Won comp tickets in auction, not upgradable - now what?

[DisneyADottie]

Did they come from a fundraiser?

A friend bought some from a silent auction about a year ago and could not link them in advance. They had a barcode and numbers like any other ticket, but they could only be linked in person at guest services.

I'm a former cast member so I didn't buy them at a fundraiser. Your friend most likely bought them at a time when they were unlinkable. When FP+ started you weren't able to link the tickets but you are now able to.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Comp tickets are not upgradable in any way. You can keep calling Disney until you're blue in the face, but that won't change. I would mention to the organizer of the auction that they should disclose that in the future. But, also, it's not exactly secret information. Had you asked about it here before bidding, you would have found out pretty quickly.

What I would do with them depends on how much you paid for them.

Just out of curiosity, if you can sell them to the next highest bidder, will you disclose that they aren't upgradable?

I didn't know about comp tickets like these. I wouldn't even know what questions to ask and as far as asking here that depends on how much time the OP had before the bidding stopped; there isn't always someone here to answer your questions immediately after posting.

Regardless of what tickets they are (WDW, concert tickets, other attraction tickets, etc) there should be a decription in writing or verbalized what they are and what their restrictions are (but I will admit if I didn't see a description on the restrictions I wouldn't bid on them. I'm just a bit skeptical is all). By not telling or having a description the auction left it open to a potential for problems with the person buying them.

Also I think if the OP mentioned trying to track down the second highest bidder it isn't so they can be dishonest to them..why go through that trouble you could likely more easily sell them to people you know (that's my assumption anyways and I can see that the OP advised they would disclose the restrictions).

 

[jbish]

I would love to sell them - they are still a good deal. Of course, my preference would be to sell to someone where I can obtain the money at the same time as handing over the tickets - i.e. face to face. I haven't linked anything yet so there's still time to do that. I just need to figure this out quickly.

 

[Ensusieasm]

Have fun at Disney no matter how you solve your problem.

 

[sharadoc]

There should be a sticky on here about these comp tickets. It happens all the time, folks assume they can upgrade them. I almost fell into that, but I asked and we looked at the back of the tickets at the silent auction.

You can resell them because they have not been used. You may have to take a bit of a loss, but not as much as "all" of it. Try eBay, or Craigs list. There are definitely people who go to FLorida on vacation and only go to Disney for a day. Maybe someone who is going to Universal but would like one day at Disney.

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

Maybe your plans can work where you only park hop on one day and you use these tickets for that one day. Then you don't have to buy the hopper feature on the other 4-day tickets.

to the other posters: Is it true you can't book FP+ in advance on the free tickets? Why not?

 

[jbish]

Talked to second highest bidder - they just bought their tickets to Disney yesterday.

 

[Minnesota!]

Our school fundraiser has these offered each year and there is a note on whatever it is that they display that they are not upgradeable...

It stinks, but it's what it is. We received comp tickets one time, for free, and we were very quickly told, by WDW, that they were not upgradeable in any sense.

 

[bumbershoot]

I don't want to cast blame on the auction organizers for not providing all of the disclosure information.

Well, the thing is, they are exactly the people who are responsible for this. The organizers and the donor. That's who this needs to get back to; not necessarily to return them (I assume the auction went to some charity or school thing), but to tell them "if you ever get this sort of ticket again it is imperative that this info be on the sheet!"

I was peripherally involved in an auction for my son's dance group, and last year there was an auction that seemed on casual reading to be for a bunch of cat toys from a local pet place. Several bids, and when they got the winner, and it was read out to them, the fact that it also involved a *kitten* became apparent. I read everything, but even I missed that. The auction item went unsold. They tried it again this year, and this time wrote *kitten* in bold letters underlined in red...shockingly, NO ONE bid on it. No one wants to go out for dinner and then buy a kitten; at least not in our group. (there was no kitten sitting there waiting; it was through a store that does adoptions, and it was just to be on a waiting list for when a kitten was available)

Full and complete info on the auction item is vital and important, and the organizers must be made aware of this.

