*UPDATE*For those interested--A Nightmare with the new segmented reservations and DDP

[LIFERBABE]

My stay at BLT last week was a little better. The CM checking me in, was at least aware and after initially telling me I may have to change rooms, was able to work it out so that I could stay in the same villa.
My credits worked everytime, but I had to check in everyday and housekeeping kept trying to put me out, because it looked like I was checking out each day on their chart. I put the privacy sign up the 3rd day, and they still knocked and said I was supposed to check out at 11!

Im glad I tried it before I split up our 2 week stay next week. I will leave it as is and just pay as we go for any meals we eat out. Most likely will come out cheaper anyway.

The split DDP is definitely not ready for prime time

 

[Sandisw]

I am so sorry this happened to you. It had to be extremely frustrating to say the least.

After reading this, I don't think I am going to even attempt to try a split DDP with my August reservation. We got the last SV 2 bedroom at BLT and definitely don't want to do anything to mess things up.

I will just pay OOP next year as I originally planned as even if it costs a bit more than the DDP, it will be worth it not to risk what you went through.

Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us.

I hope things get straightened out very soon for you.

 

[Sammie]

This is the very reason that online booking scrares me.

I just don't have great faith that when they roll it out, it will work correctly. The online dining did not and now this.

Everyone please, please email DVC member satisfaction and let them know about this. When I questioned problems they pretty much just laughed and said, you are such worry wart, of course it will work fine. Yea right.

 

[alicat07]

OMG! I just got back from a 7 night stay at AKV with a heavily segmented reservation [due to cobbling together a December visit] and had the exact same problem! I was so frustrated. It started at check in when they had the wrong number of adults in the room and they couldn't figure it out - eventually they realized my friend's name was on the reservation twice, duh. How hard was that to figure out?

Then, because I didn't have the DDP the first 2 nights, I was informed it messed everything up with the new system trying to interact with the old system and they couldn't get the DDP to show for the last 5 nights - even though they could see it was paid for. I could go into all the long and aggravating details . . . but it's not good for my blood pressure. I was at the Concierge desk [and I must say the majority of them have such an arrogant attitude] for a total of no less than 5 times, an hour each time.

Finally, a Manager, who just happened to be going up and down the Concierge line asking if anyone had questions, intervened in our situation and while it was still problematic and we did lose some counter service and snack credits [last day, not worth arguing for], he did credit us a nice monetary amount for the hassle. He was wonderful to work with and I finally felt like someone cared. I don't feel like it would be appropriate to complain to the DVC Member Satisfaction Team because of that. BUT, do you know how embarrassing/irritating it is to wonder if everytime you try to use your room key for the DDP it will work?

Also, they serviced our studio no less than 3x for a 7 night stay. They kept having us checking out when a new segment would start. I have never had this much problems with a DVC reservation. I can honestly say I didn't enjoy my girls only trip very much because of all these issues and the nasty cold weather [I'm not blaming Disney for that]

I need a Disney break.

Edited to add: Originally, the front desk said if we continued to have problems to just charge to the room and they could transfer the credits. But, the 2x we tried that, the restaurants said it wouldn't accept the charge - even though our keys [cut 3 different times] said Valid for Charging!!! I need some serious counseling after this trip.

WOW, I am so so sorry to hear that it did happen to someone else!! I kept thinking, well maybe it won't be bad for anyone else. Maybe it was just ours and the timing during the system upgrade. But apparently it was not!!!

And it's SO SO terrible, I know exactly what you mean about needing a Disney break after all this. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Disney (which is why we finally decided to buy into it) and in the 25 years that my husband has been going there 2-3 times a year with his family nothing like this has ever happened.

So it is so terrible that my "happy place" caused us so much upset. It's true, I feel like even though we had a good time at the parks (when we finally were able to go there when we weren't arguing with the front desk), it was so clouded by the awful situation we were put in.

Unfortunately, we never got any compensation for all of the problems. We did just send a LONG 5 page email to DVC member satisfaction, and to Disney customer guest complaints or whichever that department is. I hope to hear back from them soon, and will keep you all updated!

 

[alicat07]

UPDATE on our situation (I also posted this on the first post):

I sent the email to DVC member satisfaction 12/15/10. By the end of day 12/17/10 a member satisfaction rep called my husband and they talked for about 20 minutes regarding the whole stay. We ended up getting half of our points back for the vacation, which we are very happy about! So we spoke with our family and half of them can make it back next year, so we are taking them back again for a week using the points we got back from Disney!

We are very happy we got compensated for this, and we are thrilled that we can take some of our family back to try it again LOL...Yay to DVC for a prompt response! DVC has redeemed themselves to us!

 

[permavac]

OP - Glad to hear that someone actually cared and that you got some of your points back. While I'm sure getting the points returned doesn't make the whole ordeal worth it (wouldn't for me!) you at least get a chance at a "do over" What's really sad about all of these stories we've been hearing is the lack of competence, understanding, and contrition on the part of the CMs. A lot of these horror stories should be ending with "It was a real hassle, but the CM we worked with was great and understood our frustration and made sure it was corrected." Why can't Disney make customer service a priority? Honestly, it would save the headache for everyone - their employees included! Anyway, glad you got some recompense for your troubles!

