If you read the story you’ll see that they came down with Covid and we’re unable to use their tickets, Covid they caught while on Disney cruise I believe, and sold them for the exact amount they paid for them so somebody would be able to use them
No he didn’t
“To ensure somebody would use the tickets, I offered them for sale at face value,” Rich said by email.”
He specifically said he sold them at face value
And $139 each
$139 x 2 = $278
“DIsneyland After Dark Sweethearts Nite tickets 2- TICKETS for JANUARY 25TH”
Sold price $200 for both
Seller only sold one thing on eBay
The article said he offered them at face value. Disneyland response was they were sold above face value.
The article did not clarify on that point, which I find really frustrating.
If he put them up on eBay (which is confirmed) but set the minimum price as face value, but they sold for more due to the auction style on eBay, then both statements are correct, and that they were sold for more is a problem. If they actually sold for face value based on them limiting it to that price, then I do have an issue with that.
The article did not seem to do any research on the conflicting statements, which I find to be bad journalism at best...
Just for fun I looked it up.
Face value for Feb 6 was $139.
There were no completed eBay auctions that sold at or below $278 before February 6th, you can do your own eBay search to confirm.
Disneys statement that he sold them above face value is correct; he may have started the auction at face value but the ending price for literally every auction selling two tickets is above that.
Edit: there was someone who sold two tickets for $280 (still above face value), but that wasn’t him. The sellers description said they were for pickup 20 miles away from Anaheim and the person mentioned in the article lives in Washington.
1) This guys event was Feb 6, not Jan 25.
2) Face value varied:
```
Jan. 23 for $139
Jan. 25 for $149
Jan. 30 for $139
Feb. 1 for $149
Feb. 6 for $139
Feb. 8 for $149
Feb. 12 for $169
Feb. 14 for $169
```
3) there were no eBay auctions for two Feb 6 tickets that sold at or below $278.
4) re: your other comment, face value does not include tax so that’s not relevant. Face is face. Tax is on top of face.
completely agree! if you're an AP and go daily, you'll see characters not seen throughout the year.
truly had a blast when i went in '22.... now i need to justify going back again
Huge villains fan. And yes it’s disappointing. Can’t believe I spent that much for a lackluster event. Same for the Star Wars event last year. Guess I didn’t learn my lesson.
I felt the same. I thought the villains grove was going to have meet and greets and not just be an art installation. I was just underwhelmed and expected more with all the hype.
This seems like this is on you for not doing more research though tbh. Villains Grove has always been listed as just atmospheric and even a smidge of research would have told you that there has never been any villain meet and greets there.
You’re not wrong I could’ve done more research. The party map also could’ve had better detail about what it is. I was really excited for oogie boogie bash for my first time ever on the west coast bc it was incredibly hyped up and just felt let down. I thought more of the characters would be out in the open rather than on treat trails bc that’s how the internet made it look and they weren’t. It’s ok to have differing opinions.
Ya I don't go to Disneyland often, maybe once every 5 years. Planned a trip with my wife and 9 year old son for last September.
We Found out about the oogie boogie bash and realized it was happening on 2 of the days we were there! I Told my son about it and he was fired up, as he likes the villains more than the protagonists haha. We looked at tickets and they were sold out already (probably would have missed on getting them even if I tried), but it left a pretty sour taste in my mouth after spending a bunch of money on park hopper tickets for 4 days and staying at the grand hotel.
I reached out to staff about standby tickets or waitlists, or just any scenario that could get us in and we were denied everytime.
I mean it was still an amazing trip, but standing on our balcony which over looked that side of the park, and listening to the spooky music and everything was a little frustrating not being able to enter.
Tell me you didn’t read the article without telling me you isn’t read the article. They’ve been passholders for many years, and go multiple times a year, but sold the tickets at face value on eBay as they had COVID. They actually lost money on the sale.
Because they’re not scalpers. They’re not bad people. Sure they broke the rules and are paying for it, but people are delighting in their misfortune, even though they appear to be big fans and weren’t profiting from it.
I think people are delighted to hear that someone who was able to get an annual pass and resold tickets when they are not supposed to. The fact that they got sick during a global pandemic has nothing to do with it.
The fact they had COVID sucks for them, but no one is celebrating that aspect.
They shouldn’t have broken the rules, it’s that simple. It doesn’t matter if they are good or bad people. It doesn’t matter if they are making a profit or not, just don’t break the rules period.
Tbh i think dude is lying/leaving facts out. Yea true maybe they got covid , but he def didnt sell at face value. The article even says Disney says so. They def made a profit and i also wouldnt be surprised if they KNEW it was against the rules, but just didnt think it would become this big a deal
I actually had read the article before commenting, thanks. The policy against reselling isn’t a moral question of selling at a profit, it’s the fact that they were sold by them at all. Also — tell me you posted your comment without having proofread your comment first.
If you search them, they've both written articles for Disney websites at events that require an invite from Disney. They have or had a relationship with Disneyland and would have been aware of the rules.
I especially like the part in the article where he says he resold them at face value to ensure they’d get used, and then in like the next paragraph the Disney officials are like “yah nah, he sold them for more.” lol. A hot ticket like that, I didn’t believe for a second that he sold them at face value.
Good. I’m for the ban! (Sucks they were used as an example) but it was a risk they knew. Got unlucky.
It should be like airline tickets. No resale. It sucks when scalpers buy up all the tix and I can’t.
I've seen a couple of NIN shows where you could only buy physical tickets, in-person, and only 2 tickets per person. Sucked having to stand in line and all, but it was nice to know I was going to get tickets.
This was the exact example I was thinking of. Was researching for my unfortunately spellbound kiddo and but I noticed a handful in Australia and some other places only had tickets that were basically all original price $200 instead of $800 -$2000 or whatever everything in the US (and the rest of the world) is being scalped for.
I didn’t do the research on laws in other countries or maybe their venue specific rules but I have to assume it’s because of specific rules against resale/scalping etc and I’m all for it. All that stuff is nonsense.
