Complete Orlando - views?

[DLPDreams]

I have been in touch with CO about our planned 2015 trip (first trip to Florida). The lady I spoke to was lovely and have since emailed her too. Obviously it is too early to be able to book anything, but come Spring things should start to move.

I had read bits on here about CO and it all seems positive. Are they good to use? I had initially wanted to book direct with WDW but we want a split accommodation trip (WDW on site then transfer to an off site villa for some time), so it seems that using a TA who can tailor make is best for us with it being our first trip.

My main concern is the issue over Disney reservation numbers and people having problems booking ADRs and the likes as they can't get them assigned to their booking until last minute (or without a lot of stress/calls) when using TAs. This seems to be an issue mainly with Thomas Cook and Virgin (I'm sure there are more). Will it be an issue with CO? Or are their bookings handled in a different way with being just an Orlando travel company? I have no idea and I haven't heard back from CO about this yet.

 

[Disneynutinlondon]

We are booked with CO for our upcoming Oct 2014 trip. We have had the most fantastic service from them, they even gave me a refund when I pointed out that they'd sold me the wrong Disney tickets. They have also changed our car and our room for us.

As for the confirmation number they book with Disney US so they are able to give the correct number needed for the MDE link and the booking of FP+ and ADRs. They gave me our confirmation number about 400 days from our departure date as I booked in April 2013 for this trip, and from memory I think they gave me the Disney conf number the beginning of September.

I would have no hesitation is recommending them as a TA to use

 

[magicgirl]

Another big thumbs up for complete orlando. We have used them twice and have had excellent service.

 

[orangetiggs]

We have booked our third trip with them and cant say enough good things. They are so helpful and id recommend always

 

[DLPDreams]

Oh that's great - thanks so much for the replies and putting my mind at rest. The lady I spoke to on the telephone was so helpful and spent ages talking to me which was really nice.

I was worried about the confirmation number thing but sounds like it's not even an issue .

Just need the holiday dates to be released now .

 

[RobynPrincess]

We had a lot of problems with CO, including standing for hours at DTD trying to get a hold of someone to sort out our tickets, they had given us 14 days tickets when we had paid for 21 day tickets, but wdw couldn't do anything about it to change the tickets as they don't offer those types of tickets in the USA. No real apology was ever given and we had to fight tooth and nail to get all of the call charges to be refunded as I had to spend so long on my mobile with them trying to sort it out! We also wanted to add to our hotel booking and pay for more but they then charged us to give them more money... Go figure! So no, I wouldn't use them again. That being said I'm sure you can find unhappy customers for just about every company out there.

 

[wayneg]

We used them a couple of times but would have to be a substantial saving to use again.
Main problem I had was the booking ref, it wouldn't allow me to book meals online, after many emails they admitted I would have to do them by phone. Saying that I believe it was a one off problem they have resolved.

Other concern I have with them is T&C's, where Disney will waive fees if you change a booking but increase the holiday cost CO will not, even if you increase the holiday value they still charge a fee to do so. Thankfully we didn't make any changes but its the main complaint about CO.

 

[DLPDreams]

Hmm thanks for those replies.

Like you say RobynPrincess, you are always going to have some people who are unlucky and have an issue. But that is not good being over there and needing these things sorted out. The thing is, if you are a first timer, you don't always know things are not 'correct' until you are out there. Then, it becomes painful and costly to sort out.

wayne. Interesting what you say about the confirmation number. That is what I am most worried about, although others recently have said they've had no problem - I would want to book everything online where practical, no ADRs by telephone. I have specifically asked this question in my email and have not yet had a reply. I also asked, by telephone, about the cost of changing dates etc should something happen and I was told when it is more money, they won't necessarily charge a fee, but it can depend what it is. Can't recall exact amount but was told there was an admin fee of about £25? I can kind of understand this - they are a business after all and it is their time to change bits. But I see Disney don't charge. The issue for us would be using Disney direct (which I am happy to do), as they don't allow split holidays from what I can gather - certainly not on-site then off-site, which is our intention. If they do, then please someone correct me and I'll give them a call.

 

[wayneg]

wayne. Interesting what you say about the confirmation number. That is what I am most worried about, although others recently have said they've had no problem - I would want to book everything online where practical, no ADRs by telephone. I have specifically asked this question in my email and have not yet had a reply. I also asked, by telephone, about the cost of changing dates etc should something happen and I was told when it is more money, they won't necessarily charge a fee, but it can depend what it is. Can't recall exact amount but was told there was an admin fee of about £25? I can kind of understand this - they are a business after all and it is their time to change bits. But I see Disney don't charge. The issue for us would be using Disney direct (which I am happy to do), as they don't allow split holidays from what I can gather - certainly not on-site then off-site, which is our intention. If they do, then please someone correct me and I'll give them a call.

