Feeling extremely frustrated with Premier Passport and WDW

[Ember]

We have a trip coming up on Feb 17 (so we are well within our 30 FP+ booking window) and their system is refusing to recognize our Premier Passports. I have spoken to Disney twice now over several days and they just keep telling me to wait. Great, that's a big help! I miss the regular FP system...

 

[larryz]

We have a trip coming up on Feb 17 (so we are well within our 30 FP+ booking window) and their system is refusing to recognize our Premier Passports. I have spoken to Disney twice now over several days and they just keep telling me to wait. Great, that's a big help! I miss the regular FP system...

You have every right to complain, considering how much those Premier Passports cost!!!

It's a shame a company with the clearly outstanding leadership that Disney enjoys can't find (or won't pay for) the talent to fully synchronize their IT systems...

 

[Suvadoo]

We have a trip coming up on Feb 17 (so we are well within our 30 FP+ booking window) and their system is refusing to recognize our Premier Passports. I have spoken to Disney twice now over several days and they just keep telling me to wait. Great, that's a big help! I miss the regular FP system...

I don't think you're alone. I was listening to yesterday's Dis Unplugged podcast and almost everyone on the panel doesn't like FP+. They also said that they get a lot of negative guest feedback about FP+.
I am amazed that the CM's aren't more helpful in resolving this issue. You're obviously a loyal fan and you should be treated as a VIP.

 

[Ember]

You're obviously a loyal fan and you should be treated as a VIP.

I'll take being treated as a normal guest! I don't want to miss out on experiences because their system can't handle their own passes. Some of the harder to get FP+ are likely already gone...

 

[Proud Cheapskate]

We had the Premier Passport the year it came out (back when it was $700 which seems like a bargain now) and we had tons of problems with it ie couldn't get fastpasses, problems with park admission even in the same day when hopping, problem getting in-park discounts. It got to the point where I almost demanded to have a separate DL AP and WDW AP because I had to spend so much time in guest services. Nice to see they've jacked up the prices but have done nothing to alleviate the issues.

 

[holden]

Have you called the IT department? You can find their number by searching the boards or internet. They have helped me with annual pass issues in a matter of minutes.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

I don't think you will be able to do anything until you get there, if your pass was already activated at Disneyland. The Disneyland and WDW systems do not talk to each other.

 

[kittyab]

I would keep calling and demand a manager if need be.

 

[Candleshoe]

I have a west-coast friend who lost a LOT of time on her last WDW stop due to issues with her Premier. I'm so sorry.

 

[anonymousegirl]

I have the Premier and I cannot register it on the Disneyland site. It keeps telling me that my pass is linked to another account and won't accept it--yeah, duh, it is linked to My Disney Experience in Florida.

FP+ doesn't work well with my touring/vacation style, so when my pass expires in May, I am renewing just the DLR AP and reducing my WDW trips down to one 4 day trip in October for Food and Wine.

 

[hopemax]

My friend has a Premiere, activated at DL and had problems as well. She had to call IT 4 different times, and they had to create a new MDE account for her and new MB. But they did eventually get it fixed.

Keep pushing the issue.

 

[lurkergirl]

We have them for a few years and pretty much have issues every year - one account had to be rebuilt, my mother's originally duplicated the pass and I had to call repeatedly to get it linked.

We just renewed again and have had issues getting her's to show and then again link between the accounts. I'm in the middle of having IT fix it (escalated from the "Fix-It Team" to real IT) and now everything is showing up as there and linked again...I'm not sure if just decided to work or if they did it, I haven't had an email yet.

Frustrating!

Last week they thanked me for calling well before the 60-day window opened.

 

[JadeDarkstar]

Hate to brake it to you , but fp+ is heading to dl soon too.

Though I hope they fix your passport that's not good if they can't fix it.

 

[Amystoneus]

I just got off the phone with Guest Relations because I couldn't believe that for the privilege of being Premier Passport holders, we're afforded even fewer conveniences and niceties than those offered by the other passport tiers--or even park-hopper tickets! I was given a full explanation of why the Premier Passport cannot be renewed online--accompanied by apologies and compassion--and okay, WDW and DLR are on different systems that can't be unified through a web interface. Fine. Sucks and seems stupid, but fine. However: given that we're literally forced to go to the park in the middle of summer because that's when our passports expire, shouldn't we at least be given a VIP experience for our $2000+ renewal, say, being able to sit at a concierge's desk in the beautiful and climate-controlled lobby of the Grand Californian instead of having to wait in the same line as everyone else who's arrived for the day, while we sweat under the hot summer sun and look to see if another line is moving any faster?! "We love Disney--obviously," I tried to be gracious with the Disney representative, "But Disney is all about the guest experience and we're essentially being put in the no-frills section of the plane after having purchased first-class tickets!" She had to agree, and still I couldn't stop: "For what we're paying, a red carpet should be rolled out, elephants in elaborate costumes should hold umbrellas and sprinkle us with sparkling mist, and Mickey should announce us on arrival!" The unpleasantness of the renewal process aside, we can't even take advantage of the 60-day advance FP+ reservations for our upcoming September WDW trip, because our passports expire in August! "Shouldn't you have some kind of special override code for Premier Passport holders so we can at least take advantage of the 60-day lead time?" I implored, remembering how we were only able to score one FP for the Seven Dwarves Mine Train on our last trip. More apologies and feeling my frustration, but no, there was no VIP workaround built into the system, so consequently, we wind up being penalized for having the most expensive passport Disney offers. We can only hope Disney will recognize this gaping chasm in their guest services and endeavor to improve.

