1. Free or heavily discounted park tickets
Many timeshare companies advertise free or heavily discounted theme park tickets for Walt Disney World or Disneyland. But there’s a catch. To get your free tickets you must attend a timeshare presentation which can last around 90 minutes – 2 hours. Far from being relaxed affairs, these presentations often lay on the pressure to buy into a timeshare and can be quite intimidating to many. If you think you can stand the heavy sales pitch and pressure, take a few moments to read the small print. Conditions are usually quite specific, and to qualify for the offer a minimum income is usually required, along with showing a major credit card before the presentation begins, and other strict terms. Some “free” offers also require you to book a package stay at one of their hotels to qualify for the tickets.
2. Buying second hand tickets
Driving around the areas surrounding the theme parks you may spot stores offering second hand Disney theme park tickets. A look on ebay will also reveal many sellers offering second hand tickets. Whether they’re offered as unused tickets or tickets with a few days remaining on them, our advice is to stay well clear. The only way to find out if there are any days remaining on the tickets is to go to the entrance gates or guest services at the theme parks, by which time it’s too late as you’ll have already parted with your hard-earned money. Stick to accredited Disney ticket sellers* and only buy new tickets unless you want to risk disappointment and losing your cash.
3. Buying FASTPASS tickets
A quick search on ebay will reveal numerous Disney FASTPASS tickets for sale. FASTPASS is Walt Disney World’s answer to avoiding the long lines at popular park attractions. The basic idea is that you insert your park ticket into a machine and get a printed ticket for that particular attraction showing a one hour window in which to return to the attraction and use the FASTPASS queue, which offers a shorter wait than the regular queue. The service is completely free to anyone with a valid Disney park ticket.
FASTPASS tickets are only valid on the date issued for the time window printed on the ticket. Many ebay sellers claim that Disney Cast Members don’t check the dates and times on the tickets and they can therefore be used long after they’ve expired. This may once have been the case in some instances, but Disney have recently cracked down and all Disney ride and attraction attendants are instructed to reject FASTPASS tickets that aren’t stamped with the current date and time. All tickets are also now cut by the FASTPASS machines so that they have perforated edges, which attendants are told to feel for when allowing guests access to the FASTPASS queues.
Disney are also now experimenting with new technology which add bar codes to the tickets, to be read by bar code readers at attraction entrances.
In summary, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!
Have you been the victim of any of the scams mentioned above? Let us know!
* Genuine discounted and valid park tickets can be bought via our Disney accredited ticket agent here.