What goes around does come around!
Four years ago, I got scammed--largely through my own stupidity (anyone who wants to read the "monster" thread--Sad Story from One Who Trusted Too Much--it's linked in one of Webmaster Doc's sticky threads on the R/T Board)...anyway, I put it behind me and counted my blessings and went on to start what has been a four-year run (and counting) of wonderful Disney trips...
Last fall, the opportunity arose to do a January week at AKV, but I didn't have enough points to make it happen. So I posted, thinking one of the DisBoard experts might have ideas I hadn't thought of that might make me able to make the trip work.
A fellow DisBoarder (DBBN) PM'ed me and offered to swap points...he'd make my Jan reservation for me and in return I'd make a reservation for him when I got my new points on 2/1. It was a wonderful offer and I took him up on it.
What a treat it was to deal with DBBN (Denis)...I couldn't have asked for a friendlier, more responsive person to manage my reservation. And, as time went on and my plans changed and his did, too, he kept right on being way more than "just pleasant" about dealing with the uncertainties that plagued my trip. He treated me as a valued friend.
It also became clear, early-on, that he was not going to be able to use my points in 2010. He stated repeatedly that I was not to worry about that; he trusted me to make the points available when he could use them, even if that took longer than the year we'd planned on. But not only did I feel uncomfortable about using his points when there was no clear way to return the favor any time soon, I also didn't want to tie up my points that way. So I asked him if I could rent the points instead.
He immediately agreed--gave me all the time I might need to come up with the cash, and told me he does occasionally rent his points to those who need them. And, he puts together this nifty package that includes a "welcome" package with Disney maps and other goodies tailored to the person making the trip and provides all sorts of "extra's" like tracking numbers for the items (including reservations) he sends, overnight delivery when it's appropriate, and contact information that includes when he won't be available (he and his wife went on a cruise during the time between when we made our arrangements and when we left for our trip).
He was flat-out wonderful. I certainly won't guarantee he'll have points available if/when someone needs them, but he's definitely worth contacting...talk about a stress-free, perfectly-executed rental agreement! He's just terrific.
As was our trip. It started as a 21st b-day present for DS' GF--but DS and GF at first couldn't/wouldn't commit to dates (they're in college/law school and had to factor in school obligations)--Denis (DBBN) was a prince about that, too. Then, after they committed (and I bought airplane tix and park tix for GF), they broke up! That was sad for more reasons that the Disney trip, of course...but it did threaten the Disney trip, too.
They wanted to delay the decision about whether to go until they sorted out their relationship (they did break up, but did so thinking it might save their long-term relationship; they're still very "connected" to one another, but are geographically and emotionally in very different places, and will be for at least a year and maybe longer). I was ok with that--I'd already bought the park and plane tix and the monetary loss (or not) wasn't going to change whether I canceled then or two months later. And Denis (DBBN) again showed total compassion...he told me when his points would be put into holding if I canceled and told me I could take all the way up til then to make up my mind. Amazing!!
Ultimately, GF and DS decided that this trip was not to be for them, but DS still wanted to go. And at the last minute, we added another friend of DS (of whom I am very fond)...again, Denis "instantly" made those changes, including last-minute ME reservations)...
We 3 went and had a marvelous time in our 1-BR Savannah view AKV villa...we got there on FL's coldest day in decades (26 degrees when we awakened Monday morning)...arrived in the middle of the marathon, which had started at 5:45 a.m. that morning, in sleet! (Kudos to those many many thousands (the flyer in our room said 55,000 runners were participating) who braved the truly awful weather to run.)
But DS and his friend went to college in upstate NY and so cold didn't bother them in the slightest. I, too, am used to it--I grew up in Chicago, and VA (where we live now) isn't all that warm in January, either)...so we bundled up and had ourselves a marvelous day...
Sanaa is FANTASTIC...we ate there twice and loved every bite! We also enjoyed Raglan Road (FINALLY got to see the Irish dancer!) immensely--enough to return there, too. We also got in a lunch at LeCellier (terrific) and a dinner at Chefs de France, where we had good food and excellent service, but never in our lives saw a waiter move so fast! It was almost as good as one of the attractions to watch him move! The only not-so-great dining experience we had was at Germany in Epcot...it was fun, but the food was no better (and no worse) than the dorm food DS and his friend had lived on for the past few years...won't go there again if I'm hungry! But the people were nice and the experience, with its song-and-dance, was fun...
