Blockout ticket NOT valid after midnight?

[pingpong]

After the proverbial ball dropped, we decided to pop over to DCA, only to be told put blockout pass is now expired because its no longer 12/31. We then couldn't get back into DL for the same reason. Sufice to say i was absolutely shocked. is this normal? I thought a blockout ticket was equivalent to a one day park hopper. Would those ticket holders be hosed too if they leave the park after midnight?

 

[ImTooExcitedToSleep]

Seriously?? I would've asked for a manager.

 

[Disney Dreams]

... is this normal?...

Well.... "normally" the Park closes at midnight so it's not an issue. I definitely would have asked for a supervisor.

Are you sure it was due to the date and not that they were not admitting people due to capacity? (Just trying to think of something that makes sense.....)

- Dreams

 

[cmwade77]

It is supposed to be by operating day, you should have asked for a lead. If your pass is blocked out on the 31st, they will not let you in after midnight, even if your pass is not blocked out on the 1st, as it is still the operating day of the 31st. At this point, I would suggest emailing Disney and explain what happened and ask that they send you a gift card for the amount of time that you were not able to go to Disneyland.

 

[Disney Dreams]

[QUOTE="cmwade77]"... At this point, I would suggest emailing Disney and explain what happened and ask that they send you a gift card for the amount of time that you were not able to go to Disneyland.[/QUOTE]
I would guess the OP is not upset about what amounts to about $8, but the abrupt ending to their NYE experience.

JMO, Dreams

 

[sonnyjane]

I think I would politely email Disney with my account of the situation. Unless it was due to a capacity issue as suggested above, I think turning you away like that shouldn't have happened.

 

[pingpong]

DCA was pretty empty at the time, so it's very unlikely to be due to capacity. Ditto with DL; people were streaming out in droves.

Seems very undisneylike to enforce something like this due to a technicality; I realize the blockout ticket says on it that it's only valid for the day listed, but still, I would assume that it would be good until the end of operation for the day printed on the ticket.

 

[bumbershoot]

It is supposed to be by operating day, you should have asked for a lead. If your pass is blocked out on the 31st, they will not let you in after midnight, even if your pass is not blocked out on the 1st, as it is still the operating day of the 31st. At this point, I would suggest emailing Disney and explain what happened and ask that they send you a gift card for the amount of time that you were not able to go to Disneyland.

Absolutely. Or at least an apology and some retraining of the CMs. I hope you got the names of the CMs involved, OP?

If I'm using a multi-day ticket and I hop after midnight, they are not taking a second day off my ticket. The day isn't over yet, in Disney terms. The CMs were wrong.

If you're still there, go to City Hall and have a chat with a manager.

 

[pingpong]

Got a reply from guest communications. Sounds like the CMs that were manning the gates were full of it.

Our Blockout day tickets are valid for that day's operating hours, on
New Years Eve that would have been 2am on 1/1/2012. It is very
surprising that you experienced this concern. In the future, if you
encounter any inconveniences or disappointments, please feel free to
inform a Cast Member that you would like to speak with a manager.

 

[sonnyjane]

Is that the entire email? I hope there's an apology somewhere other than "it is surprising..."

 

[pingpong]

Is that the entire email? I hope there's an apology somewhere other than "it is surprising..."

Yep, that's about it. The rest is all template cruft that accompanies all responses.

 

[sonnyjane]

Yep, that's about it. The rest is all template cruft that accompanies all responses.

Ooooh that would make me want to write ANOTHER letter!!

 

[starshine514]

Yep, that's about it. The rest is all template cruft that accompanies all responses.

Wow, I would have expected more of an apology and perhaps something to make it up to you. I mean, you lost a couple hours of possibly uncrowded park time... I had a similar-type complaint once and was given a voucher for one-day passes for my family.

 

[MateasMom]

Ooooh that would make me want to write ANOTHER letter!!

Right. There's not even an apology in there. That sucks

 

[Disney Dreams]

As many on micechat where you posted the same concern have said, the time to ask for a supervisor was at the gates on NY at 1am.

The problem at this point with expecting Disney to do anything beyond replying, which they did, is that they have absolutely no way of knowing if this really happened or not. Every single person on DIS and micechat that has read your account could now write a similar letter to Disney. Is Disney to take each person's word and issue some sort of compensation?

If you are standing there at the turnstile, 1am, New Years Day, ticket in hand, and they see you not being allowed entry by the computer (and therefore the Cast Member), they can fix it. After the fact, how do they know that what you said happened actually happened?

Unfortunately, the time to fight for corrective compensation on a situation like this was at the time it happened. Why walk away at 1am?

I'm sorry it happened to you, I am happy that Disney replied to your email, but I'm not sure what else should be expected after the fact. What would you like?

- Dreams

 

[sonnyjane]

Dreams, I'm not on mousechat so I'm not sure what the OP has put there. I don't necessarily think that they deserve financial compensation or any freebies of any kind, but I would be miffed that the response from Disney did not in any way include the phrase "We're sorry". That's customer service 101.

 

[Disney Dreams]

...I would be miffed that the response from Disney did not in any way include the phrase "We're sorry". That's customer service 101.

Oh, if the OP's letter (which we haven't seen) said that it was a first-hand experience, yes, I agree with you that an apology should have been included in the reply.

- Dreams

 

[Disney Dreams]

Got a reply from guest communications. Sounds like the CMs that were manning the gates were full of it.

I think it's a bit harsh to say the "CMs that were manning the gates were full of it," but they were certainly mistaken.

I have to ask you though, why did you not ask for a supervisor? If it did not seem right to you, why not ask for the next level up? Did you not see one single person getting back into the parks while you were standing there?

I know you said in another post that you were not arriving at DLR until around 7:30pm. If I had bought a ticket 4.5 hours previously on a day when the parks are open after midnight, I would not have left that gate without a supervisor explaining to me why my ticket is not good any longer since it's the same operating day. Why not ask for a supervisor while there, at the moment? 44 minutes after midnight you posted your experience on midnight. I think 44 minutes after midnight I would still be standing that the Main Gate asking to speak with a supervisor and observing if anyone else was getting re-entry.

- Dreams

 

[Love Tink]

I have to ask you though, why did you not ask for a supervisor? If it did not seem right to you, why not ask for the next level up? Did you not see one single person getting back into the parks while you were standing there?

Not everyone is an Ask-For-a-Supervisor kind of person. Actually, most people are not.

 

[TotalDreamer]

That's very,.. Strange. The CMs at the gate def. should've known better, I can't see how that possibly sounds right to anyone.