Virgin Pilots have voted to strike

blue_monkey_2

Linky here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13863341

Hope that not too many people are affected by this over the summer.

johnnyroper

Got a feeling old beardy may have to get involved with this one instead of leaving it all to steve ridgeway.There is no way he would want the bad PR of VS pilots standing round an oil drum full of fire at the gates to LHR and LGW.

certainly hope it is all sorted by september when i go (if i sort alternative accomodation that is)

blue_monkey_2

What happened to the other accomodation johnny?

johnnyroper

The owner seems to have vanished off face of the earth have been unable to contact them for weeks,also the yearly planner shows a lack of bookings this year compared to other villas being well booked up this along with no reviews since 2009 is giving me a bad feeling.
So much so I don't feel comfortable sending any more money for fear of being stranded with no accommodation on arrival.

blue_monkey_2

I don't blame you tbh. Have you asked on the Dibb? There are some people who live there so they might have more local knowledge on the villa/estate in question.

How have you paid so far?

A bloke my husband works with booked a villa in Spain last year, a few months before they were due to travel the police turned up. Turns out the villa owner was taking loads of bookings for the same weeks and had taken the money and done a bunk and the villa had been repossessed. It all came to light when 2 families turned up for their holidays on the same week. Shocking that people can do this to others.

johnnyroper

I will ask on the dibb to see if anyone knows anything.

Deposit was via paypal not holding out any hope of getting back but going to try.

blue_monkey_2

I'd put a dispute on the money now Johnny, at least if he does come back to you then you can tell him why, that you was worried and ask him why he had not responded. Was it a lot of money?

A lot of the villas are on gated estates and the people over there also have their own villas so might be able to tell you more. It's worth a try. I hope you get something sorted. Let us know how it goes.

Disney have their free dining on in September, did you not fancy OKW or SSR? Did we talk about this already? I can't remember how many of you are going.

johnnyroper

It was for £200 nothing paypal can do as was last year and not ffor a material item?

It is on a gated purpose built community,alarm bells are ringing about it taking everything in to consideration.
There are 2 adults and a 3 year old going,not a big fan of staying on site really as like to get away from all the Disney stuff on the evening so have not even looked at them,it was ok at DLP but that was only a few days not sure I could do 14 there?
What sort of prices would I be looking at for the places you mentioned? Sorry for questions but never looked at on site hotels before so don't know if best to look on Disney or via expedia or a like.

blue_monkey_2

I see, that is a bummer. Have you tried your credit card instead (hoping for you). Do look up the name of the gated community though because a lot of them had foreclosures on them last year, or things like electric and pool cleaning bills were not paid. I am sure someone on The Dibb would know, if you want to PM me I can have a trawl for you.

To be honest, the resorts are so big you do not know you are in Disney other than the TV (which you can turn off!! Or buy cheap DVD's in Walmart, they are sometimes handy to keep the kids occupied) and there being mickeys in the carpets and that. They call them hidden Mickeys, get your little one looking for them Also, they are like normal apartments (I have some pictures if you PM me your email address). These resorts are NOTHING like DLP I promise!! Our bedroom in the apartment was bigger than our room and bathroom at Santa Fe! The bath was the size of a double bed, with bubble jets!!

If you look on Google Earth you can see how big these resorts are - so much so they have their own bus service - and they are not 'Disney in your face' all the time if this is what you are worried about. If fact, apart from the Disney buses you'd not even know where you are. The hotels I would say are very Disney and you know you are there. The Deluxe Villa Resorts I mentioned, not at all. You might also want to check out Wilderness Lodge as they have cabins in the woodland and are quite remote and quiet.

Last time I looked it was about £1200 for a one bedroom unit or £800 for a Studio at Saratoga Springs or Old Key West - but this was for 4 of us - I have not priced for 2 adults and one child so it might be cheaper. The Studios do not have a bath, full kitchen or a washer and dryer - for us this is a neccessity now as I did my washing while I was there and it meant a) we could take less and b) I came home with no dirty clothes other than what we were standing up in, LOL!! The savings with Free Dining are about £100-£120 a day for the 3 of you depending on where you eat, for us, it meant that we could eat wherever we wanted without worrying about the cost. Also you can 'save' the meals and use 2 to go to the evening dinner shows they do (one at O'Hanas and one at Wilderness Lodge). We have never been to one of those though.

Look on the Disney Website, Expedia and those sites will not have them. Youi do get bonus vouchers when you book through Disney too like free merchandise, $15 Planet Hollywood vouchers, free golf. Don't worry about the questions, you know it is my favourite subject!!

But you could stay at Disney for a week then go somewhere else for week 2 and split your stay so you do not have Disney for the full 14 days. The time spent moving will be as long as it would take you would spend driving back and forth to Disney from the villa anyway. When you check in you can leave your luggage there and go off until your room is ready. We checked out at 8am, ready for the day . But if you do this, make Disney your first weeks stay so you get your tickets, you get them on your room key but it is a major hassle to get them if you need them before wek 2 if you do it the other way around.

Any more questions then please ask. We are going back next Easter now. It is very addictive