Picking up tickets early..

[DisneyBoundinDec]

Hello all.. I read the above thread about being able to pick up tickets early but was wondering if anyone has actually done this.

I just got off the phone with a CM asking about booking a clients trip during free dining. However, she is arriving 2 days before free dining starts.. so the 1st 2 days would be a room only and then days 3-7 would be under the free dining..

NOW, I read up above that she would be able to go pick up her tickets attached to the free dining reservation early.. but the CM on the phone told me that she has never heard of that happening.. she said she suppose the front desk could do that but its not a guarantee..

has anyone actually done this???

thanks!!!

 

[Rach78]

I had the same situation occur recently and to cut a loooonnngggg story short I spoke to Guest Relations who said that you can pick up your tickets up to three days before a package starts. It doesn't seem to be a widely advertised thing but definitely can be done. I think that they told my husband that you needed a barcode that you can get closer to the time from one of the documents but I can check this. It is possibly best to speak to someone from guest relations yourself as before I was put through there several people on the phone told me it couldn't be done.
Rach x

 

[stargazertechie]

1) The people on the phone don't know what they're talking about 90% of the time
2) You can pick tickets up UP TO 3 days early. This has been confirmed by a ticketing cast member (CF) who posts here. Just make sure to have your package confirmation number with you. They can be picked up at any guest relations location on property.

 

[DisneyBoundinDec]

Thank you!
And I knew I should trust the DIS over a CM!

 

[siskaren]

Check post #15 in the sticky in this forum titled "Everything About WDW Tickets."

 

[momof2chipmunks]

I am hoping that someone, like Cheshire Figment, can verify just how EARLY tickets can be picked up. I always thought it was three days prior to the start of the package. However, someone posted on a different thread that they were just told by a CM that it has changed and now tickets can only be picked up 24 hours prior to the package start. Can anyone please verify the time frame? I am hoping this is just a case of a misinformed CM!!!

 

[stargazertechie]

I am hoping that someone, like Cheshire Figment, can verify just how EARLY tickets can be picked up. I always thought it was three days prior to the start of the package. However, someone posted on a different thread that they were just told by a CM that it has changed and now tickets can only be picked up 24 hours prior to the package start. Can anyone please verify the time frame? I am hoping this is just a case of a misinformed CM!!!

Unless this change came with the new upgrade rules, it's 3 days.

 

[Robo]

I am hoping that someone, like Cheshire Figment, can verify just how EARLY tickets can be picked up. I always thought it was three days prior to the start of the package. However, someone posted on a different thread that they were just told by a CM that it has changed and now tickets can only be picked up 24 hours prior to the package start. Can anyone please verify the time frame? I am hoping this is just a case of a misinformed CM!!!

There has been no change mentioned about this.

Anything is possible, of course, but it is far more likely that you talked to an uninformed CM
than that this established policy has actually changed in the last 24 hours.

 

[DisneyBoundinDec]

Check post #15 in the sticky in this forum titled "Everything About WDW Tickets."

thank you.. I did.. but I just wanted to double sure! As I know, CM's are the most reliable!!

Thank you again everyone!

 

[PhoenixStrength]

I am hoping that someone, like Cheshire Figment, can verify just how EARLY tickets can be picked up. I always thought it was three days prior to the start of the package. However, someone posted on a different thread that they were just told by a CM that it has changed and now tickets can only be picked up 24 hours prior to the package start. Can anyone please verify the time frame? I am hoping this is just a case of a misinformed CM!!!

I was the one that posted that on the Free Dining thread! I spoke to a manager at Reservations about another issue with my reservation after I posted that and was told that effective today all phone CMs were given a memo to tell everyone that calls that you can now only pick up your tickets the DAY OF your reservation, after 7am. He said you can no longer pick them up early. Now, who knows if this is true since a different CM told me 20 minutes before that you could get them 24 hours before.

 

[momof2chipmunks]

PheonixStrength. I am really doubting this is true. The Ticketing CM on Disboards is always very quick to share update/changes in policy. In fact, he just added more information to his ticket upgrade thread this morning. If the above were indeed true, I think we would have heard from him by now. I'm still going into my vacation expecting to be able to pick up my tickets early. I've done it before and the CM I talked with this morning didn't argue with me when I told her I was planning to do it again.

 

[mom2rtk]

I added free dining to my reservation today, which required splitting off one room-only day at the beginning of our trip. I did my homework and printed CF's instructions on where the CM can find the info in the CM computer system.

I did find it amusing though that when I did this today, the CM made a point (unprompted) to tell me I cannot get my tickets early. Sure..... whatever. I didn't argue the point. But I'm fairly certain she was just uninformed.

 

[PhoenixStrength]

PheonixStrength. I am really doubting this is true. The Ticketing CM on Disboards is always very quick to share update/changes in policy. In fact, he just added more information to his ticket upgrade thread this morning. If the above were indeed true, I think we would have heard from him by now. I'm still going into my vacation expecting to be able to pick up my tickets early. I've done it before and the CM I talked with this morning didn't argue with me when I told her I was planning to do it again.

Good luck, I hope you are right. All I know is that I was told not to put all my tickets on the later reservation because I could not get them until that day and I would be without tickets the first 3 days.

ETA: I agree that they definitely could be wrong, seeing how these are the same CMs that tell everyone you cannot get into MNSSHP and MVMCP until 7pm, not 4pm.

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

I was told last week on the phone, in no uncertain terms, that I couldn't get tickets early, so I e-mailed guest relations yesterday. They left me a voicemail today (wow!) telling me that i could get them up to 4 days early, but to be careful because if I needed to make any changes to reservations/tickets, I needed to make them at least 2 days in advance of the time I do the pickup.

 

[stitch34]

This is what is stressing me out trying to decide which deal to do... free dining or switch to AP rate.
We have done early ticket pickup before - and there was no issues with it at all.
But policies change, and my fear is between now and when our trip starts that a policy will change and we will be ticketless!
Arriving Nov 24th... Free dining package starts the 27th.

Family of four... and paying for 2-day tickets for four of us... when in reality, we will only be using 2 of those (the other two will be held onto till July of 2012 and July of 2013 for my AP renewals those years)

Still can't beat the FD price... but am tempted to just book AP rate instead so don't have to worry about WHAT IF they don't let me do early ticket pickup.

Deluxe dining 5 nights, standard room CBR:

FD is $2,013 with four 2-day tickets (2 we don't need)
AP is $1974... (which is $1,660 plus the cost I figured in of two 2-day tickets that we do need for twins)

Pretty much the same.... but for price of FD I am getting two more 2-day tickets..... but not sure if should bother if just don't have need for them, and then worry about early ticket pickup. And then who knows what next deal will be otu for next trip and get sucked into MORE tickets with a package.

ok, sorry for rambling... am sleep deprived!

 

[momof2chipmunks]

I was told last week on the phone, in no uncertain terms, that I couldn't get tickets early, so I e-mailed guest relations yesterday. They left me a voicemail today (wow!) telling me that i could get them up to 4 days early, but to be careful because if I needed to make any changes to reservations/tickets, I needed to make them at least 2 days in advance of the time I do the pickup.

Stitch34. I would definitely NOT worry about it now. JustCallMeMommy just had confirmation from Guest Relations TODAY that early ticket pick up is still possible and you booked your package under the current policy. This seals the deal for me as Guest relations is the party responsible for issuing early tickets. If they say you can do it...you can do it

 

[stitch34]

Stitch34. I would definitely NOT worry about it now. JustCallMeMommy just had confirmation from Guest Relations TODAY that early ticket pick up is still possible and you booked your package under the current policy. This seals the deal for me as Guest relations is the party responsible for issuing early tickets. If they say you can do it...you can do it

That's a good way to look at it... if booked with it being the current policy at the time of booking, it should still be an honored request to do so even if policy changed between now and then.

 

[luvallprincesses]

To speak from experience...in 2009 we took advantage of the exact same free dining incentive as we just today booked for this year for the same exact time frame. We arrived on the day after Thanksgiving, had a room-only reservation for Fri and Sat (not free dining dates) and then had a package with tickets and free dining beginning on Sunday. We are doing the EXACT same thing this year. In 2009, when we checked in on Friday, we were given not only our park tickets and room key on the same card but also free dining for every night beginning that moment instead of having to wait until Sunday. It was supposed to be difficult, and I thought we would have to return to check in again on Sunday - and NONE of that happened. I am optimistic that this will happen again, but won't hold my breath. Be prepared for the worst case scenario, but don't fret about it. I worried for the worst and the CM thought I was crazy expecting to be inconvenienced by coming extra days and therefore spending more money on property! Be sure your reservations are linked together via a note in their system.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

When you call Walt Disney World, unless you really know a direct number, you will get one of two offices.

The Disney Reservations Center (DRC) includes Walt Disney Travel Company (WDTC), Central Reservations Office (CRO), Disney Dining, and some other lesser known information lines. To the best of my knowledge the DRC locations are in the International Drive area, Tampa, Houston, Salt Lake City and somewhere in North Carolina. There may be more. Some of the people working at the DRC call centers may never have been to either WDW or DL (or both).

The Main Switchboard (407-824-2222) is also where all calls to Disney Resorts go if you are dialing the phone number on the back of your reservations form. Also that is where calls go if you dial the Operator from your room, and possibly even calls to the Front Desk. The Main Switchboard people will, if asked, also identify themselves as Guest Services. They can put you through to any number on WDW.

At both DRC and MS they have access to a computer which has lots of Guest Information and it is very well organized. Actually, all CMs who have access to a terminal, or who even can access "The Hub" from off-site, have access to this Guest Services information. I will often open an extra window when I am responding to people and go into The Hub for the latest official information.

The people at DRC and MS do not deal with upgrades, partially used tickets, or problems related to tickets. They do not know all the rules. The people at DRC can sell unused tickets; the people at MS don't deal with tickets at all.

The people who work in the ticket booths at the Parks or in Guest Relations at the Parks (and this includes TTC, the Water Parks, and GRO in DTD) deal with ticket upgrades and unusual problems on a daily basis. I would not say that someone you talked to on the phone lied to you, but just they were attempting to answer a question when they really did not have an answer.

 

[FloAway]

I think you can pick it up like 3 days ahead before the package starts, but I'm pretty confident that it can be done.