As I begin to type, I prepare to take cover - for surely I will prompt some strong opinions with this...
The more I think about this topic, the more it appears that Disney runs its Anaheim resorts quite differently than its Central Florida resorts. First, with respect to pricing. The Anaheim resorts pricing system functions much like "industry standards", in that the prices ebb and flow with demand, even on a daily basis. Check a room at
Disneyland hotel for a given date and the price may be $205, check again next week and it has dropped to $179. Wait another week and it may be up to $265. This is exactly the way at works at the vast majority of hotels. At WDW, the rack prices are set in advance and do not change. Discounts, such as passholder rates, are offered within a given time frame and do not vary at all within that window. If the rack rate at the Wilderness Lodge is $199 and the Florida resident / Annual passholder rate is $129, those are the only rates anyone will be offered for room-only accomodations. The rate will never rise to, say, $250. Even if there is only one room left.
Second, at Disneyland resorts, you are issued a paper card that can be used to charge purchases back to your room. The person ringing your purchase types the number into the register - much the same way most hotels that offer this service do. At WDW, your room key, theme park pass and charging privilege come on a single "Key to the World."
Third, making a dining reservation at a Disneyland resort restaurant is much like everywhere. They take your name. At WDW, you are given a confirmation number that can be used to check reservations. And, all of your reservations are grouped together in the system so that a CM can see them all at once. And, they can be tied to resort stay on the 90+10 program. At Disneyland, regardless of whether you are a local day visitor or resort guest, the reservation policy is the same.
Fourth, the Disneyland Hotel charges a Resort Fee. A practice common as an "industry standard" that is used to be able to advertise a lower room rate. Honestly, is a newspaper and a few local calls worth $10 a night? WDW resorts, of course, do not charge a Resort Fee. To the extent that room rates are inflated by it, the price you pay is known in advance. You are never surprised at check-in.
So, quite honestly, I am not too surprised to read that the 3:00pm policy really isn't a policy (more like a guideline) and that it's akin to industry standard. With all due fairness to Disneyland resorts - they are fairly new to the game. Disney didn't own any resorts in Anaheim until just a few years ago. But, they've opted to use "industry standards" in a few cases that seem to compromise "guest experience."
Taking cover now.
