# What's with the cheap tickets sold in Orlando?



## jlwquilter (Apr 8, 2007)

Just got back from our Orlando vacation - had a GREAT time! 

While getting take-out pizza one night I read the ad on the wall, by the pizza place itself, for $30 Disney park tickets, $15 SeaWorld tickets, etc. Saw a huge sign at one of the cheapo souvenier places saying "we buy unused park tickets" - figured it was also code for "we sell cheap park tickets".

Anyway, my question is, has anyone bought tickets from these sources? All my tickets came from the place itself - and I paid much more than what these ads offered. My fear would be that I'd pay for a ticket, go to the park, and find out the ticket was a counterfeit. The potenial hassle and $$ loss kept me away.

Any experiences first hand with these ticket sources??


----------



## AwayWeGo (Apr 9, 2007)

*Timeshare Tour & Discount Ticket Kiosks.*




jlwquilter said:


> Just got back from our Orlando vacation - had a GREAT time!
> 
> While getting take-out pizza one night I read the ad on the wall, by the pizza place itself, for $30 Disney park tickets, $15 SeaWorld tickets, etc. Saw a huge sign at one of the cheapo souvenier places saying "we buy unused park tickets" - figured it was also code for "we sell cheap park tickets".
> 
> ...


Those places are mostly timeshare tour headhunter operations -- not that there's anything wrong with that.  They get a little something for each couple they sign up to go on a timeshare tour.  Signed-up prospects go on the tours & receive heavily discounted tickets as their reward for showing up & paying attention.  

Sometimes the kiosks also sell slightly discounted tickets without requiring timeshare tours.  How do they get the tickets they sell that way?  Some of'm they buy from people who got'm as timeshare tour freebies, when the people preferred collecting a little cash rather than taking a day at the park.  Other tickets, mainly partly used multi-day tickets, they buy back from vacationers who didn't use up all the park days their tickets were good for.  

Sometimes those partly used tickets work fine at the park admission gates & sometimes they don't.  A family we talked to said they bought discount tickets for mom & dad & junior & sis at an Orlando kiosk.  At the park entrance, mom & dad & sis breezed right in.  Junior got pulled over & quizzed by park security because his ticket was listed as stolen.  Junor didn't get in any trouble, but his parents had to buy him a full-freight ticket so he could get in.  The experience left the whole family shaken -- especially junior. 

Click here for the story of how The Chief Of Staff resold surplus Disney tickets cross country via Craig's List while we were vacationing in Orlando FL. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


----------



## jlwquilter (Apr 9, 2007)

*Fingerprint Link*

I wonder how partially used muli-day tickets would work with the fingerprint "link up" required at park entry. I don't know what that fingerprint does in actuality - the gate gal said it links the ticket to me..but then I only had a one day ticket.

Yeah, that would be my hesitation too - getting pulled over at the gate would be such a stinky way to start the day! Even if the total savings is still on the plus side after mabe paying for another tivcket at full price, it still puts a pall on the day.

None of the signs in the regular stores mentioned a required tour but I guess that would come when someone really asked about the discounted tickets. Not worth for me for right now - to give up several hours to listen to BS to save a chunk of change. Maybe later on, in my dotage  

Thanks Alan.


----------



## Steamboat Bill (Apr 9, 2007)

I don't advise buying used tickets as AAA seems to have the best (safest) deals. 

I have tried to beat the finger scanner at Disney several times and never passed. I simply switch my and my wifes tickets and they stop me...I simply say...oops, grabbed the wrong ticket.


----------



## drolly (Apr 11, 2007)

I just got back from the area and was curious about the system as well.  I went into one of the "No Tours" places to inquire about Sea World tix and was told I could get them for free...............if I took a tour of Mystic Dunes.  I then asked about the "no tours" sign and was promptly informed that they were out.  We bought our tix at the park and didn't think we'd be going back for the second free day, so I went back and asked about buying our unused tix.  $10 apiece was the going price.  Ouch, I expected to be gouged, but that's crazy on a $65 ticket.

2 things I still had questions about though.  First, Sea World printed our names on the tix and says a photo ID is required to use them.  I don't have a "common" name, so I wonder how that works?  Do they erase the name and print over it?  I'm also curious as to what they resell my $10 ticket for.

Also, question about the Disney fingerprinting thing.  I thought when we bought the tix (park hopper, no expiration, the whole deal) that because of this fingerprinting/naming of the tickets, if we ever lost them or had them stolen, we'd be able to get them reprinted because our ID's were associated with them.  Well, my wife and I couldn't find our Disney tix before the trip (moved over the past year) but when we got down there, the Disney customer service rep said if you lose them or forget them, then you're SOL.


