So disappointed with Dream Unlimited!

[DisneyFan0304]

I had a lot of trouble with DU, too. We used them for a family trip back in 2001. After we made our reservations, I heard about a discount that came out, so I got in touch with him to ask if we had gotten is, and he said "well, I don't think you can get that discount." I asked him to please check, and sure enough, we were able to get it. He never got in touch with us at the 90-day mark to make reservations for Thanksgiving dinner. I had to get in touch with him and ask about it. We ordered tickets for MVMCP and I told him the ages of my niece's kids -- one of them was 2 and he said we had to have a ticket for her, and I later found out that we didn't need the ticket.

Needless to say, I never used them again.

I booked through AAA this year, and so far my agent has been fine.

Have a great trip!!

 

[S. C.]

I've always had great service from DU. Sue Ellen always answered my emails and always made our p.s's.

 

[Mymatisse]

We used DU for our honeymoon and had a wonderful experience (so much so my husband became an agent)! There is no excuse for agents not getting back to you, but I think part of the problem comes in when people aren't proactive. They ask you in the begining what your interest are, what types of PS you would be interested in etc. This is info you have to be forthcoming with and can't just expect because it's 90days out from a PS the agent to KNOW you want to make a PS. You have to express your interest and they will take it from there.

I'm not saying this is the case in the OP's situation, but I think a lot of people who have problems do so because their expectations are not necessarily realistic.

JMO

 

[Disney Planner Mama]

This is the first time I've used a travel agent for a disney vacation. I emailed several, some of whom responded some didn't, got several quotes and went with Small World Vacations. Leigh McCarty is my assigned agent and she has been fantastic.

Latest example: I emailed her with a question last night at around 10PM. It was nothing vital, nothing that required a quick response and I said as much in my email. Woke up this morning and checked my email at about 7:00 and there was a response from Leigh -- that she had left at 6:50 AM--- on a SATURDAY!!!

Now that is a good response time.

 

[Melrosgirl]

I'm a DVC member so I usually don't have to use a TA. I booked a non-DVC trip this spring though and used DU. Sue Ellen got me a AP discount and I periodically received updates about WDW. When I requested a few PS's be made, all I had to do was look on the DU website and see my confirmation #'s. (I am not expecting emails from them every week. I'm guessing when you hit your 15 day mark or so, you'll get an email with your proposed itinerary.)

I booked a cruise last week with them. DU's price was $90 more than another company I have used in the past, but I decided to book with DU again b/c I like to support these boards and b/c they don't charge a cancellation fee (just in case!). $90 was not much considering it's a $5000 cruise.

 

[Melrosgirl]

I had a lot of trouble with DU, too. He never got in touch with us at the 90-day mark to make reservations for Thanksgiving dinner. I had to get in touch with him and ask about it.

I never expected the TA's to remind me about the 90 day mark. If you want a PS, I think it's your job to let them know. They can't read minds. I'm confused as to why more than one person on this thread feels it's the TA's responsibility to remind them about dinner reservations. This is an added perk (getting PS's) that DU will do, but they don't know you want it unless you ask for it.

 

[cslittle999]

I never expected the TA's to remind me about the 90 day mark. If you want a PS, I think it's your job to let them know. They can't read minds. I'm confused as to why more than one person on this thread feels it's the TA's responsibility to remind them about dinner reservations. This is an added perk (getting PS's) that DU will do, but they don't know you want it unless you ask for it.

I agree. To work with a travel agent you have to let them know what you want. It is incredibly unrealistic to assume that the agent would be continuously calling/emailing all of their customers to see if anything had changed. It would also be annoying.

For us DU is great. I email Beth my request and she looks after them. I make sure to let her know my "must haves" before the 90 day mark. No sitting on hold. No waking up early.

On our last trip we wanted to go to CRT on my DD's birthday. DD's birthday was at the end of the trip so Beth suggested getting a CRT PS earlier in the week to be sure that we be able to go during our trip. Beth looked after all of the details.

That's why I booked with DU again for our December trip. Beth's already looked after our MVMCP tickets and PS's.

 

[WebmasterJohn]

Hi folks

I am so sorry to hear some of you have not had the best vacation planning experience possible using Dreams Unlimited Travel.

If anyone would like to email me directly at john@dreamsunlimitedtravel.com please feel free to do so and I will do my best to correct the situation.

Shatzjsl and Honu - I would like to specifically ask both of you to contact me so I can help me.

This is not an excuse but - we are finding many of our emails are going in to our clients 'spam' emails folders. This is especially true if you have an AOL email address. If you feel you are missing communication with DU please check that folder. You can even set up a 'rule' to allow emails from DU to get through and not wind up in your spam folder.

