I recently booked a family vacation at the WDW Dolphin through the Dolphin reservation system. It was a last minute Millenium deal and I had lots of questions on room availability, package inclusions, room location, and so on.

The reservation agent was very friendly and in the course of the discussion she told me that the 20th floor in the Tower was being held for VIPs and long-term Millenium package holders (ie those unlucky souls who booked a year ago and paid full price in advance for a 7-day package).

I said, "But I'm a VIP! I want the 20th floor, too!" Subsequently, I faxed her a page with some corroborating details.

She faxed me back and said she'd made the notation in my reservation record. I called her back and said, "What's the notation?" and she said, "Special Attention."

Now, my questions are these: What IS VIP service? How do you let the hotel know you are a VIP? Is this one of those things that if you have to ask, then it's obviously not you? And does "special attention" really mean, "Look out! Pain in the ... is about to check in!"

(Note: On our New Year's Eve cruise last year, I faxed the same page to my travel agent, and we were invited to sit at the Captain's Table, so something happened, but then I'm not sure it wasn't because we had the most expensive cabin category on the ship.)