Last summer I booked a Grand Gathering for 9 of us for June 2005 at CSR on the Dream Maker Silver Plan. I then received an invoice showing what we had paid and the balance due on April 21. We paid off the entire balance immediately (via check, back in August) but I never received any further confirmation or acknowledgement that the payment was received and properly credited.
Fast forward to early March. I go to the Disney website and see that it is now possible to view your reservation on-line even if it wasn't booked on-line. I enter my confirmation number but it isn't accepted and I am given a number to call to get it fixed. I call, but the CM I speak to can't pull up my reservation either. Finally, I give her my 5 digit Grand Gatherings number and she is able to see the reservation but can't access it. Then she says she has fixed it and gives me a new confirmation number and says it should work on-line. We hang up, I go online and the new confirmation number doesn't work either. I get frustrated and decide to give up--the CM had said that all looked well with the reservation.
That day AP codes come out and I decide to do some serious comparison shopping between the Silver Plan at CSR and perhaps converting it to a MYW plan at a deluxe resort using an AP. I call the Grand Gatherings phone number to get some rate information and availability. I give the CM the new confirmation number and he says that is a "room only" confirmation number and anyway, it doesn't come up in his system. I give him the old confirmation number, and that also doesn't come up. I am put on hold. Meanwhile, I look carefully at all of my paperwork and realize that the "new" confirmation number is actually my original room-only confirmation number that I received before I converted it to the package.
After about 20 minutes, the CM comes back on the phone and explains that since they converted their computer systems over for the new package plans, there is the odd Dream Maker plan reservation that can't be called up in the system. He says that the reservation is good and tells me that Guest Services can see it, but if I want to make any changes or additions to the reservation that this one will have to be cancelled and refunded and a new reservation put in place and paid for. That seems crazy to me. I know I will have to add on the Magical Express information eventually and don't want to have to cancel and rebook. I also want a working confirmation number. When I call, I want the calm of knowing that I am actually in the system! The CM says that "they" are trying to get it fixed and puts me on hold again. He checks back in a few times to apologize for the long wait. After a phone call of over 2 hours, he comes back to say that they will continue to try to fix it, but right now he can't do anything--it is now 10:30 PM.
The next day I call back and quickly explain my problem to the new CM. She is immediately unhappy with me. She doesn't understand what my issue is. She insists that although the reservation can't be actually accessed by anyone, it is in the system and so I shouldn't have any concern. She does say that she can put in a request to Systems to fix the reservation. I ask how long that will take, which annoys her further. She has no idea. I ask if I can be called when the problem is fixed. No, she can't do that. I ask if it will take a day?, three days?, a week? so that I will know when to call back to check on it. (At this point, I am trying to be the squeeky wheel. I have wasted too much time to give up now!) She says she won't know until she walks it down to Systems. I say I will hold while she does it. (Plus, her attitude inspired me to continue to push!) She puts me on hold and I figure that I will be on hold for ages as punishment. She comes back about 15 minutes later and is a bit nicer. Now she understands that there really is a problem with the reservation, but Systems tells her that it is a permanent problem that can never be fixed. She says if I want to add in the Magical Express request, that Guest Services can do it for me. I am transferred to Guest Services and the CM there can apparently see and add things to my reservation (including adding back in a family member that was somehow removed from the reservation!).
I gave up on doing anything more about the reservation and figure I would just wait until the 45 day mark to see if any package materials would arrive--the original Grand Gatherings CM told me that is when it is mailed out--and if I didn't receive anything, I would start hounding the Grand Gatherings folks again.
Then yesterday, my mother asks me to change her room from smoking to non-smoking so that her room can be with the others (and because she is quitting). So, I call the Grand Gatherings number and the CM says, "Hmmm. I can't call up your reservation." and I say, "blah blah blah Silver Plan blah blah blah New System blah blah blah Fatal Error, etc." She is nice and says she will send a note over to Guest Services to make the change so that I don't have to hold. I ask her if should have received some sort of confirmation letter by this point and she doesn't really answer that question but says that the package information will be sent out 21 days before our arrival date (21 days?!?) and that a confirmation will be included in that stuff.
A long story, yes, but hopefully not too boring for my fellow compulsive-planners. My questions are: Should I have received some sort of letter after I paid the August invoice? Does anyone know if they are sending out package materials 21 days in advance or is she does giving me an extreme number to make sure the materials aren't late? Should I be concerned that I don't actually have a working confirmation number, can't view my reservations online and have no idea if my room request change will actually be put on the reservation or should I just assume all is well and live with the fact that every call to Disney will ultimately have to go through Guest Services? Also, with the Dream Maker plan, we are supposed to receive vouchers for priority viewing areas for various parades, fireworks, etc. that then have to be reserved. How soon can those be reserved?
