Pin Code Frustration

[DisDayz]

I typically try to keep my posts positive but I am so upset with Disney right now I can't stand it. Over the last 18 years we have made 15 visits to WDW. When we go it is almost always the extended family with between 12 and 16 of us. In total we have spent in excess of $200K on rooms, tickets and dining during this time, but that is beside the point.

We have another trip planned for this October with 14 of us traveling. The plan is to be at WDW for 7 nights. We have been calling about once a week for the last couple of months to check for pin codes in an attempt to save a little money. Finally, Sunday evening my wife calls and after verifying the address and other information we are told we have a pin code and can book for everyone in our party with this pin code. She is also told we have until July 28th to book. Unfortunately the code starts a bit before our currently planned trip so we don't modify the reservations immediately.

She gets off the phone and we start calling everyone in our party to see what they want to do and are in agreement we will extend our trip because of the discount. The general consensus is we will make it a 14 night trip since we will be taking the extra week from work anyway. All that is left to do is verify pricing and modify the reservations. I get the website to verify pricing and as I am trying to check I keep getting an error saying the zip code does not match that on the offer.

We call back to Disney and are told the pin code we were given (yes, we were given the 15 digit code) was in the correct name but was actually for someone with the same name that lives in Maine, not Tennessee. The CM then tells us we should keep trying, to have a "Magical" day and hangs up the line.

So now I am furious. Before we were okay with not having a pin code. We were content with planning a week long trip and even paying rack rate if that is what we had to do. But to be told there is a discount that will save our party nearly $7,000, to change our plans based on this discount and then to be told oops we messed up, keep trying. That just doesn't sit well with me.

I'm not sure what I expect. I think this post is more to vent than anything but if anyone has any advice I would love to hear it.

 

[numberonenole]

I'm stunned. How are you supposed to have a "magical" day after that?! I'm so sorry. I would call back and talk to another CM. Sometimes different ones say different things. Give them the pin number, and then if they say the same thing ask to speak to a supervisor. It was bad enough that they dangled the discount, but for you to change the entire groups plans and then be told oops? Their mistake, not yours. Unacceptable. I hope it turns out ok!

 

[TJDisneymama]

maybe you should call back and say you just moved from Maine to Tennessee? I mean, seriously..... when you call and they gave you the pin # you had to have already given them all your info (name, address, etc.) so how could it have even popped up under your name if it's supposedly for someone in Maine?? And how do you know the mistake isn't that it really is for you, but someone messed up the address??

 

[Smileybug]

I agree. Call back.
I hope it all works out for ya'll.

 

[maryj11]

So sorry, I would call back and tell them that you have a pin code and want to add it. I wouldnt even say see if I have a pin code, I would say I have one. If they say you dont, tell them let you talk to the manager. They cant say yes you have one then turn around and say no it was a mistake. Some CM's do not even want to bother with changing reservations and the one you had probably didnt even look it up. They probably decided to say oh it was somone's from Maine just so they didnt have to do the extra work.

 

[DisDayz]

Thanks for the responses. I'll be calling back today to see what I can get done.

 

[Amy&Dan]

Call them back and ask to speak to a supervisor.

Last year, I kept calling, hoping and checking email for a pin code that was out there for our dates. I called one day yet again, and the cm said, "you have it, its for free quick serve for moderates". We were thrilled, he tried to apply it to our reservation, but was unable to because we were part of a grand gathering. So he transferred me over to GG's and I heard him tell that cm "this is Mrs. X, she has the pin for the free QSDP so if you can go ahead and apply that for her she'll be all set". He then hung up and I was on my own with this next cm at Grand Gatherings who told me "I don't see it, you don't have it". He's about to hang up on me when I tell him not so fast, give me a supervisor. After holding for a long time, the supervisor came on and said she would give it to me. Because the GG cm had heard the other cm say I had it and because I wasn't about to give up, I did get it.

Like you, dh and I were willing to pay a higher rate but to be told we had the discount (which for our family of four is a huge savings) then told, "no you don't" was unacceptable. The supervisor said she would research it but that regardless she would apply the savings to our reservation. She also said she has to do things like this a lot due to the mishaps these pins cause. She admitted strange errors occur where they disappear or have the wrong street address but the correct name and zip code. That was the last I talked with her because she gave me the discount and said whether she found it or not, it was ours.

I have no idea if they ever found the pin the first cm saw, but I did get my free dining.

This in my opinion is a stupid way to do business (pin codes). With the internet, many of us know what is out there and to have that dangled in front of us and then not get it for whatever reason is aggravating. It is their system that creates the work of having CRO cm's answer thousands of calls for pin code hopefuls and all the other mess this creates so if they have to make things right at their own time and expense, that is Disney's problem.

Keep working your way up the chain and don't stop until you get what is yours whether you live in Maine or Tennessee!

 

[PalmettoPrincess]

Glad you're calling back! I just got a pin code in the mail today, but when I went to use it online it had the wrong address listed for me... I called and a CM changed it to the right address. Let us know how it goes....

 

[DisDayz]

Sorry for the delay in the update. So, we call back to ask about the pin code and are told that, yep, it is attached to our party. We ask about the whole address thing and the CM can find absolutely no reason we were told that. Anyway, we are now booked with free dining for a 14 night stay in October. Now we just have to pick 14 table service meals. Let the fun begin.

 

[Goofy_Girl]

So happy to hear everything worked out for you! Have fun on your trip

 

[dbennett3899]

Sorry for the delay in the update. So, we call back to ask about the pin code and are told that, yep, it is attached to our party. We ask about the whole address thing and the CM can find absolutely no reason we were told that. Anyway, we are now booked with free dining for a 14 night stay in October. Now we just have to pick 14 table service meals. Let the fun begin.

Thanks for the update! Thats HUUUGE! Congrats guys! Now you can "have a magical day"!