"policy" no adjoined room guarrantee

[Disney_pups2]

Ok, so first of all this is an EXTREME rant. So far in my "booking the trip" journey, I have gotten a rude non helpful cast member so far on Disney's resie line, didn't suggest anyway to help didn't even try to quote rooms, was like "oh well, oh hum". Then I wrote Disney to ask them for help and they referred me BACK to resie line. SO, I go to "a travel agent" and have issues there with this and that. I call Disney to ask about a price on something that my agent couldn't answer, then I get told by Disney they can't help me AT ALL because of room hold made by the agent. Ok..so got the room hold taken off. Now I ask Disney about 2 adjoining rooms at POP since we are traveling with 3 kids.. 4 technically because the oldest is my 19 year old son, then 15 yr old nephew, 5 yr old, and 3 year old. 3 of these are special needs and Disney tells me they CAN'T guarantee the rooms together. WHAT?! Do they realize how big of a problem this could become? This is "policy" now, which is amazing unintelligent and screams "we want you to book bigger for more money". I can't separate my party. My choices would be DH and I have to have separate rooms and separate the kids, OR I have to be away from the kids, how far away? Who knows. This is insane and sounds like a legal risk to me for Disney. So, anyways, now I am trying to still book and am SO Annoyed that for once in my life, I am just down in the mouth about going to Disney. And this is my happy place where I seldom have any problems at all. So sad.... Oh help, please.

[DisneyMom12]

I always request a connecting room, and always have gotten it. I usually call the hotel direct 2 or 3 days before my arrival when they are getting the upcoming rooms in order. You are more likely to get than not, so I would not worry and book the 2 rooms at pop.

[DisneyMomma23]

while their policy is that they can't guarantee adjoining rooms, they do their best to accomodate that request and i believe in cases like yours where kids would be separated from parents they make sure that the request is granted.
sorry to hear you've had some less than helpful CMs in the planning process.
Hope you have a great trip!

[TheRustyScupper]

I call Disney to ask about a price on something that my agent couldn't answer, then I get told by Disney they can't help me AT ALL because of room hold made by the agent.
. . . absolutely
. . . the agent gets a commission for helping
. . . ok, technically a big discount
. . . then they charge you retail
. . . the difference is commission/profit

Disney tells me they CAN'T guarantee the rooms together.
. . . they have NEVER guaranteed rooms
. . . connecting or adjoining
. . . in fact, you are not guaranteed the resort you requested

Do they realize how big of a problem this could become?
. . . inconvenience, yes
. . . problem, no

I can't separate my party.
. . . if it came to it, you could always separate
. . . inconvenient, but doable

This is insane and sounds like a legal risk to me for Disney.
. . . absolutely no legal risk
. . . since, they do not guarantee rooms
. . . and, you could still have one adult in each room

Oh help, please.
. . . USUALLY you can still get adjoining rooms
. . . and they do try for connecting
. . . but, be prepared, just in case

[McLiberal8]

This is "policy" now, which is amazing unintelligent and screams "we want you to book bigger for more money". I can't separate my party. My choices would be DH and I have to have separate rooms and separate the kids, OR I have to be away from the kids, how far away? Who knows. This is insane and sounds like a legal risk to me for Disney.

Okay, this just irks me, because I work for a hotel chain, and to be honest I have people like you screaming at me day and and day out about the same things.

We have similar policies - if the hotel confirms anything (roomtype, connecting rooms, etc) this means that they have to go into their inventory and hold aside said rooms. You must realize how impractical this can be when trying to keep inventory for other guests who do not have rooms pre-set aside - therefore, they do not hold ANY rooms aside or guarantee anything.

Be a reasonable guest - Disney will do everything they can to accommodate you - if this is not satisfactory, I suggest you look into a cabin at Fort Wilderness. They can accommodate more people and are reasonably priced.
I don't think it's fair to be so upset at Disney for not being able to personally hold rooms aside for you because of your circumstances.

