Talked to a CM friend....

[WannabeBelle25]

Hey Pam, thanks for all the inof that you are finding out about this plan!! Please keep it coming. So far the biggest of my initial issues with the plan have been addressed by Disney:
1) Booking at rack rate & Hoping for a discount- As of a few days ago the discounts were implemented on the online engine. Approximately 27% off for October and 30% off for December. THIS I can hang with!
The only problem I have left with the system is the modification fee of $50.00 per change. Most of the changes that I do is adding a person to my room (hence bringing Disney another person to buy tickets, food and souveniers) or upgrading my resort to a higher level (hence bringing Disney more revenue not less) I have heard that changes like these will not incur the $50.00 penalty. Do we have that in writing anywhere?? With my luck I will get the one cast member who didnt get the memo!!! Thanks again for all your work!! Belle

 

[lllovell]

What I have read basically says that unless the change takes your total package BELOW the cost of the previous package, the $50 change fee will be waived. Basically, as long as you are not costing Disney money in lost revenue from your plans, they won't charge you.

 

[WannabeBelle25]

What I have read basically says that unless the change takes your total package BELOW the cost of the previous package, the $50 change fee will be waived. Basically, as long as you are not costing Disney money in lost revenue from your plans, they won't charge you.

THAT is exactly what I am looking for!! Do we have that in writing from any of the official sources?? I had the same understanding as you had typed but with my luck I will get the one CM who doesnt know that and can point to the printed policy of ANY changes requiring a $50.00 change fee!!! Belle

 

[LisaS]

As of a few days ago the discounts were implemented on the online engine. Approximately 27% off for October and 30% off for December.

For the deluxes that I have checked for late Nov/early Dec (Value season), the discounts are not a percentage off but are a flat $70 off which is not that great considering the time of year. $70 off rack rate for AKL Savannah view works out to a 25% discount and $70 off BC water view works out to a 20% discount.

Better than rack rate, sure, but I expected to see better rates for that time of year. I went to AKL in late Jan/early Feb which is Value season also, and got an AP rate of $151 which was $130 off rack rate. I know the discounts are not guaranteed, but to go from $130 off early this year to only $70 off later in the same year is a pretty steep drop in the discounts.

So I'm not jumping in at this price. We had hoped to go back to WDW again this year to see the holiday decorations, but only if we can get both a great discount on the room and a great airfare. Otherwise, no deal.

 

[PamNC]

Hey Pam, thanks for all the inof that you are finding out about this plan!! Please keep it coming. So far the biggest of my initial issues with the plan have been addressed by Disney:
1) Booking at rack rate & Hoping for a discount- As of a few days ago the discounts were implemented on the online engine. Approximately 27% off for October and 30% off for December. THIS I can hang with!
The only problem I have left with the system is the modification fee of $50.00 per change. Most of the changes that I do is adding a person to my room (hence bringing Disney another person to buy tickets, food and souveniers) or upgrading my resort to a higher level (hence bringing Disney more revenue not less) I have heard that changes like these will not incur the $50.00 penalty. Do we have that in writing anywhere?? With my luck I will get the one cast member who didnt get the memo!!! Thanks again for all your work!! Belle

You're welcome. I like some aspects of it..well, really only one aspect. I like that you don't have to keep checking to see if there is a discount. It's automatically applied. Not sure about the $50 change penalty. I hate the idea of "if Disney loses revenue due to your modification, you will be penalized $50." That's horrible and it's not up to the Disney standard of service. It's saying "we don't care if you're happy, we only want to make money." Of course I'm not stupid, I know Disney is a business not our "best friend." If Walt were alive, he wouldn't allow such a thing. It's not in line with the Disney model of service. It just isn't.

PamNC

 

[WannabeBelle25]

Hey Lisa, Maybe it is dependent on the dates you run?? I Am not sure but these were the numbers I got:I ran a moderate resort for Oct 18th-22nd. The regular room rate I got for a standard view room was $664.56 with no discount, $486.16 with the Passholder Best Rate discount. I also ran a waterview for the same dates and got $735.92 without a discount and $557.52 with the Passholder Best Rate discount. Near as I can tell this would represent a savings of 26-28% give or take It was actually a 27% discount ( I had a friend of mine from our accounting department recheck me!!) I was looking at Deluxes last night for Early December and I got about a 30% discount. I still havent booked this way due to the problems that I probably would run into with the modification fees, but I was OK with the rates I was getting as listed above. If I am remembering corectly those were comparitive to what I paid last year. Belle

 

[Brian Noble]

Better than rack rate, sure, but I expected to see better rates for that time of year.

