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pigletears
07-16-2005, 11:44 AM
Hi all

I am planning to go to Disneyland in either November or December....I have an old Disneyland GOLD ticket from their 30th anniversary (obtained it from going through the turnstyles), it says on it that it is good anytime, I have been a few times since then, but always forget to take the ticket with me!! I also have a 3 day pass ticket that is unused (had to use stamps before), but there are no stamps on it....do any of you know if these are still good and if you can use them? perhaps even join them up and upgrade to a 4 day hopper pass or something like that?

When I went to Disneyland the last time in 2003 (yes, I forgot to take them with me again!)....I emailed Disney and they said to take them to the customer service, but just wondering if any of you have tried to use these tickets recently or in the past....

Thankyou in advance!!

tod
07-16-2005, 01:44 PM
Hi all

I am planning to go to Disneyland in either November or December....I have an old Disneyland GOLD ticket from their 30th anniversary (obtained it from going through the turnstyles), it says on it that it is good anytime, I have been a few times since then, but always forget to take the ticket with me!! I also have a 3 day pass ticket that is unused (had to use stamps before), but there are no stamps on it....do any of you know if these are still good and if you can use them? perhaps even join them up and upgrade to a 4 day hopper pass or something like that?

When I went to Disneyland the last time in 2003 (yes, I forgot to take them with me again!)....I emailed Disney and they said to take them to the customer service, but just wondering if any of you have tried to use these tickets recently or in the past....

Thankyou in advance!!

I believe that they will live up to the wording on the gold ticket.

My recommendation is to take it to Guest Services, the white building just west of the Disneyland entrance gates. They will have to issue you a computer-friendly ticket so you can get through the turnstiles. You can also buy more tickets there if you need any.

For the three-day ticket, you'll have to check. The main switchboad number for Disneyland is 714-781-4000.

--t

coronado_g
07-16-2005, 01:56 PM
Even with a 20-year old ticket? Wow!! That's great. Thought for sure the answer would be 'No way - no how'.

Opus1guy
07-16-2005, 02:00 PM
You shouldn't have any problem using your one-day or your multi-day passports as originally obtained, as long as they don't have any expiry date on them.

Heck...I still use old comp tickets from the 1960's to get in! Their face values are as low as only $3.50! (http://members.aol.com/opus1guy/uploads/disneycompmedia.jpg) Have to exchange them at the Guest Relations Window these days, however.

The value of the multi-day ticket you have, that can be applied toward the purchase or exchange of any new ticket, will be based on the printed value of the ticket you now hold. So depending on how old it is and if it has an old low dollar amount on it, it's value to you may be worth more to just keep it and use it as it stands.

I don't believe your comp ticket can be applied toward any upgrade or new ticket, and you'll have to use that as-is. Though many times when presenting say an old Disneyland-only comp ticket to Guest Relations...they do often issue the new ticket media as a One-Day Comp Park Hopper. So give that a try. Good Luck.

pigletears
07-17-2005, 04:02 PM
I just checked the tickets...there is no expiry date on them, one is a 1 day and the other a 2 day pass...thank you for all your input!

Opus1guy
11-01-2006, 10:37 AM
Just UPDATING my Post #4 above where I wrote about old tickets:


Have to exchange them at the Guest Relations Window these days, however.

I had occasion to use some really old comp tickets yesterday, and found the procedure has changed (again). We went to the Guest Relations Window to exchange them and were told they no longer do that there and that we would have to go to a regular Ticket Booth now, to exchange them.

So we went and waited in line for about 10 minutes at the Ticket Booths, only to be told "No...we don't exchange them here and you don't need to exchange them" and that we were just to take them to the turnstiles and they would take them "as-is" there (gee...Thanks, Guest Relations ;)).

So we then took them to the turnstiles and after the usual "Wow...you really want to use these?"...they just ripped 'em in half and handed us the little blue readmission/fastpass card things and we were in.

So no more exchanging for current media, I guess. It's gone back to the old "come as you are" right at the Main Gate. Which of course is the easiest way of doing it for us.