Thanks for listening. After typing this out, now I feel like I have blown things out of proportion. I just want to make sure that all goes smoothly as I am handling all the arrangements for the whole group.
Tracy
Fast forward to early March. I go to the Disney website and see that it is now possible to view your reservation on-line even if it wasn't booked on-line. I enter my confirmation number but it isn't accepted and I am given a number to call to get it fixed. I call, but the CM I speak to can't pull up my reservation either. Finally, I give her my 5 digit Grand Gatherings number and she is able to see the reservation but can't access it. Then she says she has fixed it and gives me a new confirmation number and says it should work on-line. We hang up, I go online and the new confirmation number doesn't work either. I get frustrated and decide to give up--the CM had said that all looked well with the reservation.
That day AP codes come out and I decide to do some serious comparison shopping between the Silver Plan at CSR and perhaps converting it to a MYW plan at a deluxe resort using an AP. I call the Grand Gatherings phone number to get some rate information and availability. I give the CM the new confirmation number and he says that is a "room only" confirmation number and anyway, it doesn't come up in his system. I give him the old confirmation number, and that also doesn't come up. I am put on hold. Meanwhile, I look carefully at all of my paperwork and realize that the "new" confirmation number is actually my original room-only confirmation number that I received before I converted it to the package.
After about 20 minutes, the CM comes back on the phone and explains that since they converted their computer systems over for the new package plans, there is the odd Dream Maker plan reservation that can't be called up in the system. He says that the reservation is good and tells me that Guest Services can see it, but if I want to make any changes or additions to the reservation that this one will have to be cancelled and refunded and a new reservation put in place and paid for. That seems crazy to me. I know I will have to add on the Magical Express information eventually and don't want to have to cancel and rebook. I also want a working confirmation number. When I call, I want the calm of knowing that I am actually in the system! The CM says that "they" are trying to get it fixed and puts me on hold again. He checks back in a few times to apologize for the long wait. After a phone call of over 2 hours, he comes back to say that they will continue to try to fix it, but right now he can't do anything--it is now 10:30 PM.
The next day I call back and quickly explain my problem to the new CM. She is immediately unhappy with me. She doesn't understand what my issue is. She insists that although the reservation can't be actually accessed by anyone, it is in the system and so I shouldn't have any concern. She does say that she can put in a request to Systems to fix the reservation. I ask how long that will take, which annoys her further. She has no idea. I ask if I can be called when the problem is fixed. No, she can't do that. I ask if it will take a day?, three days?, a week? so that I will know when to call back to check on it. (At this point, I am trying to be the squeeky wheel. I have wasted too much time to give up now!) She says she won't know until she walks it down to Systems. I say I will hold while she does it. (Plus, her attitude inspired me to continue to push!) She puts me on hold and I figure that I will be on hold for ages as punishment. She comes back about 15 minutes later and is a bit nicer. Now she understands that there really is a problem with the reservation, but Systems tells her that it is a permanent problem that can never be fixed. She says if I want to add in the Magical Express request, that Guest Services can do it for me. I am transferred to Guest Services and the CM there can apparently see and add things to my reservation (including adding back in a family member that was somehow removed from the reservation!).
I gave up on doing anything more about the reservation and figure I would just wait until the 45 day mark to see if any package materials would arrive--the original Grand Gatherings CM told me that is when it is mailed out--and if I didn't receive anything, I would start hounding the Grand Gatherings folks again.
Then yesterday, my mother asks me to change her room from smoking to non-smoking so that her room can be with the others (and because she is quitting). So, I call the Grand Gatherings number and the CM says, "Hmmm. I can't call up your reservation." and I say, "blah blah blah Silver Plan blah blah blah New System blah blah blah Fatal Error, etc." She is nice and says she will send a note over to Guest Services to make the change so that I don't have to hold. I ask her if should have received some sort of confirmation letter by this point and she doesn't really answer that question but says that the package information will be sent out 21 days before our arrival date (21 days?!?) and that a confirmation will be included in that stuff.
A long story, yes, but hopefully not too boring for my fellow compulsive-planners. My questions are: Should I have received some sort of letter after I paid the August invoice? Does anyone know if they are sending out package materials 21 days in advance or is she does giving me an extreme number to make sure the materials aren't late? Should I be concerned that I don't actually have a working confirmation number, can't view my reservations online and have no idea if my room request change will actually be put on the reservation or should I just assume all is well and live with the fact that every call to Disney will ultimately have to go through Guest Services? Also, with the Dream Maker plan, we are supposed to receive vouchers for priority viewing areas for various parades, fireworks, etc. that then have to be reserved. How soon can those be reserved?
Thanks for listening. After typing this out, now I feel like I have blown things out of proportion. I just want to make sure that all goes smoothly as I am handling all the arrangements for the whole group.
Tracy
) I don't think they can fix my confirmation number. I don't know how many times I should try.
