buying tickets online...ebay or ezsplitit

[morganelli]

Has anyone had any experiences buying from ebay or ezsplitit.com? I have bought disney tickets online without problems from both ebay and ezsplitit. I am curious about any horror stories...you know.. bought tickets only to find out they were expired or had no days left..

Thanks

 

[NancyIL]

I believe it's technically illegal to sell Disney park tickets. Why would you want to take a chance?

 

[mom2boys]

I haven't been able to bring myself to buy, however - let me tell you why I am considering it. We are planning a SHORT 3 night trip in Dec. Our only park on arrival day will be MK for MVMCP. We also want to see Osbourne Family Lights at MGM & the 100 yrs version of the tapestry parade. That means 2 additional theme parks but we have to squeeze them into one day. I feel that hoppers are the only way to go. Since we will awaken the last morning & begin a 16 hour journey home - to minimize missed school for the kids - we really only have one full day in the parks. It seems like the UMPs are wasteful, unless I can get the last day knocked off - which seems to be determined by the CM who checks us in at our resort. Rather ify for me. Not saying it's right & I probably won't bid to the point that I will win. But yes, I have bid - I just let 2 one day hoppers slip past me - for another 2.50 I could have had them but I'm still not comfortable with it. If we invest over $700 for 4 day hoppers for our family, we have spent the entire budget for the trip & haven't left home.

 

[CarolA]

My concern would be how do you know they are not used up when you get them? I would be afraid that there were actually no days left since there is no way to tell until you get to WDW!

 

[Eric Julie and Hailey]

Buying "used" tickets from anyone you don't know is a bad idea - and illegal. Buy four day passes and hold on to them until your next visit. Or, maybe one of your friends will go to WDW and want three hopper days. It's still illegal, but at least you and your friend know you're not getting scammed.

 

[mom2boys]

Please don't think I am trying to start a debate - just trying to explain my point of view. Believe I am concerned about the risks involved in "used tickets" & it is not my first choice of means of acquiring tickets. Our budget will only allow for a couple of days at WDW. Purchasing multiday hoppers for use on a future trip is an option I am considering. However, the cost of four day hoppers for 4 of use is the entire budget we have set for this trip. DH really wants to travel to other places (IMAGINE) & I would like my children to see. So I don't know whether DH will go for this one. We may end up just doing the bounce back - but that forces all of us to stay together in the same park for the entire time. My niece & I would enjoy CP - DH & DSs would probably prefer a second round of Osbourne Lights. That means an entire day of separate touring - not what we have in mind. I would like to see WDW consider an option that allows hopping for shorter periods of time - we will not have time for "plus" admissions only parks so a UMP - even for two nights is $55 more than separately priced admissions. I just need to vent. As you can see by my signature, we have spent a small fortune at WDW in the past few years. I just wish that WDW would be a bit more family budget minded.

 

[morganelli]

We too have spent a small fortune at disney and other places in Florida.. I am not complaining..as I would do it again for the moments we shared.. However, it is possible to enjoy all you want to in 2 days.. We did it with 2 kids...and they enjoyed the entire trip. You have to plan what you want to see and what you don't want to see..

I wish Disney would offer 2 day park hopper passes.. They offer 3 (at select locations..and disney will tell you they don't if you call..but they do) Till they offer that, I will spend the money from others with good ratings on ebay and ezsplitit to give my family the best we can. If the tickets are bad, we do have a recourse..thru the sites.

 

[DisneyKidds]

I had an ebay experience with WDW tickets that was interesting and ended up ok. For a trip to WDW last year I bid on and purchased unused 4 day park hoppers on ebay. I got a good price that represented a discount slightly better than DC. I know you take a chance with ebay - but I have made many successful purchases and have never had a negative experience. If you look for sellers with good ratings I think you will always be ok - I have sold on ebay and for the most part I think you are dealing with honest people.

Well, about those park hoppers. I paid for them (via PayPal) and arranged to have them sent to me. The next day I get a frantic email from the seller stating that she had lost the tickets. She was very concerned as she could not afford to be out the money for the tickets and I truely felt bad for her. Plus - she was using someone else ebay id to sell the tickets and didn't want me to submit negative feedback that would impact this other person who had nothing to do with this fiasco. Since I was unable to wait for her to locate the tickets (I needed them for the next week) she promptly refunded my money. Not sure if she ever located the tickets - I sure hope she did. However, it didn't hurt me as I did get my money back. I suppose something like this could happen with any transaction for any itme on ebay. Again - it is the chance you take.

For our trip this year we will be getting APs. I did see someone auctioning a voucher for an AP on ebay. Seller had no feedback and I was too uncomfortable bidding hundreds of dollars with that uncertainty. Plus - I could see that another person had retracted a bid after the seller failed to respond to her question. If you are careful you can pick up on these things and avoid most problems.

