Hypothetical question about resort upgrades...

[stfxkid]

We recently had an amazing upgrade, we were booked at a Little Mermaid room at AoA booked as a opaque bid on Priceline and they upgraded us to a Cars suite. It was right after Dorian so there was low occupancy and we sent an email to the GM ahead of time telling her about how much our son loves Cars and how excited we were for our trip. We even got early check in.

 

[Kate_45]

I've stayed on site once and received a resort upgrade once. It was in advance though.

End of September 2010 we had booked a week's stay with tickets and free dining at POFQ through the UK booking system. We got offered OKW or SSR. We asked if we could extend the initial stay to 2 weeks at the POFQ price and they said yes. The free dining would remain as quick service. We asked for a 1br and a studio at OKW. When we arrived there was a mix up with the booking as though my printed booking said OKW, the system had me down as SSR. They sent us for food whilst they sorted it out and we were given a 2BR (which was what we really had hoped for) in a brilliant location. It was so perfect I don't think we can ever stay on site again :-D

 

[_auroraborealis_]

When we had a horrible noise issue with our stay at AKL, staying CL, they couldn't upgrade us because there was nothing to upgrade to outside of DVC and those rooms are never available at Jambo house

DVC is not an upgrade from Club Level. Definite downgrade.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

Our number of trips since 2008 is in the double digits and we have gotten one view upgrade in all that time. I would never book a resort that I wasn't going to be happy staying in on the off chance of this happening because it's just not going to. Upgrades are very rare. We hear about them a lot because its adn exciting thing to have happen adn you naturally want to tell everyone about it, but for every one of those stories there are thousands of people, probably tens of thousands that DON'T get upgraded.

 

[Miffy]

I've stayed onsite at WDW a lot in the last 20 years and I've never been upgraded to a different resort, however, I have been upgraded many times to better rooms. And, no I don't check in and ask for a free upgrade. In fact, most of the upgrades I've gotten were just the room that was originally assigned and I was surprised at the upgrade. Sometimes I've asked--and of course I also ask how much this will cost. Occasionally the cost is $0. Sometimes the cost is more than I want to pay. Sometimes it's within my budget and I do pay.

Some resorts seem more prone to upgrades than others. AKL comes to mind immediately. Especially years ago, when no one wanted to stay there, upgrades were not unusual. I think a lot depends on the resort where you're booked, how booked up they are, how long you're staying, and many other variables.

But, OP, the odds of getting bumped up to a moderate resort with a late arrival at the All Stars? I'd say the odds are somewhere at or near zero. It does happen, but it's extremely rare. If you want to stay at a moderate resort, book a moderate resort.

 

[DadofChristaSonofRay]

We've been upgraded at the Contemporary a couple of times from Garden Wing to the Tower but that was several years ago. One time was not in a peak season and the other was a shorter stay that might have caught a gap between check-ins. Another time at the Wilderness (when there were actually smoking rooms years ago) we were upgraded to a courtyard view after the cast member let me check the level of smoking smell before accepting the upgrade.

 

[cakebaker]

DVC is not an upgrade from Club Level. Definite downgrade.

I of course meant CL DVC, not just a regular DVC villa. I realize dropping to a regular DVC would be a drop down and I could have done that if I wanted to move to Kidani- neither was a option I'd consider. CL DVC at AK is almost impossible to get if you aren't DVC booking 11 months out was my point.

 

[dizzydrop]

We recently had an amazing upgrade, we were booked at a Little Mermaid room at AoA booked as a opaque bid on Priceline and they upgraded us to a Cars suite. It was right after Dorian so there was low occupancy and we sent an email to the GM ahead of time telling her about how much our son loves Cars and how excited we were for our trip. We even got early check in.

How did you email the GM? Curious for future reference.

 

[SCDizFan]

It is industry standard for hotels to overbook their rooms to the tune of 2%-3% because that is the average cancellation rate. I have a twenty year background in the hotel business.

Upgrades happen for all kinds of reasons. Some as simple as just being gracious to that person at the front desk.

I once got upgraded to a corner suite at the Waldorf-Astoria in NYC just for being nice.

 

[Dug720]

How did you email the GM? Curious for future reference.

I’m guessing it was a thank you email? I know they are leaving a letter in the room with an email to contact the GM - ostensibly with problems, but also with compliments.