:)

samkj
11-01-2006, 11:39 AM
I got one of those gold 30th anniversary tickets too! I don't think I ever used it (I was only 16 at the time, so not clue where it went) Maybe I'll have to look through the boxes at my parents house next time I go. I do remember saving it, I just don't know what happened to it.

oregontraveler
11-01-2006, 11:51 AM
If I didn't have any sentimental attachments over old tickets, I'd use them
in a second. Considering how expensive it is these days.

ladodgerjon
11-01-2006, 03:34 PM
If I didn't have any sentimental attachments over old tickets, I'd use them
in a second. Considering how expensive it is these days.

See, I LOVE collecting old ephemera... I would never use my old tickets.

Pigletears: Wanna sell those old tickets to a collector???

babytmakes5
11-01-2006, 03:44 PM
My sister had one of those 30th tickets too--I remember she received it as a kid when walking through the gates as a "prize" for being the 30th in line that day or something like that. She redeemed the ticket 2 years ago for a one day pass, though I can't remember if she had to go to Guest Relations or someplace else in order to get through the gates. Have fun, and don't forget to bring the tickets this time ;) !

Opus1guy
11-01-2006, 07:26 PM
If I didn't have any sentimental attachments over old tickets, I'd use them
in a second. Considering how expensive it is these days.

That's pretty much how I feel. I've many old Disneyland tickets that are still valid for admission. Even ones going back to the 1960's. And I still use them for admission to this day.

I attempted to sell a couple on eBay once...but they didn't even bring in the price of a current One-Day, One-Park ticket (my "Reserve" price)...so I said the heck with it and will continue to use them as originally intended: For Admission. They're just worth more to me as admission tickets than what they would fetch as collectibles to someone else. (ladodgerjon...you mean you'd pay $60+ for an old Disneyland admission ticket just to add to your collection? Where were you when I was eBaying? ;))

I'm keeping one of each type for my personal collection. But all my others...I'm going to continue to use.

FYI...I've never had an Annual Pass! We either enter Disneyland via Club 33 comps, and if we're not going to dine at the Club...we use some of my old tickets that are still valid. I have on rare occasion had to purchase a ticket at the ticket booths. But those were only on times when I was accidentally caught down there without having one of my own tickets with me. You should hear me grumble when that happens. ;)

ralfrick
11-02-2006, 07:45 AM
See, I LOVE collecting old ephemera... I would never use my old tickets.

Pigletears: Wanna sell those old tickets to a collector???


But you still have the ticket, all they do is take the stub.

A bientot.

Bytebear
11-02-2006, 11:07 AM
So you are saying that I could buy an old park ticket on eBay cheaper than at the booth? Wow, maybe looking for old admission tickets on eBay is cheaper than looking for current discounts.

Opus1guy
11-02-2006, 12:24 PM
So you are saying that I could buy an old park ticket on eBay cheaper than at the booth? Wow, maybe looking for old admission tickets on eBay is cheaper than looking for current discounts.

I've done just that, and know many others that have as well. Often you'll see old ticket books with the admission ticket still attached for sale on eBay and similar sites, that go for less than the current price of admission. Same for old General Admission tickets and even Comp admission tickets. I think some folks just don't realize those particular tickets don't expire and are still valid today!

In fact, I know some folks don't realize they're still valid. Because I've seen perfectly valid old Disneyland admission tickets offered up on eBay and the seller erroneously writes something like, "They aren't good anymore" or "You'll have to pay the difference between the printed ticket price and the current price if you want to use it." :)

Back when Disney was still selling additional Passports to Cast Members at substantial discounts (something they don't do any longer), a Cast Member friend I knew purchased and stockpiled like 50 adult Passports at $14 a pop. He knew he wasn't going to be working for them much longer and wanted a hedge against inflation.

Well...he's still using those puppies and now they're worth a whole lot more than the $70 bucks each or whatever the current rate is today is. I'd say he made a pretty good investment there, even accounting for what kind of interest he might have earned on the money.

Investing in Disneyland ticket media might even have beat the growth of some hot Wall Street stocks!

;)

ladodgerjon
11-02-2006, 12:28 PM
I am about to go sooo off-topic, but here goes (apologies in advance)...

