Dreams Unlimited Travel??

[Belle27]

Hi everyone, has anyone heard of Dreams Unlimited Travel?! We go to WDW shortly, but do not have a place to stay yet for the first 2 of our 8 nights. We will be staying at the Dolphin, and would prefer to not have to switch hotels. The Dreams Unlimited website offers a discount for nurses of $139.00/night for Standard or $199.00/night Concierge (as compared to the $205/night conference rate for Standard), but I hesitate to use Dreams Unlimited having not heard anything about them before.

I called the Starwood reservations number the other day, and was told that I could get the either the $139.00 standard rate or the $199.00 Concierge rate. No problem. It would be nice to stay in a club level room for $199.00/night, my husband just wanted to make sure changing the reservations to my name (for the nurse discount) would not adversely effect the conference planning committee. It turns out, not only does it effect the attendance goals, there is a rule that if you do not book your hotel room as part of the conference, the contract with the Dolphin prohibits one from entering the conference, even though the room and the conference were each booked and payed for at 2 different times!! When I questioned the validity of that statement, the reservations clerk checked with her manager. and came back to tell me she was wrong, still I felt I needed to discuss this with him before committing. (His company is spending a lot of money to be there, and I did not want to be the one to cause trouble. I'm very relieved I did not change our reservations!)

So today I called the number for the Dolphin directly, and was very rudely informed by "Jackie" that yes, it is noted in our reservation that I called previously about the discount, but the offer is no longer available because I did not book immediately when I called the first time. She also then informed me that if I would have changed the reservations, my husband would be prohibited from entering the conference!

Anyway, sorry for such a lengthy post, I'm just floored, I have been to many conferences and have never been "forced" to stay in the host hotel (even conferences in Orlando, even held at the Dolphin). The clerk told me this is a "Dolphin" rule.

Although the Dolphin is not starting off by "making memories" (at least not positive ones!), it would be a whole lot easier if we didn't have to switch hotels, so if anyone has any experience/info with Dreams Unlimited, please let me know!

FYI to anyone interested in the nurse discount-you need to show proof on check-in. They also offer it to teachers & government workers.

Thanks!

 

[moosebug]

People can be so rude!!! I'd have told her where to stick it...

Anyhoo--, I am currently using Dreams for my Dec. trip. My travel agent Rob is wonderful. I think he thinks I am Disney obsessed though...WDW actually charges your card and Dreams takes care of everything for you. I wish I would have used them in my 2000 trip. I was going to but like you I was hesitant. But whne I came back to these boards and found they were still around they must be doing something right!!

 

[cantwaittogo]

We used Dreams Unlimited for our trip last October and we were very pleased. I only used them for the hotel reservation, but they were excellent. We were not able to get the exact buildings we requested at POR-RS, but the CM there was very accomodating and managed to get us rooms in a building right next to what we requested. The whole vacation went very smoothly. I had Nikole from DU and she was super sweet and provided us with a recommended itinerary for our time there which was a huge help since it was our first visit. She never made me feel like I was asking too many 'stupid' questions, and made herself available should we have run into any problems once we arrived in DW (we didn't). Additionally, about a week before we left, our rooms dropped in price by $50/nite, so we got them for $99/nite. Nikole did all the checking on discounts, etc. for us periodically until our trip. I highly recommend DU.

 

[Sandi]

I've used Dreams for three trips in the last couple of years. Carole Annette and everyone else was very helpful. I believe they're associated with the DIS and have done a fantastic job for me. I have recommended them to friends and they've also been delighted with their work and professionalism.

 

[akasleepingbeauty]

Pete Werner, who owns/runs these discussion boards and information forums, also owns/run Dreams Unlimited. The travel company has not been around as long as the boards/forums but it has been established for quite a while. Also, many of the employees of Dreams Unlimited are also involved as moderators etc. for these discussion boards.

Dreams Unlimited is a great company (no, I don't work for them nor do I have any affiliation with them) and you should have no problems at all using them for your vacation plans.

Good luck!!

 

[LisaNJ25]

I have also used DU and loved it. They are always very helpful with suggestions.
I used them last April and again for this trip in August.

For those of you who have used them do you know when you "itinerary" section started to fall in place.

I was thinking maybe 60 days before. I love seeing what is going on at each park each day.
It also makes a great printout to take with you.

I had Diana last year and Bob this year.

 

[Belle27]

Thanks everyone!! After reading all of the positive feedback, I booked online with Dreams Unlimited; it took all of 5 minutes, AND I got the rate I wanted!! (We leave in 2 days!) I'll let you know how it turns out, thanks again.

