Oh the FRUSTRATION . . . Dvc and Grand Gatherings! UPDATE!! (IN the last post)

[danders2]

The past three days have made me very unhappy with the grand gathering service through dvc. Can anyone explain to me why Grand gatherings and DVC can not be linked?

A little history . . .

We booked a grand villa for 10 way back in September for July fourth week. We have been waiting patiently for the ninety day mark to book the wishes fire works cruise.

I originally thought that the ninety day mark was last saturday. I get up early, call Grand Gatherings (not DVC) and they tell me 90 days is on Sunday, but they give me dates for the three cruises that week.

In the meantime on saturday, our 10 becomes 12.

On Sunday, I call Grand Gatherings to book our cruise. Uh oh, I can't. The Grand Gatherings people can not access the DVC grand gatherings. (go figure). They suggest to call back on Monday, after all, this is no Cinderella's table!

Since I teach Kindergarten, there is no time for me to call MS until after school on Monday. I do, and first, I change my travel party. Then proceed to book my cruise. Uh oh, I can't. The Grand gathering coordinator has to modify my travel party, which will take till tuesday, call back then, after all, this is no Cinderella's table.

After school on Tuesday, I call ms again to book my cruise. On hold for 20 minutes, get a cm, she will transfer me to the grand gatherings. Uh oh, I get transfered back to the main que. Another 20 minutes, get a new cm, expain the situation again, on hold again. Guess what, they do not have 12 on my resort reservation. I have to redo all the names, but no problem, she can have it modified and I can go ahead and book cruise.

Okay, here we go. Uh oh, no availablity, period! After numerous questions about why I could not book on sunday, or monday, and many many frustrations, and 96 minutes on the phone, mostly on hold, the ms cm and grand gatherings cm come to the conclusion that if I wanted availability, I should have called first thing sunday, or even on monday morning as there was availability then.

I am fuming at this point. I try one more time to just call the regular grand gatherings number, still to no avail. However, this cm did make an interesting point. The July 2nd cruise was being booked prior to 90 days out. That is why it was sold out on sunday morning so early. Okay, I ask about the possibility of adding any cruises, and with my luck, of course not.

I really would like to write someone about the fact that because I am DVC, I was shut out of booking a very popular attraction for 24 hours while everyone else (non DVC) had first dibs, and the cruise was being sold prior to the ninety day mark when I was told I had to wait. This upsets me, I thought we would have benefits ( which we do, I know) but I did not realize that there would be such major draw backs.

I now have 12 very disappointed people. I will keep trying for cancellations and such, but I really have no hope at this point. Please help me with addresses and emails so that I can tell how disappointed I am in the gap in the system.

TIA

danders2

 

[dianeschlicht]

After trying to plan a Grand Gathering for 12 through DVC last year, I finally gave up and did all of our own planning. It just didn't seem to be compatable.

 

[Cyndy]

I have had the same experience and frankly, as a professional event planner I am less than impressed with the process. I knew when we booked our OKW trip w/in the 90 day window that things like the fireworks cruise would be a long shot, but if they have the demand, why can;t they book another cruise. This is obviously a big hit and I'd have been happy if they waitlisted till they had the magic number to make an additional boat profitable to Disney.

Frankly, I am like Diane, I think that many of us do a better job on just working the details out on our own.

I really was testing this process for a trip next June with another portion of the family. Unless I see something much more magical with this process, I'm not going to bother next year.

One more note, DVC staff never even mentioned the Grand Gathering when I booked, I just happened upon the video a few weeks ago and called back to get the process added to our ressies. No one at DVC seemed very interested in the process, so maybe they lack enthusiastic support due to their experiences.

 

[DrTomorrow]

This is just pure speculation, but I'd bet that the GG marketing plan (and that's what it is - marketing) was intended to get more paying guests into WDW theme parks and WDW resorts. Since Disney doesn't make any lodging money when DVCers use points, they probably didn't assign any value to having GG work well with DVC.

This may actually be a case where being a DVC owner makes one seem less valuable, at least in the eyes of marketing.

