AP Holders: Should Disney "Stop the Clock" on passes until there is a Vaccine for COVID-19 ?

[keishashadow]

What some are saying in this thread is that those options do not work as well for those outside Florida that paid for their Platinum or Platinum Plus passes thinking they would get some specific trips and dates out of their pass.

I upgraded our Gold passes to Platinum when in the parks in February as we decided to meet family over Easter in the parks after a cruise. Obviously, that fell thru. No other major blackout days in premium left on our current pass time period even if we wanted to visit over another holiday.

Filed that under it is what is. Believe that cost us just shy of $200 per person.

I can not get the information i need regarding my current AP RENEWAL VOUCHER from DVC member service, ticket customer service or anyone. I have been on the phone with different departments-including hold time for 1.5 hours.

Here is my concern:

Our Platinum Annual Passes were to expire December 18, 2019. I got the email to renew but I wanted to renew to the GOLD AP since we bought DVC in May 2019. I was directed to member services and was able to RENEW to the Gold AP at the renewal rate. I was told I needed to go to guest services to activate the Gold AP renewal passes.

Here is what I want to do:

I would like to pay the difference between the renewal price and a new pass to get new passes instead of the renewals. Why? Because if we can't go at the end of May and use them then the next time we will use them is September. I told the Ticket CM and DVC member services and member services said I could go to guest services and maybe do that. What do you think?

Also, she said my renewal expires December 08 not the 18th. I renewed online over the phone on December 8, but my Platinum pass did not expire unitl December 18 and so why does my voucher have December 08? Because if that is the case then they owe me money from the Platinum Pass - I guess I could take that up with guest services also.

Also, will the extension to APs make us have a NEW EXPIRATION DATE? I would think so since if they extend it say 2 months and in my case that would be February and so my RENEWALS would be February not December. If they don't give NEW expiration then the annual passes are not good for 12 months. In my case, it would only be good 10.

Last thing.... TIW is going to be extended also, right??

You might want to ask to speak to a supervisor to address your specific needs.

Standard to visit guest services to activate the Gold AP renewal passes. You need to produce your DVC card & photo ID. Have you linked the confirmation # to your MDE account? That allows you to make your FP+ allotments going forward past your current expiry date

Not sure of current policy as to the varying tix pricing structure/expiry dates in play, but It was my understanding that the value of the APH vouchers could be applied to whatever tix media as long as the voucher is unused. Believe you need to trade ‘up” ‘better/costs more $”.

When you next visit, deal with GS outside the park gates or in DTD. Willing to bet they will definitely work with the guests.

One concern that crossed my mind is whether they will the expiry dates of the complimentary 1 day PH tix given out due to RoTR snafu.

 

[cate2]

I think Disney's offer is a fair one. At this point I'm not sure if I would want to extend it. I'd love to visit in the fall but I have a feeling that we still might feel uncomfortable travelling out of the country then (if it's even possible at that point)

When we first get our annual passes they do not activate until we actually visit. For me, it would be fantastic if the freeze would pause our pass until our next visit and then resume our countdown.

 

[J-BOY]

It's not "inherent" when you pay for it.

You're not paying for special treatment. Having an Annual Pass does not mean you deserve, or will receive treatment differently from those who are there on day tickets or even cast members. For one, you are not paying ADDITIONAL cost for having an annual pass, but a significantly discounted rate. If anything, they should be treating those who are paying full price entry better than those with APs - maybe it's their once in a lifetime trip.

There are certain perks that are specifically outlined, including discounts and access to certain exclusive merchandise, but that is pre-determined and baked into the cost. You're paying for these and access to the parks. When the parks re-open, you will continue having access to the parks. It's not Disney's fault if you do not have the capability or desire to return to them before your *extended* pass expire.

I hate this mindset. It's incredibly prevalent on the West Coast for Disneyland, and I'd thought it was just because the park gets a significantly higher proportion of APs. Now I see that the AP entitlement can be found anywhere.

 

[Disney Bobby]

You're not paying for special treatment. Having an Annual Pass does not mean you deserve, or will receive treatment differently from those who are there on day tickets or even cast members. For one, you are not paying ADDITIONAL cost for having an annual pass, but a significantly discounted rate. If anything, they should be treating those who are paying full price entry better than those with APs - maybe it's their once in a lifetime trip.

There are certain perks that are specifically outlined, including discounts and access to certain exclusive merchandise, but that is pre-determined and baked into the cost. You're paying for these and access to the parks. When the parks re-open, you will continue having access to the parks. It's not Disney's fault if you do not have the capability or desire to return to them before your *extended* pass expire.

I hate this mindset. It's incredibly prevalent on the West Coast for Disneyland, and I'd thought it was just because the park gets a significantly higher proportion of APs. Now I see that the AP entitlement can be found anywhere.

