A really unfair situation - any advice??

[nixieh]

OK, so here is my (rather complicated) problem...

I am from the UK and therefore am able to book a package for next August with free dining. Free dining for UK citizens starts on Aug 12th but we are flying out on Aug 9th and staying at the Poly from the 9th to the 12th on a room only reservation. From the 12th to the 24th we are staying at Port Orleans on a package booked through the UK Disney site, with tickets and free dining.

The problem is I have been told by Disney that I can't get my park tickets until the 12th when we check in to POR as they are associated with the free dining package. We want to be able to do the parks during our days at the Poly too. The thing is with the UK offer you can't just buy 1 day tickets for the package like with the US offer, the minimum is a 5 day premium ticket (like a 5 day MYW ticket with hopping etc) which costs £170/adult (about $300) and for £180 ($324) we can get a 14 day Ultimate ticket which expires 14 days after first use and allows park hopping, water parks etc. This ticket would be perfect for our whole trip (from the 9th to the 23th) but it now appears that I have to pay extra for a one or two day base ticket to use at the beginning of our holiday and I will then receive a 14 day ticket which I won't be able to use the last two days of anyway!! Unfortunately these UK tickets cannot have non expiry added on to them.


I have posted on the UK Trip planning forum but nobody was able to offer any advice, does anyone have any ideas, it just seems mad that I have to pay about $600 (we are a family of 5) for tickets to use the first two days when the tickets I have already paid for would allow me entry on those days if only I could get them 3 days earlier......

If anyone has followed any of this I am grateful for you reading this far and any advice as to how to get around this would be gratefully received.

Nicola

 

[Alicnwondrln]

i think thats the way it goes
my understanding of the package is what yo have been told
did you call and ask for someone in guest services to see if they can help?
you might need to do the poly at the end of your trip

 

[nixieh]

i think thats the way it goes
my understanding of the package is what yo have been told
did you call and ask for someone in guest services to see if they can help?
you might need to do the poly at the end of your trip

Thanks for the quick reply, no I just spoked to the ordinary reservations staff (2 different times) so maybe I should try Guest Services, unfortunately we can't do the Poly later because we are going on a DCL cruise at the end of the trip and if we check in to POR earlier than the 9th apparently we will be charged for dining the whole time and if we do split reservations at POR we will still only get the tickets from the 12th!

Nicola

 

[princessvacg]

I had a similar situation. Just buy a 1 day ticket for your current package. That is all you have to purchase for the package. Buy the larger day ticket for when you first arrive. It will end of costing you less money. That is what we did.

 

[nixieh]

I had a similar situation. Just buy a 1 day ticket for your current package. That is all you have to purchase for the package. Buy the larger day ticket for when you first arrive. It will end of costing you less money. That is what we did.

That would be perfect, unfortunately for the UK free dining offer the minimum ticket you can buy is a 5 day tickt for $300 which is only a few dollars cheaper than the 14 day ticket.

You can see why it is frustrating

Nicola

 

[Alicnwondrln]

yeah they have you between a rock and a hard place
i would talk to guest services especially since you are taking a cruise so you cant change the dates

 

[mama2ella]

no advice but I hope someone can figure out something for you

 

[im4disney]

When I first read your post, I thought--Well then you can just enjoy all the things around WDW that you don't need a ticket for. You could enjoy the pool then head to DD for the afternoon. Or Putt Putt at Fantastia Gardens outside BW. Or visit a waterpark. Or Rent water mice on Bay Lake (this is a great favorite of ours)!! There are lots of things to do at WDW that don't cost as much as a park ticket.

 

[mollyseven]

Yeah I agree ...I wouldn't bother with the first couple of days of tickets. You won't be getting the the hotel till late in the day if you are flying from the U.k probably right? THen that day is just hotel for sure and relaxing from a long flight. THen that leaves 2 days before checking into POR. I'm sure if there is a place you could enjoy it's the poly...pools etc. and the next day plan on doing Downtown disney....if you have kids maybe the boutique or Lego store....plus there is the movie theatre at downtown disney and lots of shopping and maybe even check out some other resorts or do dinner at Chef Mickeys ....you are going to have almost 2 weeks when staying at POR. Just plan other stuff ...it's only 2 days really.
Enjoy....what a trip!!!

 

[kutchyone]

I agree with the others, unless someone at Guest Services can help you out your stuck between a rock and hard place. I would probably not get tickets for my first couple of days at while staying at the Poly. Enjoy what the resort has to offer, maybe resort hop and visit DTD.

 

[MauraAndIainsDad]

I haven't been around the DIS since the free dining option was introduced so forgive me if this is a dumb question. Since a 14-day ticket is usually not much less expensive than an annual pass, is it possible to upgrade your package to AP rather than MYW tickets? If so, that would probably be your best answer.

