"No expiration" option not available online

[ParentsOf4]

I was looking at tickets on the new Disneyworld website and noticed that the "no expiration" option was not offered. Thinking this simply was a problem with the new website, I contacted Disney. Disney informed me that they no longer intend to offer the "no expiration" option online. Instead, I would have to call the Disney Reservation Center for this option.

For someone who takes shorter trips to WDW, consider the following scenario:

Three visits of 3, 3, and 4 days spread out over a couple of years.

10-day ticket with the "no expiration" option: $593

3-day, 3-day, and 4-day tickets: $242 + $242 + $256 = $740

AP + 3-day ticket: $574 + $242 = $816

Is this a taste of things to come? Is this the second step? (The first step was in 2012 when Disney increased the price of the "no expiration" option by 22.2% in a single year.) Does Disney intend to completely eliminate the "no expiration" option?

If Disney intends to eliminate the "no expiration" option, I find this trend deeply disturbing. Rather than boosting sales by improving its product, Disney seems intent on eliminating anything that could even remotely be considered a value.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

An AP is great. We had WDW APs years ago. Right now, we have Universal APs but paid only $199 for them. For us, WDW's AP isn't worth it, not by a long shot. WDW's AP went up another 10% last year alone.

WDW is a lot of fun but hasn't changed much in 10 years. After you've been (for example) on Peter Pan 50 times, you start looking for other things to do. Right now, Disney isn't offering them so, for us, two days in the WDW parks on a week-long Orlando vacation is enough.

Sadly, the only thing that has changed a lot is the price.

I'm starting to worry. I "only" have 29 park days left on the set of no expiration tickets I bought in 2005. Best investment I ever made. Can you imagine getting 10-day hopper, water park, no expiration tickets today for $238? The same tickets today cost $672. The price has almost tripled in 8 years.

That's us. We let the WDW APs expire. We now have UOR APs.

 

[tirian]

Interesting... a few months ago, Disney stopped selling discounted 7, 8, and 10-day tickets to CMs. Now they're hiding the "no expiration" option from regular guests. They're raising prices and cutting discounts, and planning to push the deluxe dining plan on every single caller, from the All Stars to the Grand Floridian. Interesting.

 

[ParentsOf4]

Interesting... a few months ago, Disney stopped selling discounted 7, 8, and 10-day tickets to CMs. Now they're hiding the "no expiration" option from regular guests. They're raising prices and cutting discounts, and planning to push the deluxe dining plan on every single caller, from the All Stars to the Grand Floridian. Interesting.

The most disturbing part is these are part of a larger trend we've been seeing for the last 6-to-8 years. Slow down the rate of attraction development, cut maintenance, layoffs staff and squeeze CMs (while collecting huge bonuses), dumb down the food, genericize the merchandise, and jack up prices for a declining product. As of late, it sometimes feels WDW has lost its soul.

Brand loyalty is like a bank, the brand either makes deposits or withdrawals. For decades, WDW had been making deposits but has pretty much been doing nothing but making withdrawals lately. Disney better be careful. Their WDW account is running dangerously low.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

It wouldn't shock me if it's their intention to greatly reduce or eliminate this ticketing option. It's not just DIsney...it's become a very popular method to cut costs in a wide array of industries these days. i.e. look at which products and clients cost you rather than create a profit and find a way to eliminate, reduce, or repurpose them. Clients hate it b/c they think their business should still be qualified as valuable to the corporation...especially if they like the product and want to continue purchasing said product, but business is business and the business is looking strictly at flows and profits. In the meantime, loyal customers get the shaft but the big business churns on because they have redesigned themselves to be an even greater cash cow.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

Everyone here is whining about WDW these days being "cheap". They just opened that spectacular new Mermaid ride and now everyone is complaining that they are giving away free bracelets. Geesh. What more do you guys want?

Seriously, no one can afford to build real E-Tickets anymore. The theme park market simply can't support that kind of investment!

 

[Disneyhead'71]

Yeah, I have ridden it. That nice old octopus lady gave Ariel legs so she could kiss the prince and get married. It's a sweet ride. And it has very impressive light rigs and air conditioning ducts.

Actually, I was being sarcastic. I guess I sounded too much like Patty Melt. I should have used a smiley.

