Success Rate in Getting Connecting Rooms for Immediate Family

[maxiesmom]

The one trip we stayed at All Stars Music (never again), we had two adults and four kids ...not only were we not connecting, we were in separate buildings. I moaned, cried, etc. etc. and they said they couldn't come up with anything better. That may not be the norm, but it is a possibility, so you need to be aware of that.

We did a group of 7 at the CR and had rooms right next to each other and a group of 7 at CBR and had rooms in the same building but different floors. When we have traveled with six we stayed at the cabins at FW, so no issues there - we all fit in one cabin.

Twice at the All Star Music I have been denied connecting rooms. I was then told by a travel agent that as many of the rooms were converted into the Family Suites the Music has fewer connecting rooms to go around. Which makes sense.

 

[Terpsichore]

We had connecting rooms on our last two trips. In 2017, we had two rooms at CBR reserved under an AP rate. My DS, his wife and two kids were in one room and my DH, my other DS and I were in the other room. In 2018, we traveled again and we made separate reservations at POFQ. We ended up with connecting rooms again though we let them know is wasn't necessary when we called in to make a final payment. The reservations had been linked in MDE.

 

[vinotinto]

Thanks to everyone responding! I actually had a dream about this last night...ended up we did not get connecting rooms and somehow i scored a room all to myself and DH slept in the room with the kids! Again it was only a dream.

But I guess it wouldn't be so bad if we were split up...all 3 boys would choose to stay with dad I'm sure and my 1 princess would want her mommy. Might be kind of fun actually!

You have the right mindset. Request connecting (as your only request), but if it's not possible, it's an opportunity for some adventure time with 1-2 of the kids.

 

[jaybee1026]

We’ve only stayed onsite 3 times, all at POR and received connecting rooms every time. This time we’ll be at Pop and our oldest is 18. We’ll see how that goes.

 

[Stefani P.]

First time it was my wife and I staying at Port Orleans Riverside with 5 kids all under the age of 10. Booked 2 rooms under one reservation and our only request was for connecting rooms. Not only did we not get connecting rooms, we were in 2 different buildings. After day 4 we were at least able to get in the same building.

Second time was at Beach Club with the same 2 adults and 5 kids, only now all under the age of 11. Again no connecting rooms and our rooms were on the opposite sides of the resort. After day 3 we were able to get in the same section of the resort but on different floors.

The first time was bad because we didn't know connecting rooms were not guaranteed. Every phone CM I talked to said because we had one reservation number and more kids than adults we were guaranteed to get connecting rooms. Our reservation paperwork even said guaranteed connecting. So I ended up wasting 4 hours of vacation time fighting that fact.
At least we were prepared the 2nd time.

I was just told by my TA that if one any two room I had to do 2 different reservations.
You got 1 reservation but two rooms??

 

[dansdad]

I was just told by my TA that if one any two room I had to do 2 different reservations.
You got 1 reservation but two rooms??

Yes. I had to call, but it can be done.

 

[Stefani P.]

Yes. I had to call, but it can be done.

Well, that kind of irritates me. But oh well. I just hated to pay two deposits, since I "had to have two reservations".

 

[bluezy]

We asked for and received connecting rooms 3 times. We have 5 children and on the first trip with all of them the oldest child was 16. For the next 2 trips the oldest was over 18 (actually the oldest 2 were over 18) but we still got connecting rooms. Once AoA opened, we started staying in a suite there so we didn't have to worry about it (we were only traveling with 3 kids at that point but they were all under 18). We booked all of those trips through a Disney TA and she recommended that we stay at Pop Century when we needed connecting rooms because that resort has the highest number of connecting rooms of all the Disney resorts (that was 10+ years ago so I don't know if that is still accurate...but it probably is).

