buying disney tickets on ebay

[alaine]

I was wondering if anyone of you has purchased disney tickets before on ebay? Is this something disney frowns on. Any horror stories I should know about before I bid? How can you tell how many days are left on a ticket? Someone could say they have two days left on their seven day pass; is there a way I can check this? HELP.

 

[GoofyforDisney3]

Personally I would not buy a "used" ticket. I have read of people on the boards who have and did not have any problems, BUT...

1. You can not tell how many days are left until you get to the park (or resort) and then they can scan the ticket and tell you how much is left. You are taking a big chance that there is not days left.

2. Tickets are non-transferrable. If you are going to have guest services check the tickets, you also run the risk of them wanting proof that you purchased the tickets originally. This can be done by them simply asking when you first used the ticket.

3. In my opinion, it hurts other park guest who do not transfer their tickets to others, but actually hold the unused days for their personal use. It is a privledge to hold onto the unused days and it is a privledge that can be pulled if the company decides the abuse and loss is to high. Thus, hurting the guest by having the tickets expire.

Just my opinions, it is your decision.

 

[DianeV]

I still find it funny that is a "privilege" to keep and be able to use tickets you paid for. And I kinda find it funny that its their business who you give them to..

Just my opinion. If you buy it then its yours.

 

[GoofyforDisney3]

well, they can always make the tickets expire and then you wouldn't be able to buy more days at a reduced price one year and then use them again later. And the back of the tickets do say they are non-transferrable and are intended for use by the same person on each and every day. So, again it is the OP decision on what they decide to do, but I answered her questions the best I could.

 

[MrsPete]

Don't do it! I have not personally been hurt by this, but I've read several horror stories on the 'net and I saw a segment on Hard Copy (or some other TV news magazine) about people being ripped off. Apparently used Hopper passes are one of the biggest scams on ebay!

It's easy to see why: People buy the tickets well ahead of time. They receive them and have no clue that they're worthless -- then they get to Florida and are disappointed. That could ruin a vacation! Many of the victim/buyers won't be able to complain because they no longer have the seller's name/email address. Even if they are able to complain, they probably won't get a refund from a complete stranger in another state. Paypal's buyer's insurance is a joke. Disney won't help you because the passes are technically non-transferable.

I have no problem skimping on my vacation in other ways, but I think buying used hoppers from ebay is just too risky.

 

[inkkognito]

I saw that tv segment too. If Disney catches you, they will not only deny you entry into the park, but they will also call the police. They featured a large family that had payed big bucks for used tickets, were caught, and had them all confiscated, not to mention the humiliation of being interrogated by the police. They had bought their tickets at a roadside kiosk, not on Ebay, but it's still the same risk. Sure, the odds are that you probably won't get caught, but what about if you do.....it's not worth it.
Barb

 

[figgy4me]

You also need to know your prices. I have seen a lot of tickets on ebay that are actually higher than they could purchase it full price at the gate.

 

[HappyLawyer]

you can get discount tickets at ticketmania.com an authorized seller for discount disney tickets or you can go directly to dis site sometimes they have online specials which are pretty good

 

[alaine]

Thanks for all of your advice! I think I'll just go ahead and buy the 4-day hopper pass from Disney. Even if I only use two of the days on this upcoming trip it's a good excuse to go back again next year

 

[crisi]

I'd be more tempted to ignore the non-transferable and sell unused days on eBay than to buy them.

 

[mickeymousefan]

I also noticed that tickets on Ebay sell for more than they are worth. Meaning you can buy new ones cheaper and without the anxiety of possibly buying worthless tickets!!! I think it is way too risky to buy something like that from a stranger. Plus they know you cant complain to Disney because you went against their policy in the first place.

 

[maraakl]

If you prepurchase from Disney, either on line or at the Disney store, a 4 day hopper will cost you 215.13 for an adult ticket. This includes tax, but not shipping, which is 3.00 from Disney, or you can do a will call, for no shipping cost and pick the ticket up at any guest relations/service window.
If you purchase it when you get there it will cost you 233.24 for an adult ticket, including tax.
If you order the 4 day hopper plus (one plus option) this ticket would cost 227.00 for an adult ticket, tax and shipping included.
So, it would make more sense to either prepurchase the ticket or order from Ticketmania. More bang for the buck, as they say.

 

[mtblujeans]

But what if someone gives you their left over tickets? Is that a problem, too?

 

[maraakl]

Disney has absolutely no way of knowing who bought the ticket and who is using it. They are too smart to ask for proof of purchase because they would probably have to revoke 95% of the tickets they sell. Who carries proof of purchase? They do not have any way to identify who uses the pass, ie: no sig. no name.
It is highly unlikely that they will ask when you first used the pass, mainly because most people don't remember, heck, they cannot remember how many days are left on a pass.
This does only apply to regular, run of the mill park hoppers and park hopper plusses.
Having said that, there is no way I would purchase or sell park hoppers on EBAY.
I will stick to the legit sources and save unused days for future trips.

 

[hockey mom]

I have yet to see a used ticket on E-bay go for a good price. I wish there was some way of telling these people they are getting severely ripped off and taking a big risk also.

 

[deelovesdis]

Ok, all of these replies have me really spooked now. I have my cousins used ticket. How in the world would disney know it is not my ticket? ALso, the story about the family arrested, why were they arrested? Were the tickets counterfeit? How would disney know the ticket wasnt originally purchased by you? The back of my ticket shows her purchase date of 1-24-04. So I know she used it in January. Could I get arrested because I do not know the exact date she used this ticket?
Any one know more info on the story about the family that got arrested? Now I am nervous about using this ticket she gave me.

Decisions , decisions. ANy place on the web I can look up that story? It really seems pretty far fetched to me. I can see not purchasing from ebay , especially from rip off artists who can be selling you empty tickets. Even so, if you go to the turnstile and the ticket didnt have any days left, how could you get arrested? I would just say, "oh, really, I thought I had a day left, I guess I miscalculated",would that give them cause to arrest me??

Any thoughts?

 

[alicenwonder99]

We bought used tickets from dh's coworker. On our last day of our trip, which also was dd's 3rd bday and we had plans for lunch at Cindy's, we were told by the person at the turnstyle that we had no more days left on our tickets! We were in such total shock! These tickets were from someone we knew! The woman at the turnstyle let us through anyway (thank you). We were planning on just staying in MK for lunch, then spend the rest of the evening at Epcot, but we had to stay at MK instead. When we got home we talked to the coworker about it and he just said, "oh yeah, sorry...now I remember that we did use another day on the tickets."

So, if a person you know can forget how many days are left on their tickets, don't trust a stranger!

Mary

 

[swilphil]

Originally posted by deelovesdis
Ok, all of these replies have me really spooked now. I have my cousins used ticket. How in the world would disney know it is not my ticket?....

I don't think I would worry too much about a relative's ticket as long as your cousin is trustworthy. My husband's brother has bought tickets for us, and I don't know if he put the tickets in our name or his. Plus often times we give all the tickets to one person in the group to get fast passes. Who knows which ticket we get in return--it could easily be the one with a cousin's name on it.

It doesn't sound like buying on e-bay is a good deal. If you are going to the parks in the future, you can buy a park hopper and it will
never expire. Disney raises prices at least once a year! We bought a park hopper at the Disney Store for the same price you would pay through Disney online. The tax is the same no matter what state you buy it in and you don't have to pay any shipping if you buy in person at the Disney Store.

 

[maraakl]

They are not going to arrest you. Unless her/his name is on the ticket there is no way to tell. Disney is in the business of making people happy, NOT arresting them.