Looks like they have changed their T&C's since we used them, they now say they will waive the fee if you increase the cost by more than £500 (see below) Personally its something I totally disagree with, I am in business myself, if someone booked a bouquet of flowers for £30 then came in again to increase it to £40 I know what reaction I would get if I said there would be a fee to give me more money. So IMO totally unacceptable to charge any fee when increasing holiday value.

Split stays I have always booked the offsite hotel separate to my Disney package, I find it cheaper than using CO who tend to be expensive for offsite hotels.

Changes made by you to a confirmed booking

If you wish to change your booking after the confirmation invoice has been issued, the person who originally made & paid for the booking should contact us in writing and we will try to meet the request. All changes are strictly subject to availability at the time of request. If we are able to make the change requested, a non-refundable administration fee of £75 per person per alteration will be payable, as well as any applicable rate changes or extra costs incurred as well as any costs incurred by ourselves and any costs or charges incurred or imposed by any of our suppliers. You should be aware that these costs could increase the closer to the departure date that changes are made and you should contact us as soon as possible. Any amendments made by you affecting accommodation, car rental and/or park tickets will incur an amendment fee of £35 total. If the value of the booking has increased to more than £500 from the original booking, the £35 amendment fee will be waived.

 

[Elise79]

How often would you amend and increase a booking by £500 though?

We booked for the in-laws for next year with Disney direct. I messed up and booked them 14 day tickets and we are going to 16 nights. They weren't happy at not having park access everyday but Disney changed it for just the change in tickets which under £50 overall. Wouldn't have been worth it with CO. (In my defence we always have APs so I don't think about number of nights and ticket days ever )

 

[DLPDreams]

Changes made by you to a confirmed booking

If you wish to change your booking after the confirmation invoice has been issued, the person who originally made & paid for the booking should contact us in writing and we will try to meet the request. All changes are strictly subject to availability at the time of request. If we are able to make the change requested, a non-refundable administration fee of £75 per person per alteration will be payable, as well as any applicable rate changes or extra costs incurred as well as any costs incurred by ourselves and any costs or charges incurred or imposed by any of our suppliers. You should be aware that these costs could increase the closer to the departure date that changes are made and you should contact us as soon as possible. Any amendments made by you affecting accommodation, car rental and/or park tickets will incur an amendment fee of £35 total. If the value of the booking has increased to more than £500 from the original booking, the £35 amendment fee will be waived.[/QUOTE]

Don't quite understand this - it says a fee of £75 pp (which is just way too high), then it says £35 per amendment later on? Which is it? There is no way I'd pay £75 pp for an amendment. There is a real chance this could happen to us as our flights will be booked a long time after we book the accommodation. If the flights are a better price a day or two different to our dates, of course we will want to amend the accommodation booking. I mentioned this as an example to CO and they said it wouldn't be an issue but there will be an amendment charge would apply - but I am sure it was less than £35 and it wasn't pp.

Looks like it might not be as straightforward as I thought.

I wouldn't be happy booking off-site accommodation myself (we want a villa for the second part of our holiday) as I have no idea where to start and wouldn't want to take a chance on something like that. I would rather book the whole thing with one TA. But not if the amendment fees are high like that. I have always booked Paris direct with Disney and just organised my own travel to and from the airport (and have booked plenty of other holidays on my own), but this is different. Way more can go wrong with a long haul holiday like this.

Perhaps I need consider another agent? Someone mentioned another lady on here but I can't recall her name and haven't been able to find it. Think she is UK based....? Shame as CO seemed great

 

[wayneg]

Don't quite understand this - it says a fee of £75 pp (which is just way too high), then it says £35 per amendment later on? Which is it? There is no way I'd pay £75 pp for an amendment. There is a real chance this could happen to us as our flights will be booked a long time after we book the accommodation. If the flights are a better price a day or two different to our dates, of course we will want to amend the accommodation booking. I mentioned this as an example to CO and they said it wouldn't be an issue but there will be an amendment charge would apply - but I am sure it was less than £35 and it wasn't pp.

Looks like it might not be as straightforward as I thought.

I wouldn't be happy booking off-site accommodation myself (we want a villa for the second part of our holiday) as I have no idea where to start and wouldn't want to take a chance on something like that. I would rather book the whole thing with one TA. But not if the amendment fees are high like that. I have always booked Paris direct with Disney and just organised my own travel to and from the airport (and have booked plenty of other holidays on my own), but this is different. Way more can go wrong with a long haul holiday like this.

