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View Full Version : Never use United to go to Disney World! What should I do?



taleasoldastime
12-23-2012, 12:43 AM
So I used United in order to book my flight to and from Disney World because my boyfriend had a credit card that he used to acquire flyer miles. When i scheduled our flight it was departing Austin at 7 and arriving at Orlando around noon with a layover in Houston. That was Ok. I had reservations that night at the Magic Kingdom at 7:40pm at Be Our Guest, so that would give us time to check in and get to the park, ride some rides and walk around before our reservation. Now I went to check our flight status and it has been pushed back to 3:30 arrival time. I would understand if it was pushed back 30 minutes but this is absolutely ridiculous. If I arrive at 3:30 pm then I will probably get to my room around 5:00pm and get to the parks around 6:00pm. So i can ride about 1 ride before my dinner reservation. That is an absolute waste of my park hopper pass. Am I wrong to think this is ridiculous for United to do? I have tried to contact them and it is nearly impossible as they refuse to give away phone number information. It says their phone lines are open until 12:00am but when I called at around 10:30 it said they were closed.
What should I do? I am freaking out because at 20 years old, I don't have money to throw around. I worked my butt off for this vacation and I cant afford to waste a second, ESPECIALLY when it is someone elses fault.

taleasoldastime
12-23-2012, 01:12 AM
at just about 12:00, after googling a bunch of United numbers, I finally got a hold of some one who helped me. All is fixed. I did freak out a bit but they are nearly impossible to get a hold of, which is the biggest issue.

Hopefully I am not the only one that has real problems with United.

VWL Mom
12-23-2012, 05:18 AM
I'm glad it worked out for you. Most airlines will work with rebooking you if a schedule change is more than three hours.

SBETigg
12-23-2012, 10:00 AM
I'm glad it worked out for you. I've had great experiences with Southwest, but it's worth noting that this happens with all airlines now. So many factors are involved, but their bottom line is to fill the seats and make money.

With fuel prices, they optimize when they can, which sometimes means combining flights and rescheduling. They tell you on all the disclaimers of the possibility when you buy your ticket, so there's often really nothing you can do. Except, as Lynn says, if your time is that far off from the original flight, they will work with you. I would have been freaking out, too. Best wishes for a smooth experience from now on.

1DisneyNut
12-23-2012, 10:44 AM
That is just part of flying. I would never ever make plans that are time sensitive right behind an airline flight.

taleasoldastime
12-23-2012, 12:30 PM
They did fix my issue so that isnt what irritated me the most. It was trying to get a hold of a person. The website is extremely unhelpful. I ended up finding a different number to use on a complete different site.
This isnt the first time I have had problems either. When I was originally booking the flight I couldnt figure out at all how their website worked if you were booking with flyer miles so I called and went through a million robots until I found a person and the man told me that for him to help me book the flight it would cost. So I continued to try to figure it out myself.

maybe its just me but I feel like they try to avoid you at all costs and they dont listen unless youre angry.

MNNHFLTX
12-23-2012, 02:46 PM
My husband and were loyal Continental customers--not so with United since the merger. We have not been impressed with their reward reservations system and baggage handling. That said, we have never had our flight times bumped as you did. With such a drastic change in itinerary you did the right thing in calling them and getting them to change your flights. Glad it worked out, but sorry for the aggravation.

EeyoresBestFriend
12-23-2012, 05:39 PM
Truly makes you appreciate all the hoops the other people that have planned your trips for you have had to go through, doesn't it? ;)

Since you are travelling in January, just be aware weather can REALLY mess with flights, even if the weather issue isn't on your route. Alot of planes are incoming from other parts of the country and get held up, no fault of the airline. That's all part of vacation planning know-how that you gain over the years. If I were you, I would move the ressie to a different day and not waste the park pass if you are on limited days.

Either way, you are still in WDW! Have fun! :cloud9: