Watchdog BBC 1 Now..!!

[aj2703]

Good deals on the French website, but not so good on the English...

 

[nl's mummy]

was a bit of a nothing story wasnt it?

 

[lilacgems23]

I dont get why shes complaining £456 for 4 days for a family of 4 in August is a bargain!

 

[Ms Poppins]

Yes, a bit of nothing

Only interesting thing they said was that you can book any package over the phone from any official Disneyland Paris website. We will see if this is correct - recent experience from the booking line hasn't been great in general, so I wonder how they'll cope if they are quoted various amounts from different websites

 

[Ms Poppins]

I dont get why shes complaining £456 for 4 days for a family of 4 in August is a bargain!

I think they were referring to just park tickets, not hotel stay, as they mentioned that an annual pass was better value.

 

[lilacgems23]

I think they were referring to just park tickets, not hotel stay, as they mentioned that an annual pass was better value.

Buying one of the AP that allows you to use it immediately (as I think the cheapest one you can not use within the first 2 days of purchase) wouldn't of saved her any money though

 

[Ms Poppins]

Buying one of the AP that allows you to use it immediately (as I think the cheapest one you can not use within the first 2 days of purchase) wouldn't of saved her any money though

Yes, I know. I think it was obvious that little research had been done by the original customer and Watchdog.

She seemed to complain of the offers at the Disneyland gate, that were all in French, and hadn't been made available to her when she had booked from the UK.

Maybe we just all know too much on here, with our obsessive planning

 

[kizzabel]

I watched it and garnered the same. They really didnt look into it (customer or Watchdog researchers) and if she wanted APs to be cost effective well then the 3 she required (youngest daughter was under 3) would have been €600 so thats by no means a saving. Now thats basing it on Dream passes but in August surely having EMH is most important.
It wasnt much of a report to be fair, just a fleeting mention. Should have mentioned going on the DIS for savvy booking tips and little booking loopholes like adding people at check in.

 

[otwidalepda]

A response from the BBC regarding the programming:

It was pointed out in the programme by Chris Hollins at the end of the item that Disneyland Paris said the following:

"The price of standard admission tickets is the same in all markets but a variety of tailor-made promotions are offered in different countries to reflect local needs"

The man interviewed on this subject did explain that promotions are adapted for local needs. For instance, most tourists go to Disneyland for a few days so probably wouldn't be interested in an annual pass, but local French people might need to be bribed to go with the offer of a cheaper multiple visit pass over a longer period.

Although the promotions are not specifically aimed at other markets, there wasn't a ban on nationals from other countries buying them. Chris Hollins goes on to say:

"UK customers can purchase offers seen on any official Disneyland Paris website by calling the reservations number".

Chris Hollins does say that Disneyland Paris apologised to the woman for not clarifying that the offer was available to her.

We apologise if you felt her words were misleading, but we clarified the position at the end of the item. As you also say, the packages weren't compared - it was simply that some offers were made specifically to attract people from different markets.

Nevertheless, the issue has been registered on the audience log for if further investigation is needed.

But I don't believe that this response justifies the way in which the BBC presented the information to viewers. The way in which the programme displayed the information appeared that the Annual Passes where being compared to daily tickets when they themselves in the response said they weren't compared which begs the question - why was this story done in the first place... if they are not comparable then no one has been ripped off but this is how it came across.