 

[ArwenMarie]

I never knew that about those tickets you see at fundraisers. Good to know.

 

[DavidNYC]

What they're ideal for is a couple looking to do a weekend trip. You could probably easily sell them if you choose to at a price more than what you paid and less that what a 2-day hopper would be for them.

EDIT: FWIW, I just checked e-bay as I know I always seem people selling what are clearly these tickets (my guess is a lot of people get them and realize it makes no sense using them for a longer trip.). Didn't look through all listings but see a few of them where the bidding price was about $125+ at least for each ticket (with multiple bidders). So at the very least, you should be able to recoup your money (and likely make a small profit). I'm not an ebay expert but pretty sure there are some pretty safe payment options to ensure you don't get cheated.

 

[LadyRayado]

I've used comp tickets before and have always been able to link them to MDE and make FPs in advance. I'm not sure if there are varying types of comp tickets, though. I would have totally bid on them, though, lol. We only need two days worth of tickets for our next trip and the cost per day is crazy compared to our usual 5-7 day tickets.

 

[Rosiemadison]

Here's one idea that hasn't been mentioned. Turn the tickets back into to the auction organizer, but ask the auction organizer to give you a receipt for a non-profit donation. Then you can write it off on this year's taxes!

 

[supersnoop]

Well, the thing is, they are exactly the people who are responsible for this.

I have to disagree. But, since we don't have the exact wording from the auction item, it will be difficult to ever come to a conclusion. If the auction said "four one-day park-hopper tickets," was there anything more that should have been said? If the auction organizer didn't say they were upgradable, why would someone assume that they were? Sometimes you get what you pay for, even if it's not what you thought you were paying for.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I have to disagree. But, since we don't have the exact wording from the auction item, it will be difficult to ever come to a conclusion. If the auction said "four one-day park-hopper tickets," was there anything more that should have been said? If the auction organizer didn't say they were upgradable, why would someone assume that they were? Sometimes you get what you pay for, even if it's not what you thought you were paying for.

Hmm..I see your point but in all honesty if I saw that they were 1-day tickets then I would think that's exactly what they were unless otherwise noted or verbalized and as others have mentioned when they either bought the tickets for a fundraiser/auction or were at an auction a sheet describing the tickets and their restrictions was provided..in the OP's case it doesn't appear this is what happened.

I wouldn't automatically think that they come with stipulations such as block out dates or not being upgradable because if one were to buy a normal 1-day ticket they would be upgradable though after the tier implement there would be black out dates unless you pay the upcharge to go at a time where the tickets aren't valid. If the normal process for Disney was NOT to have upgradable tickets then yes I would likely assume they were NOT upgradable but since the normal process is that you can upgrade your tickets that is likely what the OP was going off of (though of course I'm assuming what I would think about if I were in the OPs shoes based off of what the OP was describing).

 

[jbish]

What they're ideal for is a couple looking to do a weekend trip. You could probably easily sell them if you choose to at a price more than what you paid and less that what a 2-day hopper would be for them.

EDIT: FWIW, I just checked e-bay as I know I always seem people selling what are clearly these tickets (my guess is a lot of people get them and realize it makes no sense using them for a longer trip.). Didn't look through all listings but see a few of them where the bidding price was about $125+ at least for each ticket (with multiple bidders). So at the very least, you should be able to recoup your money (and likely make a small profit). I'm not an ebay expert but pretty sure there are some pretty safe payment options to ensure you don't get cheated.

Thanks. My husband is trying this as we speak. I would love to just get my money back - and like I said, it's still cheaper than buying a one-day hopper through Disney! Here's to hoping!

 

[subtchr]

The church/school where my husband works has a silent auction fundraiser every year, and often has these tickets. I know exactly what they are, so we never bid on them (especially since we can get military salute tickets), but they do have the actual tickets on display, and bidders can read them before bidding.

Sorry if I missed it, but did the auction you bought them do this? Or was it more "blind" bidding?