IMHO - YMMV

 

[sandieb]

I used Grand Gatherings last year, and I also needed to go through DVC MS. They referred me to a planner for GG. It did help me obtain some of the PS I needed for certain meals. Unfortunately, I was not able to access any of the GG special events due to lack of availablility. I would write DVC and describe your experience. I think they are interested in our feedback. This may be smoke, but I think under the new management, Jim Lewis is looking for opportunities for improvement. Sandie

 

[Poohs Pal]

We have a large group going in december. I had thought about doing a grand gathering. If it will be a problem booking grand gathering events what other benefit would there be for booking a grand gathering? Susan

 

[TwirlerGirl]

We have a Grand Gathering of 14 scheduled for May. I have found that the only help I got was for dinner PS at Ohanas. In this case they transfered me to group dining, at the 90 day mark. They only had a few time slots available for my party - 3 tables of 6 altough I would have preferred 2 tables of 8. To top it off they can't assure me that our tables would even be close together. So much for group dining.

I too, wanted to book an Cruise. I called every mornig at 6:45 AM, spoke with CM by 6:58 AM only to find that there was nothing available. The cruises are harder to get than Cindy's for breakfast. Disappointed yes, oh well, it was not to be. DVC and GG, very little service for the amount of time it has taken to book the event let alone the amount of $$$$'s we'll drop while there. I don't think that I'm special just because I own DVC; just would like the same amount of service as the occassional resort visitor.


Sandy

 

[Mike]

The problem is not just the compatibility between GG and DVC. The problem is that no one in the GG office knows what they are doing. I have posted many times about this - this office is an absolute embarassment to Disney. I had nothing but problems with them last year. My travel Agent from Dreams Unlimited had the same issues with them and she even commented how useless they were. Every phone call resulted in a different CM giving me a different process to follow. As I followed the instructions I would inevitably get another CM whou would tell me that the instructions I was following were not correct and that I needed to do it this way. Then that would lead me down another path. This went on for days. The good news is that I was eventually able to book the Magical Fireworks Voyage - but it was still relatively unknown back then and not as popular as it is now. But even when we showed up to check in for the cruise they still had the wrong number of people in my party!!!! I was told that I was lucky because even though I gave incorrect info, the additional person was my 18 month old niece and they could add her in but if she was older I would have been out of luck I confirmed my entire party by name and age several times with all of the clueless CMs that I spoke with on each phone call. It was truly unbelievable.

 

[DISNEYWORLDBORN2SHOP]

I attempted a GG last November for a stay that was not DVC. I had the exact same problems as all the other posters. GG does not know what they are doing or how to remedy their own problems. Quite frankly it was a joke and I just gave up.

 

[SoCalKDG]

Just wondering why you wouldn't just book a cruise at 90 days on your own like most people do and forget about GG. You call, you reserve, its done.

P.S. I thought the wishes cruise was overated since you are a pretty fair distance from the castle. I would like to try Illuminations some time.

 

[Mike]

Just wondering why you wouldn't just book a cruise at 90 days on your own like most people do and forget about GG. You call, you reserve, its done.

P.S. I thought the wishes cruise was overated since you are a pretty fair distance from the castle. I would like to try Illuminations some time.

Tha Magical Fireworks Voyage is different than a pontoon rental for Illuminations or Wishes. It is a large boat that holds roughly 50 people and can only be booked if you have a GG#. You start the night with a dessert reception at the Contemporary then board your boat. There is a pirate on board and there is storytelling and prizes for the kids. You see the EWP up close and then head on over for a fantastic view of Wishes with the music piped right onto the boat. When the boat returns to the Contemporary marina Peter Pan is waiting at the dock and is available for pictures and autographs. It is a very nice event but a pain in the you-know-what to book due to incompetent GG CMs.

 

[disney4me4ever]

Just wondering why you wouldn't just book a cruise at 90 days on your own like most people do and forget about GG. You call, you reserve, its done.

There is a difference between the Magical Fireworks cruise through Grand Gatherings and the Wishes cruise. The Magical Fireworks cruise (only available to GG parties) starts out with a dessert buffet at the Contemporary and includes a character meet-n-greet with Captin Hook and Mr. Smee. At the conclusion of the cruise, Peter Pan meets you at the dock. I have only read great reviews of this. We're booked to go next Monday night. I would say, I agree with everyone else. There is no coordination between DVC and Grand Gatherings. The process to book is so cumbersome, it's unbelievable. Definetely room for improvement.

