Just wanna know WHY ...

[pintrader]

Inspired by Personal? I've been pricing vac packages to WDW?How much does your average trip cost?

I just met a family on the monorail today that said they will NEVER come to Disney without ordering at least one meal per day package as the price of food was so high for them and in the package you can eat whatever, whenever for a fixed price.

They also said they'd use the Disney Reservation Center next time too, because they missed out on being told so much information that they have learned now that they are on property and it is too late to benefit from it. (Have no idea just what she meant, but listened politely anyway)

Do any of you use Disney's Reservations and why or why not?

 

[Whitegloves]

We most always use Disney's reservations system. I am a do- it- myself type of person. There is something about getting that Disney confirmation in the mail that just adds to the magic.
We did use Dreams Unlimited once and they were great, I just prefer to do it myself.
Smiles,
Diane =0)

 

[kadaten]

I assume by "Disney Reservations" she actually meant the WDTC? If so...

No, because it isn't in their best interest to save me money, they aren't allowed to tell you about discounts unless you ask, and you can almost always put it together a la carte for less. I prefer to do my own research, as I'm the only one who knows what I and my family want to do and what will be fun for us. I do enough research that I don't miss out on much, and I know if I didn't know about something, it's only because I didn't look enough, not because someone else didn't bother to tell me.

That said, I do ask CM's when I call to make ressies and PS their opinion on things I haven't tried yet. Or I may ask what their favorite restaurant is if I'm looking for ideas for something new to try....they do have lots of good info, but when it comes to price, they can't tell you about the deals unless you already know to ask!

 

[oogieboogie]

Why do they have 2 reservations centers? What does WDTC do that CRO doesn't or vice versa?

I'm puzzled now.

 

[kadaten]

The differences are getting less and less as they're combining them or cross-training CM's or something...

Anyway, rrom-only ressies go through CRO and all packages go through WDTC. WDTC can also do all the other things a full-service travel agency can do...like arrange airfare, car rental, ground transfers, etc....since they are a full-service travel agency CRO doesn't offer the extra services.

I'm sure there are other differences, like the deposit policy, etc but I don't know them all.

 

[pintrader]

kadaten,
correct me if I am wrong but may I restate your thought to see if I understood it?

Do you mean that if I were to ask "Is there a discount that would apply to me?" (very general question) that "they" would not offer the best deal available to me?

or did you mean that you have to know to specifically ask for the (made up name) wish makers and dream doers package running for seasonal passholders to get ANY discount at all?

If I call and say I am a Florida resident, Annual Passholder, AAA, member with AARP, do you believe they WOULD or WOULD NOT get me all the discounts that they could apply?

As kadaten said she knows her family better than anyone, but I thought the "wishes" or whatever they are called you use to get things or go places were versatile enough that you could go whereever and do whatever your family liked that the vouchers allowed. Is that not correct? Does kadaten mean they try to plan your every minute for you. Now I fell dumb and confused.

Disney seems to know and acknowledge that their repeat customers are the ones who keep them going.

I have one other question free-for-all for anyone. why does anyone beleive it would not be in Disney's best interest to give a family the best deal they can. If they can save someone money somewhere along the line and that money "might" be used for a future trip what would be the motivation to make it so expensive that everyone gets disgusted and stops coming?

 

[LibertyBelle]

sorry wrong thread

 

[kadaten]

Originally posted by pintrader
kadaten,
correct me if I am wrong but may I restate your thought to see if I understood it?

Do you mean that if I were to ask "Is there a discount that would apply to me?" (very general question) that "they" would not offer the best deal available to me?

or did you mean that you have to know to specifically ask for the (made up name) wish makers and dream doers package running for seasonal passholders to get ANY discount at all?

If I call and say I am a Florida resident, Annual Passholder, AAA, member with AARP, do you believe they WOULD or WOULD NOT get me all the discounts that they could apply?

As kadaten said she knows her family better than anyone, but I thought the "wishes" or whatever they are called you use to get things or go places were versatile enough that you could go whereever and do whatever your family liked that the vouchers allowed. Is that not correct? Does kadaten mean they try to plan your every minute for you. Now I fell dumb and confused.

Disney seems to know and acknowledge that their repeat customers are the ones who keep them going.

I have one other question free-for-all for anyone. why does anyone beleive it would not be in Disney's best interest to give a family the best deal they can. If they can save someone money somewhere along the line and that money "might" be used for a future trip what would be the motivation to make it so expensive that everyone gets disgusted and stops coming?

What I mean is if you call and make a reservation, they will not say "are you a Florida resident? If so, we have special FL resident rates available for your time frame." YOU have to say "I'm a FL resident, are there any discounts for my time frame?"

They just released that new summer code a couple of weeks ago. If you didn't know about it, they would not offer it to you when you call in to make reservations....they would book you at rack rate.

This isn't malicious of Disney...it's just that they're in business to make money, and they make more money at rack rates so they will book you at rack rate unless you know you're eligible for a discount and ask for it. Same with every hotel chain. When you call up Days Inn, they don't offer you a AAA rate....you have to ask for it.

