# Buying Disneyworld passes on ebay



## jules54 (Dec 19, 2010)

Just starting to plan trip to Orlando for May. Six adults and 2 kids. As everyone does we need to get alot seen and done in a few days.
Any tuggers ever buy tixs on ebay? I know just like everything else one must be careful and bid and buy carefully.
I think one day all park passes would work best for us for Disney. Then hopefully we can do the same with Universal studios.
All opinions are welcome.
Thanks


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## abc31 (Dec 19, 2010)

I did it once, a few years ago.  I was really nervous, but it all worked out fine.


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## bnoble (Dec 19, 2010)

There are two potential issues.  1: you won't know if they are really valid until you arrive at the gates.  2: if the tickets are partially-used, there is a good chance you won't pass the biometric scanner.

I personally would not do this to save a few bucks.  But, to each his own.


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## Sea Six (Dec 19, 2010)

Taking your family to Disney isn't the best time to experiment with the cheapest tickets you can find on the internet.


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## JudyS (Dec 19, 2010)

Yes, it is risky. Even though one day park hoppers (for either WDW or Universal) are very expensive, I don't think I would do this.


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## Big Matt (Dec 19, 2010)

The only real way to save money on Disney tickets is to buy lots of days with the no expiration option and use them over a series of vacations.  You will save a ridiculous amount of money doing this in the long run, but you have to spend a ton up front to do it.

I have six days on a 10 day pass that I bought a while ago and each day is only about $35 pp.  It also has what amounts to free water parks, etc.  

Look into it.


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## JudyS (Dec 19, 2010)

Big Matt said:


> The only real way to save money on Disney tickets is to buy lots of days with the no expiration option and use them over a series of vacations.  You will save a ridiculous amount of money doing this in the long run, but you have to spend a ton up front to do it.
> 
> I have six days on a 10 day pass that I bought a while ago and each day is only about $35 pp.  It also has what amounts to free water parks, etc....


This is the approach I take, too. However, the current price is about $50 per day now (plus the cost of the water park add-on, if you want it.)  

If I were trying to save money on tickets for eight people, and didn't want to buy non-expiration Disney tickets (at $500 a pop), I would choose either WDW *or* Universal, not both. Both WDW and Universal give big discounts for multiple day visits. (Universal also has combined ticket deals with Sea World, Busch Gardens, and Wet & Wild.)


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## bnoble (Dec 19, 2010)

> If I were trying to save money on tickets for eight people, and didn't want to buy non-expiration Disney tickets (at $500 a pop), I would choose either WDW or Universal, not both.


This is good advice.  We usually visit Orlando for a week at a time, and we pick either "Disney" or "everything else".  We never combine Disney and non-Disney during the same week, for exactly this reason.  They other parks will be there next time, and there can always be a next time.


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## MommaBear (Dec 19, 2010)

There are a few ways to get slightly better prices on WDW tickets. One is to buy them at AAA. Another is to get them through Costco. The third is a wholesaler through Mousesavers.com. If you happen to be in the military or are retired, MWR is offering 4 days for $138, and only one in the party needs to be military or a dependant. As much as I have bought on ebay, including three timeshares, I would not buy tickets there. I agree the vacation is not the time to find out you have been had. Oh- there is another way to get discount tickets and that is to attend a timeshare presentation!!!!


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## carl2591 (Dec 19, 2010)

you might find a timeshare tour that offers day disney tickets as prizes.. 

I have gotten all kinda stuff for taking tours.


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## JudyS (Dec 20, 2010)

I thought of suggesting a tour to get Disney tickets, too, but the original poster specified park hoppers (multiple parks in one day) and I don't know of any timeshare that gives park hoppers for doing tours. 

Adding park hopping to a one or two day ticket is very expensive, and some of the Disney tickets provided on tours (the "Touch of Magic" tickets) can not be upgraded to park hopper tickets at all.  

I don't know whether any timeshare gives multi-park Universal tickets.


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## jerseygirl (Dec 20, 2010)

You can take what you get from a Timeshare Tour and upgrade it at the Disney window.  I did that once with tickets I bought while staying at a Hilton resort (I didn't buy the Park Hopper option and then changed my mind).  The agent at the window said, "Where did you buy these?  I've never seen a price so low."  So, apparently, the agent can see the original purchase price when doing the upgrade .... and Hilton gets a really good volume discount!    I just had to pay the additional "Park Hopper Fee" at the WDW window and they were immediately turned into Park Hopper tickets.


