Resort Change by Disney

[emmabelle]

So we were booked Labor Day weekend in a standard Poly room. I wanted to move to the villas side (we stayed there before and liked it) but the CM said it was not available. He then said let me check GFV and that was unavailable, too. He asked me to hold while he dug deeper. He came back to me with a GF 1-Bedroom Standard Villa that was price protected with my current rate. I couldn't believe it. It seems like a major upgrade and we have always wanted to try the GF. I said yes. However, now I am second guessing myself with the NBA stay and how that might impact our trip. I did know about the great blue wall when I said "yes" and I am fine with that. Has anyone recently stayed at Grand Floridian Villas and had a good experience? I am worried about the crowd level at the pool since only one will be open. Also, are you allowed to visit Poly right now without dining reservation? Are the boats from GF to MK running?

we’re supposed to be in a Poly std view for 9/7 to 9/11. I better call to see what they can offer. I love the Epcot resort area but only if I could get into Epcot at night which we can’t so it loses it’s appeal

 

[Lilsia]

So after thinking about it all night, I wanted to try somehow to get back to the Poly. I called and was told that any second moves wouldn't be price-protected since the Poly is a totally separate entity from Poly Villas. I understood if I wanted to move to a different resort altogether, but it would've been nicer for the CM to be a little more understanding that it's the same property and we'd like to continue staying there. She checked and there's nothing available for our dates anyway. I was maybe going to call back later to get a different CM if there was. BUT she did inform me that because we were moved twice due to resort closures (AKL, Poly), we'd be getting a $100 e-gift card upon check-in, so that's something to look forward to as well. Apparently, it's noted on your account if you had to be moved a second time and you're supposed to be given a $100 gift card for the inconvenience when you check-in, I'm assuming it will be emailed when your room is ready or on the morning of your arrival. She wasn't too sure as to when the e-gift card will be sent out, but I'll update in 15 days when we arrive at the Riviera!

I was not informed of the $100 gift card on my second move. I called pretty early and maybe that info had not been released yet. That would be great if I got that. Thanks for the update.

 

[doleddanielle]

I was not informed of the $100 gift card on my second move. I called pretty early and maybe that info had not been released yet. That would be great if I got that. Thanks for the update.

Of course! I think the CM was annoyed with me for trying to move back to the Poly (albeit, the villa side) so she read the note on my account that said because it's the second move, I get a gift card; I'm assuming if I was moved again, that gift card would be revoked since she had to acknowledge it. I think it was supposed to be a "surprise" at check-in but it's nice to give a heads-up so we know what to look out for in our emails!

 

[jw1799]

We were booked in March originally then pushed back to September both in princess rooms in POR. Were offered free dining by moving our reservation back from March to September. When POR closed we contacted Disney and they told us we needed to make a change right away as a 10 night reservation would be hard to schedule with the availability left. We have five in our party but one will be under three.
They offered to price protected any room at CBR. Not really a deal since we had a Riverview. They offered us an upgrade to poly or the contemporary. We picked poly and we were gonna have to pay a bit to upgrade.
Called yesterday on hold for two hours to find out because we have been rescheduled previously they had to transfer us to a “special line“. Another hour of waiting for that line and was told the only thing they have but they can move us into is Gardenview. Pushed then for a villa and were told that’s not an option pushed for a lower grade hotel and that was not an option. It’s Garden Wing, cancel or wait and let them randomly assign us which will likely be Gardenwing. They are giving us a little bit of money back to exchange Garden Wing for Polly. We ask if it was any other compensation for having all these reservations canceled and they told us no. No mention of the $100 gift card, glad I read this thread. I’m beyond frustrated with the results of the call we had yesterday now.

 

[mrd7896]

just called about the gift card since that would be a nice surprise.
one of our reservations in our party were originally booked into Coronado, then moved to AoA and now Pop. Thought they would 'qualify' for the gift card..was told no.

 

[doleddanielle]

We were booked in March originally then pushed back to September both in princess rooms in POR. Were offered free dining by moving our reservation back from March to September. When POR closed we contacted Disney and they told us we needed to make a change right away as a 10 night reservation would be hard to schedule with the availability left. We have five in our party but one will be under three.
They offered to price protected any room at CBR. Not really a deal since we had a Riverview. They offered us an upgrade to poly or the contemporary. We picked poly and we were gonna have to pay a bit to upgrade.
Called yesterday on hold for two hours to find out because we have been rescheduled previously they had to transfer us to a “special line“. Another hour of waiting for that line and was told the only thing they have but they can move us into is Gardenview. Pushed then for a villa and were told that’s not an option pushed for a lower grade hotel and that was not an option. It’s Garden Wing, cancel or wait and let them randomly assign us which will likely be Gardenwing. They are giving us a little bit of money back to exchange Garden Wing for Polly. We ask if it was any other compensation for having all these reservations canceled and they told us no. No mention of the $100 gift card, glad I read this thread. I’m beyond frustrated with the results of the call we had yesterday now.