 

[figment13]

I used dreams last year and again this year for my oct/nov vacation. Had Bob help me this year and he has been exceptional. i wouldn't book a trip to the magic place any other way. Definitely use them.

 

[jeleebeene]

and they are a great company. Merrie is helping me with our trip in July, and she has been great! Everyone I have spoken with was friendly and very helpful! I would definitely use them again for a future trip!!

 

[duck_adoo]

Hi. We're using DUL for the first time for our trip in Aug. Dagny has been great!!!!! We've actually changed our lodging 3 times. (Started at AsMo, but got a post card so changed to AKL, the WL) She's been great! As far as the itenary...I don't think the hours for August have been posted yet,so I'm not sure that they can do an itinary yet. Our tentative plans are now appearing though!
Duck

 

[CathyCanada]

Rhonda, the check is in the mail!!

Thank you all for the kind words about our agents. They work VERY hard for their clients and do what they do because they love to do it. You have no idea how excited we get when we can save our clients money!

I'm very proud of all of our agents and anyone who is leery about using Dreams should check out this link
I'll be updating it tonight with more terrific client reports!

Thanks again and wishing you all dream-filled vacations!
Cathy
(President of Dreams Unlimited Travel)

 

[Belle27]

We are back, and as promised, Dreams Unlimited lived up to all of your replies. It was very easy to book, and we had no problems at check-in at the Dolphin-we tried to upgrade to Club level, but the clerk said she was unable to do so without permission, gave us a number to call the following day, and we had success. (The clerk also told us the strike was "almost" over.)

We really liked the Dolphin. Yes, according to the other posts, it may be a bit much, but remember, you're at Disney! It was clean and it offered all of the amenities important to us-GREAT view, close proximity to parks, multiple restaurants.... It is huge, and a little overwhelming when we got there late evening looking for a "quick" bite to eat. (FYI, Jaun & Only's is closed, but is still listed in the literature/promotionals). Also, we are not big fans of the buffets at the All Star resorts, too loud, too many people...but the "Buffeteria" here is much nicer. They also offer other buffets in addition to an Italian Rest. We ate at the Italian Restaurant our first night-the service was OK, but I'm sure I heard a sigh when we told our waiter we were splitting calamari and a pizza. The food was good, but I became ill immediately after eating. I'm not sure what it was, the only thing I had different from my husband & 7 yo daughter was an Italian beer- he had bottled beer, she had soda, they were fine.

The Disney Club Card was very useful to us-we used it at the Dolphin/Swan restaurants (except Shula's), Downtown Disney, Rainforest Cafe, and to buy park tickets....

We bought our park tickets on-site. With the Disney Club card the prices were very comparable to the "discount" web sites. A word of advice, we were there for a conference, and I saw on other posts, recommendations to buy park tickets through conferences to save money-beware, these tickets may have an expiration date, usually within a few days of the conference.

Which leads me to another issue, my F-I-L passed away VERY unexpectedly shortly after we arrived. Security was very helpful at finding my husband for me (cell phones don't work in conference areas). The hotel had no problem with us canceling the rest of our stay (4 more nights, but I guess we'll know for sure when the CC bill comes). We couldn't find any available flights out that day (not even for bereavement or emergencies). After trying for about 3 hours (the concierge was also unable to help us) we decided to book the first available flight the next am rather than risk that flight becoming unavailable as well.

We did make it to MGM, and that turned out to be the only park we would make it to. Overall, we give it high ratings, multiple shows were closed. Among them, ABC studios was closed for work (Doug was there last time we were there), Honey, I shrunk the kids was closed without explanation, many of the other shows were over by 5pm, including Hunchback, which we missed. My husband (a Drew Cary fan) & I felt Sounds Dangerous should be closed, but our daughter liked it (I have since heard it is closing). Also, Beauty and the Beast, altough very good, seemed to have less CM's and more props than our last visit. Overall, there seemed to be less Cast Members to help. It was raining, so everything that we did make it to had no wait. We initially thought the Great Movie Ride was closed, but a CM came over to tell us the entrance had been moved. We took our daughter on the TOT for her first and (she says) last time. Lunch at the Hollywood Brown Derby was good but expensive, portions were small, but we know that and like to go there anyway. Fantasmic was outstanding.

Anyway, we have since promised our daughter we will TRY to go back this Fall. Although this is a very difficult time for us, I would like to give her at least some of the Disney trip she was sooo anxiously awaiting for over 1 yr. (Plus, we have unused PHP's!) We will definitely book through DUT, and we hope to stay at the Dolphin. Thanks again for your help. Hopefully, next time our trip will hold better memories.