I thought I would continue with the Disney theme of the day. Today I went and renewed my Disneyland Resort Annual Passport ^[1]. With the new Monthly Payment Option for Southern California Residents ^[2], my wife and I concluded that it is within our budget at this time. I did the research, and read the Monthly Payment FAQ ^[3] so when I arrived I expected to be on a payment plan of $30.75 a month for a total of $369. Since it had been over a year since I had my pass, it turned out that I didn’t qualify for the renewal price, and had to pay the new pass price of $389 with a $69 one time payment, but it was only $26.67 a month. Not bad I thought. A lower monthly price. So I give my credit card, and they swipe it. As I am getting ready to sign the payment contract, the cast member informs me that the first payment would be taken from my account in the next couple days!?! What? Didn’t I just make a one time payment? Then I am informed that the payments will be auto-withdrawn approximately every 25 days. Not the same day each month. Some months one might make two payments. Is it false advertising? It is definitely misleading. I actually voided the first transaction and called my wife to check our budget since she was out of town and I didn’t want the unexpected charges to cause other financial woes.
In addition to that, I was informed by the Parking Toll Attendant that I only had to bring my parking receipt to the ticket booth and I could be refunded the twelve bucks since I was getting a pass that included parking. As I parked my car, I tore the receipt half of the ticket off (the pat that showed I payed with a debit card) and left the other half in the car. Then at the ticket booth I was informed I needed the other half of the ticket also to get a reimbursement. Arrgghh! Luckily I can take both halves back next time I go and get reimbursed, because I was not about to wait in that tram line again.
Did the way the morning started make me grumpy, Yes. Did I let it ruin my day? No. I do want to give props to the cast members (Lynette, Nance, Elena, and Niki) who put up with my grumpiness this morning. Working in customer service I understand what it is like on the other side of the glass and I appreciate the professional way you all handled it, cause although I knew it wasn’t your fault, you may have gotten a little attitude from me.

If anyone else is looking at the “Monthly” payment option, learn from my experience.