They are people who went on the in park quests.
I got a free VIP code yesterday and gave it to my son. All it does is put the VIP badge in his box. Nothing else. I can't believe how much some are willling to give for the code. If I had know that, I might of had him trade it for some things he wants. He's happy though, he was strutting around yesterday saying "I'm a Very Important Person". I told him he didn't need a badge for me to know that.