My little fiasco with Disney yesterday...(LONG)

[MaryAnnDVC]

Believe it or not, this is the Reader's Digest Condensed version.

Last Saturday, I called Disneyland and booked ONE NIGHT at the Disneyland Hotel for the end of this month, for myself and 3 kids (the rest of the trip, we're visiting my sister). I told the CM I wanted to park hop, and I wanted early admission for Thursday (staying Wednesday night). So, she said yes, I could do that...basically, a 2-day hopper. (I know...all the literature says 3 day hopper minimum...but staying on site, I got 2 days.) I had until Tuesday night to reserve it with a credit card...but I didn't, so I lost the reservation.

DH and I had talked about it, and since we have a bunch of "extra" points because we bought a BWV resale and banked points, we decided I'd use points instead. (I know...not a good use of points, but we don't see ourselves renting them...just don't want to bother; plus, this was supposed to be a "cheap" trip so saving the cash.) Called DVC, and as the CM was just about to put it through, I said..."Do I get the same ticket option that I got on cash?" And she said "yes...let me check...3 days." I ran the whole thing by her about the 2 days. She calls Disneyland while I'm on hold (I learned lots of Disney songs through this whole thing)...gets back on, and says, "no, 3 day minimum." So, I didn't book...told her I'd call back.

Called Disneyland; got Disney Travel. Explained to her the situation...long story...supposed to get the same tickets as with cash...want the 2-day passes...after which she says..."uhhh...just one question...what's DVC??" Gave her a brief explanation. She puts me on hold. Comes back on..."If you want to book a room using points, you have to call DVC." I said..."I KNOW! But DVC is telling me I get the same ticket benefits as booking with cash, but that it's 3 days, and with cash, I was getting 2 days." Puts me on hold again, comes back and says..."Do you know the number 800-800-9800? That's the number you have to call to book a room with DVC; we only do cash." One more time... (Meanwhile, the old reservation no longer existed for her to check.)

Then she transfers me to CRO...just about the same conversation, after being on hold for a while..."Hi, MaryAnn? To book a room with DVC points, you need to call DVC directly...we're a consumer department, and only book cash reservations." HEELLLOOOO?! "Yes, I know that...(yada yada yada)" She transfers me to someone else..."Ellie" in some sort of special somethingorother dept. Ellie says, "Yes, you can have the two day pass." AMEN!! Or, so I thought....

I asked Ellie how I can be sure...I don't want to arrive at Disneyland at 8 AM anxious to hit the parks, and have a hassle. She said that after I book with DVC, she would get the reservation in 72 hours and make a notation on it that I'm entitled to the 2-day pass, so to call back at the beginning of next week, and check with her... Great.

After I got off the phone with her, I became concerned about booking with points without any notation on there now, so I called DVC, booked my room, and asked Andrea (very, very nice) to make a note that "Ellie" at CRO in Disneyland should be making a note that I am entitled to a 2-day pass.

Get off the phone, finally (happily) get in the shower, get out of the shower...phone rings. It's "Randy" from DVC...very nicely and patiently explains that he saw the notation on my reservation, had called Disneyland, and that no, I am NOT entitled to a 2-day pass. I said "but I just spent an hour on the phone getting this all straightened out!!!" He explained to me that I could get a 2-day pass, but couldn't park-hop. I (not so patiently) explained that I have to have park-hopping or it's not worth it to me, and if I can only get it by paying cash for the room, then I want my points back!! He said he would have someone from Disneyland call me. I told him I was going out (baseball & soccer practices in 20 minutes!), and that they should call me tomorrow.

Well, I couldn't stand the thought of waiting, so I called Disneyland...the 800 number I had. I wasn't even sure how to get back to "Ellie" as I had been transferred so many times, but I knew she was in CRO. I listened to the menu for a minute, decided to bypass it all by pressing "0" (thought I'd go right to a person), which brought me back to the beginning of the menu so I listened again, and pressed "something", and eventually get a person. I asked "Is this CRO?" "No, it's Disney Travel." "Can you transfer me to CRO?" "No, I can't." "Do you have an 800 number for CRO?" "No, there's no 800 number." "OK, give me the number that you have."

I call the number, and I'm sitting there on hold, and my call-waiting starts beeping. Do I answer it? What if a real live person from Disneyland comes on while I'm on the other line?? But, I had one child not at home, so I was concerned and answered it....

It was "Randy" from DVC. "I just wanted to let you know I called Disneyland again, and you're all set with the 2-day ticket. Apparently, they're including DVC in their "Asian/European promotion" and they didn't tell us." (Hello, left hand? I'd like you to meet the right hand.)

but (Of course, meanwhile I've got this other long distance phone call on hold. )

So far, that's the end of my saga. God help us all if I get down there and I don't have 2-day passes! LOL

 

[ohiominnie]

Sending PD your way *~*~*~*~*~*~**~

It's apparent all over that the employment pool is so shallow that many companies are scraping the bottom. Here's proof that Disney is too!!

ohiominnie

 

[buckylarue]

Wow! I'm surprised they even knew there were 2 parks there!

 

[Lesley]

Oooh, you must have been so upset through all this! I'd be worried that they get it right too.

I just hate when people try to correct you on something you already know......I've had that happen with ms, though for the most part they've been helpful.

I hope it all turns out okay for you!

 

[PKK/MJK]

Gee, you must have been ready to pull out your hair!!! How awful!! Sometimes I think people just don't really "listen" to what you are trying to tell them. They half-hear what you are saying and off they go. We are having a similar problem with getting our computer repaired right now. UGH!! Anyway, I certainly hope everything is A-OK when you arrive and that you have a wonderful time!! Good Luck!!

