Disney now "ripping off" er charging guests for lost APs???

[baileybrad]

I was reading a weekly news column from another excellent unoffical Disney website's newsletter and an article mentioned that a spouse had lost their AP on vacation and Disney replaced it ......for a $20 charge! Why in heavens name would they charge an amount like that for something so trivial? We have had this happen a couple of times over the years and there was never a charge just a cheerful, friendly castmember more than happy to help. The castmember is there to assist guests, it is not like they had to make a "service call". I hope there is more to this guest's pass replacement than a simple push of a few buttons. Can anyone share any information on recent events when dealing with a lost AP?

[AdventurerKat]

That is one of my biggest fears while on vacation at WDW...that I would lose my AP!! I would be interested to hear responses as well.

[TeresaNJ]

We've lost two APs and never have been charged for a replacement.

[Mich Mouse]

When we were at DL last week, we were told to "Be careful with your park hoppers, if they are lost they are not replacable." I questioned the CM and was told that they would have to be re-purchased at full price if they were lost. Imagine that! We also stayed at their Grand Californian and the passes were not the room keys, like at WDW.

I took that advice, and was careful! :D

[GoldenOldie]

This is not new. The "replacement fee" for an AP/PAP has always been on the books. It can be charged but 99% of the time, it isn't.

By the way, the article didn't say that she was charged for the replacement. It said:

Just go to Guest Relations at any of the theme parks and show your ID, and they'll be able to cancel your old pass and reissue a new one. Yes, they may charge you a $20 replacement fee, but that's a lot better than shelling out another $400 for a new Annual Pass.

They may charge you, not they will charge you. And that's exactly true.

[oogieboogie]

DH lost his AP recently in MK. We think he left it in the Fastpass machine. He got it replaced at City Hall real quick and definitely didn't get charged for it.

I think that's why the APs are made out of paper. Makes it easy and cheap to replace. $20 seems a lot, but it's sure cheaper than shelling out another $392.99

:)

[kaygela]

We lost our room key last week which was the park hopper pass and the concierge at the hotel (CSR) replaced it with no problem. :)

[gshoemate]

That seems odd. I hope they don't start charging for replacement due to wear on the AP. They are so cheaply made that we need to get ours replaced every 2-3 months. The machines can't read the strip because we use them often. Not to mention how much they get damaged if your caught in the rain with them.

[amymouse]

I had to have my AP replaced last month (on the last day it was valid, no less) because it became demagnetized. The CM took the old one to Guest Services for me and brought back a "shiny"new one. No charge and a smile, too!

[moinab]

I just had my seasonal pass replaced last week because it was demagnetized. No charge, no problem.

[zurgswife]

My son lost his during our Christmas trip...it was replaced at the Guest Services of MGM no problem...and no charge

[jctwizzer]

JMHO, but the inflammatory, troll-like question posed at the start of the thread seems to be based on misleading information:smooth:

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by jctwizzer
JMHO, but the inflammatory, troll-like question posed at the start of the thread seems to be based on misleading information:smooth:

If it was someone other than BailyBrad, I might agree with you,
but, the OP does not do that.

I did not read the article, there was no link.
IMHO, this was, yet, another Chicken little the sky is falling comment made by another person and mentioned here by BailyBrad.

To the others who mentioned hoppers, they are a whole different animal than APs. AP holders actually have their names on file and can prove ownership. Pass holders cannot. When I purchase a hopper for my daughter, I take a copy of the back, that way if it is lost it can be replaced.

[DebbieB]

I agree that this isn't new. I heard a long time ago that there was a charge, I thought it was $10 at that time. I don't think they would charge for damaged passes. But I could see a limit on the number of times they will replace lost passes for free per year. I've seen people post that they realized they left their pass in the room when they got to the bus stop, no worry because they will just get a new one instead of going back to the room. I think that's taking advantage of the system. Maybe allow one or two per year free and after that charge for lost (or forgotten) passes. $5 or $10 seems more reasonable.

[Disneyland_emily]

I know DL has a charge fee (only place I hold an AP) it was either 10-20- but we do have flimsy plastic cards not paper- I think its very reasonable-

My college has a 10 dollar replacement fee- I think its a sortof encuragement to try to not loose the things... -em

[Efastpitch]

Originally posted by baileybrad
I was reading a weekly news column from another excellent unoffical Disney website's newsletter and an article mentioned that a spouse had lost their AP on vacation and Disney replaced it ......for a $20 charge! Why in heavens name would they charge an amount like that for something so trivial? We have had this happen a couple of times over the years and there was never a charge just a cheerful, friendly castmember more than happy to help. The castmember is there to assist guests, it is not like they had to make a "service call". I hope there is more to this guest's pass replacement than a simple push of a few buttons. Can anyone share any information on recent events when dealing with a lost AP?