Again, I am always sorry to hear if someone is displeased by the service they are getting from Dreams Unlimited and welcome any and all communication.

Thanks
John

 

[SeaSpray]

I would like to add my own experience with DU to this thread. I just went back through my emails and copied this from one sent by my DU travel agent:

Hey there

Just thought I would check in to see if you needed anything or had any questions. We do need to start thinking about Priority Seatings as our 90 day window for booking is about a month away

Thanks!

She then followed up a week before my 90 day window to make sure she had listed correctly all of the PSs that I had asked for. Her email listed each one of my requests.

I'm very satisfied with the service I'm getting from my DU travel agent

 

[zagafi]

Wow. I'm sorry you had such an awful experience. Thankfully, my experiences with DU (and Carole, specifically) have been the opposite. Carole responds very quickly, and must have the patience of a saint to keep up with all my resort changes. (I'm really pathetic, I know) She even sends out WDW "update" emails periodically.

I tried another "WDW" TA and ran quickly back to DU. I found the service to be unbeatable!

 

[DizWacko]

My experience with DU has been nothing short of horendous. The quote deposit amount they sent me was wrong, they didnt suggest any future discounts that I might qualify for, and I had no followup from anyone after they sent me a quote ... this particular agent didnt deserve a dime for the work that was provided...

I will be doing all booking and research myself in the future.

 

[luvthatdisney]

We are currently using DU for our upcomming 20th anniversary trip. Beth Czada is our TA and she is great. She got us Cindy's breakfast and also got us a ressie for one of the Anniversary/Birthday specialty fireworks cruises. Since we are celebrating our anniversary/my birthday and my DH's birthday all in the same week - I really wanted this fireworks cruise - and she got it!!!!

We also had to completely change our package as we added a person - had to completely change everything including the resort - since it is now 5 of us going vs 4. Beth was great and changed everything quickly. She has been fantastic. This is actually our second vacation with DU - the last being in 2002 (we also had great service then).

We use DU as I am unable to spend alot of time on the phone - due to job, school, etc... I do not expect that DU will be able to get everything I want - you have to be realistic when it comes to Disney - as it is such as popular place. If Beth was not able to get the breakfast or cruise I wanted - I would have been sad, but I would have understood!

I feel if you are unhappy the company needs to know about it. I think DU would go out of their way to make you happy and would possibly change your TA if you asked. I have read great things about Sue Ellen and have personally experienced Beth's great service. I also emailed Beth when my 90 day time arrived (not on the exact date, but about a week before) to make sure she had my credit card info on file and knew what we wanted. As it would happen she did not have my credit card on file and I had to add it again, no biggie

Just like buying a car, you could get a lemon. Not everyone performs up to the expectations of others. But if you are unhappy you need to let them know!!

Just my $0.02 worth!!

 

[cottontail]

Hi: Just wondering how much extra does it cost to use one of the mentioned travel agencies, dreams unlimited, small world travel etc?

Deb.

 

[kandmwedding]

Hi: Just wondering how much extra does it cost to use one of the mentioned travel agencies, dreams unlimited, small world travel etc?

Deb.

I can only give info on DU, since I've never used the others. The cost is NOTHING, ZIP, ZERO!!! They get their commission from Disney (I assume) so the cost to you is nothing over what the trip would cost initially. I'm very surprised at some of the complaints on this thread. I'm planning my fourth trip with DU (Marla is my agent) and have never had any trouble at all. I highly recommend them!

 

[ILoveWDW2003]

Hi: Just wondering how much extra does it cost to use one of the mentioned travel agencies, dreams unlimited, small world travel etc?

Deb.

NOTHING! They are paid a commission from Disney for every trip that is booked - you still pay the same price as if you went thru Disney directly.

 

[goofy4tink]

Hi: Just wondering how much extra does it cost to use one of the mentioned travel agencies, dreams unlimited, small world travel etc?

Deb.

Nothing!!! They get a commision from Disney.

I'll jump on the 'loving DU' boat. I've used Shirley for several trips now. She has always been right on top of things. I have never had to 'remind' her of anything. The form I filled out asked if I had an AP or was a AAA member. She then got me my reservations based on what I qualified for..in my case AP rates. I have to say that I did kind of sit here and laugh at those who were on the phone with CRO the day the AP rates came out. My Shirley was taking care of it for me. Yes, I got antsy waiting to hear from her and it did take 24 hrs. before she sent off the email telling me I had gotten exactly what I wanted. I can't be bothered sitting by the computer, phone in hand, on hold for an hour, with my blood pressure rising, just to get that AP rate. I let DU do it.

