AAA Made an Error!

[justapixel]

I'm a Disney newbie. I went once 13 years ago and once when I was a child. So, I'm not up-to-date with all the things surrounding Disney.

We're going July 23-24. I researched hotels/passes etc and then called AAA to see if they could get me a better deal. He suggested a room in a hotel I'd never heard of, "Hotel Menage," and two-day park hopper passes for a total of 891.00. I did some research online, and could find the same hotel and the park hopper passes cheaper, and I told him that. I even ran down the numbers with him, and asked him where the AAA discount was.

He told me that my passes would come with early entry into Fantasyland, Mickey's Toontown Morning Madness, Preferred seating to some shows and pins and coupons, etc. I am not interested in Mickey's morning madness thing, and I told him I don't need the pins and junk but the early entry sounded good. He told me it was all a $150.00 value and the early entry made the deal worth it to me, since I'm going in July - so I booked it.

He emailed me my itinerary and then I joined this forum, where I found out that EE is not usually good on two day park hoppers. I checked the itinerary and didn't see it anywhere. So, I emailed the agent and told him I didn't get an early entry into Fantasyland. He wrote me back, assured me that my package would come with a voucher for early entry. So, I figured it was some promotion by AAA.

The package arrived today, and of course, there is no early entry voucher. And, the included flyer states clearly that you need a 3 Day Park Hopper pass for early entry.

He talked me into spending more money than I would have, by telling me something that wasn't true.

I emailed him and asked him to call me and discuss this with me.

What can I reasonably expect that AAA will do to make good on their error?

Has anybody ever had a travel agent give them misinformation and have them make up for it?

 

[PrincessSitka]

If you paid with a credit card have them fight it out

 

[justapixel]

Well, yeah, if it comes to that.

But, when I talk to the guy, what do you think I can ask for fairly, so I don't have to take it to the credit card company dispute resolution?

 

[Misskitty3]

I would probably expect them to cancel everything with no cost to you. Assuming you would still be able to make your own arrangements at your hotel.

Other than that, I am not sure what they can do for you. I don't believe they can "buy" you into early entry .....maybe they could upgrade you to a 3 day PH so you could then get the EE???

Let us know what happens....

 

[camouseketeer]

I'm really sorry to hear about this problem.

I was hoping it was something special for you.

The simplest answer would be to have them upgrade you to a three day hopper (at no cost to you). That would give you the EE you want.

Again, let us know how it turns out.

Pixie Dust to you!

 

[joeysmommy]

justapixel-

I agree with everyone on bumping up to a 3 day park hopper if you're flexible on your travel dates.
Is Hotel Menage new or changed ownership? I don't see it on Bret's DL Lodging map.http://www.geocities.com/ashpsyche/DisneylandLinkMap.html

Your AAA travel agent is so wrong in doing this to you, he books DL travel all day long, he knew darn well that you needed 3 day park hoppers for an EE.
When I booked my trip thru AAA last year she was hard selling me and I asked her if she was on commission. She admitted that the AAA travel agents get points toward a Disney trip for each trip they book, but it's not technically "commission". Altho i would say it is incentive enough to tell a little white lie to book a trip.

They should change your itinerary without charging you, if they give you trouble ask for the supervisor.

Good Luck!

 

[Hound 109]

I'm a Disney newbie. I went once 13 years ago and once when I was a child. So, I'm not up-to-date with all the things surrounding Disney.

We're going July 23-24. I researched hotels/passes etc and then called AAA to see if they could get me a better deal. He suggested a room in a hotel I'd never heard of, "Hotel Menage," and two-day park hopper passes for a total of 891.00. I did some research online, and could find the same hotel and the park hopper passes cheaper, and I told him that. I even ran down the numbers with him, and asked him where the AAA discount was.

He told me that my passes would come with early entry into Fantasyland, Mickey's Toontown Morning Madness, Preferred seating to some shows and pins and coupons, etc. I am not interested in Mickey's morning madness thing, and I told him I don't need the pins and junk but the early entry sounded good. He told me it was all a $150.00 value and the early entry made the deal worth it to me, since I'm going in July - so I booked it.

He emailed me my itinerary and then I joined this forum, where I found out that EE is not usually good on two day park hoppers. I checked the itinerary and didn't see it anywhere. So, I emailed the agent and told him I didn't get an early entry into Fantasyland. He wrote me back, assured me that my package would come with a voucher for early entry. So, I figured it was some promotion by AAA.

