Travel City Direct

[Yorkshire Lad]

Hi all! First of all I'm delighted to have found a site where there are so many others who are as excited by Florida as I am! I went for the first time last year and have just booked my return visit for next September.

I've booked this time round with Travel City Direct, I've heard good things about them, but has anyone here travelled with them in the past? I don't know too much about them but they were efficient, friendly and extremely cheap! If anyone could let me know their experiences with this company I'd be grateful.

Cheers!

 

[UKDEB]

Hi Yorkshire Lad and welcome to the DIS

I haven't flow with TCD myself, but like you I've heard great things about them and there are members here who have used them and will no doubt be along soon.

Our resident guide book author, Simon Veness (he of 'A Brit's Guide to Orlando and Walt Disney World' fame), is a fan of TCD and I'm pretty sure that if you check his update thread above, you will find some info.

It's been a good day for new members - must be something in the water. Please ask away with your questions and share your experiences.

 

[allie5]

Hi Yorkshire Lad

Never had any problems with Travel City, we have used them 3 times and Virgin 3 times, and pound for pound TC win hands down!! They have plenty of Florida based staff (both at Sandford Airport and the welcome center at Lake Buena Vista). They are always friendly and eager to help. Last year we rented a villa through them and it was our best Florida trip ever!! Will very much doubt I will be using Virgin again.

We are travelling in 7 weeks (flying out BA and back with Travel City) and again we have a villa. I am also planning next years trip (dont tell hubby!!) and have just noticed TC have Port Orleans or Corando Springs for 14 nights inc ultimate hopper and flights for £659.....ooooooh, I feel another booking coming on!!

You will have a great time!
Allie.

 

[Yorkshire Lad]

Thanks for the reply, I flew with Virgin last year and to be honest I was really disappointed - the quality of service was nowhere near what I expected, we paid well over the odds for mediocre accommodation, so hopefully I'll be better off this time round.

I'm a little worried about the aircraft we're flying on, having read through some previous threads it doesn't sound as if it stands up to Virgin Atlantic - do all seats have their own tvs, or would I be better off upgrading to Sunshine Plus or whatever it's called?

I'm fairly confident that we've got a good 'hotel' though, I'm staying at the Enclave suites just off I-drive. I also hope to visit Church Street Station this time around, as last time we were advised against going by a local who said that a lot of the bars and restaurants had closed down 'whilst it tried to reinvent itself' - any info?

 

[pegasusEH]

We flew with Travel City in 2000 and weren't that impressed but you get what you pay for.

The planes at the time were very old and the crew were very miserable on the outbound flight - it seemed they had been pulled in last minute.

At take off coming home water started to pour out of one of the overhead lights - not very comforting on Friday the 13th!

We were also not impressed with the hotel - Ramada Fountain Park - and would not stay there again.

That said, it was a cheap deal and they use their own airline now so I imagine things have improved on that score. If I was looking to save money I would use them again but would thoroughly research the hotel before going - we chose middle of the road priced accommodation and thought it was a safe bet.

Most people seem quite happy with Travel City and I hope everything goes well for you.

 

[Disney owl]

welcome Yorkshire lad from a Yorkshire lass!!!

We've booked Travel City Direct for August so I'll let you know.

Because we're going in August they were the best on price for direct flights.

Also they fly to Sanford which we find such an easy airport to use.

 

[Kevin Gale]

Hi,

We used Travel City Direct last year but we didn't use one of their own package deals

They made up a package for us that included flights via United Airlines (I wanted more leg room).

The whole thing for 5 adults and 2 children cost just over £1,400.00 less than the equivalent Virgin package.

No problems with their service and would use them again but I might consider booking everthing myself direct next time.

One thing, I found the travel City reps in Orlando to be totally useless, might have been an off day?.

 

[janine29]

Hi!!

I'm going to Orlando for the 1st time in 2 weeks and have booked with Travel City Direct. I couldn't believe the price difference!! I'll let you know how it went

 

[Yorkshire Lad]

I'm delighted with the price of my holiday, I'm just disappointed that nine days after I booked with them (and they took my deposit from my credit card), I ring today to find that they only just posted my confirmation this morning! This despite two telephone calls to which they said that it takes "seven to ten days for docs to be received".

Message to Travel City Direct - it takes even longer if you don't bother to send said docs for nine days!

 

[matty624]

We booked a couple of years ago, although didn't fly on their plane, and everything was fine until we got there and discovered our 3 bed villa with pool was in fact a 3 bed condo on the third floor. Everything was sorted in the end, but it took 2 days before we were in a nice 4 bed villa (rather too far from the action for my liking). You'll probably have better luck than us though, it only took the click of a wrong button, and we suffered the result.
Ian

 

[huw]

