100 Extra Days on Yearly Pass

[Kath816]

Hi, I'm looking for someone who has info on whether or not Disney is adding
on 100 extra days to the yearly pass. I saw a little blurb about this mentioned
on the DVC Board, where I spend most of my time. Then there was nothing
else mentioned. Is this for out of state residents also? Can it be purchased in
a Disney store since the offer ends on 12/31 (so I hear)?
Any info would be greatly appreciated since dh and I are celebrating out 25th
there in the beginning of January.

 

[Werner Weiss]

Florida residents only.

 

[Snowgod]

Person on DVC thread was from New Jersey.

 

[Kath816]

That's correct, the person was from NJ. That's why I asked, because
of conflicting information and I don't want to miss a good deal, if
possible! Thank you for the posts!

 

[Disneycrazymom]

We just bought ours 11/24 at Epcot and did not get the extra days. I wish we had but we will enjoy the time we have.

 

[Werner Weiss]

I even asked for the 100 extra days when I bought our annual passes at the International Gateway in November. "Sorry," I was told, "only for Florida residents." Illinois and Florida may both be long, skinny states, but that doesn't count.

 

[DebbieB]

It also has to be activated by 12/31, not just purchased.

 

[Kath816]

Thank you all for your replies. I figured that it was worth
a shot to ask, and I knew you all would have the answer,
even if it wasn't the one I wantd to hear!

 

[fklhou]

According to someone on the resorts board, they ask the CM why was the 100 days limited to Florida residents and told the CM that this was not fair. The CM took the APs back and added a 100 days to them. Has anyone heard of this happening before?

Maybe Disney is trying to keep the customers happy and a 100 days may have been a cheap price to pay for customer relations.

 

[CLC]

We were at Disney and one cast member at member services told us the 100 days was for all renewals. When we actually went to pay however, it didn't come up in the computer as being eligible-cast member checked and in fact it is only for Florida residents. Although we tried with a few cast members to get the 100 days added they were pretty strict about only being able to do it for Florida residents-the computer wouldn't even accept adding the 100 days [she tried]. I don't think the 100 days is generally added even if you complaign about the inequity between those of us that need to travel far [and spend money on hotels, food, stuff] and those that can go home at night.

 

[Quentin Disney]

Not to really play the role of the villian, but I have read various posts concerning if this deal is for residents outside the state of Florida. Can we please stop trying to cheat the rules? This deal is for for Florida passholder renewals only. Unless Disney decides to change that fact, I do not think it its reasonable to ask the people at guest services to do this type of thing.

Once again, its for residents of Florida. End of story.

 

[Kath816]

Hey, wait a minute! Who said anything about trying to cheat the
rules? This was a simple question. We know how things change as
you talk to different CMs or go to different Disney stores!
Besides, dh qualifies to get into Unversal through their "Hero" program,
so we'll spend a day there, and who lost our pass $ for the day --
Disney!
Now, that's the end of the story!

 

[CLC]

Just to clarify-we did not ask anybody to cheat on any rules. We did not know the rules but decided to ask while we were at Disney [we knew we read something about it but didn't know details]. The first information that we were given by the first cast member indicated that it was for everyone which is why we then tried to purchase the pass at that time. It appears to be confusing as even the cast member was unsure and surprised when it didn't go through-only after checking with other cast members and a manager did she conclude it was for Florida residents only. The reason we tried with a few cast members [in conjunction WITH the original cast member] was because we received different anwers from each one we talked with-both yes's and no's but nobody seemed sure. It took several cast members and a lot of checking to determine the final answer.

Although I personally feel it would benefit everyone to entice out-of-staters to continue to put Disney at the top of their list [we are unsure at this time whether we will renew our passes or not-the extra 100 days would have enticed us] I would not feel comfortable about receiving any 'deal' that was outside of the defined parameters set by Disney. However, determining what the deal should be even if it requires the involvement of several cast members who also are unsure is something that I feel is within ethical boundries.

 

[WorknFires]

I disagree Quentin. Someone was trying to obtain the information in order to ask an intelligent question. Every teacher that I've ever had always said the same thing, "The only dumb question is one that you didn't ask." And IMHO, any question that involves $$$ that you didn't ask makes you that much dumber. Most of us wouldn't know about specials and discounts if it wasn't for the informed people (who ask those questions) on these boards including yourself. And I'm sure it's not a big surprise to you that different CM's give different answers to the same questions (remember the big debate over the refillable mugs?) so without asking multiple CM's, you might miss out on a good deal.

PS. Quentin: I'm glad to see Minnie back in your signature.

