Noreen O’Donnell says that when she booked a hotel stay at Legoland New York Theme Park & Resort, the company promised theme park tickets, too. So why is Legoland now asking her to pay extra to visit the park?
Question
I booked a visit to Legoland New York after receiving an offer from the theme park for its October Brick-or-Treat hotel and park tickets combo package.
After I paid the quoted price, they sent a follow-up email that I wasn’t charged for park tickets, and I had two options: pay up or cancel.
The bottom line, after multiple calls, is that Legoland does not intend to give me the tickets that it promised. You can’t speak to anyone beyond the customer service representative. I don’t see any way to escalate to management. But after two attempts, I’ve never gotten a reply.
I’ve also emailed the customer service address and haven’t gotten any replies. I can’t believe a family-focused attraction new to our area would stonewall like this, especially when they made an error. I feel like they need to honor the price they quoted, but I’d love just to be able to talk it through with a representative with decision-making authority.
If Legoland does not give me the promised tickets, I will need to pay an additional $600! That is a 60 percent increase from what I expected to pay!
Can you help? We’re heading to Legoland soon, and of course, this bad news came after we told the kids, so we’re in a tight spot! — Noreen O’Donnell, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Answer
Oh, you are in a tight spot. Once you’ve told the kids, you pretty much have to go. As a father of three myself, I have experienced that many times. And to give you an idea of how serious it got, we had to move to Orlando to satisfy their theme park cravings. But I digress.
The offer you received from Legoland New York Theme Park & Resort promised to include theme park tickets. When you pointed this error out to the company, it should have fixed it immediately. Instead, the company led you through a proverbial Lego maze of calls and emails.
That’s too bad. I love Legoland. I’ve visited the Legolands in Florida and California with my kids, and they love it, too. OK, some of the little rides aren’t really for adults. But Legos speak to kids of all ages. When that happiness collapses like a poorly built tower of Legos, then no one is happy.
The good news: Legoland promised you tickets, and here they are
Maybe the most maddening part of your experience was dealing with Legoland’s customer service agents. They offered neither a substantive response to your legitimate complaint nor a way to appeal your case. With the day of your arrival drawing closer, you had to do something.
There’s a way out of the Legoland customer service maze. We publish the names, numbers, and email addresses of the Legoland customer service executives in our database.
Legoland says it experienced “an unfortunate system error” during your booking. Because of that error, the booking you made did not have valid tickets.
I contacted Legoland on your behalf. The company reviewed your reservation and apologized for the difficulty you were experiencing. Legoland sent you an email with the promised park tickets.