My quote is "The New Fantasyland is the Kardashians of theme park expansions. Pretty with NO substance." But we're lucky the MK didn't get the Honey Boo Boo of theme park expansions. That went in Dinoland USA over in DAK.

 

[TinkerBelle8878]

I'm starting to worry. I "only" have 29 park days left on the set of no expiration tickets I bought in 2005. Best investment I ever made. Can you imagine getting 10-day hopper, water park, no expiration tickets today for $238? The same tickets today cost $672. The price has almost tripled in 8 years.

Paging Dr. Brown...Dr. Emmet Brown...there is a huge need for your Delorean about now.

I wish I would've done that before this all changed. Back when the tickets were inclusive of park hopping and no expiration. I really think Disney would be better off going back to that. At least then the price could be a litle more but worth it. Sell them in amounts of 10 days and less. If you need more than 10 days, you buy another 10 day ticket or however many needed. They make money twice and don't off the public constantly. This was how it used to work and there never seemed to be any major upsets.

Then again, they used to also build stuff instead of retheming and big news wasn't a themed bathroom or how to track visitors by bracelet.

 

[kittybubbles]

The most disturbing part is these are part of a larger trend we've been seeing for the last 6-to-8 years. Slow down the rate of attraction development, cut maintenance, layoffs staff and squeeze CMs (while collecting huge bonuses), dumb down the food, genericize the merchandise, and jack up prices for a declining product. As of late, it sometimes feels WDW has lost its soul.

Brand loyalty is like a bank, the brand either makes deposits or withdrawals. For decades, WDW had been making deposits but has pretty much been doing nothing but making withdrawals lately. Disney better be careful. Their WDW account is running dangerously low.

I just feel compelled to provide another example of this point. I recall getting some Star Wars merch some three or four years ago during SW Weekends, I showed my pass to get a couple of pass holder shirts, after I had paid, I realized I did not get my pass holder discount. The CM had to return everything, credit my card, then ring everything up again and charge me again because I did not ask for the discount.

I do not blame the CM for it appears this is a rule at Disney (that a guest must ask for a discount). I believe this to be a rule for I noticed they will not give you the Disney Visa discount unless you ask for it...I would think that one would be automatic.

So I was wondering what they would do w/ NEXTGEN as I could not imagine them suddenly given folks automatic discounts w/o the guest requesting it. I've seen they have mentioned that pass holders should keep their paper ticket (for discounts and such) when they get their MagicBands so I wonder if APers will always get a paper ticket and a band just so WDW doesn't start given folks their discount if they do not ask for it.....

 

[Disneyhead'71]

I just feel compelled to provide another example of this point. I recall getting some Star Wars merch some three or four years ago during SW Weekends, I showed my pass to get a couple of pass holder shirts, after I had paid, I realized I did not get my pass holder discount. The CM had to return everything, credit my card, then ring everything up again and charge me again because I did not ask for the discount.

I do not blame the CM for it appears this is a rule at Disney (that a guest must ask for a discount). I believe this to be a rule for I noticed they will not give you the Disney Visa discount unless you ask for it...I would think that one would be automatic.

So I was wondering what they would do w/ NEXTGEN as I could not imagine them suddenly given folks automatic discounts w/o the guest requesting it. I've seen they have mentioned that pass holders should keep their paper ticket (for discounts and such) when they get their MagicBands so I wonder if APers will always get a paper ticket and a band just so WDW doesn't start given folks their discount if they do not ask for it.....

Heaven forbid you get the promised discount without demanding it verbally. I am sure the NextGen system has you tagged as an active AP holder. But I bet to get the discount you not only have to say you are an AP holder but produce the paper ticket as well. Then hold your hands above your head in a representation of Mouse Ears and ask for the discount in a gender specific Mickey or Minnie voice. Except during Gay Week in which either will do.

 

[Pusta100]

This option is still available on-line. If you go to the “old” Disney website (not My Disney Experience) you can still add the no-expiration option (http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/) Click on price my vacation and select tickets.

You also can still add this option through AAA and other travel agents.

It just so happens my parents are at the Magic Kingdom today, and I had them ask guest service and the people at the ticket center about this. According to both people they spoke with this option is not going away. Take it as you will, however I suggest we wait and see what happens before we yell fire.

