Maximum Night Stay Being Enforced At Select Resort(s) for Select Dates

[mom2rtk]

Just be aware that yes Guest Services has the ability to override the system, but they don't always do it. The answer is no more often than yes.

Ahh. The plot thickens.

 

[TeresaNJ]

Ahh. The plot thickens.

I've done it twice with no issues. Once because I had to change the dates a little, and once because the system made me book a longer LOS than I wanted. The cast members couldn't have been more kind or helpful. If they had said no, I would have just booked something else for the dates I wanted.

 

[VeronicaZS]

Package cancellations recently went from 45 to 30 days. Room only has been 5 days for at least the last 25 years.

Ah, thanks for the clarification.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I believe the cancellation policy used to be 45 days, then 30 days and now 5. They are not moving in the right direction...

Ah, thanks for the clarification.

You also need to think about how the vast majority of hotels/resorts have for their cancellation policy. Yes Disney gives you MB and FP+ access but as far as cancellation policies it would be extremely out of industry standard to make you cancel prior to 30days without penalty. Heck most places are 24-72hrs for cancellation with no penalty.

Packages are a lot different though and there is an expectation that you will have penalties, usually in a graduated system, for your time frame of cancellation.

 

[Pennstate6411]

You also need to think about how the vast majority of hotels/resorts have for their cancellation policy. Yes Disney gives you MB and FP+ access but as far as cancellation policies it would be extremely out of industry standard to make you cancel prior to 30days without penalty. Heck most places are 24-72hrs for cancellation with no penalty.

Packages are a lot different though and there is an expectation that you will have penalties, usually in a graduated system, for your time frame of cancellation.

There has to be a way though if they will keep room only that short notice that if that room only gets cancelled that they will be cancelling all FP+ and ADRs as a penalty for cancelling, as if you cancel at 5 days out it means most likely you aren't making the trip at all so you wont be using your FP+ or ADRS anyway or you were planning on it all along for your FP+ and ADRs and never intended to stay on property. In essence this doesn't punish those truly cancelling and stops the work around of getting the benefits of staying onsite and then actually staying off site.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

There has to be a way though if they will keep room only that short notice that if that room only gets cancelled that they will be cancelling all FP+ and ADRs as a penalty for cancelling, as if you cancel at 5 days out it means most likely you aren't making the trip at all so you wont be using your FP+ or ADRS anyway or you were planning on it all along for your FP+ and ADRs and never intended to stay on property. In essence this doesn't punish those truly cancelling and stops the work around of getting the benefits of staying onsite and then actually staying off site.

The thing is while I agree with that thought I don't know how many people do do that; I totally believe some do it but is it a significant amount (not just using the DIS as a sample)?

Someone could actually cancel offsite and move onsite (though of course I'm sure availability may be slim pickings at best) and someone could cancel onsite and move offsite. Canceling at 5 days doesn't only mean you most likely aren't making the trip. It could mean your plans change such as the dates you are going (maybe shifting a few days) or you're are adjusting where you are staying at in within Disney's resorts. I've seen enough people talk about how there can be a delay, I would hope it wouldn't take 5 days-I'm sure most are within a day or two but still, where they have a total new reservation and need to cancel the old one but neither are showing up yet in MDE (they are hoping based on getting an e-mail confirmation) so then you would have to have a way to ignore that part of it where someone legit has a reservation, etc

Anyone, offsite or otherwise, can make ADRs up to 180 days in advance. The only advantage onsite guests get is up to 10 days of your stay.

If the issue was one that Disney didn't want at all (such as giving MB or FPs) then they would find a way to deal with it...eventually. Another poster mentioned 25 years worth of 5 days. I'd say they need quite a large large impact to adjust their policy after that long if it's been working enough for Disney thus far.

 

[maxiesmom]

The thing is while I agree with that thought I don't know how many people do do that; I totally believe some do it but is it a significant amount (not just using the DIS as a sample)?

As with many things, we simply don't know. I would have to guess for them to make any change there needs to be a reason. They won't do things because they are bored. They have way too much going on for that to be true.

If something is an issue eventually Disney takes steps to make sure they come out on top. The refillable pop cups that now have a bar code are one example. Placing refrigerators in the value rooms is another, as is the fee to handle packages delivered to their resorts. Disney has something to gain, or else they wouldn't bother making changes.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

As with many things, we simply don't know. I would have to guess for them to make any change there needs to be a reason. They won't do things because they are bored. They have way too much going on for that to be true.

If something is an issue eventually Disney takes steps to make sure they come out on top. The refillable pop cups that now have a bar code are one example. Placing refrigerators in the value rooms is another, as is the fee to handle packages delivered to their resorts. Disney has something to gain, or else they wouldn't bother making changes.

Agreed.

 

[Pennstate6411]

The thing is while I agree with that thought I don't know how many people do do that; I totally believe some do it but is it a significant amount (not just using the DIS as a sample)?

