Help! Disney Resort Changed Without Telling Us!

[Bobbins]

Originally Posted by HEARTDISNEY

I hope you get it sorted. I'm in the same boat, booked with Virgin Holidays in April 2017 for a two week holiday in August 2018 at Old Key West. They have now said there is no availability. Unfortunately as it is Old Key West it was a provisional booking so I don't think I have the same rights as you do.

I emailed Kathy on Thursday but didn't get a reply but again as it was provisional I don't know if that will count against me with getting her help.

See more...

Just a bit - the DVC resorts are always provisional. To be frank, it's a bit unfair asking Kathy - it'll make it more likely she'll ignore genuine complaints.

[Conno]

Originally Posted by HEARTDISNEY

Unfortunately as it is Old Key West it was a provisional booking so I don't think I have the same rights as you do.

See more...

Exactly right. E-mailing personal addresses of people at Disney won't change that either.

The general rule of thumb seems to be: Don't book with Virgin Holidays.

[blainy]

Honestly I think AKL is nicer than the Contemporary... apart from the location it is absolutely fabulous. And it should be quite a bit cheaper. Your wife shouldn't be tearful!

[blainy]

P.S. When we went to AKL with Virgin they invoiced us wrong and we saved about £1500!

[Katycoco]

We said concierge level at akl it was amazing, so if you get nowhere at CR I would definitely negotiate concierge

But I wouldn't be happy if it happened to me.

[amandajane10]

I really hope they sort it out for you.

[Nimbus]

Originally Posted by Clare

Unfortunately it can also happen if you book direct, different friends have been downgraded at Disney resorts despite booking direct.

See more...

It can happen with whoever you book with. There is no 100% guarantee that you will stay at the hotel you book. A small percentage of people do get moved around - and that applies just as much to non-Disney hotels as it does to Disney hotels.

However, part of the issue here is the manner in which Virgin handled this. They should have advised the OP of the change as soon as they were aware of it. The OP should have been offered compensation, not only for the reduction in price between the two resorts ("Loss of Value") but potentially also for the hassle and disappointment of not getting what they wanted ("Loss of Enjoyment"). Most importantly, Virgin should have offered their sincere apologies whilst trying their best to resolve the issue, keeping the OP advised at all times. It shouldn't be up to the OP to chase Virgin and/or Disney to find out what's going on.

Mind you, I suspect a lot of other TAs wouldn't handle it much better.

To the OP, I hope you get something sorted.

[samsparro]

So, quick update before I try and get some sleep before a night shift tonight...

Meadowhall manager has rung back. Virgins Florida office have said it’s the AKL and £1000 off the price we have been quoted for the Contemporary, or nothing.

No offer of anything else.

Onto the next step it is, written complaint going into Virgin this afternoon explaining all.

Hacked off doesn’t even come close to describing how we feel at the minute.

[BrightlyBob]

A £1000 reduction may be a fair offer, it depends when you're staying. I suspect however it's not.

I decided to have a look online for you and compare base AKL room prides with Contemprary and hit upon a big, big problem. I just couldn't find any date where the Contemporary was offering a standard room. AKL was easy, I hit that time and again. I finally found a date 2nd to 3rd December 2018, AKL £256 for the night, Contemporary £331. Now this is the very cheapest season, so chances are your dates will be pricier but the percentage difference should stay similar. So AKL is 25% cheaper than Contemporary. Therefore if your Contemporary cost was over £4000 the reduction offer is short.

Of course because Virgin is a package it could be difficult to separate out the components, but personally if you're going for a fortnight then I think the offer is beyond low-ball, it's an insult. Let's say you're going mid July then AKL is £330/nt. on that basis Contemporary would be £430/nt. Hence on a 14 night stay the reduction of £1000 will be increasing Virgins profit on your booking. If you're on 10 nights then I suspect it's about evens but no compensation for your hassle. If it's 7 days or less and that £1000 reduction represents both a refund in the difference and a reduction for your hassle...

[BrightlyBob]

Looking at your October dates, and comparing the December differentials between standard rooms and the actual prices quoted for the only available non-standard AKL rooms during your stay I'd expect the cost of your accommodation at Contemporary in a standard room would be about £4,800 and the cost of a standard room at AKL to be around £3,800. So no, not a great offer in my view.