 

[Olaf]

You handled the situation beautifully. I'd blown my stack about half way through. I'll say a little "two-day parkhopper pass" prayer for you. Don't forget to post when you get back.

 

[jennybobenny]

MaryAnn I had a similar situation happen when I was trying to link a convention reservation and a regular reservation last January. Apparently the convention reservations are a completely different department and there was no way for CRO to link it to the reservation for our extra night. Of course it took me an hour on the phone and at least a half dozen transfers to figure this whole thing out. Somewhere in the middle I got an operator who told me there was no availability for that weekend and I had to explain I already have the reservation I just want to make sure we don't have to change rooms. I *finally* got someone who knew what they were doing and it all worked out.

Btw, I L'dOL at your 'right hand meet the left hand' comment. Too funny.
Glad it all worked out - and I'll keep my fingers crossed you don't get any unexpected surprises during your trip.

 

[wdwnut]

i agree with the pixie dust- here's a whole bunch! i guess the left hand/ right hand thing isn't just limited to the rest of the business world; we seem to expect a bit more from disney, don't we?

 

[wdwoldtimer]

God, I got a headache just reading about your fiasco! Well what can you expect from someone on the WEST coast? (oh geez, here come the flames from the Californians) I guess I have something to look forward to when we do this next year. What a mess! If we could only get Disney to build a thrill ride park ....and an Indy ride....and a Roger Rabbit Cartoon Spin...and a Pinocchio ride etc down in FL we'd be all set!

 

[dbond]

Be prepared for more of the same when you check in, they really don't have a clue out there what DVC is. In fact, it seems like DL is owned by a completely different company sometimes than WDW. They do so many things so differently. One of the things we noticed that is so behind the times, is that you have to have a room card, a separate piece of flimsy paper that you present for charging to your room and a separate park pass. Three different items to keep up with. We bought passes when we checked in and expected them to be combined, when we asked for it all to be on one card, they looked at us like we were from Mars, they had never heard of such a thing!

 

[Geubux]

Do you people expect Disney to have classes every week for ALL their cast members so they can all answer the obscure, once in a decade question that someone comes up with? This will of course increase prices on everything by a minimum of 25% since they are now working only 4 days a week. Yes, they kept giving you the same old song and dance, but have you every worked a phone bank? I have and the american public is 30% idiots who don't listen to a word you say. Sorry about YOUR problem, but you got it worked out, didn't you? Sure it took some time and some phone calls. Sorry we can't educate the rest of the country to make YOUR life simpler. By the way, hope you enjoy your trip.

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

dbond...someone I talked to mentioned that if I bought the tickets when I checked in, they would just be put on my room key. Can't wait to see how this turns out! LOL

Geubux...I'm so sorry you have to deal with the 30% of us in the world who are idiots. I hope you get over it real soon. Have a nice day!

 

[jennybobenny]

Geubux, the same thing happened to me. I worked in 'customer service' for so long I eventually burned out. I couldn't stand to answer the simplest of questions, I became extremely sarcastic and often lost my temper at the drop of a hat. When I started to refer to some of our customers as idiots I knew I was at the end of the line. Thank goodness I got out while I still had my sanity. I hope you got out in time too.

 

[Geubux]

Just trying to stir the waters by playing the devil's advocate, like my hero, richyams. Seems most of the people give the best answers when they're passionate and/or mad. Seriously, I love the posts and especially the dvc forum. Maryanndvc, you did have a toughie of a question and let's face it, they aren't hiring phd's to work the phones ( good thing, it would probably be worse). I hope it all works out good for you when you go. My experience is DVC works best when you stay on DVC properties. I even asked them about a MVMCP and they didn't even try to waste either of our time....they told me to contact ressies.
Good Luck!

 

[wdwoldtimer]

For the record, I'm part of the other 70% of the population....the non-idiot group.

Sure, most people who deal with the public get burned out after a while. Ever ask someone at the DMV a question? Ouch! But these are DISNEY CM's! They aren't "regular" people! Can't Imagineering program them any better? I think they're defective units out there.

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

Actually, I went to the DMV one time and everyone was really nice. And it was quick too. I think that really happened...

Everyone I talked to on my mission to get the 2-day tickets was very nice. Just clueless. Still think there's gotta be a better way to make information available to these CMs. I mean...it's a huge company, and you can't possibly know everything...so there HAS to be a reliable method to get information...the correct information would be even better.

 

[buckylarue]

Originally posted by MaryAnnDVC
...so there HAS to be a reliable method to get information...the correct information would be even better.

Aw, now you're just talkin' CRAZY, girl!

 

[lawgs]

we had something similar happen in may when we were staying at the grand californian on points...

they had a canadian 5 for 3 promotion on ....but no one seemed to know about it....

after 3 days of trying to get info .....and getting to the hotel ....they still did not know anything about the press release on laughingplace.....

they finally said it was available to people booking hotel through them (but no where in the press release did it say that)....we could have pre purchased it in canada if we had had enough time......but there was a short turn around from the time we learned about it until we were going...

the wholesale house here in canada "KNEW" all about the new ticket....

very often the left and right hands of disney do not seem to meet in the centre

 

[MikeBW]

MaryAnn,

Hindsight being 20-20, you should have rented your points out and used cash at DL. Good Grief!!

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

Nope. Like I said, I have no desire to take the time or energy or risk to rent out my points. We bought the points to use, have lots hanging around due to purchasing a resale, and for the most part will use them for DVC accommodations. However, in this particular situation, it was worth it to me to just use them; if I didn't use them, I'd just hang on to them and keep banking points. Meanwhile, I would have paid cash at a time when I'm putting out lots of cash for other parts of this trip and would rather not add to it.

Now, if I could just get Disney to recognize points reservations as cash reservations when they're supposed to, I'd be all set.