Just rec'd call from CRO about POFQ ressie

[DisneyFreaks]

I agree justhat. We did not book any of the other moderates because we didn't want to stay at the other moderates. They didn't fit our needs when we booked and they still don't. We booked FQ because of its size. I have problems with my legs and walking forever to get to the food court is not the way I want to start each morning when I know I have the parks ahead of me. I love all the moderates but none of them were right for me this trip. I just don't know what we are going to do. I hate the thought of cancelling our trip. We have been planning it for a long time. We are arriving May 3rd and we haven't heard anything yet. I tried to call but the girl who answered the phone at CRO said I had to wait until they contact me. We have three rooms booked so I am very nervous we aren't going to be able to get anything nice by the time they get to us. This is the third time this has happened to us. The other two times we were able to call and switch ourselves to another moderate. I'm beginning to think we're jinxed.

 

[RescueRanger]

All I can say about your statement Disneyfan09 is WHAT??? No one is taking advantage of anything. People choose different resorts for different reasons. They might like the pool at one or the layout of another. When you make reservations for a certain resort you expect to get that resort. Disney has no one to blame but itself. With a little bit more planning, WDW could have avoided all of this mess. I mean really, to start a major renovation just out of the blue. You say you would not take an upgrade unless you payed for it. I find this hard to believe. If you are buying a new car and the salesman tells you they sold the car you wanted by mistake but will offer you the same type of vehicle with MORE options for the same price, are you going to tell them no I will pay for the options??? I DON'T THINK SO. WDW offers the upgrades because they are inconveniencing their customers. They are not going to tell there customers to take another moderate or forget it. That is not good business and WDW knows that. So, get off your high horse and quit telling those who are waiting for upgrades that they are taking advantage of Disney. This is WDW fault and they know it. I hope you don't own a business because with that kind of attitude you wouldn't be able to keep your customers.

 

[DisneyFan09]

Rescueranger - Believe what you want but I would not take an upgrade in this situation. I don't think that this closure is for renovations, if it was this decision would've been made a long time ago not so spur of the moment!! I'm not accusing anyone of doing anything wrong, I'm just saying what I'd do. But you do have to admit that a lot of people (not on this thread) are always looking for upgrades.

And by the way, I like my horse Il think I'll stay on it!!

 

[renessa]

I was offered a moderate or deluxe upgrade when Pop Century didn't open. It wasn't free, but was a great rate!!! I held out for their call, but I had a few months to go. I think moderates were 89 and AKL and WL (standard) were 124. I thought they were good offers. I wasn't taking advantage. This is what disney was offering. I told them I wasn't intersted in the All-Stars, and they offered this. No one is going to walk away with enough freebies or upgrades to get all riled up about. Ren

 

[DisneyFan09]

That is exactly my point, you paid for it! And that's all I said in my post is that I wouldn't take it unless I paid for it!!!

 

[RescueRanger]

First of all, let me say that I am not speaking about just anyone getting cheap upgrades but only those who have been inconvenienced. Also, if what you say is true, and I happen to agree on this point, that they are closing for monetary reasons and not renovations, they are not only inconveniencing their customers but are also lying to them. If its slow and WDW wants to save money, they should just say so. However, they are not going to tell us the truth because there are so many who are already upset with all the other cutbacks. Bottom line, when you take something away from a customer, it is only rational that you offer something else.

 

[DisneyFan09]

I'm so glad we agree!! I too think people should be offered something but if it's a better something then it should be paid for. Getting a good rate on a deluxe because of something like this is a great deal, but like I stated above it's still PAID for and that's my whole point.

 

[RescueRanger]

I think what most have said that they usually offer a deluxe for $10 more. I think that is fair. I guess you thought I was talking about getting upgraded for free. For those who have the $94 rate for the moderate, it would mean $104 for deluxe. Many are getting a $124 rate for deluxes through e-mails and postcards anyway. So, I don't think the $20 difference in price is a big deal for Disney if it keeps their customers happy.

 

[off2disney]

I talked with my travel agent yesterday and she told me about the upgrade to a deluxe for $10, and I told her to go for it. I don't mind upgrading, it's something that Disney can do for me for the inconvenience, and I see nothing wrong with it. Debbie told me she was told that once POFQ is renovated, Disney is going to re-do Riverside (but because Riverside is so big, they will do a few buildings at a time).

