Touring Plans room request

[SL6827]

Put in a room request with Touring Plans, (which I have had excellent luck with in the past) and it stated they would start sending the fax at 30 days out! 30 days?? It used to be like 4-5 days out, right?

 

[Dug720]

Put in a room request with Touring Plans, (which I have had excellent luck with in the past) and it stated they would start sending the fax at 30 days out! 30 days?? It used to be like 4-5 days out, right?

The change - also it is now an email - happened I want to say over a year ago. Len explained it then - it was a change initiated by Disney.

And he has always made clear that regardless of how they are sent they are ONLY requests. He and Touring Plans do not have some special advantage - other than their basic line that pre-populates when you select the room you want to request is in room-assigner speak.

 

[silver236]

Mine went in too. You've had better luck than me. I am batting zero so far.

 

[morganms22]

I was surprised by that as well. Mine was sent this week..glad I had already done it! The last time I booked was about a year and a half ago and it was the old way. I must have missed the change!

 

[momtwoboys]

I use it for years and never had good luck! I always end up going to front desk when we check in to ask pretty please to have a room near where we requested.

 

[Deb & Bill]

DVC resorts have told members not to bother faxing requests, but to just add them to your reservation. Lots of times they just toss them out.

 

[morganms22]

I use it for years and never had good luck! I always end up going to front desk when we check in to ask pretty please to have a room near where we requested.

This is usually the case for us as well... I think one time my request was close to what received. I still do it everyone anyways just in case it works at some point

 

[MinnieMSue]

Until this September we had excellent luck with the requests through touring plans. This last trip it was virtually the opposite of what we requested - in every way. Example: wanted a tub but got a shower only. We didn’t care and kept the given room. It was Labor Day weekend after all and pop was 9&% full according to the lifeguard anyway

 

[karen4546]

I have used TP room finder/request for the past several years. I have had mostly excellent results. In September of 2019, I had 2 BCvillas studios. One got the perfect spot on request (view of EPCOT fireworks - I can't recall the room number ie location) and we got it and the room across the hall from it.

I know you can not technically make requests when booking value studios, but we have lucked out and gotten a partial savannah view all three times we have booked the values and same for standards-all Jambo house of course.

I think my TP subscription is has been well worth it.

 

[momtwoboys]

I have used TP room finder/request for the past several years. I have had mostly excellent results. In September of 2019, I had 2 BCvillas studios. One got the perfect spot on request (view of EPCOT fireworks - I can't recall the room number ie location) and we got it and the room across the hall from it.

I know you can not technically make requests when booking value studios, but we have lucked out and gotten a partial savannah view all three times we have booked the values and same for standards-all Jambo house of course.

I think my TP subscription is has been well worth it.

agree TP is well worth it for sure! Been a subscriber for over 10 years!

 

[karen4546]

agree TP is well worth it for sure! Been a subscriber for over 10 years!

since 2011 for me

 

[DMLAINI]

I subscribe to touring plans but I can't find where to go to make a room request. Help!

 

[Dug720]

I subscribe to touring plans but I can't find where to go to make a room request. Help!

You have to "add a trip" and you can go from there.

 

[Dug720]

I was surprised by that as well. Mine was sent this week..glad I had already done it! The last time I booked was about a year and a half ago and it was the old way. I must have missed the change!

FWIW, they do a check every day within 30 days. I changed my resort with 17 days to go. Len said to delete the old request and add a new one. Did that yesterday and the email was sent today.

 

[AngieInOH]

In 7 visits I've only gotten one request. Probably because it was the furthest most non-requested room in the resort!

 

[Dug720]

In 7 visits I've only gotten one request. Probably because it was the furthest most non-requested room in the resort!

Yes, they are still only requests. I've mostly been close (only once was a horrible miss - and the other as explained that there was a "tour group" - yes, a SATG, in the section I had requested (that time I was met by a CM as I got off the Magical Express as I'd done online check-in and they knew I was on the bus, they explained what the problem was with my request) and there were a couple of rooms not with the group, but...so I was fine with being moved to another section), but I find that I don't really do super specific requests like room numbers (their system will pre-populate the top line with your requested room and others like it along with hotel-speak that the assigners understand - like Fl 3,SE-Facing- It's better not to change that as those codes are easier for them) and I put things in preference order.

For example, the time I was staying at Sports in a preferred room, my request went something like:
"I would like to make the following requests in this order:
1st priority - Surf's Up section
2nd priority - Third Floor
3rd priority - Corner room"
That way the assigner knew from the top line the general direction I was facing, but from my wording could first look at the available rooms in Surf's Up, then see if any of those were on the top floor, then see if any of those were corner. I ended up Surf's Up, Third Floor, one door down from the corner.

The one time I haven't gotten close and it wasn't due to a tour group, I had a super late arrival, and while I did get a corner top floor room (that technically was an upgrade to a River View), it was the furthest possible building from the main building (and yes, even at POFQ as a solo adult at 1am, that far building is FAR in the dark). Because they don't send the room number until it's ready - and even then if you have a late arrival, you (or I) haven't gotten it until I'm on the Magical Express after my flight, I do suspect that someone else who arrived earlier and fussed about the distance so they got swapped into the one originally assigned to me.

The details added in may seem like overkill, but at least giving them a preference order or "I would like a room such as XXXX because..." helps the assigner know what you're looking for. If you just give them a number, or even that pre-populated text in that field, if that room/rooms on that floor and direction aren't available, the assigner has no idea why you requested it and will likely just go with any available room at that time. Even with that, it is possible that they simply cannot meet it - or in the case of my requested section where a tour group was, I would not have been happy knowing I was only one of two or so rooms not with the group (there were signs in their windows, so it was obvious that 99% of the section was them) and they knew that likely there would be a complaint/request to move rooms. But it never hurts to ask.

 

[Dug720]

Just as a note, the above advice for priority order for requests applies to those you call in on your own as well. Keep it simple, but help them understand why you are making the request you are.

 

[Ninjagrrl]

Just as a note, the above advice for priority order for requests applies to those you call in on your own as well. Keep it simple, but help them understand why you are making the request you are.

Agree. I have had very good luck with the room request tool on TP, and I always do like you and list the requests in prioirty order. And let them know that also. It's also important to limit the requests to two or three types (3 max), otherwise it becomes to complicated.
I also usually give a short explanation why I want a specific room if I can, so that if what I asked for isn't available they can possibly make reasonable substitutions. Like if I request close to the elevator, I'll add that it's because we have a wheelchair in our party. (We don't need HC rooms, so don't book them.)

 

[Shannon G]

The one time I tried the room request we got basically the opposite of what we asked for. I had asked for close to the lobby and the elevators, as my mom was having knee issues at the time. The room we were initially assigned to was about as far from the lobby as you could get (this was at the Yacht Club). It worked out though - I simply went back to the front desk and requested a closer room due to my mom's knees, and they accomodated us.

 

[Dug720]

One other piece of advice, don't make a "negative" request - like "Not a connecting room" or "Not near the lobby" because they have a lot of work and it is very easy to overlook the "not".