CM only giving me value of "price paid" when trying to change ticket??

[jo-jo]

Weird. AP dates start with date of first use/scan; not purchase.

Yes ,very weird. More so with having two people agree it was correct.

 

[DavidNYC]

I realize Mom’s Panel (now planDisney) isn’t always 100% accurate, but this is what they said Jan 2022:

…The Cast Members at ticketing windows will also be able to put the amount you spent on your original tickets towards new ones or towards an Annual Pass so you can skip the long wait times on the phone. It is important to note that they will ask for the date of your new visit upon purchase, so make sure that you have agreed on a new time for your visit before you purchase new tickets…

It's not so much they were wrong as opposed to speaking in generalities. The above is basically correct but only in simple situations where you're not dealing with intervening price increases, tickets from discounters etc.

Having done this many times - the answer it the one that most here have confirmed - you get credit for the Disney online sale price at the time the ticket was issued.

 

[mistysue]

Not sure if its the exact situation, but maybe this will help explain?
I purchased a ticket from UT for the year 2020, but due to Covid, we did not use the tickets and that ticket was granted an expiration date of 10/2021. Since we did not use the ticket by the expiration, I had to call ticketing in order to get the value of the ticket applied to a new ticket for this year.
Disney will only credit the cost of the original ticket. Meaning, the cost that the reseller purchased the ticket for from Disney.
So, the price that UT paid Disney for that ticket, is the credit that I received. Turns out that is $40 less than what I paid UT.

See if you had kept calling, they should have given you more credit. This situation- the fact that UCT pays less than you paid- is why this conversation is even happening. The correct credit is either what YOU paid, or the current Disney price. It was never the price UCT paid. The part where Disney doesn't track exactly what the resellers sell for is why it gets confusing, and why it's better to use a ticket before changing it when possible. (like to add days or upgrade to AP) That use of the ticket has been what prompts them to bridge the ticket to the current price, it sounds like now they just go with Disney's price on day of purchase if there's a question.

 

[Lumpy1106]

Hello everyone-- thank you in advance for any advice.

I just got off the phone with MDE. . I am trying to change the date of my 10 day PH (from June 16 to June 17), and upgrade to a Parkhopper Plus.

I paid just under $760 from UCT back in November 2022.
The current "value" of a 10 day park hopper from Disney direct is $821.
The upgraded value (to change from June 16 to June 17) is $846.

The MDE cast member wanted to charge me $89 per ticket ($360 for 4 tickets) to upgrade/change dates, which makes no sense to me.

Can someone help me understand what I need to do to get the full value of the ticket? She said that she can only give me the "value" that I paid for the ticket.

Any help would be awesome. Just a little stressed about this bc I had thought I would only have to pay under $30 for an upgrade per ticket (or $120 for 4 tickets). Should I wait until I get to Disney and go to Guest Services instead in person?

That's what we experienced even back in 2020. We had bought (from Disney) a packaged ticket that included 4 days in the parks and a day in the water parks. Well, the water parks were closed, so we wanted to add a 5th day in the parks. Going from a 4 day ticket to a 5 day ticket is cheap (around $20), but no. We got the value we paid for the tickets and had to buy a 5-day ticket. It was about $80 more per ticket when all was said and done.

If Disney wasn't going to make exceptions then for a ticket to a closed park, they certainly aren't going to make exceptions now.

 

[lampshadehead]

See if you had kept calling, they should have given you more credit. This situation- the fact that UCT pays less than you paid- is why this conversation is even happening. The correct credit is either what YOU paid, or the current Disney price. It was never the price UCT paid. The part where Disney doesn't track exactly what the resellers sell for is why it gets confusing, and why it's better to use a ticket before changing it when possible. (like to add days or upgrade to AP) That use of the ticket has been what prompts them to bridge the ticket to the current price, it sounds like now they just go with Disney's price on day of purchase if there's a question.

It was such a hassle. The ticket, which was already assigned to a child on my MDE account, disappeared completly from my account after October 2021. When I called ticketing to ask where the ticket went, I was told that happened because it was a ticket from the Covid closure and they were given a blanket expiration date of 10/2021. They said as soon as I was ready to pick a new date, call back. Well, I called back a month ago just to start the process. The first call took 2 hours and 40mins to find this ticket again. If I hadn't pushed Disney ticketing to find this ticket, I really think that they would have been happy with me just "letting it go". I had to insist that this is not ok and I want the ticket back. I went through my emails from 2020 and found the date I purchased it from UT. They put me on hold and did a search of my account for around that time frame, apparently. Finally they came back and told me it was found. Was given a reference number, and said that when I have chosen my dates to call back. When I called back a few days later with my new dates, that is when I was told that now Disney only credits the cost of the original ticket. Meaning, the price that Disney sold that specific ticket for. They sold it to UT for less than what I paid UT. And after another 45 minutes or so of trying to negotiate, I gave in and paid the difference. Was basically told by Disney ticketing to take it up with UT, if I want the difference back. Exhausting.

