DL tickets now have names printed on them

[CrazyDuck]

This past friday I went to pick up my tickets at will call (ticket booth), that I ordered on the internet, the agent in the booth asked me for everyone's name and which type of hopper they had... Some had 6, some had 4, some were adults, some were kids.... Then she proceeded to write everyone's name on the back of each hopper.. On all 20 hoppers! I swear I must have been standing at the ticket booth for a half an hour!

 

[ConnieB]

First off...Disneyland does NOT restrict you from bringing food into the park. In fact, their FAQ's specficially talk about inspecting coolers and lunch boxes. They limit mondo-huge coolers, glass, and things that could cause safety issues, but they've never forbidden you from bringing in food.

Even still......Food enforcement isn't likely to happen.....unless they plan to remove the lockers that are available at both DL and DCA OUTSIDE the parks and the picnic area just outside the main entrance. These picnic facilities are advertised on Disney's website and they even suggest using the lockers for food. So cracking down on people bringing food into the park doesn't make much sense really....those who need to budget will simply walk out to the picnic area (which by the way is seldom even remotely busy).

Remember that unlike WDW, Disneyland also has fast food and sit down restaurants that are almost the same walking distance at DTD, and certainly closer than DLH....so if they started trying to enforce no food in the park, and did away with the picnic area....well, budget minded would just walk across the street to McD's etc. And there is no way they can do away with those restaurants...if they could they would have already to expand Disney even more, lol. History buffs may recall that was one of the reasons why Walt used shell corporations in his bid for land for WDW, so that word wouldn't get out ahead of time to not only raise his price, but have others bidding to be right next to/on top of WDW. It was a serious lesson learned from DL.


Disney enforcing their ticket policy has nothing to do with greed or their profits. At least not any more or less than sports arenas trying to crack down on scalpers....it's about doing what is fair and right. Those reselling their tickets to make a profit are stealing from Disney, because they do not have the right to resell the tickets, period. It's written on them that it's not transferable.

As for this pricing folks out of a vacation.....not likely. Many people look for ways to save money, but if the hotel isn't on sale or the airfare is higher than they hoped, few will cancel their vacation, perhaps they'll wait another couple months or shorten their stay. If saving $100 on your tickets is the make and break of your vacation, you probably shouldn't be taking it then. Sure Disney wants you to stay longer and come more often, but the few that will stop going because they can't scalp their tickets or buy scalped tickets, will not make much impact. THey raise their prices every year consistently and we all grumble but we all keep going, lol.

 

[HydroGuy]

actually its been more than just the putting names on tickets.
disney no longer gives free b day pass
disney no longer does the free day for volunteering
dl now enforcing id on tickets, not saying they dont have a right to, just saying that these were done to increase profit.
on a "positive" note,maybe disney thinks the economy is great and they are back to their policies when the economy was good (98 and 05). just my opinion.

Disney did the birthday pass and volunteer pass (Give a Day, Get a Day) as short term promotions. That they are no longer doing that means they merely stopped the promotion - not that they took something away.

Enforcing IDs on tickets is doing nothing other than enforcing the no transferance rule they have always had.

Does Disney do things to "increase profit"? I hope so! They are a business. And one of the better run ones at that. A lot pension funds and 401k plans out there depend on companies like Disney to deliver profits so they can pay pension holders and shareholders.

 

[JH87]

This past friday I went to pick up my tickets at will call (ticket booth), that I ordered on the internet, the agent in the booth asked me for everyone's name and which type of hopper they had... Some had 6, some had 4, some were adults, some were kids.... Then she proceeded to write everyone's name on the back of each hopper.. On all 20 hoppers! I swear I must have been standing at the ticket booth for a half an hour!

Oh wow! I guess they are serious about this rule then. Thanks for the info

Disney did the birthday pass and volunteer pass (Give a Day, Get a Day) as short term promotions. That they are no longer doing that means they merely stopped the promotion - not that they took something away.

Enforcing IDs on tickets is doing nothing other than enforcing the no transferance rule they have always had.

Does Disney do things to "increase profit"? I hope so! They are a business. And one of the better run ones at that. A lot pension funds and 401k plans out there depend on companies like Disney to deliver profits so they can pay pension holders and shareholders.

Well said HydroGuy

 

[ConnieB]

actually its been more than just the putting names on tickets.
disney no longer gives free b day pass
disney no longer does the free day for volunteering
no more 5 for 3 promo
annual ticket price increases.
dl now enforcing id on tickets, not saying they dont have a right to, just saying that these were done to increase profit.
on a "positive" note,maybe disney thinks the economy is great and they are back to their policies when the economy was good (98 and 05).used to b a kid that normally could not afford to go can get in on their b day or volunteer now they are $®¡ . just my opinion.

what would Walt do?