[Disney_pups2]

I appreciate all your inputs..some more than others, but I am sure that most cannot fully appreciate why I feel this way and most also do not have a child with cerebral palsy, one with FAS and one with G6PD all adopted and all needing to be with their parents. This in my opinion is a "medical need" for the request... not just a visitor that is "screaming" at a hotel employee or Disney cast member (which did not and would not happen on my end). I do not believe it is unreasonable to want to keep a party together when half the party has special needs. And I do not believe that it is unreasonable to expect this to be done without problem, especially when you have even offered to prove the necessity. And it isn't logical to think that my family will not travel ever either without making such requests. Side note: When you adopt, there are bonding issues that most are not aware of, to add on special needs means more special circumstances to deal with, which does not mean my family does not deserve to travel and with dignity and understanding just as I would give your family. While I understand that this is a request that does put stress on the hotel managers and cast, I also understand Disney's overall wish for his clients/guests, and that is that their family have as stress free and as comfortable of a vacation in his magical kingdom as can be "reasonably provided".
McLiberal, I am sorry you feel this way towards your guests. I am venting here (which a fore warning was given) because it is a safe area for rants, or so I thought. Anyone with a shred of human kindness is not going to be rude to the person on the other side of the phone as you have described. There has been a few issues along the way as I have mentioned, which is why this was the straw that broke the camels back. But thank you for being so very considerate in your reply towards my special needs adoptive family.

[brownie]

Did you try the Special Reservations line for guests with disabilities? It's 407-939-7807 (from the Walt DIsney World website.) I'm not sure if it can help in your situation but it's worth a try.

I'm sorry you're having a frustrating experience. It's tough when you're having trouble planning a great vacation for your family. I hope everything works out for you.

[IamaDisneyFan]

I don't think you have an attitude problem. I think you feel frustrated about the situation and you have every right to be concerned that your family might be separated. Some advice I have received recently is to call and make sure that my reservations are linked and to ask for connecting rooms. Adjoining just means next to each other. Connecting has the door inside the room. Also, I have found in the past, that if we check in at the same time, then the cast members are able to coordinate things as well. Which, being all one family, you can make that happen! I'm sorry things are not going too smoothly for you. I hope that the rest of your planning is fun and you have a fabulous vacation!

[Lynn J Mc]

I understand your frustration. We stayed at the Grand Floridian and were told when checking in that we had adjoining rooms only to find out when we got to them that they were on 2 different halls. The person on the house Disney phone continued to insist to me that the rooms were adjoining despite the fact that I was physically in the building and couldn't even see one room from the other. And paying the GF prices I expected a little more customer service than I got!

[javaqueen11]

I'm sorry you're having a difficult time. You did warn up front that the post was going to be an extreme rant. It's nice when you're frustrated to just feel like someone is listening to you and understands, even just a little. Sometimes that's all you need to regroup and feel better about the situation. It sounds like on a daily basis you have a lot on your plate, so you would hope that planning a trip to the most wonderful place in the world would be a nice experience. Just book your two rooms with a request or note in your ressie that you are asking for connecting or adjoining rooms under medical circumstances. I'm sure on Disney's end they have to say that they can't legally promise you that you'll get what you're asking. If they did that for everyone they'd never be able to accomodate and imagine the screaming they'd endure the one time they couldn't keep that promise. Just try to remember that most of the CMs that you encounter at Disney World are wonderful and go out of their way to make sure your stay is magical. (Everybody has a bad day once in a while, even at DisneyWorld) We've never had a problem getting requested rooms in the past. Are you going during a busier season? We usually go during slower times. I'm sure even though they can't SAY that they guarantee your request, they will still do their best to get you what you need and make your family's vacation a wonderful experience.

[RBrooksC]

Just remember what could happen if they didn't add the stipulation of no guarantee of connected rooms? If the representative on the phone makes any sort of promise of this, and the bookings are so high that day that the request cannot be given, then you have a guest who is going to be even more angry because they have gotten to the resort only to find out their "promise" of a connected room could not be given.

For Disney, it is a better policy for their phone reps to give the same answer and not waiver from it than to start saying call the resort, etc. While it may irk callers or whatever, it is better to have a policy and stick to it than to have a situation at the resort that could boil-over and cause even bigger problems.

[magicofdisney]

The good news is POP has a lot of connecting rooms (this is what you need to ask for, specifically). Of course this is only anecdotal but my husband and I have ALWAYS received connecting rooms at any Disney resort when we travel there (minimum of 14 trips in the last 7 years). Disney will not make this guarantee, but they will go out of their way to accommodate, especially with your particular needs.

[lovinmesomedisney]

I understand your frustration. Policies can be a royal pain sometimes when planning. Just to reassure you though, I have always requested a ground floor room and adjoining rooms when we needed them, and have never yet been disappointed. I think you will be fine at the POP. We have done this at all the values and at PORS. We even had a big group before in peak summer season and had 5 rooms all together.

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

Whoa...some of the replies here are totally out of line...she is right, alot of us feel this is our safe place to vent with other Disney fans...it is okay to disagree with a poster but a couple of these replies were downright personal attacks

[Disney_pups2]

Thank you, I do feel much better now after posting and reading. The Cast Member I got to book with was down right sweet, as usual. I did mess up and not ask for "the door" in between when I called yesterday. I will call back and request that. She sounded very on top of things and concerned so I am sure she wrote down what she felt would get the point across to the room organizer. I hardly ever ask for anything. In the past I have just gone with it and if it was my crew and another family member like my parents or something traveling I wouldn't feel so "pressed" to keep us together. Thank you for those that have suggested helpful things and encouragement. I do feel much better about the situation. To those that feel the way you do, I'm sorry you feel that way. Compassion is what makes Disney world such a successful place. Or at least to me it does. They have never let me down in the past and I guess I should just put on my mouse ears and assume the best as all of you have suggested.. that and call back to request the room with the door inbetween. I don't even care if we get handicap building or not, closest or father away. I can put my sons in strollers, which I plan to bring so that we are prepared for any long walks. Thank you all so much though. You gals have managed to bring back the magic in my thoughts. (most of you )

[TammiMcMan]

*Moderator Alert*

Okay, everyone take a deep breath please. This is definitely a place to come to ask for help, although that can get lost within the rant, so be cautious there. Disney's policy does not guarantee anything and you can always find that in the fine print of your confirmations. That being said, please refer to Brownies post about the special reservations line. This is who you want to call, as they are the only ones who can "set aside" a specific room for you due to medical needs. I'm not sure what information they'll need from you, if any, but you should call them and find out.

Hindsight is 20/20, but for future bookings, you may want to consider using Magical Journeys. They're Disney experts and are great with special requests .

[Disney_pups2]

Tammi,
Thank you very much hon. I wasn't aware of there being a special line to call for these types of situations until Brownie posted the information. And I surely appreciate the information and will use it for sure! Thank you again for moderating this. I didn't think that it would cause such difficulties. Sorry.

[Faver]

#1.... enjoy your trip

#2.....have fun

#3.....I hope your kids love it!!!!

#4.....I'm sure you'll get adjoining rooms

#5..... uh....enjoy your trip!!!!!!!

[Disney Doll]

I understand the frustration, but I don't think you can really blame Disney here and that's probably why you are getting some less than kind responses. Hinting at legal risk seems irrational and somewhat discredits your entire rant as does the comment about the Disney rep not helping you with a ressie because of a hold your travel agent issued. It's nice to vent, but you always get more helpful advice if you approach the problem calmly and with an open mind.

[TammiMcMan]

I wasn't aware of there being a special line to call for these types of situations until Brownie posted the information. And I surely appreciate the information and will use it for sure!

Thanks to our helpful INTERCOT family Good luck with all your planning.