Originally Posted By 626mom4nick Has anyone tried free on your birthday ticket yet? I had a friend who took her son the first week of January. It was a nightmare. The cast member was trying to make them pay cash for the remainder of the tickets they were purchasing. When she refused they allowed her to move to the next line who had a lady with the same problem who said she would not have enough cash for lunch with her daughter. That castmember told the lady well you could alway charge your lunch. If that was the case why did they resist allowing the other tickets to be charged? My friend insisted the next window allow her to charge and they finally relented at a different window but they originally asked her to go to the end of the hour long line again if she wanted to charge. I was just wondering if anyone else had the same experience. I wonder if this policy will continue, all I can say is buy everyone else in your parties tickets ahead of time or split up in line if you are bringing a birthday guest.
Originally Posted By ABBY Wow, that sounds insane. ???? What was their reasoning behind not allowing them to charge ??? I would never dream I couldn't charge the balance of my tickets. I would have the same problem as I carry very little cash with me - I use my rewards card for everything. I'm sorry your friend had such a frustrating experience.
Originally Posted By llanatoye A lady I work with went on her birthday, January 1st. The only glictch was with the 'gift' card they gave her. She's an AP so chose $$'s as her option as an AP. When she went to use the card it wouldn't work. Finally the CM behind the register told her she would have to go to guest relations and have them straighten it out. Other than being slightly embarrassed (the people in line behind her were giving her the 'look') everything else went as planned and she had a great day at the park. Hopefully by the time my birthday rolls around all the glitches will have been worked out and since I've never had a bad day at Disneyland, it'll all be good.
Originally Posted By lawdawg I'm gonna try it on Thursday. It is my son's b-day and he is a pass holder. I give a brief report
Originally Posted By Tanyaj111 I was there on my birthday, January 1st. I am an AP holder so I opted for the fun card and my friend was with me and she wanted to buy an annual pass. We had to go to another window to buy the pass because for some strange reason there systems will not allow you to get a free ticket or a fun card then charge in the next transaction. Makes no sense but that was what we were told. So if you have to buy tickets and you are getting a free pass or fun card plan for this. You do not have to get back in line. They had us go to the next window.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros So whoever the random folks were that were behind you guys in line had to pay cash? That doesn't seem right. Most people I know wouldn't carry enough cash to buy multiple park tickets at a moment's notice. There's just something fishy about this whole process...
Originally Posted By cheesybaby I also went on my birthday, January 1. I am an AP holder so I got the Fun Card also. When I tried to redeem the Fun Card it took 3 cast members (the last one a manager called from another part of the park) and more than 30 minutes - seems the Fun Card could not be "authorized" no matter who the manager called or what system she used. After >30 minutes of profuse apologies, the very nice manager finally apologized again and gave me $69 credit withOUT getting the card authorized, saying they would clear everything up later and I didn't need to be inconvenienced any further. The cast members smiled when I first approached the counter, saying I would be their "guinea pig" with the Fun Card. The smiles didn't last long, and it was obvious the 3 cast members had not been trained or prepared for any of this - they told me (we had plenty of time to chat) that they had been given less than one week of warning/training about the Fun Cards. Another family member has a birthday this weekend - hopefully all the problems have been ironed out.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros That's strange. You'd think that they could just have a stack of gift cards sitting there, and they could put $69 on them, like how they do whatever ammount you want when you buy them. I wonder why they are causing so many problems when they already have a similar (except for that whole working thing) system in place. Also, does anybody know what the regular tickets look like? I'm assuming they are no longer using the blue ones with the characters in YOAMD outfits that say Year of One Million Dreams on them. I really liked the ones they had for the first part of the 50th (old attraction posters), but the rest since then have all been fairly forgetable. I'm assuming the new ones probably have balloons and confetti on them...
Originally Posted By Pixie Glitter So the "fun card" is worth $69? Were there any restrictions on which merchandise you could buy or where you could buy it (like only certain locations within the park)? When I read about it on Disney's website, they said something about the fun card being used only for certain merchandise. I'd love some info on how restrictive (if at all) those shopping cards are.
Originally Posted By Darkbeer The Merchandise restrictions are basically for NON-Disney third party vendors, such as the Crystal Shops (which are leaving the parks), the Art Stands, Jewel of Orleans, etc. Some collectibles might also be void. Basically the same restrictions that the Premium AP holders have on their 10% discount on merchandise, The vast majority of stuff in the park is eligible.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros Is this a DLR-only card, or does it work in other Disney places too? I'm planning a trip to WDW right after my birthday, and it sure would be nive to have an extra $69 to spend there...
Originally Posted By gottaluvdavillains I do believe Darkbeer mentioned before - it wasn't good on food either.
Originally Posted By Hats and Wands >>The Merchandise restrictions are basically for NON-Disney third party vendors, such as the Crystal Shops (which are leaving the parks),<< Darkbeer - are you talking the crystal cubes with the pictures or Arribas Brothers???
Originally Posted By MerryMouseWife It can't be spent on food? How ridiculous! If one is an AP holder, the liklihood that one needs any of the souvenirs sold in the park is pretty slim. However, because one is an AP holder, one would still need to eat at the park. So it would seem sensible to use the card to pay for food. I guess one could spend it on gifts, but that seems a pretty low thing to spend one's birthday money (so to speak) on buying a souvenir for someone else.
Originally Posted By gottaluvdavillains I think the idea is to actually buy your self a gift. I agree it should be able to be used for whatever you want.
Originally Posted By MerryMouseWife Right, but really, if one is a AP, then how likely is it that one WANTS anything in the park? One would not need to remember a trip with a souvenir, mug, or other such item. Maybe a sweatshirt, but even that might not take up the entire card amount. In addition, it is like Aunt Martha giving one money and then telling the recipient how they can spend it. A gift is a gift. The person who gets admission free is not told what attractions they can visit and what attractions they cannot visit. It is a gift. Period. So also should the gift cards be without strings.
Originally Posted By cheesybaby But that's the thing - it is NOT a gift. It is a global marketing juggernaut. It is supposed to increase revenue, not give away free money.
Originally Posted By gottaluvdavillains That may be true - but it's up to Disney to decide how they chose to run this. Here is the link to all the rules - <a href="http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/disneyparks/en_US/index?name=BirthdayFunCardPage" target="_blank">http://disneyparks.disney.go.c...CardPage</a>
