Discounted Ticketmaster Tickets - The Saga Continues

[MIChessGuy]

I showed up at Islands of Adventure this morning with the 2-day/2-park ticket that I purchased last April using a Ticketmaster discount code (now expired, btw). I had seen various posts here to the effect that these tickets might have expired on December 31. The turnstile ticket scanner could not scan the ticket; then the team member tried and failed to scan the ticket herself. Finally, she helpfully informed me that my fingerprint was not scanning either. I have always had trouble with the fingerprint thing, so I knew that was coming, but I had hoped the ticket would be kosher.

Anyhoo, at this point I expected to hear a speech along the lines of, "Please take the ticket to Customer Service, tell them when you bought it," etc. etc. Nope. She asked me to sign the ticket, which seemed kinda pointless, but I signed it, and that was it. I was then admitted to the park. Later in the day, when I hopped over to Universal Studios, I went through a similar rigmarole and was likewise let in regardless.

I am still not sure exactly what was going on with the ticket. Was the scanner just having a problem that day with Ticketmaster-generated barcodes? Was the ticket actually expired, but the scanner couldn't tell? Why were they so uninterested in challenging an apparently invalid ticket? Pretty strange. And like all prior visits, all around me I saw people struggling to get their fingerprints read correctly, being told to take their finger off, put their finger back on, press harder, no that's too much, don't press that hard, blah blah. The whole thing looked like some kind of 21st century Abbott and Costello routine.

And there you have it.

 

[Metro West]

The finger scanners at Universal are the worst on the planet! Believe me!

 

[Jillisa]

When we went a few years ago my fingerprint scan NEVER worked. It was horrible, I feared walking up there. LOL I still got through without a problem but it was still a pain.

 

[Metro West]

When we went a few years ago my fingerprint scan NEVER worked. It was horrible, I feared walking up there. LOL I still got through without a problem but it was still a pain.

Mine only works about 15% of the time. I have an old Preferred AP with my picture on it and usually have to have them override the machine to let me in. It's ridiculous!

 

[pixeegrl]

Busch Gardens here in Virginia is the SAME way I hate the scanners!

 

[Planogirl]

We always have trouble at WDW too. I wish that they'd come up with another idea.

 

[phamton]

She asked me to sign the ticket, which seemed kinda pointless, but I signed it, and that was it.

She had you sign it so that later someone else wouldn't be able to use the ticket.

I am still not sure exactly what was going on with the ticket. Was the scanner just having a problem that day with Ticketmaster-generated barcodes?

I really hate Ticketmaster tickets because many times they don't scan correctly, which usually means that the seller did not download the ticket info into the ticket before selling it.

Was the ticket actually expired, but the scanner couldn't tell?

The scanner would read an expired ticket. Ticketmaster sold the ticket without putting the info into the system.

Why were they so uninterested in challenging an apparently invalid ticket?

Most likely because they are used to having issues with Ticketmaster tickets and decided to bypass the system and let you in. It's not your fault that those tickets sometimes have issues and I am sure they just didn't want to inconvenience you. It makes for better guest satisfaction.

 

[ky07]

My youngest DS always has trouble with the scanners but they are always nice to him and just let him on in and even I have had trouble with them and Universal has always been nice about it but now have had some rude comments at Disney but I never let that ruin my day

 

[MIChessGuy]

She had you sign it so that later someone else wouldn't be able to use the ticket.

I suppose so, but when I went over to USF in the early afternoon, they did not ask for I.D. or otherwise verify the signature. Seems like I could have given the ticket to just about anybody, especially as my signature is virtually illegible. Maybe I wasn't behaving suspiciously enough for the USF turnstile guy to want to see my I.D.

If Ticketmaster sold a ton of these tickets without any linkup to Universal's database system, that's gotta be incredibly irritating for turnstile personnel. It would mean that every single guest with such a ticket would cause an error message in the ticket reading machine. Could this still be going on? I had read that the discount codes were long gone, but maybe Ticketmaster just stopped selling the tickets altogether. In any event, people (like me) who hang onto their tickets for an extended period before showing up will continue to experience these difficulties.

 

[phamton]

They download the tickets in batches. It sounds like you were one of the unlucky ones to get some from a batch that wasn't downloaded.

 

[MIChessGuy]

While there, I picked up my "last chance" 7-day/2-park ticket from the automated ticket dispenser. This was one of the last ticket specials being offered by Dreams Unlimited for a few days after Universal announced their updated, Disney-esque pricing system. So, having avoided Ticketmaster for my next trip, all I have to look forward to is a repeat of fingerprint follies at the entrance.