ETA: I already was planning on having to pay something, because prices have gone up. What I didn't expect was to not have at least the cost that I paid originally for the ticket, credited. But Disney has no idea what I paid UT, so, too bad for me

 

[lanejudy]

it's better to use a ticket before changing it when possible. (like to add days or upgrade to AP) That use of the ticket has been what prompts them to bridge the ticket to the current price

This is incorrect. WDW no longer "bridges" to current price. Using the ticket prior to any upgrade or change will have no impact on the credit value.

 

[mistysue]

This is incorrect. WDW no longer "bridges" to current price. Using the ticket prior to any upgrade or change will have no impact on the credit value.

Is this true for both outside resellers and direct from disney tickets? I know it was a big deal a few years ago when the direct ones started having different rules.

ETA: If there's more recent info- is there a way to update the tickets thread so everyone can see the current best info? Their system does some version of bridging, whether it is pre or post usage, as they did it for me last year when I changed ticket dates.

 

[lanejudy]

Is this true for both outside resellers and direct from disney tickets? I know it was a big deal a few years ago when the direct ones started having different rules.

AFAIK, virtually all tickets are subject to the same rule with regards to value towards upgrade. Some that may be handled a little differently are military tickets, special FL Resident tickets, and maybe convention tickets.

ETA: If there's more recent info- is there a way to update the tickets thread so everyone can see the current best info? Their system does some version of bridging, whether it is pre or post usage, as they did it for me last year when I changed ticket dates.

To my knowledge the ticket sticky is accurate. This is what that thread currently says about price-bridging (with some additional detail if you click the link):

Price bridging

Price-bridging is a process used for dealing with "discounted tickets" because a guest has paid less for those tickets than the Disney price on the date that the guest bought them.
(That's why what YOU paid for the discounted tickets does not enter into the upgrade transaction.)
The price that the guest paid is "bridged" up to the price that Disney charged at the time the discounted ticket was minted (created) by Disney and sold to the authorized ticket discounter.
Then, that Disney price (at that time) is subtracted from the current Disney price.
And, the guest will pay that amount for the upgrade.

If you find something in the ticket sticky that appears to be outdated, please let someone know. The TPAS moderators may be able to help modify the post if necessary.

 

[mistysue]

AFAIK, virtually all tickets are subject to the same rule with regards to value towards upgrade. Some that may be handled a little differently are military tickets, special FL Resident tickets, and maybe convention tickets.



To my knowledge the ticket sticky is accurate. This is what that thread currently says about price-bridging (with some additional detail if you click the link):



If you find something in the ticket sticky that appears to be outdated, please let someone know. The TPAS moderators may be able to help modify the post if necessary.

Then they are bridging the price - they are bridging it to the disney price at some date, but there is bridging happening. My point was it seemed to make it less likely they would argue it if people used the ticket first. Otherwise more people seem to run into this "you only get a credit for what UCT paid" - which is the unbridged price.

 

[lanejudy]

Then they are bridging the price - they are bridging it to the disney price at some date, but there is bridging happening. My point was it seemed to make it less likely they would argue it if people used the ticket first. Otherwise more people seem to run into this "you only get a credit for what UCT paid" - which is the unbridged price.

They do not bridge to "current price" which is what you stated in a previous post. Discounted tickets are bridged to the WDW online price as of the date the ticket was purchased. Using that ticket several months later won't change the credit value; if there has been a price increase (which is what occurred to the OP) the credit could still be much lower than current price and result in a large cost to upgrade.

Most of this thread has been discussion about the credit being price paid to UT vs Disney value. It's only one maybe two posts that mentioned "credit for what UT paid." I think there's agreement that situation was not done correctly.

 

[mistysue]

They do not bridge to "current price" which is what you stated in a previous post. Discounted tickets are bridged to the WDW online price as of the date the ticket was purchased. Using that ticket several months later won't change the credit value; if there has been a price increase (which is what occurred to the OP) the credit could still be much lower than current price and result in a large cost to upgrade.

Most of this thread has been discussion about the credit being price paid to UT vs Disney value. It's only one maybe two posts that mentioned "credit for what UT paid." I think there's agreement that situation was not done correctly.

There are 5 people in this thread who have said they only get what UCT paid. Clearly we are focusing on different things, as to me the "current price vs price at the date" thing is trivial - the UCT vs paid amount is the part of the conversation that stuck out to me, and the part I was responding to. I guess it wasn't the part that stuck out to you. It's ok for us to have a different focus. I'm less worried about which Disney price they bridge to than people getting at least what they paid in the first place.

 

[nalabear]

It's fair if you paid $1; you get $1 credit. Not Disney's fault the party did not use the ticket when initially bought and shouldn't be carrying the loss due to inflation/price increases. If put a $1 stamp into the drawer, the intrinsic value of the stamp maybe $3 to the market of rarities 30 years later; but the USPS will still value it at $1. (ie - tickets aren't forever stamps)

In past, Disney would transfer value of admission forward, but not anymore.