----------



## elaine (Apr 11, 2007)

*I believe that Disney will replace tickets if photocopied*

For the new Magic your Way tickets, I was told to copy the backs of my tickets where the bar codes were and save this--and that if tickets were ever lost/stolen, that disney would replace them for free if you have the photocopy of the back.


----------



## Fern Modena (Apr 11, 2007)

I don't understand how you were gouged.  You purchased a ticket for a day's admission for $65.  The ticket included a complimentary (free) second day's admission.  You then resold your ticket to the broker for $10.  At this point, all that was left on it was the complimentary (free) day.  If you were  to attempt to refund the remainder of the ticket at Sea World, it would have had no value at all.  

Fern Modena



drolly said:


> We bought our tix at the park and didn't think we'd be going back for the second free day, so I went back and asked about buying our unused tix.  $10 apiece was the going price.  Ouch, I expected to be gouged, but that's crazy on a $65 ticket.


----------



## drolly (Apr 11, 2007)

Fern Modena said:


> I don't understand how you were gouged.  You purchased a ticket for a day's admission for $65.  The ticket included a complimentary (free) second day's admission.  You then resold your ticket to the broker for $10.  At this point, all that was left on it was the complimentary (free) day.  If you were  to attempt to refund the remainder of the ticket at Sea World, it would have had no value at all.
> 
> Fern Modena



Really?  You don't think a business buying a $65 ticket for $10 doesn't qualify as gouging?  Especially since they then probably resell that ticket for $50?  Don't get me wrong, it's what I expected and we did end up selling them our tix because $10 is better than nothing.  But I'm also not gonna sit here and sing the praises of these places simply because they gave me a few bucks for a ticket.  

Also, the price for unused Disney tix was not much more.  Those are not "free" days and they are paying about the same price for them.  Does somebody selling their Disney tix have a bigger gripe than me?  Of course, but that's the beauty of these forums, I can still give my opinion


----------



## Fern Modena (Apr 11, 2007)

OK, I think I didn't write my response clearly enough.  You bought a ticket for $65., right?  Or tickets.  Each ticket had one admission on it for $65., and then as a promotion, included a second day's admission at no extra charge, right?  So the second day's admission was _complimentary_.  Each day's admission was *not* $32.50.  The first day's admission was $65., and the second day's admission, if used by you, would cost you $00.00.   If I understand this correctly, you used the first day's admission on each ticket.  Am I correct?  If I am, then your ticket no value left to it as far as Sea World was concerned.  There were only two ways to get any value out of what was left.  First would be to use a second day's admission, of course.  The only other way would be to find somebody who was willing to buy the tickets from you, for whatever they wished, in this case $10.  What they would later sell them for is immaterial, unless you would have hawked them yourself.





drolly said:


> Really?  You don't think a business buying a $65 ticket for $10 doesn't qualify as gouging?  Especially since they then probably resell that ticket for $50?  Don't get me wrong, it's what I expected and we did end up selling them our tix because $10 is better than nothing.  But I'm also not gonna sit here and sing the praises of these places simply because they gave me a few bucks for a ticket.


----------



## Sandy (Apr 11, 2007)

I was also told that another source for these cheap tickets was international sales and convention sales. 

Sometimes, folks from outside of the US get promotional packages for their trips that include the hotels and the admissions.  So they are offered to other tourists on the cheap. 

Also, some conventioneers can resell their tickets because the tix come packaged with their registration for the conference.


----------



## drolly (Apr 12, 2007)

Fern Modena said:


> OK, I think I didn't write my response clearly enough.
> 
> The only other way would be to find somebody who was willing to buy the tickets from you, for whatever they wished, in this case $10.  What they would later sell them for is immaterial, unless you would have hawked them yourself.



Ok, I really don't want to get into a stupid spitting match on a forum here, but I completely disagree.  Yeah, you did right clearly enough because you just said the exact same thing.  And the point is, I disagree.  Again, just because they gave me a few bucks for my tix, doesn't mean I need to be here singing their praises and thinking they're wonderful.  What they would later sell them for is not immaterial, it's the basis of my point that it's gouging.  They're making a tremendous profit on it because the average person doesn't have any other option.  Sure there's a story on here of somebody who logged online while down in FL and sold their tix on craigslist or maybe you could stand on a streetcorner hawking your tix, but few people are going to do that.  Places like this take advantage of it and give you bottom dollar for the tickets.

Look, like I ALREADY said, I DID sell them my tix, so I OBVIOUSLY don't have THAT much of a problem with it.  Really, my entire point was to let people know not to expect much if they are thinking of selling their tix to these places.

And really, unless you work for one of these booths, I don't get the need to argue about this?  Who really cares?  Sorry, but you're not gonna convince me that I should be grateful to these people for giving me a whopping $10 for my ticket.  They provide a service, plain and simple.  Agree to disagree.


----------