Using the old media reminds me of how you can return ANY purchase you've EVER made at Williams-Sonoma ANY TIME in ANY CONDITION. They have the most liberal -- lifetime -- return policy of virtually any existing retailer.

Got a five year-old coffee maker that's finally died? No prob. Exchange it for something similar still in the carton.

I cannot tell you how funny it is to witness the eye rolls from some cranky salesperson when you make your exchange.

Like I said, I'm off topic... but I love the fact you can still enter DL with a 1.50 admission ticket from the 1960's. Makes me laugh knowing the bean counters probably cringe when they reconcile the tills!

Opus1guy
11-02-2006, 01:19 PM
...but I love the fact you can still enter DL with a 1.50 admission ticket from the 1960's. Makes me laugh knowing the bean counters probably cringe when they reconcile the tills!

Kinda makes me smile as well. And the bean counters will just have to continue to cringe about the real old Comp admission tickets. And the fact that they really don't know how many unused ones are still floating around out there. Must drive them nuts not knowing exactly how much value to post these things as Contingent Liabilities. :)

Of course new tickets issued today...they have mostly manged to at least get a handle on what all is issued, redeemed, and outstanding unused. Thanks mainly to today's computerized ticket issuance and redemption systems.

Also, about 95% of the Comp tickets issued today have expiry dates on them. And even some of the specialty Paid tickets have expiry dates on them.

There's kind of a related funny and somewhat famous story about the no-expiry aspect of the old Comp tickets that took place behind-the-scenes at Disneyland some years ago. In the old days the Managers of the various Park Participants (Kodak, Hallmark, Sunkist, Coke, etc) each received 30 Comp Main Gate Admissions per month to use as they wished. I won't say who it was, but one of these Managers worked at Disneyland for a Park lessee almost since the Park first opened. He rarely used them (always signed his Guests in instead) and had accumulated a whole shoebox full of hundreds of comp admissions to Disneyland. The old comps had whatever the then-current price of admission was printed on them, like this one (the Disneyland one on the right):

http://members.aol.com/opus1guy/uploads/disneycompmedia.jpg

So his were all over the place. Some said $2.00. Some said $3.00. Some said $8.00. All depending on when they were issued.

Fast forward to where the accountants were trying to get a better handle on these and the price of admission to the Parks had climbed dramatically and the Park had done away with ticketbooks and these Comps now not only got you in...they got you all the attractions too.

So Disney sent out a letter to all the Participants saying something like, "Those old tickets look so old and have cheap prices printed on them that makes it look like you're not giving your guests anything of much value. So bring 'em on in and we'll exchange them one-for-one with impressive bright shiny new ones with nice color artwork on them."

So this person says, "That sounds nice. I'd like that." So he packs up his shoebox of like 30 years worth of comp admission tickets (mainly what were called "Purple Passes") and wanders back to the Admissions Department to do the swap. They count out his first 50 and hand him over the first pad of the new 50 comps. Well, he quickly spots that the new Comps have an expiry date of about a year and a half out on them! "Hold the phone!" he shouts. "What's this??!!"

They tell him what he can already see. The new ones will have an expiry date on them.

You can probably guess what he did. He stopped the swap right then and there...took all of his Purple Passes back...and walked away with all his original Comp tickets safely back in his shoebox. And he or his heirs are probably still using them today...just like I still use mine.

:)

jswtsang
11-02-2006, 09:16 PM
so if it's not too prying then opus1guy, how do you have so many comps? I am hoping it's like you found them at a garage sale for 50 cents :) That's one of my secret dreams, finding the true treasure at a yard sale, so you can use that as a cop out if you don't really want to say.

jt

Opus1guy
11-02-2006, 11:08 PM
so if it's not too prying then opus1guy, how do you have so many comps?

Most of the Comps were given to me. I had some pretty good "connections" in the past. Still have a few. ;)

But I have been known to scoop up a deal when I've seen various comp and paid still-valid ticket media up for sale in the secondary market at no-brainer prices. ;)

Here's a snap of just a few of the still-valid ticket media (comp and paid) from one of my own "shoeboxes" so-to-speak, that I just now took as a cruel "eat-your-heart-out" sorta thing. Please forgive me. ;)

http://members.aol.com/opus1guy/uploads/bunchotickets.jpg

I've got tons more. And unlike even most of the ones you see at the Disneyland 50th display that have been used...most of mine are all unused and mint.

