Unused Disney World NonExpiration Tickets

[MiceMagic]

Reading about the new lawsuit made me think about our unused DisneyWorld non expiration tickets. At the time that we purchased the non expiration tickets there were not any rules requiring us to make a park reservation. We could just show up at DisneyWorld on any day that we wanted to do so. That is no longer true.

Also- the tickets are park hoppers that allowed us to enter any park at any time that we wanted to unless the park was at capacity. Now we automatically lose the use of the time from the park opens until 2 pm. If we use these tickets now, we certainly would not be getting the full usage/value that we expected to get when we purchased them. That doesn't seem fair.

Has anyone tried using their Disney World non expiration tickets and inquired regarding the lost benefits?

 

[cakebaker]

Reading about the new lawsuit made me think about our unused DisneyWorld non expiration tickets. At the time that we purchased the non expiration tickets there were not any rules requiring us to make a park reservation. We could just show up at DisneyWorld on any day that we wanted to do so. That is no longer true.

Also- the tickets are park hoppers that allowed us to enter any park at any time that we wanted to unless the park was at capacity. Now we automatically lose the use of the time from the park opens until 2 pm. If we use these tickets now, we certainly would not be getting the full usage/value that we expected to get when we purchased them. That doesn't seem fair.

Has anyone tried using their Disney World non expiration tickets and inquired regarding the lost benefits?

What lost benefits? The only change is you have to wait to enter a park you're hopping to until 2 and you have to make a reservation before you go. You aren't going to enter a morning park and leave minutes later so we're talking probably a couple of hours at most. Considering that you're using park tickets that cost a fraction of what everyone else is paying, I'd say you're still getting a great deal. I'm curious how old your tickets are and what they cost- it's been a very long time since they sold non-expiring tickets.

The same is true for those of us who bought park hopper AP's that were activated after the re-opening. But since I paid about less than 60% of what a new AP would cost me and got PhotoPass included, I'm not going to complain much. Of course, if you don't like the new terms, I'm sure Disney would be happy to fully refund you the amount you paid for those tickets.

 

[Sandisw]

I don’t think that there was anything that ever said that you were guaranteed to be allowed hopping at any set time

Parking hopping still exists, even if it isn’t until 2 pm.

And tickets have always said based on availability to enter parks and don’t see the park reservation system changing thst since these tickets never expire.

So, in the end the tickets are still giving you what you paid for.

 

[MiceMagic]

Because we always stayed on property and it was a short walk to EPCOT, we liked to eat breakfast at EPCOT and then proceed to a different park after breakfast. I am sure there are other people who enter one park for a short while and then change to another park for a variety of reasons. So we do consider it a change in expectations from what we would receive when we purchased the tickets.

 

[MiceMagic]

There weren't any constraints stated in the fine print on the back of the ticket that indicated that park hopping would be restricted to particular hours or that the consumer would have restrictions as to which park they wanted to "hop" to on any given day.

 

[cakebaker]

Because we always stayed on property and it was a short walk to EPCOT, we liked to eat breakfast at EPCOT and then proceed to a different park after breakfast. I am sure there are other people who enter one park for a short while and then change to another park for a variety of reasons. So we do consider it a change in expectations from what we would receive when we purchased the tickets.

So ask for a refund, I'm not sure what you'd like for Disney to do.

 

[chicagodisneyguy]

Since there were many years Disney parks stopped allowing admittance on days like Xmas, I have to think they had/do have language specifying entry is not guaranteed.

My guess is if you really make a stink you can get Disney to refund you the difference between the hopper prices vs non hopper prices and revert your tickets to regular 1 day tickets. If that's not what you want, what do you want? What do you think is fair? Do you just want them to throw you a Dis gift card for your troubles? I'm sure if you send a letter to the right address they'll refund you for the tickets.

They aren't going to change hopping for tickets issued years ago. I have non expiring hoppers as well as unused 5 day hoppers I bought 10 to 15 years ago. I don't really expect Disney to change their current policies to accommodate me. But I do think they'll let me in with my 15 year old tickets. I also think they'll likely refund me if I complain about the restrictions now versus when I bought.

 

[MiceMagic]

So ask for a refund, I'm not sure what you'd l

So ask for a refund, I'm not sure what you'd like for Disney to do.

I never indicated that I wanted Disney to do anything for me.

My question was intended for other people who also have non expiration hopper tickets that they have not used yet. "Has anyone tried using their Disney World non expiration tickets and inquired regarding the lost benefits?"

 

[GoingSince1990]

You may actually have a case, but there are probably not enough people with that kind of ticket to organize a class action suit and persuade a law firm to take it on a contingency basis. You probably just need to suck it up and console yourself that you were prescient or fortunate enough to buy those non-expiring tickets probably at a big discount to what any kind of ticket would set you back today.