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## theo (Dec 20, 2010)

*Good advice...*



bnoble said:


> There are two potential issues.  1: you won't know if they are really valid until you arrive at the gates.  2: if the tickets are partially-used, there is a good chance you won't pass the biometric scanner.
> 
> I personally would not do this to save a few bucks.  But, to each his own.



I agree wholeheartedly. 

Around here recently, some very genuine looking (but entirely counterfeit) tickets were being sold to a New England Patriots football game. As it turned out, the counterfeiters somehow overlooked one very important detail in the preparation of their otherwise very legitimate looking tickets...

they actually mispelled Gillette (the razor company) Stadium, incorrectly spelling it Gellette Stadium.


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## jules54 (Dec 20, 2010)

keep the ideas coming. It is more then a little money one is saving when you are talking 8 people. It is as much as 600.00 per day. I read about the military discount and the soldier or spouse has to be present the first day of admission.
Both sets of parks have to be done this trip. I know everyone thinks there will be a next time. Sorry to say our families have had two unexpected deaths this year. One was my DIL father only 55. The other my sister 62. Hubby had back surgery before the surgery he could not walk for 4 weeks without help. Wake up calls for everyone. 
We are so thankful the kids and grandkids are healthy and we are able to do this trip together. Of course don't want to take a loan out to do it 
Thanks everyone.


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## DeniseM (Dec 20, 2010)

www.mousesavers.com lists all the legitimate sources of discounted passes.


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## JudyS (Dec 20, 2010)

jerseygirl said:


> You can take what you get from a Timeshare Tour and upgrade it at the Disney window....


It depends on the type of ticket. Some timeshare tours provide regular tickets, which are upgradable, and some provide "Touch of Magic" tickets, which are not. ("Touch of Magic" tickets are available only in bulk to tour operators and such. They are not sold to the general public.) Generally, the timeshare will tell you in advance if the tickets are "Touch of Magic."

I feel that the best use of an upgradeable ticket is to trade it in on a multi-day ticket. If you have an upgradable ticket, it is generally better to use it once before trying to  trade it in. If you try to upgrade an unused ticket, Disney may only give you a credit for the original, wholesale cost. If you upgrade a used ticket, Disney will give a credit for the full retail value. (But remember, tickets can only be upgraded for 14 days after the first use.)


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## JudyS (Dec 20, 2010)

jules54 said:


> ...
> Both sets of parks have to be done this trip. I know everyone thinks there will be a next time. Sorry to say our families have had two unexpected deaths this year. One was my DIL father only 55. The other my sister 62.....


My condolences. (When I read the advice that there can always be another trip, I also thought that this isn't necessarily so.)

Are you planning just one day Disney and one at Universal, or multiple days?


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## MichaelColey (Dec 20, 2010)

JudyS said:


> If you upgrade a used ticket, Disney will give a credit for the full retail value.


That's the way it's SUPPOSED to work, but make sure you know the numbers and what you SHOULD be charged and get it corrected if they fail to properly "bridge" the ticket price (that's their terminology for it).  We upgraded tickets a couple trips ago and they shorted us $225.  I figured it would just take a quick call to customer service to get it corrected, but it ended up taking dozens of calls and emails, a dispute through AmEx, a report through the BBB, and a subsequent call to a BBB contact before I finally got it straightened out.


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## Arnie (Dec 20, 2010)

*Did it Twice!*

I bought tickets on two separate occasions. Once 4 yrs ago and just last May. Bought 3 and 4 day parkhoppers.
I got them off E-Bay and it worked out fine.


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## colamedia (Dec 21, 2010)

Do you just want to walk around the parks or do you want to go on the rides? Universal, you can do both Universal parks in one day as long as going on the rides isn't a priority, you just want to wander around and soak up the atmosphere. If you need to be waiting around for long queues, it gets more difficult.  Would you be getting a scooter for anyone in the party?  That can help with queue jumping, but there are still long waits.

The Disney parks are much larger than the Universal parks, and much further apart which means park hopping can be a challenge if anyone wants to go on rides! I do park hop, I've gone alone and the most parks I could manage in one day was 3, with the 3rd one basically just being Magic Kingdom for the fireworks and not much else there.  Depending on the age of the grandkids/kids, if there are kids under 10 they will probably want Magic Kingdom, older than that Hollywood Studios may come into it (I'd recommend HS just for Toy Story Mania! but that queue is always looooooooong) Epcot getting around the World area takes a while, just due to the scale.  I'd say you can easily do Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios in one loong day (though maybe not Toy Story Mania, and not any ride with more than 30min wait), but trying to get all 4 parks in one day will be a huge challenge, missing out more than you see.  If you do still want to try all 4 parks, make sure you have someone on an electric scooter, it can help with queue jumping, though there is a limit on how big the accompanying group can be.