I'm not surprised at all---these prices look exactly the same as the code-driven deal that was available in September. The only difference is the requirement that you book four months in advance, and the non-refundable deposit.

It would appear that either bookings are up and discounts are just not as necessary to fill the rooms, or that WDW has decided to reign in the discount expectations in the long term and will take a short term hit because of it. If I were a betting man, I'd bet on the former.

 

[C.Ann]

What I have read basically says that unless the change takes your total package BELOW the cost of the previous package, the $50 change fee will be waived. Basically, as long as you are not costing Disney money in lost revenue from your plans, they won't charge you.

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What you have read - and what people have been "told" - will not hold up against what has been written.. Someone did a cut and paste on one of these threads from the Passholders site and it clearly states any changes - period..

Unless it is written differently on the site now, being "told" is not going to hold water if you find yourself in a position where you have to fight this..

Get EVERYTHING in writing - including what you have booked and the rate you have been quoted.. There are far too many glitches in this system to take any chances..

 

[Sammie]

I'm not surprised at all---these prices look exactly the same as the code-driven deal that was available in September. The only difference is the requirement that you book four months in advance, and the non-refundable deposit.

It would appear that either bookings are up and discounts are just not as necessary to fill the rooms, or that WDW has decided to reign in the discount expectations in the long term and will take a short term hit because of it. If I were a betting man, I'd bet on the former.

Based on what I have been told bookings are way up, all the way through the new year. And that the parks this week are packed.

 

[WannabeBelle25]

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What you have read - and what people have been "told" - will not hold up against what has been written.. Someone did a cut and paste on one of these threads from the Passholders site and it clearly states any changes - period..

Unless it is written differently on the site now, being "told" is not going to hold water if you find yourself in a position where you have to fight this..

Get EVERYTHING in writing - including what you have booked and the rate you have been quoted.. There are far too many glitches in this system to take any chances..

Aint that the truth!!!! And make sure you print out EVERYTHING in case you need written proof!!! What was odd I went into the Passholder site just before and went looking for the modification policy wording and I didnt see it. Can someone cut and paste it on here or give me a link to another thread where it was?? I had heard the "official" wording about any changes also from a CM friend and he was the one who had told me that certain modifications would have it waived. I'd rather have it in writing thanks!!! Belle

 

[LisaS]

Hey Lisa, Maybe it is dependent on the dates you run?? I Am not sure but these were the numbers I got:I ran a moderate resort for Oct 18th-22nd. The regular room rate I got for a standard view room was $664.56 with no discount, $486.16 with the Passholder Best Rate discount. I also ran a waterview for the same dates and got $735.92 without a discount and $557.52 with the Passholder Best Rate discount. Near as I can tell this would represent a savings of 26-28% give or take It was actually a 27% discount ( I had a friend of mine from our accounting department recheck me!!) I was looking at Deluxes last night for Early December and I got about a 30% discount. I still havent booked this way due to the problems that I probably would run into with the modification fees, but I was OK with the rates I was getting as listed above. If I am remembering corectly those were comparitive to what I paid last year. Belle

For the moderates you checked, you are saving a total of $174.80 in each case, regardless of whether it is a standard or a water view room. Pre-tax, it works out to a flat $38.78 per night per room. So the discount appears to be a flat dollar amount, not a specific percentage and the percentage will vary based on the starting price for that room type: you are saving 26.84% on the standard room and 24.24% on the water view room. Not a huge difference when the room prices are so close to begin with.

But in the case of a deluxe resort, the difference in the percentage you save can be pretty large over the range of room prices from standard to water view to savannah view to concierge level. At AKL because the discount is a flat $70 regardless of room type, the discount percentage varies as follows:

standard room: 35%, pool view: 31%, savannah view: 25%, concierge: 16%.

