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View Full Version : Upgrading Renewals - Am I the last to know this?



DizneyMommy
08-11-2014, 10:12 AM
I haven't been around in a while, perhaps I need to pay more attention to MP, but regardless I hope this saves SOMEONE else a headache...

On August 3rd I needed to get into the parks but we all downgraded to SoCal last year due to my husband being in Grad school and making a career change, so I was blocked out. My pass was set to expire on August 21st. I went to the ticket booth and explained to the agent that I needed to get into the park a few times before the 21st, so I wanted to upgrade my renewal to a Deluxe pass so I could get in. No problem, she says. I asked, to be sure, if i pay today it is upgraded today, correct? Yes, no problem, she says. She seemed to be learning still and a supervisor was standing right over her answer questions and guiding her through the computer, and she also agreed, no problem.

I went to the gate to get in and, of course, it bonked at me. I said I just paid and upgraded like 5 minutes ago and showed her my contract. No problem, she says, the computer just hasn't updated.

I came home and had this nagging feeling so I looked in my account and, lo and behold, there is a problem. It still shows SoCal and exp 8/21. So I call Disney and they tell me that the "policy" which is clearly new, is that if you renew before your exp date, even within the 30 day window, it does not take effect until the expiration date. So basically in the least 2 weeks I paid one payment for my old pass, one payment for my new pass which they are HAPPY to bill immediately even though you can't use it, and I made a downpayment (because I can write off a one day ticket as a business expense but not my whole pass), and yet I can't even use the dang thing because SoCal is blocked out until the 18th. Now since I need to get in the park this week I will have to buy a regular ticket, AND the kicker is that I can't even apply that ticket towards my pass unless I pay the rest of the balance off in full.

Not happy. Clearly. I am really not a cynical person, but I have to say this is just another example of these new AP "policies" that change out of the blue with no notification, unless you are bored enough to hunt down the T&C online and read them once a month to scan for changes. I got bit by another new "policy" last year that suddenly appeared which cost us money too. I've renewed/upgraded early several times and never had a problem, it was always effective the day you paid. I even asked them to change my exp date to the date I paid so I lose a few weeks but at least I can get in and they said it is "not physically possible to change a person's expiration date in the computer" Bunk. Anything is possible.

Disney, why, oh why, can't you phase in new policies with a one year grace period, so that those of us who have loyally given you way too much money over way too many years are not blindsided by these things??? Or, here's a thought, NOTIFY AP's when there are substantial changes to the way AP's are handled. Like, in an actual letter or email saying what the change is. Not just tell us "It's in the T&C" after the fact.

Rant over. Moral of the story… don't bother upgrading/renewing your pass until the very DAY it is due unless you enjoy paying for things you can't have.

DizneyMommy
08-11-2014, 01:01 PM
So, as an update, I got a call back from a person who was supposedly a supervisor. He was extremely rude and told me I should've read the terms and conditions and that I am responsible for knowing the policies before I renew. So I went online and I read the terms and conditions again, there is absolutely no mention of this policy anywhere that I can find on Disney's website in the annual passholder terms or anywhere else. I don't know where these phantom terms and conditions are, but I sent an email to guest services online explaining the issue, and I'm hoping to get a response. I think it is not cool that they are happy to take my money, but not tell me that I can't actually use the pass.

AnotherJenny
08-11-2014, 02:18 PM
Well, they used to print your new pass with your new expiration and send you on your way. Now you keep your pass and they just update your expiration. It doesn't surprise me that they can't (or won't) update your pass type until the new contract year starts. It's unfortunate, but not surprising.

