Issues buying (party) tickets through authorized resellers

[Lewisc]

I bought 2 tickets to MVMCP from UT. I understand those tickets are non-refundable. A visit to the ER resulted in surgery. I had to cancel my trip. I'll use my Southwest credit within the year. Hotel deposits were all refunded back to my credit cards.

I called UT. They were unable to even consider offering a refund since I already linked the tickets to MDE. They were willing to consider offering a substantial refund if Disney would "unlink" the tickets. I called Disney. Disney would have made an exception and processed a complete refund had I purchased the tickets directly from Disney. There is no way to unlink the tickets. I'm out $200. My credit card offers limited trip cancellation coverage. Event tickets are not covered.

Non-Refundable means non-refundable when purchased through a re-seller. Non-refundable means refundable for a good reason when purchased through Disney.

My interpretation non-refundable means the company is under no obligation to offer a refund. Customers are entitled to ask and the company can decide if circumstances warrant an exception. It never occurred to me there would be a difference in refund policies depending on where the tickets were purchased.

In this case the nominal cost savings was penny wise and pound foolish.

 

[hiroMYhero]

I bought 2 tickets to MVMCP from UT. I understand those tickets are non-refundable. A visit to the ER resulted in surgery. I had to cancel my trip. I'll use my Southwest credit within the year. Hotel deposits were all refunded back to my credit cards.

I called UT. They were unable to even consider offering a refund since I already linked the tickets to MDE. They were willing to consider offering a substantial refund if Disney would "unlink" the tickets. I called Disney. Disney would have made an exception and processed a complete refund had I purchased the tickets directly from Disney. There is no way to unlink the tickets. I'm out $200. My credit card offers limited trip cancellation coverage. Event tickets are not covered.

Non-Refundable means non-refundable when purchased through a re-seller. Non-refundable means refundable for a good reason when purchased through Disney.

My interpretation non-refundable means the company is under no obligation to offer a refund. Customers are entitled to ask and the company can decide if circumstances warrant an exception. It never occurred to me there would be a difference in refund policies depending on where the tickets were purchased.

In this case the nominal cost savings was penny wise and pound foolish.

UT would have refunded your money if the tickets weren’t linked to MDE.

Now that they are linked to MDE, you can easily Reassign the MVMCP tickets to someone else if you link their MDE to yours.

 

[Lewisc]

That only works if a friend or family member is able to use the tickets. It is against rules to sell or transfer the tickets. Stub Hub won't let you list them, they respect Disney's position.
I'm pretty sure offering them for sale on DIS isn't allowed.

I'm out the money. Im annoyed with myself. The small savings isn't worth the, unstated, difference in real terms.

 

[hiroMYhero]

That only works if a friend or family member is able to use the tickets. It is against rules to sell or transfer the tickets. Stub Hub won't let you list them, they respect Disney's position.
I'm pretty sure offering them for sale on DIS isn't allowed.

I'm out the money. Im annoyed with myself. The small savings isn't worth the, unstated, difference in real terms.

You can transfer/reassign the tickets up until someone uses them for Party entry.

Another DISer posted that she was giving her party tickets away. No recipient has yet confirmed the transfer. But that is a possibility for you if you choose to do so and don’t mind linking up an MDE to your MDE.

 

[wishuponastar1984]

Sorry, this isn't an "issue" but an unfortunate event on your part. Prior to purchasing you had no idea the Disney would consider refunding if purchased directly with them. You agreed to the UT terms and conditions when you purchased the tickets. I have a party ticket next week purchased through UT and I would have never even considered asking for a refund if I were to miss the party. Disney "might" have done a refund, but the website says non-refundable so you could be in the same situation had you bought through WDW. There is no guarantee that Disney would have refunded.

 

[JohnneeO]

OP clearly has an "issue", but it is not with the buying of the party tickets, as thread title implies. The issue is dealing with the unexpected circumstance of not being able to use the tickets as intended, and whether or not the ticket cost could refunded.