As for buying used hoppers - I have looked at them. Again, if you find a seller with a good rating it would probably work out ok and you probably won't get ripped off. I know it is technically "illegal" as far as Disney is concerned and you are taking a chance, but it could save you a few bucks and you would probably never get caught. From what I have seen it doesn't appear that used passes are that great a deal on ebay - they must be in demand. For a few extra dollars I just buy at WDW.

If I were in mom2boys situation I would sure think long and hard and may buy them from a good seller. The flexibility to park hop on a short trip may be worth the risk.

 

[CarolA]

I would not buy an AP from them. Once it is validated it is assigned to the user. The last few times my finger scan has not worked and they have required me to produce my photo ID so... you would really be in trouble here!

 

[CarolA]

Just because I am curious, I went to Ebay. The first tickets I saw were for some certificate that supposedly you could use to get tickets almost anywhere. The bid was for $20. In VERY small print at the bottom of the page is this condition statement

CHOOSE 1 OF THE PROMOTION REQUIREMENTS: This is not an offer to sell or solicit in states where registration may be required. This offer is limited to one ticket offer per family or group, you may purchase tickets at discounted rates. You must send in your certificate 45 to 60 days prior to going to the Theme Park. 1)Agree to book hotel accomodations through the travel provider for at least 3 nights in one of many hotels. Rates are as low as $69 a night, and many times you can stay at the same hotel you would want to if booking yourself. No timeshare tours or presentations are required with option 1. Or select option 2)Travellers must be 23 to 65 and be married or co-habitating (regardless of gender). Travelers must have stayed in a hotel or timeshare 1 night prior. You will be offered exciting vacation opportunities and be treated to breakfast and a 90 minute tour prior to picking up tickets. By bidding you agree to hold us harmless of any action that may be brought due to your vacation. Terms and fees are subject to change as with any travel, due to it not expiring for a year. By bidding in this auction you agree to any disputes be heard in Clark County, Nevada and that will be the sole jurisdiction. Have a great vacation and enjoy your tickets.


So you have to do a timeshare tour or stay at an unknown hotel! I am not sure this is a good deal! I hope that everyone who bids reads this, but I am afraid some people won't!

 

[DisneyKidds]

CarolA - the AP item was for a voucher, not an actual AP. I still wasn't about to go for it. Hopefully it worked out for whoever did.

 

[SueM in MN]

I have seen people in the park who obviously had purchased tickets that had something wrong. They were stopped at the turnstile, questioned by security and taken away. We could hear the mom and kids crying and the mom saying they should have bought their tickets at the park instead of trying to go cheap.
That little magnetic strip and the numbers on the back tell a lot about the ticket, even if you can't see it. And you have no way of knowing whether it is a good ticket with days left or a used up ticket. If you go to any of the malls in the WDW area, you will find stands where they ask if you need tickets cheap. If you don't, they will offer to buy any you have. Not a good way to get a quality product.
I have looked at tickets on ebay out of curiousity. Many of them are selling for near or even over the price WDW charges for a new ticket. I also noticed some people are selling tickets repeatedly with the same story - "we went to WDW and had a few days left on our tickets after our wonderful trip". That sounds pretty suspicious; a couple of tickets maybe, but multiple sets with the same story - not likely.

 

[morganelli]

I agree with you. You need to be careful. We have bought 4 adult park hoppers with 2 days left and never had a problem. I agree that you need to examine the sellers very carefully.
btw, we paid 400 for those 4 tickets.

 

[Toby'sFriend]

Another thing to consider --

<b> the selling of used WDW tickets is in itself against EBAY's rules....</b>
"In addition, eBay does not permit the sale of multi-day or multievent tickets that have been used at least
once for admission. "

<b>The buying and selling of used WDW tickets is illegal under Florida State Law. EBAY itself will give you the relevant chapters of Florida law if you look under their "Is my item allowed?" section.</b>

EBAY's fraud policies will *NOT* protect you in this case. Most specifically the following is from Fraud FAQ checklist provided by EBAY. If your item does not meet these standards - they will not help you.

"* Your item must be legal and in accordance with eBay's User Agreement. "

So basically - the tickets are not supposed to be listed on eBay at all. If you were to buy a ticket that was not "as advertised" you will have no recourse thru eBay. In addition - as a previous poster mentioned, Disney security may detain and question you.

So -- I think you really have to question yourself how much that "discount" is worth!

 

[Kermit]

mom2boys, you shouldn't have a problem getting UPHs that don't include the last day when you check in. You can't do it before you get there, but it is something the CM should be able to do when you check in. If the CM acts like they don't know how to do it, ask for a supervisor and insist that you get the right ticket.