 

[twoolle]

We asked for and received connecting rooms 3 times. We have 5 children and on the first trip with all of them the oldest child was 16. For the next 2 trips the oldest was over 18 (actually the oldest 2 were over 18) but we still got connecting rooms. Once AoA opened, we started staying in a suite there so we didn't have to worry about it (we were only traveling with 3 kids at that point but they were all under 18). We booked all of those trips through a Disney TA and she recommended that we stay at Pop Century when we needed connecting rooms because that resort has the highest number of connecting rooms of all the Disney resorts (that was 10+ years ago so I don't know if that is still accurate...but it probably is).

Good info! We are actually booked at Pop!
AoA is about $600 more

 

[megs1313]

We don't have your situation (because we always have a third adult and three kids) but have never gotten a truly connecting room. we always do the "traveling with" number and we have never failed to get rooms at least very close together when doing that. I think the farthest away we've ever been was a couple doors down.

 

[Sun_soakin]

First time it was my wife and I staying at Port Orleans Riverside with 5 kids all under the age of 10. Booked 2 rooms under one reservation and our only request was for connecting rooms. Not only did we not get connecting rooms, we were in 2 different buildings. After day 4 we were at least able to get in the same building.

Second time was at Beach Club with the same 2 adults and 5 kids, only now all under the age of 11. Again no connecting rooms and our rooms were on the opposite sides of the resort. After day 3 we were able to get in the same section of the resort but on different floors.

The first time was bad because we didn't know connecting rooms were not guaranteed. Every phone CM I talked to said because we had one reservation number and more kids than adults we were guaranteed to get connecting rooms. Our reservation paperwork even said guaranteed connecting. So I ended up wasting 4 hours of vacation time fighting that fact.
At least we were prepared the 2nd time.

That’s horrible! It would totally ruin a trip for us. We are a family of 6 and got the connecting rooms we requested both times we booked that way. I knew it wasn’t guaranteed, but from all accounts it seemed like Disney always found a way to work it out. I can’t believe they can’t guarantee this for their guests. We book like this a lot outside of Disney and it’s usually something I can get confirmation on. We’ve never had to be separated...like I said, that would 100% ruin a trip for us.

 

[Nancyg56]

I am 3 for 3. I make it our only request if it is important. We have been given connecting rooms at AKL, the Poly, and the Grand. Our dynamic is not the same as two adults with 5 kids, but the room configuration was important to us anyway. So far we have been lucky..

 

[zoo2tycoon]

That’s horrible! It would totally ruin a trip for us. We are a family of 6 and got the connecting rooms we requested both times we booked that way. I knew it wasn’t guaranteed, but from all accounts it seemed like Disney always found a way to work it out. I can’t believe they can’t guarantee this for their guests. We book like this a lot outside of Disney and it’s usually something I can get confirmation on. We’ve never had to be separated...like I said, that would 100% ruin a trip for us.

Disney has a limited number of connecting rooms at each resort. Most of the people going to Disney are families who check in and checkout daily. From these boards they it appears lots request connecting rooms. They can’t guarantee connecting because of the limited number of rooms and the amount of people requesting. If room not available the can’t make it appear.

Our experience on connecting- I don’t need and specifically request non-connecting as first request. Past 4 times we have been we have been put in connecting rooms. We’ve asked to be moved - and in each case but one were due to availability.

 

[vinotinto]

That’s horrible! It would totally ruin a trip for us. We are a family of 6 and got the connecting rooms we requested both times we booked that way. I knew it wasn’t guaranteed, but from all accounts it seemed like Disney always found a way to work it out. I can’t believe they can’t guarantee this for their guests. We book like this a lot outside of Disney and it’s usually something I can get confirmation on. We’ve never had to be separated...like I said, that would 100% ruin a trip for us.

If it would ruin a trip, I would absolutely book a suite or villa next time. As you know, Disney tries really hard to meet room requests, but "connecting" is not a bookable category, which means when the room assignor goes to assign your room, there has to be connecting rooms in your check-in date and in the room category you booked. Many families travel to Disney, so connecting rooms is a very common request. Sometimes not everyone's request can be granted.

 

[Sun_soakin]

If it would ruin a trip, I would absolutely book a suite or villa next time. As you know, Disney tries really hard to meet room requests, but "connecting" is not a bookable category, which means when the room assignor goes to assign your room, there has to be connecting rooms in your check-in date and in the room category you booked. Many families travel to Disney, so connecting rooms is a very common request. Sometimes not everyone's request can be granted.

We usually book suites or villas, but I still think Disney should establish a connecting room category (they could just make some of them available as a category to maintain flexibility). People want to rationalize why Disney can’t do these things but I disagree...other hotels can so Disney should be able to (up to a limit) as well.

I get plenty of alone time when I’m traveling for work. Vacations are family time and we want to be together. It’s much harder for large families to figure out suitable accommodations... I wish Disney would make it a little easier.

 

[MsOnceUponATime]

During our last visit we received connecting rooms and had not asked for them. Our reservation was made over the phone for two rooms relatively close to one another. This was the only time that I'd booked two rooms - and the only time that I'd ever called to book a room. Again, we didn't make the request for connecting rooms, but we did mention that we were traveling with our adult daughter and it was her birthday and she was going to be in that room.

This may or may not help you, but I wanted to post just in case.

 

[KenHutch]

Five trips so far and we have gotten connecting rooms only once but the other 4 times we got rooms side by side.

 

[revdon64]

We've gotten connecting rooms both times that we've requested them (POFQ, Pop), but... our six person group include the three littles in my avatar pic and an adult daughter (33y/o now). However it's worth noting that when we stayed a FQ it was two different reservations as DS9 and I were there two days before DW and the other kids came down.
I think the most important thing is to make it the first request on your reservation.

 

[bluezy]

We usually book suites or villas, but I still think Disney should establish a connecting room category (they could just make some of them available as a category to maintain flexibility). People want to rationalize why Disney can’t do these things but I disagree...other hotels can so Disney should be able to (up to a limit) as well.

I get plenty of alone time when I’m traveling for work. Vacations are family time and we want to be together. It’s much harder for large families to figure out suitable accommodations... I wish Disney would make it a little easier.

Just because you book "guaranteed" connecting rooms at a hotel doesn't mean you'll get them. We've booked connecting at non-Disney hotels (not even in Florida) and showed up only to find out they didn't have connecting rooms available and were given rooms across the hall or just near each other. I'm guessing it happened when the hotel was overbooked or when guests ended up staying longer than originally planned. We were compensated for the inconvenience (and it wasn't a big deal for us -- both times it happened we were only staying one night) and all was well. We always assumed we *wouldn't* get connecting rooms so we're prepared to divide and conquer (I packed accordingly) so if we actually got the connecting rooms we booked, we looked at it as a bonus. We usually try to stay at hotels that offer suites so we don't have to worry about it, but sometimes that's not possible.

I don't see Disney ever guaranteeing connecting rooms. That would be a logistical nightmare for them. Their resorts are booked at 90-100% capacity a good part of the year so how could they even possibly hold connecting rooms for people? They'd have rooms sitting empty for days just to hold them for someone checking in next week. They'd rather have those rooms occupied. They provide Villas and Suites to accommodate families that don't fit in one room. Yes, the suites and villas are more expensive than 2 rooms, but that's the choice people have to make: pay the extra to guarantee the entire family is under one roof, or pay less and take the chance you might not get connecting rooms.

 

[hereforthechurros]

Another thing I thought of, make sure your reservations are linked with a "traveling with" number. And that you request connecting rooms on your reservation. The lack of linked reservations(though I fairly certain I did link them) was blamed for us not getting connecting rooms at Sports. So double check that they are linked. You unfortunately have to call to link them.

And idea if this can be done via DVC owner request? We are renting points at Poly and have three rooms booked. Four kids between us and connecting rooms would be ideal but not sure I can call myself :-/