TTFN92
08-11-2014, 02:26 PM
I've had problems with them concerning tickets before and was told they couldn't do anything. I had bought a ton of gift cards at the grocery store and planned on using them at the gate for tickets but they had a price increase so I had to buy them. Couldn't do it online because you can only use one form of payment. I called and I read all 23 gift card numbers to her over the phone. Two weeks later no tickets no word. Called and they said they couldn't process my order because there were too many gift cards. I had thrown them away so they couldn't refund them on them. They said there was nothing they could do. Um, what? I don't think so. They had $1300 of mine and said they couldn't give me tickets. I said I'd go to Bob Iger if I had to. It took so much going back and forth with so many people. I emailed and called for a month. It was a nightmare. We finally got tickets and while we were in the park someone from Disneyland Investigative Services called me (I think that's what it was called). She ended up giving us food vouchers and some FPs. I thought DL handled it so poorly. It's amazing to me that a company that established can have so many times when people aren't on the same page. You shouldn't have to read the terms and conditions when you are at the ticket booth talking to a human, and a trainer at that. I'd keep at it until you talk to the right person. Good luck. It's no fun.

DizneyMommy
08-11-2014, 02:30 PM
I would agree, my problem is not that the policy changed, it is that the ticket agent did not know it changed and was happy to take my money and tell me it would be valid immediately when it isn't. And now Disney says too bad I should have known better. I read the t&c and there is NOTHING about this anywhere in it.

DizneyMommy
08-11-2014, 02:40 PM
I should also note that my legally binding contract for a Deluxe pass is dated August 3, and no where in the contract does it state effective August 21. So how I "should have known" is beyond me. I think their legal team has fallen asleep on the job on this one.

3Princesses1Prince
08-11-2014, 02:55 PM
Wow this is completely different than past experiences. I'd talk to someone else. Especially since you explained what you were trying to accomplish and they said, " yes, this will work for you".

TTFN92
08-11-2014, 04:24 PM
Wow this is completely different than past experiences. I'd talk to someone else. Especially since you explained what you were trying to accomplish and they said, " yes, this will work for you".

Agree!

cstephens
08-11-2014, 05:38 PM
Wow this is completely different than past experiences. I'd talk to someone else. Especially since you explained what you were trying to accomplish and they said, " yes, this will work for you".

And if you know/remember the name of the cast member and supervisor who helped you, I'd give that info as well.

tea4two
08-11-2014, 06:42 PM
And if you know/remember the name of the cast member and supervisor who helped you, I'd give that info as well.

Agree, but if you don't remember, even the date, time, and booth/window #, and descriptions of the CMs can help, too.

houseofmouse
08-12-2014, 01:53 PM
I would just show up to the park with pass in hand and receipt. See if they will let you in before you buy a ticket. If it says Aug. 3rd they should have to honor that date.

disneyobsessed
08-12-2014, 03:14 PM
This probably isn't going to be a popular reply, but I will put it out there anyway.

First though, I will sympathize with the OP because it sounds like she got rotten mis-information, and that is intensely annoying and seems to happen too often at Disney.

I am not at all surprised about this change with Disney APs. Frankly, upgrading early to a higher level pass and getting the benefits of that pass immediately was a loophole that is now easily closed with the new evergreen or whatever they want to call it pass. I noticed last year when I did a renewal that our online expiration date didn't change when I renewed. When I called Disney, I asked what the deal was with that, and they told me that it wouldn't roll over to the new date until my expiration date came even though I had already paid. I don't do payment plan, just pay it all at once. I also wasn't changing pass types. So there weren't really any issues here for me other than wanting to confirm that my pass was actually going to renew since I had paid for it. My first thought after that phone call was ah-ha, there goes that upgrade loophole. Here's the thing. Say I bought and activated the deluxe pass for $519 on Aug. 1, 2014. That gives me all the privileges of that pass until Aug. 1, 2015. That's what I paid for. Then say the next year I decide I want to have a premium pass. (Let's leave the inevitable Disney spring/summer price increase out of this.) So I go in on July 17, 2015 and say I want to renew my pass to a premium pass for $699 minus the renewal discount. Well, my "renewed" pass is going to run Aug. 1, 2015 - Aug. 1, 2016. Why should I have the right to premium pass privileges for July 17-July 31? I didn't pay a premium pass price for July 17-31. (I admit that Aug. 1 day is sticky, and I suppose I could reasonably expect to have new pass privileges that day maybe.) The only reason that upgrade loophole existed before I suspect is because Disney was locking out the old card immediately upon renewal and supplying a new physical card. Now that you keep the same card forever, it's just a number to change in the computer, and there's no reason from Disney's perspective as a business to give away anything that hasn't been paid for.

