MrMorgan Posted August 5, 2008 Posted August 5, 2008 Does anyone have any inside knowledge? We're trying to book our next WDW vacation and have decided to splurge and stay at one of the above resorts, however, they seem to all be booked out for the dates of November 3-11th. Can that REALLY be true, or is it just some sort of blockage in order to get people to book rooms at other, less popular resorts for that time? I've been trying for days now and have even called the reservation hotline, (as opposed to doing it online), and they are all listed as unavailable for that time. What's really going on here?
BeemerBoy Posted August 5, 2008 Posted August 5, 2008 Morgan, if I'm not mistaken, I believe that's the week the PGA Tour is in town for their annual golf tournament there. I'm pretty sure that's why everything is booked/blocked in the premium resorts. At least, that's my guess as to what's going on.
MrMorgan Posted August 5, 2008 Author Posted August 5, 2008 Morgan, if I'm not mistaken, I believe that's the week the PGA Tour is in town for their annual golf tournament there. I'm pretty sure that's why everything is booked/blocked in the premium resorts. At least, that's my guess as to what's going on. Wow, I think you're right. I tweeked my dates a little bit and the days that are actually blocked are the 3-6th, (which is wierd because the golf tourni goes until the 9th). Anyways, we can't change our dates, so I have to make a decision. Does anyone who works at a WDW resort (or not) confirm that some rooms might become available if we wait? I'm just worried that everything is going to be booked out and we're going to have to stay at the Pop Century or something if I wait too much longer. What if I book the Coronado Springs, (where we stayed last time and loved it), for the week, keep checking the other hotels, and then if/when the Wilderness Lodge has some more availability, upgrade my reservation. Is that possible?
BeemerBoy Posted August 6, 2008 Posted August 6, 2008 I tweeked my dates a little bit and the days that are actually blocked are the 3-6th, (which is wierd because the golf tourni goes until the 9th). Morgan, I'm not sure how familiar you are with pro golf, but each tournament is actually a weeklong event. Tuesday and Wednesday are usually filled with practice rounds, etc. The actual event begins on Thursday (the 6th in this case), and the field is cut in half at the end of Friday before the final two rounds on the weekend, which is probably why the latter part of the week is not filled up (i.e. the guys who didn't make the cut are checking out and leaving town.) Even though I've never attended this event, I'm sure that this is the one that most pros circle on the calendar as a "family" week. It's also a fairly insignificant tourney, and therefore, most pros will check in on Monday with their families and probably bypass the usual routine in order to spend a day or two at the parks with the wife and kids. As far as your reservations, I couldn't tell you for sure what to do, but your plan seems logical enough if you liked your previous stay at Coronado. Also, I'd highly recommend trying the AK Lodge if you hadn't already. It's also a great resort to stay at! Hope that helps a bit. Anyone else care to add any help?
ginzo Posted August 6, 2008 Posted August 6, 2008 Morgan, I'd highly recommend you try using a Disney specialist travel agent. It's your best chance of getting a room. They deal with Disney on a daily basis and will keep checking for availability for you. It certainly beats checking every day yourself. Oh, and their services are 100% free. http://www.wdwvacations.com
MrMorgan Posted August 6, 2008 Author Posted August 6, 2008 Hey guys. Thanks for the info! I've already tried with 2 Disney specialist travel agencies, and they also say it's all booked out. I think it's crazy that all 3 of those huge hotels have no availability. They MUST just be blocked for some reason. If I only knew the code...
MrMorgan Posted August 8, 2008 Author Posted August 8, 2008 UPDATE: Last night, the WDW Travel websight gave me an available room at the Wilderness Lodge, but it's a "Club Level" room for like $500 a night, and that's not happening! Still waiting for them to realise that not all the PGA golfers are going to stay in the Wilderness Lodge...
Jew Posted August 8, 2008 Posted August 8, 2008 Between the golfers, their families/friends, sponsors, tour staff, media, Disney executives, and so on...a lot of people will be in town for the event. I would guess that there are some sort of contractual obligations regarding the rooms. Disney is probably required to hold the rooms until a certain date so all the aforementioned people can get first dibs on them.
dragsterfan420 Posted August 8, 2008 Posted August 8, 2008 Also, even though it's the "off-season", alot of Floridians and snow birds from up North go to WDW becasue their's usually somewhat less crowds. This might also be a cause for the unavailability of rooms.
MrMorgan Posted August 8, 2008 Author Posted August 8, 2008 Between the golfers, their families/friends, sponsors, tour staff, media, Disney executives, and so on...a lot of people will be in town for the event. I would guess that there are some sort of contractual obligations regarding the rooms. Disney is probably required to hold the rooms until a certain date so all the aforementioned people can get first dibs on them. That's exactly what I was thinking. I just want to get my dang room booked and start getting excited! I wonder how long until that deadline is up? And personally, I think it's annoying that they put some kind of block on 4 huge hotels. Like they're really going to need that many rooms!?!
omnio55 Posted August 8, 2008 Posted August 8, 2008 You would be surprised, I used to work at Coronado springs in the gift shop and we would easily hit 100% capacity in the off season if there were a couple big conventions going on. My advice is to try to get a room at a different deluxe or moderate resort to avoid having to get a room at Pop or All star if thats what you want, I have no idea if they can change it if a room opens up somewhere, but I do know that there are people who switch hotels halfway through vacation without a problem. For example, it sounds like the resort you want to stay at is only booked solid for the first part of your vacation so you could do half at Coronado and half at boardwalk. But that is a bit of a headache...The good thing about golf tours and conventions is that the hotels are full and the parks are empty most the time
MrMorgan Posted August 8, 2008 Author Posted August 8, 2008 You would be surprised, I used to work at Coronado springs in the gift shop and we would easily hit 100% capacity in the off season if there were a couple big conventions going on. My advice is to try to get a room at a different deluxe or moderate resort to avoid having to get a room at Pop or All star if thats what you want, I have no idea if they can change it if a room opens up somewhere, but I do know that there are people who switch hotels halfway through vacation without a problem. For example, it sounds like the resort you want to stay at is only booked solid for the first part of your vacation so you could do half at Coronado and half at boardwalk. But that is a bit of a headache...The good thing about golf tours and conventions is that the hotels are full and the parks are empty most the time Really??? Wow, It's so hard to imagine that those huge resorts can be filled! But, it is Disney. I'm going to book Coronado Springs, (love the landscaping and late-night nachos and margaritas), and see if we can upgrade at a later date. I was thinking about changing resorts in the middle, but it might just be all hassle and not worth it. Anyone done it and have advice on how to make it go smoothly and not take up a whole afternoon?
TheStig Posted August 8, 2008 Posted August 8, 2008 I've been to the golf tournament and it is seriously a sold out event. Lots of big name golfers show up, and so does every golf fan in FL....so every Floridian pretty much! I would check in to the Grand Floridian, Contemporary, or Polynesian if you haven't already. All of those are FANTASTIC, possibly have rooms as nice as the other hotels, and they are all on the Monorail line! That might be your best bet to avoid having to stay at a less fancy hotel on property.
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