We lost one of ours in December, they replaced it for free. Said this happens all the time. No big deal.:sunny:

[Villain Dude]

Bought AP this Jan. 25 and lost on Jan. 27 .... replaced with no problem. I would have paid the cost BUT I would have said ... What the ...............

Dude

[DebbieB]

Originally posted by GAIL HAYDEN
If it was someone other than BailyBrad, I might agree with you,
but, the OP does not do that.

I did not read the article, there was no link.
IMHO, this was, yet, another Chicken little the sky is falling comment made by another person and mentioned here by BailyBrad.

I receive the allearsnet newsletter, here is the article:

>>>>FEATURE ARTICLE

WHEN GOOD TRIPS GO BAD

by
Debra Martin Koma
ALL EARS(tm) Senior Editor

Did you ever have one of "those" trips? You know, the kind where
it seems like everything is going wrong?

Well, having just returned from one, I have to tell you, it was
definitely a learning experience. Maybe it's because I've been
to Walt Disney World so often -- we've had so many positive
experiences, maybe I'd gotten lazy about paying attention to
trip details and just took for granted that things would just
work out. Or maybe we had a black cloud hovering over our heads.
Whatever the reason, we had more than our share of mishaps and
misadventures this trip, and it got me to thinking about how
folks can cope when things don't go exactly as planned.

---------------------------------
DON'T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT IT
---------------------------------

Everybody forgets something when they go on vacation, right? A
toothbrush, a bathing suit, maybe like I did once, socks. Those
things are fairly easy to replace, though -- a quick run to the
hotel gift shop, or even a local store and you're all set.

But what if you forget something a little more expensive -- like
your annual pass? That's what happened to us this time. My
husband thought I had his pass, I thought he had it. We were
both wrong.

Luckily WDW is equipped to handle this kind of emergency --
believe it or not, it has happened to others before. Just go to
Guest Relations at any of the theme parks and show your ID, and
they'll be able to cancel your old pass and reissue a new one.
Yes, they may charge you a $20 replacement fee, but that's a lot
better than shelling out another $400 for a new Annual Pass. <<<

I think the key is they may charge you a $20 replacement fee. Deb Wills (editor in chief of the newsletter) is pretty reliable, I don't think she would print an unconfirmed rumor. It sounds like the charge is at the discresion of guest services. Perhaps if they feel you are abusing the priviledge (repeated lost passes), they will charge you.

[baileybrad]

Thanks folks for the responses. Thank you, Gail for the kind words. I am not sure exactly why I deserved the troll comment but, oh well, never mind. Thanks DebbieB for pulling up the article from Deb's website. I "may", there's that word , have thought incorrectly that Deb Koma's spouse was charged a replacement fee because her informative article was titled "When good trips go bad".....getting charged $20 for a lost AP that, again in my opinion, can be cancelled and a new one issued by a castmember in a few strokes seems to be taking advantage of a guest. Deb had another mishap on that trip that might have made it a "bad" trip, her son, I believe it was, lost a park hopper with several days left on it. She made the point that she is usually very good about having a copy or receipt of their tickets but in this case, did not. The article stressed that having backup to support your purchase to enable the Disney folks to cancel your old ticket and issue a replacement with the appropriate amount of days is a very good idea just in case one loses a non AP ticket.

I had no intention of spreading a rumor. I read something, maybe not very well but that is what the boards are about.....asking questions.

So I guess the troll will be signing off.

[auntpolly]

Am I the only one that wishes they'd make them a little more substantially? Plastic or something? I'm :o a pretty neurotic person, but when we get APs I'm always a little nervous about them. With our family of 4, that's 4 little pieces of paper representing quite a bit of money!

[WDSearcher]

Originally posted by baileybrad
I had no intention of spreading a rumor. I read something, maybe not very well but that is what the boards are about.....asking questions. So I guess the troll will be signing off.
I think maybe the "troll" comment came because the subject line was a bit inflammatory. Using the phrase "ripping off", when the article you're quoting is not in any way clear about whether the person was charged or not, sets a certain tone. And phrases like that put people in a defensive mode. If you had put something like "Anyone ever have to pay to replace an AP???" in the subject line instead of "Disney now "ripping off" er charging guests for lost APs???", that would have been a far less inflammatory way to ask the question.

