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rosie
08-24-2006, 03:29 PM
I just got my 3 day park hopper passes from/for Disneyland! (Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee! ) But, I hadn't expected them to be paper. Disneyworld (where I'm used to visiting) issues plastic credit card style tickets. Before you ask-The ones I received are actual tickets, not vouchers. My question is this: Can they be lamenated? They feel so flimsy, but I won't want to invalidate them or render them unusable for FP. Any ideas? How do you keep yours in good condition ????

disneyperson
08-24-2006, 03:41 PM
I would write to guest relations at DL and ask them. Better safe than sorry.

Bolivar
08-24-2006, 03:48 PM
I have never been to Disneyworld so I can't compare the process, but I can describe it for Disneyland. To enter the park, you hand your ticket to the CM at the gate. The CM either puts it in the front of this machine that it goes through and comes out the top of, or just runs it under the bar code reader. I have no idea how they decide which to do. I do not think that a laminated ticket would go through the machine. I do think it would work with the bar code reader, but at the very least a laminated ticket would raise the eyebrows of the CM, at worst he wouldn't accept it. Then there are the FP machines in the park. You put your ticket into the machine and pull it out. The machine reads the bar code and issues the FP. The ticket goes into a slot and just fits into it. I wouldn't expext a laminated card to fit in that slot.

So, I wouldn't laminate it. I usually use the lanyard around the neck with the plastic case that Disney Travel gives you. If you booked through them you likely got a voucher for a lanyard and pin that you can redeem when you get to the park.

rosie
08-24-2006, 03:56 PM
Thanks, the lanyard is a good idea.

DianeM
08-24-2006, 04:14 PM
I like the clips better than the lanyard. They are mickey mouse shaped with very strong metal clips that can be fastened securely to a belt loop or pocket or purse. They have a retractable string that runs to a plastic, sealable pouch big enough for your tickets and a credit card and a few dollars. You can get them at the emporium as you enter the park.

Do NOT laminate the tickets. They wouldn't work in fast pass machines or the park entry. Our tickets have always held up through our visit. They are tougher than they look.


Thanks, the lanyard is a good idea.

Drince88
08-24-2006, 04:16 PM
I just got my 3 day park hopper passes from/for Disneyland! (Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee! ) But, I hadn't expected them to be paper. Disneyworld (where I'm used to visiting) issues plastic credit card style tickets. Before you ask-The ones I received are actual tickets, not vouchers. My question is this: Can they be lamenated? They feel so flimsy, but I won't want to invalidate them or render them unusable for FP. Any ideas? How do you keep yours in good condition ????
Interestingly, the APs at WDW are the same sort of 'paper' tickets as you seem to be describing! (and no, to you DL APs, they do not have pictures on them, either!)

Omnitographer
08-24-2006, 04:45 PM
FP uses the barcode, laminate is reflective. you need a non reflective laminate, i have a screen protector for my pda that was made out of some kind of lightly fogged/diffused laminate that realy reduces glare.

disneyhound
08-24-2006, 06:03 PM
I would not laminate your tickets. They are plenty durable, we get 5-day hoppers every year and have never had a problem with them. Another thing about the main gate, when the tickets get inserted into the ticket machine, several things happen. The date is recorded on the magnetic strip of the ticket. Remember, you need to use your tickets within a limited period (2 weeks) from the first date used; they do expire. Also, the tickets get punched with a tiny hole each day. Further, when you enter for EE, they stamp the back of your ticket with that date, can only get one EE per park hopper. Then there are the fast pass machines, don't do it!

barely
08-24-2006, 06:07 PM
I would not laminate your tickets, either. Heck, I won't even laminate my own!:D

Crazy4DL
08-24-2006, 06:08 PM
My husband and I were just at DL this month and had 8 day hoppers and they lasted just fine. We carried them in the camera case or my DH's wallet. We left DL each day at least once and somedays more so they were pulled in and out and scanned a lot and were totally fine.

Have a wonderful time. :)

rosie
08-24-2006, 06:32 PM
I would not laminate your tickets, either. Heck, I won't even laminate my own!:D
Funny! Very Funny.

Darkbeer
08-24-2006, 07:17 PM
If you are looking for some extra security, I would make photo copies of the tickets (bar code side) and keep them in your luggage in the room, if you lose the tickets, you could go over to Walt Diseny Travel and explain, and they can trace the tickets with the bar code number....