Personally, I'd pick one Disney park for the day rather than pay the $50+ for the park hopping option, and make the most of that park, Universal I'd get the 2 parks in 1 day pass, though they make 2 park in 2 days almost as cheap, and 2 parks in 3 days only a few dollars more, next thing you have a 2 parks in 4 day pass and don't get to Disney....


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## JudyS (Dec 21, 2010)

MichaelColey said:


> That's the way it's SUPPOSED to work, but make sure you know the numbers and what you SHOULD be charged and get it corrected if they fail to properly "bridge" the ticket price (that's their terminology for it).  We upgraded tickets a couple trips ago and they shorted us $225.  I figured it would just take a quick call to customer service to get it corrected, but it ended up taking dozens of calls and emails, a dispute through AmEx, a report through the BBB, and a subsequent call to a BBB contact before I finally got it straightened out.


Wow, that's pretty bad! 

I make a point of knowing exactly how much I should be charged before doing the upgrade, but I imagine it can get pretty confusing if you have several different ticket types to upgrade (adult and child, say.) 

I have heard that Guest Services at Downtown Disney is the most likely to make errors when upgrading tickets. I generally use the Epcot Guest Services for ticket upgrades, and haven't had any problems with them, even with complicated upgrades such as to an Annual Pass with DVC discount.


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## JudyS (Dec 21, 2010)

colamedia said:


> ...  If you do still want to try all 4 parks, make sure you have someone on an electric scooter, it can help with queue jumping, though there is a limit on how big the accompanying group can be.....


I've done Disney in both an electric scooter and a regular wheelchair, and didn't get to do any "line jumping."  In fact, at least once I had to wait much longer than guests in the regular line. Disney's policy is that disabled patrons don't get to line jump, unless they are critically ill children (on a "Make a Wish" trip, say.)


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## MichaelColey (Dec 21, 2010)

JudyS said:


> I have heard that Guest Services at Downtown Disney is the most likely to make errors when upgrading tickets. I generally use the Epcot Guest Services for ticket upgrades, and haven't had any problems with them, even with complicated upgrades such as to an Annual Pass with DVC discount.


Ours was at Epcot Guest Services and relatively simple (10 day base tickets to annual passes), so no location is immune.

I knew a ballpark amount that I should have been charged for the upgrade, but not the exact numbers.  I had researched the price difference before their latest price increase, and our trip was a little later.  When the amount they wanted to charge was higher, I had the agent check with a supervisor, but no help there.  Illuminations was starting in 5 minutes, and we had pre-opening breakfast reservations at Animal Kingdom the next morning (where we planned on using the Tables in Wonderland card, which we needed to be annual passholders to get).  I just let it go, figuring I would research it later and just call customer service to get it fixed.  I had no idea how time-consuming, un-Disney of an experience it would become.

The worst part was that every time I emailed or called, it got routed to the same clueless, unhelpful customer service agent.  I couldn't talk to a supervisor, get it escalated, or talk to anyone else.  Even when I eventually filed a BBB complaint, the complaint got redirected to her.  Only after the BBB administratively closed the case did I get the contact information of another employee (his contact information was in the last response Disney sent to the BBB).  He told me that the other agent was no longer in the department and handled things quickly and professionally.


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## bnoble (Dec 21, 2010)

The one time I was mis-quoted, it was also at Epcot.  My sense is that Magic Kingdom is the least likely to get something wrong, but even they can goof from time to time.  But, one thing I do know: with Disney, you NEVER want to wait until later to resolve something.  If the transaction doesn't seem to be going properly, it's best to wait and try again later with some other cast member.


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## chriskre (Dec 21, 2010)

Go to www.mousesavers.com and sign up for the newsletter which comes on the 15th of every month. There is a special link to UnderCoverTourist in the newsletter which gives slightly better ticket prices than going to the UCT site directly.  Then you can use those tickets to upgrade at the gate saving you lots of money on 8 tickets.  :ignore:


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## Helene4 (Dec 30, 2010)

"Annual" pass, which is a parkhopper, is running around $500. per adult. Yes it expires in 1 year from date of purchase, but it may be less expensive than getting a regular 7-8-9-10 day parkhopper pass. It does not include water parks, but right now we are experiencing 22 degree nights. Not so interested in getting in the water!


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