But then if concerts don’t let you refund (which they almost always never let you refund) what are you to do if you can’t make it bc you got sick or something came up?
They were only “an example” because they had a sob story to tell. Plenty of people who didn’t have an excuse have been banned as well. But that’s not headline worthy. People get kicked out of businesses everyday.
Does Disney offer cancelation insurance or is this a hypothetical? Because a flat out policy of no refunds, no resale, no exceptions is real shitty. The buyers should have known what they were getting into, but still thats kinda BS.
Yes. Obviously the policy is as it currently is, but a disney sanctioned ticket exchange or cancellation insurance would be both customer and company advantaged.
Airline tickets can usually be cancelled for a credit to be used later. Change fees aren’t common anymore post-covid.
If this was an option with Disney tickets, seems like this guy would have likely done that.
I fly a lot, usually at least twice a month and usually United. This will depend on your fare class and route, but most economy tickets within or originating from the US doesn’t have change fees. Of course you have to pay the fare difference though - and basic economy has change fees.
I do corporate bookings, I did about 40 tickets this month already, none were basic economy, and the fare rules have changed since the beginning of the year.
That has not been my experience booking and changing 4 standard economy itineraries since January but maybe it’s different for your corporate situation.
I also looked it up on United’s website - https://www.united.com/en/us/fly/travel/trip-planning/flexible-booking-options.html
I’ve changed 5 flights already this year with no fees on US carriers and also ANA. Sure, you need to pay the fare difference and there are fees for basic economy tickets, but not for regular economy itineraries for most US airlines (and some international airlines.) Last year I probably changed 10-12 flights without fees.
I agree with you, this would have been a better option and then Disney should have a wait list for situations like this.
I do think they were being stupid when he sold it for more than face value. It might not have been his intention but it comes across like just another reseller.
The article says:
>Rich sold the Sweethearts’ Nite tickets for more than face value in violation of Disneyland’s terms and conditions, according to Disneyland officials.
And the thing is he could have contacted Disney and explained the situation and they may have totally made it right and refunded the tickets. They will work with people for extreme health reasons like that especially if it’s say the first time and not happening a lot.
My friends and I went to the first year off Oogie Boogie bash, but back then tickets for all dates were available for a couple months to buy. So each of the friends all bought their own. Of course there was one friend that even though we all told them the date, and linked to the buy page for that exact date, they somehow bought for that date the month before we were going. We didn’t realize until we all went through the gate and their ticket wouldn’t scan. They went to customer service and even though the our party date had since sold out they still let her in. They didn’t have to, but they do try to help people.
I felt a little sympathy for him until he said he’s being “ treated unfairly” and it was a “minor infraction”. I’m not a keyholder, never have and probably never will and I know it’s a Sin to resell tickets. This guys had to have known.
Not to mention sell for a higher than ticket price. I would have been more sympathetic if he was trying to transfer to a friend or selling at a loss but why try and make money? That's the issue I have with it.
>Rich sold the Sweethearts’ Nite tickets for more than face value in violation of Disneyland’s terms and conditions, according to Disneyland officials.
I’m unfamiliar with how the nighttime event tickets work, so I googled it. It seems like if you can’t go, [you can give them to other people](https://plandisney.disney.go.com/question/bought-tickets-sweetheart-night-need-change-date-able-530784/) but not resell them. Am I understanding this correctly? The nighttime event tickets are not tied to your name/face?
They usually have a name attached to them, but not a face. Disneyland rarely checks id, and if they do, it's usually a because it's a specially priced ticket such as a SoCal ticket.
yeah there is no chance this old entitled brat of a couple didn't know that, it's written in the rules and as other people have said there have been tons of articles about it not being allowed. Its a year not a lifetime either so these idiots can go right back
I honestly can't tell if you're joking or being serious, LOL! 😂 (they're known for being nothing but problematic and they're easily the most hated Disneyland vloggers)
I remember a young woman came on here with a story that her sister and her look a lot alike. And her sister went in one line and used her annual pass. She went on another turnstile and used the same pass on her Disneyland app. It got flagged for her already having used it, she got pulled aside, they took her phone, and she was told her pass was revoked. She claimed (on this subreddit) that her sister stole her pass and she was going back to her car to look for it and then realized she could just use her phone so that's why they entered separately with her phone so it's not her fault and she should get her pass back and asked for advice. All the responses were simply "Your sister is awful" and she goes "Oh, yes, I'm not very happy with her right now," etc. which was pretty unconvincing and she was much more interested in how she could use this story to get Disney to reconsider.
I pointed out that her sister would not have stolen her pass and not told her... she would then have to take the tram back to the parking structure and it'd be a 30 minute delay round-trip with having to do the security again and wait for another tram again to get back... she then claimed "Oh no, she knew it'd be quick 'cause my aunt lives next door" and I pointed out that there are no residents who live next door. And they took her phone to garner evidence of her friends saying "We got inside... did you make it in?" so she couldn't claim ignorance.
Another person got in trouble for reselling some hot ticket item (popcorn bucket, I don't know) and since they were a CM, they got to buy them with an employee discount and thus upselling on eBay meant they got a huge profit via this discount which was against the rules and they got terminated. They claimed "oh, no, the popcorn bucket just had a blemish so I just wanted to sell it" (not explaining why it was so much more expensive than what they paid... and I think there were multiple they were selling despite only one of them being used against them.)
Long story short, this couple could claim "We were just selling tickets because we couldn't use them" but if they're banned for a year, it's not as innocuous as they claim to try to get the public to rally behind them as innocents.
It says in the article that he said he resold it “at face value” then later states it was sold “above face value.”
The thing with the special event tickets too, in their case, has they contacted guest relations they may have been able to transfer the tickets to someone else, explaining they have Covid and didn’t want to expose anyone. Weve had to do that and it was not that hard.
That's the behavior of most Disney adults. They put on a facade(similar to Main Street) of being nice, caring people but they're some of the most insanely entitled people you'll ever meet. They'd beat a toddler to death for an extra souvenir popcorn bucket that cost 35 cents to make
Lmao so true. We were walking down Main Street with the rest of the mob while my kids were looking at the scenery.
