MASSIVE Disney irritation

Ugh. I’m really annoyed right now.

US folks may be unaware that booking terms and conditions for UK people are very, very, different than for US people.

I’m trying to cancel my throwaway room. We don’t get the five days in advance, no penalty terms you get. We have to cancel much further in advance and we pay a penalty.

And they put as many roadblocks as possible in your way to stop you doing it.

So first I called them. They’ll let you do anything by phone. Make reservations — even change reservations. (Though, unlike you US folks, we have to pay £50 to do so. That’s — what? — $70 to switch from one hotel to another!)

But cancel? Nope. You have to e-mail them. Why? No idea.

So I e-mail them. I get an auto-response. They aim to deal with e-mails in 5-7 working days. Five to seven!

So I wait for the response. Which I got today. No dice. They won’t cancel because I sent the e-mail from the wrong e-mail address. No matter that I gave them all manner of detail about the booking.

But here’s the thing. I can’t send them an e-mail from the address they have on file because it’s an address that only receives e-mails. I own my own domain — and to control spam, I give every business I deal with a different e-mail address. So Disney has disney@mydomain.com. All these e-mails come to the same address, myname@icloud.com, and that’s the one I use to send e-mails from.

Why can’t UK people cancel hotel reservations online like US people can? (I think?) Why can’t we do it by phone? Why do we get charged £50 each time? Why do we have to give much more notice?

I’ve replied to their e-mail telling them to call me on the number they have on file. Why didn’t they think of this themselves and try that?

I cancelled a VIP tour that cost twice as much as the room I’m cancelling is costing. They let me do that by phone. What’s so special about room reservations? When I tried to cancel the room by phone I gave them all manner of “security” details to confirm it was me.

I’m really, really, really irritated right now.

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I would be irritated, too! Can you not go in and set up your Disney email to allow sending from? You’ve obviously set it up to forward and receive.

It’s not that it’s barred from sending e-mails. It’s that it’s not set up at all. It would be a huge production to set it up to send this one e-mail.

And it would be no guarantee of security. You could probably fake an e-mail from disney@mydomain.com and send it to Disney.

Why didn’t they just call me? They have my number. My bank will let me transfer thousands of pounds over the phone once I pass security. Why won’t Disney let me cancel a one night £123 room booking over the phone? Every hotel I’ve ever dealt with in my life has let me do this. Except &$£%-ing Disney.

The irony is that when I tried to cancel the reservation by phone, I first changed my Contemporary reservation to Yacht Club. In the same phone call. They let me make the change — and charged me £50 for doing so — but wouldn’t let me make the cancellation.

There is a serious risk I’m going to smash something in a minute.

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Here is an article that can help you Brits to complain like an American. Ignore the psychotic font changes - there is good advice in here nevertheless:

The most important tip in there is to email Disney Guest Services at wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com

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Thanks for that. I have done so.

There’s probably something wrong with me. I get really angry and anxious when things like this happen. Especially as it just seems so unnecessary. It’s something to do with feeling powerless.

A few months ago I booked a single night’s stay at UOR. I cancelled that a few weeks later. There was no fuss. No difficulty. And no cancellation charge.

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Are you by chance a professor of IT or IS?

I agree that they shouldn’t require you to email for cancelling and that a phone call should work. However, you mentioned that you sent the details via email from one email already, so I figured setting up the other email to send wouldn’t be that big of a deal. The security risk is the same.

One time I forgot to give DH my medical expense debit card when he was taking DD16 to the dentist. They would not let me read the number over the phone to pay. They wanted me to send them a copy of the card with my permission to use it via email! Ummm, no. I had to explain to her more than once that I would not be sending my card number via email to her. It was maddening. We finally worked it out. Never had a problem anywhere else giving the info over the phone.

Hopefully you can get this all worked out without resorting to smashing something. Hang in there…

It’s technically possible. It would just be irritating to have to do it and I object to having to do so.

E-mails sent to anything-you-damn-well-like@mydomain.com get forwarded to myname@icloud.com (You could literally send an e-mail to disney-is-a-very-annoying-company@mydomain.com and it would get to me.) But when I click “reply” the reply comes from myname@icloud.com because that’s how Apple’s software is set up.

To send an e-mail from disney@mydomain.com I’d have to set it up as a specific, separate e-mail account with my domain name provider. I’d then have to log into my domain name provider’s e-mail software and send it from there. I wouldn’t be able to use my regular e-mail software.

This is ridiculous hoop-jumping and for no obvious benefit.

When I changed my room reservation from the Contemporary to YC, I got a refund of £133. That refund is on its own more than the entire cost of the room I’m trying to cancel at All-Star Music. If they were willing to carry out that transaction over the phone, why won’t they do the cancellation? The refund due is only £73 and it would be going back to the credit card that paid for it in the first place. When I cancelled my Nights of Adventure tour, I did that over the phone, and the refund was about twice what I’ll get back from the ASM reservation.

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I’m an IT person, so I understand the whole rigamarole of how your email is set up and how it would be a pain to do it; I was just explaining why I had told you that in the first place. I have also said that I agree that you should be able cancel via phone. Didn’t mean to be snarky or sound like I’m arguing with you about it.

I realize that it is your anxiety speaking and won’t take this personally, but you don’t need to be snarky with me. As I said, I hope you can get this resolved soon before you can no longer cancel due to time constraints.

:slight_smile:

Where was I being snarky?

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Couldn‘t you have just booked on the US-site to get those conditions? Or are you always redirected to the UK page?

That‘s one of the advantages here in Germany. I can choose which site to book with.

That’s an interesting question. I think it redirects. I’m not sure I’d want to book there, though. I might lose UK protections. And I’d have to pay in dollars.

For my trip next year, when I’ll be on-property the whole time, the deal I’m getting is a UK-only deal.

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By explaining to me again about why it’s a pain to set up the email to send from the Disney email as if I’m not capable of understanding. Perhaps snarky is not the correct word. I’ve only had one cup of coffee this morning.

It’s not clear to me how I did that.

And I’m mindful of the fact that this is public thread rather than a private e-mail, and others may not have the technical background you have. (Which I didn’t know you had.)

I’m immensely irritated with Disney. I’m not remotely irritated with you.

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Yep, the deals are usually better in the UK. For our upcoming trip we saved about 1000$ because we booked the UK-deal. But for room-only reservations and throwaway rooms a look at the US page may be worth it :slight_smile:

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No problem. Wires can get crossed on a forum quite easily. I’d be irritated with Disney as well. It almost takes the magic away from going…

You’ve got this. It will get resolved…

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That’s all a bunch of crazy making! I’d be chuffed too!

(Did I say that right?)

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Yes, I think you’re right. It’s all part of the learning process!

I did feel like I’d been an idiot paying rack-rate for the Contemporary room.

And I’m still not sure next year’s reservation (with “free” dining plan and $200 discount) is the great deal I think it is.

No! Chuffed is pleased. @profmatt is not pleased!!

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Aw crud

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