Terri

 

[Lexxiefern]

Wow! So terrible that you and others are having to deal with the kinks being worked out! Thank you for posting. I will definitely only be adding the DDP to our entire stay in 2 weeks. I do not want to have to deal with any of that. So glad that you got points reimbursed. Did you also receive the $ credit to your credit card for the dining credits owed? The 2 times I had to contact member satisfaction, they were wonderful!! I am happy they were able to help make things right for you as well!

 

[alicat07]

Wow! So terrible that you and others are having to deal with the kinks being worked out! Thank you for posting. I will definitely only be adding the DDP to our entire stay in 2 weeks. I do not want to have to deal with any of that. So glad that you got points reimbursed. Did you also receive the $ credit to your credit card for the dining credits owed? The 2 times I had to contact member satisfaction, they were wonderful!! I am happy they were able to help make things right for you as well!

No, they offered to give us back either some $ or some points. We took the points just so we'd be able to go again next year with family. As far as dining credits that were owed, the DVC rep told us that she could not tell us what had been used and what hadn't because our reservation was so screwed up. Apparently, every time they rebooked us, they wiped out the history, so we have no idea (and the rep had no way of looking it up) what we actually used and what we didn't. We do have a letter to Walt Disney World right now but I am not really expecting an answer from them LOL. I figured DVC would get back to us since we are members, but I am not expecting much from Disney itself. Will keep you all updated if I ever hear back from them!

 

[DVCBird941]

What a nightmare. Glad its getting worked out. DW and I did a split stay this year and the only hassle was for us moving from one room to the next. Although since each leg of our split stay was a different reservation.

Sounds like Disney need to inform their CM's about changes to booking/ddp/etc... and supply some extra training as needed.

 

[dianeschlicht]

This is the very reason that online booking scrares me.

I just don't have great faith that when they roll it out, it will work correctly. The online dining did not and now this.

Everyone please, please email DVC member satisfaction and let them know about this. When I questioned problems they pretty much just laughed and said, you are such worry wart, of course it will work fine. Yea right.

Yes, that has been my worry about online booking too. If the MS castmembers have issues with things (and they are supposed to know what they are doing), what kind of problems could a bunch of "dumb" owners cause?

 

[dianeschlicht]

This is the very reason that online booking scrares me.

I just don't have great faith that when they roll it out, it will work correctly. The online dining did not and now this.

Everyone please, please email DVC member satisfaction and let them know about this. When I questioned problems they pretty much just laughed and said, you are such worry wart, of course it will work fine. Yea right.

Yes, that has been my worry about online booking too. If the MS castmembers have issues with things (and they are supposed to know what they are doing), what kind of problems could a bunch of "dumb" owners cause?

 

[wdwfan1]

We checked into BWV in early December. We had the Deluxe dining plan for 2 nights and regular dining plan for the rest of our trip. We got one room key for our entire trip. Where it usually sayd DDP 2A, it said Multi DVC 2A.
The CMs at check in had no problem whatsoever getting it right. Our only problem was with the restaurants. They did not know what to do with that "Multi DVC 2A" code. In fact at breakfast at CS, the checkout person said "You dont have the dining plan--I will charge this to your room". DH said Dont even try that, we are not paying for this. They finally got a manager to tell the CM to at least try to run it and, of course, it worked.

You should have seen the looks on the faces of the CMs when they asked to see our KTTW to determine the dining plan we were on. I told them they were welcome to check it out, but it wouldnt help. A few smirked and said of course they could tell. They were quite surprised to see that I was right--they had no idea what to do with it. I made sure I told them exactly which plan I wanted to use on the overlapping days.

Hopefully it will go well for everyone else going forward. I am planning to do this again on our next trip. It worked very well for us.

 

[lilpooh108]

Horrible experience here..just got back. Here's a really really short version of what happened.

We stayed 3 nights 12/19 to 12/22. DxDP on the first 2 nights. None of the servers knew what to do with our card. ALL of the servers insisted that we did not buy the dining plan. With the exception of le cellier (which had to re enter the entire transaction and then swipe the cards for the meals), all of the meals ended up being charged to the room key, which we then had to dispute with Kidani Concierge. We were issued new room keys twice and assured that they'd work. Nope, never.

After we checked out, there was a further charge that showed up. We spent 45 min on the phone with Disney Dining on our way to the airport. It was a nightmare---and the people with us who were not DVC members were dismayed at the whole situation. They ate out alone with their KTTW and were harassed each time. Even after they explained that the dining plan was on their card, they were charged to the room key.

At the end of the stay, there were ALOT of unused credits left on the key. We could not tell if they were left over from the servers' mistakingly charging us instead of the KTTW credits, or if the system had a glitch.

I'll wait until they fix this new system before I segment again.

 

[bookwormde]

It sounds like from wdwfan1 that the "system" actually works, it is just the training and implementation that is severly lacking.

I am glad that I am not going until July so that the trianing and experiance will improve (hopefully)

Anyone who want to share their correct "multiDVC codes" and enough information as to the plan and amount of days purchsed would be great so that we all can make sure the proper code is on our cards before we walk away from the desk.