Someone could actually cancel offsite and move onsite (though of course I'm sure availability may be slim pickings at best) and someone could cancel onsite and move offsite. Canceling at 5 days doesn't only mean you most likely aren't making the trip. It could mean your plans change such as the dates you are going (maybe shifting a few days) or you're are adjusting where you are staying at in within Disney's resorts. I've seen enough people talk about how there can be a delay, I would hope it wouldn't take 5 days-I'm sure most are within a day or two but still, where they have a total new reservation and need to cancel the old one but neither are showing up yet in MDE (they are hoping based on getting an e-mail confirmation) so then you would have to have a way to ignore that part of it where someone legit has a reservation, etc

Anyone, offsite or otherwise, can make ADRs up to 180 days in advance. The only advantage onsite guests get is up to 10 days of your stay.

If the issue was one that Disney didn't want at all (such as giving MB or FPs) then they would find a way to deal with it...eventually. Another poster mentioned 25 years worth of 5 days. I'd say they need quite a large large impact to adjust their policy after that long if it's been working enough for Disney thus far.

I think the thing is if you are staying on property still then you don't lose anything as you are not really cancelling you are revising your reservation and you are still on property. If you are switching from on property to off property then yes you need to lose the perks that were involved by staying on property.

 

[CT Disney]

WDW should cancel FPs, ADRs and de-activate MB if you cancel stay.

I have to say...this was my first reaction too. It seemed to me that if you cancel a room-only stay, WDW should cancel your Magic Bands and Fast Passes. But, then it occurred to me that there would probably be a lot of confusion in doing this, especially where fast passes are concerned. What if the person made a fast pass within the 30 day window that offsite folks have? Should that FP+ be canceled? Probably not. The whole thing would probably just get too messy. If I canceled a room-only stay because I found a great deal off site, I'd be pretty mad if they canceled a fast pass that I'd made within the 30 day window. The only way I see it working is if they canceled the fast passes made between 31 and 60 days out.

I've booked the longer stay that the system forced me to, then called back & had them drop either the front or end days I didn't want. They did it. Even left the discount on the actual days I wanted. I don't feel bad about it, and would do it again, if it's the only way to get the length of stay I want.

I did it this past November. They had no problem doing it. Said guest services had to do it, so put me on hold, then came back and said it was all taken care of. I told them our dates changed due to unforseen circumstances. It's worth a shot.

This is really good to hear as I thought they had really cracked down on this. I wonder, when they made the changes for you, if the same discount happened to be available for the room category and length of stay you wanted. I wonder if that's why it was taken care of so easily.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I think the thing is if you are staying on property still then you don't lose anything as you are not really cancelling you are revising your reservation and you are still on property. If you are switching from on property to off property then yes you need to lose the perks that were involved by staying on property.

The perks then would be MB and FPs not ADRs. You originally said only FPs and ADRs. ETA: Also you would then need to determine if someone who moved offsite under 30days should get to keep their FPs. People don't make FPs just at 60 days (when staying onsite) and keep them without adjusting. So then you need look at that. Should you lose FPs entirely or only ones made between 60 and 31days (as offsite can make at 30days).

From a customer service standpoint you need to balance things. So until Disney sees enough people purposefully booking onsite strictly for the perks (and you have to determine that enough people have nefarious plans versus those who do not) then cancelling to move offsite you're not going to see much done. Not going into too much detail since it's not a topic one can't go indepth about now on the DIS but Disney did adjust their FP enforcement in relation to ticket entitlement..I'm going based on the assumption that enough people were doing what Disney did not want them to do thus they adjusted.

ETA: I totally agree about moving from property to property onsite but you need to teach the system to keep that in mind.

 

[TeresaNJ]

This is really good to hear as I thought they had really cracked down on this. I wonder, when they made the changes for you, if the same discount happened to be available for the room category and length of stay you wanted. I wonder if that's why it was taken care of so easily.

I don't know. I didn't change the resort or room type, and kept the same reservation number. They just dropped the days I needed dropped.

 

[Sue M]

I have to say...this was my first reaction too. It seemed to me that if you cancel a room-only stay, WDW should cancel your Magic Bands and Fast Passes. But, then it occurred to me that there would probably be a lot of confusion in doing this, especially where fast passes are concerned. What if the person made a fast pass within the 30 day window that offsite folks have? Should that FP+ be canceled? Probably not. The whole thing would probably just get too messy. If I canceled a room-only stay because I found a great deal off site, I'd be pretty mad if they canceled a fast pass that I'd made within the 30 day window. The only way I see it working is if they canceled the fast passes made between 31 and 60 days out.
.

Yes, that's true. They could cancel FPs that were made before the allowable 30 days for offsite. De-activate MB, they can link FPs to hard ticket like other off site families. Or have the option to pay for their MBs.

 

[maxiesmom]

Having things like FP auto cancel would be a hassle for those who switch resorts, or who cancel and re-book in order to take advantage of a discount. I don't think Disney's systems are at a point where they could have them transfer over to the new reservation without problems.