The package arrived today, and of course, there is no early entry voucher. And, the included flyer states clearly that you need a 3 Day Park Hopper pass for early entry.

He talked me into spending more money than I would have, by telling me something that wasn't true.

I emailed him and asked him to call me and discuss this with me.

What can I reasonably expect that AAA will do to make good on their error?

Has anybody ever had a travel agent give them misinformation and have them make up for it?

I would provide the number of people in your party (w/ ages) & the number of nights, & let these Dis gurus run some numbers with some of the preferred travel agents....to see about price & availability (just so you know).

& Has anyone figured out where the "Menage" is? Or if it's any good?

If it's good/ok, I would insist he provide the 3 day park hopper (so you get the one day EE). If he refuses....then maybe one of the other agents have a good fit & you maybe you can cancel with the AAA guy.

Good luck!



(But....Is a 3 day park hopper while staying at the Menage called....

.....

.....

..... the "Menage a Troi Package" ?? (sorry.....i just had to.. )

 

[camouseketeer]

You can find the Hotel Menage on this map:

http://w.ww.geocities.com/ashpsyche/DisneylandLinkMap.html

It looks like it's beyond HOJO's across the 5.

If this link doesn't work, click on the DLR FAQ-INFO MAPS Sticky at the top of this board (it's the last sticky listed).

Then click on the HOTEL INFO link in Mary Jo's post.

That will lead you to a thread that has a map in the first post.
That map does NOT show the hotel, BUT if you scroll down to Hydroguy's post, he has a link to the map I tried to link to.
That link seems to work.

 

[XTinabell]

I would provide the number of people in your party (w/ ages) & the number of nights, & let these Dis gurus run some numbers with some of the preferred travel agents....to see about price & availability (just so you know).

& Has anyone figured out where the "Menage" is? Or if it's any good?

If it's good/ok, I would insist he provide the 3 day park hopper (so you get the one day EE). If he refuses....then maybe one of the other agents have a good fit & you maybe you can cancel with the AAA guy.

Good luck!



(But....Is a 3 day park hopper while staying at the Menage called....

.....

.....

..... the "Menage a Toi Package" ?? (sorry.....i just had to.. )

OMG, that is so bad.

To the OP - I don't think you'll have any trouble with AAA fixing their mistake. At least the AAA in Canada is great and as far as I know it's pretty much the same thing. Ask to speak with a supervisor if he won't help you, you should be able to cancel or get upgraded at no extra cost to you.

 

[Hound 109]

You can find the Hotel Menage on this map:

http://w.ww.geocities.com/ashpsyche/DisneylandLinkMap.html

It looks like it's beyond HOJO's across the 5.

If it's across the 5, then all bets are off (imo).

I hope the OP responds and provides her info.....her AAA agent is nuts.

 

[SnackyStacky]

I actually had this situation myself, but I didn't use a travel agent, I booked it myself! I booked my package with the WDTC online, and when I clicked on the package inclusions link, it came up showing "Early Entry", even though I had a 2 day ticket. There was no disclaimer, no nothing. So I called them, and they upgraded me for free. All I wanted was the early entry, but the woman I spoke to told me that the 3 day ticket and early entry are mutually exclusive - they can't just print a voucher for the early entry.

I would push for the upgrade to the 3 day hopper at no additional charge and if they can't or won't do that, I'd request cancellation without penalty.

Keep us all posted how it turns out!

 

[joeysmommy]

justapixel-
If the Hotel Menage a Tois is across the 5 I would cancel based on that alone.
See if they can book you in a hotel across the street so you don't have to deal with the shuttle.
Best Western Park Place Inn is a good neighbor hotel and it's near the crosswalk.
Maybe they could book you there instead?

 

[justapixel]

http://www.hotelmenage.com/

It looked nice on the website and the guy assured me it had been completely remodeled and was beautiful.

There are four of us travelling - my husband, myself, my two children, who are ages 20 and 10. We are arriving at the hotel on the 23rd, going to Disney the 24th and 25th, and checking out the 26th.

Another thing he did was book us shuttle service - and we are going to have a car. He didn't tell us about the free parking at Disney until after I'd already booked the trip. Since we are having a car I asked him to cancel the shuttle, and he said it would cost me 25.00 to cancel. Uh, it had only been 15 minutes. But, I didn't argue that point because I thought that maybe I would use the shuttle.

