Disney now "ripping off" er charging guests for lost APs???

[baileybrad]

I was reading a weekly news column from another excellent unoffical Disney website's newsletter and an article mentioned that a spouse had lost their AP on vacation and Disney replaced it ......for a $20 charge! Why in heavens name would they charge an amount like that for something so trivial? We have had this happen a couple of times over the years and there was never a charge just a cheerful, friendly castmember more than happy to help. The castmember is there to assist guests, it is not like they had to make a "service call". I hope there is more to this guest's pass replacement than a simple push of a few buttons. Can anyone share any information on recent events when dealing with a lost AP?

 

[AdventurerKat]

That is one of my biggest fears while on vacation at WDW...that I would lose my AP!! I would be interested to hear responses as well.

 

[TeresaNJ]

We've lost two APs and never have been charged for a replacement.

 

[Mich Mouse]

When we were at DL last week, we were told to "Be careful with your park hoppers, if they are lost they are not replacable." I questioned the CM and was told that they would have to be re-purchased at full price if they were lost. Imagine that! We also stayed at their Grand Californian and the passes were not the room keys, like at WDW.

I took that advice, and was careful!

 

[GoldenOldie]

This is not new. The "replacement fee" for an AP/PAP has always been on the books. It can be charged but 99% of the time, it isn't.

By the way, the article didn't say that she was charged for the replacement. It said:

Just go to Guest Relations at any of the theme parks and show your ID, and they'll be able to cancel your old pass and reissue a new one. Yes, they may charge you a $20 replacement fee, but that's a lot better than shelling out another $400 for a new Annual Pass.

They may charge you, not they will charge you. And that's exactly true.

 

[oogieboogie]

DH lost his AP recently in MK. We think he left it in the Fastpass machine. He got it replaced at City Hall real quick and definitely didn't get charged for it.

I think that's why the APs are made out of paper. Makes it easy and cheap to replace. $20 seems a lot, but it's sure cheaper than shelling out another $392.99

 

[kaygela]

We lost our room key last week which was the park hopper pass and the concierge at the hotel (CSR) replaced it with no problem.

 

[gshoemate]

That seems odd. I hope they don't start charging for replacement due to wear on the AP. They are so cheaply made that we need to get ours replaced every 2-3 months. The machines can't read the strip because we use them often. Not to mention how much they get damaged if your caught in the rain with them.

 

[amymouse]

I had to have my AP replaced last month (on the last day it was valid, no less) because it became demagnetized. The CM took the old one to Guest Services for me and brought back a "shiny"new one. No charge and a smile, too!

 

[moinab]

I just had my seasonal pass replaced last week because it was demagnetized. No charge, no problem.

 

[zurgswife]

My son lost his during our Christmas trip...it was replaced at the Guest Services of MGM no problem...and no charge

 

[jctwizzer]

JMHO, but the inflammatory, troll-like question posed at the start of the thread seems to be based on misleading information

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by jctwizzer
JMHO, but the inflammatory, troll-like question posed at the start of the thread seems to be based on misleading information

If it was someone other than BailyBrad, I might agree with you,
but, the OP does not do that.

I did not read the article, there was no link.
IMHO, this was, yet, another Chicken little the sky is falling comment made by another person and mentioned here by BailyBrad.

To the others who mentioned hoppers, they are a whole different animal than APs. AP holders actually have their names on file and can prove ownership. Pass holders cannot. When I purchase a hopper for my daughter, I take a copy of the back, that way if it is lost it can be replaced.

 

[DebbieB]

I agree that this isn't new. I heard a long time ago that there was a charge, I thought it was $10 at that time. I don't think they would charge for damaged passes. But I could see a limit on the number of times they will replace lost passes for free per year. I've seen people post that they realized they left their pass in the room when they got to the bus stop, no worry because they will just get a new one instead of going back to the room. I think that's taking advantage of the system. Maybe allow one or two per year free and after that charge for lost (or forgotten) passes. $5 or $10 seems more reasonable.