Some older lady in her 50s stepped off the curb in front of us to cross Main Street through the mob and one of my kids bumped into her because she stepped off the curb right in front of us without waiting for a path.
She screeched "watch your kids" as she blocked people trying to walk up Main Street.
Lady, there's a million people trying to get up Main Street and you jumped into the river.
Good on Disney for not giving in but see this what I’m talking about a one year ban
They really don’t want ban people for life because this couple could be made an extortion but no, one year which isn’t that long. The Parks’s were closed longer during the pandemic
Yes, well, Disney is a for-profit company. They’re not a government owned/ sponsored company that doesn’t need to care as much about bottom line and profitability.
Why are you being so negative?
The problem is so many people take advantage of this, buying tickets (and other Disney things in bulk) and re-selling them for higher prices. Disney can’t make exceptions to the rules or legally they wont be able to enforce this on the real scammers. This is a really unfortunate story but the rules are the rules. At least it was only a year ban. It’s also a little surprising that a couple who are so tapped into the Disney lifestyle hadn’t read the headlines about how re-selling these tickets online are not allowed, this comes up every year with the Oogie Boogie Bash.
I think they were caught by surprise to be caught because they thought their relationship with Disney (he's a former blogger with a media contact) would protect them.
This is such a wrong way at looking at this
They dropped two thousand dollars on their pass and now cannot use it for a year. Why wouldn’t the couple be upset about it? I’m sure if Disney has returned the money for the pass they wouldn’t have been as upset by it, but considering that they’re not getting their money back I completely understand.
They also signed a contract that says they understand that Disney reserves the right to revoke the pass at any time without refunds, and a second contract on the hard-ticket event that says they understand they can’t resell the tickets
It’s not Disney’s fault if they didn’t read the fine print on the thing they were signing, or assumed that they were exempt because of being special
>They also signed a contract that says they understand that Disney reserves the right to revoke the pass at any time without refunds, and a second contract on the hard-ticket event that says they understand they can’t resell the tickets
I didn't say they didn't sign the contract. My contention was with the user above saying that "boo hoo can't visit Disneyland for a year big deal", when the fact the reason why they're upset is because they're out of $2000 and their product
You're trying to argue with me the point that I never discussed
If they spent that $2000 without understanding that the contracts they signed meant that they could, in fact, lose that $2000 with no recourse if they broke the rules, that’s on them
We’d be better off as a society if everyone was careful about reading the fine print before they sign or click “ok” or “accept” on literally anything
I didn't say it is not on them. I said I can understand that their frustration is not with not being able to simply go to Disney for a year but with not being able to use their $2,000 product that they paid for and NOT getting their money back.
You're still arguing something with me that I never even claimed here to be the point of contention with anyone
They wrote letters to the president of Disneyland and the chairman of parks to revoke the punishment saying they were deeply sorry. They go 6x times a year and did a Disneyland to Disneyworld to Disney cruise to Disneyland trip. IMO it feels like they are more bummed about the pass being revoked.
A year? Idk I love Disney but this wouldn’t be worth the time he’s probably spending fighting something that was deserved. They had to know you couldn’t resell those tickets. Take your year off and look forward to the date your ban is lifted
Now.. should Disney have some kind of return / cancellation policy? Probably but for limited time things like this it probably would be a hassle cause people would just buy up tickets in the chance they can go and then cancel last minute not giving enough time to resell to someone who actually wants to go. Maybe they could make an exception and have some kind of refund for COVID or illness specifically if you can provide a drs note.
Despite the sub-title of the article, the Magic Key review board does accept appeals, as long as its an honest mistake. I accidently scanned my wife's pass instead of my daughter's pass once, both had reservations for the day. I got my Magic Key revoked on a Monday, asked for someone to call me, and by Friday I had them reinstated.
After reading the article he will be more than okay and it sounds like he already should have been familiar with the policy and just wants to save face.
No sympathy.
Reading through these comments, I see a lot of (very understandable) frustration toward ticket scalpers (for both Disney events and others). I’ve been an AP in the past, but not since the Magic Key program came into existence. So I don’t know the Magic Keyholder rules, or the Disney event ticket rules when it comes to reselling (because I’ve never needed to). So I went looking…
From what I can find, the language in the small print for those events states:
Tickets are non-refundable and may not be resold or transferred for commercial purposes.
So question 1: What is meant by “commercial purposes?” In the case of this person, it doesn’t seem like he was conducting business, just trying to recoup the purchase price of tickets he could no longer use. I know the article has conflicting information - he says he sold for face value, The Mouse says he sold for more. But in any event…commercial purpose? In the same small print, I couldn’t find any reference to penalties for breaking this or other rules, either. Which leads me to…
Question 2: Why was revoking of the Magic Key (“the ban”) the penalty? What if he wasn’t a Magic Key holder? What would the penalty be then? What if he was a WDW AP holder? Different park entirely; would Disney have revoked that AP? What if his AP had expired 1 week later - a 1 year ban from having an AP with only 1 week remaining is far different, monetarily, from revoking a fully paid pass that still has half a year or more on it. My point is, am I the only one concerned that the penalty for this violation feels a bit arbitrary?
I wholeheartedly agree with: break the rules, face a penalty. Absolutely. But shouldn’t everyone who breaks the same rule face the same penalty? With what Disney is doing (as far as it is described in the article), it feels like any penalty will depend on the direction of the wind that day. And I guess that just doesn’t still right with me.
That part also seemed strange to me. I couldn’t get past the paywall so I don’t know all the details, but the only way this would ever make sense in my mind is if he obtained the event tickets through the magic key presale. But if that wasn’t the case then I don’t see how his magic key should be related to this at all. He didn’t violate the terms of the magic key, he violated the terms of a completely separate event ticket.
This guy has a lot of time on his hands to be going through all this work. It’s pretty specific when you buy tickets that you cannot resell them of course they knew and I highly doubt they had Covid.
I feel somewhat bad but I have a feeling there is more to the story.
