Problem due to lack of no expire option.

[neckhardt]

I took my 16 year old son to Disneyworld last week for a vacation. The last time he was at DW he was probably in a stroller and he wanted to re-experience the place.

We went for a week, so I bought two 6 day passes. I figured we could do several half days so we don't burn ourselves out trying to fit everything into a few days.

As luck would have it, I got sick on the second day. I pretty much was in bed for the rest of the vacation sleeping until we had to fly out on the last day. I tried to take my son to the park on the next to last day so he could get SOME MK time in, I was just going to try to find a place to sit while he could experience the park. When we were sitting in the car, mu son know I wouldn't make it to the tram, let alone the park and insisted that we not go.

When I got back to our room, I called Disney tickets hoping to convert the tickets to never expire so we could finish our vacation at a later date, and was shocked to find out it was no longer offered.

I then realized that there is no good reason to buy a length of stay pass. Since you can add days as you go along, that is cheap insurance against taking the loss if something unforeseen should come up during your vacation.

 

[ArwenMarie]

Good point. The only reason is to be able to lock your FPs in at 60/30 days for your length of stay.

 

[Lori74]

oh that is too bad! sorry to hear that happened!

 

[Alesia]

Your mistake was in calling. Phone CMs can't do anything to help you.

Had you gone to the front desk at your hotel, they almost certainly would have given you comp tickets for your next trip. They do it all the time.

There are a lot of good reasons to buy ticket that cover your entire stay, but the biggest one is being able to book fastpasses for your entire trip.

 

[Robo]

When I got back to our room, I called Disney tickets hoping to convert the tickets to never expire so we could finish our vacation at a later date, and was shocked to find out it was no longer offered.

Yes.
But, calling "Disney" (no matter where you are, at the time) will often not get you good results.
The "phone CMs" are not actually at WDW, and have no power to do much of anything for guests.

As Alesia said above, if you visit in-person, Disney can very often help you.
They can scan the tickets and see that you did not use them, and can make special arrangements to help you on a future trip.

Do you still have those tickets?
If so, there may still be something that can be done.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

I agree with PP speak to the resort manager I feel sure they would have helped you. They have us in the past. I could not go to the MVMCP due to illness and they gave us tickets for another night. They really didn't have to. It was very kind and we left with a good feelimg about Disney.

 

[Robo]

I... realized that there is no good reason to buy a length of stay pass. Since you can add days as you go along, that is cheap insurance against taking the loss if something unforeseen should come up during your vacation.

That's not a good option if you intend to make advance FP+ for in-demand attractions (or for ANY attractions, if attending at high-crowd dates.)

FP+ has its own set of "down-sides."
Having to buy tickets well in advance to fully cover your trip is just one of them.

 

[ELSA711]

We had to leave our trip early last week due to an emergency at home. We went to the front desk and they noted our file. Told us to call billing and inquires after we checked out and settled our account.
They not only credited our hotel stay but gave us the remaining balance of tickets to use at later date. Now, we do go often and we do have another trip planned for later in the year but I thought they were extremely generous.
I'm sorry you didn't have the same luck.

 

[Robo]

And, one more thing, since it directly pertains to this situation...

If you are in a dilemma at WDW and don't know how to proceed to a resolution,
PLEASE POST the situation on this board.

There are many experienced DISers here who can offer suggestions, on-the-spot, and often help you solve the problems quickly.
(At least tell you where to go and what to expect.)

 

[chicagoshannon]

It sounds like they were maybe staying off property so no front desk to go to. Try emailing Disney and see if they'll do something.

 

[Robo]

It sounds like they were maybe staying off property so no front desk to go to. Try emailing Disney and see if they'll do something.

Yup.
In those cases, while at WDW, a trip to Guest Relations at the parks or DS would be in order.

(Part of what I was saying about posting a problem here on the board.
We can combine our experiences and offer help very quickly.)

 

[drp4video]

Try emailing or writing a letter. If you still have the tickets I assume they can see that they were not used. Explain the situation. Disney has been very helpful and generous to me in the past when I had a death in the family and could not go, refunding my hotel deposit the day before we were to leave.

 

[neckhardt]

Yup.
In those cases, while at WDW, a trip to Guest Relations at the parks or DS would be in order.

(Part of what I was saying about posting a problem here on the board.
We can combine our experiences and offer help very quickly.)

That was exactly my plan for the last day, but unfortunately, I was too sick to do so.

Also, we were not staying on property, so talking to the resort manager was not an option.

No worries, I will be writing a letter to Mr. Iger.

 

[Dan Murphy]

I will be writing a letter to Mr. Iger

This is the email address you want to use.

wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com

 

[neckhardt]

This is the email address you want to use.

wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com

Thank you, but I will be using good old paper sent by the USPS in a big "express mail" envelope.

It tends to get their attention when somebody has to sign for it! LOL!

 

[ArielSRL]

FYI: I emailed the WDW executive office last week and received a call back THAT very afternoon.

 

[Alesia]

Thank you, but I will be using good old paper sent by the USPS in a big "express mail" envelope.

It tends to get their attention when somebody has to sign for it! LOL!

Snail mail will most likely be ignored and will never make it to anyone who can help you. Email is the best method for contacting Disney.

An email will likely get you a very quick response.

 

[neckhardt]

Snail mail will most likely be ignored and will never make it to anyone who can help you. Email is the best method for contacting Disney.

Actually, I have had VERY GOOD response mailing to the CEO of a company. In most cases, they offer more than I would ever have asked for.

Am I expecting Mr. Iger to call me personally? Of course not, but complaint letters seem to get a bit better treatment when it comes down from the executive office than through an email or snail mail to the Customer Service department directly.

I have NEVER has a snail mail ignored when sent to the President/CEO.

 

[neckhardt]

FYI: I emailed the WDW executive office last week and received a call back THAT very afternoon.

Thanks! That is a good response from them. I sent an email to an address suggested by the customer service dept, but never got a response.

I rather enjoy the thrill of the chase.

 

[Accident]

I then realized that there is no good reason to buy a length of stay pass. Since you can add days as you go along, that is cheap insurance against taking the loss if something unforeseen should come up during your vacation.

technically there is no length of stay pass anymore also. We commonly left many days off the ticket in case we didn't use them and most of the time it was a cost savings in the end. however, fastpass+ has kind of changed this depending on what the important for your family things are. While you can get some fastpasses on the fly, certain things like specific character meets and the newest rides are impossible to get while on your trip (most of the time).

Did you happen to ask if you could refund several of the days as you weren't feeling well and can't use them? What about doing an insurance claim, I know some insurance coverage would want a medical note saying you weren't able but not all. even if you didn't get insurance, you might have some via your home/rental coverage and some credit cards has some travel insruance that many don't even know they have.. not sure it's worth putting the claim in for a few days of tickets but might be worth asking to make an informed choice.

my daughter recently got sick and we had to get 3 more nights and hit a lot of change fees. our coverage didn't require medical proof and I got a big chunk of it back.

I also email guest services a lot, never needed to go above them but interesting idea time to mix up disney now with some emails on things that are bugging me