Debbie also told me that CRO told her they were going to start calling the earliest reservations first, then would work their way thru the later months. So I'm sure others will be getting their call as CRO works their way thru the calendar.

I started to just stay with another moderate, but my SIL, who LOVES Wilderness Lodge, said I was nuts to turn down the upgrade.

 

[justhat]

Yes, I'm sure any upgrades would not be totally free, but would be for a very small fee. Also, everyone on these boards is always looking for discounts, codes, and any way to save money on a room/ticket/whatever. Doesn't that go against DisneyFan09's quote, "It's sad to see Disney struggling, and it's even sadder to see people thinking about how this could help them save a little money!!" You're trying to save a little money while Disney is struggling by using a code to reduce your room rate. You're paying for it, but since it's less than other people paid, does that make it unfair!?! We should all pay rack rate for rooms each time we go to WDW. Really, I know people will say that they'd turn down an upgrade, but when the time comes, if WDW called you and said "Sorry, POFQ is now closed during your stay, but for the same price we're transferring you to the Yacht Club" I really don't believe that you'd tell them "NO!! I will only take another moderate!!!" Especially if you really didn't want to stay at another moderate. It just doesn't make any sense at all to stay at a resort you really don't want to stay at when you're offered someplace else you actually like. And I would not only expect this from Disney, but any hotel/resort I go to. What about those free upgrades people receie at check-in on occasion? Should those be turned down too since you're not paying for it, even though the resort is offering it to you? I really think anything Disney offers cannot be considered taking advantage of them--if they considered it that way then they wouldn't offer any upgrades.

 

[DisneyFan09]

Justthat - you've made some very valid points and I wholeheartedly agree that if Disney makes an offer of an upgrade at a discounted price then by all means take it. But someone had posted that CRO had already made them an offer of another moderate but they turned it down to wait for something else. I guess that's what started my ranting. People use codes and get great deals all the time, me included but to use this circumstance to get a free upgrade wouldn't seem alright to me. And I don't think anyone mentioned "free upgrade" at all, I was just giving my opinion, if anyone took what I said a little too personally they shouldn't have.

 

[peachgirl]

My opinion on waiting for a better deal is this....


Disney may or may not offer upgrades to deluxe resort with a reduced fee. If you wait for "the call" in hopes that you will get a cheap upgrade you take the chance that the next moderate of your choice might be booked. I don't think there is any possibility that all the moderates will be full, so the chance that you'll get a deluxe upgrade for that reason is very small. If any moderate will satisfy you, then there's no harm in waiting to see what they offer when you do get a call.

My bet is that WDW will offer upgrades to certain deluxes at a reduced rate. Based on what they did with the CBR last year, most likely it will be AKL or WL. There were a few that got the Polynesian, but it filled up pretty fast and most did not. As I recall, almost all of those who got the Poly called on their own. So, if it's worth it to you, wait. If you want to be guaranteed a certain resort, take the offer now.

We were booked at CBR last year and didn't wait for a call. WL had been our first choice originally, but because we were wanting to stay for 2 weeks we had booked CBR to cut costs a bit. We weren't the least bit interested in staying at AKL so I changed our reservation to WL on my own as I didn't want to take any chances with it filling up. By the time we applied the AP discount to our rate, the deal we got was very close to what CBR transfers got and I didn't have to worry about it for months on end. It was well worth a few extra $$'s not to have to think about it!

 

[Lori in CNY]

I think you all have a very valid point. Disney did not just dream up this rennovation. It has been "planned" for some time but now became the perfect time because with the reservation bookings down, there are the least amount of guests that will be displaced by closing the resort.

I can honestly say this is probably a very good idea. My husband and I traveled from NY shortly after 9/11. Both the FQ and Riverside sections were still open but guests were so few and far between they kept closing sections of the food court, or a quiet pool or even certain buildings in the Alligator Bayou. It didn't make for a very "magical" experience.

They then decided to temporarily close the FQ. It created a hustling and bustling atmosphere at the Riverside resort area (including check-in) and all of the food court opened back up. While the FQ was closed to guests, they chose to rennovate that food court and exteriors of the buildings. It seemed to work out perfectly.

Now, it seems they are doing it again. Close FQ and finish rennovations that were started last year. Move everyone to Riverside or other moderates (or deluxe if necessary) and keep the one resort running at full steam.

