Virgin Holidays with WDW hotel - no shuttle?

csimon

Mouseketeer
Joined
Sep 20, 2018
Just doing some "trial" bookings with Virgin Holidays, selecting a WDW resort, and when it gets to transport, you get the options of a hire car, shared shuttle to and from the airport (at a cost of £7.26) or "I'll make my own way". Magical Express is actually inclusive for guests at WDW resorts, so what's happening here? Can you select "I'll make my own way" and then call Disney separately to arrange the shuttle, or can you not arrange transport through Disney for packages not bought from them and Virgin wants to charge you extra for arranging the "free" shuttle on your behalf?
 
I always book direct rather through Virgin so can't speak from experience, but ME is for all onsite guests and so I assume that you can just take your booking number from Virgin and book direct.
 
I always book direct rather through Virgin so can't speak from experience, but ME is for all onsite guests and so I assume that you can just take your booking number from Virgin and book direct.

Yes, I have always booked direct in the past but it's difficult securing the hotel you want and the flights at a reasonable price. Booking the whole package with Disney - the flights are only released 11.5 months in advance, if you take a chance on booking the hotel first then you run the risk of the flights being prohibitively expensive for the dates you've booked the hotel for. If you wait until the flights are released, you run the risk of the hotel you want having disappeared, as happened to me last time (for some reason, hotel availability seems to be very unstable at the moment). And twice in the past Virgin changed the flights days so forcing me to find an extra night somewhere. So I thought I'd try Virgin Holidays instead next time, they get early access to the flights (2 years in advance it seems) and I'm hoping that if they then change flight days then they'll be more helpful with arranging the extra night. As the whole package would be booked with them.

But I don't understand the shuttle thing! I'm guessing like you that you can just quote the booking number to Disney, but I don't know if they will accept it as, in a lot of cases, if you book with another travel agent then you have to deal with the travel agent not with Disney. On the face of it, it sounds like a money-making ploy from Virgin - they are the only ones that can arrange it with Disney so they charge extra for it.

Hopefully someone who's done it can clarify. But I suspect most who book with Virgin would take a hire car.
 
CSimon Virgin Holidays can't actually book the Disney rooms until they come out with Disney as well. Lots of people this year had problems on their bookings for next year as Virgin Holidays over allocated rooms when they brought out the free dining etc earlier.
 


CSimon Virgin Holidays can't actually book the Disney rooms until they come out with Disney as well. Lots of people this year had problems on their bookings for next year as Virgin Holidays over allocated rooms when they brought out the free dining etc earlier.

Yes, Disney releases hotels around March for the following year (although Virgin seems to be offering WDW hotels already up to June 2020), so in 3 or 4 months you should be able to book hotels for the whole of 2020. But if you're looking at autumn 2020 as I am then you can't book flights with Disney at that point as the flights will not be released by Virgin until autumn 2019. But you could book the whole package immediately with Virgin in March 2019 as they get flights 2 years in advance.

I'm just doing trial bookings to see what availability is like and prices are like with Virgin, but have come across this airport transfer conundrum and wondered what was going on.

I didn't know about Virgin overnbooking rooms - that could explain why they're already offering rooms up to June 2020.
 
CSimon Virgin Holidays can't actually book the Disney rooms until they come out with Disney as well. Lots of people this year had problems on their bookings for next year as Virgin Holidays over allocated rooms when they brought out the free dining etc earlier.
I can attest to this! Virgin tried the move me from BC to AKL, I didn’t accept and cancelled. Do not pay for a transfer through Virgin, you are entitled to ME, so once you have booked your holiday through Virgin book your ME through the number on the Disney website.
 
I can attest to this! Virgin tried the move me from BC to AKL, I didn’t accept and cancelled. Do not pay for a transfer through Virgin, you are entitled to ME, so once you have booked your holiday through Virgin book your ME through the number on the Disney website.

Ouch, a move from BC to AKL must have hurt! Not surprised you cancelled. Were you able to find anything else or did the holiday just get postponed? The Epcot resorts are on my bucket list but I'm finding them very difficult to book.
 