The only reason I'm posting this is because for those who cannot get into the AP holders website to check the Best Rates discounts for themselves, I didn't want anyone to get the idea that all rooms were discounted 30%. It appears to be a flat dollar amount that is being taken off, not a fixed percentage.

 

[WannabeBelle25]

I see what you are getting at now!!! I am with ya!!! Sorry for the confusion!!! Belle

 

[Lollipop Mom]

What I have read basically says that unless the change takes your total package BELOW the cost of the previous package, the $50 change fee will be waived. Basically, as long as you are not costing Disney money in lost revenue from your plans, they won't charge you.

It is in writing for the CMs. In speaking with guest services I have now been read the details of the offer exactly as it is written for them. A change fee is only imposed if the change results in lost revenue. Those changes would be changing resorts to a less expensive resort, changing dates, removing days etc. If your changes leave the package price the same or if they increase the price, then the change fee is waived. It is spelled out very clearly in their documentation. This has been the case with the change fees for packages for a while now. There has always been a $50 fee for changes made to a pakage after final payment but they have always waived it if the change increases revenue.

You can email guest services and ask them to clarify for you but it is spelled out very clearly in the terms guest services has on their computer. I've sent several emails and have suggested the need for an FAQ on both the AP and TA websites to clarify some of these things.

 

[C.Ann]

You can email guest services and ask them to clarify for you but it is spelled out very clearly in the terms guest services has on their computer. I've sent several emails and have suggested the need for an FAQ on both the AP and TA websites to clarify some of these things.

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That's a great idea because unless the customer has it in writing, it doesn't really matter what the CM has in writing..

It's really sad to see how poorly this whole thing was put together and the hurdles that people are having to jump through just to plan a vacation at WDW.. People shouldn't have to spend hour after hour, day after day trying to use a program that was supposed to "simplify" things.. I wonder if some people will choose to use a TA to make these arrangements for them instead? Is that even possible? If so, it would probably save an awful lot of people from beating up on their computers.. LOL

 

[WannabeBelle25]

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That's a great idea because unless the customer has it in writing, it doesn't really matter what the CM has in writing..

It's really sad to see how poorly this whole thing was put together and the hurdles that people are having to jump through just to plan a vacation at WDW.. People shouldn't have to spend hour after hour, day after day trying to use a program that was supposed to "simplify" things.. I wonder if some people will choose to use a TA to make these arrangements for them instead? Is that even possible? If so, it would probably save an awful lot of people from beating up on their computers.. LOL

Thanks Lollipop Mom. As I said I have been told that as well by a CM who I know to be not only incredibly well informed but completely trustworthy. I dont doubt that 90% of the CMs that I would get would probably be OK with the minor modifications ( usually adding a person into my room or adding days) but it is the ones who didnt read the protocols I Am worried about!!
Hey C. Ann!! Thanks for the chuckle!!! I love the smiley beating up on the computer thing!! It brought a chuckle to my day. I do use a Disney Specialist Travel Agent and I know she can book me via this method so I will probably let her do so assuming I can take the leap of faith on the modification thing. Thanks again for all the great input!!! Belle

 

[DMRick]

But there have been posts by people saying they called CRO and asked if a child's pass could be used and they were told YES. So is it abuse? Or a case of poor training or not knowing what their own rules are? They should have said an adult pass is required and required to be shown at check-in.

Up until now, it had not been a rule. If you wrote to Disney's executive guest services, they said that was fine. It's a new day and new rules. Things change all the time, but I don't see where "fault" should have to come into play. The only people who know for sure why they implemented new rules, are those who decided to do it. Just like the new tickets. Apparently Disney is finally doing better, and they don't need to appease everyone..and they have decided to make changes. Just like many companies do. Some work, some don't. The jury is still out on these new rules.
You know something interesting? I am camping with some people at a rally this week. They think they are real Disney nuts...one of the couples are DVC. They didn't even know there were changes in the AP rules. Heck, after talking with them..many things we on the boards know about, they didn't I think we are a much smaller group than some think. Some know nothing about discounts, etc., and I doubt if the few that do, have the power to change what works for Disney. Disney has marketing people..and they are just always trying different marketing strategies, and if they work, they stick with them..if not, they move on.