Disney isn't going to point out to someone that it would be much cheaper to buy an annual pass to use on their trip, even if it's only one trip, because it will save them WAY more money on the hotel rates. It's not in their best interest..... there's nothing wrong with that....it's business. That's what shareholders expect the company to do....make money,

Do they plan every minute for you? No, that's not what I meant and I'm sorry if I came across that way, and certainly didn't mean to make you feel dumb. It's just they're interested in selling folks lots of extra stuff that I know many people don't end up being able to use! Many people spend most of their time in the park and don't find the time to use some of their Wishes, but they've already paid for them! So they end up losing money that they could have used to put towards meals, souvenirs, etc. I just know that if I do the research, I can put together my own set of ressies, PS, etc. and do it much cheaper than a package!

Didn't mean to hurt anyone's feelings, and if I did, then I apologize. If I was a little hard-edged, that certainly wasn't my intention, and hope we can all chalk it up to being sleepy while DISing last night

 

[MomE@Home]

We had to change our ressie for Ft. Wilderness last week and the CM asked if we belonged to AAA(we had totally forgotten about that discount), we told her we did so she gave us our discount !

 

[Magickndm]

Originally posted by pintrader

Disney seems to know and acknowledge that their repeat customers are the ones who keep them going.

I really wish I could believe that. The only time I felt appreciated about being a returning customer was after 9/11, they bent over backwards with small special things to enhance being an annual passholder.

 

[pintrader]

thanks for the explanation K. And no hard feelings from me. Just wondered if I had wandered into Naive land for a moment.

I read on another thread that people did not like to book through Disney to use packages because they got charged for things like arrival day and departing day, Length of Stay passes that they felt cheated out of as they could not use them.

I called Disney Reservations (DR) and asked if there was a way to avoid that and they said ABSOLUTELY! Just ask for a room only res on your arriving and departing day and then ask for the pkg for the remaining days of vacation.

I am going to look for that other thread to see if I can find it to post this there as well.

I think you are right, though. I have never called ANYWHERE and had them say are you this? Do you belong to that? It's like shooting an arrow in the air with a blindfold on.

I know when I want to save money I leave no stone unturned and no question unasked.

Anyone else have any thoughts on rerasons to, or NOT to use DR?

 

[PamNC]

We don't have kids - just me and my husband. For our trips, we take the do-it-yourself route. For the last 4 years, we've been staying at deluxe resorts but only with a hefty discount - either AP or room only.

If the trip requires we buy/renew our AP we spend about $3,200. If not, we spend about $2,500. This is for a 7 night trip.

We sometimes take smaller 3-4 night trips (always when we have an active AP) and those trips run $1000 - $1300.

PamNC

 

[jcemom]

I don't go through Disney, but if they changed their online system to accept discount codes when available I would! I don't like calling anyone, and prefer to do everything online.

As far as packages go, I just can't see where the value is in the UPH or the wishes for me personally. The wishes cost, I think, $68/day for an adult. Even if I were able to eat two large meals each day (and I can't) the places I would choose wouldn't cost $34+ each meal anyway. And no matter how I figured the UPH's for our trip I couldn't come out ahead, though probably because we don't go to a park everyday choosing to have down time in the middle.

 

[HaleyB]

I always think it is funny that people get all over Disney for not offering people discounts they do not ask for. Imagine any other business, say your dry cleaner- do they inform you that there is a coupon in such and such paper?

I used WDTC for our trip. I was booking the kids play free package. I asked if there were 'any other discounts that would be better for my family' and the CM spent a long time on the phone with me checking. Also she explained that they do not have a list or anything like that, they have to have the code to punch in and then it comes up on their system. She did say she kept notes whenever she booked with a code, in case anyone asked. It turns out kids play free was and is the best deal for our family/resort/length of stay. She made sure to clearly explaine the PS reservations system, answered many questions about transportation and check in, and never tried to sell me an add on.

In short I found WDTC very helpful and willing to offer information when asked. I like getting my confirmations from Disney. If nothing else, it is fun to get so much mail from Disney! Also I don't know if this was because I booked with WDTC or if I just had a good CM, or if everyone gets this... but I was sent a packet of information that included a little booklet with maps of all the parks and some information on Gatherings. I ordered the vaction planning CD, but not this, this just came by surprise!

 

[HaleyB]

Oh and one more thing, Disney actually will tell you if an AP is your best bet. When I first called (before the visa deal came out) while in the "thinking about going" stage and said I wanted to check the price on a 9 day Dream Maker package the CM told me AP's and room only would be better than a Dream Maker. I called the 800 number so maybe I was talking to CRO??? I also saw another post the other day that said "Disney told me AP's were my best bet" I was almost sad when the Visa deal came out because I could no longer justify the AP's (My husband never beleived they would be cheaper, he realized right away we just go more often!).

 

[kadaten]

Originally posted by HaleyB
I like getting my confirmations from Disney. If nothing else, it is fun to get so much mail from Disney! Also I don't know if this was because I booked with WDTC or if I just had a good CM, or if everyone gets this... but I was sent a packet of information that included a little booklet with maps of all the parks and some information on Gatherings. I ordered the vaction planning CD, but not this, this just came by surprise!

FYI....you get all that even without a package....we always do room only and AP...Disney confrmations, the new booklet with maps, etc....the boooklet is part of the new Magical Gatherings advertising campaign.

Doesn't everyone get Disney confirmations anyway? Or maybe if you go through a travel agent you don't? Don't know....I've always done it myself....DH booked our honeymoon through his dad's travel agent (our first trip together) but since he was doing it all, I don't know if he got stuff from Disney or not. I DO know he paid way more than he should have and we've done it all ourselved ever since!!

 

[pintrader]

i thought everyone got those letters too