I think I’ve read in the past that Virgin tries to push you into paying for their own shuttle services by not offering Magical Express, but as far as I’m aware, all onsite guests are eligible.

As for booking with a third party - especially Virgin - I tend to steer clear. So many people’s 2019 holidays have been ruined by Virgin this year due to their overbooking, especially in the more popular resorts like Yacht Club, Beach Club and Port Orleans. If the price is similar, I’d book the hotel/ ticket package with Disney and wait for flights to be released separately. Are you planning on booking free dining when it’s released?
 
I think I’ve read in the past that Virgin tries to push you into paying for their own shuttle services by not offering Magical Express, but as far as I’m aware, all onsite guests are eligible.

I think we've sussed them! I did think it was odd so I was checking here from people who've done it

As for booking with a third party - especially Virgin - I tend to steer clear. So many people’s 2019 holidays have been ruined by Virgin this year due to their overbooking, especially in the more popular resorts like Yacht Club, Beach Club and Port Orleans. If the price is similar, I’d book the hotel/ ticket package with Disney and wait for flights to be released separately.

This is really a difficult one, trying to forecast what the flight prices will be in 6 months time for the dates you've booked the hotel for! (I like to go premium economy these days...the prices vary day to day from affordable to ludicrous, it would be just my luck to end up with flights that are £3000 each way). But hotel availability is so unstable, if you want a particular hotel you have to go with whatever company offers it asap before it goes again. Over the last couple of years, the Epcot resorts have not been generally available via Disney Travel Company, or at least I missed the few hours when they were available! Maybe this is the reason why - Virgin booked more than they should have, leaving no availability for other travel agents??

Are you planning on booking free dining when it’s released?

I'm not bothered either way about free dining. I've had three holidays at WDW so far, the first two were without, the third (in the coming February :-) ) is with, but I didn't do this on purpose, it was being offered at the time I booked. The problem is you've got no choice it seems, in the UK at least, if it's on offer you have to take it. From what I understand, you don't get a discount on the package if you get free dining, so it's debateable whether it's worth it. It depends on the amount of the discount, but you can't tell what discount you would have got once the free dining is available!

I wouldn't buy a dining plan separately, it's not value for money for me personally. It's no more hassle paying on the go (you scan the magic band either way) and it's much cheaper.
 
Just do not select any shuttle/transfer option that has a price tag. You might end up selecting "make my own way" to get the computer to move on to the next step.

As mentioned, later on you can book Magical Express independently.

I don't know whether Virgin does this but some travel companies book a block of rooms at a discount from the hotel or resort and then (re)sell these rooms to their own customers/clients. I suppose that they can return any unsold rooms back to Disney or whomever but if the travel company got a discount to start with then there would be a penalty for having to return some.

Note: Some travel company customer orders are "assembled" like Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes entries one at a time at Disney close to check in day. At that time your room reservation is created. So you might get a reply of "you don't have a room reservation" if you call Disney's central number to reserve DME well in advance. I think you will not have this problem if you call the DME hot line 866-599-0951. At least have the printouts from Virgin showing your resort's name handy when you make this call.

... So many people’s 2019 holidays have been ruined by Virgin this year due to their overbooking, especially in the more popular resorts like Yacht ...
Hmmmm. Has anyone been surprised by an involuntary resort change within a few days of check in? This could mess up DME reservations leading some persons to believe that DME is not available through that travel company. But the counter CM at the welcoming area should be able to fix any such problems (except get you back the resort you wanted) namely put you on the proper bus for the new resort.
 
Last edited:
I think we've sussed them! I did think it was odd so I was checking here from people who've done it



This is really a difficult one, trying to forecast what the flight prices will be in 6 months time for the dates you've booked the hotel for! (I like to go premium economy these days...the prices vary day to day from affordable to ludicrous, it would be just my luck to end up with flights that are £3000 each way). But hotel availability is so unstable, if you want a particular hotel you have to go with whatever company offers it asap before it goes again. Over the last couple of years, the Epcot resorts have not been generally available via Disney Travel Company, or at least I missed the few hours when they were available! Maybe this is the reason why - Virgin booked more than they should have, leaving no availability for other travel agents??