 

[Matt'sMom]

Let's see...

You are receiving free dining for 12 days for 5 persons. That in and of itself is a savings of somewhere c. $1,000 to $2,000 off of the rack rate, isn't it? How unfair is that?

You are free to either change your mind and add the purchase of tickets with your Poly ressie (you will still come out way ahead over-all, considering the savings from the free dining promo), or leave things as they are. It's entirely your decision. Personally, I would just enjoy the Poly and the many, many other activities available throughout WDW... outside of the 4 major theme parks. Trust me, there is a lot you could do & see during those 2 extra days. Explore DTD and the many Resorts (AKL can be an adventure in itself). Hit a WP one day. Maybe go to a dinner show, or Cirque performance. Schedule dinner at 'Ohanas one evening, then watch the EWP and fireworks from the Poly beach. Rent water mice and zip around the lagoon, go fishing, or spend a few hours golfing/mini-golfing. Check out the Boardwalk--rent a surrey bike and go for a ride. Think of this as a fun opportunity to really soak in all of the magic that WDW has to offer.

We are actually planning to spend two days during our next WDW vacation entirely outside of the major parks--just to see & do some of the many things we've always wanted to (and never seem to find enough time for).

 

[PrincessJasmine08]

So they are offering free dining next summer to those in the UK but not those in the US? Why is this?

 

[krissyh]

So they are offering free dining next summer to those in the UK but not those in the US? Why is this?

Planning a trip from the UK is more difficult - if they were to offer it to the US again, they would offer it much closer to the time of the free DDP, around when they offered it this year.

 

[everest]

My family has a similar problem as yours. .Our solution is since the Poly cost so much more we decided to do more around the resort and maybe 1 short day at another attraction (maybe off property). Now on the morning of the 19th you do not need to go to the new resort to get your tickets. All you need to do is go to the Polly’s guest services and they can give you your tickets and meal credits from there. Then you can have bell services pick-up your luggage to take to PO for you and then you can leave straight from the Poly to go to any Disney Park. Then stop at the PO check-in when your done with parks and to square things up with them.

 

[NewEnglandDisney]

Well...it's a promotion that gives you dozens and dozens of free meals. It's a special deal. It's going to have some limitations.

I guess I just don't see the "unfair", any more than someone saying "hey it's not fair I don't get free dining in december". If you want free dining, you have to play by their rules.

For instance, in order to get free dining last year, I had to pay rack rate for a room I had a discount on. It still was worth it for me, because I was getting more value out of the free food than the extra I had to pay for my room. It sounds like your situation is the same - if you want free food, you may have to spend money elsewhere so you qualify correctly.

On a trip that long with 5 people, "free" dining would be worth $600 to me. If it's not worth it to you, that's a decision you need to make.

NED

 

[nixieh]

My family has a similar problem as yours. .Our solution is since the Poly cost so much more we decided to do more around the resort and maybe 1 short day at another attraction (maybe off property). Now on the morning of the 19th you do not need to go to the new resort to get your tickets. All you need to do is go to the Polly’s guest services and they can give you your tickets and meal credits from there. Then you can have bell services pick-up your luggage to take to PO for you and then you can leave straight from the Poly to go to any Disney Park. Then stop at the PO check-in when your done with parks and to square things up with them.

That is very useful to know, thanks for posting that I wouldn't have known that. Thanks

Nicola

 

[Luv2Roam]

I agree with the others. I would enjoy myself around what is not in the Disney parks. There are even some good shopping outlets nearby.
LOTS to do. And you could always ask Guest Services. But I would not count on them being able to allow you to use your park tickets prior to the package you booked them for starts.

 

[Frantasmic]

Forgive my ignorance, but can't you buy a ticket at the gate for the day(s) you want to go prior to getting your other tickets?

Seems that's part of the package and you bought it knowing those were the limitations. I wouldn't call it unfair. It may not be ideal, but it's not unfair and it's nothing really that people here can help with.

 

[SB in KY]

I don't have any new suggestions to add really except to say the Poly Guest Services people can give you your tickets early in the AM of the day you are to check in at POR (saving you an early AM run over to POR)....so you can use that day to the fullest.

Then as others have suggested you can always do resort activities, etc and rest up the first couple of days. You could also just buy 1 or 2 day base passes at check in to the Poly if you think everyone will die if they don't get to the parks. That is some extra expense but not as much as buying the 5 day minimum passes on the UK plan.... Honestly if I was coming from the UK to Orlando in August I would not push it the first day or two as everyone will need to acclimate to the heat....and the Poly pool may look a lot better to your kids than an hour long line at Space Mountain!!

I wouldn't be angry, every promotional program known to man has rules. They let you know up front what the rules are and if I was getting 12 days of free dining for a family of 5 I sure woldn't quibble over 2 days of park passes!!