WBC as a "guest of an owner"?

[esk]

I rented a 2 BR Presidential from Vacation Strategy last fall and it was PERFECT.....available when we got there to check in at Bldg 6, perfect condition, lake/fireworks view, etc.

VS was sold out for next week, so I went with Vacation Upgrades. Ken has been super helpful...my question isn't about him really. He had a 2 BR Deluxe and while I'd prefer Presidential, Deluxe will be fine.

So I call today to request lake view, bldg 6, and the nice-but-insistent lady at WBC keeps telling me that as a "guest of an owner" I really can't make a request. And that "as a guest of an owner" I cannot, must not, show up before 4 pm because that is the check in time for "guests of an owner".

Now when I booked through VS, we showed up at about 1 pm and went right to our suite. I also called the week before and we got everything we asked for. So.....is it the Presidential that makes a difference? Or perhaps I was just lucky last fall?

I had planned to come at about 2 pm, drop off some groceries, etc, but she wasn't really keen on me doing that. Told me that (for the millionth time) I could put stuff in their fridge if "they were not full of owner's cold food".

Since we're not checking in at Bldg 6 (no Presidential), I'm a little worried about showing up at 4 pm and it's a madhouse to check in. Has anyone checked in lately on a Sunday and how crazy has it been?

 

[ez]

we stayed there 3 weeks ago thru a private ebay sale so we were also guests of an owner. When we called we were told we couldnt request a building and view and that we had to do it at check in, the policy has changed because in the past we could do that (we always get ours on ebay). Got there at 1pm ( sunday, no one in line), told her my preferences and got in a great room right away. If I were you I wouldn't pay attention to that 4pm thing, unless the rule has changed within the past 3 weeks. Good luck.

 

[tndisneyfan]

I rented a 2 BR Presidential from Vacation Strategy last fall and it was PERFECT.....available when we got there to check in at Bldg 6, perfect condition, lake/fireworks view, etc.

VS was sold out for next week, so I went with Vacation Upgrades. Ken has been super helpful...my question isn't about him really. He had a 2 BR Deluxe and while I'd prefer Presidential, Deluxe will be fine.

So I call today to request lake view, bldg 6, and the nice-but-insistent lady at WBC keeps telling me that as a "guest of an owner" I really can't make a request. And that "as a guest of an owner" I cannot, must not, show up before 4 pm because that is the check in time for "guests of an owner".

Now when I booked through VS, we showed up at about 1 pm and went right to our suite. I also called the week before and we got everything we asked for. So.....is it the Presidential that makes a difference? Or perhaps I was just lucky last fall?

I had planned to come at about 2 pm, drop off some groceries, etc, but she wasn't really keen on me doing that. Told me that (for the millionth time) I could put stuff in their fridge if "they were not full of owner's cold food".

Since we're not checking in at Bldg 6 (no Presidential), I'm a little worried about showing up at 4 pm and it's a madhouse to check in. Has anyone checked in lately on a Sunday and how crazy has it been?

We checked in on a Sunday, 6/2/13. We had a two bedroom deluxe thru Farrels Vacations so we were a "guest of owner" too. I don't remember the exact time, but I believe we checked in somewhere between 1:30-2:00. The lady at the desk checked us right in with no problem, and a room was ready in Bldg 1. There were several people in line but it wasn't a madhouse, I think maybe four people in front of us.

 

[dancin Disney style]

You can try to check in any time you want. If they have something for you they will get you in right away. If nothing is ready you will have to wait. If you want a specific location you may have to wait.

 

[Upatnoon]

I rented a 2 BR Presidential from Vacation Strategy last fall and it was PERFECT.....available when we got there to check in at Bldg 6, perfect condition, lake/fireworks view, etc.

VS was sold out for next week, so I went with Vacation Upgrades. Ken has been super helpful...my question isn't about him really. He had a 2 BR Deluxe and while I'd prefer Presidential, Deluxe will be fine.

So I call today to request lake view, bldg 6, and the nice-but-insistent lady at WBC keeps telling me that as a "guest of an owner" I really can't make a request. And that "as a guest of an owner" I cannot, must not, show up before 4 pm because that is the check in time for "guests of an owner".

Now when I booked through VS, we showed up at about 1 pm and went right to our suite. I also called the week before and we got everything we asked for. So.....is it the Presidential that makes a difference? Or perhaps I was just lucky last fall?

I had planned to come at about 2 pm, drop off some groceries, etc, but she wasn't really keen on me doing that. Told me that (for the millionth time) I could put stuff in their fridge if "they were not full of owner's cold food".

Since we're not checking in at Bldg 6 (no Presidential), I'm a little worried about showing up at 4 pm and it's a madhouse to check in. Has anyone checked in lately on a Sunday and how crazy has it been?

The woman you talked to is correct. The "official check-in time" is 4 p.m. and has been that way for years. However, they are not strict about enforcing it -- thus some people don't even know about it. Of course, if you call and ask them, they will give you the official policy. If I were arriving early, I would try to check in and see what happens. If you do show up at 4 p.m., it will be busy for sure, but I've never had to wait more than 20 minutes.

The "room request" game has been more recently nipped in the bud, as likely they were getting lots of calls requesting "fireworks views" over and over again. Of course, you can still make a request when you check in.

Good luck!

 

[kellyman]

So we arrived today after 5pm. We are also a "guest of an owner". Because of whatvI read on the this boards, I didn't plan on making a request. As luck would have it, there was no wait to check in and we got Tower 4 13th floor! Kids are excited to see thevfireworks!

I hope you get your preference!

 

[cinderellamom123]

When you got the presidential suite, you are booking a specific room. Most of the presidentials are in building 6 and obviously, you are going to have a prime location and view because you are paying for a presidential.

When you get a standard deluxe, you are not booking a specific room, but one of the rooms, and I have seen many posts stating they are not taking room requests anymore. So yes, I think that is correct. Check in is 4 but they try to accommodate if they can

 

[snowangel72]

Presidentials are cleaned first and available at 1pm, deluxe can be 4pm depending how busy it is...

 

[DCTooTall]

It has always been the "Official Policy" that Checkin time is at 4pm, "VIP" owners could check in at 2pm. Room Requests could only be made by VIP Owners.

In practice, This particular resort hasn't always followed the official policy and they've been very fluid in extending those "benefits" to everyone.

Recently they've been starting to get stricter and once again enforce some of the VIP Perks... such as requests. I can't say if it's because of VIP Owners complaining about the fact people who didn't pay for VIP were getting their perks for free.... If the resort was getting slammed with requests and this was the easiest and least painful way to lighten the workload.... or if since Primary sales at the resort have been winding down that the Sales department isn't applying to same pull to get everyone to experience the same level of service since they aren't trying to sell as much to everyone.

When you got the presidential suite, you are booking a specific room. Most of the presidentials are in building 6 and obviously, you are going to have a prime location and view because you are paying for a presidential.

When you get a standard deluxe, you are not booking a specific room, but one of the rooms, and I have seen many posts stating they are not taking room requests anymore. So yes, I think that is correct. Check in is 4 but they try to accommodate if they can

I'm pretty sure that's not entirely true. Presidential Reserve units you will end up booking a specific unit, However general Presidential units are "pooled" and then assigned to meet their needs just like regular inventory.... there's just less of them available.

If you are wondering the difference between a Presidential Reserve Unit and a regular Presidential unit? None really as far as the unit itself is concerned. The Difference is in how the unit is deeded and the inventory is managed.

 

[disneycrazy01]

We just got back from a 2-week stay at BC. We arrived at BC about 2:00 pm on a Tuesday. When we first arrived we checked in and was told that a room wasn't ready and that check-in was 4:00 pm. We had stopped at a supermarket on the way to BC using Tiffany Towncar which was great. They stored our food until our room was ready. About a half an hour after arriving they had a room for us.

We had a parking lot view in Tower 3 on the 7th floor - no fireworks. We had a view of the golf course. BC is great and we are planning on returning next year for our summer vacation, but we did have several problems in room 757. We did have several issues which they did come and fix.

We had a 9:58 flight back to LaGuardia today which was cancelled due to a problem with a plane that landed on 7/22 that lost it's landing gear. We ended up leaving at 1:00 pm going to JFK.

Will write a full review later.