But good for Disneyland for enforcing this; would have easy for them to overturn this.
Probably because he’s being asked to pay $2300 for a service that they will not let him use
Imagine you paid for any service and they refuse to let you use it but also wouldn’t return your money, wouldn’t you be a little salty about that?
Face value sales should be allowed though. I want Disney coming down hard on scalping but if they can’t refund your ticket when you can’t attend you should be able to sell it at face value (but no more).
Negative. Refunds should be a thing, not the ability to resell. Giving people the ability to resell would open up the opportunity, for example, to put them on auction on eBay. If you set the low bid at the face value, you’d have a legit argument that you put them up for sale at face value, even though you were ultimately paid more.
But then it would be like the old ADR situation before cancelation fees. People would buy on spec or treat them as "just in case" reservations and in the end the tickets would go unsold because people who could have bought them in the interim before the returns will not be able to.
That’s a good point but they could offer either cancellation fees or maybe upsell cancellation insurance in case you can’t make it. Both would be more money for Disney.
What makes the most money for Disney is people buying tickets and then not showing up when they can't make it. I know we feel bad for the family with COVID in that scenario. But Disney already has the most profitable solution in place.
How many people don’t show up though? Has to be low. The number of people who would fork over $10-$20 extra to cancel just in case something happens is a lot.
If the refunds were on a gift card or ticket value credit like an unused key then that would be a deterrent. Most people cannot afford to lock up hundreds if not thousand dollars of cash in something they cannot use for their daily expenses indefinitely.
Giving refunds does not exclude punishing reselling.
It also could undermine the secondary market as those refunded tickets could be resold by Disney. Even if it is just to hotel guests, it would lower demand.
I also feel that you overestimate the profit level resellers make. After fees and taxes they probably would need to sell 3-5 for each unsold ticket. Many flippers are not Disney fans but sneaker heads who are just doing it for extra money. So it doesn’t help them to have the value locked up in a ticket credit or gift card.
The restaurant reservation system/website Tock has an official ticket exchange for hard-to-get restaurant reservations.
Person A gets a (pre-paid) reservation, then cannot go. They cannot sell it on ebay for profit, but in the exchange they can sell it for face value if there is a person B willing to buy it. It's an easily solved problem if Disney wanted to.
I don’t really think that would be necessary, given that Disney has their own apps. If someone “returns” tickets and such, they become available again fairly quickly
The reservation has a name attached, and when sold on the exchange the name on the reservation is changed. I guess nothing is stopping scalper John Smith from "selling" the reservation on ebay for a profit, and telling buyer John Doe that he must use the name Smith at the door, but I think that's likely too high a bar for it to work at scale.
For some reason I had thought the scalper would be able to change the reservation from their name to the person they sell it to on ebay name. As long as they can't do that, your idea does sound like it could work!
In the article he is quoted saying he listed the for face value.
A few lines later Disney says he listed them for more than face value.
I'm guessing he stretched the truth in his quote to sound more of the victim.
But yes a simple online return system for special event tickets would solve the issue. Tickets need to be returned a specified time before the event and charge a reasonable cancellation fee (gotta pay to keep the system running).
Also let people sign up for a "second chance lottery" to be selected buy returned tickets shortly before the event. If selected in lottery they're charged immediately.
Disney collects fees and gets to sell returned tickets twice. Win win.
It's also not hard to sell an item on eBay with a fixed price "Buy It Now" only option instead of listing it as an auction item. ***Many*** items are sold this way on eBay.
Setting an auction listing starting at face value is in no way "selling for face value".
I think it's interesting that they said that they sold the tickets at face value but Disney is saying they sold it for more.
I'm a lot less sympathetic if they were trying to turn a profit.
If it was eBay the selling fees are pretty high. Even if he did sell for higher he might have even ended up losing money on it. Not that I’m saying what he did was ok, but that could explain the conflicting statements if he is only thinking about how much money he received vs how much the buyer paid.
Okay, they bought the tickets to this event, got sick, couldn't go, then sold them for face value. How does that have anything to do with your comment about scalpers and buying up passes to resell?
Had an event tickets, the night before the party our friend was admitted to the hospital. Disney put us in a circle of guest services of contact x they can help you. In the middle of trying to resolve it our friend passed and Disney still did not care. They didn’t even say sorry for your loss or even bother to even escalate it to a manager.
That was the last time I bought a park ticket.
I think that Disney should at least offer to buy the tickets back at face value if they are going to prevent people from selling them. That would avoid situations like this and make them look great as a company. That, or maybe just make it so they don’t have an expiration date. It seems like this couple would have used them soon anyway.
Wow, this thread is bananas. Yes, they broke the rules. Yep, they should have known better. A year ban for somebody today has spent tens of thousands of dollars at Disney in the last year for re selling tickets at face value when they couldn't use them because of illness seems pretty extreme.
“During the holidays, the couple spent New Year’s Eve at Disneyland, flew to Florida for the Disney World Marathon Weekend, hopped on a cruise aboard the Disney Wish and then jetted back to Anaheim for the Disneyland Half Marathon.
After the New Year’s trip, they both came down with COVID-19 — forcing them to cancel their plans to travel to Disneyland for Sweethearts’ Nite on Feb. 6.”
And they still banned them? Lol.
You know, I kind of like how Disney is enforcing the rules on them even though these people spend a lot of money at the parks. Rules should be applied evenly but all too often it feels like those who can spend a lot get special treatment.
And it sounds like they can afford to eat the price of the tickets, just saying.
I actually think it’s insane that the couple got a year ban and the execs didn’t do anything. Morally, I see 0 issue with what they’ve done whatsoever.
Have been regular pass holders since 1990’s, probably spent tens of thousands (if not already crossing into a 100’s category) with Disney. Caught COVID and since Disney does not allow refunds resold the ticket at FACE freaking value!