 

[Pusta100]

Thanks for the information. CMs at Guests Services typically would not know of any policy change until it was about to take effect. I don't want to get into specifics but several on these threads have been burned by information given by Guests Services. IMHO, the Guests Services CMs were not intentionally misleading these folks. Instead, they simply were unaware of upcoming changes.

As stated in my OP, I contacted Disney directly and was told that removal of the "No Expiration" option was intentional, not an oversight. At a minimum, this represents an attempt to de-emphasize the "No Expiration" option.

WDW is one of the few amusement parks in the world that sell a "No Expiration" ticket. The ticket is a holdover from WDW's first couple of decades when tickets automatically included the "No Expiration" option. If they are eliminated, it would make WDW no different than other amusement parks. And that represents the problem today at WDW. Rather than try to excel, rather than try to bring on its A game, WDW instead lowers its standards to see what it can get away with.

TDO is more focused on eliminating anything that could remotely be considered a good value than with improving its product. It's a very sad state of affairs and I wish TDO would care about WDW as much as they seem to care about squeezing pennies from their customers.

If you intend to visit WDW in short 2 or 3 day trips spread out over a few years, I would not wait too long to purchase your 10-day "No Expiration" tickets. Disney raised this ticket price 9.3% last year. The price increase coupled with the elimination of the option from the new WDW website suggests one would be a wise to purchase these tickets now.

I don’t want to sound rude, but who did you contact at Disney? Wouldn't it have been the same guest services? I think the best idea is to still will just have to see what happens. Like I said, you can still buy the option on-line on the “old” site. If it’s like you heard that they intentionally removed the option on-line, but the option is still available then I don’t see this as a big deal. You can still add it over the phone, or at the ticket centers. At the end of the day, it will be up to the person buying the tickets to make sure they do their homework.

At the end of the day, Disney is a company (must to the dismay of all of us fan boys). Like the goal of any company, their objective is making the greatest profit possible. They are probably counting on people buying tickets and not realizing that they expire 14 days after use. Now I do not agree with all of the moves TDO makes, and I really would like them to invest in the parks. Now there are two ways to change this. The first would be management change (hopefully the recent changes will be positive for the parks). The second would be to hurt the bottom line by people stop going to the parks.

 

[ParentsOf4]

At the end of the day, Disney is a company (must to the dismay of all of us fan boys). Like the goal of any company, their objective is making the greatest profit possible. They are probably counting on people buying tickets and not realizing that they expire 14 days after use. Now I do not agree with all of the moves TDO makes, and I really would like them to invest in the parks. Now there are two ways to change this. The first would be management change (hopefully the recent changes will be positive for the parks). The second would be to hurt the bottom line by people stop going to the parks.

Think of it this way. Companies typically consolidate product lines because inventory is expensive. This is not true for WDW ticket options. Ticket options are not inventory. No warehouse is storing stacks of "No Expiration" tickets. From Disney's perspective, they exist only in a computer somewhere and are essentially free.

TDO's business model for the last several years seems to be focused on eliminating anything that could be considered a bargain. TDO has focused on closing gaps in it pricing structure, rather than looking to improve sales by improving its product.

For someone who likes to visit WDW in small 2 or 3 day increments, the "No Expiration" price increases along with, at a minimum, WDW trying to hide "No Expiration" tickets from customers, suggests TDO is more focused on eliminating anything that could be considered a "value".

TDO is better served as a business by offering its customers products that appeal to them. By intentionally removing the no-cost (from Disney's perspective) "No Expiration" option from the new website, Disney doing nothing to reduce inventory while simultaneously driving away customers who prefer that option. It's bad business.

As I posted here:

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/...ions-and-opinions.857322/page-16#post-5250247

TDO continues to search for finance-based solutions to its problems, rather than look for innovation-based solutions. In doing so, TDO is slowly killing the goose that laid the Golden Egg.

 

[Master Yoda]

I spoke with a friend of mine who is employed by a certain mouse on this subject. Disney has no plans of removing the no expiration option. The reason for its removal from the web site is far less nefarious than we imagined. Apparently Disney has had to deal with an onslaught of guests who were buying tickets and packages online that were selecting the no expiration option that did not need it. Basically the scenario was a guest was going for 7 days, getting a 7 day ticket and for whatever reason, selected the no expiration option as well. When they got to the parks and realized that they did not need no expiration option, they wanted their money back for it.