I am assuming multiDVC means that it is a segmented DVC reservation with only part DDP the "2" is probably the number of days? and A would be the plan (I would thing A would be counter service B the standard plan C deluxe, but let see if it is like that).

I am sure I am going to challenge the "system since I will have 3 days on 1 reservation at 2 resorts with every other day on DDP with 1 days counter service and 1 day standard and 1 day deluxe. Yes I am brave, but someone has to do it. (actually I have 1 very picky eater and a wife with a gastric band).

I am up at 6am anyway so this will be my morning entertainment.


bookwormde

 

[alicat07]

Lilpooh, I am so sorry to hear you had a problem such as this too!! As your story was, what I wrote in the OP was the short short version of what really happened, I cannot even begin to relay how much we went through. Our letter to DVC and Disney was 5 pages long, single spaced LMAO...the DVC member satisfaction rep who called us looked at our history and even SHE couldn't figure out what happened, it was such a mess. So she understood our grief!

Bookworm, you will sure be giving them a run for your money LMAO....I can't wait to see if they can get that right! And I think sharing the new codes would help a lot--we are going again next Sept/ Oct with family so I want to make sure I know what I am looking at!


On another note, anyone notice how pretty much all of the DDP problems with the new system are all guests staying at AKV?? Not only us reporting here, but I checked over in the Dining plan board and the problems there are all from guests at AKV as well!! Wonder if its a problem with that staff, computers, etc....because some guests are not really having a problem with it, but a majority of the problems are coming from AKV...

 

[lilpooh108]

Lilpooh, I am so sorry to hear you had a problem such as this too!! As your story was, what I wrote in the OP was the short short version of what really happened, I cannot even begin to relay how much we went through. Our letter to DVC and Disney was 5 pages long, single spaced LMAO...the DVC member satisfaction rep who called us looked at our history and even SHE couldn't figure out what happened, it was such a mess. So she understood our grief!

Bookworm, you will sure be giving them a run for your money LMAO....I can't wait to see if they can get that right! And I think sharing the new codes would help a lot--we are going again next Sept/ Oct with family so I want to make sure I know what I am looking at!


On another note, anyone notice how pretty much all of the DDP problems with the new system are all guests staying at AKV?? Not only us reporting here, but I checked over in the Dining plan board and the problems there are all from guests at AKV as well!! Wonder if its a problem with that staff, computers, etc....because some guests are not really having a problem with it, but a majority of the problems are coming from AKV...

I was sympathetic towards the servers who really tried to run the KTTW cards through. However, there were some servers/hostesses who were just plain rude and condescending, lecturing us about "just because we own DVC doesn't mean we are on the dining plan."

My child was briefly hospitalized during the trip for an illness, and we were aggravated by having to get on the phone with Disney Dining and spending time at the concierge desk at night to straighten this out so that the other members in our party could eat. What a mess.

I also wrote to Member Satisfaction (a very short email). Since it's Christmas, I'm not that hopeful we'll get a call back. I'm sure there will be a flood of emails after the Christmas break from other DVC'ers whose vacation plans were disrupted by the confusion.

 

[MOM POPPINS]

We are also trying the segment Dining in May at the Boardwalk. I hope they get the system up and running properly by that time.

 

[djo]

Wow, what I mess! Sorry you had to go through that! We had some computer "glitches" also when we were at OKW in December. We were actually double charged for our ddp. Took us quite a few phone calls and a few trips to the front desk to PROVE our innocence in the whole mess up. They actually had to call our bank so that they could confirm that we were charged twice.
The day of check out we asked two different people about using the remaining counter service and snacks we had on our plan. We were assured that the cards would be usable until midnight. NOT! Several of my adult children were embarrassed as all get out to be told they had nothing left on the cards while checking out. Once again...front desk had to be called.
Now...let's talk boarding passes! OMG. One of my sons received two...one daughter in law none...the other daughter in law was going to Denver while the rest of us were coming home to Missouri. Yep...one more trip to the front desk. Not easy at OKW since it's a bus ride from where our rooms were located.

 

[VLee]

We too will try this next November, as our May trip was booked long ago and did not want to risk losing Concierge level.
I have booked actually 3 reservations on the travel plan. The day of arrival I plan to not do DDP, then have DDP for the next 5 nights, and last no DDP on our last day there. When booking I could not book the last night until that 11-month date opened, so I made the second reservation for the next 6 nights. Called back on the 26th, and got Nov 25; however, put it in my mother's name (since I was afraid I would lose the room while dropping a date off my second reservation---before I could get the new reservation)
Plan to call back tomorrow to drop the last date off of my reservation, and then change the name on my mother's reservation to mine, so I will end up with 3 separate reservations in my name.
It seems a lot of trouble to have to do it this way...

 

[JenSop]

This is all very interesting to know.

Not only am I DVC, but I'm also a travel agent. I had a client staying at AKL in the beginning of December and the computers were all kinds of messed up. They had trouble checking her in AND getting her access to her DDP. It sounds like AKL/AKV was having some major computer issues that week!