The birthday and Give a Day were promotions....so saying that they've taken this away is like saying they need to continue the Year of A Million Dreams and daily give away thousands of prizes including a stay in the Disney Suite. Ok...I personally would be THRILLED if they did, we enjoyed the many things we won, including Grand Marshall of the Parade in WDW and another crack at the Suite would make my family hopeful again, lol. But, they were all promotions (and the Million Dreams WAS actually extended to a second year).

Many local businesses are running 50% off for this weekend....I don't expect them to do this all the time and won't fault them when they stop it when the holiday weekend is over. Can't say I like Disney's current promotion, especially after 3 years of freebies, to have it just be US providing them with OUR memories and them putting them in that awful show on IASW....but hey, it hasn't stopped us from going, or hoping that next year it will go back to more "something free for me", lol. But that is MY greed, after 3 years of their generosity.

The same with the 5 for 3...and the Kids price....all promotions during an economic slump to get folks into their parks. Local businesses did the same thing....some have kept some of the promotions still but I am noticing them slowly fading away around here too. Would I like them to keep it up, sure...but again, that's MY GREED. With all the new attractions that Disneyland has opening this summer/fall they don't really NEED to have large promotions....loads of people are coming for the new stuff, so if they're already plenty booked and expecting record crowds, why would they need to do big time promotions?

Annual price increases...same thing....have you noticed the price of gas constantly going up...around here it's a daily event. Food prices raise constantly, even tickets to other amusement or sporting or museum, etc are going up. While not everyone feels the end of the recession, the businesses are beginning to see increases again and therefore ending their costly promotions. Thankfully this has also meant an increase in jobs available, so that has been very positive in my little corner of the world.

You asked what would Walt do....well, he had promotions during this reign...and he increased prices....and he tried different things some that worked, some that didn't. I love Walt as much as the next person, but he was a businessman first and foremost....he was just good enough to be able to produce a product that the public loved enough to make the business end of things relatively easy for him. He built it and we keep coming.

I think Disney is seeing some of their failures like this current promotion, but honestly until the economy tanks again and people stop coming as often and the parks are significantly less crowded....well, they have no incentive to give away the store, so why should we expect them to? My suggestion is that if it's too expensive for you, or you think the company is truly greedy....hey, feel free to visit other places in this big wonderful world of ours.....then the parks will be less crowded when I go, lol. And who knows...if enough people stop coming those great promotions that we all love will come back to lure you back, lol. This post is in no way a put down to you and some parts are said with my tongue firmly in my cheek, but hey, I'd prefer more promotions and less crowds, so if you can help, thank you.

 

[ConnieB]

This past friday I went to pick up my tickets at will call (ticket booth), that I ordered on the internet, the agent in the booth asked me for everyone's name and which type of hopper they had... Some had 6, some had 4, some were adults, some were kids.... Then she proceeded to write everyone's name on the back of each hopper.. On all 20 hoppers! I swear I must have been standing at the ticket booth for a half an hour!

Well, the average family doesn't get 20 hoppers....so it's very possible that they also looked at you and figured you had the potential to be doing something odd. I would think for an average family this would take about 2 minutes....giving everyone's names. When we got our GAD tickets last November those vouchers warned that there would be no free ticket without a birth certificate for the kids (which I don't carry on a regular basis, of course), so I dutifuly searched for them, lol...copied them and brought them with me...only to have no one ask for them. I'm guessing Disney is like most other businesses, they put in rules to prevent abuse, but then leave the enforcement to the discretion of their staff. Everywhere that offers a free birthday meal says ID required, but I almost always go somewhere for a free meal on my birthday and can't recall ever having to prove it was my birthday....but I go with my kids who are always quick to tell the hostess we're celebrating, lol.....so I probably don't look or sound like someone trying to put one over on them! Not saying 20 tickets was an actual attempt, but it would look a bit unusual I'm sure.

Perhaps what they need to do is upgrade their website (and we all know Disney is SLOW to do this, so it's likely in the works) to include people's names for the tickets. Sea World does it....I know because I bought an annual pass for my hubby back when he had one job and loads of vacation each year....but before we used it two months later he'd changed jobs and now doesn't have vacation time until September. I bought them early because the promotion was ending. I asked about a refund given his change in circumstances, but no go. Oh well, we got a 2 year pass for the price of 1...he's just only going to get to use his for a year since our will expire before his. Not a bargain, but thankfully not a loss either, lol. Had it NOT had his name on it, I might have offered it to a friend who missed the promo, but I was concerned she'd have a problem with it and didn't want to put her in that position. Of course, they didn't ID me when we went so I probably could have got away with it....hey, anyone want to buy a 2 year AP for Sea World, lol.