Yeah I believe right now, the CM's are just super firm with what they can offer. My CM yesterday asked for my preferences, but then after that really only had 2 rooms to offer me: Garden wing king at CR or Deluxe studio preferred view at RR, though he ended up saying that the GW would be a downgrade, but Main Tower isn't "comparable" as it's a higher value. The whole situation is just crappy for everyone.

 

[Dismrk155]

We were booked in March originally then pushed back to September both in princess rooms in POR. Were offered free dining by moving our reservation back from March to September. When POR closed we contacted Disney and they told us we needed to make a change right away as a 10 night reservation would be hard to schedule with the availability left. We have five in our party but one will be under three.
They offered to price protected any room at CBR. Not really a deal since we had a Riverview. They offered us an upgrade to poly or the contemporary. We picked poly and we were gonna have to pay a bit to upgrade.
Called yesterday on hold for two hours to find out because we have been rescheduled previously they had to transfer us to a “special line“. Another hour of waiting for that line and was told the only thing they have but they can move us into is Gardenview. Pushed then for a villa and were told that’s not an option pushed for a lower grade hotel and that was not an option. It’s Garden Wing, cancel or wait and let them randomly assign us which will likely be Gardenwing. They are giving us a little bit of money back to exchange Garden Wing for Polly. We ask if it was any other compensation for having all these reservations canceled and they told us no. No mention of the $100 gift card, glad I read this thread. I’m beyond frustrated with the results of the call we had yesterday now.

Are we sure Disney isn't a branch of the states unemployment office. To use a line from the movie HeartBreak Ridge.... It's a cluster f..... .
Taking that long to fix this is crazy

 

[doleddanielle]

just called about the gift card since that would be a nice surprise.
one of our reservations in our party were originally booked into Coronado, then moved to AoA and now Pop. Thought they would 'qualify' for the gift card..was told no.

Did you move the reservation yourself? Or did you call and ask to be moved? Or did you question what would happen with your resort reservation? I did the third, both times, and now apparently there's a note on my account for the gift card.

 

[Leigh L]

I was not informed of the $100 gift card on my second move. I called pretty early and maybe that info had not been released yet. That would be great if I got that. Thanks for the update.

I wasn't told this either! Would be a nice surprise

 

[LMichelleee]

Called the 7866 number and got right through, on hold for maybe 2 minutes. We were scheduled for mid Aug at AOA Little Mermaid and moved to a water/pool view at CBR. I don't really like moderates because of how spread out they are but do like still having the skyliner option. We'll probably end up cancelling anyway, I was already considering changing dates but hadn't done it yet before the announcement. Wahhh.... haha.

 

[mrd7896]

Did you move the reservation yourself? Or did you call and ask to be moved? Or did you question what would happen with your resort reservation? I did the third, both times, and now apparently there's a note on my account for the gift card.

we are booked through a TA--i called along with my TA just now asking about the gift card. We both were told the same answer by a CM. I called into a regular line and she said she used her Disney priority line given to TA's.
Apparently, guest services never reached out to me explicitly that we would have to change our one reservation so that means we didn't qualify.

I argued that everything was done through a TA and the TA took care of it on my behalf. Isn't that how it works anyway? I'm always told i can't do things unless i'm the TA. The first time Coronado was closed she knew before i was even aware and had already asked me what resort we wanted to be moved to. Now apparently because we didn't get an email or a call from Guest Services it isn't notated or offered?

sounds like a crock of you know what..

I'm trying not to be too upset since i didn't even know the gift card was a thing until someone posted it in this thread, but now i'm confused why we WOULDN'T get it?

 

[Poohsmommi]

for people in an AoA suite curious about what options are being offered, depending on what you want you will get a different option every time you call.

We called three times today knowing that we would get different answers each time.

We got offered:
1. 1 BR Villa at Boulder Ridge
2. Deluxe Studio at Riviera
3. 1 BR Villa at Old Key West

All price protected which was...nice. But ultimately we didn't bite and take that offer.
The room in the suite booked a backup off property as PP mentioned that there really isn't a benefit to staying on site--which is true.

We may call back tomorrow to see if any other discoveries have been made

There are only 2 of us. We took the 1BR Villa at BR. It's an upgrade from AoA for sure.

 

[P'colaBeachBum]

I wasn't told this either! Would be a nice surprise

When I called yesterday to be moved for the 3rd time ( we joked about it ) there was no mention of a gift card. Sounds like a bit of Pixie Dust from a CM. I'm not going to count on it for our change. I'm saving money that I still owe on the room. From the 3 changes I've saved about $300 and all were Deluxe...AKL to BC to YC.