To me, the takeaway is that, when purchasing party tickets from an authorized reseller, don't link the tickets until the last possible moment. The OP has learned this, albeit too late. I am glad they posted this, so that we can learn from their experience.

 

[rwdavis2]

That only works if a friend or family member is able to use the tickets. It is against rules to sell or transfer the tickets. Stub Hub won't let you list them, they respect Disney's position.
I'm pretty sure offering them for sale on DIS isn't allowed.

I'm out the money. Im annoyed with myself. The small savings isn't worth the, unstated, difference in real terms.

This is generally why I never purchase travel and related services via a third party. It's just one more complication if a problem crops up.

 

[wishuponastar1984]

OP clearly has an "issue", but it is not with the buying of the party tickets, as thread title implies. The issue is dealing with the unexpected circumstance of not being able to use the tickets as intended, and whether or not the ticket cost could refunded.

To me, the takeaway is that, when purchasing party tickets from an authorized reseller, don't link the tickets until the last possible moment. The OP has learned this, albeit too late. I am glad they posted this so that we can learn from their experience.

If you don't link until the last possible moment you limit yourself by not being able to book FP+ during the 4-6pm time slot. I am only going for one day while in am in Orlando for a work conference so being able to experience as much as possible between 4 and midnight is my priority. Everyone has different priorities so making a blanket statement to not link till the last possible moment is not a one size fits all solution.

 

[Lewisc]

OP clearly has an "issue", but it is not with the buying of the party tickets, as thread title implies. The issue is dealing with the unexpected circumstance of not being able to use the tickets as intended, and whether or not the ticket cost could refunded.

To me, the takeaway is that, when purchasing party tickets from an authorized reseller, don't link the tickets until the last possible moment. The OP has learned this, albeit too late. I am glad they posted this, so that we can learn from their experience.

No, my issue is exactly as previously stated. The real world differences in the way unexpected issues can be handled.

 

[MinnieMSue]

Thanks for posting this. Sorry it happened to you but maybe this advise will help someone else

 

[CinderDuffy]

Just sell them on eBay. That’s what we did with extra MNSSHP tickets. Send the plastic card to the buyer & everyone is happy.

 

[marcyleecorgan]

It never occurred to me there would be a difference in refund policies depending on where the tickets were purchased.
In this case the nominal cost savings was penny wise and pound foolish.

Well... UT bought these 2017 Party Tickets from Disney several months ago, in a large block segment specifically for them to sell. These tickets expire obviously. Any unused tickets that UT has left over after the season are total lost revenue. So of course UT cannot refund you any money, they don't get a refund from Disney either.

However, Disney can look up in their systems that you bought these Party Tickets through their website, linked on your MDE, and CAN very easily credit your account with some Pixie Dust, valid for certain redeemable conditions. It's all their system, they can get you a hotel upgrade, more FP+, free food/beverages, a complimentary souvenir, whatever it is that they can offer you.

But all UT can offer you is a slightly discounted ticket, that expires at the end of the year.

Ah well... thank you for sharing your experience - hopefully people can use it as a planning tool in their decision in where to purchase tickets

 

[JohnneeO]

No, my issue is exactly as previously stated. The real world differences in the way unexpected issues can be handled.

Sounds like we agree. I say "dealing with the unexpected circumstance", and you say "the way unexpected issues can be handled". <Humming to myself> To-may-to, to-mah-to, po-tay-to, po-tah-to...

In all seriousness, what is the party date? If the date is already sold out, you may find a ready market for your tickets through the proper channels.

 

[JohnneeO]

If you don't link until the last possible moment you limit yourself by not being able to book FP+ during the 4-6pm time slot. I am only going for one day while in am in Orlando for a work conference so being able to experience as much as possible between 4 and midnight is my priority. Everyone has different priorities so making a blanket statement to not link till the last possible moment is not a one size fits all solution.

Exactly, it is only a solution for those whom have a priority of mitigating the risk of not being able to obtain a refund on a party ticket purchased from an authorized reseller. It appears not linking the ticket is the best way to mitigate that specific risk, but not the best choice when considering other factors.