Won't go Through Dreams Unlimited again..

[PamNC]

I made a ressie at the Dolphin for this November through DU. We decided to go in July (3 weeks and 2 days from today to be exact) instead. So, I requested that they cancel my ressie at the Dolphin and I made my own Beach Club ressie. Thank goodness I made my own ressie at BC.

I had given a deposit for the Dolphin and it had come out of my account (gave a debit card). DU said that they received my cancellation request and that it could take 48 to 72 hours. Well, 10 days later I hear nothing, no credi to my account. So I called the Dolphin and DU had not cancelled it. Here's the irritating part - I couldn't cancel it myself because DU made the ressie so I had to call DU back.

I don't understand how this is more convenient...going through DU or any travel agent for that matter. I would rather have more control of my vacation. I was just wondering if anyone else shared my sentiment or if you prefer handing your vacation over to someone else to plan. If you do use a TA, WHY?

PamNC

 

[gingermommy94]

I agree with you! We went to a TA for our first trip and it didn't take me long to realize that I knew more about Disney than she did! We dumped the agency and did it ourselves.

Like you, I prefer to have control over our vacations...to change, cancel, add, etc instead of waiting for someone to do it for me.

We'll never use a TA...with these boards..who needs one??

 

[Tigger_Magic]

We used to use a TA, but that was before online booking became so easy through the Internet. I book everything online now; have not used a TA in years, especially for a Disney vacation.

 

[WebmasterJohn]

Hi PamNC

Waiting that long for your reservation to be cancelled is just unnacceptable. Please write to me directly at john@dreamsunlimitedtravel.com so I can investigate what happened further and see where the mistake was made.

Even if your reservation has been cancelled and your refund processed I would like to make sure something like this doesn't happen to another client in the future.

Thanks in advance
John

 

[PamNC]

Thank you so much - I'll email you shortly. I do appreciate your willingness to help. I spoke to Bob and he said that he faxed the cancellation to the Dolphin, but apparently they didn't get it. The Dolphin claims they didn't get it, but you know how technology is. You can't always trust fax machines, computers, or worse yet....PEOPLE.

PamNC

 

[ILoveWDW2003]

If you do use a TA, WHY?

Excellent customer service, speedy replies, no need to be on the phone, my time can be spent on more important things.

Of course, you need to be able to have faith in your TA to do all of these things - mine does. All emails are responded to quickly and efficiently. If I ask for a PS, they make it. If I cancel or make a change, it is done the same day or the next (depending on how late I make my request). They have even gotten me the coveted CRT, and adjusted my reservations automatically for new discounts - once saved me $390 on a trip - boy was I surprised to get that email!

I don't have time to do these things myself - I am very busy with work and family - and am usually on my way to work during the all important 7am hour.

For the past 2 years, all of my Disney Vacation business has gone to (removed per webmaster request).

-Joe

PS. Dreams Unlimited and Small World and others provide these same services - it is just a matter of personal preference who you use or if you do it yourself.

 

[Eyore4Ever149]

I know there are LOTS of DU fans, and I tried it on our last trip thinking it would be so much easier.

I did not find the service to be outstanding. I constantly got auto replies saying the person was sick or away for several days.

I hated trying to call and work on my ressie myself (like room requests) and being told I had to go thru DU- but couldnt because they were away!

A tour we booked- I happen to call about something else and found out they did not apply my AP discount

I did not find this to be a TA that creates Raving Fan service.

My trip is over, theres nothing anyone can assist me with, I will book (and control) my own PS and ressie myself on our next trip.

Happy Planning!

 

[Rob418]

I have used dreams for 2 Disney cruises and their service was great, and any issuues I had they fixed or reworked my reservation very quickly. Sorry you had a bad experience.....but they do a great job.


Rob

 

[PamNC]

OP here. DU has responded to my "issue" and they did clear it up for me. Which I appreciate and I feel really good about it now.

However, I still think I would prefer booking myself. Like a previous poster said, I would hate to not be able to make room requests or do anything to my ressie. I guess I'm a control freak. I'm real busy too - I own a business and my husband travels a lot. I still would prefer doing it myself.

However, TA's need jobs and other people like using their services so I say - to each his own.

PamNC

 

[Chicago526]

As a TA, I'm all for using them!

That said, Disney IS the type of vacation that an average person can book themselves, provided they take the time to do research. Some people enjoy that kind of work, others do not and/or don't have the time.

I compare using a TA to painting your house. Some people LOVE to paint, and do it themselves. Other's hate to paint, but hate spending money more, so they still do it themselves. And there are those that hate to paint and would much rather spend the money to hire painters and can spend their weekend enjoying themselves while OTHERS do all the work for them. There is no wrong way to have your house painted, each person needs to do what works best for them.

Now of course, with TA's, you don't pay them (unless you have them issue your airline tickets) and a good one will save you money on top of time. But you get the picture!

As for bad TA's. Well, if you went to a dentist, and he did a bad job, would you then assume that all dentists are BAD and never see one again? Of course not! Like any other profession, there are good and bad TA's. There are also TA's that are so specialized in one or two areas, that they just aren't very good outside of their specialty. As with anything else, when you first talk to a TA you've never used before, you need to ask a lot of questions. To use WDW as an example, her are some questions you'd want to ask.

Have you ever been to WDW? How many times? Where did you stay? When was your last visit (if it was more than 4 years ago, that could be a problem unless they've really kept up with changes).