 

[mrd7896]

There are only 2 of us. We took the 1BR Villa at BR. It's an upgrade from AoA for sure.

turns out our room that was booked in a family suite decided to cancel and book a family suite at the competitor....they liked the configurations of the rooms better at Universal and were saving money.
two reservations in our group will still be at Pop..also saving money
oh well!

 

[doleddanielle]

we are booked through a TA--i called along with my TA just now asking about the gift card. We both were told the same answer by a CM. I called into a regular line and she said she used her Disney priority line given to TA's.
Apparently, guest services never reached out to me explicitly that we would have to change our one reservation so that means we didn't qualify.

I argued that everything was done through a TA and the TA took care of it on my behalf. Isn't that how it works anyway? I'm always told i can't do things unless i'm the TA. The first time Coronado was closed she knew before i was even aware and had already asked me what resort we wanted to be moved to. Now apparently because we didn't get an email or a call from Guest Services it isn't notated or offered?

sounds like a crock of you know what..

I'm trying not to be too upset since i didn't even know the gift card was a thing until someone posted it in this thread, but now i'm confused why we WOULDN'T get it?

I'm assuming because your TA asked which resort you wanted to be moved to, you were given a resort that you wanted. For us TA-less people, we didn't really get a preference as to what resort we wanted instead and were just kinda pushed to a resort if we wanted price-protection. Perhaps that's why. I'm not really sure, no one really knows why CM's do the things they do or say the things they do, but I was the one who mentioned the gift card. We already were at a deluxe resort from the beginning (AKL) and had to be moved twice to other deluxe resorts thank to the Poly push back. It may be because I didn't get an "upgrade" as others had (whether it'd be from value to moderate, moderate to deluxe, value to moderate, you get the point). There isn't much of a price-difference between deluxe resorts when comparing the changes that others had gotten. This is just all I can assume.

 

[mrd7896]

hmmm like i said. it really isn't the biggest deal but just wish everything was more uniformed.
we went from moderate down to a value.
then value to value
idk if i would call it a choice since my choice would be coronado springs opening...but i'll survive!

 

[emmabelle]

Trip dates 9/7 to 9/11

well after an hour and a half I was able to move from the Poly std view to Contemporary tower lake view. I really wanted to move into the Poly villa's but they had no availability for the night of 9/10. I offered to move my dates to come in a day earlier and leave a day earlier, because those dates were available. They would have done that, but not with my passholder discount. I wasn't about to pay rack rate though, so I took the CR instead.

 

[Dug720]

Unfortunately - re: the gift card thing - this is the problem with the internet (and ultimately boards like these) and why so much pixie-dusting has gone by the wayside. It used to be that random pixie dust would just happen and it was an awesome surprise. Then boards and forums started on the internet and things became expected. Up to the point that some of the least favorite words CMs (on land or at sea) can hear are "I read on DIS Boards (or other internet forum/board) that X happened because of Y..." and things that a CM did as pixie dust become expectations.

 

[Leigh L]

When I called yesterday to be moved for the 3rd time ( we joked about it ) there was no mention of a gift card. Sounds like a bit of Pixie Dust from a CM. I'm not going to count on it for our change. I'm saving money that I still own on the room. From the 3 changes I've saved about $300 and all were Deluxe...AKL to BC to YC.

I'm not either. It would be a nice surprise (but not planning to ask about it or anything).
That's great you saved some money! We're now on our 3rd resort (WL to Poly to CR garden wing). Had a nice military discount at WL, was absolutely thrilled at the move to Poly. Our price has remained exactly the same with all 3 resorts (and in all honesty, WL was way cheaper than the other two at the time I booked). So overall, I'm not complaining, more of a bummed feeling about no Poly, but just focusing that was unexpected in the first place . Plus, we've never stayed at any deluxe and the idea of walking to MK sounds pretty awesome...

This time when needing to switch, it was more consistent with my two phone calls (my phone cut out on my first call yesterday in the middle of talking to a CM ). The last time when the initial closures were announced, CMs were all over the place with information and move availability.

 

[married2grumpy]

Trip dates 9/7 to 9/11

well after an hour and a half I was able to move from the Poly std view to Contemporary tower lake view. I really wanted to move into the Poly villa's but they had no availability for the night of 9/10. I offered to move my dates to come in a day earlier and leave a day earlier, because those dates were available. They would have done that, but not with my passholder discount. I wasn't about to pay rack rate though, so I took the CR instead.

Our dates are similar, 9/9-9/15, Poly LV AP rate. Nothing on villa side available. This is our 4th rescheduled trip since our original trip on 4/28 needed to be cancelled. There is really nothing available that I feel is comparable to what we have booked at Poly. CR TPV was offered but we are not interested in staying at CR. I’ve called twice and guest services really can’t find anything at Poly. I said our dates are flexible but if I changed dates no price protection. I was not offered any sort of $100 gift card for having to reschedule once again. For now I still have that Poly LV room booked and hope the villa side becomes available over the next few weeks.