We did not do the dining plan and I did buy a TIW card...we ate when and where we pleased...lots of appetizers and far more TS meals than CS meals...not sure I'll renew my TIW card, tho...turns out its discount is nice, and worked most of the places we chose--but not all. But the key was that the places that didn't take TIW did offer an AP and/or DVC discount, so I could have saved as much (or close to it) w/out the $75 fee to buy the TIW card. One of the things I don't like about TIW and discounting is that it takes careful planning and research to figure them out...not all restaurants take TIW for all meals, and not all restaurants offer the same DVC and/or AP discounts...I wound up just "expecting" to pay full price, and then asking if any of the discounts were available. One or the other always was, but I never knew in advance which ones were. And the AP discount equalled the TIW discount, w/out the automatic gratuity added (altho for us, in those cases, the AP discount "cost more" as I tend to tip more than the 18% automatically included by TIW. And I do object to adding more (w/out truly noteworthy service) to an automatically-added total. I did some very rough math...adding up the cost of DP, and then adding on the cost of tips and appetizers, and then comparing that to the money I'd actually spent. It seems to me we did spend a bit more money, but not very much--maybe $200 total, for 3 people over 7 days, and I'm not sure how to account for having eaten only 3 counter service meals in all that time...everything else was table service. And of course DP only provides one TS per person per day...anyway, I came away feeling like I hadn't made a financial mistake by deciding against using the DP for this trip...
We encountered the typical mid-January crowd (between marathon and MLK holiday upticks), which meant few if any long waits (or any waits) for any attractions. We did absolutely every ride and show we wanted to do, w/no waits and minimal use of FPs, too...an example: we went to MK about 9:30 one morning and went straight to Space Mountain (I like the refurbishment...the ride remains wonderful, but does seem noticeably different!)...there was no stand-by line at all, and the FP wait was 6 minutes (literally: it was 9:35 when we got there and FPs were for 9:41--)...
All in all, considering all the "angst" that went into deciding to take the trip and configuring the group that went on it, it was one of the best trips we've taken (and we've taken LOTS since we joined DVC back in 2006)...thanks so very much to DBBN (Denis) for making it possible--
By the way: Denis asked me to tell him (and to say it publicly in this post, too) what he could have done to make our experience even better...I can't think of a thing...and I can think of many things he did that made the experience better that I ever in a million years would have expected...he really is terrific.
Happy Disney-ing to everyone.
Dani
Four years ago, I got scammed--largely through my own stupidity (anyone who wants to read the "monster" thread--Sad Story from One Who Trusted Too Much--it's linked in one of Webmaster Doc's sticky threads on the R/T Board)...anyway, I put it behind me and counted my blessings and went on to start what has been a four-year run (and counting) of wonderful Disney trips...
Last fall, the opportunity arose to do a January week at AKV, but I didn't have enough points to make it happen. So I posted, thinking one of the DisBoard experts might have ideas I hadn't thought of that might make me able to make the trip work.
A fellow DisBoarder (DBBN) PM'ed me and offered to swap points...he'd make my Jan reservation for me and in return I'd make a reservation for him when I got my new points on 2/1. It was a wonderful offer and I took him up on it.
What a treat it was to deal with DBBN (Denis)...I couldn't have asked for a friendlier, more responsive person to manage my reservation. And, as time went on and my plans changed and his did, too, he kept right on being way more than "just pleasant" about dealing with the uncertainties that plagued my trip. He treated me as a valued friend.
It also became clear, early-on, that he was not going to be able to use my points in 2010. He stated repeatedly that I was not to worry about that; he trusted me to make the points available when he could use them, even if that took longer than the year we'd planned on. But not only did I feel uncomfortable about using his points when there was no clear way to return the favor any time soon, I also didn't want to tie up my points that way. So I asked him if I could rent the points instead.
He immediately agreed--gave me all the time I might need to come up with the cash, and told me he does occasionally rent his points to those who need them. And, he puts together this nifty package that includes a "welcome" package with Disney maps and other goodies tailored to the person making the trip and provides all sorts of "extra's" like tracking numbers for the items (including reservations) he sends, overnight delivery when it's appropriate, and contact information that includes when he won't be available (he and his wife went on a cruise during the time between when we made our arrangements and when we left for our trip).
He was flat-out wonderful. I certainly won't guarantee he'll have points available if/when someone needs them, but he's definitely worth contacting...talk about a stress-free, perfectly-executed rental agreement! He's just terrific.
As was our trip. It started as a 21st b-day present for DS' GF--but DS and GF at first couldn't/wouldn't commit to dates (they're in college/law school and had to factor in school obligations)--Denis (DBBN) was a prince about that, too. Then, after they committed (and I bought airplane tix and park tix for GF), they broke up! That was sad for more reasons that the Disney trip, of course...but it did threaten the Disney trip, too.
