Set default expand/colapse state on pivot tables

Question

The Setup
I have a pivot table in tabular form pulling data from an Analysis Services Cube.

I want to calculate the number of days between two dates, but the setup will only allow me to pull in all date elements, not just the date. I’ve been able to deal with this easily enough by just grouping all the columns:

The Problem
The default state for the expand/collapse buttons in the image above is often collapsed, but that means the dates I need aren’t there and you have to open the group and manually expand them.

This also happens in some random ways (as shown in the image) where only some rows expand.

The Question
I need a way to set these sections to always be expanded, so that the user never has to open the group to expand the rows. Ideally I’d like to avoid VBA because our end users often block it, but if that’s what’s needed then so be it.

Is there a way to set my pivot table to never collapse it’s predefined groups?

Note
the end user is using Excel 2010

Solution

So the issue at the heart of this for me is that I don't need all those extra fields and their expan/collapse nature is causing all my problems.

I've found a way to get rid of the extra columns, and I'll post it here, but I'll leave the question open as I think the actual question itself is still useful:

1. Right-Click anywhere in the column you don't want
2. Go to Show/Hide Fields
3. Untick all but the date field