[aubriee]

We just returned last night from WDW. Had a great trip except for one disappointment with the RPDE. I had booked the Rookie Experience as a surprise for my 27 y/o son. It rained Friday and when we arrived we were herded into the waiting area and informed that it had been cancelled and it was nonrefundable . When we started to get upset, we were told that we were informed when we booked it that it was nonrefundable. I know I was not told that and by the reactions of the dozen of so people in there neither were they. They said we could reschedule anytime within the next year (but not the next day). We told them we were leaving the next evening and my son would not be returning to WDW and asked if we could transfer it to my younger son (22y/o) whom I'll be taking to WDW in Sept. We were told we could not do this and it could only be used for my elder son. Finally we were told they would issue a rainout letter and he could do it at the Texas Motor Speedway in Dallas, but would have to pay the difference as they would not honor the AP discount we had used. This did not make sense to me as I had already paid the fee to the RPDE office in N. Carolina. Anyway the people there who did not have a RPDE located near them was just out of luck and lost their money. One guy was really upset as he had booked the Experience of a Lifetime ($1300.00) and apparently was leaving Saturday like we were and didn't have a RPDE near him. Anyway if you book RPDE make sure you have one located near you just in case and pray for sunshine. I know the lady talking to us was prepared for alot of negative reactions, but feel she could have been more sympathetic. Instead she started out with a defensive attitude. It was not a good situation and should have been handled better and more tactfully than she did.

[Cavey]

Wow! That's poor customer service. The experience doesn't interest me at all, but I'll make sure to pass the word to my NASCAR buddies.

I hope the rest of your trip went well. Please write us a trip report!

[lawwin]

To the defense of the RPDE people, they probably get this a lot when the weather rains out the experience. Those cars are not set up to handle the experience in the rain (Remeber, they don't run NASCAR races in the rain, either!!) and they cannot book you for the following day because just like they had you booked for that day, they had other people booked for the following day. I understand your frustration, but I also understand their defensiveness. I'm sure when the rain or hurricanes hit, they deal with this a lot and probably tend to get defensive. It does rain a lot in Florida. Granted they should allow the experience to be transferrable and maybe non-expirable since some people do not tend to come back to Disney every year. Sometimes it helps to look at both sides of the issue and maybe if you spoke with someone at RPDE headquarters in NC, you might get a little more satisfaction and make a change that might satisfy more people in the end.

[DisneyTeacher]

Wow! That is awful, I can't believe it's non-refundable. I know for we won't even think about this if they don't refund money it THEY cancel due to weather.

[A Goofy Family]

Wow! That does give us something to think about. My husband and BIL wanted to check it out this May, we still may go over and check it out...but we're not going to book anything. I can understand rainouts, but to make it nonrefundable is not acceptable. We'll wait and do it closer to home and not use our WDW time and risk losing $$$. Thanks for the info!

[Soundgod]

This is when you use your gold card and when they say they won't refund, you call your bank and say you're not paying. Dispute the charge all the way. Non-refundable is one thing, but when you've dropped hundreds of dollars, non-refundable due to weather should not be your problem. You have not been furnished any service in return for your money, and if they keep your money anyway, that's another word for theft.

[dznygrl]

That is ridiculous. If they could actually reschedule you, it would be different. But the fact that it is non-refundable and they can't even accommodate rescheduling within a decent amount of time is absolutely ludicrous. It is bad enough for people like you who booked the Rookie Experience, and I can't even imagine what it's like for the people like that guy who booked the Experience of a Lifetime...excuse me, but how do the RPDE people sleep at night ripping people off like that?

I am with Soundgod...if you used a credit card, I would be going to my credit card company right now and refusing to pay the charge. I've been able to get charges wiped in similar situations before, and you should be able to also.

Oooh, that makes me steaming mad.

[15 mins to wdw]

I know that This is the RPDE and not wdw but it does take place on WDW property I would send a letter to guest relations about this since you may have a better chance of getting it solved with them. I'm also with soundgod and would recomend talking with your credit card company.

the last step would be to let the BBB now.

[mickaholic4077]

I would also dispute the charge with my credit card. I would also look into suing them in small claims court. Do they realize how bad this kind of thing looks for them?

[smee57]

When I booked the Rookie Exp. for DH back in Dec., they made it very clear that it was nonrefundable. They also explained that if it gets cancelled due to weather, he would receive a certificate for the same experience that would expire after one year, but could be used at any track that offers the RE. We decided that it was worth the risk and if the weather doesn't cooperate, then we would just have to take another trip to WDW (or wherever) in the next year.

