Travel Troubleshooter: Help! Mickey's got my photos
On a trip to Disneyland, Marco McFarren and his girlfriend participate in a program that allows them to buy a CD of photos taken by cast members for $59.99. But wait! The CD actually costs $124.95 when it's ordered from the Disney Web site. Is Mickey holding their vacation photos hostage, or was McFarren given the wrong information? Marco McFarren, Tucson, Arizona A: So Mickey wants a ransom for your snapshots. Jeepers! Talk about taking the magic out of your Disney vacation. Disney should have honored the price it originally gave you when you agreed to participate in the PhotoPass program. But a quick check with my Disney contact confirms that the rate you were offered for the CD on the Web site was correct. A Disney representative should have disclosed the $65 price difference between the CD you buy at the park and the one you purchase online. So someone either misspoke when they told you about PhotoPass or you misunderstood what the Disney photographers were offering. Full disclosure, here: I live in Orlando, I have three kids under five, and I take them to Disney World almost every weekend. I see these cast members with cameras in action all the time. They don't have easy jobs. They stand there in the blistering heat and shoot thousands of photos a day. I can see how one of them might offer an incomplete description of PhotoPass, or that in all of the excitement of arriving at a theme park, you might hear only part of what they're saying. It happens. I checked the PhotoPass site to find out how to go about contacting the service. Although I could find no phone number or address, Disney offered an e-mail form. Like you, I find that disappointing. A phone number would be helpful and certainly for you, more convenient. I asked Disney to review your case, and a representative from the Disney Photo Imaging Department contacted you in response. She said there was a way to buy the CD online for the same price as in the park, which someone should have explained to you while you were at Disneyland. Disney sent you a $75 coupon that can be used to buy your CD. Enjoy your photos. |
