Warning for those booking CP package through MS

[jekjones1558]

I don't know whether I was just unlucky or what, but I just called MS to try to reserve CP package for Dec. 2, 3, 4, 5 or 7 and was told that there was NOTHING available on any of those dates, at any of the restaurants for any of the shows! I could not call right at opening because of a medical appointment, but I never expected this. If I were trying to book near Xmas maybe, but not in early Dec., especially since there have to be people who don't realize today is the first day to book.
Anyway, just to satisfy myself, I then called Disney Dining. Guess what. I got exactly the restaurant and time I wanted, no problem! I am happy, of course, but also confused as to why this happened. The CM at MS sounded very knowledgeable and patiently checked everything, but it doesn't make me want to ever use MS again for this type of thing!

 

[ChelleinNC]

Jean, I called wdw-dine at 8:30 am (ok, I slept in) I couldn't get anything thru them for those same dates. I tried for LeCellier, Chefs & Rose & Crown and there was nothing for any of the 3 shows for any of those dates

I did pick up a dinner only LeCellier ressie for the 3rd. I'm hoping that as people firm up their plans, they'll cancel CP ressies (more likely since there's a credit card guarantee) and I'll be able to get something.

 

[kimberh]

I'm glad you checked further. I have always called Disney Dining, is there a benefit to calling MS?

 

[jekjones1558]

Jean, I called wdw-dine at 8:30 am (ok, I slept in) I couldn't get anything thru them for those same dates. I tried for LeCellier, Chefs & Rose & Crown and there was nothing for any of the 3 shows for any of those dates

This is just crazy. I did not call until about 3:00 CDT (right after hanging up with MS) and I got my Chefs reservation for the 8:15 show on Dec. 4. ???? Could there have been more tables just put online?

 

[ChelleinNC]

This is just crazy. I did not call until about 3:00 CDT (right after hanging up with MS) and I got my Chefs reservation for the 8:15 show on Dec. 4. ???? Could there have been more tables just put online?

I'm so glad you posted that! I just called again and had my choice of shows & dining times at LeCellier. We will be there Monday the 1st

 

[jekjones1558]

I'm so glad you posted that! I just called again and had my choice of shows & dining times at LeCellier. We will be there Monday the 1st

Wonderful! Thanks for letting me know!

 

[CarolMN]

My guess is that they didn't have all the availability loaded in right away this morning.

 

[NejTheLion]

Having been burned before by MS when trying to book the recent Panama Canal cruise, we will never call them again to book something that isn't DVC.

We called that morning thinking we'd have it easier than all the people calling DCL. Boy, were we wrong! We got through to MS very quickly, and then we proceeded to wait for HOURS because (apparently) the person we spoke to at MS had to call DCL to make the booking themselves! So, we would have done better calling DCL on our own.

And the even bigger burn that followed was DVC losing a Cat 3 suite that we had booked instead of the PC cruise. We did book rooms on the PC cruise (eventually), but then when we told my Grandma that we had tickets, she said she didn't want to go on that long of a cruise. So, we changed the reservation to a 7-night a few weeks prior and got a Cat 3. There were no point charts available at the time, so MS said that would be taken care of later. Well, many months passed, and we came home to a phone message that mentioned our PC cruise and that we needed to call back to confirm. We did not have a PC cruise booked, so we thought we must have still been on a list of theirs. Our one mistake is that we should have called to check, but the message was clear that they were holding a PC cruise room for us. And we were hurriedly getting ready to leave for a cruise the next day. The next time they called and left a message, we were on the ship! And that was to tell us that our PC cruise booking would be cancelled. Well, guess what! That PC cruise they were calling us about was actually our (now cancelled) 7-NIGHT WESTERN CONCIERGE room!!!

We learned our lesson and will always call to check from now on when anyone Disney leaves any message on our machine. But yes, because an incorrect message was left, DVC lost our Cat 3 suite. And although they apologized (not very profusely, I might add), there was nothing they could do. They couldn't exactly take away a Cat 3 from someone else, and we wouldn't want them to do that, but it did really suck.

From now on, we call Disney Dining for restaurant ressies, we call DCL for cruise ressies, and we call MS for DVC ressies. And never the twain shall meet!

 

[disneynutz]

Please do us all a favor and report your experiances to the DVC Member Satisfaction Team. I had a lengthy discussion about this very subject last week and they told me that I was nuts.

dvcmembersatisfactionteam@disneyvacationclub.com

 

[kimberh]

Having been burned before by MS when trying to book the recent Panama Canal cruise, we will never call them again to book something that isn't DVC.

We called that morning thinking we'd have it easier than all the people calling DCL. Boy, were we wrong! We got through to MS very quickly, and then we proceeded to wait for HOURS because (apparently) the person we spoke to at MS had to call DCL to make the booking themselves! So, we would have done better calling DCL on our own.