Hi, a bit of Travel City Direct info from someone in the travel industry, plus some other useful information!
Although TCD probably wouldn't claim they always get things right (nor could any tour operator!), their proportion of repeat business suggests they're doing something right.
TCD's European Aviation flights (direct 747s) offer a generous 31" seat pitch - more than most Florida charters. The flight program has recently been expanded to year-round rather than the limited summer window. The upgraded seat options are much cheaper than alternatives.
TCD has a huge selection of villas at their disposal, many of whom are named location and brand new. Additionally they are not brochure-driven or sold through travel agents, which means their operating costs are lower. Also, not being brochure-driven means that they can sell the newest estates before other operators are able to include in new brochures.
Those of you who decide to fragment your holiday into flight/car hire/accommodation with different companies, should be aware that you forfeit your package holiday financial protection in the event a company becomes insolvent (as has happened a few times this year already). By taking the full package with an ATOL licensed tour operator you not only have financial protection but have someone to fight in your corner in the event that something goes wrong.
Fact: There are NO star ratings in Florida. There is no official body overseeing the allocation of star ratings, so any advertised rating is purely the opinion of the advertising tour operator. This is why tour operators frequently display different ratings for the same hotel. This is also why people frequently get dissatisfied with a 3 star rating through certain companies, when many other companies would only give a 2 star rating. Despite standards being generally higher in Florida than Europe, you still get what you pay for, so don't hope to pay less than £30 per room per night and expect to get good location, free breakfast, free shuttles, great front desk staff, etc, etc.
If you think you can get a cheaper deal direct with a hotel than through a tour operator, you should consider that prices are usually based on 2 people (supplement for 3rd and 4th persons) and DO NOT include tax (11.5% to 12%) or resort fees. If you find a great rate at a property not sold by a tour operator - ask yourself why!! Tour operators are constantly on the lookout for good standard, reasonably priced properties, so it is highly likely they've checked the property and decided it's not up to standard!!
Enjoy!!!

 

[allie5]

Thanks for the info Huw....by the way, when I booked one of my TCD holidays the operator was called Huw.....do you work for them??? If so, Im sure we would welcome an "insider" on the boards!

Allie.

 

[huw]

Sorry Allie, never sold a holiday in my life!
I visit Florida around 7 or 8 times per year, contracting villas and hotels. All the main tour operators are equally able to supply a good holiday, the main difference is that the 2 largest operators have the client base to get the best deals. After that it all comes down to price......

 

[Aceman88888]

I booked with TCD this year but took flights with Airtours.

Only issue was with our villa location.

When booked, we were told Kissimmee area villas which seemed nice as I'd had a villa holiday there before and was expecting a location in or around the 192.

Wrong!

We did get instead a villa at Southern Dunes near Haines City which in most peoples eyes is about 25 miles from Kissimmee as the crow flies.

We were a bit mad at first but the villa had 1 bedroom extra from booking, the development was nice & new and we had a WalMart just outside the gates!

If you are taking a villa option with them and you are concerned about long trips to parks etc, I would ask them to clarify the locations before you go. The driving didn't bother me as I do over 1k per week at home but it made mid afternoon park breaks difficult.

 

[huw]

There is a clear definition between Disney area (within 20 mins drive of Disney) and Kissimmee. Not many people would choose to stay in Kissimmee itself as the 'true' Kissimmee is a bit remote. The best estates are either around Medieval Times, behind Splendid China or on US 27. Ask your choice of tour operator if they can give you a selection of named locations or even a limited allocated on arrival selection, where they will allocate from 1 of a number of named locations. It'll be cheaper than a single named location but you'll at least know all the locations thrown into the hat.
Current best estates, Vista Park, Emerald Island, Windsor Palms, Lake Berkley, Highlands Reserve. Vista Park is a lot more expensive though, as homes have something like a $30k furnishings package. Enjoy!

 

[matty624]

Acemann, very similar circumstances, except we did query the loccation of the villa and paid extra for it. It made no difference though, once you're there, you're at their mercy!!! Our villa was right down hw27, along way from the close to 192 located villa we'd booked.
It's all very well giving us horror stories about what might happen if you book indepentently Huw, but you've skipped past the literally thousand of pounds I've saved this year by doing it myself (with a little help from people on this board). I doubt that I'll ever do a package again, I'll take my chances... Having said that, I am a bit worried about our United flights!!! Ooops...
Ian

 

[allie5]

TCD have given me 5 locations and that our villa will be on one of these this year.Highlands Reserve (stayed there last year and loved it), Clear Creek, Glenbrook, The Manors at Westridge or Hampton Lakes. Anyone know anything about the others? I keep hearing TCD putting people at Southern Dunes and I will raise hell if we get that one as its not 15 mins to Disney in my opinion!

Allie.

PS. Huw.....I WANT YOUR JOB!!!

 

[matty624]

Allie, we stayed at The Manors, Westridge. It was when we were 'relocated' from the estate, the name of which escapes me just for now.
IMHO it was too far from things like the Super Walmart and took too long to DTD and the Universal parks. However others might like that location, we found that it was just too far to come back for a rest in the middle of the day, with our two small children. We still had to though...
http://www.orlando-maps.info/top_down_maps/kissimmee_top_down.htm
This is a good villa location map.
hope this helps.
Ian

 

[rob@rar.org.uk]

I think we need to bear in mind that TCD are one of the cheapest tour operators to Orlando, so we can't really expect Rolls Royce service when we are paying Ford Mondeo prices. I'm very fussy about villa location, so I'm prepared to pay a bit of a premium to guarantee I know if not the exact villa, then at least the specific development.

Given the ease of booking DIY holidays to Orlando I don't look to tour operators to add any value to my holiday through the services of reps while I'm there or anything like that. All I want from them is the lowest possible price for the exact holiday I want. If they can't beat my DIY price or can't guarantee the holiday I want, I'd always opt for a DIY holiday.

Regards

Rob

 

[JANNYANS]

Allie 5,
The communities you mention are all on the 27.Clear Creek is approx 1.5 n of the 192.The others are all south of the junction Hampton Lakes being the closest .Glenbrook is a new one to me