I appreciate any help and advice you can give!

 

[camouseketeer]

OP: So did you get upgraded to a three day PH?

The shuttle service could be more convenient as it takes you close to the gates.

But you might have to wait for the shuttle.

If you drive yourself, you need to include an extra 20-30 minutes from parking to arrival at the gates.

 

[justapixel]

The guy hasn't called me yet. I guess I'll have to call him.

I told him I wanted something within walking distance or a private shuttle, quiet, with a nice pool. Looking on that map, I'm not sure it's walking distance.

The pool looks nice and he said we could see the fireworks from it. We thought our first, non-Disney night we could sit outside by the pool, relax, and have a drink and watch the fireworks.

20-30 minutes from parking to arrival at the gate? Wow.

 

[bumbershoot]

I'm not an expert. But I've read enough posts on here, especially Hydroguy's info, to know that I wouldn't have wanted to book at the Menage, b/c it's just too far away. We booked at the Carousel, which is pretty much across the street from the entrance (different from across the street "from Disneyland", b/c there are many that are that description but you still have to walk to the entrance, LOL). The Howard Johnson's is walking distance and has a nice pool, I've heard (not right across the street, but not too far, either), and if we can add days on with the Entertainment Book rate at HoJos, we'll find out just how nice the pool is.

When you call him, I'd just ask to cancel the whole thing without penalty. IMO he took you for a ride, booking you so far away!

 

[justapixel]

I could have gotten rooms at the Carousel too, which I knew was across the street. I tried HoJos and they were sold out. I was going to do it on my own, but not knowing the area and what was good or not, and reading a zillion reviews on trip sites I just wanted an expert to do it for me.

Guess it was a mistake, huh?

Why is it bad to stay far from the park? I do have a car.....

 

[Hound 109]

The guy hasn't called me yet. I guess I'll have to call him.

I told him I wanted something within walking distance or a private shuttle, quiet, with a nice pool. Looking on that map, I'm not sure it's walking distance.

The pool looks nice and he said we could see the fireworks from it. We thought our first, non-Disney night we could sit outside by the pool, relax, and have a drink and watch the fireworks.

20-30 minutes from parking to arrival at the gate? Wow.

It looks nice & the pool looks great. It's possible the guy never has been to DLR & followed your lead with the "nice pool". (note- it looks like it is like 6 FEET from the I 5....might be pretty loud)

As others have said driving/parking is a MAJOR pain and waste of time (in the morning & evenings when you DON'T need to be wasting time). It also prevents you to being near the front of the line for rope drop or for EE.
It also makes it a pain if you want to "rest" for a couple hours or so (this is essential for my family...a mid day pool dip / rest or nap is needed)

More importantly, if you're gonna be there 2 nights, I would DEFINITELY get a 3 day Park Hopper. So you have the extra morning or afternoon to do stuff, AND so you can enjoy EE one day.

IMO, (as others have said) AAA screwed up & should PROVIDE TO YOU AT NO ADDITIONAL CHARGE a Park Hopper with EE (since this is what you requested). - To me this is a bottome line requirement.

You & I (& those here) know that EE will ONLY be available if he (AAA) pony's up with the 3 day hopper. To me, this is THE ONLY WAY i would keep the ressie.

At the same time, I would make a ressie for plan B, at the motel (the Carousel?) on Harbor across the street (that you had mentioned).

Good Luck.

 

[justapixel]

Unfortunately, I'm leaving next week. We are going to be in San Diego for a wedding first. I just checked, and the Carousel is now sold out. There isn't a lot of time to correct this error.

I agree with you about upgrading us to a three day park hopper. I will call him now, I guess he's not planning to call me.

 

[Hound 109]

Unfortunately, I'm leaving next week. We are going to be in San Diego for a wedding first. I just checked, and the Carousel is now sold out. There isn't a lot of time to correct this error.

I agree with you about upgrading us to a three day park hopper. I will call him now, I guess he's not planning to call me.

No worries....if he delivers, great. If he doesn't, convert the 2 day into a 3 day (what....an extra $40-$50 bucks pp?) & call AAA & talk to a higher up muckity muck when you get home.

Either way you're at Disneyland ....& he's not.

& pixel....have you looked at Jedi Training for your 10 y/o? If not let me know & I'll post a link....very very cool for the 6 y/o - 13 y/o set.

Have fun.