PDA

View Full Version : Huge ticket upgrading problem



ktrm
11-20-2006, 09:25 PM
I just came back from Disneyland and ran into a big ticket upgrading problem that I was not aware of. In March, I went to Disneyland with a friend. We both got the tickets only "Passport Plus" package from AAA for 4 day hoppers. My friend went to WDTC to upgrade to a 5 day hopper because she was having such a great time. She just had to pay the difference between a 4 day hopper and a 5 day hopper ($10 per ticket). No problem.

This last trip, however, we bought tickets through AAA for 3 day hoppers. AAA stated that they had 2 and 3 day hoppers on hand so they did not have to be ordered in advance. Great! This worked out well since this was a last minute trip. When I tried to upgrade the tickets to 4 day hoppers at WDTC, I was told that this could not be done since they were not WDTC tickets. I told them that I bought the tickets through AAA just like last March. She said that the "passport plus" ticket only packages from AAA are through WDTC but the tickets that are sold directly out of the office are not. I told her last time I knew nothing of "Passport Plus" ticket only packages, I just wanted a 4 day hopper which AAA did not carry in the office so they ordered them for me. She admitted there was no way I could have known the difference and just to consider it a lesson learned. What? The prices AAA charge for the "Passport Plus" tickets and the tickets sold out of the office are exactly the same. WDTC said for me to upgrade the tickets, it would be $50 per ticket instead of the $20 per ticket and that I would have to do it at the ticket office at the main gate. To make a long story short, I talked to customer relations and I got the tickets upgraded for $20 per ticket instead of $50 per ticket but I wasted a lot of valuable park time (with a couple of small children screaming they wanted to ride pirates not wait in a line outside the park entrance) talking to a lot of different people. So my questions are.......

1. What exactly is the policy for upgrading tickets?
2. Can the tickets bought from the Disney Stores be upgraded at WDTC or no? How about the tickets bought at the Good Neighbor Hotels? Is it only WDTC tickets that can be upgraded and how can you tell if you have a WDTC ticket since both times I bought them through AAA?
3. Who exactly is selling all these tickets? Aren't they all through Disney.
4. Is this a Disneyland issue or a AAA issue? (I plan to talk to AAA about this)

Sorry I am rambling, it is all very confusing. In the end, Disneyland did make things right for me for which I am grateful, but I would like to avoid such things in the future.

Malcon10t
11-20-2006, 10:49 PM
1. What exactly is the policy for upgrading tickets?
2. Can the tickets bought from the Disney Stores be upgraded at WDTC or no? How about the tickets bought at the Good Neighbor Hotels? Is it only WDTC tickets that can be upgraded and how can you tell if you have a WDTC ticket since both times I bought them through AAA?
3. Who exactly is selling all these tickets? Aren't they all through Disney.
4. Is this a Disneyland issue or a AAA issue? (I plan to talk to AAA about this)

Sorry I am rambling, it is all very confusing. In the end, Disneyland did make things right for me for which I am grateful, but I would like to avoid such things in the future.Here is the rub, WDTC is a subsidery of Disney. Its like two seperate intenties. If the ticket is from Disneyland, they do not upgrade it. AAA purchases their packages thru WDTC. Individual tickets are sold by Disneyland. The back of the ticket will usually say WDTC in small letters when sold by them. Tickets sold thru the Disney Store are not upgradable thru WDTC. They are sold by Disney itself and not WDTC. Neither can the ones thru the Good Neighbor hotels. They can be upgraded, but it is at gate prices and not at discounted prices. The same goes for if you purchase tickets only on the web, which is why I always call and get the passport plus packages.

jeffat2
11-23-2006, 07:52 AM
dont quote me, but I believe that unless the ticket is a free ( comp) ticket regardless where you purchased them that they can be upgraded at the DL post office. hopefully Darkbeer sees this and clarifies this. jeff

ktrm
11-23-2006, 08:37 AM
They were going to upgrade my ticket but I was going to take a huge hit. I paid $149 for a 3 day hopper ticket from AAA. The gate price for a 4 day hopper is $199, so they were going to charge me the difference between my discounted 3 day and the full gate price 4 day. The gate price for a 3 day hopper is $169. They were not going to charge me $30, the difference between the gate price 3 day and the gate 4 day but $50 the difference between the discounted 3 day and full price 4 day. The AAA 4 day ticket was $169 and I thought I could pay the difference between the discounted 3 day and the discounted 4 day ($20 per ticket) With three people, the difference between all these policies was $150 versus $60. Like I said, after I talked to customer relations, they did upgrade my tickets for $60.

