upgrade

[inda2681]

i have been reading through disney forums and reviews on hotels and have found that some people were so lucky they got free upgrade on hotels. how does this work? does it only applies to those who have ap and/or those who booked directly with disney? i was thinking of upgrading my stay from santa fe to either sequioa or npb. do i need to phone in advance (i booked through agent not disney direct) or just try my luck when i check in? im going from 5th-8th of june.

sorry too many questions

 

[marcus.ka]

There are two different kinds of upgrades: The ones that you get for free; like you get an Admiral Floor room at the NPBC but you only booked a standard room.
And the other ones are the upgrades from one hotel to a better one. These are very rare and only happen if Disney has made an error with your booking. If this is the case they will call you before your trip and inform you that you have been upgraded.
But it is very very rare that you show up in the hotel that you have booked and they tell you “You have been upgraded to a better hotel.”


And regarding the free upgrades: These are also rarer and rarer these days. Disney just published its figures for the last 6 month and the hotel booking rate was by more than 88%. Especially on weekends the hotels are booked 100% and then it is very rare to be upgraded to a better room type. And as your trip has a weekend included I would not hope too much for a free upgrade.
And it could also be hard to pay for an upgrade because your trip is in 4 weeks and as a weekend is included it could be that it is not possible anymore to change the hotel as the better hotels may be booked up. But you can call Disney and try.

And yes it is true that they rather give free upgrades to quests who have an AP, or to Shareholders or to regular visitors.

We have been upgraded two times (during 15 visits) one time in January 2006 (mid week) at the HNY from standard room to lake view. And the second time at the SL from standard to lake view. But this second time was only because they had only smoking rooms left as standard room and so we got the lake view. This could not happen anymore as all rooms now non-smoking.

I hope this helps.

Edit: If you have booked your trip with an angent I think you have to contat them to ask if it is possible to upgrade yourself to a better hotel.

 

[Cyrano]

I concur with Marcus's excellent post.

If you are looking to pay for an upgrade to a better hotel I would consider this is soon as possible

 

[inda2681]

thank u to both of u for the replies

 

[thelittlemermaid83]

I only got upgraded from the Cheyenne to Newport Bay due to the Cheyenne being fully booked when i arrived.

Guess i was just one of them lucky ones lol

 

[Bolanette87]

We got upgraded to a very nice suite at the Sequoia Lodge when we stayed there and we didn't book with Disney Direct- We were on a coach tour with Leger Holidays. VERY lucky Methinks!

Bob xoxox

 

[tennisfan]

I remember when Amex were the official card/sponsor & they did the Service Magique, we got free upgrades nearly all the time we booked with them. We would pay for SL & get HNY or pay for Cheyenne & stay in SL.

I miss those times

 

[jillrobinson]

We also had a free upgrade at Sequoia Lodge from standard lodge room to the main building on a holiday booked with Leger.
I'm sure everyone will agree it's a nice surprise but I wouldn't want to rely on a free upgrade being available. If you're having second thoughts about SF then I'd suggest you contact your travel agent now to find out what the options are.

 

[lostinwonderland]

I got an upgrade last year from normal admirals room at NPBC to a lakeview as a "birthday gift"
A very pleasant surprise...

 

[Jazzman67]

It's NOT likely that I'll have that option, since I'm travelling with a bus
company. I did, once, get an upgrade from one cabin to another one
on a boat, since there weren't that many people on the boat.

The joke is that the cabin size was not very much.

For me, it's not a big deal.

Ok, I won't lie: I would love to have a suite for one of my birthdays. But,
that's a dream! I'm more likely to have a normal room, should I have a
package trip. Otherwise, I've been using youth hostels in Stockholm since
they are more affordable, by a long shot than hotels.

 

[Bolanette87]

It's NOT likely that I'll have that option, since I'm travelling with a bus
company. I did, once, get an upgrade from one cabin to another one
on a boat, since there weren't that many people on the boat.

The joke is that the cabin size was not very much.

For me, it's not a big deal.

Ok, I won't lie: I would love to have a suite for one of my birthdays. But,
that's a dream! I'm more likely to have a normal room, should I have a
package trip. Otherwise, I've been using youth hostels in Stockholm since
they are more affordable, by a long shot than hotels.

Hey, we got our upgrade with a bus company! You never know!!

Bob xoxoxox