Passport Card Black Magic

[boppa]

In our recent WDW trip, we experienced multiple exasperating, vacation-time-consuming failures of our passport cards. We were a family group of ten bundled into three families - six adults and four kids (twin 5/yo boys, 4 y/o boy, and 20-month-old girl). We stayed in three rooms at the Caribbean Beach. We had a 4-night/5day package which included Magic Express, Park-Hopper passes, and the Dining Plan. Grandpa & grandma funded the dream-come-true vacation.

The passport card is a fine idea: a one-device gadget which unlocks all things Disney. For us, it was room-key, admission card to all parks, credit card, and link to our dining-plan-credits. The problem is: when the gadget fails (i.e., the magnetic strip can’t be read), all things-Disney are unavailable until you get the card “fixed.”

Several members of our group in all three families experience repeated failures. I myself was shut from admission at three parks (Epcot, MGM & Wild Animal Kingdom). The first line of the day at these three parks was the guest relations line where we waited our turn at resolving the Impasse(port) Card problem. We were issued temp cards at the parks and were told that we would have to get our cards “fixed” back at our hotels. Though the temp cards got us into the park, they couldn’t be used to access our dining-plan credits while in the park (another huge can-of-worms). Early park arrival plans (in hopes of more favorable line-positions) were thwarted by these failures.

The six of us experiencing card failures had our cards replaced at the hotel office following the first failures. The cards continued to fail resulting in delayed park entrance and failed linkage to dining plan credits. We were told, repeatedly, to keep the cards away from cell-phones and cameras. We were also told that body oils & sweat could spoil the card’s magnetic strip. After the first failures, cards were stored in pockets/purses separate from phones & cameras. Subsequent failures continued to occur.

It seems curious that an item (the card) so central to guests’ ability to access Disney delights is so unreliable and vulnerable to such common visitor phenomena as cell-phones, cameras and sweat. The inconveniences cause by these repeated failures taxed adult patience and needlessly frustrated the children who had to wait for the adults to resolve the problems at park entrances. There were more than a few un-magical moments while angered parents/grandparents wrangled with park & dining staff. The latter, some more helpful/sympathetic than others, often only repeated cell-phone/camera caveats and could only refer us back to hotel staff. Hours of valuable vacation time were consumed trying to resolve problems related to the repeated card-failures.

Despite the preceding, the kids (the reasons for the visit) were captivated by Disney’s undiminished capacity to enchant, enthrall and entertain. The looks of awe and wonder on the faces of my grandchildren and nephews transfixed me. That was my magic. It trumped my adult inconveniences. I just wish that the hours and angst spent haggling with park staffers were spent enjoying other magical delights with the kids.

Finally, this verse of warning (to be sung to the When You Wish Upon A Star tune) to future visitors and plea to WDW:

When you play in Disney’s yard,
Don’t demagnetize your card.
Everything you want to do,
Will be delayed.

If the card’s near your cell phone,
Your good times will be postponed.
Body oils and common sweat
Can ruin your day.

Like a bolt from out the blue,
Mick will tell you that you’re through.
Go back and see your concierge
Just go away

 

[KingdomHearts]

that stinks about your troubles.. but I love the poem! I really read it with that tune in my head!!

 

[Dreaming WDW]

I used to balk at the cell phones de magnetizing cards. I still do not believe it is common. One thing I did just last week though is buy magic your way passes for the family during a recent business trip at a Disney store.

I put the cards in my laptop back pack. While going through security, I put my cell phone inside to clear the line. When I retrieved the phone, I was nearly sick when I saw it was right next to my passes. I realized that I have a magnetic closure on my cell phone case. I can even stick it to the fridge and it will stay in place. I won't be at all surprised when I try to activate, that they cannot be read. Fortunately, I do have the reciepts to present at guest services.

Even though you enjoyed your visit, I really feel you do have a valid complaint to Disney. It's obvious that a lot of money was spent, and you suffered infuriating repeat annoyances. Disney really needs to hear all the stories such as yours, because chip technology is so reliable that they could virtually eliminate these types of problems if they would only spend the money to do so.

 

[boppa]

Let's hope that Mick has his ears on about complaints such as these. Non-reading card problems would seem amenable to some technological fix. After all, my other credit cards carried in close proximity to my cell phone have not failed. The problems have been well-diagnosed. Staffers (at park-entrances, dining facilities, stores & kiosks and hotel desk) were well-versed in the cell-phone/camera warnings. A security guard at the hotel entrance (when our card "swipe" failed to open the gate for our car) added body-oils & perspiration to the list of noxious potions which could hex the card.

That so many staff at so many service levels throughout WDW repeat the same warning, using almost the same words, suggest that the problem is welll-known. It also suggests that it has been well-known for some time as it seems to be a part of their training scripts.

At Wild Animal Kingdom, our last park visited on the last day, our group was held up when three of our cards failed at the entrance. We waited in line for about 10 minutes at WAK guest-relations to resolve the problem. The staffer perseverated on the cell-phone/camera warning. We explained that we were well-aware of this after our first set of failures days before. We explained that we were keeping the cards in separate pockets/purses/wallets away from phones & cameras. We explained that the cards had been replaced by hotel staff. The staffer could only robotically repeat the warning (as though we had said nothing). This was infuriating (considering the lengthy failed-card history and repeated attempts to remediate the problems). We wondered if we were talking to a real person or to a life-like animatronic with limited pre-programmed speech.

Despite our particular dilemma, staffers, especially guest-relation staffers, need additional training on how to respond to nettled guests with non-(training)scripted complaints. A post-visit guest survey might be illuminating and useful to WDW management as a means of harvesting complaints and suggestions on which services need tweaking.

Magical Mickey can, with a wave of his wand, vanquish dragons, depose evil genies and thwart wicked witches. Protecting a simple plastic card's magnetic field would seem to be "duck-soup." . . . . Unless, of course, the duck in question is Donald.

 

[disneynutz]

During our trip two weeks ago, my card failed when I tried to open our room door. Fortunately we were returning from the parks for the day so we really weren't inconvenienced. The next morning when the concierge replaced my card, they gave me a sleeve to keep it in. I keep my card in my shirt pocket so I know that it wasn't demagnetized by my cell phone or camera. Since so many of the OPs cards were bad, I would suspect a bad run of cards or a defective card programmer.

 

[Bust*A*Stitch]

Since so many of the OPs cards were bad, I would suspect a bad run of cards or a defective card programmer.

Thats what I'm thinking. On our trip my parents cards for thier room didnt work as soon as we got there, turns out proper training on how to set a card was in order, you could only swipe it one way to get it to correctly setup the card in the machine. The cast member had been doing it wrong most of the morning, thus many other card failures we saw while in the lobby.