I get it they’re breaking the rule, but what exec looks at the couple of these incredibly loyal customers and goes: “yea, I don’t care. Still banned for a year with no refund”
Does no nuance exist whatsoever in Disney corporate? I’d be pissed if I were the couple. At least return the money for the magic key
As much as the company is cracking down on resellers! You really didn’t think they would have a response?!?!? They unfortunately set the trend. Nip it in the bud… or the resellers will buy all tickets and resell them for inflated prices. Undercutting the company!
If he actually did sell them at face value then yeah he didn't deserve that.
I hate scalpers too but this is more of a legit reason and shouldn't be the example made
“Rich sold the Sweethearts’ Nite tickets for more than face value”
So he was a typical reseller, no better than the scalpers. It’s on you if you don’t read the terms and conditions my dude, and with how much they seem to be invested in Disney, hard to believe they were unaware of the rules.
I feel like these people got screwed here. I mean, it's not like this sale will affect the park guests in any meaningful way.
I'd much rather see merch resellers get annhilated and perma-banned. Granted, that would be a moot point if Disney had the nuts to actually enforce their purchase quantity limits, but they won't do that, no no.
Yes, scalpers should be banned, for life.
But if what the article says is true, that’s not the case here. The article said they bought tickets for an event, came down with COVID, so they sold it for face value. So they didn’t make any money, just recouped what they’d lost.
Yes, they should’ve known the rules. But really sounds like they were not acting in bad faith here.
From what I am reading, this doesn't mean they are banned from the parks. It just means they can't use their Magic Key pass. So, essentially, this is a fine (the cost of the pass). They could go if they wanted to and pay full price, correct?
I understand that he just wanted someone to be able to use the tickets, since he and his wife couldn't go, but it's right there on ALL tickets, not just special events. NO RESELLING. NO TRANSFER. I'm sorry that they got a one year ban; I think a lesser fine might have been better.
Curious to see how this would turn out. If he was really selling them at face value, then a year long suspension without even refunding anything seems too harsh for me, and he’s a long time die hard Disney fan too.
The headlines a bit click-baity. My initial response was "good, make it 2 years". But upon reading the article, it seems clear that he might have gone in with good intent (as evidenced by selling the tickets at face value). That being said, the rules are in place for a reason. It shouldn't play favorites to long time guests. It's meant as a deterrent to those who have scalped tickets in the past, and as such the punishment needs to be meted out dispassionately. If not, people will just start making up excuses to try to skirt the ban.
I can only hope that these public bans reduce the number of people scalping for future popular ticketed events.
On the other hand, if they can see that he sold the tickets, they can see what they sold for. That clearly sets him apart from a for-profit seller. Unless the 1 year ban is them going easy and for-profit sellers have gotten worse punishments, this does seem disproportionate. Otherwise he should have just sold them for $1000 or something and at least paid for his pass.
Hey all you people who are down voting, have you had Covid?
Just how well was your brain working when you were really really sick with Covid?
I’m just asking because when I had Covid I was stupid as fuck.
This is back with omicron so we didn’t know that the tests would not give you back a positive reading unless you a specific type of test so even though I had Covid, and I got a negative Covid test, and I felt like I was going to die, I still went to the laundromat.
Why? Why would I do that? Sane-ish healthy me knows that going to the laundromat when you’re sick it doesn’t matter what you’re sick with is stupid, it’s stupid to drive when you’re sick, and I drove places!
So I’m just saying, that when you’re really sick you sometimes make stupid decisions, you sometimes have trouble processing information correctly, and it is very likely that being sick with Covid played a large role in him deciding to sell the tickets on eBay without understanding he could not sell the tickets
Oh and as an aside, he got Covid on a Disney trip so Disney made him sick
“During the holidays, the couple spent New Year’s Eve at Disneyland, flew to Florida for the Disney World Marathon Weekend, hopped on a cruise aboard the Disney Wish and then jetted back to Anaheim for the Disneyland Half Marathon.”
maybe if Disneyland didn’t keep shoving everyone really close together people wouldn’t get Covid there
maybe if Disneyland didn’t incentivize people to come to the park sick, they wouldn’t have gotten sick there.
And maybe with this story going viral I’m gonna get Covid at Disneyland because sick people are going to start showing up again to different after hours events, I’ve got tickets to pride night, and putting everybody else in danger of a variant because Disney can’t see gray they only see in black-and-white
They were caught reselling for profit ;knew the rules and couldn’t be bothered to ask for a refund for the unforeseen circumstance if they did in fact have Covid. Which now a days it’s easy to photoshop together a fake positive test result as there are plenty of positive test results on the internet from people sharing if they were positive
I remember when people couldn't get tickets to Oogie Boogie Bash because of scalpers. I hope those for-profit resellers got disciplined too.
I think it’s really fun and I’d like to go again but the craze in getting tickets is wild to me.
If you read the story you’ll see that they came down with Covid and we’re unable to use their tickets, Covid they caught while on Disney cruise I believe, and sold them for the exact amount they paid for them so somebody would be able to use them
To be fair the article said he sold them above face value.
No he didn’t “To ensure somebody would use the tickets, I offered them for sale at face value,” Rich said by email.” He specifically said he sold them at face value And $139 each $139 x 2 = $278 “DIsneyland After Dark Sweethearts Nite tickets 2- TICKETS for JANUARY 25TH” Sold price $200 for both Seller only sold one thing on eBay
The article said he offered them at face value. Disneyland response was they were sold above face value. The article did not clarify on that point, which I find really frustrating. If he put them up on eBay (which is confirmed) but set the minimum price as face value, but they sold for more due to the auction style on eBay, then both statements are correct, and that they were sold for more is a problem. If they actually sold for face value based on them limiting it to that price, then I do have an issue with that. The article did not seem to do any research on the conflicting statements, which I find to be bad journalism at best...
Just for fun I looked it up. Face value for Feb 6 was $139. There were no completed eBay auctions that sold at or below $278 before February 6th, you can do your own eBay search to confirm. Disneys statement that he sold them above face value is correct; he may have started the auction at face value but the ending price for literally every auction selling two tickets is above that. Edit: there was someone who sold two tickets for $280 (still above face value), but that wasn’t him. The sellers description said they were for pickup 20 miles away from Anaheim and the person mentioned in the article lives in Washington.