 

[cigar95]

Is renewing early an option?

Of course, there's no guarantee that the system would recognize the renewal, either!

 

[Amystoneus]

Is renewing early an option?

Of course, there's no guarantee that the system would recognize the renewal, either!

We can renew 40 days early, but only at Disneyland. So, we can start making our FP+ reservations 40 days in advance of our trip, but that's a 20-day handicap. (Actually, my math is off, but you get the point.)

 

[focusondisney]

I just got off the phone with Guest Relations because I couldn't believe that for the privilege of being Premier Passport holders, we're afforded even fewer conveniences and niceties than those offered by the other passport tiers--or even park-hopper tickets! I was given a full explanation of why the Premier Passport cannot be renewed online--accompanied by apologies and compassion--and okay, WDW and DLR are on different systems that can't be unified through a web interface. Fine. Sucks and seems stupid, but fine. However: given that we're literally forced to go to the park in the middle of summer because that's when our passports expire, shouldn't we at least be given a VIP experience for our $2000+ renewal, say, being able to sit at a concierge's desk in the beautiful and climate-controlled lobby of the Grand Californian instead of having to wait in the same line as everyone else who's arrived for the day, while we sweat under the hot summer sun and look to see if another line is moving any faster?! "We love Disney--obviously," I tried to be gracious with the Disney representative, "But Disney is all about the guest experience and we're essentially being put in the no-frills section of the plane after having purchased first-class tickets!" She had to agree, and still I couldn't stop: "For what we're paying, a red carpet should be rolled out, elephants in elaborate costumes should hold umbrellas and sprinkle us with sparkling mist, and Mickey should announce us on arrival!" The unpleasantness of the renewal process aside, we can't even take advantage of the 60-day advance FP+ reservations for our upcoming September WDW trip, because our passports expire in August! "Shouldn't you have some kind of special override code for Premier Passport holders so we can at least take advantage of the 60-day lead time?" I implored, remembering how we were only able to score one FP for the Seven Dwarves Mine Train on our last trip. More apologies and feeling my frustration, but no, there was no VIP workaround built into the system, so consequently, we wind up being penalized for having the most expensive passport Disney offers. We can only hope Disney will recognize this gaping chasm in their guest services and endeavor to improve.

So sorry for all your problems but thanks
for posting your experience & bumping this thread. We have APs for WDW & are headed to DL in September. I have been debating upgrading to the Premier pass instead of getting seperate DL tickets. Ordering thru the Dapper Day site, our cost would be about the same as upgrading. Biggest reason I want the DL ap is for the dining discount as we do a lot of table service meals. But I really don't want to risk messing up the WDW tickets since we're going back there in Dec.

So hearing real experiences is very helpful to me. I think I'll skip the upgrade & dining discounts & play it safe with the DD tickets. Thanks!!

 

[Amystoneus]

So sorry for all your problems but thanks
for posting your experience & bumping this thread. We have APs for WDW & are headed to DL in September. I have been debating upgrading to the Premier pass instead of getting seperate DL tickets. Ordering thru the Dapper Day site, our cost would be about the same as upgrading. Biggest reason I want the DL ap is for the dining discount as we do a lot of table service meals. But I really don't want to risk messing up the WDW tickets since we're going back there in Dec.

So hearing real experiences is very helpful to me. I think I'll skip the upgrade & dining discounts & play it safe with the DD tickets. Thanks!!

If nothing else, glad you could make a better decision based on the bigger picture and knowing your needs. After comparing the costs of all the other solutions, we still wind up saving enough--between the hotels and the dining--to warrant the inconvenience and annoyance of the Premier. It does pay to spend some time crunching the numbers so you don't wind up second-guessing and potentially regretting. Enjoy your September DL trip--it's a great time to visit!

 

[AquaDame]

I had the same issues with the Premier Pass when I had one the year it came out. Every time I went to the other park it meant a trip to Guest Services... they were always very nice about it, but it still sucks. This was before FP+, so this sounds even worse!

The real kicker is as we all give up and stop getting it, they will discontinue it since it isn't "popular". smh.

 

[Amystoneus]

I had the same issues with the Premier Pass when I had one the year it came out. Every time I went to the other park it meant a trip to Guest Services... they were always very nice about it, but it still sucks. This was before FP+, so this sounds even worse!

The real kicker is as we all give up and stop getting it, they will discontinue it since it isn't "popular". smh.

The year it came out was brutal! Most of the restaurants hadn't even been informed of its existence, so we missed out on discounts we should've gotten; and the first time we presented them at our California Adventure park we had to explain what they were and get corroboration from the one cast member who had gotten the memo. But just like the FP+, new rollouts can be lumpy as they're tested by real people in real time (and boy were our first FP+ experiences lumpy--talk about trips to Guest Services!). I'm hoping the voices of discontent and suggestions for improvement will lead to a better product. And I hope optimism prevails!