[CaribBeachNut]

Thanks for the tip. I will remember NOT to book a RPDE.

[smee57]

Aubriee, I'm really sorry for your experience. And for the others who didn't expect the nonrefundable news. I pulled out our confirmation letter and it states on there, also, that refunds will not be issued. (#2 under Please Read Carefully explains the whole cancellation thing) I guess I would suggest you pull out your confirmation letter and if it doesn't state anywhere on there that the reservation in nonrefundable, then you have a case. If it's there, you might be out of luck. Hope this helps others who are also considering the experience!

[CaraMia]

My mother bought the rookie experience for my father as a gift last year. He was unsure when he was going to do it. He even considered selling it. I actually called and put it on my credit card for my mom and they told me he would be able to sell it if he did not want it. In January of this year it was questionable whether he could do it do to a knee injury. We called and were told it was nonrefundable, however, with a doctor's note he would postpone the time in which it had to be done. It turned out his knee is better and he booked it for March 13th (his birthday). Actually, he booked the 1pm class and it turned out it was not a good time for everyone to be able to go and watch. My mom called and they wanted to charge her $50 to just change the class time. She left it at 1pm. I then called and explained it all (how it was his birthday and he wanted his kids and grandkids there to watch) and the person I spoke to checked with a manager and because he had just booked the class the night before they said they would waive the $50 fee and changed his booking to the 8am class. The guy I spoke to was very nice.

Initially, we were told that if it was rained-out he could rebook within a year. But no refunds. We are closer to the Homestead track in Miami then Orlando so worse comes to worse he could go there.

[aubriee]

Originally Posted by smee57

Aubriee, I'm really sorry for your experience. And for the others who didn't expect the nonrefundable news. I pulled out our confirmation letter and it states on there, also, that refunds will not be issued. (#2 under Please Read Carefully explains the whole cancellation thing) I guess I would suggest you pull out your confirmation letter and if it doesn't state anywhere on there that the reservation in nonrefundable, then you have a case. If it's there, you might be out of luck. Hope this helps others who are also considering the experience!

Unfortunately I booked it just a week before we left. She told me when I booked it that she would send the waiver forms out ASAP, but I may not receive them. Of course I didn't and called the day before we left to verify our time and date. She said we could just fill out the forms when we arrived. During neither call was a cancellation policy discussed. I just didn't think about it, I'm afraid. I guess it depends on who you talk to when you make ressies or how busy they are, if you get informed of the cancellation policy. Fortuantely it worked out for us, since my son will be able to do it in Dallas, but I really felt sorry for those who don't have a RPDE near them. I also felt we should have been able to transfer it to my younger son (since I was the one who paid for it with my credit card). I was more upset with the woman's attitude when she was telling us about it. She started out with a defensive attitude as if she just assumed we were going to give her a hard time. I also feel they should honor the amount I've already paid. Their main office gave me the AP discount and so I'm marked paid in full per their records, but the woman made a point of asking if any of us had used discounts and then told us we would have to pay the difference since our local RPDE would not honor the discounts.

[Beckmk]

Originally Posted by smee57

When I booked the Rookie Exp. for DH back in Dec., they made it very clear that it was nonrefundable. They also explained that if it gets cancelled due to weather, he would receive a certificate for the same experience that would expire after one year, but could be used at any track that offers the RE. We decided that it was worth the risk and if the weather doesn't cooperate, then we would just have to take another trip to WDW (or wherever) in the next year.

That has always been my understanding that you get a certificate for you to do it at any track that offers it, anytime (I didn't think there was an expiration date on it). I know we have gotten discount letters after we have done it and they don't expire either (I don't think it was several years ago and would have to pull them out and look again).

I know we have done 2 Richard Petty Experiences at 2 different tracks (making a vacation out of the entire experience since at the time we didn't have a track close by, so we were lucky it didn't rain since this is not an every day occurance at the tracks we went to! I could see how that would be a huge disappointment in general!). Each time, in all the information I got it was very clearly stated it was non-refundable (and I know you have to fill out paperwork before you get there before driving basically signing your life away that if you crash the car and get killed in it, you can't turn around and sue them because it was dangerous) and it would NOT run in the rain.

Sorry your son wasn't able to get the chance to do it.