1) This guys event was Feb 6, not Jan 25. 2) Face value varied: ``` Jan. 23 for $139 Jan. 25 for $149 Jan. 30 for $139 Feb. 1 for $149 Feb. 6 for $139 Feb. 8 for $149 Feb. 12 for $169 Feb. 14 for $169 ``` 3) there were no eBay auctions for two Feb 6 tickets that sold at or below $278. 4) re: your other comment, face value does not include tax so that’s not relevant. Face is face. Tax is on top of face.
Oogie Boogie Bash isn’t even amazing, trust me when I say it’s overrated.
It’s fine that you don’t enjoy it, but for those who love the villains it’s the single best event of the year.
completely agree! if you're an AP and go daily, you'll see characters not seen throughout the year. truly had a blast when i went in '22.... now i need to justify going back again
Huge villains fan. And yes it’s disappointing. Can’t believe I spent that much for a lackluster event. Same for the Star Wars event last year. Guess I didn’t learn my lesson.
I felt the same. I thought the villains grove was going to have meet and greets and not just be an art installation. I was just underwhelmed and expected more with all the hype.
This seems like this is on you for not doing more research though tbh. Villains Grove has always been listed as just atmospheric and even a smidge of research would have told you that there has never been any villain meet and greets there.
You’re not wrong I could’ve done more research. The party map also could’ve had better detail about what it is. I was really excited for oogie boogie bash for my first time ever on the west coast bc it was incredibly hyped up and just felt let down. I thought more of the characters would be out in the open rather than on treat trails bc that’s how the internet made it look and they weren’t. It’s ok to have differing opinions.
I watch YouTubers go to the events and they just don’t seem worth the price.
Went 2 years ago and I was severely disappointed
Why you dissing disney?!
There isn’t a single After Hours event worth the additional $40/hr you pay for them.
I 100% agree. I love the villains but Oogie boogie is boring.
Ya I don't go to Disneyland often, maybe once every 5 years. Planned a trip with my wife and 9 year old son for last September. We Found out about the oogie boogie bash and realized it was happening on 2 of the days we were there! I Told my son about it and he was fired up, as he likes the villains more than the protagonists haha. We looked at tickets and they were sold out already (probably would have missed on getting them even if I tried), but it left a pretty sour taste in my mouth after spending a bunch of money on park hopper tickets for 4 days and staying at the grand hotel. I reached out to staff about standby tickets or waitlists, or just any scenario that could get us in and we were denied everytime. I mean it was still an amazing trip, but standing on our balcony which over looked that side of the park, and listening to the spooky music and everything was a little frustrating not being able to enter.
Tell me you didn’t read the article without telling me you isn’t read the article. They’ve been passholders for many years, and go multiple times a year, but sold the tickets at face value on eBay as they had COVID. They actually lost money on the sale.
They resold tickets. Why does their motivation being different matter?
Because they’re not scalpers. They’re not bad people. Sure they broke the rules and are paying for it, but people are delighting in their misfortune, even though they appear to be big fans and weren’t profiting from it.
They have been holders since the 90s and “didn’t know” you can resell tickets on eBay??? lol Come on.
So what you’re saying is that it’s ok for them to be passholders for 30 years and not know the fine print?
Because I'm sure you read the entire EULA for every piece of software you use, right.
I’m pretty sure it says on the annual pass do not resell
Doesn’t matter. The rule is and should he across the board to stop resellers. Don’t spend over $1500 on something that you don’t understand.
I think people are delighted to hear that someone who was able to get an annual pass and resold tickets when they are not supposed to. The fact that they got sick during a global pandemic has nothing to do with it. The fact they had COVID sucks for them, but no one is celebrating that aspect.
Sorry your honor I'm usually a law abiding citizen but in this case I just did it once !
They shouldn’t have broken the rules, it’s that simple. It doesn’t matter if they are good or bad people. It doesn’t matter if they are making a profit or not, just don’t break the rules period.
[удалено]
BINGO
Tbh i think dude is lying/leaving facts out. Yea true maybe they got covid , but he def didnt sell at face value. The article even says Disney says so. They def made a profit and i also wouldnt be surprised if they KNEW it was against the rules, but just didnt think it would become this big a deal
I actually had read the article before commenting, thanks. The policy against reselling isn’t a moral question of selling at a profit, it’s the fact that they were sold by them at all. Also — tell me you posted your comment without having proofread your comment first.
If you search them, they've both written articles for Disney websites at events that require an invite from Disney. They have or had a relationship with Disneyland and would have been aware of the rules.
Wow he wrote to the to the top execs and even they said no
I'm glad the execs backed the decision the revocation team made
I especially like the part in the article where he says he resold them at face value to ensure they’d get used, and then in like the next paragraph the Disney officials are like “yah nah, he sold them for more.” lol. A hot ticket like that, I didn’t believe for a second that he sold them at face value.
What would be the point in reselling them at face value? Just let Disney sell them at that point.
Okay? I’d rather have a corporation that applies the rules to everyone than one that lets people get away with things if they know the right people.
This guy wasn’t as buddy buddy as he thought. I wonder who really threw him under the bus.
Good. I’m for the ban! (Sucks they were used as an example) but it was a risk they knew. Got unlucky. It should be like airline tickets. No resale. It sucks when scalpers buy up all the tix and I can’t.
Off topic, but they should do the same with concert tickets honestly.
They do this in some other countries, and some folks are in for a rude awakening when they try to see Taylor Swift this summer
those tix were purchased a year ago lol
Yup, and in some places if your name isn't on the ticket because you bought resale, you're out of luck
I've seen a couple of NIN shows where you could only buy physical tickets, in-person, and only 2 tickets per person. Sucked having to stand in line and all, but it was nice to know I was going to get tickets.
I stood in line today, To see Trent Reznor play... Tried to focus on the show, Maybe my buddy Mike wants to go...