I'm not bothered either way about free dining. I've had three holidays at WDW so far, the first two were without, the third (in the coming February :-) ) is with, but I didn't do this on purpose, it was being offered at the time I booked. The problem is you've got no choice it seems, in the UK at least, if it's on offer you have to take it. From what I understand, you don't get a discount on the package if you get free dining, so it's debateable whether it's worth it. It depends on the amount of the discount, but you can't tell what discount you would have got once the free dining is available!

I wouldn't buy a dining plan separately, it's not value for money for me personally. It's no more hassle paying on the go (you scan the magic band either way) and it's much cheaper.

I think that the Epcot resorts usually sell out very quickly because of popularity - I’ve seen availability in the past but it’s limited as you say. Unfortunately from what I’ve been told, when Virgin oversold their allocation for some of the Disney resorts during the free dining period just past, many customers were moved resorts or even downgraded without a refund. Two of the resorts overbooked were Yacht and Beach Club - Virgin tried to move some customers down to AKL with no compensation from what I recall! Before this fiasco I wouldn’t have had any qualms about booking indirect, but after all the hassle and disappointment I’ve seen others go through this year, I just don’t want to risk it.

With the dining plan, I agree that I wouldn’t pay for it, but it is a huge bonus to us when we can get it for free. We feel strangely liberated using our Magic Bands to pay for meals, rather than having to pay and feeling like we are spending thousands of dollars - it’s nice for us to not worry about how much we are spending or how we’re going to pay. In my experience the free dining plan deals have been better value for us than the room discount deals offered at other times, but it definitely varies depending on circumstances and how many people are sharing a room. If you’re happy with the deal that’s out now, then definitely book, but otherwise, especially if you haven’t had a dining plan before, it may be worth holding out. I’d say it also depends on whether you have a specific hotel you want to stay at or not - if so, the earlier you book, the better.

We’ve risked it with flights before and booked with Disney prior to flights being available to book, and after some persistence, have always found flights for a decent price. I’m not sure what Disney’s amendment policies are but that would potentially be another option.
 
Just do not select any shuttle/transfer option that has a price tag. You might end up selecting "make my own way" to get the computer to move on to the next step.

As mentioned, later on you can book Magical Express independently.

I don't know whether Virgin does this but some travel companies book a block of rooms at a discount from the hotel or resort and then (re)sell these rooms to their own customers/clients. I suppose that they can return any unsold rooms back to Disney or whomever but if the travel company got a discount to start with then there would be a penalty for having to return some.

Note: Some travel company customer orders are "assembled" like Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes entries one at a time at Disney close to check in day. At that time your room reservation is created. So you might get a reply of "you don't have a room reservation" if you call Disney's central number to reserve DME well in advance. I think you will not have this problem if you call the DME hot line 866-599-0951. At least have the printouts from Virgin showing your resort's name handy when you make this call.


Hmmmm. Has anyone been surprised by an involuntary resort change within a few days of check in? This could mess up DME reservations leading some persons to believe that DME is not available through that travel company. But the counter CM at the welcoming area should be able to fix any such problems (except get you back the resort you wanted) namely put you on the proper bus for the new resort.

From the people I’ve heard from, the hotel moves have all been months in advance. Virgin was allocated a specific number of hotel availability from Disney, and overbooked, thinking that the extra bookings would be honored. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case, and people were moved, as you say, involuntarily, or told to cancel. I don’t think Virgin was the only third party that had this issue but they were certainly one of the more notorious ones this year.
 
We always book direct now; after reading above glad we have :eek:. We book for following year when free dining offer released April time and then book flights later. We've had to move our holiday dates by a few days a couple of times to suit flights and been able to do so without charge by Disney, but it is a 'risk'. Good luck.
 