And the even bigger burn that followed was DVC losing a Cat 3 suite that we had booked instead of the PC cruise. We did book rooms on the PC cruise (eventually), but then when we told my Grandma that we had tickets, she said she didn't want to go on that long of a cruise. So, we changed the reservation to a 7-night a few weeks prior and got a Cat 3. There were no point charts available at the time, so MS said that would be taken care of later. Well, many months passed, and we came home to a phone message that mentioned our PC cruise and that we needed to call back to confirm. We did not have a PC cruise booked, so we thought we must have still been on a list of theirs. Our one mistake is that we should have called to check, but the message was clear that they were holding a PC cruise room for us. And we were hurriedly getting ready to leave for a cruise the next day. The next time they called and left a message, we were on the ship! And that was to tell us that our PC cruise booking would be cancelled. Well, guess what! That PC cruise they were calling us about was actually our (now cancelled) 7-NIGHT WESTERN CONCIERGE room!!!

We learned our lesson and will always call to check from now on when anyone Disney leaves any message on our machine. But yes, because an incorrect message was left, DVC lost our Cat 3 suite. And although they apologized (not very profusely, I might add), there was nothing they could do. They couldn't exactly take away a Cat 3 from someone else, and we wouldn't want them to do that, but it did really suck.

From now on, we call Disney Dining for restaurant ressies, we call DCL for cruise ressies, and we call MS for DVC ressies. And never the twain shall meet!

This is unreal! Where did they put you on the ship? I cruise all the time. I will certainly remember this one!

 

[BirdsOfPreyDave]

I have always called Disney Dining, is there a benefit to calling MS?

The only real benefit is the 800 number.

I'll only use them for ADRs if I have some to make at the same time I'm calling for a points transaction. Otherwise, it's just as easy to call the WDW-DINE or WDW-TOUR line.

 

[NejTheLion]

Actually, we found out from DCL when we were onboard that our Cat 3 had been cancelled. We had gone by to change it to an onboard booking and guess what - not in the system, cancelled a few days prior while we were on the ship. Definitely a surprise to us! While we were there, we booked a Cat 4, but our Cat 3 was gone.

The problem here was the fact that the point charts weren't out when we made the initial reservation, and DVC doesn't send you any kind of confirmation for those. You only receive a confirmation letter when points are used. We had a "DCL" reservation number, but there was no "DVC" confirmation number since points hadn't been out yet. And no one called us when the charts did become available to make the reservation official. We spent a few months on the phone trying to get some satisfaction. We kept arguing that they need to send out a temporary confirmation when point charts aren't available, but never really got that point across to anyone. So, we had no paper to back us up, and we didn't have the recording on the answering machine.

And the other problem was that the same reservation number was used - from the original PC cruise we booked to the Western we changed it to. So, for some reason, DVC still thought it was a PC cruise, and that's what they said when they called. So, if we ever change a cruise again, we'll make sure that it becomes a new number.

It's the only problem we've ever had with DVC, and it was certainly a doozy! We've just learned to always book cruises through DCL, and then if we want to use points, make that change later on.

 

[Connears]

I called ms at 11:30 am on Monday and got thru in 6 minutes and got reservations for CP @ 8:15pm on 12/29 with dinner at Le Cellier @5pm. CM was great and had no problems. I have used MS for all adrs since we have been members and the system started. I have always had great service and never had any issues with dvc reservations(even with changes, etc), adrs, DDP. Again, even when we made Marriott exchange to Williamsburg, had great CM and process was efficient. I hate having bad experiences be presented as the norm....it is not. There will always be mistakes and marginal employees, even at disney.

Connears

 

[jekjones1558]

I hate having bad experiences be presented as the norm....it is not. There will always be mistakes and marginal employees, even at disney.

For the record, I don't think my CP package issue was because of a bad CM. I think that there was some issue with what the CM at MS could access on her computer. I only posted here in case that anyone else had the same thing happen, hoping that it would afford others the chance to call WDW Dining and try again. I know of at least one other person who had this same issue and got a reservation through WDW Dining.
I also have had wonderful contacts with MS almost all of the time. I have also had some incorrect information given to me on important issues. I find the DIS to be an excellent cross reference when trying to sort out fact from fiction on DVC matters.

 

[NejTheLion]

The only real benefit is the 800 number.

I'll only use them for ADRs if I have some to make at the same time I'm calling for a points transaction. Otherwise, it's just as easy to call the WDW-DINE or WDW-TOUR line.

Actually, that's not entirely true since Disney Dining has an 800 number that few people (even on the DISBoards) seem to know about. I just saw it the other day on another CP thread for the first time, and I used it Monday to book Le Cellier for CP. So, it definitely works just fine and directs you straight to the Disney Dining number. For anyone who doesn't know it, give 1-800-711-4344 a try

 

[vicki_c]

As has been posted before, there are no "free" numbers to call for the general public. They pop up here and there - but those are really numbers for travel agents to use. Once a bunch of people get the number and start calling, Disney will shut it down and change to another one.

If you have one, you might as well keep it to yourself because the more people who post it, the faster it will be shut down!

I'm glad I have free long distance, so I don't need to worry about it.

 

[Plutofan]

We just booked for Dec 29 with no problem.

 

[NejTheLion]

As has been posted before, there are no "free" numbers to call for the general public. They pop up here and there - but those are really numbers for travel agents to use. Once a bunch of people get the number and start calling, Disney will shut it down and change to another one.

If you have one, you might as well keep it to yourself because the more people who post it, the faster it will be shut down!

I'm glad I have free long distance, so I don't need to worry about it.

That makes so much sense! I couldn't believe it when I first saw it, but it did work. Guess I'll just have to keep my eyes peeled for those magic numbers. If nothing else, I got one good use out of that one