Adding Genie+ and Disney Customer Service Rant

[TheBigErn]

I'm trying to add Genie+ to tickets I bought from a 3rd party vendor. So I called Disney and after an hour on hold I got through. After 20 minutes she said she couldn't do it because the tix were not purchased directly from Disney and that a ticket specialist could help me. So she transferred me. Another hour later I get a new person who I thought was a ticket specialist. After another 10 minutes, I come to learn that she was not a ticket specialist and I was back where I started. So I asked number 2 agent to transfer me to a TICKET SPECIALIST and I asked for the direct number in case I decided to call back in the morning. I get transferred and the recording says the wait is over 60 minutes. I hang up and call back this morning using the DIRECT number I was given. WRONG, it was the same general number and I was back at square one. I ask again for an agent and the recording says the wait is at least 45 minutes. Screw that, and I hanged up.

Why can't Disney either hire more agents or get the system that allows you to leave a number and get a call back? Their system stinks.

And FYI, if you buy tix at a discount from a broker, you cannot add Genie+ on MDE unless you want to lose the discount you got. Perhaps this can be done through a ticket specialist, but I may never know unless I quit my job to stay on hold all day.

Probably going to have to add Genie+ each day of the trip. Ugh!

 

[PalmettoPath]

I'm trying to add Genie+ to tickets I bought from a 3rd party vendor. So I called Disney and after an hour on hold I got through. After 20 minutes she said she couldn't do it because the tix were not purchased directly from Disney and that a ticket specialist could help me. So she transferred me. Another hour later I get a new person who I thought was a ticket specialist. After another 10 minutes, I come to learn that she was not a ticket specialist and I was back where I started. So I asked number 2 agent to transfer me to a TICKET SPECIALIST and I asked for the direct number in case I decided to call back in the morning. I get transferred and the recording says the wait is over 60 minutes. I hang up and call back this morning using the DIRECT number I was given. WRONG, it was the same general number and I was back at square one. I ask again for an agent and the recording says the wait is at least 45 minutes. Screw that, and I hanged up.

Why can't Disney either hire more agents or get the system that allows you to leave a number and get a call back? Their system stinks.

And FYI, if you buy tix at a discount from a broker, you cannot add Genie+ on MDE unless you want to lose the discount you got. Perhaps this can be done through a ticket specialist, but I may never know unless I quit my job to stay on hold all day.

Probably going to have to add Genie+ each day of the trip. Ugh!

We went through a similar debacle (almost identical) with ticket sales on the phone a couple of weeks ago. In our case it was because we wanted to add G+ to tickets that were comped to us by Disney after what was the worst experience we'd had in 50 years visiting. However, we found out you cannot add G+ in advance if the tickets were comped by Disney. So we, too, will have to buy each day for the August visit. Hopefully these new changes don't end up meaning every day is sold out by guests who can purchase in advance (until June 8) and we are left in the cold because they would not allow us to pre-purchase. What a big mess this has all become over the past two years.

 

[EmilyGahr]

Earlier this year, I purchased 10 day park hoppers from a third party ticket site (the one with the frog), and I linked them to MDE.
A few weeks later I was able to add Genie+ with no issues.

It must vary from person to person!

 

[TheBigErn]

Earlier this year, I purchased 10 day park hoppers from a third party ticket site (the one with the frog), and I linked them to MDE.
A few weeks later I was able to add Genie+ with no issues.

It must vary from person to person!

How did you add them? Were your tickets discounted? I bought mine from that same company

 

[EmilyGahr]

I purchased the discounted tickets (no Genie+) through the third party website and received physical tickets in the mail with a number on them. I added those numbers to MDE so the tickets were linked to my account. Then there was an option for "change tickets" so I clicked that, added Genie+, and checked out and paid the difference!

On MDE, go to My Plans then click on Tickets and Memory Maker - are you tickets there? Do you see an option to change your tickets?

 

[Lexy-n-John]

I purchased the discounted tickets (no Genie+) through the third party website and received physical tickets in the mail with a number on them. I added those numbers to MDE so the tickets were linked to my account. Then there was an option for "change tickets" so I clicked that, added Genie+, and checked out and paid the difference!

On MDE, go to My Plans then click on Tickets and Memory Maker - are you tickets there? Do you see an option to change your tickets?

