FP cancelled by Disney

[Shaden]

Maybe there are some who would do it, but I think maybe cancelling a trip because your Illuminations fastpass was cancelled is an overreaction...of course they still can if they want to, provided they eat the cost. They could even try calling and say that they expect a refund on the entire trip because their Illuminations fastpass was cancelled, but Disney doesn't have to give it to them. And no, it's not anything like ordering a car and then when you pick it up it's a different car. And yes, it's printed everywhere that anything regarding WDW is subject to change without notice (legal CYA, so you can't do anything about it legallly like suing them). Most folks just don't read that part when they are looking at the website or printed info.

It's that guests don't like that something you were looking forward to was changed. Nobody likes that. But Disney does reserve the right to do it.

And not surprisingly you missed the entire point of the post and only cut out a tiny, out of context, slice to respond to.

A) I didn't say a different car, I said a different colour, same car, so why do you care ... right ? I mean, its only thousands of dollars spent and one tiny detail different. Wont change your enjoyment of the care, will it ?

B) Does Disney advertise that they can pull the rug out from under you ? Is that actually part of the commercials they air ? Is it in big printing when you go to book your trip. Is it in large print in their brochures and ads about how awesome the system is that ... "It's Magical that you can now book your Top 3 rides and be sure you will enjoy them, unless we decide to cancel one or some or all of them at any point as we reserve the right to do !!!! "

No, its not. Its in the tiny print, its not part of the sales pitch, and Disney would rather people didn't know they can and will do this.

C) And that's exactly the point, Disney is trying to make you LOCK in to your trip and really, for most people beyond the 60 days they are locked in, if you have flights booked and time off work booked etc. To back out is going to cost you. So Disney says ... you go ahead and lock in to your trip, and at 60 days we are going to assure you that your trip is awesome by allowing you to book your FPs so you "Know"TM you will have your three favourite ride selections. And then after that, when there is no looking back, we are going to change what you booked and paid for and too bad if you don't like it because "Know"TM Actually means that we reserve the right to change any of the things you thought you were getting with your trip and offer you nothing (sure some people get other FPs, but some people just lose their FPs) and we can keep your money anyway.

Tell me ... at what point does this become NOT ok with you? If Disney wanted to, you could show up for your vacation and they could say "Sorry all the parks are at capacity today" (And that capacity could be 10 people) or "We have decided to back fill all the pools on the resorts" or "Sorry but we decided to burn the castle down" because none of that is guaranteed right ? People book trips, and FPs, and they are told in big bright letters and loud voices that THIS is what they will get for their thousands of dollars. And yes changes to that, especially when getting close to your trip dates, are bogus. This is even more true considering Disney's continued effort to make us, as far as they can, "lock in" to our trips.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

You can return the car legally, or refuse to accept delivery of it based on breach of contract. However, if you signed a contract that says "I will agree to accept delivery of a different color car" or "the seller reserves the right to substitute any color car should the designated color be unavailable" then you have a problem, even if you didn't see that wording in the contract. You can't do that with a WDW vacation because one event was changed. Disney reserves the right to change pretty much anything about your vacation, at any time, without notice. Legally they have to do this within reason, so limiting capacity of the parks to 10 people might not pass a legal test. But removing the castle? Closing a park? They could do that if they wanted to. Heck, there have been instances where they have closed a whole park at certain times because a private party wanted it. People get mad. Of course they do. But can WDW do it? Yes they can.

Sales pitch is irrelevant. It's the contract that counts. And most folks do not know what in full they have contracted for.

Never said it was OK with me. Just that the OP has no recourse, legal or otherwise. They can't get that Illuminations fastpass back, the experience no longer exists for that date. Is it legally OK for WDW to do this, yes. It is. Is it morally OK, that's up to the person it was done to, but there isn't a lot they can do about it except complain, cancel their trip, be angry, or just decide to do something else.

If you don't like the way WDW does business, absent their doing something illegal (which in this case they have not done) you have the choice to not patronize them anymore. That's about all you have the choice to do.

