new annual pass program BLUES

[sanfordx5]

I am so very disappointed over this new program. I will definatley not renew my annual pass this time around. This is very sad, because we have had them for many years. This new program show no respect for us the regular and very loyal pass members. First they did away with the magic kingdom club and now this. It is as if they are telling us they don't want us there. It certainly isn't saying thank you for all your business. I do not use credit cards so making the reservation online is out of the question. I also, just as many of you have done the same, make my ressies then change dates, rates, and resorts to get the best deals for my family. I am a mother of eight and some times it is just impossible to plan 60 days out we go on the spur of the moment. As you can imagine this will be out of the question with no discount and eight kids. I am so against the $50 fee is you for changing things. I am sure that many of you do that. Disney makes a fortune from all their guests, not just us loyal regular quests. I mean $3.00 for a coke or a$4.00 hot dog and so on, I just don't think they are loosing so much that they have to add these limitations on to the annual pass holders. They could loose more this way, I know they will loose alot from our family. If they can not show me the loyalty I have show to them I may consider now staying at Universal Studios. FOr the past 14 years I have not vacationed anywhere other WDW but this may be the thing that makes me finally listen to friends and family who say "why don't you try somewhere else" I just might have to listen and start to make my family vacation memories else where. Sorry that I am so upset, I just had to vent. Is anyone else feeling my BLUES?

 

[goofy4tink]

I'm sorry the AP won't work out for you in the future. I know a lot of folks are unhappy about the new BRP, rather than the old AP way of getting rooms. But, it doesn't affect me at all. I buy APs just to get into the parks. If I need to get a room and a good AP rate was available, then great. But, I didn't get the AP in order to secure good room rates. I think there was a lot of abuse of that approach. So, Disney has made it difficult to use an AP for those great rates. I do love the ability though of being able to get the DDE card with the AP!!! That does save me some money. And since I'm a DVC owner, I get the AP for a discount. I think that most people that use the APs the way Disney originally intended them to be used, as park entrance media, won't mind the changes. It's only those that used the AP to get those good room rates. What it does mean is that if I want to make a quick, last minute trip to WDW I will have to stay in a value resort, rather than a moderate/deluxe using the AP rates. But, I love the values, so it's not a big deal. In fact, I'm staying at Pop for one night in early Dec and it's only $77 a night. I don't have an issue with that.

 

[jann1033]

hold on there sparky, how is it abusing the system to get the room rates disney gave to those with aps? then you say how dvc members get a break on aps like that is fine, kind of the same thing wouldn't you say?(you get discount on your pass, they get a discount on their room... discounts both ways from where i stand) obviously disney gave extra perks to those with aps. it's printed on the ap folder so that is totally inaccurate to say all disney meant them to be is park entrance media.



sanfordx5 ita...i might not have bought an ap anyway this time since we used it only once for the yr and the rates at wdw were only $5 better than public rates when we went. ( we saved a bunch at vero so it paid for it)so disney made lots extra off us. i like the come and go convenience but without the better rates it simply is not cost effective to us. i probably will get a pass for as long as we are going to be there next trip since they also kill you with the added non expiring fee for the 10 day pass. it's a shame that loyalty means so little to businesses now.

 

[VSL]

hold on there sparky, how is it abusing the system to get the room rates disney gave to those with aps?

I don't see anywhere where goofy4tink said it was abusing the system

 

[jann1033]

I don't see anywhere where goofy4tink said it was abusing the system

4th sentence down, middle of the line

respectfully disagree with this one...she likes the benefits that apply to her( dining card) but patooe on those she personally doesn't need so then by using the dining card that isn't an abuse ..it's not park entrance after all...but using another perk, the rates... is?

 

[civileng68]

I don't see anywhere where goofy4tink said it was abusing the system

Me either. hmmmmm.

They were simply stating that the original purpose of the AP was for park entry and that people who use it for park entry are not going to be upset, but those that love AP's for the extra benefits that Disney used to provide are not going to be happy.

No mention of abuse. Simply stating two difference uses for the pass and reasons for owning one.

I myself do not use it for anything but park entry but was disappointed when they removed the AP lounges at MK and Epcot.

 

[goofy4tink]

hold on there sparky, how is it abusing the system to get the room rates disney gave to those with aps? then you say how dvc members get a break on aps like that is fine, kind of the same thing wouldn't you say?(you get discount on your pass, they get a discount on their room... discounts both ways from where i stand) obviously disney gave extra perks to those with aps. it's printed on the ap folder so that is totally inaccurate to say all disney meant them to be is park entrance media.



sanfordx5 ita...i might not have bought an ap anyway this time since we used it only once for the yr and the rates at wdw were only $5 better than public rates when we went. ( we saved a bunch at vero so it paid for it)so disney made lots extra off us. i like the come and go convenience but without the better rates it simply is not cost effective to us. i probably will get a pass for as long as we are going to be there next trip since they also kill you with the added non expiring fee for the 10 day pass. it's a shame that loyalty means so little to businesses now.