Nancy

 

[RumpleMom]

We had the same problems with our January 2005 Grand Gatherings arrangements. Between trying to book the GG Fireworks Cruise, dining seatings and the Segway Tour I was beyond my limit of patience.

I had to call Member Services, WDW-Tour, WDW-Plan and WDW-Dine way too many times. THEN when it was all finally settled DFIL became hospitalized(not life threatening) the week before our trip. That made us 6 and not 8, thus not a Magical Gathering. SOOOOOOOOOOOO I had to call and change all of the priority seatings and we could no longer be on the Fireworks Cruise. Luckily, we could book the Wishes Fireworks cruise, just not the big boat. Well, it took until late March to get our refund for the cruise we never took and cancelled before the deadline for canceling. They wanted to only refund $100 of the charge, saying that was their policy, until I faxed the paper I had received from them with the reservation stating their policy. I was well within the deadline. Fortunately, I keep all papers in order and I'm very careful every time I talk to Disney about getting the name of the person I'm talking with. By the way, AirTran was superb with the change in plans.

 

[SoCalKDG]

There is a difference between the Magical Fireworks cruise through Grand Gatherings and the Wishes cruise. The Magical Fireworks cruise (only available to GG parties) starts out with a dessert buffet at the Contemporary and includes a character meet-n-greet with Captin Hook and Mr. Smee. At the conclusion of the cruise, Peter Pan meets you at the dock. I have only read great reviews of this. We're booked to go next Monday night. I would say, I agree with everyone else. There is no coordination between DVC and Grand Gatherings. The process to book is so cumbersome, it's unbelievable. Definetely room for improvement. Nancy

Now I understand. The bonus of the desert buffet plus characters is a nice addition. Do they offer the same thing for Illuminations as well.

 

[danders2]

Wohoo!!!! We got our Wishes cruise!!!

I have called every day for the past three weeks (almost)! I have been trying to catch a cancellation.

I guess they got tired of hearing from me, because they added a cruise on a different night, and we were able to book it for all twelve people!!!

My grand gathering will be so happy!!! I will be the princess planner .

Now if I can get MS to get the names of the people on my grand gathering correct . . .

 

[jnrrt]

Excuse me for butting into this thread, but I've never heard of this cruise, and it sounds great! Can anyone tell me how much it is and the (depending apparently on the CM ) protocol for booking it?

We'll be there in Sept. with 11 people and 2 babies. Do we qualify as a GG and are there any others benefits to being booked as one? I had thought just to do all our own planning, but maybe I'm missing something...

 

[danders2]

You do qualify for a Grand Gathering. The Wishes Magical voyage is only booked through Grand gatherings for a minimum of 8 people (not including babies).

The cost is 34.99 per adult and 19.99 per child. There are other Grand Gathering experiences like a safari and other dessert buffets (can't remember all of them now), but you have to be registered as a grand gathering to be able to book these.

Outside of the exclusive experiences, I have had more hassel than benefit from our grand gathering and ended up just booking most of it myself.

 

[Jacksmom99]

Can anyone tell me how many cruises there might be in a given week? I was hoping they ran everynight, but this doesn't seem to be the case. We are going the third week of August and there are only about 5 nights that we'll qualify as a GG before 1/2 our group heads home.

Also, I have a GG number through MS. What's my next step? Should I call GG and see if they have cruise dates? Should I call MS and see if anyone can help me there? I have about a month before my 90 day mark, I need to get this sorted out!

TIA,
Kim

 

[Fenceman]

You guys have me really scared. I have 22-1/2 (one person is pregnant) going and have 1 week until I call to make the GG arrangements. We are leaning toward the the Epcot dinner and Illuminations desert and private area.

DVC said it would be no problem booking through them. We have 3 - 2 bedrooms at OKW. Do you think one Unlimited drink cup is enought?

Has anyone had experience with this dinner/firework GG?

Bill

 

[jnrrt]

Could anyone point me to where I can find information on all the things offered as a GG?