They wanted to delay the decision about whether to go until they sorted out their relationship (they did break up, but did so thinking it might save their long-term relationship; they're still very "connected" to one another, but are geographically and emotionally in very different places, and will be for at least a year and maybe longer). I was ok with that--I'd already bought the park and plane tix and the monetary loss (or not) wasn't going to change whether I canceled then or two months later. And Denis (DBBN) again showed total compassion...he told me when his points would be put into holding if I canceled and told me I could take all the way up til then to make up my mind. Amazing!!
Ultimately, GF and DS decided that this trip was not to be for them, but DS still wanted to go. And at the last minute, we added another friend of DS (of whom I am very fond)...again, Denis "instantly" made those changes, including last-minute ME reservations)...
We 3 went and had a marvelous time in our 1-BR Savannah view AKV villa...we got there on FL's coldest day in decades (26 degrees when we awakened Monday morning)...arrived in the middle of the marathon, which had started at 5:45 a.m. that morning, in sleet! (Kudos to those many many thousands (the flyer in our room said 55,000 runners were participating) who braved the truly awful weather to run.)
But DS and his friend went to college in upstate NY and so cold didn't bother them in the slightest. I, too, am used to it--I grew up in Chicago, and VA (where we live now) isn't all that warm in January, either)...so we bundled up and had ourselves a marvelous day...
Sanaa is FANTASTIC...we ate there twice and loved every bite! We also enjoyed Raglan Road (FINALLY got to see the Irish dancer!) immensely--enough to return there, too. We also got in a lunch at LeCellier (terrific) and a dinner at Chefs de France, where we had good food and excellent service, but never in our lives saw a waiter move so fast! It was almost as good as one of the attractions to watch him move! The only not-so-great dining experience we had was at Germany in Epcot...it was fun, but the food was no better (and no worse) than the dorm food DS and his friend had lived on for the past few years...won't go there again if I'm hungry! But the people were nice and the experience, with its song-and-dance, was fun...
We did not do the dining plan and I did buy a TIW card...we ate when and where we pleased...lots of appetizers and far more TS meals than CS meals...not sure I'll renew my TIW card, tho...turns out its discount is nice, and worked most of the places we chose--but not all. But the key was that the places that didn't take TIW did offer an AP and/or DVC discount, so I could have saved as much (or close to it) w/out the $75 fee to buy the TIW card. One of the things I don't like about TIW and discounting is that it takes careful planning and research to figure them out...not all restaurants take TIW for all meals, and not all restaurants offer the same DVC and/or AP discounts...I wound up just "expecting" to pay full price, and then asking if any of the discounts were available. One or the other always was, but I never knew in advance which ones were. And the AP discount equalled the TIW discount, w/out the automatic gratuity added (altho for us, in those cases, the AP discount "cost more" as I tend to tip more than the 18% automatically included by TIW. And I do object to adding more (w/out truly noteworthy service) to an automatically-added total. I did some very rough math...adding up the cost of DP, and then adding on the cost of tips and appetizers, and then comparing that to the money I'd actually spent. It seems to me we did spend a bit more money, but not very much--maybe $200 total, for 3 people over 7 days, and I'm not sure how to account for having eaten only 3 counter service meals in all that time...everything else was table service. And of course DP only provides one TS per person per day...anyway, I came away feeling like I hadn't made a financial mistake by deciding against using the DP for this trip...
We encountered the typical mid-January crowd (between marathon and MLK holiday upticks), which meant few if any long waits (or any waits) for any attractions. We did absolutely every ride and show we wanted to do, w/no waits and minimal use of FPs, too...an example: we went to MK about 9:30 one morning and went straight to Space Mountain (I like the refurbishment...the ride remains wonderful, but does seem noticeably different!)...there was no stand-by line at all, and the FP wait was 6 minutes (literally: it was 9:35 when we got there and FPs were for 9:41--)...
All in all, considering all the "angst" that went into deciding to take the trip and configuring the group that went on it, it was one of the best trips we've taken (and we've taken LOTS since we joined DVC back in 2006)...thanks so very much to DBBN (Denis) for making it possible--
By the way: Denis asked me to tell him (and to say it publicly in this post, too) what he could have done to make our experience even better...I can't think of a thing...and I can think of many things he did that made the experience better that I ever in a million years would have expected...he really is terrific.
Happy Disney-ing to everyone.
Dani
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