Not so much 'abusing' but a stretching of the loopholes. Yes, loopholes left open by Disney. There were a lot of people who were 'buying' a child's AP in order to get those room rates. They actually said that it wouldn't be worth it if they had had to buy an adults AP. Then, they go off and reserve 3 rooms. Now, understand, they haven't actually bought the pass yet. THey are waiting, just to make sure they are getting a good deal. So, when those other general public rates came out, they would call and cancel those with APs. So, they may have made it impossible for someone with an actual AP to get their room at the AP rate since the rooms are limited in number as to how many are open to the AP rate.
As far as those other 'perks'....not so terrific. You can get 10% off at a lot of lunch places, that's about it. Maybe a discount at the big Disney Store in DTD. But I have to say that those 'perks' are not worth spending the money on an AP if you are only going for 5 days. THose MYW passes for longer stays are a much better buy. I don't think anyone gets an AP for any of those discounts.
Yes, DVC gives us a discount on the AP. We are not offered any dining plans since those tend to be tied into your room reservation. A lot of the DVC people were not going into the parks nearly as much anymore. They went off-site to play and to eat. So....Disney wants them back..spending money in their parks.

Not meant to anger or to insult anyone. But, APs are meant as park passes. They were originally intended for those who went to WDW a lot..more than 10 days a year. If you went much less than that, it wasn't a great deal. Sure, DIsney gave us some great discounts in the past. We came to depend on them. But, they have changed the rules. It's their company, they can. I don't see anyone screaming about the free dining they offered....well, not if you don't count those DVC people. I know a ton of people who don't even bother with codes, discounts. They just go along, paying rack rates. They dont even know there are discounts out there. You try telling them, and they just say..."Oh, it's too much trouble to do that. We'll just do it the normal way."

 

[mickeyfan2]

I get my AP for park entrance. I consider a room discount a plus.

BTW where do you stay with 8 kids? It might be best for you to rent a vacation home.

 

[goofy4tink]

4th sentence down, middle of the line




i anipped and added the dots since maybe some didn't read the whole post

'abuse of that approach' is what I said. And I stand by that statement. Of course, it might have been nice if Disney actually trained their CMs to ask for that voucher or AP when people checked in. It was supposed to be that if you had a voucher, you could still check in but had to bring the activated AP back that night/or next morning, and show the front desk or risk being charged the rack rate. I used an AP three times and not once was I asked for any proof that I actually had one. Can't blame the people for that one...purely Disney's fault.

 

[jann1033]

'abuse of that approach' is what I said. And I stand by that statement. Of course, it might have been nice if Disney actually trained their CMs to ask for that voucher or AP when people checked in. It was supposed to be that if you had a voucher, you could still check in but had to bring the activated AP back that night/or next morning, and show the front desk or risk being charged the rack rate. I used an AP three times and not once was I asked for any proof that I actually had one. Can't blame the people for that one...purely Disney's fault.

after you clarified it i understand where you are coming from..sorry if i misunderstood the original post you made. don't see much difference in the wording, "abuse" was what stood out to me.
and the originally poster didn't appear to be abusing anything which is what i felt you were implying... everyone with an ap did not buy a child's ap to get a rate (in fact we bought 2 adult aps hoping to make a second trip). the room discounts covered the extra as we saved a lot at vero( off rack rates, not as much off another discount we could have taken)...i agree the other discounts are not worth much although some have claimed to save a lot with the dining plan. that is why we used the ap to cover the rates as we would have never recouped the extra cost otherwise.

a lot of people make room ressies and change them later, not just people with an ap rate. and i know the ap rooms do not go back into the system so that is somewhat different. not sure if that is the same with any package rates or not

i still however feel disney is cutting out more promos/discounts useful to those who are loyal customers which imo was the gest of the op. just another example of what seems to be a trend.

 

[wdw4us2]

I am so very disappointed over this new program. I will definatley not renew my annual pass this time around. This is very sad, because we have had them for many years. This new program show no respect for us the regular and very loyal pass members. I am a mother of eight and some times it is just impossible to plan 60 days out we go on the spur of the moment. As you can imagine this will be out of the question with no discount and eight kids.

Does your user ID indicate that you are from Sanford, FL?

If so, just book your room the way you used to with the Florida resident rate instead of the AP rate. That's what we've been doing. The rates are usually about the same, and you don't have the restrictions you have with the new AP system.

 

[maryliz]

I agree with the OP. I am disappointed in the new system of booking rooms with AP rates. Yes, it's a PERK, and not the reason I've bought AP's in the past, but it just seems that Disney no longer appreciates it's "returning customers". I also agree that Disney did not validate the AP's upon check-in. I've had AP's for 9 trips in the past 3 years and not once was I ever asked for my AP. The CM one time actually kept asking me if I needed park tickets, even after I'd told her twice that we had AP's.

We just returned 2 days ago from a 12 night trip, and DH and I are making a quick weekend trip in Dec before passes expire early Jan. I can honestly say that I don't plan on a family trip again for a while, and when it's time, I will seriously rethink the AP thing. Basically it's Disney's loss because we've always taken at least 3 trips with each AP ... having those passes already paid for and activated makes it very easy to talk DH into more trips.

MaryLiz

 

[boomhauer]

I'm disappointed in the new system as well.

I am planning on buying another AP in a month or so. Unfortunately, by that time, all the BRP rates for my stay will probably be gone.

This is where I feel Disney is kind of crappy. There is absolutely no reason they can't let you book the AP rate the same way they always did, and just check your AP when you check in. Unfortunately, Disney employees got lazy with checking the AP's, and now Disney is making the guests suffer for it.

I'm very upset. I could be paying $387 for 7 nights at All Star Movies in February with the AP rate, but I'm going to end up paying closer to $600 because I won't have the AP when I book this week. Just don't have $400 right now to buy it. I won't say it's unfair, but it's certainly not very nice of Disney.

 

[surfer_ed]

I am dissapointed as well. I didn't buy the Ap every year but I used it to do the Dinsey Double Dip. For instance I went at Christmas in 2003 and then becuase the AP rates were great we went back to AKL in May of the same year. I was going to to that agin next year but alas it will not be so.

 

[boomhauer]

Disney's policy's are becoming stricter and stricter. I understand them not wanting people to take advantage of the AP discount when they don't have one. But hey, that's easily fixable - If the person doesn't have an AP at check-in, they get charged rack rate. Simple as that.

No reason to make the rest of us suffer.

 

[jann1033]

i believe it is somehow in the system when you validate your pass...we got ours at the disney store before we left and validated at dtd when we got to wdw before check in but we had spent 5 days at vero beach pre wdw and got the ap rate but the cms knew we hadn't validated it( they said because we couldn't vaildate it pre check in they would make an exception...husband had a work related class in vero and we literally arrived 10 mins before his class due to a snow storm) . when we checked in at pop they knew it was validated but never asked to see it. considering they know more about you than your mother does i am sure they know when you validate your pass as they know when it is expiring. if you didn't validate it during your stay i bet you'd get a "surprise" at the end

 

[sanfordx5]

No, I am not from fla actually we are from Cle. Oh. so I can use the fla. discount. And I am not wealthy so I can afford to fly down and stay a couple of days and pay regular price. This year because of our Ap rate we were able to go for july4th and then again in mid aug. without the ap rate we could not of done that and they would of lost those trips from us, both of them. We stay at pop century with all our children it is all that we can afford. We are not a well to do family, but it the one thing we splurge in. I have stayed in many of the other resorts but now we more children can no longer afford them. As for those DVC members that is great that you have your perks, but imagine in a few years how you will feel when they do away with those you will also feel non important or apprieciated. All disney needs to do is train their castmembers to ask for the ap at check in and that would fix that problem. Also as mentioned earlier by someone else I may not have the deposite that far out. Not to mention how many other companies have perks for using there product. Such as frequent flyer miles. grocery stores and there discount cards or gas discounts, other hotels stay here 5 nights get 10%off or belonging to clubs gets discounts such as AAA. I feel that their customer service has gone down hill quiet a bit in the past couple of years and we are just not as important as we use to be to them.

 

[Mom of Sleepy Bashful and BabyDoc]

I can understand that you are upset. When we get a perk for something, and then it is taken away, it......, well, ....stinks! And if that were the only way I could afford to go to WDW, then I would really be bothered by it.

I must tell you though, I am amazed that with 10 people, you were on-site! Wow! I'm impressed. You are more dedicated to WDW than I am.

We only have five in our family. We just bought AP's for the VERY FIRST TIME. The ONLY way we were able to afford that, was because we have two weeks at 2 bedroom condos through Skyaution. Our total for the two weeks is $641...and that includes tax! These places are much nicer than the values and some nicer than the mod/deluxes. Our AP's were $1978. I could never pay that if we were on-site, but I know many do.

So I am so happy with my AP's because that means we save money this trip, on our two week trip next Oct/Nov, and I was also able to buy the DDE card at a discount. But I realize I'm not losing anything.......we were never able to stay on-site WITH an AP. With our family, it is either stay longer offsite/and get AP's..........or stay onsite/no AP's. We had to choose.

Maybe your family would like a nice pool home. They are beautiful! I would love for my whole family of 17 to rent one of these but I can't convince all of them to go all the way to Orlando. Whatever!

 

[Mom of Sleepy Bashful and BabyDoc]

I do not use credit cards so making the reservation online is out of the question.

Oh, and I forgot to add this.

We don't use CC either. But we use our Visa debit card that is hooked into our checking acct. It's used the same way a cc is except it is deducted right away.

Or, they have those new American Express "cash" cards now. I wonder if you could use those?

 

[bicker]

I wouldn't interpret the changes quite so personally. It's simply business. For some folks, it's still a good deal. For the rest of us, there is the Magic Your Way passes. We each need to evaluate the choices available to us and make the best choice from among the available options.