MAJOR ticket issues at Boardwalk!!!

[Cinderumbrella]

We had a similar problem last fall at POR - but it was due to incompetance of the front desk staff.

We flew in the morning after Hurricane Wilma and the computers had gone crazy. We could get a room key and park tickets, but no meal plan. The guy who checked us in didn't understand why this was a problem and the manager never did come out to see us. He just told our check in guy for us to charge our meals and show the receipts and they would credit our card back and deduct the meals accordingly. What a pain!!!

We went back that night to see if it was fixed- nope. Went the next morning and it still wasn't fixed. Went that night- still nothing. Went the following morning and got new keys. The dining plan was there but our park tickets were not (AK gave us complimentary passes for the day since we arrived early for an ADR).

We finally got resolved for good later that afternoon with a CM who was OUTSTANDING and sympathetic, apologetic etc. They credited back all of our meals (including the ones we paid OOP for DS2.5) and did not deduct any used meals from the dining plan (so we had 3 extra TS meals!)

But it was still extremely aggravating to spend so much time at the front desk and not in the parks!!

 

[garnet1240]

..just back yesterday..and had to have our cards replaced 3 times in 6 days. I keep them in their own holder never near anything they "warn" you of. I was told the last time that they think it had something to do with the card/key readers at the parks...even the paper tickets were being kicked out as expired..

 

[tmt martins]

Sometimes the cards are ruined by the readers themselves. When the wheel pulls in the card it can cause the card to buckle and it damages the edge of the strip .Once thats done nothing can be read.

When ever you use a card reader always try to bias the card to the face side away from the strip.Some readers are just bad and will tear the strip up no matter what.

In all my trips I have been lucky enough to never have our cards go bad .I think thats because I had some card readers on some of my machines and really had to understand what makes them tick.

I also like having the AP's on a seperate card so if one fails it doesn't stop your entire trip until it gets fixed.

 

[mandy200587]

That happened to use two years but this was on the staff. We had a few problems entering at first but we always got in. Well last day we are at the parks none of us can get in because we've used all of our tickets. Well low and behold we had requested length of stay and we go back to concierge's and tell them about the problem and they proceed to tell us that it's been proven that people don't use the first or last day. Well we had to shell out money which we never got refunded for.

THan this year, they didn't add on water park and more after we had requested and we had to pay extra for that.

They just need to come up with a way for tickets to handle the stress load. If a college campus can do it than Disney can do it.

 

[highsmith]

Well, I am sorry to see there are others in my situation. My problem is I have used these keys in the past with no problem and babied them along the same. There is also no excuse that all my other issues were not handled appropriately (like printing ticket card for my 12 month old and not the 7 year old).

I am going to write a letter, but don't expect much of a response, to be honest.

 

[kellyg403]

Well, I am sorry to see there are others in my situation. My problem is I have used these keys in the past with no problem and babied them along the same. There is also no excuse that all my other issues were not handled appropriately (like printing ticket card for my 12 month old and not the 7 year old).

I am going to write a letter, but don't expect much of a response, to be honest.

Guest Services was very nice, even calling on a Sunday in response to my email re: our ticket problems. If enough people let them know there is an issue and not an isolated incident they will should look into the problem more closely. Though we represent a VERY small number of people who go, at least they know it happened more than once. I stated in my email to them that though I understand computer situations, their staff at the resorts are not able to remedy the situation in a timely manner, causing long waits and bad feelings on the part of the guests. The staff at the resorts have to know this is a problem. Otherwise, how would they know there was nothing they could do to fix it?

Kelly

 

[Manda]

I think the reason why it happens to Disney KTTW cards more often than the key cards from other hotels is that Disney KTTW cards are subjected to more stress. We take them outside in the heat and humidity, we use them more often (as park passes, charge cards, dining credit cards, etc), and we use them outdoors more often (when we enter the parks).

I use my debit card at least 3 times a day every day. I've had the same card for the last 3 years. I carry it in my back pocket of my pants most days. It's got a crease down the middle from sitting on it so many times. There are deep grooves from all the swiping that's been done to it. The signature strip is completely worn off. Yet it keeps trucking right along... I used my KTTW card often during our week, but maybe 5 times a day at most. So, maybe 5 uses before it would die? Why can't they just make a bulletproof like my debit card?

... And then they try to give you that little paper folder to protect it like heavy stock paper has some sort of magical card protection powers ...

 

[disneydancer1969]

i think you just got serious bad luck. my parents went to dis this summer with free dining and my dad got some fruit at the hotel shop and he charged him 3 snacks!! my dad used to have anger management issues. and well he flipped out! he was there for 2 days and they charged him 3 snacks! when he payed with his credit card none of the less! so, it was a long trip for them.

 

[ILuvWDWorld]

We had the same problem last month when we were there. Mostly, it was my DH's card. Sometimes it wouldn't scan as we were entering the parks. The CM's would have him try a couple of times then just let him through. Other times, his card wouldn't work at the entrance to bypass the security guard. We probably had to go to the front desk about 4-5 times during our 9-day stay.

 

[WillCAD]

Why can't they just make a bulletproof like my debit card?

One word: Money.

Better cards with better magnetic strips would probably cost more. And since the KKTW cards don't need to last more than two weeks, and are given away to the Guest afterward instead of being collected and re-used, Disney has to keep them as cheap as possible, especially considering the tens of millions of those cards they go through in an average year.

Unfortunately, I think they went just a little TOO cheap on the cards, and they are at the point where they are wasting more money than they save by re-issueing so many demagnetized cards.

 

[bicker]

I haven't seen any hard numbers showing that the cost of keys they have to replace, plus a measure of cost for the inconvenience, comes anywhere near the cost that would be associated with making the cards "bulletproof". I would guess that the incidence of bad cards is very low, and therefore the cost is very low, while the cost of making the cards "bulletproof" would be very large.