duplicate, sorry. I thought the one from last night didn't go through.

 

[lizhall]

I don't have a throwaway room, but I do have a room at a Disney resort followed by a room at Shades of Green. At my 180 days I could only book my first five days, at the Disney property resort. Am I correct in assuming this will be the case for my fast passes, too?

 

[doconeill]

I don't have a throwaway room, but I do have a room at a Disney resort followed by a room at Shades of Green. At my 180 days I could only book my first five days, at the Disney property resort. Am I correct in assuming this will be the case for my fast passes, too?

Yes, that appears to be the case currently, as as long as your tickets are at least 5 days in length. Then, at 60 days from the specific dates after your resort stay, you can book additional FPs up to the length of your ticket.

 

[Disneyhappy]

We stay DVC so throwaway rooms don't appy to us but I still find the concept intriguing. What happens if someone would book and check in at a tent campground site at Fort Wilderness for a week and never use it. If it is paid for but not used, what does Disney do, if anything?

 

[doconeill]

He stay DVC so throwaway rooms don't appy to us but I still find the concept intriguing. What happens if someone would book and check in at a tent campground site at Fort Wilderness for a week and never use it. If it is paid for but not used, what does Disney do, if anything?

Nothing.

 

[ibela]

He stay DVC so throwaway rooms don't appy to us but I still find the concept intriguing. What happens if someone would book and check in at a tent campground site at Fort Wilderness for a week and never use it. If it is paid for but not used, what does Disney do, if anything?

What should they do? Disney put a price value on this stay. Someone paid it. If that same someone then decides that even though they paid for the accomodations that they don't want to use it, Disney can't force them to sleep there. You paid for it, do what you want with it.

 

[Luckybee]

I don't have a throwaway room, but I do have a room at a Disney resort followed by a room at Shades of Green. At my 180 days I could only book my first five days, at the Disney property resort. Am I correct in assuming this will be the case for my fast passes, too?

Yes ! I posted about my experiences doing this just a few days ago.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3312988

 

[Disneyhappy]

What should they do? Disney put a price value on this stay. Someone paid it. If that same someone then decides that even though they paid for the accomodations that they don't want to use it, Disney can't force them to sleep there. You paid for it, do what you want with it.

Very interesting. I usually have an opinion on everything but I think I need more time to process how I feel about this. Disney is not shy about clamping down on practices they do not like so they obviously are ok with it. I suppose that their only worry is making money. They get paid for the campsite with no overhead offset for utilities and cleaning. Win-win from a stockholder standpoint. Sad part is someone else could actually find enjoyment of renting the campsite for the week.

 

[karensi]

I apologize if this has already been asked and answered (I looked but can't find it), but my question is, if you do book a throwaway room/campsite do you actually have to check in in order to be able to use the FP+'s that you booked?


TIA, Karen