We were conned

[gill]

I would just like to post a warning to others to be wary of rogue transportation companies who will pose as your ordered transportation. My son and I were waiting outside the Caribbean Beach Resort last Thursday for our pre-arranged driver to take us back to the airport at 9.30 am. At 9.25 a shuttle type van with Fantasia Tours on it drew up and the driver said he was picking up two passengers for the airport. Although he didn't have our names he said that our original driver had phoned him to pick us up. He checked that we hadn't yet paid for our vehicle and agreed with me that the fare was $168. On arrival at Sanford I paid the driver, even giving him a tip. We checked in and went through security. An hour later I was called back to security to find our bona fide driver, demanding his fee of $168.

The lesson from this tale is that if you have booked transportation, make sure the driver has your name. If not you too could be conned.

We had a great holiday, but this was not a great way to end it.

 

[napnet]

Wow, that no fun. I also had no idea they charged that much for transportation. Sounds like i need to go buy a van!

 

[Erika]

I'm sorry. Thanks for the warning.

 

[typhoonguy]

Yikes!

Next time, be wary of ANYONE who charges 168 dollars, regardless of the company. That trip in a mears shuttle would have been WELL under 100 dollars... In fact if you schedule ahead of time I believe they have a 54 dollar special for a van-load of people.

 

[Erika]

Next time, be wary of ANYONE who charges 168 dollars, regardless of the company.

True that! The last couple of times we went we used a limo and that was way cheaper than $168.

 

[shoppingnut]

Here's the name of a reputable company that is also a sponsor of this board. I know many people have used them and they have rates to/from Sanford for $190 round trip. http://www.quicksilver-tours.com/ratesquotes.asp

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

Next time, be wary of ANYONE who charges 168 dollars, regardless of the company. That trip in a mears shuttle would have been WELL under 100 dollars... In fact if you schedule ahead of time I believe they have a 54 dollar special for a van-load of people.

There's nothing like rubbing salt into an open wound.

 

[lunalovegoddess]

Many times I have stood outside one of the theme parks and called a cab/transportation to get back to our hotel, and had other companies come up to me claiming similar things. It's good to be careful.

I've used Quicksilver for all of our airport-to-hotel ground transportation. The drivers we've had have been very courteous and helped with our luggage.

 

[typhoonguy]

I still say Mears or DME. Free is hard to beat, and when you cant go free, fifty bucks isn't half bad.

 

[Figments Friend]

I used to do Mears before DME came into exsistance. So many have complained about them, but i found Mears to be great and pretty much the same as DME without the theming. Of course..that is probably because Mears runs DME...lol!!

Mears was fine.....i remember i used to get a $25 roundtrip deal from my travel agent at that time. Now i book everything myself and just use DME. I've had fine experiences so far.

 

[The Mom]

The OP was travelling to/from the SANFORD airport, not the Orlando airport.

As far as I know, DME does not service that airport; it's about a 45 minute (an hour if traffic is bad) drive from WDW.

 

[Iakona]

Here's the name of a reputable company that is also a sponsor of this board. I know many people have used them and they have rates to/from Sanford for $190 round trip. http://www.quicksilver-tours.com/ratesquotes.asp

Quicksilver is also very careful to warn their customers abut these con artists.

 

[CleveRocks]

I used to do Mears before DME came into exsistance. So many have complained about them, but i found Mears to be great and pretty much the same as DME without the theming. Of course..that is probably because Mears runs DME...lol!!

Mears was fine.....i remember i used to get a $25 roundtrip deal from my travel agent at that time. Now i book everything myself and just use DME. I've had fine experiences so far.

Just to clarify, Mears doesn't "run" DME, Mears provides the drivers and buses. Disney runs DME. Part of what people didn't like about Mears was the lousy wait times, lousy waiting conditions (outside), the MANY stops, the general inconvenience of it all.

SInce DME is run by Disney, all those old problems no longer exist. Mears provides the drivers and buses, but their procedures, the way they carry out their tasks, is purely planned and decided by Disney.

Just like Mears is the transportation subcontractor, there are also separate subcontractors for printing/mailing the DME packets, inbound luggage delivery, Resort Airline Check-In, outbound luggage delivery, and computer technology. Disney "runs" it all even though other companies do most of the heavy lifting.

 

[CleveRocks]

I still say Mears or DME. Free is hard to beat, and when you cant go free, fifty bucks isn't half bad.

Except that the OP was talking about a bad experience going to Sanford airport. DME only services MCO; by contract, Disney is not permitted to offer DME to any airport within 100 miles of MCO.