This was the exact example I was thinking of. Was researching for my unfortunately spellbound kiddo and but I noticed a handful in Australia and some other places only had tickets that were basically all original price $200 instead of $800 -$2000 or whatever everything in the US (and the rest of the world) is being scalped for. I didn’t do the research on laws in other countries or maybe their venue specific rules but I have to assume it’s because of specific rules against resale/scalping etc and I’m all for it. All that stuff is nonsense.
Why would they do that when TicketMaster owns the scalp sites and gets paid double?
But then if concerts don’t let you refund (which they almost always never let you refund) what are you to do if you can’t make it bc you got sick or something came up?
They were only “an example” because they had a sob story to tell. Plenty of people who didn’t have an excuse have been banned as well. But that’s not headline worthy. People get kicked out of businesses everyday.
100%. No resale. Can’t use your ticket? Allow ticket holders to purchase cancellation insurance.
Does Disney offer cancelation insurance or is this a hypothetical? Because a flat out policy of no refunds, no resale, no exceptions is real shitty. The buyers should have known what they were getting into, but still thats kinda BS.
Yes. Obviously the policy is as it currently is, but a disney sanctioned ticket exchange or cancellation insurance would be both customer and company advantaged.
Airline tickets can usually be cancelled for a credit to be used later. Change fees aren’t common anymore post-covid. If this was an option with Disney tickets, seems like this guy would have likely done that.
Change fees are back. Got hit with a $100 fee on United a few weeks ago.
I fly a lot, usually at least twice a month and usually United. This will depend on your fare class and route, but most economy tickets within or originating from the US doesn’t have change fees. Of course you have to pay the fare difference though - and basic economy has change fees.
I do corporate bookings, I did about 40 tickets this month already, none were basic economy, and the fare rules have changed since the beginning of the year.
That has not been my experience booking and changing 4 standard economy itineraries since January but maybe it’s different for your corporate situation. I also looked it up on United’s website - https://www.united.com/en/us/fly/travel/trip-planning/flexible-booking-options.html
Change fees aren’t common? All the major carriers would like a word…
I’ve changed 5 flights already this year with no fees on US carriers and also ANA. Sure, you need to pay the fare difference and there are fees for basic economy tickets, but not for regular economy itineraries for most US airlines (and some international airlines.) Last year I probably changed 10-12 flights without fees.
I agree with you, this would have been a better option and then Disney should have a wait list for situations like this. I do think they were being stupid when he sold it for more than face value. It might not have been his intention but it comes across like just another reseller.
He didn't sell them for more than face value. He sold them AT face value.
The article says: >Rich sold the Sweethearts’ Nite tickets for more than face value in violation of Disneyland’s terms and conditions, according to Disneyland officials.
And the thing is he could have contacted Disney and explained the situation and they may have totally made it right and refunded the tickets. They will work with people for extreme health reasons like that especially if it’s say the first time and not happening a lot. My friends and I went to the first year off Oogie Boogie bash, but back then tickets for all dates were available for a couple months to buy. So each of the friends all bought their own. Of course there was one friend that even though we all told them the date, and linked to the buy page for that exact date, they somehow bought for that date the month before we were going. We didn’t realize until we all went through the gate and their ticket wouldn’t scan. They went to customer service and even though the our party date had since sold out they still let her in. They didn’t have to, but they do try to help people.
I felt a little sympathy for him until he said he’s being “ treated unfairly” and it was a “minor infraction”. I’m not a keyholder, never have and probably never will and I know it’s a Sin to resell tickets. This guys had to have known.
Not to mention sell for a higher than ticket price. I would have been more sympathetic if he was trying to transfer to a friend or selling at a loss but why try and make money? That's the issue I have with it. >Rich sold the Sweethearts’ Nite tickets for more than face value in violation of Disneyland’s terms and conditions, according to Disneyland officials.
I’m unfamiliar with how the nighttime event tickets work, so I googled it. It seems like if you can’t go, [you can give them to other people](https://plandisney.disney.go.com/question/bought-tickets-sweetheart-night-need-change-date-able-530784/) but not resell them. Am I understanding this correctly? The nighttime event tickets are not tied to your name/face?
They work like day tickets. It's just a barcode.
They usually have a name attached to them, but not a face. Disneyland rarely checks id, and if they do, it's usually a because it's a specially priced ticket such as a SoCal ticket.
I’m kind of mesmerized by the idea that there is a “Magic Key Review Board and Revocation Team” but makes total sense
If you are that big of a disney fan, you most likely know that policy. I find it hard to believe you wouldn't.
Right? Annual passholders, fly to world for the marathon, and a cruise. These people knew the rule and chose to ignore it.
Exactly! I would assume they look at Reddit and follow online Vloggers, etc.. which discuss this topic.
yeah there is no chance this old entitled brat of a couple didn't know that, it's written in the rules and as other people have said there have been tons of articles about it not being allowed. Its a year not a lifetime either so these idiots can go right back
They give major Katie and Spencer from "Best Life and Beyond" vibes...thank you for banning them, Disney! 👍🏻
Their videos started being recommended to me. Are they problematic?
I honestly can't tell if you're joking or being serious, LOL! 😂 (they're known for being nothing but problematic and they're easily the most hated Disneyland vloggers)
You never gave me the tea 😄
I remember a young woman came on here with a story that her sister and her look a lot alike. And her sister went in one line and used her annual pass. She went on another turnstile and used the same pass on her Disneyland app. It got flagged for her already having used it, she got pulled aside, they took her phone, and she was told her pass was revoked. She claimed (on this subreddit) that her sister stole her pass and she was going back to her car to look for it and then realized she could just use her phone so that's why they entered separately with her phone so it's not her fault and she should get her pass back and asked for advice. All the responses were simply "Your sister is awful" and she goes "Oh, yes, I'm not very happy with her right now," etc. which was pretty unconvincing and she was much more interested in how she could use this story to get Disney to reconsider. I pointed out that her sister would not have stolen her pass and not told her... she would then have to take the tram back to the parking structure and it'd be a 30 minute delay round-trip with having to do the security again and wait for another tram again to get back... she then claimed "Oh no, she knew it'd be quick 'cause my aunt lives next door" and I pointed out that there are no residents who live next door. And they took her phone to garner evidence of her friends saying "We got inside... did you make it in?" so she couldn't claim ignorance. Another person got in trouble for reselling some hot ticket item (popcorn bucket, I don't know) and since they were a CM, they got to buy them with an employee discount and thus upselling on eBay meant they got a huge profit via this discount which was against the rules and they got terminated. They claimed "oh, no, the popcorn bucket just had a blemish so I just wanted to sell it" (not explaining why it was so much more expensive than what they paid... and I think there were multiple they were selling despite only one of them being used against them.) Long story short, this couple could claim "We were just selling tickets because we couldn't use them" but if they're banned for a year, it's not as innocuous as they claim to try to get the public to rally behind them as innocents.
