Purchasing unused tickets

[joesupra]

My wife's friend who is visiting Disney World in October insist that there exist an area in her hotel where people can purchase the unused portion of park hopper and other type of tickets used for admission at Disney World. Some sort of secondary market where these unused portions are sold at deep discounts because the owners can't use them anymore. I'm extremely dubious. I cannot see Disney allowing this, and how would you know what you were truly buying without a scanner to tell you how much time was truly left on a parkhopper. Has anyone ever heard of anything like this? I'm dying to tell her that she's nuts.

 

[futreWDI]

You used to be able to get "black market" tickets. There wasn't a counter in the hotel but you would find someone online to sell theire unused tickets to you. It was still technically not allowed. Disney took action to prevent this and now THIS IS NOT POSSIBLE ANYMORE. Even on a no-expiration pass, they scan your finger (biometrics) when you enter the park and you cannot use someone else's ticket.

SO essentially, your wife was right, but she isn't anymore.

 

[luvmickey5374]

YES! All around Orlando they had booth set up at hotels off property and at supermarkets and such that sold unused tickets for all the theme parks down there. Disney does scan your finger now so I certainly wouldn't buy those no matter what they say, it would be terrible to get there and find out they won't let you in!!!

 

[Allison]

Tickets are non-transferrable. Run far, far away from any "deals" like this.

 

[SueM in MN]

YES! All around Orlando they had booth set up at hotels off property and at supermarkets and such that sold unused tickets for all the theme parks down there. Disney does scan your finger now so I certainly wouldn't buy those no matter what they say, it would be terrible to get there and find out they won't let you in!!!

When you walked by those places, the clerks would be yelling out:
"Need tickets? We've got great deals."

If you said you already had tickets, they would change to:
"Do you have any days left? You can sell them here and make a profit! You have Disney tickets, but do you need SeaWorld? How about Universal?"

So chances of getting a 'bad' ticket were pretty high.

When we saw one of those booths, my family went into 'defense mode'; go by fast, do not look toward the booth, do not engage the ticket seller.

 

[disnut8]

There is absolutely no way to tell if those types of tickets are actually what the seller proclaims them out to be. All the ticket information is stored in the magnetic strip on the back of the ticket so how many unused days are hidden to the ticket holder. For example, I have three seven day hopper plus passes in my wallet. Two adults and one child. That information is written on the ticket. I know that my son and daughter-in-law used all seven days of the pass plus just one plus feature (there were four with this type of passes before Magic Your Way tickets). I know my granddaughter used all seven days of the pass and no plus features. But *I* know that. You cannot tell that by looking at the ticket. I wanted to be sure I was correct and the only place to check it is at a Disney Guest Relations window.

Now, let's say I'm a shifty and sneaky person and needed some quick cash. I sell these passes and say only four of the seven park days were used and none of the plus features were used. You buy them. Ain't no way in heck those tickets are going to work in any park turnstile because all seven of the park days are used. But you don't know that and I just made off with your $200.

Don't trust anyone trying to sell unused days on any Disney pass. It won't save you any money and it could very well cost you.

And if "free" Disney tickets are being offered that'll cost you too. Usually about 3-6 hours in a timeshare presentation. Like Sue, we divert our eyes from these booths in any offsite hotel. If we do get accosted (and they sometimes do loudly yell if you do get by them somehow), we ignore and keep moving.

 

[cdrn1]

In the old days, the tickets had blanks on them and when you went through the turnstyle they stamped the date on them. Back then, you could tell the tickets were good because the blanks would be unstamped. Nowadays...NO WAY.
It wasn't any more legal back then, either.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

1. It is a violation of Florida law to sell partially used theme park tickets.

2. There is no way to tell by look at or even reading a ticket in a carfd reader what is left. The only way you can find out is through a terminal linked to the automated Ticketing System.

3. Nobody is permitted to give information about a specific tickedt over the phone, even if the serial number is provided. It is a firing offense.

4. Tickets expire 14 days after first use (unless No Expire option has been purchased). If a ticket is reissued for some reason the reissue date is on the ticket but ATS knows when the original tickt was first used.