You can "hate" it all you want to, but asking for some flexibility for something you PAID for is NOT entitlement. It's normal in situations when a company can't deliver what is normally expected when you purchase something, for whatever reason. Just because a company offers something doesn't mean it's wrong to ask for something different. Disney understands this and has made exceptions for many people in the past., including myself.

That's the way the world works. Businesses "aren't" greedy when they ask for more and more like Disney has. Customers aren't "entitled" when they ask for more. It's the free market circle of life. Sometimes, all it takes is asking. If they value you as a customer, they usually accommodate.

 

[Disney Bobby]

And LOL at your "not paying for special treatment" comment. You absolutely are. Just about everything with the annual pass involves special treatment vs non annual pass. You said it yourself . Discounted rates. Discounted merchandise. Discount dining. Sometimes "freebies" at restaurants. Special events. Special line to scan your magic band.

And you absolutely DO PAY for those.

 

[rjb123]

honestly I bet that Disney will make allowances for folks who can show that they are in a high risk category and should not go even when they open. I DO think they will open as soon as they can, which will likely not be when many can and should travel. I think that if you fall in the 65 plus age range or have an underlying condition they will work with you- not out of the goodness of their heart (I am no fool!) but because of the good PR and also to frankly keep those *risks* out of their parks!

 

[Disney Bobby]

honestly I bet that Disney will make allowances for folks who can show that they are in a high risk category and should not go even when they open. I DO think they will open as soon as they can, which will likely not be when many can and should travel. I think that if you fall in the 65 plus age range or have an underlying condition they will work with you- not out of the goodness of their heart (I am no fool!) but because of the good PR and also to frankly keep those *risks* out of their parks!

You are right. They will work with people because their lawyers will think it is a good idea. Probably on an individual basis. And they will likely make exceptions for scheduling conflicts too, also on an individual basis. There are always exceptions for a host of reasons.

 

[jlmarr]

honestly I bet that Disney will make allowances for folks who can show that they are in a high risk category and should not go even when they open. I DO think they will open as soon as they can, which will likely not be when many can and should travel. I think that if you fall in the 65 plus age range or have an underlying condition they will work with you- not out of the goodness of their heart (I am no fool!) but because of the good PR and also to frankly keep those *risks* out of their parks!

I'm hoping so. I'm in that category and would prefer to not have the clock start ticking again until I am ready to go back. For that matter I'd like to take a hiatus on renewals, but I've been grandfathered into being able to buy parking on my DLR AP as long as I renew continuously. If they don't start the clock ticking until your first use after the shutdown both problems would be solved. In fact, maybe they'd like to not have the parks filled with AP holders, so that's a benefit to Disney.

(And maybe all this has been discussed already - I haven't read all of the preceding 9 pages.)

 

[midaroco]

You can "hate" it all you want to, but asking for some flexibility for something you PAID for is NOT entitlement.

Disney has been extremely flexible - you simply do not like the options presented. Try and spin it whichever way you like, the fact of the matter is Disney has provided options. You don’t like those options, and therefore feel entitled to something else.

 

[hertamaniac]

We opted for the partial refund. You have to leave a phone number so they will call you once an opening date is confirmed. I suspect it is to do that final "are you sure you don't want to extend your pass?".

 

[Disney Bobby]

We opted for the partial refund. You have to leave a phone number so they will call you once an opening date is confirmed. I suspect it is to do that final "are you sure you don't want to extend your pass?".

Yeah, you might even get the "let's work something out" opportunity also if you refuse to extend the pass. Cash out the door is definitely FAR WORSE right now for them than being flexible on the annual pass makeup time. FAR, FAR WORSE.

And, no, you won't be a terrible entitled person for making some other arrangement with them.

 

[UOAP]

True -- there is great incentive to get one created (compared to other coronaviruses) .. but doesn't mean it will be effective or safe anytime soon.

It has to pass trials testing for safety and efficacy to be approved.

 

[Disney Bobby]

Disney has been extremely flexible - you simply do not like the options presented. Try and spin it whichever way you like, the fact of the matter is Disney has provided options. You don’t like those options, and therefore feel entitled to something else.

"Extremely flexible" is your opinion. To me and others, those are very basic options. I have no idea how you look at that and see "extremely flexible". If you are fine with those, good for you. Most companies will offer the least they think they can get away when making offers to customer in these types of situations. Asking for something a little different isn't a sense of entitlement. It's very common, and also very common for companies to accommodate, especially if it's just a scheduling issue and not really money out the door.

