Can anyone help me w/ some ticket ?s

[jabead]

First of all, I just ordered my annual pass voucher on Friday and now DH is saying we might not be able to go this year. Will my voucher expire if I don't activate it this year? Also we have a couple of leftover PHPs from our last trip, each with 1 day park and 1 or 2 plusses left on them. With their new system, will the same person that uses the remaining 1 park day be the only one that can use the plusses? We will probably be using the plusses at Disney Quest and/or maybe Pleasure Island, if that makes a difference. My last question has to do with Ticketmania. If we do get to go this year it will be for spring break (last week in March) and am thinking of trying Ticketmania for the rest of the tickets that my family will need. I signed up for the Mousesaver's newsletter, but did so too late to get the one for Jan. So my question is, is the Mousesaver discount worth waiting for (until Feb. 15th newsletter comes out) or should I just go ahead and order them as soon as DH makes up his mind?

 

[WillCAD]

Your voucher will not expire.

Tickets bought after January 2, 2005 are Magic Your Way tickets, and can only be used by one person, ever. The biometric finger scanners prevent another person from using them. Tickets bought before January 2, 2005 are Park-Hopper Plus tickets, and can be used by other people; they pre-date the biometrics.

The MouseSavers discount is only a few bucks cheaper than Ticketmania's regular prices, so if you order them as soon as you know what you need, you won't be wasting a huge amount of money. However, when I plan a WDW trip, I leave my ticket purchase till only a few weeks beforehand, in case I add days to the trip at the last minute.

Since you are only 2 weeks from that newsletter anyway, I doubt that it will be a big inconvenience to wait for it.

 

[seashoreCM]

All Disney tickets ever issued were non-transferable after any usage. Effective June 2005 finger scans were/are added to all adult tickets that did not have them, when the tickets were/are next used.

Currently (pre-2005) PHP's are not honored at Disney Quest.

It is often financially undesirable to use leftover park days during the same vacation that a new Magic Your Way ticket is being used. OK, I'll give you a hint, it is advantageous to use leftover park days on any vacation with 1, 2, 3, 11, or 12 days in the theme parks. Leftover plusses can be used advantageously at any time.

Annual pass vouchers will probably never expire, but some time in the distant future a surcharge depending on year of issue, for example a 2005 to 2009 upgrade charge, might be imposed.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/dispass.htm

 

[jabead]

I am still a little confused about our old PHPs (issued before 2005). When we use the one remaining park day on them they will do a figure scan on the person using it, is that correct? And then only that person can use the remaining plusses on the pass? And why can't the old passes be used at Disney Quest?

 

[kaytieeldr]

Ooh! I can answer your last question!
Because Disney Quest wasn't included on the PHPs originally, so apparently they're not included if you use those same PHPs.

 

[seashoreCM]

I think the biometric readers (Ticket Tag systems) are installed at the water parks now. So whether you use the plus first or the park day first, the finger scan will be immediately associated with the older PHP's also.

 

[vellamint]

I think the biometric readers (Ticket Tag systems) are installed at the water parks now. So whether you use the plus first or the park day first, the finger scan will be immediately associated with the older PHP's also.

I dont think I understand how this will be done...MY older PHP were paper tickets....I thought the finger scan thing was only done on the passes that were like credit cards.....does that make sense?

Does the finger scan "read" the identification number or upc or whatever it is and "associate" it with the finger that is inserted into the scanner?

 

[WillCAD]

I dont think I understand how this will be done...MY older PHP were paper tickets....I thought the finger scan thing was only done on the passes that were like credit cards.....does that make sense?

Does the finger scan "read" the identification number or upc or whatever it is and "associate" it with the finger that is inserted into the scanner?

Here's the way it works for all WDW tickets (old, young, paper, plastic, or the solid gold one that Micheal Eisner has):

Each and every ticket and room key has a unique serial number. This number is what's encoded on the magnetic strip - nothing else, just the number.

When you put the card into the slot at a park turnstile, the turnstile reads the card number and looks it up on the WDW computer system, just like your ATM card looks up your account on the bank's computer. The WDW computer system keeps track of what kind of ticket it is, how many days have been used (and when, and where).

The finger scanner takes readings on the bone configuration of your first two fingers (I think the length and distance between). This is unique to each person, just like a fingerprint. The first time any ticket is used, the finger scan that is done with it is saved to the WDW computer system along with the ticket's serial number.

Each subsequent time that the ticket is used, the turnstile looks up the ticket's account to see how many days are left on it, takes a day or a plus away, and compares the finger scan to the one saved in the computer to make sure that the person using it today is the same person who first used it.

The only thing that is ever saved on the magnetic strip on the ticket itself is it's serial number. The ticket is just like an ATM card or credit card - all it does is connect the turnstile with the proper ticket account in the WDW computer. This is why a lost ticket can be cancelled out of the system and replaced with a new one if you have the ticket's serial number.

Older PH and PHP tickets work exactly the same way, except that they did not originally have finger scans saved in their accounts. I do not know for sure that using an older PHP will require a finger scan today, but it is physically possible for the WDW computer to take a finger scan when you use one and store it in the old ticket's account.

 

[vellamint]

Thanks WillCad....NOW I understand...