Some I never intend on using. But most (and most duplicates) I just keep using for myself or family and friends, at the Park. Crazy, huh? But they are just not worth more as paper collectibles.

So these (and the many others I have that are not shown) combined with the Club 33 comps I often get to use as I tend to dine at the Club on most visits...pretty much guarantees me that I'll never have to purchase another Disneyland ticket as long as I live. I admit I'm pretty lucky in this department.

For some reason though...I still do envy Annual Passholders. Perhaps it's because they just get to flash their card and never have to give up any tickets from their collections? But with all these tickets at my disposal...I just can't justify purchasing one year after year...and I'd rather hand over this kind of paper, than the kind of paper that's printed by the government.

:)

MrsSmith
11-03-2006, 10:16 AM
*is very jealous of opus1guy!*

Have you ever had any trouble trying to use one of the old tickets? With so many new employees I would think many of them would think you were crazy trying to get in using one of those.

And I'm surprised Disney hasn't invoked some sort of "secret loophole" to invalidate old tickets.

Opus1guy
11-03-2006, 11:34 AM
Have you ever had any trouble trying to use one of the old tickets? With so many new employees I would think many of them would think you were crazy trying to get in using one of those.

Not really. I'd say one-in-ten might call a co-worker or supervisor over to verify or find out the procedure. Most seem to be well trained and versed in all the acceptable ticket media that's out there. And most probably over time get several handed to them. Most of the time they just take it (sometimes with a small comment) and that's that. On the very oldest ones I sometimes get a comment along the lines of, "Wow! You really want to use this? It's a collector's item!" But that's about it. Most of the time it's just, "Well, this is an oldie. Welcome to Disneyland."


And I'm surprised Disney hasn't invoked some sort of "secret loophole" to invalidate old tickets.

Oh...just give 'em time.

;)

MrsSmith
11-03-2006, 03:26 PM
I was asking because we had comp tickets the other week. They were just plain white plastic cards and no one knew what to do with us or the cards.

Guest relations told us to take them straight to the turnstiles. The turnstiles wanted to send us back to guest relations. We had to step aside at the turnstile and finally someone came from guest relations and then disappeared for about ten minutes with the plastic cards. He finally came back with holes punched in the cards and they let us in. We had to remind the nice turnstile lady that we would need the blue fastpass cards.

jswtsang
11-03-2006, 07:02 PM
wow opus1guy, that's pretty awesome! Being a total cheapo, ahem I mean frugal, I would want to use the stash of tickets...but the collector in me wouldn't want to give them up! :)

My sister won the gold pass for the 35th anniversary, she is saving it til disneyland is more than 100 dollars to get in, or at least that's what she said when she won 15 years ago :)

jt

tod
11-04-2006, 09:03 AM
And I'm surprised Disney hasn't invoked some sort of "secret loophole" to invalidate old tickets.

I would guess that it's probably more trouble to initiate and execute such a policy than it would be to just accept the tickets.

To say nothing of the bad PR that would ensue with Disneyland no longer accepting tickets clearly marked "THIS TICKET VALID FOR ADMISSION ANY TIME DISNEYLAND IS OPEN."

--t

ladodgerjon
11-04-2006, 08:23 PM
So Disney sent out a letter to all the Participants saying something like, "Those old tickets look so old and have cheap prices printed on them that makes it look like you're not giving your guests anything of much value. So bring 'em on in and we'll exchange them one-for-one with impressive bright shiny new ones with nice color artwork on them."


Gotta admit that on the one hand, I admire the suit that thought up this sneaky program of making a 'land grab' on all the "comps-without-expiration-dates." On the other hand, I get miffed when you realize the suits were trying to put one over on the working stiffs...

Opus... please tell me you'll save at least one exaample of each comp for the archives! I'd love to buy ONE of your earliest examples for my ephemera collection...