PAP Renewal "Black Hole"

[AVP]

The only way around this that I can see is to renew in person, which is not always possible for everyone to do.And you don't get the renew-by-mail discount.

I've always been willing to deal with the black hole period - all I've ever needed to do is point to my expiration date and the CMs know what's happening. Now that the black hole impacts parking (I forgot to mention that, but the CM at Mickey & Friends had to do an override too) and discounts as well as park admission, it's much more of a hassle.

AVP

[dlfansx4]

And you don't get the renew-by-mail discount.

I've always been willing to deal with the black hole period - all I've ever needed to do is point to my expiration date and the CMs know what's happening. Now that the black hole impacts parking (I forgot to mention that, but the CM at Mickey & Friends had to do an override too) and discounts as well as park admission, it's much more of a hassle.

AVP

Is the renew by mail discount different than the one given if you renew before the pass expires? I renewed my son's pass last month and still received the $20 discount. The renewal was done in person, at the AP processing center.

[THpoohbear]

I've always received the discount in person too. The only thing that affected me by going in person is not having the option of getting the "special" renewal AP design.

[Malcon10t]

I usually do mine in person also. I've always received the $20 discount.

[Matterhorn Yodeler]

I know I'm really not contributing anything beneficial to resolving the "black hole", but it seems that if the PAP has a unique barcode specific to the individual, then there should be no problem in determining whether the pass is valid. Even if there are two passes with the same barcode (old expiring pass and new pass), once the code has been scanned, then it should prevent a second use that day with the other pass.

This should be true with all levels of AP's (excluding, of course, blackout days), but in particular, this issue should be especially resolved for those who are purchasing the option of having access to the parks 365 days per year.

Okay...rant finished! I guess it's the caffeinated coffee I'm drinking this evening! :eek:

[danyoung]

That's not a bad solution, Yodeler. I'd think the problem would be that the bar code right now is not tied to an individual - it's different on every pass. When you buy a new pass, that new code is tied to your pass. But the current system has no way to deal with an individual having 2 passes. I think the problem could be solved pretty easily, if they wanted to put the effort into it. Have the old bar code remain active until the FIRST scan of the new one - at that point, have the computer disable the old code. Easy peasy, no?

[Malcon10t]

But what happens when someone flakes on the payments on the PAP? They need a way to pop a note on the screen as to why the pass is flagged, so the CM can look and figure out what to do.

[danyoung]

If they flake on payment, the card should be canceled and the bar code made inactive. The problem is happening because the old card in a renewing AP situation is being treated exactly the same as someone who is flaking on payments - the card is going inactive. The old AP needs to remain active until the first use of the new one. This shouldn't be that hard of a programming change for Disney.