PPS to Kath: I, too, qualify for the deal at Universal and plan to spend at least 2 of my days (and probably a good bit of money) at USF & IOA. I've NEVER gone to Orlando to do anything other than WDW. But this is a deal that I can't pass up. Oh... and where did I learn of the Hero's deal??? Why right here, on these boards. Thanks everyone!

Cheryl

 

[fklhou]

Quintin

No one is trying to cheat Disney by asking for this discount. Some people do not think that it is fair for Disney to favor locals over out of town visitors and they have the right to complain to Disney if they think that this policy is unfair and if as a result of this, a CM bends the rule, that is a tacit admission that atleast some CMs think that the policy is unfair also.

 

[raidermatt]

If a CM has been given the ability to give you something, it is NOT cheating if they choose to do so. If they haven't been given the true authority, but do it anyway, THEY are not following procedures, but again, you are not cheating.

Cheating would be jumping the counter and adding a 100 days when they weren't looking.

 

[Sarangel]

Gently, gently... I think we are all in agreement that it isn't polite to try and cheat the company out of 'extras,' but I don't think anyone here has knowingly tried to do so.

Remember that Disney does choose to give things out to guests (room upgrades come to mind) whom they a) feel deserve something special, b) like or c) feel the need to compensate, there's no stigma in seeing if you fall into one of these categories.

Sarangel

 

[Quentin Disney]

O.K. due to a CM's lack of knowledge with the current AP deals, it is O.K. to get an extra 100 days? I guess I'm not totally clear on that, right?

To be very, very, very honest, I believe that even with the discounts and what not, Florida APers, particularly those that live within a day's drive or less to the resort are kind of down on the totem pole of WDW visitors. It's obvious that the company and some local businesses could care less about the locals. Whenever someone finds out that there is a new discount available for Fla residents, someone who is not from the state of Florida is always going to be interested in trying to get it on these boards. This really frustrates and angers me.

So what rant I said above had to do with 100 extra days on a pass? It's really tough for me to express my opinion on a matter that most out-of-town visitors don't think about. What I'm talking about is locals vs. tourists. No doubt about it, the tourists outnumber us locals compared to out west at DLR. but what is the exact amount? (The Orlando "Slant" inel failed to give us that information in the wonderful "More Locals go to Disneyland than Disney World article. I say "wonderful" in an unflattering way.)

Being an AP since I came down to Fla in August 2000, I am now beginning to feel that being an Annual Passholder sometimes has its drawbacks. It's not drawbacks like the fact you can't enter the park one hour early (before they got rid of that), its drawbacks like being called a "Cast Member" when its @*%#ing obvious you have a lanyard that clearly says "ANNUAL PASSHOLDER" on it, or countless "Do you Work here?" from various tourists. I get this crap when I'm just wearing a regular WDW t-shirt for cryin out loud!. Its also the envy that there are not many people "like me", especially near UCF. Sure, they may work there, but do they truly enjoy the resort like a true Disney fan , or do they treat it as another job.

Once again, I have gone off topic in this thread somewhat, and I need to take a deep breath. Period.

 

[fklhou]

Quentin

There are also some of us who feel that Disney is not paying proper attention to out of town visitors and is favoring locals. A couple of examples are the elimination of EE, the 100 extra days on APs for locals and the fact that Who Wants to be a Millionaire rules now favor locals greatly over visitors. It is perfectly legal and moral to tell Disney that you do not like the way that your group is being treated. How Disney responds to such criticism is up to Disney.

As to local vs. out of town visitors, you have to look at the economics of WDW. WDW is heavily dependant on out of town visitors and would not exist except for the tourists and out of town visitors. In other words, the Orlando and Central Florida market could not support WDW as an enterprise without the current base of out of town visitors. Recent history has supported this with the drop off in tourist revenues have a severe impact on WDW's financial preformance. Revenue from local visitiors is, in economic terms, incremental income that is nice but without the out of towners staying at WDW resorts, WDW is not financially viable. It is for this reason, we out of towners do not necessarily agree with special treatment for locals. You are entitled to your viewpoint but please understand that out of towners have a different viewpoint.

 

[raidermatt]

Quentin- With all due respect, I'd be fine with being asked if I was a CM in exchange for 100 extra days or a discount.

I am an out of towner, but will be purchasing an annual pass this year, since we are making a two week DVC trip in May/June. My guess is that if I'm asked at the gate if I'm a CM, my answer is no. And unless I'm missing something, I'll be putting my pass away, and not wearing it around my neck all day.

I've also worn Disney shirts at WDW and DL, but have never been asked if I'm an employee, but maybe I don't look like the CM type...

Early Entry was for resort guests, regardless of where the guest lived. Not discriminatory at all.

As fklhou said, you are entitled to your opinion. Its just that I'm still trying to figure out what advantage I get for not living in Florida...