Bolivar
08-24-2006, 08:34 PM
They could but they won't. I've learned from experience.

DianeM
08-24-2006, 08:53 PM
As I understand it, they will return lost tickets if you have a way of identifying them, such as a signature on the ticket or bar code identification. They just won't replace tickets if they haven't been turned in.


They could but they won't. I've learned from experience.

Bolivar
08-24-2006, 09:09 PM
Nope. I had proof of the lost ticket and talked to five different CMs. They do not replace lost tickets.

DianeM
08-24-2006, 09:12 PM
Sorry, I wasn't clear. They do NOT replace lost tickets. But if somebody turns in your ticket to lost and found, and you can prove that it is your ticket, then they will give it back to you. If you lost your ticket and can't identify it in any way, then they will not replace it or give you another ticket from the lost and found cache.


Nope. I had proof of the lost ticket and talked to five different CMs. They do not replace lost tickets.

WITron
08-25-2006, 01:17 AM
just be sure that if you wash your pants while on your vacation to make sure that your ticket is not in your pocket. The tickets won't stand up in the wash. I learned that from experience.

Bolivar
08-25-2006, 08:58 AM
I was very surprised when I lost my ticket that they wouldn't replace it. The only value the ticket has is that the computer recognizes the bar code. I don't know what data they keep in their systems, but as long as you buy online or with a credit card it seems pretty simple to keep track of the tickets you bought. Or in my case I had proof of the ticket. As long as you can prove your ticket why not just turn that ticket off and issue a new one?

When I lost my ticket I headed straight to lost and found thinking it wouldn't be a big deal, they will just issue a new one. The line at lost and found was all people who had lost their tickets. They looked through a pretty big stack of lost tickets for mine, couldn't find it and told me I was out of luck. I went back a few hours later and got the same story. I tried yet again and got the same story.

I went back the next morning and here is where I got lucky. The counter had two people working it and when it was my turn the guy looked through the stack for my ticket. The guest next to me talking to the other CM had the same problem as me, a lost ticket. That CM also looked through the stack for that guy's ticket. The two cast members came back to each of us at the same time. The CM told the guy to my left that they don't replace lost tickets and directed him to the ticket booth to buy a new ticket. Simultaneous to that CM saying that, just a foot to his side the CM was telling me that he couldn't find my ticket but that he would go ahead and issue me a new one. Everyone else was told to buy a new ticket, but I was issued a complimentary ticket. I have no idea why, but I certainly didn't complain. I'm guessing that the CMs have a certain monthly allotment of discretionary tickets or something.

I still don't understand why it isn't policy to issue new tickets. When I think about it I come up with these reasons:

1) The systems are more backward than I think and it isn't technically possible to shut off the old ticket.
2) Corporate/bureaucratic "this is how we have always done it" thinking. For the first forty years or so it likely wasn't technically possible to turn off old tickets and they just haven't changed the policy to keep up with technology.
3) Fraud -- there is something unscrupulous people would do if that was the policy.
4) They view reselling tickets as a profit center and don't want to lose the sales that replacing lost tickets represents.

While these are the reasons I could think of, number 2 is really the only one that makes any sense to me.

DianeM
08-25-2006, 11:56 AM
My money is on "1". Most companies use as little technology as possible and use it as long as possible. It would be possible to make a system where the ticket is read and the number is checked against a central database, but it would be slow and complicated. Think about the sheer number of tickets that are "valid" at a given time - all of the annual passes and any tickets which have been purchased but still have days left which have not expired. Since people tend to buy tickets in advance, and many tickets are sent to outfits like AAA for future sales, the number of "good" tickets in the database would be in the millions. The sheer amount of time it would take to 1) scan the ticket 2) send the information to the database 3) check that the ticket number is good and 4) return the information to the scanning machine would slow down the park entry process. If something went wrong wiith the communication system, like an electrical storm, it could shut down the park entry process.

I'm betting that the scanners don't send the information anywhere, but simply read the bar on the ticket and add information about current usage. A machine would easily be able to tell when the ticket was first used and if it had been previously used that day, and would send information to the attendant if the ticket was not valid of if they had to check for a hand stamp. That would mean that the company coudln't "invalidate" a ticket by simply typing information into a central computer - anybody who picked up the ticket could use it. The information about validity is on the ticket, not in their system.