Perhaps I need consider another agent? Someone mentioned another lady on here but I can't recall her name and haven't been able to find it. Think she is UK based....? Shame as CO seemed great

I didn't understand either, maybe the £75 if you have a flight inclusive package, £35 without flights, I don't know, just a guess.

Now for a villa I feel totally the opposite to you, there is no way I would trust an agent with something like that, I would want to know the exact villa and location, deal direct with the owner and know exactly what is included. No way would I trust an agent with that.

Do you mean Val? http://www.travelcounsellors.co.uk/val.ramsay
She is very popular with some people. I just like to be in control of as much as possible and not rely on agents.

 

[DLPDreams]

I didn't understand either, maybe the £75 if you have a flight inclusive package, £35 without flights, I don't know, just a guess.

Now for a villa I feel totally the opposite to you, there is no way I would trust an agent with something like that, I would want to know the exact villa and location, deal direct with the owner and know exactly what is included. No way would I trust an agent with that.

Do you mean Val? http://www.travelcounsellors.co.uk/val.ramsay
She is very popular with some people. I just like to be in control of as much as possible and not rely on agents.

Yes, it's not very clear. I guess nearer the time if we are still considering CO then we will need to get to the bottom of it. I would be surprised if we don't need to change dates slightly once flights are released.

If I had been once before I would be happy to book myself. I just think there are so many options in Orlando, accommodation (split two ways in our case), flights, tickets for this and that, dining, car hire and insurance etc. It is not something I am comfortable taking a chance on when I don't know much about the area or anything. It is going to be a very expensive holiday for the 6 of us. I don't want to do something silly with the booking!

I think it probably was Val - I'll take a look.

Thanks for all your help .

 

[wayneg]

If I had been once before I would be happy to book myself. I just think there are so many options in Orlando, accommodation (split two ways in our case), flights, tickets for this and that, dining, car hire and insurance etc. It is not something I am comfortable taking a chance on when I don't know much about the area or anything. It is going to be a very expensive holiday for the 6 of us. I don't want to do something silly with the booking!

I think it probably was Val - I'll take a look.

Thanks for all your help .

Honestly you hear more problems and things going wrong with agents than you do when you book it all yourself. I am just looking to help relatives book for August, Virgin Holidays want over £5,000 for 2 adults and 1 child in an offsite hotel for 18 nights, I can book them exactly the same flights & hotel for £3,500 or with indirect flights £2,500, all an agent does is put them together and charge you crazy money for doing it.
A couple of years ago Virgin wanted over £12,000 for our package including cruise, I bought all seperate for under £6,000.
Totally your choice but check out all options before committing.

 

[macca77]

I've just got a deal with complete orlando flights virgin, villa at Westridge disney tickets, and car hire £3600 seems a good deal to me unless anyone knows any better before I book?? Dates are oct 22 to nov 6th.

 

[wayneg]

I've just got a deal with complete orlando flights virgin, villa at Westridge disney tickets, and car hire £3600 seems a good deal to me unless anyone knows any better before I book?? Dates are oct 22 to nov 6th.

How many people is that for?
Which airport you leaving from?
What size car?
What type of tickets?

 

[macca77]

2ad 1ch 1infant. From manchester direct with virgin. Took the car off as it's cheaper with other companies but it's a mid size 4x4 and it's the14 day disney tickets. Thanks Wayne. So price without car is 3390.

 

[wayneg]

2ad 1ch 1infant. From manchester direct with virgin. Took the car off as it's cheaper with other companies but it's a mid size 4x4 and it's the14 day disney tickets. Thanks Wayne. So price without car is 3390.

£1,320.66 (or £1,257.66 + 4,200 miles)
2x 14 day Ultimates £570
3 bed villa at Westridge with Complete Orlando £1004

Total £2894, £496 less than their package quote, a little more if you have 4,200 miles to use.

All prices could be less elsewhere, they were the first I searched. Plus cashback possible with Quidco, 1% on VA flights, 2% on tickets. Biggest saving possibly with villa, £1004 seems high for that.

 

[macca77]

I am still missing a child off that quote Wayne 2 adults 1 child and 1 infant. Should have said child age is 7 and infant 1. So I assume if I had that it would be over the quote I have had? Thank you for having a look.

 

[wayneg]

I am still missing a child off that quote Wayne 2 adults 1 child and 1 infant. Should have said child age is 7 and infant 1. So I assume if I had that it would be over the quote I have had? Thank you for having a look.

Sorry I misread your post, I totally missed the child so yes looks a fair quote unless you can make a good saving on the villa, £1004 seems a lot for that part of it but you can't make massive savings on that price.