 

[taigirl87]

Well, as someone who went to WDW over a hundred days each year in 2009 and 2010, I can tell you that the finger scanners are a joke. Perhaps they keep the squeamish from trying anything, but in reality when there is a problem and your finger scan fails they simply push a button and let you through. My AP had the finger scan fail more often than it worked and never ONCE did they question me or ask for ID, nothing, just took an extra minute to get a CM to come over, tap tap, and go through.

What I don't get is if Disneyland is starting to make strides to enforce being sure that only one person is using a multi day ticket, why would they also be removing the photo from the AP? I always thought that was one of the better security methods....finding someone to borrow an AP from that looks enough like you to scam the photo, well, that's a lot tougher, lol.

I worked turnstiles at mk for my college program, and there was a HUGE problem with scalped tickets and people trying to use their friends left over days. With the bioscan, it did crack down on a lot of it, but the bioscan wasn't always running.... Also, it's interesting that they just allowed you in(there were exceptions of course...), cuz technically we were told specifically to ask for ID and check that the signature matched the ID. And if somebody didn't want to do the bioscan, they had to show us their ID instead. I dealt with a lot of angry guests when it came to putting their finger on the little piece of glass, mostly because they didn't understand it.(it is not a finger printing machine lol)

Also, when I was in merchandise, if the credit/debit card wasn't signed, we had to check ID as well.

In all, I really don't like taking my ID places either, I let my husband deal with it but I'll take it to Disneyland for sure, just to be on the safe side

 

[07pilot4me]

lol at one of the posts here responding to mine, as i stated the post was my opinion and i stand by it, i definitely appreciate others points of views. funny though how some read it as not being able to afford disneyland or the vacation. a dead giveaway of a putdown is if its prefaced with "this is not a putdown" oh well, guess i can't be "greedy". lol

 

[ConnieB]

lol at one of the posts here responding to mine, as i stated the post was my opinion and i stand by it, i definitely appreciate others points of views. funny though how some read it as not being able to afford disneyland or the vacation. a dead giveaway of a putdown is if its prefaced with "this is not a putdown" oh well, guess i can't be "greedy". lol

No, it was not a prefaced putdown....it was an honest opinion, just like yours was. Personally, I wouldn't do a vacation if scalping was required. If the only way folks can afford a Disney vacation is with scalping tickets, then that's their problem........but I didn't say it was your way, . I know there are a LOT of things I wish we could afford to do....travelling a lot more and all over the world being a big one, but unless we wanted to only vacation every few years than Disney is actually the best for us....I pay for so much of our trips because of the Disney rewards through our credit card.....I run a very small business and collect people's money and then use my Disney card to pay for things, and then pay the bill immediately with their cash, but because it's several thousand dollars a week, I earn huge points. Tried that with a card that gave cash rewards but it was never as much value wise...sure it was cash, but not enough to pay for as much as the rewards. It pays for our APs every year and any in park meals. My husband earns flights through his occasional business travels and so when we have enough of those accumulated we can do WDW (again with rewards for APs).....since he only has one so far (economy slowed his business travels) we are doing DL this year because it's in driving distance. So, basically a Disney trip costs us gas and hotels...and we stay offsite very cheap with a kitchen so many meals are homecooked.

And a lot of it was tongue in cheek as I stated.......But...if it makes you feel better to think I was putting you down...that's your choice.

 

[skiingfast]

Does Disney do things to "increase profit"? I hope so! They are a business. And one of the better run ones at that. A lot pension funds and 401k plans out there depend on companies like Disney to deliver profits so they can pay pension holders and shareholders.

Along those lines, if someone feels like they are getting ripped off. Bank charges high fees, gas is expensive at the pump, airline fare is too high, diapers putting you in poverty. A simple solution is to buy stock in the companies that provide the goods and services and you too can profit of the rip offs.

 

[lapdwife]

i understand the scalping thing is wrong and it should not go on but is it really hurting disneyland?

?

Ummm, they are a business, are they not? You know the pleasant CM on the phone who made your ressie, the Mousekeeper who made your bed, the Security Officer who kept you safe, etc...they all need to be paid. I think putting names on the tickets is about time! Stealing is stealing, period!

 

[CMHusband]

maybe there are some people that dont want to carry there id around disneyland and they leave it at the hotel or in the car

what about kids do i need to bring there ss card for proof its them?

never dealt with the fingerprint thing but maybe thats the way they should go

is scalping tickets a big problem at disneyland?

Scalping is a problem at Dland. Many people buy muti-day tickets and try to rent them out to unsuspecting people looking for deals on Craigs list or ebay. The bust these folks frequently.

 

[CMHusband]

Along those lines, if someone feels like they are getting ripped off. Bank charges high fees, gas is expensive at the pump, airline fare is too high, diapers putting you in poverty. A simple solution is to buy stock in the companies that provide the goods and services and you too can profit of the rip offs.