This is the reason that they yanked the option from the website. You can still add no expiration to any ticket at the parks or guest services, or if you are reserving a vacation over the phone where the CM can make sure you actually need it.

 

[Pusta100]

Think of it this way. Companies typically consolidate product lines because inventory is expensive. This is not true for WDW ticket options. Ticket options are not inventory. No warehouse is storing stacks of "No Expiration" tickets. From Disney's perspective, they exist only in a computer somewhere and are essentially free.

TDO's business model for the last several years seems to be focused on eliminating anything that could be considered a bargain. TDO has focused on closing gaps in it pricing structure, rather than looking to improve sales by improving its product.

For someone who likes to visit WDW in small 2 or 3 day increments, the "No Expiration" price increases along with, at a minimum, WDW trying to hide "No Expiration" tickets from customers, suggests TDO is more focused on eliminating anything that could be considered a "value".

TDO is better served as a business by offering its customers products that appeal to them. By intentionally removing the no-cost (from Disney's perspective) "No Expiration" option from the new website, Disney doing nothing to reduce inventory while simultaneously driving away customers who prefer that option. It's bad business.

As I posted here:

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/...ions-and-opinions.857322/page-16#post-5250247

TDO continues to search for finance-based solutions to its problems, rather than look for innovation-based solutions. In doing so, TDO is slowly killing the goose that laid the Golden Egg.

As of right now they are not removing the no expiration option, it can still be added via the website, over the phone, at the ticket booths, AAA and other travel agents. While I do not agree them trying to hide it (I agree with you, they should be pushing it since most parks done have it). At the end of the day I think an informed traveler can find it and add it to their tickets. Like any other major purchase a little homework is always required on the buyers end.

I agree with you 100% that TDO needs to improve their product (the parks). There are 4 parks in Orlando which have been neglected for so long that they now run into the problem that all of them are in need of upgrades or expansions. You add this to the massive purchase of Marvel and Star Wars and now Disney has to find a way to cut costs while improving their product. The upcoming layoffs are one example of this, they now have so many studio personal and they are going to cut cost by laying-off the redundant personal. Unfortunately, this is often the case during large mergers. However as you said over the last several years, it has seem like TDO has only cut cost and add no real value to their product. They appear to be living off their reputation and nothing else. This is where I hope the new management comes in and invest heavily into the parks. If we look at what was done in California, then we have reason to be hopeful. However until the TDO's bottom line is hurt, we may never see the change we all want.

 

[drp4video]

I used to buy AP's and go two to three times a year. As my daughter got older, school interfered lol, and that stopped being an option. The 10 day non-expiration hopper became my pass of choice. My trips were not shorter, I still went for a week to ten days, but I only went to the parks 3 or 4 days per trip. This allowed me to use the pass for three years. And even though I was not in the parks everyday, I was still spending money on disney hotels for 7-9 nights, disney food, water parks, gifts, DTD, etc...If they eliminate the non-expiration, I am not sure I would continue to go on a yearly basis.

 

[penguin221]

I have found out and confirmed on the Disney World web site that Disney is no longer offering the no expire ticket option.

 

[doctornick]

It's just not offered on the website, but it still offered at the parks (and by phone)

 

[openendedsky]

At that rate, might as well just get an Annual Pass and enjoy the (few) discounts that AP holders get!

Pretty much, yeah. I think afterwards I'm actually paying less than that because I'm getting a discount as a Florida resident.

 

[Goofnut1980]

Why don't they just make the ticket not expire.. Let us buy a 10 day ticket and use it when we wanted.. oh the good ol days

 

[twinnstar]

I understand your point, and I realize you are trying to apply reason to what WDW is doing, and not necessarily endorsing it. But...

Isn't it more likely that Disney will be turning those 2-4 day guests into 0 day guests, rather then turning them into 7 day guests?

this is so true. i am going on a weekend trip soon, and i almost am like...what is the point. its costing me almost as much as if i would stay for 5 days. but the reason im taking a weekend trip is cause thats all i can take. now for me, im insane...so ill do it hahaha. but im sure there are tons of people who would be turned off by that, actually most people i assume. and also, if weekend trips were cheaper, i would take MORE of them, and probably end up spending more $. but, alas...