 

[MiceMagic]

You may find it interesting to learn that Disney World did try to think ahead to future use and stated on the back of the ticket that the non expiration tickets cannot be used for any new Disney World park that opened after May 1, 1998. We purchased our tickets in 2015.

 

[Genie+]

Disney usually has some kind of generalized legal wording that covers their butt. Do you still have the ticket to read the fine print? I’ve been surprised how much stricter wording is than what is practiced. Like holiday tickets, here’s the wording on MVMCP:

*Tickets are nontransferable and nonrefundable and may not be resold. The number of tickets available is limited and tickets are valid only for the specific event date and hours. Entertainment may be cancelled due to inclement weather or otherwise. No refunds even if entertainment is cancelled. All attractions, experiences, entertainment and event elements are subject to restrictions, change or cancellation without notice.

^VERY strict. Says no refunds, even for weather or lack of attractions and entertainment. Basically nothing is guaranteed and legally we are agreeing to these strict terms by buying. In practice however, they allow date changes and refunds in many circumstances.

 

[Marthasor]

My question was intended for other people who also have non expiration hopper tickets that they have not used yet. "Has anyone tried using their Disney World non expiration tickets and inquired regarding the lost benefits?"

I still have tickets left on a non-expiration park hopper with water park and more option. I never even considered I had "lost benefits". I am almost positive the terms and conditions included wording regarding park availability. We never had unfettered, guaranteed access to parks on a daily basis - we had to enter during normal park hours and could only enter parks that weren't at capacity. WDW now determines capacity in advance and not day-of - IMHO, that's better than showing up and finding out you can't get in due to a park being full. I would bet money the legalese on those tickets had a CYA in case WDW changed park hour operations. You also couldn't park hop to a park that was at capacity. WDW now determines a park is "at capacity" until 2 pm. I guess you can ask for a refund? I'm not sure what other recourse you have. They can't change their entire reservation and park hopping system for the few of us that still have these tickets. I just don't feel I have "lost" anything. I bought a 10-day, non-expiring park hopper with 10 water park and more admissions over 7 years ago for $768. When I do the math, I think I got an excellent deal.

 

[cakebaker]

My question was intended for other people who also have non expiration hopper tickets that they have not used yet. "Has anyone tried using their Disney World non expiration tickets and inquired regarding the lost benefits?"

There’s not any difference between a non expiring ticket vs an unused AP voucher regarding the change in park hopping and park reservations. I had an AP voucher bought before the change in rules. When I redeemed mine, I had the choice to accept the new terms or get a refund. I would assume you have the same option.

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

I still have days on a non expiring ticket. And yes in 2019 I did go to HS when it opened at 6am and lefty by 9:00am for another park. Now the rule is park hopping after 2:00. So what I do now is either park hop after 2:00 or more likely not park hop at all. Reason I don’t park hop is my traveling companions have bought new tickets and didn’t buy hoppers because it is not worth it for them. When I don’t hop does it cross my mind I paid for something I choose not to use, yes it has but that is how it goes. It’s okay.

 

[_19disnA]

I would imagine the fine print for either the tickets you purchased or the actual Disney park says .............."we reserve the right to change access/availability............." or something similar. If you showed up on a day when Disney was closed due to covid or that recent hurricane, for example, I doubt you could 'demand' to be let into the park no matter what is printed on your ticket. Seems a similar situation with requiring 'park reservations' which wasn't something you had to do in the past. Disney has the right to modify how things work based on a variety of factors.

 

[starry_solo]

So...if you have the non-expiring tickets (hard tickets), please tell us what the back says.

 

[cakebaker]

On another thread where this is being discussed, someone is saying with old non-expiring tickets, it shows in MDE as not needing a park reservation- so if the OP actually has them, he or she should be seeing the same thing. Apparently the system is not set up to handle these old tickets and there are so few, it's not worth fixing it.

 

[supersnoop]

My question was intended for other people who also have non expiration hopper tickets that they have not used yet. "Has anyone tried using their Disney World non expiration tickets and inquired regarding the lost benefits?"

I broke the seal on my old 10-day non-expiration ticket last month. I didn't notice any "lost benefits" when using it.

 

[Lewisc]

On another thread where this is being discussed, someone is saying with old non-expiring tickets, it shows in MDE as not needing a park reservation- so if the OP actually has them, he or she should be seeing the same thing. Apparently the system is not set up to handle these old tickets and there are so few, it's not worth fixing it.

I posted in the other thread. Guest services at DS loaded my tickets into DME years ago. It's possible Disney closed the loophole for tickets loaded after the implementation of park reservations.

YMMV

 

[cakebaker]

I posted in the other thread. Guest services at DS loaded by tickets into DME years ago. It's possible Disney closed the loophole for tickets loaded after the implementation of park reservations.

YMMV

I know we have a few non expiring comp tickets we got I don't even remember when- 2010 maybe? Ours were finally uploaded to MDE when my daughter wanted to make a short visit before our cruise last month and she definitely had to make reservations.