 

[Shaden]

You can return the car legally, or refuse to accept delivery of it based on breach of contract. However, if you signed a contract that says "I will agree to accept delivery of a different color car" or "the seller reserves the right to substitute any color car should the designated color be unavailable" then you have a problem, even if you didn't see that wording in the contract. You can't do that with a WDW vacation because one event was changed. Disney reserves the right to change pretty much anything about your vacation, at any time, without notice. Legally they have to do this within reason, so limiting capacity of the parks to 10 people might not pass a legal test. But removing the castle? Closing a park? They could do that if they wanted to. Heck, there have been instances where they have closed a whole park at certain times because a private party wanted it. People get mad. Of course they do. But can WDW do it? Yes they can.

Sales pitch is irrelevant. It's the contract that counts. And most folks do not know what in full they have contracted for.

Never said it was OK with me. Just that the OP has no recourse, legal or otherwise. They can't get that Illuminations fastpass back, the experience no longer exists for that date. Is it legally OK for WDW to do this, yes. It is. Is it morally OK, that's up to the person it was done to, but there isn't a lot they can do about it except complain, cancel their trip, be angry, or just decide to do something else.

If you don't like the way WDW does business, absent their doing something illegal (which in this case they have not done) you have the choice to not patronize them anymore. That's about all you have the choice to do.

The debate, if you want to call it that (and is what often happens to posts like this when the Disney defender brigade shows up), isn't whether this is legal, its whether its ok. And people telling others to "just deal with it" or they have "nothing to complain about" or "its not a big deal"

I have no idea where you got the impression this was a discussion about the "legality" of Disney's actions.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

What choice do they have besides dealing with it and finding a new place to watch Illuminations? They can go and complain, ask for their money back maybe. WDW doesn't have to give it to them. Should it give it to them anyway? Don't know, it seems unreasonable for changing one fastpass. But they may have a good reason for this one change to upset the course of their experience that much, who knows.

I figured it was about legality because people were beginning to post about how Disney was violating its "sales pitch" by changing something. It was just a couple of posts away from "bait and switch" which is a description of a type of fraud.

Fraud has legal implications that may result in liability. It sounds as though some posters believe WDW has perpetrated a fraud by allowing guests to sign up for an Illuminations fastpass for a certain date and then cancelling it. If you just think it's a rotten thing to do, maybe it is, but that kind of stuff happens all the time. It's a bummer. It's not out of line, though, to suggest that it can be remedied by the guest, as it's easy to find a good place to watch Illuminations without being in the fastpass area.

 

[KimBean]

Agreed. This another recurring problem we are seeing with Disney. They are placing expectations on their guests or selling them a fantastic new product (FP+) depending how you view this. And then, pulling the rug out from under them usually at a time where the guest can't simply decline their business anymore. Lots of reasons you can't just cancel a trip less than 60 days out.

Now, lots of people might say, its "No big deal" or even that you are "better off" without those cancelled FPs.

But to me, that's like ordering and paying for a car, getting rid of your old one, and then when you go to pick up your new car its a different colour, or its an automatic instead of a stick shift, etc. Its not what you paid for, its not what you were sold. I don't care if someone else likes the new colour better, or if they tell me an automatic is better than a stick shift (cost aside).

No one would say "oh don't worry, the car is just as good even if its a different colour" ... that would be insane. So why is it ok that Disney sells you something, you pay for it, then they change it on your days or weeks before your trip ? When you were expected to lock in 180 and 60 days ahead of time ?

If you reversed this and said to Disney a couple weeks before your trip, "Hey Disney I changed my mind, I would really like Fast Passes A B and C instead of X Y Z" ... Disney isn't going to give a crap. They will say, "We told you that fast passes were first come first served, and you can check what is available now, but the terms and conditions were clear when you purchased your trip" ...

And don't give me the BS line that Disney tells you they have the right to cancel or change FPs reservations etc. Where is that in the commercial ? What roll does that play in their sales pitch ? No where, and none.

If my post came across as this, then I did not communicate well. I don't think it is "whatever" and I'm certainly not trying to condone whatever Disney does. I was trying to convey that at least her experience would not be ruined (like maybe if CRT closed on the day you had an ADR would.) But, that I would still be irritated and she should call. I don't get it, because it seems like Illuminations will still happen. I was planning on going to Pirates on 12/17. Didn't have a FP though, it was second thing to do at rope drop after meet mickey. Irritated at these last minute changes. But, grateful it isn't my only day at MK. Pirates and Haunted Mansion not available on the same day puts my DH's favs out.