:earsboy:

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by auntpolly
Am I the only one that wishes they'd make them a little more substantially? Plastic or something? I'm :o a pretty neurotic person, but when we get APs I'm always a little nervous about them. With our family of 4, that's 4 little pieces of paper representing quite a bit of money!

The construction of these passes is quite sturdy, if they were plastic it would be four little pieces of plastic respresenting quite a bit of money. Mylar is very difficult to destroy.

[baileybrad]

I have been on the boards for quite awhile and never knew that if one doesn't like how a question is phrased that you can call the poster a name. I also did not know that if one is in the defensive mode that anything goes. That all being said, I have learned that the $20 charge is there for abusers of the system, and nothing more. If I lose an AP on vacation and it is replaced at no charge by a friendly cm at guest relations then my trip has experienced a bump in the road. If I am charged $20 for the same thing then I really think that I am being "ripped off" by the company and if that company is Disney then that is kind of sad. Just keep in mind that I am not only a troll but a cheap troll at that.:D

[auntpolly]

Originally posted by GAIL HAYDEN
The construction of these passes is quite sturdy, if they were plastic it would be four little pieces of plastic respresenting quite a bit of money. Mylar is very difficult to destroy.

I don't know -- I manage to keep my credit cards and driver's liscence quite intact! But my AP's are a wrinkled up mess that only works 50% of the time by the end of my AP year!

[Dznefreek]

Since "we" as a collective lose our passes and not Disney why shouldn't they charge for a new one. After all it costs money to go through the process of cancelling the old one and issuing new ones. Just about everything has a cost associated with it. Whether that cost is fair or not is up to one's own interpretation.

[jarestel]

I don't know whether lost AP passes are charged a replacement fee or not since I've not lost a pass, but if you lose your drivers' license or passport or birth certificate or any other "valueable" document, it is not replaced for free as far as I know. After all, Disney didn't lose the pass, so why should they swallow the cost of replacing it. Now damaged or de-magnetized passes are a totally different thing. I agree, with the other posters, an annual pass should be designed to actually last for an entire year.

[Dznefreek]

Now damaged or de-magnetized passes are a totally different thing. Disney didn't damage or demagnitize it. That should have a cost as well.

[jarestel]

---------------------------------
Dznefreek says:
Disney didn't damage or demagnitize it. That should have a cost as well.
---------------------------------

Unfortunately charging customers to pay for repairs due to a bad design has become the modus operandi of too many companies these days. What business are you in?

[Dznefreek]

repairs due to a bad design By whose standard?

[tjmw2727]

I lost my AP, my dd's AP and a PH with two days left and all were replaced free of charge on February 16th. I had the original receipts and had copied the back of the PHP as well as our AP's making it as easy as possible for the CM to help me.

TJ

eta - I would not consider a replacement charge to be a "rip off" but I am thankful I was not charged.

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by auntpolly
I don't know -- I manage to keep my credit cards and driver's liscence quite intact! But my AP's are a wrinkled up mess that only works 50% of the time by the end of my AP year!

I keep mine in it's little sleeve away from other magnetic strips and it works fine, time after time. sometimes my bio scan does not work if my fingers swell from the heat, but, other than that, I is just nifty.

[seashoreCM]

I cannot fault Disney for charging a fee to replace a forgotten or lost or stolen pass. After all the pass actually says something like "Disney is not responsible for lost or stolen passes" on the back.

How else would you teach responsibility for taking care of one's belongings? And those guests who left their pass back at the resort and try to get a replacement put the biggest burden on the ticket agent to look up their name because they probably don't have written proof of purchase with them either.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

When I was in college I objected to the policy of denying seniors the privilege of doing a personal recognizance IOU if they forgot their meal ticket, effective near the end of the spring semester when the billing system had to be closed out and no further charges to the student accounts could be made. Looking back I now realize that by the time I became a senior I should have developed the responsibility to have my meal ticket with me.

[WDSearcher]

Originally posted by baileybrad
I have been on the boards for quite awhile and never knew that if one doesn't like how a question is phrased that you can call the poster a name. I also did not know that if one is in the defensive mode that anything goes.
You'd said earlier that you weren't sure why the troll comment was made, and I was trying to speak to that. If you notice, I didn't say it was right, nor did I condone it as a response. I was simply giving a possible reason as to why it may have happened.

:earsboy: