Disney's Central Reservations Office (CRO)

What is the CRO? The first thing you should note in the title is that it is Disney's CRO. That means that it functions for the better good of the Walt Disney Company and not you, the vacationer. That said the CRO is staffed with some very wonderful individuals who are lovers of Disney first and Disney Executives' bonus packages second.

The first thing to note about the CRO is that it is staffed by a very diverse group indeed. You will find Cast Members that have been there for years who know more about the reservations system than others and who can find things for you that others cannot. Some Cast Members are right out of training class and may know less about your question than you do. Sadly other cast members are doing "a job". Many CRO Cast Members who pick up the phone are actually WDTC (Walt Disney Travel Company) staffers who pick up the main reservations number when the phones get heavy. Obviously you don't know that when they pick up so you just have to be aware that you may receive gentle pressure towards purchasing a package rather than just a room only reservation. The WDTC CMs have proved to be equally competent in their knowledge of all products and should be able to help you out regardless of your needs.

Here are some ground rules for dealing with the CRO:

The CMs that pick up the phone are human beings like the rest of us. They can and do have bad days. Some of those may be caused by the last person who called them and there may be a lingering taste in the mouth from that caller. They can and do have bad days before they even get to work. Their lives are like ours. They just get to work in a nicer place.

The CMs that pick up the phone do not make the rules. They are also not responsible for setting hotel rates, theme park tickets rates or the current rate of exchange between the United States and your country. They also do not have a seat on the Disney board and do not dictate or control policy for the Walt Disney Company.

These CMs can be your best buddy if you treat them right, interact with them, ask them how their day is going, ask them what they think of the hotel you are thinking about choosing. Once you have them chatting they will treat you as someone they know because you have common ground. They are also much more likely to break the CRO/WDTC golden rule and help you find the same thing cheaper by offering input.

You can get the same thing cheaper? How does that work? Let's try a simple conversation assuming you've got the pleasantries out of the way: "OK, Mr. Smith, what were you looking for? Well, Jane, I'm looking to get a hotel for seven nights from July 1st through July 7th. OK, Mr. Smith, I have the Grand Floridian Concierge Level for $425 per night. Can I book that for you? Yes, that's lovely, Jane, thanks for your help." And how did that $3000 item appear on your credit card bill when you had a hotel budget of $700 per week?

Golden Rule 1 for talking with CRO. If you don't specifically ask for the cheapest rate available, they won't give it to you. If you do not ask for help in recommending alternate hotels or dates, they will not offer it to you. Their job is to sell every room at rack rate.

Have you ever noticed when the lady of the house goes into Macy's for her annual Clinique purchase she goes at a particular time of the year because that's when Clinique has their special. If the store moves the special from September to October she'll wait till then. If Macy's isn't having an event, she'll go to JCPenney's. How does she know this super-secret stuff you ask yourself? She asks the Clinique or Macy's staff all year when the special is going to be. That's what you need to do with the CRO staff. Now the CRO doesn't have "specials" but, if your package is $255 per night for seven nights, ask them if moving the dates around can save you money. You might be right at the end of Regular Season or Peak Season and, by moving back one day, you might end up in Value Season. You might even manage to save enough to be able to afford the next tier of hotel by being in that cheaper season.

Golden Rule 2 for talking with CRO. They are there to sell you something; you are a prospective buyer. They will take as much time over you to make sure that a) you go away with what you want and b) they sold you something that you are not likely to call back on tomorrow and cancel because you think you got a bad deal.

Golden Rule 3 for talking with CRO. The staff experience level, as already outlined, varies greatly. If you are pretty sure you know where you should be and you are not getting a "warm and fuzzy" feeling from the CRO CM's knowledge, simply thank them for their time and hang up the phone. You can call right back and get another CM and see if you get "warmer and fuzzier". The same applies to attitude. If you are not getting Mr. or Miss Congeniality it is much simpler to politely disconnect and call back.

It never works to ask to speak to a supervisor as that person will have the opportunity to preface your call with his or her own personal take on why you wanted to speak to a supervisor and this CM and his/her boss may be best buds, dating or something equally unequable. If you do get a hard time it is better to call back and get to a supervisor from a CM that does not have an issue with you. Please remember, as soon as any CM picks up the phone, write down their name. If you didn't hear them clearly, ask them to spell it for you (you don't think they're doing the exact same thing?).

Golden Rule 4 for talking with CRO. As earlier mentioned there are a bunch of folks from the WDTC who will pick up overflow calls to the CRO. They answer the phones the same way as the CRO CMs so you won't know you are talking to the travel company. They are just as talented, if not more so, but they are programmed (sorry, trained) to sell you packages. If you are feeling pressured and just can't say no to the CM, just tell them you need to think about it and say your goodbyes. They will not pressure you to stay on the line and they will absolutely not call you back to harass you. The only time Disney will call you back is if you specifically ask them to do so or if the CM has forgotten to get or give an important piece of information.

The best calls to the CRO are usually the ones where you've done all your homework and all you're doing is getting a CM to put your reservation in the system. Make sure you have:

1. The name and address of the person under whose name the reservation should appear. A good phone number should be provided (a cell-phone number may be an excellent option to better reach you).

2. The names, addresses and ages (kids) of everyone who is going to be in your party.

3. The check-in day of your trip and your date of departure. It is not your best idea to specify your last day in the parks as your date of departure as you might be spending your last night on a bench at the Orlando airport.

4. Make sure you know exactly which hotel you have booked. Some of them sound the same and some of them are simply a matter of confusion. Fort Wilderness for example is not the Wilderness Lodge.

5. Whether you are taking a room only reservation or a Magic Your Way package. If you are doing Magic Your Way, make sure you specify the correct one and ask the CM to specify the features so you know you are on the correct package.

6. If you are purchasing tickets, make sure you specify the correct type of ticket (all tickets now expire 14 days after they are first used. If you want them to live forever, make sure you specify the non-expiring option).

7. If you are booking with an Annual Pass to take advantage of an Annual Pass discount that pass or voucher must be in your hand at the time of reservation so the discount can be applied. It has been known for the CRO to allow your ressie to be put in the system pending purchase of an AP voucher but you need to get the AP voucher number in there or the ressie will lapse.

8. If you call back subsequently to change your reservation you should really be able to supply the reservation number or some other confidential information (such as the credit card number that was used to secure the reservation) so that the CM knows to whom he or she is talking. It has been known for people's reservations to be canceled maliciously by jilted lovers, ex-employees, upset relatives and the last thing you want to do is show up and have no room. The CRO CMs will only ask you to verify it is you and they may call you back on the number you supplied earlier to verify it is indeed the party on the reservation.

Knowing what you want before you make the call is a good start. Ask plenty of questions on the forums. Our advice is free and comes from years of getting it wrong or, if we were lucky, watching someone else getting it wrong. Knowing how to elicit the best response is the key. You will get more with sugar than you will with salt.

Last Updated: May 9, 2009