Any exception would be on the part of the CM

 

[lampshadehead]

Disney ticketing told me recently (within the past month) and would not budge, that they will only credit the price that they sold the ticket for to the reseller. My situation happened when the ticket, which WAS assigned to a person in MDE, disapeared completely. This was a 6 day ticket that was granted an expiration date of 10/2021, due to Covid closure. They had to find the ticket number in their system, and granted me the credit. That credit was the price that UT paid Disney for the ticket. I paid UT more for that ticket. So I lost money.

 

[nalabear]

Disney ticketing told me recently (within the past month) and would not budge, that they will only credit the price that they sold the ticket for to the reseller. My situation happened when the ticket, which WAS assigned to a person in MDE, disapeared completely. This was a 6 day ticket that was granted an expiration date of 10/2021, due to Covid closure. They had to find the ticket number in their system, and granted me the credit. That credit was the price that UT paid Disney for the ticket. I paid UT more for that ticket. So I lost money.

I see the issue. So are you disappointed at UT or Disney with this issue? UT typically will refund with an administrative fee. You can the money back.

Disney will honor the face value of the ticket itself, not the markup price that the broker garnered.

 

[lampshadehead]

I see the issue. So are you disappointed at UT or Disney with this issue? UT typically will refund with an administrative fee. You can the money back.

Disney will honor the face value of the ticket itself, not the markup price that the broker garnered.

Guess its just a general disappointment that I lost money (and time) lol.

What probably made it more annoying than anything, is how long it took for Disney to find that ticket again. I feel like the ticket should have been easier to find in my account. It took over 2 hours on the phone.
Now thinking back, I suppose that I could have contacted UT and asked them to find the ticket number. But I thought that because it had been entered into MDE and assigned to a user, it wouldn't have been so tough to find

Adding: Went through my receipts and the difference between what I paid UT and the credit for the tickets is $28.08. Since it was just one child ticket, it's not worth anymore hassle. I paid Disney and it was added back to MDE in order to get the park reservations done.

 

[HopperFan]

Guess its just a general disappointment that I lost money (and time) lol.

What probably made it more annoying than anything, is how long it took for Disney to find that ticket again. I feel like the ticket should have been easier to find in my account. It took over 2 hours on the phone.
Now thinking back, I suppose that I could have contacted UT and asked them to find the ticket number. But I thought that because it had been entered into MDE and assigned to a user, it wouldn't have been so tough to find

Adding: Went through my receipts and the difference between what I paid UT and the credit for the tickets is $28.08. Since it was just one child ticket, it's not worth anymore hassle. I paid Disney and it was added back to MDE in order to get the park reservations done.

And if you got a refund from UT they'd keep out their "restocking" fee so the gap is likely smaller. Glad you were able to get it all settled.


MANY years ago we would purchase a ticket here and there from AAA, as a member I felt like it came with some minimal support. I've bought tickets like DisneyQuest and Waterparks from UT and a now defunct co, bought HHN from TicketsAtWork .......... but even as recent as 2021 we only bought our tickets from Disney even though we could save a few bucks from UT & others. The hassle in case of ANY issues was simply not worth it, I wanted to deal direct with Disney with no entanglements.

Decades ago Disney needed the third party sellers to help fill parks, something about a discount gets folks to commit and it was all about phone calls, TAs like AAA, etc to get tickets in advance. But honestly Disney doesn't need any of them anymore. The internet now makes buying from Disney so easy. Not sure the long term goal but we def can't get the deals we once could years ago from third party.

 

[Fitzwoman27]

I have a ticket back from when they used to stamp it with one unused day. Do you think they will honor it as is?

 

[nalabear]

I have a ticket back from when they used to stamp it with one unused day. Do you think they will honor it as is?

Yes, if it's valid and unused. They have a book to lookup the serial# and will issue a replacement ticket if validated.

 

[Miffy]

Has something changed in WDW's ticket pricing? Way way back in the Dark Ages of 2018 I had a problem with a ticket upgrade--PH to AP--and even though every Guest Relations CM I spoke with when I was at WDW assured me their calculations were correct, their system was infallible, and my information was wrong, in fact I was right (with help from @Robo).

I eventually was refunded the overage I'd paid for the upgrade, but I had to wait until I got home and called the WDW ticketing phone number. OP, please look up this phone number, because I believe it's not the same as the number I called 5 years ago.

Here's what happened: When I went to Guest Relations to upgrade my ticket, my ticket was valued by GR at the amount that UCT paid for it, not what I paid for it and not what the WDW price was for it at the time I purchased it. The ticket should have been valued at the price WDW had for it at the time I purchased it, not either of the other two amounts.

In 2018, this info was correct, but I can't vouch for it being currently correct. However, OP, I advise you to call WDW Ticketing. The people at this number know exactly how everything works, unlike many CMs, even the ones in Guest Relations.