What makes this extra difficult and annoying from the consumer perspective, of course, is that 1) some people became accustomed to this and other loopholes over time and 2) Disney did away with block out day tickets. The elimination of block-out day tickets is probably especially distressing to passholders below premium level since that came with no warning to the consumer leaving them only with the options of upgrading and keeping your same expiration date (and we all know that Disney doesn't pro-rate) or buying individual day tickets.

The only solutions I could see for OP's problem would be to
1) buy individual day tickets for the days needed
2) upgrade the deluxe pass for the difference in price between what she paid for the SoCal pass and the current price of the deluxe. That pass would still expire on Aug. 21, but the total cost of that might be less than buying multiple day tickets if OP was going frequently enough.
3) start a brand new deluxe pass on August 3. OP would forfeit the renewal discount and have a new pass with an Aug. 3, 2015 expiration date instead of an Aug. 21 expiration date.

The real problem with what OP experienced is that the above three options were not made clear to her so that she could choose what would work best for her situation and instead the CM went with the path of least resistance either through misunderstanding, ignorance, or some other reason and sold the OP something that did not address her needs.

goalieump413
08-13-2014, 07:50 AM
What DizneyMommy is experiencing, in my opinion, is an obvious breach of credibility on Disney's side.

On one hand, policy changes go into effect that reduce or eliminate benefits that AP's have traditionally enjoyed. This reduction or elimination of benefits hurts consumers, but helps protect Disney. This isn't any technical violation of customer service, since policies do change, and as long as Disney communicated those changes to AP holders, then they're off the hook. Almost... In this case, it appears that Disney Parks did not effectively communicate those policy changes up front, which is a deceptive tactic used to bargain renewals with false information. I'm sorry that DizneyMommy had this happen, and you should do everything you can to prove you were deceived.

But the second point is one of poor (or absent) customer service. When you talk to someone at the ticket booth, that person, regardless if they're in training or not, is representing Disney Parks, and their word should be taken at face value. If the ticket agent provides false information or is unaware of policy changes that affect you personally, that's not your fault. It's Disney Park's fault, for failing to properly train their workforce. You should not be charged money for a service you cannot use just because someone in the ticket booth said "you're fine" or something of that nature. You have evidence that proves you paid for an upgrade under the guidance of a Disney Parks employee. I'd call them a cast member, but in this case, either the ticket agent or Disney Parks have violated that definition.

Finally, what do you suppose Walt would say if he were still alive? Would this be in the spirit of what Disney Parks are all about? Sure, it might sound like a nostalgic approach to a modern dilemma, but there's truth to the idea that Disney Parks should still maintain high quality customer service, regardless of some failure or breakdown. If it's broke, fix it. But apparently, in this case, they're not willing to fix what they broke.

Keep after them, even though your time is now running short. Work towards a solution that backfills the time you paid for for your deluxe AP if nothing else. I know it's an uphill climb, and you might be facing a tough legalistic challenge, but in my experience, when the right people work with you, they tend to have the power to allow flexible resolutions. They junior ticket agent, and her supervisor are not in that position, as are the gate agent. Keep climbing the ladder, stay calm, and express your desire to remain an AP, spending money in the Parks more regularly, now that you're a deluxe AP holder.

AnotherJenny
08-13-2014, 10:18 AM
I should also note that my legally binding contract for a Deluxe pass is dated August 3, and no where in the contract does it state effective August 21. So how I "should have known" is beyond me. I think their legal team has fallen asleep on the job on this one.

I agree with disneyobsessed's unpopular opinion on this one. If the new contract doesn't state that it invalidates previous contracts, then all Disney is doing is abiding by the contract that runs through Aug 21, 2014. Now that being said, it seems like their current fill-in-the-blanks contract doesn't take into account that people will renew early and upgrade, and then have two conflicting contracts, one with more favorable terms. I think it would be nice if they give you a blockout ticket as a customer service gesture, but I think it's more likely that they'll fix the wording of the contract going forward.