Do you book a lot of WDW vacations? About how many in the last year? (If they haven't booked many, this again could be a red flag)

Have you done Disney's College of Knowledge, a Disney run training course for TA's? (If they haven't, it doesn't mean they're a bad agent but if they have done the program it's a plus.)

Are you willing/able to make PS's, town car/rental car/shuttle arrangements? (most will do a car rental but some may not want to do limo/towncar or PS's).

If a discount code comes out after we book, are you willing/able to apply the discount?

If you aren't satisfied with the answers, ask if another agent at the same agency would be better suited to you. IF they have no WDW experts, then try and find another agency/agent.

 

[dcibrando]

all you have to do is go through Dream Come True Vacations and all your problems are solved... BELIEVE ME!!!! It was a breeze!

http://www.dreamcometruevacations.com

 

[Anewman]

My AAA travel agent knew very little about Disney in comparison to most persons on this board, did not even know about Magical Express/Dining plan, kept confusing FW with WL. He did have that Disney School certificate on his cubicle wall, class of 2004 But I was not impressed.

In the end my price was exactly what I had printed out at home including the room discount and meal plan(not free).

I would not have used him in the first place if I could get the AAA room discount on a package online.

 

[MOMOFMNM]

I was kinda miffed at mine for not notifying me of the free dining plan, had I not been so educated due to mousesavers and allears I would've missed out on that one!!! She is ok though...I will probably do it myself next time. I feel like I could get it done better with Disney directly. Who knows, we'll see. I do like the service and would recommend it to others who don't want to spend every waking min researching DIS like I do

 

[bballmom56]

I made a ressie with DU for the Swan because that was the lowest price I could get at the time. A while later, I was able to get the teacher rate directly through the Swan. So I cancelled the DU ressie and had absolutely no problem. I'm sorry yours got lost in someone's shuffle, but glad it all got resolved.

 

[ILoveWDW2003]

He did have that Disney School certificate on his cubicle wall, class of 2004 But I was not impressed.

Many of us here on the DIS know more than what is taught in that class - my neighbor has shown me the workbook. It is basically a guide for TA's to learn to sell Disney and to have a basic familiarity with the Disney Destinations. It is by no means as comprehensive as the DIS....

That being said, I think that Chicago526 needs to add one more question to his already excellent list:

"Do you frequent and participate in the Disboards or any other online Disney community?"

 

[scrump]

I'd rather go through a TA, purely a time decision. I'd rather be doing other stuff, and as far as I know, our itineraries are usually pretty straightforward, room and tickets only and usually no special requests. I am thrilled that I don't have to wait on the phone for PS/ARs, whatever they call them now. Yes, it sucks when there is a glitch, like what happened to the OP, and I might feel the same way, only I already have to smooth over glitches with my bills with Verizon, Time Warner Cable, Sprint, Chase, Wachovia... For now, I am happy that Disney or DU hasn't messed up with me yet.

 

[luvthatdisney]

I'm sorry you encountered poor service from DU - even though it seems it was the lost fax monster at work . Anyway, we are on our second vacation being planned through DU. Beth is our TA and she is great. We had to totally rehaul our August vacation as we moved from 4 people to 5 - had to change resorts totally! She was great and made all of the changes within a day of my requests. She has also obtained CRT and a Specialty Birthday cruise for our party (celebrating 2 birthdays and 20th wedding anniversary) during the week we are there.

Just as with everything else in life - sometimes you get a lemon!! Not everyone lives up to our standards - sometimes you get lucky and you find someone who goes above and beyond!! As you can see from the fast post by John - DU really wants to provide stellar service - and IMHO they do!

 

[DisneyJen0504]

I don't understand how this is more convenient...going through DU or any travel agent for that matter. I would rather have more control of my vacation. I was just wondering if anyone else shared my sentiment or if you prefer handing your vacation over to someone else to plan. If you do use a TA, WHY?

PamNC

Sorry for your experience, hopefully all was resolved. You situation doesnt have so much to do with using a TA not being convenient for you but rather your incident of not being reimbursed after cancelling. That could happen whether you booked through an TA or not.
We booked our first trip to WDW on our own. We missed out on codes and discounts and overpaid ALOT! Now, we have used the same TA at Dreams Unlimited the last 3 trips to WDW and wouldnt think of doing it any other way. We dont feel we are "handing our vacation over to someone else to plan". I am still the planner of the trip. In my opinion, our DU agent simply takes the annoying and tedious parts out of planning such as booking the room and passes and looking for discounts, codes and specials. No one can honestly say they enjoy waking up at the crack of dawn and dialing til their fingers hurt for dining reservations (i.e. CRT). By using DU, our agent books our room and passes and all of our dining no matter how many times plans have changed. As a frequent visitor she often makes suggestions we hadnt thought ogf. In the end, the agent did all the crappy stuff while I get to do the fun part of planning such as deciding which days to do what or choosing the restaurants we want to eat it. Its been very convenient for us!

 

[Eponine1]

Without a Travel Agent, you are on your own!

The right Travel Agent will know their stuff. The general public thinks they get a great deal by booking online but trust me, you get a better deal going through an agent.

 

[Rex Rules]

I am actually thinking of taking the class to become a certified travel agent - not for career purposes, but so that I can have more control over our own plans! Is that insane? And discounts wouldn't be half bad either...
In laws actually told me I was crazy - that NO ONE uses a travel agent any more so that this class was a waste of time.