5. There is a biometric finger scan (partial fingerprint) tied to the ticket. If it does not match you may be asked certain questions to see if you used this ticket prev iously.

In other words, it is not a good idea to buy used tickets.

 

[Geoff_M]

I'm dying to tell her that she's nuts.

I would advise your friend to stay away from squirrels for all of the reasons stated above.

 

[suevee]

A few years ago one of the TV magazine shows like 60 minutes did an expose on these discounters. A family bought their tickets there and were out of a lot of cash. The people selling the tickets shut down at one location then opened up at another.

 

[RACHELSMOM1]

I think that technically you could buy unused one day base tickets, but I am not sure. They can be used to upgrade to APs, I know. Why would anyone want to risk buying unused tickets anyway? When you are already paying out thousands of dollars on your vacation, I don't understand why you would take such a chance? Why ruin your vacation by risking $200.00 to $300.00 for an unsure thing? That will be money down the drain if the tickets are no good.

 

[Eljay]

Tickets are linked to a purchaser, even if no biometric scan has been taken yet. If you are asked to produce an ID, the game's over.
Smart folks, these Disney people. They have covered every loophole.

 

[starlionblue]

Why is it illegal to sell tickets that still have time on them? They could implement this system: user A has one day left on a 4-day hopper pass. The last day, user A informs the ticket counter that she won't be back on the fourth visit and surrenders her hopper pass. The serial number is scanned and a thin metallic strip is deactivated after the person's fingerprint is scanned. The database sets aside a separate file for re-used tickets.

The metallic strip inside is kept very thin and fragile. Attempting to peel it off will break it easily. User B buys it at a kiosk outside the entrance. The ticket is reactivated with the new fingerprint and the metallic strip is turned back on. If it beeps, it's the correct new owner. If it doesn't beep, the ticket is bogus or stolen. Can anyone find a better way to do this? I'd like to hear your ideas.

 

[Blondiex46]

I am here right now and have been since the 29th and they are using the finger scan and making you sign your tickets, just an FYI

 

[CleveRocks]

Why is it illegal to sell tickets that still have time on them? They could implement this system: user A has one day left on a 4-day hopper pass. The last day, user A informs the ticket counter that she won't be back on the fourth visit and surrenders her hopper pass. The serial number is scanned and a thin metallic strip is deactivated after the person's fingerprint is scanned. The database sets aside a separate file for re-used tickets.

The metallic strip inside is kept very thin and fragile. Attempting to peel it off will break it easily. User B buys it at a kiosk outside the entrance. The ticket is reactivated with the new fingerprint and the metallic strip is turned back on. If it beeps, it's the correct new owner. If it doesn't beep, the ticket is bogus or stolen. Can anyone find a better way to do this? I'd like to hear your ideas.

I don't know why it's illegal. But I know why Disney is against it.

Disney based their Magic Your Way pricing based on that rule. From about Day 5 through Day 10 each additional day costs roughly $2. If Disney knew you could easily resell partially used tickets, then they wouldn't be able to sell those additional days at such an insane discount. They'd have to charge more for each individual day.

In other words, a 10-day base ticket costs about $230. A 3-day ticket costs about $204. If the holder of a 10-day ticket with only 3 used days wanted to break even, then they could sell it for only $26. Sone could get a 7-day ticket for only $26!!! If this was widespread, Disney would lose its corporate shirt.

Let me put it a different way. If you plan to go to the parks for 6 days you will pay Disney about $221 for each person. And if I plan to go to the parks for 6 days I will pay Disney $221. Together, Disney earned $442 by selling us our tickets. But what if each of us used only 3 days and we each sold our remaining 3 days to another friend of ours? That friend could go to the parks for 6 days and DIsney wouldn't get a dime. By not allowing that, our friend also has to pay $221 for 6 days. Disney earns $663 by selling to all 3 of us, rather than $442 by selling to 2 of us and allowing us to profit off of someone going to their parks.

 

[CarolA]

No technically you can't buy unused one day park tickets. Tickets are NOT transferrable once you get them regardless of IF you use them.