After all this confusion, however, I am ready to just throw in the towel and buy the Deluxe annual pass for $249. I should have done this before I left the park because I could have applied ticket cost to it . Oh well......live and learn....next time.

Malcon10t
11-23-2006, 08:48 AM
After all this confusion, however, I am ready to just throw in the towel and buy the Deluxe annual pass for $249. I should have done this before I left the park because I could have applied ticket cost to it . Oh well......live and learn....next time.
I always buy the passport plus thru WDTC. If you leave it too late to get them delivered, ask them to hold it at the WDTC office. They will do this. Easier to pick up.

MommyTo3Boys1Girl
11-23-2006, 11:49 AM
If I recall, when we upgraded to APs 2 years ago, we purchased our tickets at HoJos and then used them to upgrade. I am trying to think back.
It shouldn't matter where they are from, they should be able to be upgraded at the park. The cost of the ticket, that you paid, should be printed right on the ticket, so they know how much credit to give you.

MammaSilva
11-23-2006, 11:54 AM
They will allow you to upgrade ANY hopper to an AP, what the situation here is upgrading hoppers to multiple days, right now I have 3 5 day hoppers for an upcoming trip. After they were delivered we realized we need them to be six day hoppers. I called the Costco travel line, which diverted to the WDTC...I can upgrade them easily at the WDTC office onsite when we get there, but if I had bought them from the hotel it would be a different ticket not sold thru the WDTC and they won't upgrade those, for anything but WDTC you have to go to the park and upgrade and they won't honor the discounted price you could have paid in the beginning without a LOT Of effort and even then it's not guarenteed. If a 3 day hopper is X and the 4 day hopper would have been 30 dollars more had you purchased it right then, the park isn't obligated to honor that discount, they will credit what you paid towards their gate price of the one you want to purchase, and I just looked at our hoppers, there is no price visible but it must be in the barcode because I did ask how much they were worth thinking in terms of upgrading to passes because it's not obvious on the back of the hopper.

MermaidHair
11-23-2006, 12:33 PM
I think I understand this but can someone confirm that this is the deal:

There are 2 types of tickets:

1) Regular Park hoppers - sold at Disneyland, the Disney Store, various good neighbor hotels and other places. These are upgradable to add days bbut when you do so you pay the difference between the cost of your park hopper and the cost of the gate price of the hopper you want. In the end if you upgrade to add one day you pay full gate prices for your entire trip - no discount.

2) WDTC Park Hoppers - aka "Passport Plus" tickets. sold at WDTC and AAA. These can be upgraded at the on-site WDTC to add a day at the discounted price. They say "WDTC" on the back of them. When buying through AAA you must sepicfy "Passport Plus".

Correct?

MammaSilva
11-23-2006, 12:34 PM
It sounds like you have it figured out!

weluvdisney
11-24-2006, 06:51 AM
Now if I have a discounted park hopper from AAA and want to upgrade to an annual pass when I get there on my last day in the park how do I go about this? Where do we go and do we pay the difference between the discounted price and the annual pass price? thanks we have never purchased annual passes before but we are taking 2 week long trips this year.

Malcon10t
11-24-2006, 06:55 AM
Now if I have a discounted park hopper from AAA and want to upgrade to an annual pass when I get there on my last day in the park how do I go about this? Where do we go and do we pay the difference between the discounted price and the annual pass price? thanks we have never purchased annual passes before but we are taking 2 week long trips this year.
Annual passes are the exception to the issues we have been discussing. The price you paid for the ticket is encoded in the barcode. You will need to upgrade to the AP prior to the ticket expiring. To do this, you go to the bank on Main Street and you can pay and have your picture taken.