As far as PS go...I did get a little nudgey once and started calling on my own....ashamed to admit it. Shirley had sent me an email saying.."Your 90 day mark is coming up...where, and at what time, do you want to eat?" I told her and she got what I wanted. I ended up called and canceling the ones I had made. I felt a little stupid and untrusting.

I will give you an example of what a terrific job my agent has done...we wanted an IllumiNations Cruise in 2003. I had told Shirley what night I wanted to go. I knew going into it, that it is very hard to get, since there are so few boats that do this. Well, she sent me an email the day she called to secure it for us..she couldn't get it!!! I really think she was more distressed than I was. She asked if we could please allow her to keep trying for a different night. I told her that was fine, but it really wasn't a big deal. If we didn't get one, it really would be okay. Nope, she was having none of that....she emailed me the next day to tell me that we were going on an IllumiNations Cruise finally!!!

Oh, and there was the email my dd, then 10, got from her....'requesting her presence at Her Majesty, Cinderella's Royal Table for breakfast' on such and such a date!!! How thrilled do you think my dd was??!!!

Nope, I just can't say enough good things about DU and our agent Shirley. Now that we own DVC we don't get to use their services as much as we used to. But, I try to add a few days either at the start or at the end of our DVC stay at a non-DVC resort. And Shirley does it for us...I'm sure she isn't making much commission on these trips but she quite happily does it all for us.
Thank-you DU and most especially...Shirley

 

[pjtjm]

So sorry to hear your bad experience with DU.

I love, love, love my TA at The Magic For Less. I won't plan a vacation there without Deb. She is the best! She sends me lots of emails with suggestions for activities, PS, recreation, etc. I get quick emails back about any questions I send to her. She emails me to let me know when she is leaving town, and gives me the name of someone else to help me if I need any help while she is gone. I just can't say enough good things about her and TMFL!

I too have been using Deb at TMFL. I have mixed emotions about using the service, which are not entirely her fault. I think another poster asked about expectations, and I do think that's the problem (in my mind.)

I started reading these boards (just lurking for some time) when I started dreaming of taking the kids this summer. You guys are soooo knowledgeable about discounts, and APs, AAAs that I thought I'd never be able to get it straight. I put out a request for quote from a couple of the TAs, and none of them seemed too great, so I booked POR for my family of five myself. One tip from the board which made a big $$ difference was booking two reservations because my first night is in "regular" season, and the next six are in "value". All the TAs quoted the full price, and did not mention this option.

What got me hooked on TMFL was Deb's follow up. She contacted me again and was able to convince me that she could be a big help to me. She is EXTREMLY responsive.

After thinking about the 5 of us packed into the 1 room for 7 nights, I did some digging into how much more 2 rooms at the POP would cost. I found that it was only $150 more for 7 nights and decided to go for it. I contacted Deb and asked her to change the ressies. I had some room requests, of course I needed connecting rooms, and also non-smoking due to ds's allergies. On top of that, I asked if it was possible to get a king bed in one room, and/or maybe a view of the fireworks. (yes...,yes..... I know it's only a request, and they can't guarantee it, just thought I'd ask... you never know... )

Anyway, she changed the ressies to the POP but forgot the Non-smoking, and didn't request the fireworks. When I asked her what happened, she said she "didn't know" about the NS. I over-reacted in my response to her, (sorry Deb) and she fixed it by getting a guaranteed NS room, but asked for a "lake view". * sigh, not the same, but whatever... * She was very apologetic about the error, and again, she was very responsive....

Short story long… (sorry), I think I’m too much of a control freak to just sit back and let someone else handle my arrangements. I got too annoyed when something wasn’t “just right” and she is only human after all.. I sort of wish I never went with anybody because if something goes wrong, I’d only have myself to blame. Also, I didn’t realize how much fun the planning can be, and I like doing it myself..

I think you have to know yourself, and what miracles you expect these folks to perform in the name of your Disney vacation. I, for one, am nuts and a perfectionist, I should have known better then to try to let go…

Just my $ .02

Enjoy your trips everyone!!!

 

[KatieKateKate]

I am using Dream Come True Vacations - they only make commission from Disney on what they sell. They don't make nearly enough on the services they provide.

 

[shatzjsl]

Hi folks

Shatzjsl and Honu - I would like to specifically ask both of you to contact me so I can help me.

e-mail sent. Thanks, John

 

[shatzjsl]

I guess someone at DU got the message because my itinerary is full of information. I think I negelected to say that I did send an e-mail to my agent on Friday saying the same things I did here. I'm just sad that it took an e-mail to get it done. Thanks for all of you responses to the thread. I am sure that DU does good work for a lot of people and I don't think they are a bad company. A friend at work is using Marla and is very happy with her and understands my frustration when we compare. I guess I could have asked for another agent but I was giving mine the benefit of the doubt.