 

[ChipnDale79]

"Extremely flexible" is your opinion. To me and others, those are very basic options. I have no idea how you look at that and see "extremely flexible". If you are fine with those, good for you. Most companies will offer the least they think they can get away when making offers to customer in these types of situations. Asking for something a little different isn't a sense of entitlement. It's very common, and also very common for companies to accommodate, especially if it's just a scheduling issue and not really money out the door.

what do you suggest they do? honest question.

 

[DGsAtBLT]

Extremely flexible would be a refund for time not used out of your year, or a one time freeze current passholders could opt into IMO. That’s major flexibility without giving people anything for “free”.

I don’t think their current options are that amazing from a customer service standpoint. I think the bare minimum was extending people the time closed. Allowing a refund for that time instead is a bit more flexible than just an extension but nothing I would consider very flexible. Before the “E” word gets thrown around, I don’t feel entitled to the more flexible options (although I want them), but I also don’t think Disney has done anything that exceptional from a customer service standpoint at this time for people who have been impacted, passholders and non passholders.

They’ve been pretty average at this point, I think, but I recognize the parks aren’t even open yet so there may be more to come once the dust somewhat settles.

 

[Krandor]

what do you suggest they do? honest question.

I think what the people who don't like the current options want are either (don't have an AP so don't have a dog in the fight)

1. some number of single day tickets to use anytime
or
2. let's say the parks are closed 3 months - to be able to have a 3 month block of their choice in the future to have their annual pass active.

I'm not sure either is likely. Either would need some kind of tight expiration (must be used 1 year from when parks closed). 1 has the issue that no matter what the number is somebody will think it's not enough. 2 also has a possible issue that their system likely isn't setup to handle that so could be some development/IT work to set it up. Both also have the issue that somebody who wasn't planning to come during this shutdown may decide they don't need to renew their season pass if they had these options available so you'd likely have to restrict it to people with booked trips during closure but then you'll have the person who claims they were going to stay with their friend and come.

I'm just not sure there is a way to make everybody happy

 

[sheilafri]

I completely agree with you, it’s about goodwill. It is also common knowledge that it is less expensive to retain a current customer than to try and attract a new one.

It is about good will; however, just on this one discussion there are so many people suggesting different accommodations that would satisfy them that I don’t see how even a company as large as Disney can satisfy everyone. Currently, we have two options. I’m grateful to have any options. I don’t know whether either of them will be of much value to me as we may decide it isn’t worth risking our health to visit the parks again before our APs expire and maybe the refund will be so small it just doesn’t make up for the missed opportunity we expected. There are too many losers in this pandemic to count.

 

[Krandor]

It is about good will; however, just on this one discussion there are so many people suggesting different accommodations that would satisfy them that I don’t see how even a company as large as Disney can satisfy everyone. Currently, we have two options. I’m grateful to have any options. I don’t know whether either of them will be of much value to me as we may decide it isn’t worth risking our health to visit the parks again before our APs expire and maybe the refund will be so small it just doesn’t make up for the missed opportunity we expected. There are too many losers in this pandemic to count.

Agree. The one option I think they should have (and from the wording on one of the pages. thought it was an option) is just to allow a refund of all unused time on your AP for people who are high risk and are not going to come back during the time of thier AP even if open. That I think would be a valid option. Extension, refund of closure time or refund of all unused time I think give good optioons for people. Some people will won't be happy but never going to satisfy everybody.

 

[ChipnDale79]

1. some number of single day tickets to use anytime
or
2. let's say the parks are closed 3 months - to be able to have a 3 month block of their choice in the future to have their annual pass active.

I'm not sure how number 1 would work, i dont think they can do that. thats basically giving people non expiring tickets that can be spread out over time, possibly even years.

I would say thats not fair to others.

I might be able to get on board with moving the window (equal to whatever the amount of time the parks are closed during the time period of your ap), but that window should be used within the next year.

However being an AP holder shouldn't give you non expiring tickets or a non expiring window.

We have memberships and passes to other things, they seem to be doing the same Disney is right now, without the option for a refund. It just is what it is, now to be fair, i dont have to travel overnight to those places and i did not pay a thousand dollars for them, so there are differences in that aspect.

 

[Krandor]

I'm not sure how number 1 would work, i dont think they can do that. thats basically giving people non expiring tickets that can be spread out over time, possibly even years.

I would say thats not fair to others.

I might be able to get on board with moving the window (equal to whatever the amount of time the parks are closed during the time period of your ap), but that window should be used within the next year.

However being an AP holder shouldn't give you non expiring tickets or a non expiring window.

We have memberships and passes to other things, they seem to be doing the same Disney is right now, without the option for a refund. It just is what it is, now to be fair, i dont have to travel overnight to those places and i did not pay a thousand dollars for them, so there are differences in that aspect.

I agree. and even option 1 would need to be time limited (like they expire one year from when the parks reopen)