? about upgrading at check in....

[brergnat]

So, I am wondering what happens in the following scenario:

We have a Standard Garden Wing (standard view) room booked at the Contemporary for our upcoming March stay, booked on the 4/3 deal.

Obviously, our final payment is due 45 days prior to check in.

What if, upon arrival, we want to upgrade to a Tower room and there is one available? How will they charge us? Would it be at rack rate per night x7, or x4? Would the terms of our original offer still hold, or what?

The reason I ask is, I am travelling with 2 others and right now, we can only afford the std. view Garden Wing, but depending on the outcome of the other's tax returns, they may have some extra $$$ at the time of our trip (I already know I have enough to upgrade my share). We decided we'd like the Tower MK view, if we can swing it, but we won't be able to have the money by the time our final payment is due, although we MAY have it at check in. Make sense?

We *could* also get a magical upgrade , which I obviously am not counting on, but it would be nice, and I'm always one who is willing to book the lowest category and hope for the best, and then if nothing happens, pay for an upgrade if one is available. However, I always book room only, so I've never dealt with this scenario before.

Any input?

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I am not sure how the payment would work when it comes to paying for an upgrade at check-in, however let's say you ask about it don't be surprised if the Magic Kingdom View is sold out since it's a very popular view.

 

[KMLOVESWDW]

Good question. I was wondering the same thing about the Poly. We have a gv room booked & there are no club level rooms available at the moment. I wondered how it would work if I asked if something else was available. A free upgrade would be great, but I'm obviously willing to pay for it. Just wondered how that might work out.

 

[ryanshana]

LOL I just posted a similar thread

 

[tgropp]

Six years ago during the first week in Dec while checking in at the WL, I asked how much it would cost to upgrade to conceirge. The cast member went to a back room, and came back and said that I could have it for $60 a night more, which I gladly accepted. In 2005 during the Christmas holidays, we were staying there for 7 nights. I asked the castmember if there was concierge available and she informed me that at least 1/3 of the rooms were available. I asked what it would cost for an upgrade and when she came back from checkiing, she said that it would be $240 a night more. I declined. It never hurts to ask. I never ask for anything free, just how much an upgrade would cost. You may get lucky, and you may not. Have fun!

 

[brergnat]

I am not sure how the payment would work when it comes to paying for an upgrade at check-in, however let's say you ask about it don't be surprised if the Magic Kingdom View is sold out since it's a very popular view.

Yeah, I would tend to agree with you in general. However, the fact is, there are STILL both MK tower view AND MK Atrium club level rooms, as well as Tower Bay View(regular and club level) available JUST with the 4/3 deal. These also show up under the regular room inventory when trying to book a room only reservation.

I find that to be quite the exception to the norm. In fact, when we originally booked this trip, we couldn't even GET the Contemporary, and had to book the Poly because according to the WDW inventory system, the Contemporary was "unavailable" for that week. It seems that they had a LOT of cancellations, or else the system was faulty when I made our original reservation, because the Contemporary is wide open now, which is unusual for the end of March...

The truth is, I think we'd just be glad to be in the tower rather than the garden wing. MK or Bay Lake view would be fine. We booked the Garden Wing to save some money, but I would not hesitate to pay for an upgrade to the tower upon arrival if it was available. But, if it wasn't, the Wing would be just fine as well. We've stayed in the wing twice before and had no complaints.

 

[Sillyminny40]

Wow. Anyone ever had a reasonable on the spot upgrade at Boardwalk?

 

[mousefan1972]

I asked how much it would cost to upgrade to the tower from our GW, GV room when we stayed at the CR last May. The CM got on the phone, and after several minutes hung up and said we would be complimentary upgraded to the Tower, Bay Lake view. I fully intended on paying (assuming the price was reasonable) so it was a very nice surprise that we did not have to pay.

 

[brergnat]

I asked how much it would cost to upgrade to the tower from our GW, GV room when we stayed at the CR last May. The CM got on the phone, and after several minutes hung up and said we would be complimentary upgraded to the Tower, Bay Lake view. I fully intended on paying (assuming the price was reasonable) so it was a very nice surprise that we did not have to pay.

Now, that's what I'm talking about!

Last trip, we were in a std. room at the WL, and when we checked in, I asked how much would it cost to upgrade to a better view, and unfortunately, they were booked solid. I was offered the VP suite for $550/night more, which I declined.

We ended up having a fabulous room, though, up on the 6th floor, with an MK view. Plus, I think we got the best Mousekeeper in the "World", so we had an excellent stay, so even though we were "out of luck" at check in, our room ended up being great, so I tend not to get too worked up about this sort of thing. Just thought I'd see what other's experiences have been.

 

[Cruella 66]

I LOVE the CR now. Last July we were booked to stay one night tower MK view and 7 nights tower BL view; of course, it was split into two ressies because we changed rooms. When we got there for check in they gave us the VP suite (too beautiful for words) on the 14th floor, BL view. Absolutely GORGEOUS. On the second day we were due to move to the BL view 'regular' rooms. My husband went to the front desk to find out if we had a room yet or should store our luggage and jokingly said "We'd love to stay were we are for the next seven days!" The CM told him it was booked BUT he would like to move us to the 12th floor (still club level) MK view for the rest of our stay!!! Man, if we could swing it, we'd ALWAYS stay MK view at the CR. The best we can do is hope for an upgrade! This year my husband lost his job but we're still going in June, with a little help from all the military specials they are having, and staying CR GW. I can only DREAM we'd ever get an upgrade like that again...and complimentary!

 

[TammiMcMan]

What if, upon arrival, we want to upgrade to a Tower room and there is one available? How will they charge us? Would it be at rack rate per night x7, or x4? Would the terms of our original offer still hold, or what?

It would be one of those two options. If there's still a Tower MK room available with the 4/3 plan, then it would be the difference in rack rates for 4 nights. If the plan isn't available (most likely scenario if you wait until check-in), then it would be the difference in rack rates for all 7 nights. Basically, you'd be null and voiding the 4/3 package by having to pay for all the nights.

Looking at the math, it would look something like this:

Upgrade to a Tower MK room with the 4/3 package ~ $150 (rate difference) X 4 nights = roughly $600 plus taxes

Upgrade to a Tower MK room not on the 4/3 package ~ $150 (rate difference) X 4 nights + $430 X 3 nights = roughly $1890 plus taxes

Is there anyway you might be able to upgrade prior to arrival? Even if the package is paid in full, Disney is always happy to take more of your money. They usually waive any penalties if you're upgrading and you increase the chance of a 4/3 Tower room still being available.