r_neubauer
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Jan 5, 2007
- Messages
- 1
We just got back from our vacation to WDW. The beginning of our vacation was a nightmare, but it had a happy ending. Here is our story:
We booked a hotel (which shall remain nameless) back in early December. We received a phone confirmation and an email confirmation. A down payment had already been charged to our credit card.
On Wednesday, December 27 my wife and I, along with our two daughters (ages eight and five) arrived in Orlando at 11:00 p.m. via Southwest Air. A driver from FL Tours was at the airport to pick us up and take us to our hotel. However, the driver told us he had called ahead to the hotel and was told that the hotel was closed for renovations.
We were sure there had been some mistake (we had a confirmation number, our VISA had already been charged), so we had him call again. After repeated phone calls from our driver and me, we were finally convinced that the hotel was in fact closed. Someone from the hotel referred our driver to a sister hotel, so we called that number. Unfortunately, there were no vacancies. Our driver also noted that the number he called was in a different area code. We had booked this particular hotel specifically because it was close to Disney and there was a free shuttle to the parks.
Fortunately our driver from FL Tours, Daren Deneau, was great. He told us that we were his last stop and he wouldnt leave us until we had a hotel. We told Daren we were looking for something about $100 per night, close to the parks, with a free shuttle (essentially what we had already booked) . While Daren drove from the airport, his office began calling hotels in the area. Unfortunately, they got back to us shortly to let us know they had called around and there was no way we were going to find something for that price on such short notice during Christmas week. We asked them to look for something less than $150 per night. In the meantime, Daren drove us around the Palm Parkway area. We stopped at a few hotels, including the Holiday Inn Express, but no rooms were available. We saw the Comfort Inn had a vacancy, so we quickly drove there. However, the woman at the front desk said they had booked their last room five minutes ago and hadnt changed the sign yet. Eventually, after about 90 minutes of driving and calling (and a minor crying spell from my eight-year-old daughter) we found a room at the Residence Inn for $149 per night.
We wound up staying there all week (it was very nice) and our original hotel agree to reimburse us for our added expense. So it all worked out in the end.
But I shudder to think what would have happened to us if we had decided to rent a car, or if we had used a car service less "user-friendly".
FL Tours rocks!
We booked a hotel (which shall remain nameless) back in early December. We received a phone confirmation and an email confirmation. A down payment had already been charged to our credit card.
On Wednesday, December 27 my wife and I, along with our two daughters (ages eight and five) arrived in Orlando at 11:00 p.m. via Southwest Air. A driver from FL Tours was at the airport to pick us up and take us to our hotel. However, the driver told us he had called ahead to the hotel and was told that the hotel was closed for renovations.
We were sure there had been some mistake (we had a confirmation number, our VISA had already been charged), so we had him call again. After repeated phone calls from our driver and me, we were finally convinced that the hotel was in fact closed. Someone from the hotel referred our driver to a sister hotel, so we called that number. Unfortunately, there were no vacancies. Our driver also noted that the number he called was in a different area code. We had booked this particular hotel specifically because it was close to Disney and there was a free shuttle to the parks.
Fortunately our driver from FL Tours, Daren Deneau, was great. He told us that we were his last stop and he wouldnt leave us until we had a hotel. We told Daren we were looking for something about $100 per night, close to the parks, with a free shuttle (essentially what we had already booked) . While Daren drove from the airport, his office began calling hotels in the area. Unfortunately, they got back to us shortly to let us know they had called around and there was no way we were going to find something for that price on such short notice during Christmas week. We asked them to look for something less than $150 per night. In the meantime, Daren drove us around the Palm Parkway area. We stopped at a few hotels, including the Holiday Inn Express, but no rooms were available. We saw the Comfort Inn had a vacancy, so we quickly drove there. However, the woman at the front desk said they had booked their last room five minutes ago and hadnt changed the sign yet. Eventually, after about 90 minutes of driving and calling (and a minor crying spell from my eight-year-old daughter) we found a room at the Residence Inn for $149 per night.
We wound up staying there all week (it was very nice) and our original hotel agree to reimburse us for our added expense. So it all worked out in the end.
But I shudder to think what would have happened to us if we had decided to rent a car, or if we had used a car service less "user-friendly".
FL Tours rocks!
It would've been nice to know what the FL Tours driver name was. He should be recognized. 
