Everyone. Please don't waste your time. Disney has really fumbled the ball on this, because when the premium bands do finally show up online they are actually not really available as many will attest.
I have, many times, selected a premium band that was just made available, updated the engraving on the back, selected done, went through the purchase details, selecting delivery address, and credit card only to have the app or online web state there was an error.
Calling Disney about this, their response is that the error is common for when there isn't inventory available. When I explained that does not make sense, because the premium band I selected just showed up, stating that it was not available as a selection earlier in the day, and now is, therefore something changed in order for it to show up. I get the same response, and then an even worse response, which was... Just keep checking and trying until it works.
As a software engineer, I can tell you that when you execute a purchasing process online, and fill in "all necessary information" to complete the transaction, only to have the system tell you there is an error, and then having their on-call technical support state the error is because of no inventory, that is called a bug and needs to be fixed! ASAP!
Here is somethings they can do...
1. If they can raise an error at the end of the process because they checked the inventory, then they can check the inventory at the beginning and not make the option available!
2. If the customer calls in with such a scenario, your response should not be... oh, just keep trying maybe you will get lucky!
3. Now I know there is the rare occurrence where you might select an item for purchase that was made available online, but because of timing, that item became unavailable due to someone else being faster and got the last one. This kind of situation is rare, and should be mitigated earlier on in the execution of an online purchase, and not at the very end!
4. The error displayed is too generic, prompting some customers to contact on-call support and wait the usually long period and waste more time. Here Disney should display a more detailed error, which might prevent customers wasting more time trying to figure out the error by contacting on-call support! If they displayed something like... ewwww, you just missed it, someone got the last one 0.00001 seconds ago... or maybe simply... The item just went out of stock... the customer would not need to contact on-call support to find out why there was an error.
5. In general, if an item is displayed for purchase, then it should be available for purchase, or at the very least the description should state that it is out of stock. If it is not available then don't show it!
6. If an item is available and selected, then that item should be locked in the system with enough time to complete the purchase, meaning someone else cannot take it between the time you selected and finalized the purchase. Ticketmaster does this, why can't Disney?
Sorry everyone, I am really frustrated by Disney on this matter! And most of my frustration is due to glitches in the system that are really easy to fix! I have been trying for nearly a week now to get a premium band I like. I have been through this purchase process about six times now, only to have it result in a generic error at some point during the purchase process. Just tried twice today with two different bands that were just made available (the Darth Vader Band and the Mickey Sorcerer Band) with the same result!
Their response... So sorry, keep trying and wasting more time... Oh yeah... and have a magical day!
Come-on Disney! We are used to excellence from you. You can do better than this!