How to Make DVC Room Requests

Here’s something all Disney Vacation Club members have in common. We all book DVC hotel rooms! Sure, we choose different room types, room sizes, and DVC resorts, but the core commonality remains.

Sometimes, we want a bit more control over our hotel room. While DVC doesn’t guarantee flexibility with room assignments, it does allow room requests. So, here’s how you make a room request and a few tips on what to do. 

What’s a Room Request?

When you book a room at a DVC resort, you’re requesting generic accommodations. You select the room type, and that’s it. Disney will decide everything else, arbitrarily assigning you a room.

The problem with this method is that the person picking your room doesn’t know your traveling party or its needs. You do, and you can express this via a room request. 

How Do You Make a Room Request?

The obvious way to make a room request involves contacting DVC Member Services. You can call DVC at 800-800-9800, or you can use online chat. 

Personally, my online chat experiences have fluctuated wildly in quality, especially via the My Disney Experience app. I’ve got a couple of help requests still awaiting replies there. It’s been years. 

The flaw with calling DVC is that wait times can grow lengthy. So, I try to call during mid-morning when possible. At the start of the day, Member Services is often at its busiest. Then, there’s a lull before lunch. Afterward, the hold time remains relatively static and significant. 

Here’s the shocker of the bunch. You can still fax (!) DVC to make a room request. I’ll level with you that I have no idea how dutiful cast members are in reading faxes. However, several DVC members have suggested that this tactic still works.

Perhaps the easiest way to perform a room request happens during the online check-in process. You’ll find a drop-down menu option. In recent years, Disney has reduced the value of this method. It has eliminated most options, making the room request threadbare. 

I only use it when I want my room ready early, which I’ve found is the most effective and only reliable request of the bunch. As with everything else here, you could achieve different results. 

Finally, you can email DVC Member Services via this contact form. I previously preferred this method, but the replies turned into form letters during the spring of 2020. Even now, you should feel fortunate when you receive a helpful response this way.

What Should You Request?

No matter the contact method you choose – and I strongly recommend calling – you’ll face a decision with your room request. What matters most to you?

I say this because you’re unlikely to get a single room request, much less multiple ones. Too many other DVC members are staying at the same resort, and they have room requests, too. Cast members are juggling a lot when they perform room assignments. 

So, you should prioritize what’s important to you, whether it’s something based on logistics, sentimentality, or convenience. For example, at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, I prefer a lower hotel floor. When I make this room request, I can zoom in my camera and get a closer view of the animals in their habitats without leaving my room.

Here are a few other pro tips for room requests. At Aulani, you should request an even-numbered room, as they typically have views of the pool and the ocean rather than the island and/or the convention center.

Disney’s BoardWalk Villas often honors room requests for the quiet pool area. I vastly prefer this since I find the BoardWalk quite loud. 

Meanwhile, I’m sometimes much more specific with my requests. For example, at Disney’s Old Key West Resort, I ask for building 64 for sentimental reasons. My wife and I spent an anniversary here, so I will only stay in building 64. 

This brings me to a tip I learned from my brother. When I don’t get building 64 on the first night, I go to the hotel lobby and ask to change after a night or two. Sometimes, you’ll have better luck on a room request once you’re already a guest at the resort. Yes, you’ll have to pack and unpack again, but it’s worth the aggravation. 

That’s a point I’ll stress here. Disney is in the business of making guests happy. If you don’t get what you want at first, you can try again once you arrive at your hotel. Of course, there’s also a way to increase your odds ahead of time…

Pro Tip: How to Improve Your Odds for a Room Request

I’ve spoken with many Disney cast members about the best booking request practices. On the subject of room requests, they’ve been remarkably blunt with me. 

According to the people who assign the rooms, how you describe your request matters. Let’s presume that you either email Disney or contact DVC Customer Service. Even if you intend to speak extemporaneously, I’d recommend writing a quick script. 

You want to provide a brief but impactful description of why your room request matters. Let’s say that you want to stay on the first floor near an elevator because you have an injury. Tell the cast member what happened, how it inconveniences you, and why the room assignment will help.

Similarly, when you’re planning a magical memory vacation like a birthday or anniversary, you should share that. Many cast members have their pick of their jobs. They work at Disney because they enjoy the wish-fulfillment aspect. 

When you share that the requested room is the same one where you stayed on a previous anniversary, who wouldn’t want to grant that wish? These cast members are human, and you can appeal to their generous instincts. Plus, when they perform an act of kindness, they’ll feel good about themselves as well.

Think about this element of a room request. You’re two people trying to solve a problem, and you both seek a mutually satisfactory conclusion. I’ve worked this job in the hospitality industry, and I still fondly remember some times when I satisfied room requests. 

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