 

[Tom P.]

I disagree. Connecting rooms are NEVER guaranteed, regardless of what a CM on the phone, or your confirmation states.
There are Many posters here on the DIS with horror stories to tell.
You post stated 1-2 adults and children. 2 adults can each separate, one per room with children.
They will certainly try to accommodate you. But it is not guaranteed

I'm sorry, but this is not true.

Disney does have one exception to the "connecting rooms are not guaranteed" policy. If you have a party where it is two parents traveling with small children, Disney *will* guarantee connecting rooms. This was even discussed on the Dreams Unlimited Travel podcast in May. It has to be done over the phone, not online, but Disney will book it under a single reservation number but with two rooms and will guarantee it.

Here is the relevant video. Traci Henrichs explains this situation beginning at the 4:47 mark:

 

[maxiesmom]

I'm sorry, but this is not true.

Disney does have one exception to the "connecting rooms are not guaranteed" policy. If you have a party where it is two parents traveling with small children, Disney *will* guarantee connecting rooms. This was even discussed on the Dreams Unlimited Travel podcast in May. It has to be done over the phone, not online, but Disney will book it under a single reservation number but with two rooms and will guarantee it.

Here is the relevant video. Traci Henrichs explains this situation beginning at the 4:47 mark:

Sorry but they are very wrong. They have no possible way to guarantee any room request (and Disney's own web site state connecting rooms are a request only) because they do not block out rooms as we book them. They have no idea how many connecting rooms will be available on any given day in the future. They will do their best, but they are 100% wrong to claim they are guaranteed. Many posters have thought they were guaranteed and still not received connecting rooms.

By the way, there is at least one poster who was an only adult with multiple children and still did not get connecting rooms. It is NOT a guarantee by the true definition of the word.

For a sponsor of this board to be so wrong, well, I'm glad I no longer book using their service.

 

[cwis]

I'm sorry, but this is not true.

Disney does have one exception to the "connecting rooms are not guaranteed" policy. If you have a party where it is two parents traveling with small children, Disney *will* guarantee connecting rooms. This was even discussed on the Dreams Unlimited Travel podcast in May. It has to be done over the phone, not online, but Disney will book it under a single reservation number but with two rooms and will guarantee it.

Here is the relevant video. Traci Henrichs explains this situation beginning at the 4:47 mark:

Once again, the Disney slang is confusing.

There is two different connecting rooms requests:
— “connecting room”
— “connecting room guaranteed”

The former can be requested freely by the guests during online check-in or by calling the resort, the latter has to be requested by a CM, and is usually added to reservations that you describe (few adults + children in their own rooms).

When the room assignor assigns the rooms, they first try to grant the “connecting room guaranteed” request, and then the “connecting rooms”. Unfortunately, if there are not enough connecting rooms available on a day to fill all the “connecting room guaranteed” requests, then, some guests will NOT have their connecting rooms, because, simply, there are none to assign.

Note that, if you have an upcoming stay with a connecting room that you would like “guaranteed”, do not freak out yet. Disney does their best to make sure than most of the time, those requests are fulfilled (for example, by blocking a few rooms per nights out of the regular inventory, by providing upgrades to guests…). While it may happen once it a while than a few guests do not have their connecting rooms (and then report it on the internet), more often than not, those requests are granted.

 

[danielocha30]

The room was available. The Guest Services person confirmed that and that I was running into a max stay issue. The reason came down to the resort manager chose October to be busy enough to limit the number of nights on one reservation. I am still struggling to understand the "why"...

Pop Century is in the middle of a room refurbishment, any given day they are a whole building down and IMO it does affect the availability, maybe it is why they are enforcing the max stay? this combined with the high demand of MNSSHP and Free Dining Fall is very busy this year

 

[maxiesmom]

Pop Century is in the middle of a room refurbishment, any given day they are a whole building down and IMO it does affect the availability, maybe it is why they are enforcing the max stay? this combined with the high demand of MNSSHP and Free Dining Fall is very busy this year

It still makes no sense to me that they wouldn't sell a room when they have someone who wants it.

 

[writerguyfl]

Sorry but they are very wrong. They have no possible way to guarantee any room request (and Disney's own web site state connecting rooms are a request only) because they do not block out rooms as we book them. They have no idea how many connecting rooms will be available on any given day in the future. They will do their best, but they are 100% wrong to claim they are guaranteed. Many posters have thought they were guaranteed and still not received connecting rooms.

No, Tom P. is correct. I used to work at the Disney Reservations Center. A single adult with multiple children can get guaranteed connecting rooms if the party size exceeds to total occupancy for a single room.

By the way, there is at least one poster who was an only adult with multiple children and still did not get connecting rooms. It is NOT a guarantee by the true definition of the word.

Outliers can happen in virtually every situation in life. Perhaps someone at the resort made (a big) mistake and unblocked the connecting rooms. Or, a maintenance issue caused the problem.