The system may have some way of identifying the serial numbers of stolen or counterfeit tickets. but they probably coudln't update the information "on the fly", but would need to do some kind of batch update in the middle of the night (updating systems can cause slowdowns and crashes). Storing a list of lost tickets in the machines would be inefficient and checking every ticket number against that list would slow down the entry process. Slow is bad. They have probably made a conscious decidion to risk the displeasure of people who lose tickets in order to allow people to enter the park more quickly. Or it's possible that they don't even have a number checking system - they may simply depend on protections built into the ticket to protect against fraud.



I still don't understand why it isn't policy to issue new tickets. When I think about it I come up with these reasons:

1) The systems are more backward than I think and it isn't technically possible to shut off the old ticket.
2) Corporate/bureaucratic "this is how we have always done it" thinking. For the first forty years or so it likely wasn't technically possible to turn off old tickets and they just haven't changed the policy to keep up with technology.
3) Fraud -- there is something unscrupulous people would do if that was the policy.
4) They view reselling tickets as a profit center and don't want to lose the sales that replacing lost tickets represents.

While these are the reasons I could think of, number 2 is really the only one that makes any sense to me.

Bolivar
08-25-2006, 12:18 PM
When your ticket is scanned there is clearly some communication to a central computer because it won't work in the FP machine unless it has been scanned. Also, the FP system is clearly using the bar code and updating the system real time because you can't get another FP until a certain time. All this is done in the system and not placed on the ticket because the FP machine is just reading a bar code and not a magnetic strip.

You could be right in what you are saying, but it doesn't seem right to me.

KDR
08-25-2006, 12:30 PM
Hmmm. Interestingly, a few years back I went to Universal's Islands of Adventure in Orlando. I lost my pass during an inversion on one of the coasters. All I had to do was show them the receipt for the ticket that I had purchased that morning and they replaced it right away. I guess Disney is a little less trusting.

DianeM
08-25-2006, 12:37 PM
Possibly. But it is also possible that the scanner at the park entrance puts an electronic validation on the ticket which can be read by the fast pass machines, telling them that it's okay to give passes for this ticket today. The fast pass machines could also easily put a marker on the ticket that says "this ticket cannot be used until 2:10 pm". Like I said, I don't really know how Disney handles the ticket issues, I'm just saying that the simplest way would be for them to put the information on the ticket itself, not have hundreds of thousands of transactions occurring as they check tickets against a central database every time somebody enters the park or gets a fastpass.


When your ticket is scanned there is clearly some communication to a central computer because it won't work in the FP machine unless it has been scanned.

LilysMom2003
08-26-2006, 07:14 AM
DH and I have passes but we'll be taking his parents in October. We need 1-day park hopper tickets. I can get them through a group I belong to for $63 per ticket. Anyone know if there's a better deal out there? What about with our annual passes...any better deals? Thanks!

IdahoMike
08-26-2006, 07:33 AM
My brother in law took his family to DL a week ago, and for some reason they thought it was a good idea to give my 8 year old niece her ticket and let her carry it around all day. Can you imagine what happened next? Yep, she lost it. They went to guest relations or whatever you call it, and they gave her some sort of a temporary pass since they only had 1 day left on their park hoppers. They must have some sort of a discretionary fund, like someone else said earlier.

MermaidHair
08-26-2006, 09:31 AM
Possibly. But it is also possible that the scanner at the park entrance puts an electronic validation on the ticket which can be read by the fast pass machines, telling them that it's okay to give passes for this ticket today. The fast pass machines could also easily put a marker on the ticket that says "this ticket cannot be used until 2:10 pm". Like I said, I don't really know how Disney handles the ticket issues, I'm just saying that the simplest way would be for them to put the information on the ticket itself, not have hundreds of thousands of transactions occurring as they check tickets against a central database every time somebody enters the park or gets a fastpass.


Here is my guess: When they scan your ticket at entry the system puts the barcode # of your ticket into a "Valid today" database. Then when you get a FP the database that is referenced is the 20K+ tickets that have entered the park that day, not the millions of tickets that are floating out in the world beyond Disneyland. That sort of check is doable, I would think. It also makes sense when thinking about getting your second Fastpass - the db would know if you are eliglble for another. Also - don't forget about the "unnetworked FP machines." There must be a central FP database that most of the machines access to make the unnetworked FP machines work the way they do.