Conference koolit::disney

    I'd call the Better Business Bureau in Orlando and maybe the hotel
    itself, ask he manager who the hotel's owner is.

    They advertise heavely on TV.  I got them to come up with
    6 nights for $325 at the Royal Plaza.  Each time I said no, they
    kicked in something more.
    My problem was they wanted my card number over the phone, before
    they sent me WRITTEN  information.  Somehow the old saying
    if it sounds to good to be true, it probably isn't.  I just wasn't
    prepared to sign on until I had something to read vs what they were
    saying on the phone.
    
    The ploy they use in their advs is if you are amoung the first 200
    callers, then you get a pass for some attraction in Orlando, plus
    Disney info.  Well, if you finally don't take deal, they just don't
    give you the ticket like they promise, they give you another number
    to call [not 800] to claim your prize.
    ed
    

    yes, they kept on saying that they'd give us this and that each time we
    hesitated.  we're trying to find out more about them now.  i'm
    getting more and more leery of this as the morning goes on.  they
    offered us first $349 for 5 days/4 nights.  then they said well, some
    people have paid for this deal but can't use it all, so you can have 6
    days/5 nights for the same price, or 5 days/4 nights for $274 [in
    essense getting 1 day/night "free"]  plus a $500 coupon book and travel
    club and film club and 35mm camera.
    
    can't figure out how they got my name, except that i did enter a contest
    i'd found somewhere on the web.  we've already got some very expensive
    reservations [family reunuion you see] and we're trying to get the
    price down to a reasonable roar.
    
    thanks.

  And I'll give you 20% off the best price they give you.  Just send money.

    re:              <<< Note 489.4 by SSDEVO::RMCLEAN >>>
                      -< Clearly crooked.  Forget it!!! >-
    
    I don't think they are crooked (like the people who've just been
    arrested), but the deal may not be quite as good as it seems.
    
    They called us last year (October of '94) just before we were heading
    down for the Veteran's Day weekend.  They were selling a 4-night
    package and I was able to get their price down to something like
    $55/night and they assured me I could come on Veteran's Day weekend. 
    They agreed to hold the offer until the next day (they called too late
    at night to do any checking).  When I called the Royal Plaza to see
    about availability, the front desk told me they were full for the
    weekend I wanted and had been for months.  The desk clerk did say that
    what I was able to get was a very good deal but I couldn't use it when
    I wanted it.  He also said that the marketing company selling the
    package is owned by the same company that owns the Royal Plaza and that
    they sell a lot of packages.
    
    So, I passed, but I was able to use the offer as leverage to get the
    same price at the neighboring Howard Johnson (which they tried to
    weasel out of, but that's another story).  When we arrived, we found
    that the HoJo was in transition to becoming a Courtyard, with the whole
    lobby torn up and under construction.  We stayed only one night then
    were able to get a MKC room at Port Orleans for not much more.
    
    I booked a room for my brother-in-law and his wife for the same
    weekend, and they arrived very late at night.  When they checked in and
    were directed to their room, they found that it was full of tables and
    chairs but had no bed.  At one in the morning, they had to wait another
    hour for their room to be made up before they could go to bed (still
    another story).
    
    OPINION:  This was my first and last experience as a guest at a Disney
    Village "resort".  The ID card they give you isn't worth the cardboard
    it's printed.  All it does is get you on a bus, if there's room, that
    takes forever to get to the parks.  Within WDW, it is useless.  You are
    NOT a resort guest when you stay at the Village.  At least at the Swan
    or Dolphin you get a nice hotel.
    
    --Jay
    

We did buy a hotel package thru CFI in the summer of 1994. We stayed at the
Hotel Royal Plaza for about $75 per night. They also through in 2 admissions
to Sea World and a coupon book.

I called the Royal Plaza Hotel before I gave them my credit card # to find out
if they were legit...apparently they own or manage the hotel.

We had no problems there but as was mentioned earlier; the card is
good only for bus transportation.

Doug

    As of Oct, the RP was getting a face lift.  The RP routinely gives a 
    "50%" discount to people who know to ask.  off-season, the $75 is
    better spent outside IMHO.