Did something dumb here?

[Chicago526]

This is why I'll never buy tickets from any source other than Disney, not even the ticket brokers. You just never know what you're getting until it's too late! I'd rather pay the higher ticket price to Disney and cut my budget in other places than risk getting a nasty surprise at the gate (like needing a military i.d. or finding out my "4 day" pass has only "1" day left on it).

I know several of the ticket brokers are legit, but the cost savings to me isn't worth the hassle and/or risk that there could be a proble, how ever slight that risk might be.

 

[Meezers]

Come to think of it....I have purchased both WDW tickets and Sea World tickets at MWR....for myself and non-military friends. We went to different places on different days. Had to show my ID to BUY the tickets but no one had to show ID to USE the tickets. Guess military people having non-miltary friends in not uncommon

Best of luck...I think I would do my best to get the money back thru Pay-Pay (and good luck with that one...still have a bad taste in my mouth from a previous problem)...but if you can't get any satisfaction from them....say a small prayer and try the tickets. How do they know they weren't purchased for you as a gift from a family member who IS military/DOD/retired?

 

[va32h]

My husband is military, and we have purchased tickets for family and friends. Theoretically, you are supposed to be accompanied by the military member when you use the tickets. Sometimes we were asked "which one is military and show your ID" and sometimes not.

 

[mavanilly]

I want to sincerely thank everyone for their responses and helpful suggestions to my problem. Well, I decided to call Disney today and find out what they thought. I was ready to pay some extra money to upgrade the military issue to general public issue if that was required. Lo and behold.....hold on to your hats. The operator said she would check with Guest Relations after I explained the situation. When she came back, she said she was quite worried but that she now had good news. The person at Guest Relations informed her that it is totally legal for military to buy the tickets and resell them to whomever they want. She said that I didn't need to upgrade and that I should have absolutely no problem using them. She said she was worried before she talked to guest relations that the tickets had been part of a "give away" and then they wouldn't have been honored. Well, I guess I have no way of knowing if they were part of a give away or not but they look like normal tickets on the front and back and the only way I knew they were military issue was on the back they say "4 Day Military Park Hopper." However, I do note on the back that they are "nonrefundable" and "nontransferable" in the fine print but I didn't want to argue with anyone at Disney Guest Relations!!! All I can say after this whole ordeal is I won't ever buy anything like this on Ebay again. Once again, thank you to all who tried to help and gave suggestions and advice.

 

[Local_Girl]

mavanilly,

Just want to add my best wishes that all will run smoothly for you...DH is retired military and we have purchased military tickets a couple of times. We did need the ID to purchase, but I don't remember ever being asked at the gates for our ID. And DH's hair isn't cut "high and tight"!

Good luck and have a great trip!

 

[nancycg56]

Quick question:

DH is military, we have 2 kids, oldest is 23 so no longer has military ID. We will be staying at SOG in January. There shouldn't be a problem with DH buying oldest's ticket at SOG, should there? I never even gave it a thought

 

[patrenoe]

You will not have any problem buying your daughters tickets at SOG. We often bring our neices and nephews and we always purchase our tickets there.

 

[Bob NC]

You will have no problem using those tickets. At SOG, an eligible person can rent 6 rooms and buy tickets for all the people in their party. When we had 4 families going, my Dad was the only eligible sponsor. Nobody asked any of the rest of us for military ID. Many non-military ID holders use these tickets.

 

[nancycg56]

Thank you both!

 

[CarolA]

The bigger issue is that you have no real way of knowing if these tickets are used.... The only way to tell that is to scan them at Disney.

Several years ago someone posted that they did buy EBAY tickets and wound up with only plus options. It's a risk I won't take.

 

[Missy1961]

This is why I'll never buy tickets from any source other than Disney, not even the ticket brokers. You just never know what you're getting until it's too late! I'd rather pay the higher ticket price to Disney and cut my budget in other places than risk getting a nasty surprise at the gate (like needing a military i.d. or finding out my "4 day" pass has only "1" day left on it).

I know several of the ticket brokers are legit, but the cost savings to me isn't worth the hassle and/or risk that there could be a proble, how ever slight that risk might be.

This is my feeling as well. I'll save money in other ways, but I will never take a chance on my admission tickets.

 

[mavanilly]

The bigger issue is that you have no real way of knowing if these tickets are used.... The only way to tell that is to scan them at Disney.

Several years ago someone posted that they did buy EBAY tickets and wound up with only plus options. It's a risk I won't take.

Yep, I thought of that later too. :-( Well, I've learned a lesson and I hope it all works out in the end. Maybe my experience and all these postings can help someone else who is considering doing the same thing I did. Please proceed with caution and don't try to save a few bucks by doing something dumb like I did. Better safe than sorry for sure.