 

[DavidNYC]

Hmm..I see your point but in all honesty if I saw that they were 1-day tickets then I would think that's exactly what they were unless otherwise noted or verbalized and as others have mentioned when they either bought the tickets for a fundraiser/auction or were at an auction a sheet describing the tickets and their restrictions was provided..in the OP's case it doesn't appear this is what happened.

I wouldn't automatically think that they come with stipulations such as block out dates or not being upgradable because if one were to buy a normal 1-day ticket they would be upgradable though after the tier implement there would be black out dates unless you pay the upcharge to go at a time where the tickets aren't valid. If the normal process for Disney was NOT to have upgradable tickets then yes I would likely assume they were NOT upgradable but since the normal process is that you can upgrade your tickets that is likely what the OP was going off of (though of course I'm assuming what I would think about if I were in the OPs shoes based off of what the OP was describing).

I got to agree there should be some sort of notice of terms for an auction if the product is something that is commercially available but contains terms other than what you would see on the normal product. My kids school had Disney tickets as one prize in their auction and when I heard about the stipulations I decided to use my entries for a different prize (which I happened to win - Billy Joel in a suite at MSG!). I find it kind of cheap of Disney since with these terms they basically can say they gave away a $150 ticket when in most likelihood someone uses them as an added day (which means the ticket was really only a $10 value) or have someone use all 4 days to replace having to buy a ticket for that person. I would think they make enough money that if they want to donate they can donate a normal product. As I mentioned above - I think the best value would be for a couple doing a weekend trip. But for a family of 4 going for a week? Not very valuable.

 

[bumbershoot]

I have to disagree. But, since we don't have the exact wording from the auction item, it will be difficult to ever come to a conclusion. If the auction said "four one-day park-hopper tickets," was there anything more that should have been said? If the auction organizer didn't say they were upgradable, why would someone assume that they were? Sometimes you get what you pay for, even if it's not what you thought you were paying for.

I disagree 100%. This is vital info. Very few people from out of state are going to want tickets that are 1 day only. Anyone planning a WDW trip can find out that tickets are upgradeable, so it's easy to think that these are no different.

Just like having "kitten" in bold and underlined was important for our kitten+toys auction item, having ALL the info about these tickets is important, too.

 

[jbish]

I have to disagree. But, since we don't have the exact wording from the auction item, it will be difficult to ever come to a conclusion. If the auction said "four one-day park-hopper tickets," was there anything more that should have been said? If the auction organizer didn't say they were upgradable, why would someone assume that they were? Sometimes you get what you pay for, even if it's not what you thought you were paying for.

Hmm..I see your point but in all honesty if I saw that they were 1-day tickets then I would think that's exactly what they were unless otherwise noted or verbalized and as others have mentioned when they either bought the tickets for a fundraiser/auction or were at an auction a sheet describing the tickets and their restrictions was provided..in the OP's case it doesn't appear this is what happened.

I wouldn't automatically think that they come with stipulations such as block out dates or not being upgradable because if one were to buy a normal 1-day ticket they would be upgradable though after the tier implement there would be black out dates unless you pay the upcharge to go at a time where the tickets aren't valid. If the normal process for Disney was NOT to have upgradable tickets then yes I would likely assume they were NOT upgradable but since the normal process is that you can upgrade your tickets that is likely what the OP was going off of (though of course I'm assuming what I would think about if I were in the OPs shoes based off of what the OP was describing).

Again, FWIW, here's exactly what was presented to us.

I was actually out of town so DH texted me this picture and he was on his own to do the bidding, but I was the one frantically calculating what the cost difference would be from a one-day hopper to a five-day hopper and figuring out what the break even point would be where it would be cheaper to do that than buying at Undercover Tourist. I calculated the breakeven point to being somewhere above $500 so I told DH to stop bidding at $450, just to be sure there would be wiggle room. The actual paperwork was not provided during the bidding. He would have seen that and told me there were restrictions.

For all I knew, these could have been actual one-day park hoppers that some generous benefactor decided to donate to the silent auction - and those WOULD have been upgradable.