Dreams Unlimitied vs. Small World Vacations for Cdns

[amw]

I'm planning a WDW trip for April, and I have always stayed off-site. This time, I want to bite the bullet and stay Disney. I think the Disney Dining Plan is a great deal (especially with 2 DDs under 9) even with the 2008 changes, so I'd like to go with a package.

Have any Cdns had experience with Dreams Unlimitied (promoted through this website) or Small World Vacations (through mousesavers.com)? Were there hidden costs for Cdns - such as additional postage? How was the service?

I do have CAA, and know I could get a discount for the room portion of a package. But, they have yet to respond to any of my inquiries, and I've heard that once a package is booked, they don't do any work to stay on top of additional discounts. I'm planning on booking deluxe in regular season, so my discount would only be 10% off the room portion anyways. (Is that right?)

I like the fact that these other agents will scout new discounts and apply them to your reservation. I'm sure I should be able to get more than 10% off

It's much more work planning a Disney stay, than off-site

 

[pooksma]

If I may, we used Dream Come True Vacactions for our upcoming trip. Liz and Joe have been absolutely fab and I would highly recommend them. If you'd like more info, feel free to send a PM.

 

[trivial]

Not to detract from the board's sponsor, but I booked our cruise through Small World, and there were no hidden or extra costs at all; it was seamless. I did all my planning and research on my own and booked with a travel agency primarily for the booking bonus, but my travel agent was fairly prompt in returning my e-mails and accomodated my requests with no problems. I wouldn't hesitate to book with a U.S. TA.

By the way, I don't think you'll regret staying on-site. I almost stayed off-site on our trip, and am very glad someone showed me the light.

 

[cslittle999]

We used Dreams Unlimited for our trips in 2003 and 2005. The service was excellent and there were no hidden or extra costs. Our agent Beth Czada was excellent. Once we shared our park days and what restaurants we wanted to eat at she was able to suggest times that worked with all of the inter-park/hotel travel times. She also writes a great trip report. I was very envious of some of her trip.

Since you mention getting the dining plan I would mention that only CAA can book a CAA discounted package. Anyone can get a CAA discounted room-only reservation but the discounted package has to be done through CAA.

I suggest looking at www.mousesavers.com at the discounts that have been offered in the past. You should be able to work through if getting a package and saving on dining costs is a better deal that getting one of the other discounts.

 

[Hoogy]

We used Small World for our trip in 2005 and had no problems with postage, extra costs etc. This time we are using Dreams Unlimited b/c we are also doing a cruise and they had a good group rate (better than SW) So far they have been fantastic about helping us get organized etc! I too and hoping for a discount for our stay at POP in Nov. and I know Dreams will look for it and apply it should it come out. If you use CAA and you want the package with Dining you have to book it all through them.

 

[CJ]

This will be my 3rd trip using Dreams Unlimited. I have been very happy each time. My agent this trip, Marla, has been wonderful... getting adrs and then changing them for me when I needed to. No charges of any kind!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Thanks to the OP for asking this question. I am about to book a cruise and I am planning on using one of these agencies since they have great booking benefits plus that can get me a better rate than booking directly with Disney

 

[Claud26]

If I may, we used Dream Come True Vacactions for our upcoming trip. Liz and Joe have been absolutely fab and I would highly recommend them. If you'd like more info, feel free to send a PM.

we also used Dream come True Vacation, and dealt with Kathryn... who actually lives in Toronto !! she has been Amazing. This is our second trip with them and I highly recomend them.

FYI, there are no hidden cost... you just get the extras like they book all your ADR's and make sure everything is in order for you.

you can PM me if you have any questions

 

[Wazzo]

We used DU for our last trip, and there were no hidden costs or fees. Everything was as it should be, but nothing more.

Our agent was hard to contact, and she virtually ignored us once everything was arranged. I never heard from her after everything was booked. Again, nothing to complain about, everything was in order, just nothing special.

 

[yosh12]

I used a CDN based agency called fairytale destinations. They are excellent. Our agent Christine went that extra mile. They are based in TO. She is very quick to get back to questions...usually within the hour (by email). Excellent hard work given and a pleasure to deal with. She does all the leg work. She books all your ADR's, applies specials to your reservation so the price will lower. A great person and company. I highly recommend.