There was a poster on the budget board (I think) who sold her unused ticket on EBAY. Disney apparently tracked it down and when the new "owner" showed up a Disney, ticket was void...... (She did refund the seller, but at that point she had paid for a useless ticket!)

It is illegal beause the theme parks hired lobbiests and got a law passed in Florida making it illegal. Tickets are all sold as if you are in Florida (notice the tax on them is Florida tax regardless of where you live when you buy it!)

 

[fla4fun]

Tickets are linked to a purchaser, even if no biometric scan has been taken yet. If you are asked to produce an ID, the game's over.
Smart folks, these Disney people. They have covered every loophole.

Except . . .

There are legitimate ticket brokers, like the Orange County Convention and Visitors Bureau, AAA, or the concessionaires manning the guest service desks in the various hotels and resorts in Orlando, that buy their tickets in bulk. So the ID of the guest will never match the ticket purchaser in Disney's system on these tickets. However, Disney will usually send you back to the place you purchased them from if you have a problem.

Even with the law in place against buy backs, you will still come across places every now and then that try. I have seen at least one news report in the last six months where people were arrested for dealing in previously used tickets.

A couple of things to keep in mind:

Look for an occupational license if you are buying tickets somewhere other than Disney. Legitimate ticket brokers should have one. They should also have prices posted. Many of the shady dealers don't post prices because their inventory isn't standardized.

If a deal sounds too good to be true, it definitely is. Most ticket brokers can't get a good deal from Disney on the one and two day Disney tickets (unless they are affiliated with time shares and you take a tour), so you will probably only find discounts on three day and higher tickets. The discounts aren't huge either, but every little bit helps.

 

[Mr. Pig]

Why is it illegal to sell tickets that still have time on them? They could implement this system: user A has one day left on a 4-day hopper pass. The last day, user A informs the ticket counter that she won't be back on the fourth visit and surrenders her hopper pass. The serial number is scanned and a thin metallic strip is deactivated after the person's fingerprint is scanned. The database sets aside a separate file for re-used tickets.

The metallic strip inside is kept very thin and fragile. Attempting to peel it off will break it easily. User B buys it at a kiosk outside the entrance. The ticket is reactivated with the new fingerprint and the metallic strip is turned back on. If it beeps, it's the correct new owner. If it doesn't beep, the ticket is bogus or stolen. Can anyone find a better way to do this? I'd like to hear your ideas.

Disney does not want people selling unused days so they petitioned the State of Florida to pass a law making any unauthorized re-selling of Disney admissions illegal. They did not want resellers making a profit on their tickets. Otherwise you could have a lot of people buying 10-day non-expiration tickets and selling any unused days to resellers. If there were still, say 4, days left they could still make a profit selling it at less than Disney's 4 day price. Disney, like most other companies, don't want to lose profit on their product to others when the others that don't contribute to the cost of the product.

As far as the magnetic strips goes there is no information on the strip of the ticket media that tells how many days are left. There is only an encoded number. When the ticket is scanned the code is looked up in a central database. The mag strip will never change. If Disney wanted to adjust the ticket it could by just changing the database. Disney could easily create a new field to the database for re-used tickets to force the next user to re-scan their fingers but they don't want to. That is why you can never tell how many days are left or what type of ticket it is. No outside source would have access to the ticket database on Disney's computer system.

 

[erikthewise]

Cheshire Figment nailed it of course.
Just a couple remarks:

-- there is no such thing as a legitimate reseller of partially used tickets. These are ALWAYS illegitimate. There are a number of legitimate third-party ticket sellers, but they ONLY sell unused tickets.

-- correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think there is anything at all stored on the magnetic stripe other than a link to a particular record in the WDW database. That is where the unused days on stored, not on the card itself. And that is in part why there is no way to tell how many unused days (if any) are on a card, other than to have it scanned at WDW by a machine that has access to that database.

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

I will confirm with the others on here about having to give a fingerprint scan upon entry the first time I used my ticket. So, the ticket is linked to the "original purchaser". They didn't do it for the kids, but the adults were scanned. Thought I'd let you know. - Jennifer