 

[luvdznee]

I agree that upgrades to a higher level resort are extremely rare. We have stayed on Disney property well over 60 times in the last 21 years and not once have we been upgraded to a more expensive resort. But honestly, I have never expected it or even thought about it. I always just book the resort and room category we want to stay at or can afford at the time and go and enjoy!

 

[stfxkid]

How did you email the GM? Curious for future reference.

WDW.GM.ArtofAnimation@Disney.com

I saved one of those letters they leave on the bed from an earlier stay. It seems they Don’t have email addresses on them anymore just a survey link now.

 

[zoo2tycoon]

It’s going to get bad if everyone starts emailing the GM of a resort room requests and expecting upgrades! The GM has much better things to deal with and IMHO this is a horrible idea. There are guests onsite with real needs who need the GM over someone emailing and wasting their time saying how much they love the resort and how much their kid likes XYZ thinking they’ll get an upgrade!

Advice that is repeated is BOOK THE ROOM YOU WANT AND ARE HAPPY WITH! Just because someone on disboards got an upgrade by this method doesn’t make it a good idea. UPGRADES ARE RARE!

 

[White Rose]

...it was our honeymoon, booked savannah and requested king bed....

and we could not even get that “upgrade” at AKL...book what you are wiling to accept.

 

[cakebaker]

It’s going to get bad if everyone starts emailing the GM of a resort room requests and expecting upgrades! The GM has much better things to deal with and IMHO this is a horrible idea. There are guests onsite with real needs who need the GM over someone emailing and wasting their time saying how much they love the resort and how much their kid likes XYZ thinking they’ll get an upgrade!

Advice that is repeated is BOOK THE ROOM YOU WANT AND ARE HAPPY WITH! Just because someone on disboards got an upgrade by this method doesn’t make it a good idea. UPGRADES ARE RARE!

I agree- emailing trying to impress them thinking you're more likely to get an upgrade is not going to work for long, if at all. This person was booked when the resort was half empty- no reason not to go ahead and upgrade and give an early check-in. Without some kind of special circumstances, upgrades are almost always due to a problem on the resort end.

 

[focusondisney]

I agree- emailing trying to impress them thinking you're more likely to get an upgrade is not going to work for long, if at all. This person was booked when the resort was half empty- no reason not to go ahead and upgrade and give an early check-in. Without some kind of special circumstances, upgrades are almost always due to a problem on the resort end.

I don’t know why anyone would waste their time emailing anyway. All you need to do is have your kids act really cute at the check in desk.......

 

[mkoerner]

Just yesterday we received a call asking if we wanted a complimentary upgrade from pirate room at CB to standard room at Yacht Club. It was only for 1 night before moving to a DVC villa for the rest of our stay, on a Monday. I'm sure there were people who wanted that category of room for longer stays. In more than 20 years of visiting, this has never happened and we're fine with that because as others have said, we book what we're happy with to start. Just makes it easier to move to BCV the next day.

 

[amy-bee-0]

A few years ago I saw a cast member holding an iPad with our name on it from the Magical Express at POR. I almost knocked my hubby down in my haste to get off the bus because I was sure that we must be upgraded or something. Nope, just a way to reduce numbers in the lobby for check in! LOL.

 

[DrunkJam]

I've never been upgraded at Disney, but, I am excited to stay in what I booked. THat's part of what I put the time in ahead of time for, to book something I'd love to stay!
I have a vague concern that my courtyard view at WL MAY be noisier BUT I'll be on my own, so won't have to worry about the kids sleeping early, AND I think it will be fun, plus it's WL, which is my absolute favourite place to be.
I mean, I'd be super wow happy to be upgraded to TPV, but, I know that's a dream, like winning the lottery, whereas my room, that I booked, is real. And I am excited for it.
I did get upgraded in LA, once. I didn't realise it, but I spent a lot of time in that room, and it was awesome, and looked out on the hollywood sign. That was super fun.

 

[DisneyMomx7]

We’ve been upgraded a few times. Booked Poly GV upgraded to Poly TPV , booked BC WV got upgraded to BC CL, booked YC GV and were upgraded to YC CL. Once we had major issues at CBR and they moved us to Contemporary gv wing room. This was over 26 trips

Right now we are booked with free dining at YC and only standard rooms were available for our time frame with the package. I am going to ask when we check in if we can pay to upgrade to gv or wv. Can’t hurt to ask!