Done and Done...We made quite a few bucks this last year on Disney Stock.

 

[kemom]

This past friday I went to pick up my tickets at will call (ticket booth), that I ordered on the internet, the agent in the booth asked me for everyone's name and which type of hopper they had... Some had 6, some had 4, some were adults, some were kids.... Then she proceeded to write everyone's name on the back of each hopper.. On all 20 hoppers! I swear I must have been standing at the ticket booth for a half an hour!

That was our experience as well last Monday, but we only had 4 people/tickets. The CM wrote our names on the tickets and said something about how they were "attached to our information" so if they got lost no one else could use them and they'd have an easier time trying to get them back to us.

 

[ConnieB]

The CM wrote our names on the tickets and said something about how they were "attached to our information" so if they got lost no one else could use them and they'd have an easier time trying to get them back to us.

Now see, THIS is a great idea! I saw one family in absolute tears because the Mom couldn't find their tickets. I felt so sorry for them. CMs were clustered around them trying to comfort them, but I don't think there was much they could actually do....we didn't stick around to find out, I felt guilty enough that I was standing close enough to overhear what happened.

In WDW you simply need the credit card they were purchased with, or the numbers off the back of the tickets to get them reissued. On the WDW board it's often recommended that you take a photo of your tickets as soon as you get them so if they're ever lost you aren't sunk.

In WDW the kids and I found someone's ticket on the ground and turned it in, we just hoped they had their numbers so that they could be reunited, lol.

 

[cgh]

As previously said, it is a business. Having accurate numbers of tickets "sold' and unique visitors helps them gauge what is working and what isn't. Those profits are put back into the park with new attractions, which everyone seems to like.

And really, if the pricing makes the number of visits go down, they'll run promotions to get more people in. They have a great product-which is why everyone is willing to pay and scrimp how they see fit to get there. (ie. save for years for a visit, or fewer days, or different hotel accommodations, etc.)

Disney wouldn't and shouldn't care if the numbers of people who aren't paying and basically stealing to get in goes down-they have an incentive for that to happen.

And, for shoplifting (which buying a scalped ticket is sort of) who it hurts is all the people going or buying groceries, because then the grocery store or business will raise prices to counteract the loss from shrinkage.

 

[Frikitiki]

One of my former co workers bought the "cheap tix". He had to be at the park at a certain time each day to both drop off and pick up his tickets. It just surprised me that security never got involved since they know these sorts of transactions are happening.

 

[MrsPinup]

Interesting change. I went to WDW earlier this year and am not a fan of the finger scanners. If they had some hand sanitizer right as you entered, that would make things a bit better. Everytime I touched a scanner I couldn't stop thinking about what booger-picking kid had recently touched the same scanner.

As for the prices...everything is going up in price. Does it suck? Yes. But that is life. We wait for promotions. Lucky for us, my DH is military so we can use the Military 3 days for $99 promotion and I couldn't be more excited. I would be super thrilled if they offered the same amazing promo's that WDW offers for military, but I will take what I can get.

 

[07pilot4me]

the irony is that i can actually see how people with scalped tickets may pump more money into disney and anaheim (and for the record before i get lectured again,we paid full price for our tickets\season pass). curious to see if disney will continue to enforce their policy (as someone said before they enforced it more in 98 and 05). at any rate, this is a disney lovers board and i am part of that group! if i were a dis shareholder i would enforce that policy during busy times and not enforce during the off season, so they can make their max money and put it into the park (maybe a seal team 6 ride or restaurant or movie).

ot: to dis stockholders, do they use a metric such as $ spent per visitor?

 

[skiingfast]

the irony is that i can actually see how people with scalped tickets may pump more money into disney and anaheim (and for the record before i get lectured again,we paid full price for our tickets\season pass). curious to see if disney will continue to enforce their policy (as someone said before they enforced it more in 98 and 05). at any rate, this is a disney lovers board and i am part of that group! if i were a dis shareholder i would enforce that policy during busy times and not enforce during the off season, so they can make their max money and put it into the park (maybe a seal team 6 ride or restaurant or movie).

ot: to dis stockholders, do they use a metric such as $ spent per visitor?

You can bet Disney knows revenue per guest. Grocery Stores know it for each cutomer, airlines know for each seat, movie theaters know per seat, hotels know it per room......


Do you know it's so hard to redeem frequent flyer miles? Because you would take the seat of someone paying a fare. Any just as you know airlines know something is better than nothing.

Sure the parks don't hit capacity very often so what's it matter? How does it even relate.

So while some might say what is the big deal if people get in for free? Disney gets there's selling popcorn and burgers. Others will say this line is painfully long and come away less satistfied because of the extra people. And you might think Disney cares about customer satisfaction.