Personally, I would like to see some guests choose another moderate or an upgrade for a small fee and not over-crowd the resort that I chose in the first place!!! I can't move all 3 rooms I have booked but those in the FQ can!!

 

[LvsTnk]

I haven't read this whole thread so forgive me if this was said, but I was thinking this may be the reason that AP rates are not offered yet.

If they are going to offer the displaced guests an upgrade to a Deluxe at a substantial savings there is only so many discounts they can offer. Also, they don't know how many will switch on their own and to which resort. I know this didn't happen during the CBR rehab but maybe they lost alot of revenue during that time. Just a thought.

 

[chancellor]

I spoke with a person on the POFQ "relocation team" last night, and he would only offer to change me to another moderate. When I told him I wasn't interested (because of the size issue), I asked for an upgrade. He told me that I could only upgrade to an available room and pay the available price for that room - I wanted to go to WL at the Florida resident rate ($124, which is $50 more than the Florida rate I had at POFQ), but none were available for the weekend I would be there. I would gladly have paid the rate if he could have opened another room, but he said that there was no way to do that because of the "market segment" I was in. In other words, there is no increased availability for discounted rooms at any of the hotels (though I was under the impression I would be guaranteed the Florida rate if I switched to another moderate). So now I'm stuck either at a resort I don't want (POR, CS or CBR) or paying a lot more for a deluxe. I'm seriously considering cancelling entirely and going off site.

Bottom line - don't expect any cheap upgrades. They won't even open up regularly discounted rooms at the deluxes.

 

[polkadotminnie]

Chancellor- I had the same problem. Now Universal will get more of my money. I ended up getting the Royal Pacific for $109/night and took AKL for only 2 nights. I would have happily paid a slight increase for this mess, but not a regular rate. (My phone bill will be huge!!!) I also cancelled my October reservation. I guess we will go to Cedar Point instead.

 

[Sammie]

Originally posted by polkadotminnie
Chancellor- I had the same problem. Now Universal will get more of my money. I ended up getting the Royal Pacific for $109/night and took AKL for only 2 nights. I would have happily paid a slight increase for this mess, but not a regular rate. (My phone bill will be huge!!!) I also cancelled my October reservation. I guess we will go to Cedar Point instead.

Was your rate at Royal Pacific a special discount? That is a great rate, and I don't blame you for staying there.

 

[TLinden16]

I am booked in the POFQ for three nights in late August. I only made my reservations last week when I upgraded from the ASMo (I only had a room booked there while I waited for a code for a room at the POFQ, my favorite resort).

I think that Disney isn't going to be so quick to offer upgraded rooms because I think most people will be fine with a room at another moderate. As a group, those of us on the Dis know all about code rates, and we know that there is a possibility of room upgrades for a small additional fee in a situation like this because it has happened before. For each one of us with that type of knowledge, there are many who paid the rack rate for a room in the same hotel. Most people who are going to be bumped from the POFQ will probably just go to another moderate because they won't really matter.

But, I do think (and hope) that Disney will offer discounted upgrades to those who wouldn't be happy with another moderate. I am extremely disappointed that I won't be staying at the POFQ in August (especially since I made the reservation less than a week ago). I've stayed at the other moderates, and I was disappointed by the CSR and the CBR (the POR is nice, but it is much too spread out for my liking). So, when they call me about rebooking my reservation, I will tell them I'm disappointed, and if they don't offer me a deluxe room at a discounted rate that is acceptable to me, I'll probably downgrade back to the ASMo. I'm not looking for a free upgrade to a deluxe resort. Disney is offering an option that I can chose to take at the same rate, but I do think that it is good business for Disney to offer discounted rooms in a situation like that if people aren't happy with the option of staying at the other moderates. I guess time will tell what Disney will do.

Karen

 

[polkadotminnie]

Fan Club Card rate. It was even better than what I was expecting. The web site said that rates were starting at $129; but the dates I needed for early May were only $109. You have to be flexible. I just decided to stay there at the beginning of my stay because the end of my stay the rates were $209.

 

[disneydave2003]

I know this thought isn't going to be popular but I think it only makes sense that if you are booked in a moderate and have to be moved for whatever reason, that they place you in another moderate. Disney shouldn't have to offer a deluxe room for $10, $20 or $30 more than you are paying for the moderate. JMHO

dave