If you want more info please PM me.

Thanks

Seam

 

[drag n' fly]

We worked with Rhonda at DU. We really enjoyed working with her and will do it again for our next trip to WDW!

 

[Wazzo]

I used a CDN based agency called fairytale destinations. They are excellent. Our agent Christine went that extra mile. They are based in TO. She is very quick to get back to questions...usually within the hour (by email). Excellent hard work given and a pleasure to deal with. She does all the leg work. She books all your ADR's, applies specials to your reservation so the price will lower. A great person and company. I highly

I totally agree! We haven't had our trip yet, but she has been amazing to deal with so far... she has even made the planning extra special!!

 

[alissa -dawn]

We used Dreams Unlimited for our Jan. trip. Our agent Debbie was great. Always got back to my e-mails very quickly and answered all questions very thoroughly. She brought a discount to my attention, booked all my ADRs and suggested her favourtie hotels and what areas she liked. She checked in frequently to see if we had any more requests and set up a great intinerary for us. All of this and no charge. Great service!

 

[hellorobbo]

I used a CDN based agency called fairytale destinations. They are excellent. Our agent Christine went that extra mile. They are based in TO. She is very quick to get back to questions...usually within the hour (by email). Excellent hard work given and a pleasure to deal with. She does all the leg work. She books all your ADR's, applies specials to your reservation so the price will lower. A great person and company. I highly recommend.

If you want more info please PM me.

Thanks

Seam

I too can vouch for Christine at Fairy Tale. She was an absolute pleasure to deal with and she really knows her stuff. Best of all, she is Canadian and works out of the GTA.

 

[phabric]

I used a CDN based agency called fairytale destinations. They are excellent. Our agent Christine went that extra mile. They are based in TO. She is very quick to get back to questions...usually within the hour (by email). Excellent hard work given and a pleasure to deal with. She does all the leg work. She books all your ADR's, applies specials to your reservation so the price will lower. A great person and company. I highly recommend.

If you want more info please PM me.

Thanks

Seam

I also used Christine and had GREAT service. She booked all ADR's and when a reduced rate came up she was able to get it.

I was glad to use a Canadian agency.

 

[amw]

Thank you for all your responses. It's good to know that there are a lot of great TAs out there

I'm still leaning towards a room-only CAA rate with Disney, and then looking for package discounts to come out. If they do, I'll definitely go with one of your suggestions.

I have to say, I did send out a few requests for quotes based on your suggestions and (with the exception of DU ) all came back with quotes on the same day, and all were very personal. I was impressed with this level of customer service. I wasn't surprised that they all quoted exactly the same as Disney. I just don't want to lock in right now since I'm not sure any pkg. discounts will come up for April - traditionally it doesn't look good.

Right now, being the control-freak and anal pre-planner (put THAT on my tag TF ), I think I need to retain the ability to change my own plans.

 

[yosh12]

You don't have to lock into anything. You can make all the changes you want up to 45 days before the date of your trip. So if discounts come up they will be applied. If you want to cancel your reservation you can and then make a new one.

From what I have heard once you book with CAA you cannot change things. (I am not sure of this though...LOL, so I may be wrong.) But I made changes to my reservation with Christine (Fairytale Destinations)...and she did it no prob. I actually added and extra day to our stay and it was no prob for her to help.

 

[bunnyfoo]

I'll put in another good word for Christine and Fairytale Destinations! She's been great and she responds to e-mail right away! I also love the little information package she sends out after you book your trip!

 

[amw]

Looks like I can't use Disney. I called and the CM told me AAA rates were not released for 2008 yet. She even said they didn't exist beyond this September. Needless to say, as a constant member of this board community, I know that's not the case, and people have been receiving their AAA discounts.

I keep hearing stories of people calling back Disney and constantly getting different answers. Personally, I'm a little turned off by this kind of customer service.

... if I didn't want to experience Disney this time, I might just stay with reliable off-site locations...

 

[mommylo]

A really silly question, these are web-based company based in US? If I need to buy tickets only for next time, should I use them or someone based in TO?