We've had to move our holiday dates by a few days a couple of times to suit flights and been able to do so without charge by Disney, but it is a 'risk'.

It's good to know then that this is probably standard and accepted practice, and I'm not being thick in not seeing how to do it! Thank you.
 
Just doing some "trial" bookings with Virgin Holidays, selecting a WDW resort, and when it gets to transport, you get the options of a hire car, shared shuttle to and from the airport (at a cost of £7.26) or "I'll make my own way". Magical Express is actually inclusive for guests at WDW resorts, so what's happening here? Can you select "I'll make my own way" and then call Disney separately to arrange the shuttle, or can you not arrange transport through Disney for packages not bought from them and Virgin wants to charge you extra for arranging the "free" shuttle on your behalf?
I booked I'll make my own way and got disney magic express
 
So I have my holiday for the first time all booked through Virgin Hols and they did indeed book me on their shuttle at a cost. It was only at the point where I was moaning it was a lot more than I could get separately that they mentioned shuttle cost and I was like "you mean magical express?". Turned out she didn't but she was happy to remove thank God as I would have kicked right off.
 
So I have my holiday for the first time all booked through Virgin Hols and they did indeed book me on their shuttle at a cost. It was only at the point where I was moaning it was a lot more than I could get separately that they mentioned shuttle cost and I was like "you mean magical express?". Turned out she didn't but she was happy to remove thank God as I would have kicked right off.

Aha, that's clearer now. I think I was looking at it from the point of view of booking a Disney hotel specifically (that's the only reason I was looking at Virgin Holidays), but of course as a general travel agent/tour operator they offer hire cars or their own shuttles from the airport, whatever the resort. It's just that their web site isn't programmed to know about hotels that have their own shuttles anyway. Either that's deliberate or it's a design oversight, you decide! So the charge for a shuttle is for Virgin's shuttle, not a charge for them booking Magical Express on your behalf. The phrase "shared shuttle" that they have on the web form doesn't explain whose shuttle it is.

And "I'll make my own way" effectively includes "I'll make my own arrangements with my hotel directly" as well as "I'll hire a car myself or get a taxi", or whatever.
 
And "I'll make my own way" effectively includes "I'll make my own arrangements with my hotel directly" as well as "I'll hire a car myself or get a taxi", or whatever.

Yes this is completely what it means. Its very sneaky I feel as I had the same thoughts as you ("shared" means Magical Express"). Glad not to be stung in the end by this one. I know it isn't a lot extra on the cost but I would have been gutted if I had paid and then noticed it.
 
Very easy - if you want to use ME (free to all guests staying in a Disney resort) then you book it directly with Disney using the UK phone number - once you have done that you call Virgin and tell them that you don't need the shuttle service and they will give you a refund - last year it was around £92 (party of 2) for arrival and collection or £46 for one way. We used ME on arrival and the Virgin shuttle from DS for the return. If you are doing trial bookings to get prices and you are going to use ME then just select the "I'll make my own way" option for current accurate prices. We had already booked when we decided to try ME on arrival but even then there was no problem in getting it changed and in getting the refund.
 
Aha, that's clearer now. I think I was looking at it from the point of view of booking a Disney hotel specifically (that's the only reason I was looking at Virgin Holidays), but of course as a general travel agent/tour operator they offer hire cars or their own shuttles from the airport, whatever the resort. It's just that their web site isn't programmed to know about hotels that have their own shuttles anyway. Either that's deliberate or it's a design oversight, you decide! So the charge for a shuttle is for Virgin's shuttle, not a charge for them booking Magical Express on your behalf. The phrase "shared shuttle" that they have on the web form doesn't explain whose shuttle it is.

And "I'll make my own way" effectively includes "I'll make my own arrangements with my hotel directly" as well as "I'll hire a car myself or get a taxi", or whatever.
Virgin use Mears for their shuttles - the size of vehicle depends on the number of people booked for the service.
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!






Top