Buying tix in advance vs. at the gate

[erdooley]

I have a friend who won some WDW passes at a silent auction but he can't use them. I have the opportunity to buy them from him. They are only passes for one day, but we want 5 day passes. I called WDW and they said I could just upgrade the tix at the gate and pay the difference. Obviously I can't do it ahead of time since they have to see the actual tickets. We're going in Jan. '09 so hopefully crowds will be fairly light. Is it a nightmare getting tix at the gate? Normally I would do it in advance over the net in hopes of getting a deal and having less stress. I'm not sure yet how much my friend wants for the passes, but I'm assuming this scheme should save me some cash. Any advice about purchasing/upgrading at the gate? Thanks!

[brownie]

If you are staying on site, you might be able to take care of it at your resort. Worth checking into so you don't have to wait in line at the park.

[Jasper]

If you are staying on site definitely check with guest services at your resort as was previously mentioned. If you still have to go to guest services at one of the parks I would suggest going early to avoid the lines. I may be wrong but I think guest services outside the parks open thirty minutes before the gates to the park open. I would plan on being at guest services anywhere between thirty minutes before the park opens up until the time the park actually opens and you should have relatively short lines. You normally see the long lines at guest services starting about 8:30 or so in the morning and lasting until about noon. Of course those are just generalizations and anything can actually happen!

[Beast_fanatic]

You may not be able to upgrade those passes if they were 'comp' tickets, then Disney considers them to have no value and you won't be able to do it. If they are not comp tickets and they are upgradeable, they'll only allow you to apply a ticket on a one-to-one basis, so you would not be able to combine them all into one ticket.

And, finally, selling WDW tickets is against Disney's rules.

[joonyer]

Even If you can buy them and use them, I wouldn't pay much for them. In your case, the cost difference between a four day pass and a five day pass day pass is only $3.00, so I wouldn't pay him any more than that for one. Hardly worth it. Now, the difference between a one day and two day pass is about $72.00 so it might be worth paying for in that situation.
However, the Official Ticket Center (Intercot Sponsor) is offering a fifth day free when you purchase a four day pass on its website. I'd just do that instead of trying to buy a pass that you may not be able to use. It will cost less and your guranted to have passes that will get you in.

[erdooley]

Thanks for the replies, but now I'm even more confused. I'm getting conflicting info. The letter w/ the tickets states that days can be added on. The tickets are 4 one-day adult hopper tickets, valued at $448. We want a total of 2 adult, 1 child 5 day passes (no hoppers). If we bought our tix directly from WDW, the total would be around $629. I called WDW and explained the situation. I know if I called 5 times I might get 5 answers, but this is what I was told: They said that regardless of the ticket combination, I could apply the $448 worth of tickets to my total of $629 and just pay the difference. My friend said he'd have to check w/ his wife to see what the total they paid (bid) for the tickets at the auction, but he was sure it was less than the value ($448). And I'd think I could get them for less than what he bid, since he just wants to unload them. So I'm thinking, if I gave him around $300, wouldn't I be saving about $148 doing this? And the Disney lady didn't say anything about it being illegal to sell tickets to others. But like I said, who knows what another person would say. Should I just scrap this idea? Now I'm a little scared to even chance it in case I get there and they say forget it. Then I'll be out $300 or so. Thanks...

[gerald72]

You may not be able to upgrade those passes if they were 'comp' tickets, then Disney considers them to have no value and you won't be able to do it. If they are not comp tickets and they are upgradeable, they'll only allow you to apply a ticket on a one-to-one basis, so you would not be able to combine them all into one ticket.

And, finally, selling WDW tickets is against Disney's rules.


So you're saying the silent auction was illegal?

[erdooley]

My guess is that an auction doesn't qualify as a sale. The bid money went to charity, so the tix are a donation on Disney's part, not a sale. But if Beast_Fanatic is correct, then it may be "against the rules" to sell them to a third party. But I don't see why it would matter -- the charity still got their money.

[CleveRocks]

Thanks for the replies, but now I'm even more confused. I'm getting conflicting info. The letter w/ the tickets states that days can be added on. The tickets are 4 one-day adult hopper tickets, valued at $448. We want a total of 2 adult, 1 child 5 day passes (no hoppers). If we bought our tix directly from WDW, the total would be around $629. I called WDW and explained the situation. I know if I called 5 times I might get 5 answers, but this is what I was told: They said that regardless of the ticket combination, I could apply the $448 worth of tickets to my total of $629 and just pay the difference. My friend said he'd have to check w/ his wife to see what the total they paid (bid) for the tickets at the auction, but he was sure it was less than the value ($448). And I'd think I could get them for less than what he bid, since he just wants to unload them. So I'm thinking, if I gave him around $300, wouldn't I be saving about $148 doing this? And the Disney lady didn't say anything about it being illegal to sell tickets to others. But like I said, who knows what another person would say. Should I just scrap this idea? Now I'm a little scared to even chance it in case I get there and they say forget it. Then I'll be out $300 or so. Thanks...It is not against Disney policy to sell UNUSED tickets. It's perfectly legal to sell them as long as they haven't been partially used.

[Beast_fanatic]

Disney's policy is that after the initial sale of the tickets, they are not to be sold whether the ticket is unused or not. They are only to be transferred as a gift. I am uncertain if special rules apply to charitable auctions. This does not apply to ticket brokers (such as the Official Ticket Center) as they have an arrangement with Disney.

As far as trading them in, the policy is a one-on-one upgrade, not a group upgrade as was described to you. I am not saying that you might not get a Cast Member that does the transfer as described, but I wouldn't count on it.