MYW Ticket Upgrade Changes

[PopPhan]

Is this true??


Effective August 3, 2011, there will be a number of changes to the way Magic Your Way Tickets can be upgraded. Multi-day Magic Your Way tickets, with the exception of Florida Resident tickets, may be upgraded ONLY while there are still unused "entitlements" remaining on them. Example: If you have a five-day ticket and have used all five days, you cannot upgrade the ticket on the sixth day even if you are still within the 14 days from first use window. (You could still upgrade the ticket on that fifth day.) Florida Residents can upgrade within 14 days of first use, even if there are no entitlements left on the ticket. For a one-day ticket, such as a one-day MYW or one-day water park ticket, any upgrade may be done only on the date of use. Florida Resident Play 3 and Play 4 tickets can still be upgraded within six months of date of first use. This supersedes the previous policy that allowed you to upgrade any MYW ticket, even a completely "used up" one, within the 14 days from first use window. Pre-MYW tickets can not be upgraded; any remaining days or entitlements on them are valid, however, as long as the ticket has not expired.

[Tink1]

Yes, it is true

Nanc

[PopPhan]

Thanks, Nanc!! Didn't think I had seen that posted anywhere on here and figured it would be good to know about....

[DizneyRox]

Yes, that was posted within the past week I think. Somewhere, probably Theme Parks...

[Goofy4TheWorld]

It was here:
http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=184332

I think this is the most frustrating change I have experienced first hand with Disney.

This board is full of advise (some posted by yours truly) about how great the upgrade policy is and how flexible it is in letting you think about things before upgrading a ticket. Imagine what a shock it will be to someone who wakes up and decides to spend another day at Disney only to find out their depleted ticket is no longer valid.

My next "maybe planned" trip was going to be 3 full days at Disney, 3 at the beach, and then maybe a few more days back at Disney or stay at the beach. With this new policy I won't have the option of snagging the couple of extra days after trying the beach out unless I just buy the days ahead of time. Plus I can't even wait to decide on my departure day as my ticket will be un-upgradeable unless I have purchased the WP&M option.

I think this is a big shift in policy and might even deserve a sticky at the top of several boards to make folks aware of this change and that lots of posted advise is no longer valid.

All because of scam ticket sellers taking advantage of a Disney computer bug, and just like government, Disney fixed a small problem with a big hammer.

Just my :twocents:

[Melanie]

This board is full of advise (some posted by yours truly) about how great the upgrade policy is and how flexible it is in letting you think about things before upgrading a ticket. Imagine what a shock it will be to someone who wakes up and decides to spend another day at Disney only to find out their depleted ticket is no longer valid.

We were discussing this on the latest podcast (which will be out this weekend) and we all were unaware that this was even allowed in the first place. And we've all been around these boards for many years and visit the parks often.

I'm seriously asking if this is really a big deal to folks. Obviously it is to you, and I understand your dilemma. Looks like another step towards having to carefully plan every step of your Disney vacation.

[brownie]

We were discussing this on the latest podcast (which will be out this weekend) and we all were unaware that this was even allowed in the first place. And we've all been around these boards for many years and visit the parks often.

I always thought you had to have something left on it to upgrade, too.

[DizneyRox]

If it wasn't happening a lot, there wouldn't be a policy published to address it. There are two ways this could have gone. 14 days to upgrade, no restrictions, and what they have chosen. I think that $$ was the driving force behind this as an upgrade to a "valid" ticket would probably only be a couple bucks, but making a guest buy a new ticket, gets them another $85.

So, even if only one person in 20 just pays the $85, Disney is probably ahead of the game. Assuming an avg upgrade being $4 if they just let people add another day, that's only $76 they would have gotten vs the $85 they will.

[Goofy4TheWorld]

The following is pure speculation based on a combination of discussions I have read about this issue over the years...

It was my understanding that Disney's ticketing computer had a flaw that "lost" the fingerprint information for a ticket each time it was upgraded. This flaw allowed someone to go on a 5-day trip to Disney and on their departure day upgrade that depleted ticket to add 5 more days for about $30 and then sell that ticket to someone who can use that ticket within the next 8 days for $100, make $70 and cost Disney $200+ in revenue. The ticketing computer couldn't stop it because the fingerprint data on that ticket was lost during the upgrade so the new ticket owner laughed all the way to Cinderella's Castle. It was apparently, at times, a rather brisk underground business in the Orlando area (since this racket required the ticket be used quickly everything had to be done close by). Apparently the upgrade was even being done by the ticket reseller instead of the original owner.

I could be full of it, but based on several things I have read, I think this is what they are trying to stop. Small problem, big hammer. This is one of those things that flies in the face of Disney's "make the customer happy" AND their "keep guest's money on the property" because there will be lots of instances where someone will be VERY upset about this change in policy, and I just can't see ANYBODY crazy enough to pay $85 for a $7 upgrade.

[DizneyRox]

A problem with the ticket tag process did run through my head briefly. I didn't give it much thought as it seemed like a silly oversight, but I wouldn't put that past them. There have been worse oversights, like the Yeti...

[magicofdisney]

I find it interesting you can no longer upgrade pre-MYW tickets.

I agree with your supposition, Goofy4TheWorld.