 

[Disneyland_emily]

I know DL has a charge fee (only place I hold an AP) it was either 10-20- but we do have flimsy plastic cards not paper- I think its very reasonable-

My college has a 10 dollar replacement fee- I think its a sortof encuragement to try to not loose the things... -em

 

[Efastpitch]

Originally posted by baileybrad
I was reading a weekly news column from another excellent unoffical Disney website's newsletter and an article mentioned that a spouse had lost their AP on vacation and Disney replaced it ......for a $20 charge! Why in heavens name would they charge an amount like that for something so trivial? We have had this happen a couple of times over the years and there was never a charge just a cheerful, friendly castmember more than happy to help. The castmember is there to assist guests, it is not like they had to make a "service call". I hope there is more to this guest's pass replacement than a simple push of a few buttons. Can anyone share any information on recent events when dealing with a lost AP?

We lost one of ours in December, they replaced it for free. Said this happens all the time. No big deal.

 

[Villain Dude]

Bought AP this Jan. 25 and lost on Jan. 27 .... replaced with no problem. I would have paid the cost BUT I would have said ... What the ...............

Dude

 

[DebbieB]

Originally posted by GAIL HAYDEN
If it was someone other than BailyBrad, I might agree with you,
but, the OP does not do that.

I did not read the article, there was no link.
IMHO, this was, yet, another Chicken little the sky is falling comment made by another person and mentioned here by BailyBrad.

I receive the allearsnet newsletter, here is the article:

>>>>FEATURE ARTICLE

WHEN GOOD TRIPS GO BAD

by
Debra Martin Koma
ALL EARS(tm) Senior Editor

Did you ever have one of "those" trips? You know, the kind where
it seems like everything is going wrong?

Well, having just returned from one, I have to tell you, it was
definitely a learning experience. Maybe it's because I've been
to Walt Disney World so often -- we've had so many positive
experiences, maybe I'd gotten lazy about paying attention to
trip details and just took for granted that things would just
work out. Or maybe we had a black cloud hovering over our heads.
Whatever the reason, we had more than our share of mishaps and
misadventures this trip, and it got me to thinking about how
folks can cope when things don't go exactly as planned.

---------------------------------
DON'T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT IT
---------------------------------

Everybody forgets something when they go on vacation, right? A
toothbrush, a bathing suit, maybe like I did once, socks. Those
things are fairly easy to replace, though -- a quick run to the
hotel gift shop, or even a local store and you're all set.

But what if you forget something a little more expensive -- like
your annual pass? That's what happened to us this time. My
husband thought I had his pass, I thought he had it. We were
both wrong.

Luckily WDW is equipped to handle this kind of emergency --
believe it or not, it has happened to others before. Just go to
Guest Relations at any of the theme parks and show your ID, and
they'll be able to cancel your old pass and reissue a new one.
Yes, they may charge you a $20 replacement fee, but that's a lot
better than shelling out another $400 for a new Annual Pass. <<<

I think the key is they may charge you a $20 replacement fee. Deb Wills (editor in chief of the newsletter) is pretty reliable, I don't think she would print an unconfirmed rumor. It sounds like the charge is at the discresion of guest services. Perhaps if they feel you are abusing the priviledge (repeated lost passes), they will charge you.

 

[baileybrad]

Thanks folks for the responses. Thank you, Gail for the kind words. I am not sure exactly why I deserved the troll comment but, oh well, never mind. Thanks DebbieB for pulling up the article from Deb's website. I "may", there's that word , have thought incorrectly that Deb Koma's spouse was charged a replacement fee because her informative article was titled "When good trips go bad".....getting charged $20 for a lost AP that, again in my opinion, can be cancelled and a new one issued by a castmember in a few strokes seems to be taking advantage of a guest. Deb had another mishap on that trip that might have made it a "bad" trip, her son, I believe it was, lost a park hopper with several days left on it. She made the point that she is usually very good about having a copy or receipt of their tickets but in this case, did not. The article stressed that having backup to support your purchase to enable the Disney folks to cancel your old ticket and issue a replacement with the appropriate amount of days is a very good idea just in case one loses a non AP ticket.

I had no intention of spreading a rumor. I read something, maybe not very well but that is what the boards are about.....asking questions.

So I guess the troll will be signing off.

 

[auntpolly]

Am I the only one that wishes they'd make them a little more substantially? Plastic or something? I'm a pretty neurotic person, but when we get APs I'm always a little nervous about them. With our family of 4, that's 4 little pieces of paper representing quite a bit of money!