Can any Disney travel agents tell me what to do?

[kershnic]

Summary: I freaked out, but all is fine.

We're going to Disney World in June with my in-laws.  My in-laws booked the resort/dining/tickets package through a AAA travel agent, despite my desperate pleas for them to use an actual Disney travel agent.  They booked it sometime in mid-2018, so well before the change to the dated tickets.  We contacted the agent in January 2019 and asked about the published sale that included our dates of travel.  She said no problem, and applied the sale.  Our park tickets are 5 day park hopper plus tickets.  

Well, fast forward to today, and we're preparing to book our FPs on Tuesday.  I noticed in MDE that our tickets are listed as valid from date through Date. We're at Disney from Dates, and are NOT planning to use the park tickets exclusively on the dates listed.  We are not planning parks on our arrival day, we have a rest day planned, and we're supposed to be able to actually use the PLUS part of the park hopper plus.  

I contacted Disney and they were zero help, and said that I should contact my travel agent to upgrade to the tickets that are valid anytime before the end of 2020.  I haven't actually looked at that yet, but I assume it's a big price difference.  I feel pretty strongly that our travel agent messed up big time.  Of course also this travel agent is a pain in the ass to reach and doesn't do anything fast...so the chances that we can book our FPs bright and early on Tuesday morning are not looking good.  My mood: livid.  

Can anyone advise on how I should handle this?

ETA: Welp, Disney says all I can do is wait until this AAA travel agent opens on Monday, and then hope that this person can actually understand my question and fix it before my FP window on Tuesday.  That's just fabulous.  Disney says they cannot verify what tickets AAA sold us, which would impact which days they're valid for, which is absolutely insane to me.  

[Deleted]

5 day park tickets should expire 8 days after the start day (probably your check in day I would guess if you didn’t specify). They shouldn’t only be valid 5 days.

[kershnic]

Apr 6, 2019 21:22:25 GMT -5 @lindy said:

5 day park tickets should expire 8 days after the start day (probably your check in day I would guess if you didn’t specify). They shouldn’t only be valid 5 days.

Thanks...this is what I'm seeing online too, and what the Disney person I'm on hold with says... but My Disney Experience clearly lists it as a 5 day validity period.  UGH.  

[TamiTaylor]

It should be a range of time from date of first use of the tickets. It should not be 5 straight days of validity. Disney is correct that you will have to deal with AAA because they can only see what is booked through them or through an authorized Disney travel agency. Places like AAA and Costco are authorized to sale but it’s viewed more like a 3rd Party.

Do you happen to have/know the exact wording AAA is using for your tickets?

[kershnic]

Apr 7, 2019 9:27:16 GMT -5 TamiTaylor said:

It should be a range of time from date of first use of the tickets. It should not be 5 straight days of validity. Disney is correct that you will have to deal with AAA because they can only see what is booked through them or through an authorized Disney travel agency. Places like AAA and Costco are authorized to sale but it’s viewed more like a 3rd Party.

Do you happen to have/know the exact wording AAA is using for your tickets?

.

Thanks for your reply. I am never going on a trip booked by a travel agent who doesn’t specialize in what I’m doing again. 😡

It turns out our tickets are fine, and we were able to get our FP with no problem. The validity window display was a web development issue on Disney’s end due to our split stay resort reservation. But our tickets actually have the proper 9 days of validity.

Our travel agent is obnoxious and told us the wrong information (that tickets are valid 14 days and that we would have to book FP separately for each hotel stay). But we called Disney again and were able to speak to a supervisor who sorted out what was going on and gave us the right information.

[ribollita]

Apr 9, 2019 10:44:43 GMT -5 kershnic said:

Apr 7, 2019 9:27:16 GMT -5 TamiTaylor said:

It should be a range of time from date of first use of the tickets. It should not be 5 straight days of validity. Disney is correct that you will have to deal with AAA because they can only see what is booked through them or through an authorized Disney travel agency. Places like AAA and Costco are authorized to sale but it’s viewed more like a 3rd Party.

Do you happen to have/know the exact wording AAA is using for your tickets?

.

Thanks for your reply. I am never going on a trip booked by a travel agent who doesn’t specialize in what I’m doing again. 😡

It turns out our tickets are fine, and we were able to get our FP with no problem. The validity window display was a web development issue on Disney’s end due to our split stay resort reservation. But our tickets actually have the proper 9 days of validity.

Our travel agent is obnoxious and told us the wrong information (that tickets are valid 14 days and that we would have to book FP separately for each hotel stay). But we called Disney again and were able to speak to a supervisor who sorted out what was going on and gave us the right information.

Sorry you went through all that. Not to defend your TA but I have never used one (Disney or otherwise) yet been frustrated by Disney’s pathetic IT and customer service giving mixed messages. Split stays are always wonky, too IME. Glad it’s figured out and you got your FP!

[bronxgirl]

That sounds so frustrating. I'm glad it got sorted out. have a great trip! your girls are going to love it.