Thank you for this! The third party I bought from said they couldn't add it either. I really didn't want to go through the hassle of returning them then purchasing tickets with Genie+.

 

[Mle8308]

I purchased the discounted tickets (no Genie+) through the third party website and received physical tickets in the mail with a number on them. I added those numbers to MDE so the tickets were linked to my account. Then there was an option for "change tickets" so I clicked that, added Genie+, and checked out and paid the difference!

On MDE, go to My Plans then click on Tickets and Memory Maker - are you tickets there? Do you see an option to change your tickets?

Did you get charged the difference in the ticket price, too? For most tickets, if purchased before a price increase or at a discount, when you add Genie+, it charges you for the difference in the price of the tickets in addition to the Genie+ fee.

 

[EmilyGahr]

Did you get charged the difference in the ticket price, too? For most tickets, if purchased before a price increase or at a discount, when you add Genie+, it charges you for the difference in the price of the tickets in addition to the Genie+ fee.

No - I was only charged for Genie+

 

[TheBigErn]

I purchased the discounted tickets (no Genie+) through the third party website and received physical tickets in the mail with a number on them. I added those numbers to MDE so the tickets were linked to my account. Then there was an option for "change tickets" so I clicked that, added Genie+, and checked out and paid the difference!

On MDE, go to My Plans then click on Tickets and Memory Maker - are you tickets there? Do you see an option to change your tickets?

Right, you lost the discount. Essentially you upgraded to a full price ticket. That's easy but the discount on the ticket is lost.

 

[TheBigErn]

Thank you for this! The third party I bought from said they couldn't add it either. I really didn't want to go through the hassle of returning them then purchasing tickets with Genie+.

Check the price. You lose the discount on the ticket.

 

[EmilyGahr]

Right, you lost the discount. Essentially you upgraded to a full price ticket. That's easy but the discount on the ticket is lost.

I didn't lose the discount - I only paid the cost of 10 days of adding Genie+

 

[TheBigErn]

I didn't lose the discount - I only paid the cost of 10 days of adding Genie+

Then you're the first. Or you didn't have a discounted ticket.

 

[han22735]

I just messed with this on MDE. My 10 day tickets were purchased from UT. When i go to add Genie by clicking edit its charging me $150 plus tax. So where would I be "losing the discount"??

 

[TheBigErn]

I just messed with this on MDE. My 10 day tickets were purchased from UT. When i go to add Genie by clicking edit its charging me $150 plus tax. So where would I be "losing the discount"??

Did you get a discount on the tix? Not all UT tix are discounted. All I know is I've now talked to 5 Disney agents in 2 days and I get the same story. Adding Genie+ to a discounted counted tix results in the system essentially cancelling the old tix and purchasing a new tix at full price plus the Genie+. Thus eliminating the discount. And I get the same result when I try adding Genie+ on MDE.

 

[han22735]

Yes they were discounted. I just don't get how you "lose the discounted" price when adding genie. Is yours adding more than $15/day when you try in the app?

 

[john7994]

We purchased our tickets (4-day) through a third party, linked them in MDE after receiving confirmation numbers. When the Genie + announcement came out about not being able to buy in advance we added them to our tickets through MDE several days later - no issue - and only paid for the Genie + add-on.

 

[Lexy-n-John]

Check the price. You lose the discount on the ticket.

You're right, I did. But honestly, the ability of not having to stay up till midnight to possibly not get Genie+, especially staying offsite was worth losing the $40 discount per person discount i was getting. Granted, not optimal, but I think this will be my last Disney trip for awhile considering what's going on with the economy and the Neverending disney nickel and diming the consumer.

 

[TheBigErn]

To end this saga. After hours on hold over 2 days I finally spoke to a very helpful ticket specialist. He explained that the system defaults to essentially issuing a new ticket at current prices plus the cost of Genie+ which is what I had been told by others. But he was able to manipulate the system and add Genie+ to all of our tickets for the length of the tickets, plus tax at the same price I would have paid if I added it each day. However, the only reason he was able to do that was because one in our group had a three day tix and a one day tix and by combining that into a 4 day ticket he was able to somehow avoid the upcharge on the other tixs. So now that's one last thing I need to do at the crack of dawn each day.