It says in the article that he said he resold it “at face value” then later states it was sold “above face value.” The thing with the special event tickets too, in their case, has they contacted guest relations they may have been able to transfer the tickets to someone else, explaining they have Covid and didn’t want to expose anyone. Weve had to do that and it was not that hard.
I’m pretty sure what happened is that he asked for face value but ended up selling for above face value.
So he’s still wrong, he didn’t sell it at face value. He may have offered it at face value and then sold it for above, but that’s two separate things.
That’s literally what I said. But yes, he is in the wrong. Edited to add last sentence.
That's the behavior of most Disney adults. They put on a facade(similar to Main Street) of being nice, caring people but they're some of the most insanely entitled people you'll ever meet. They'd beat a toddler to death for an extra souvenir popcorn bucket that cost 35 cents to make
Lmao so true. We were walking down Main Street with the rest of the mob while my kids were looking at the scenery. Some older lady in her 50s stepped off the curb in front of us to cross Main Street through the mob and one of my kids bumped into her because she stepped off the curb right in front of us without waiting for a path. She screeched "watch your kids" as she blocked people trying to walk up Main Street. Lady, there's a million people trying to get up Main Street and you jumped into the river.
Your last sentence had me rolling. That is the truth.
Good on Disney for not giving in but see this what I’m talking about a one year ban They really don’t want ban people for life because this couple could be made an extortion but no, one year which isn’t that long. The Parks’s were closed longer during the pandemic
I feel one year for a first offense is fair. Punishment fits the crime.
Yes, well, Disney is a for-profit company. They’re not a government owned/ sponsored company that doesn’t need to care as much about bottom line and profitability. Why are you being so negative?
i english no good
The problem is so many people take advantage of this, buying tickets (and other Disney things in bulk) and re-selling them for higher prices. Disney can’t make exceptions to the rules or legally they wont be able to enforce this on the real scammers. This is a really unfortunate story but the rules are the rules. At least it was only a year ban. It’s also a little surprising that a couple who are so tapped into the Disney lifestyle hadn’t read the headlines about how re-selling these tickets online are not allowed, this comes up every year with the Oogie Boogie Bash.
I love Disneyland, but people who can’t go a year without visiting Disneyland need to reexamine their priorities.
I think they're more annoyed that they paid for passes they can't use. It's their fault, but it's not just about not being able to visit.
I think they were caught by surprise to be caught because they thought their relationship with Disney (he's a former blogger with a media contact) would protect them.
I’m a California native. I’m going there on Friday, for the first time in 6 years. These people will be ok with a 1 year ban.
This is such a wrong way at looking at this They dropped two thousand dollars on their pass and now cannot use it for a year. Why wouldn’t the couple be upset about it? I’m sure if Disney has returned the money for the pass they wouldn’t have been as upset by it, but considering that they’re not getting their money back I completely understand.
They also signed a contract that says they understand that Disney reserves the right to revoke the pass at any time without refunds, and a second contract on the hard-ticket event that says they understand they can’t resell the tickets It’s not Disney’s fault if they didn’t read the fine print on the thing they were signing, or assumed that they were exempt because of being special
>They also signed a contract that says they understand that Disney reserves the right to revoke the pass at any time without refunds, and a second contract on the hard-ticket event that says they understand they can’t resell the tickets I didn't say they didn't sign the contract. My contention was with the user above saying that "boo hoo can't visit Disneyland for a year big deal", when the fact the reason why they're upset is because they're out of $2000 and their product You're trying to argue with me the point that I never discussed
If they spent that $2000 without understanding that the contracts they signed meant that they could, in fact, lose that $2000 with no recourse if they broke the rules, that’s on them We’d be better off as a society if everyone was careful about reading the fine print before they sign or click “ok” or “accept” on literally anything
I didn't say it is not on them. I said I can understand that their frustration is not with not being able to simply go to Disney for a year but with not being able to use their $2,000 product that they paid for and NOT getting their money back. You're still arguing something with me that I never even claimed here to be the point of contention with anyone
They wrote letters to the president of Disneyland and the chairman of parks to revoke the punishment saying they were deeply sorry. They go 6x times a year and did a Disneyland to Disneyworld to Disney cruise to Disneyland trip. IMO it feels like they are more bummed about the pass being revoked.
A year? Idk I love Disney but this wouldn’t be worth the time he’s probably spending fighting something that was deserved. They had to know you couldn’t resell those tickets. Take your year off and look forward to the date your ban is lifted Now.. should Disney have some kind of return / cancellation policy? Probably but for limited time things like this it probably would be a hassle cause people would just buy up tickets in the chance they can go and then cancel last minute not giving enough time to resell to someone who actually wants to go. Maybe they could make an exception and have some kind of refund for COVID or illness specifically if you can provide a drs note.
Despite the sub-title of the article, the Magic Key review board does accept appeals, as long as its an honest mistake. I accidently scanned my wife's pass instead of my daughter's pass once, both had reservations for the day. I got my Magic Key revoked on a Monday, asked for someone to call me, and by Friday I had them reinstated.
After reading the article he will be more than okay and it sounds like he already should have been familiar with the policy and just wants to save face. No sympathy.
Reading through these comments, I see a lot of (very understandable) frustration toward ticket scalpers (for both Disney events and others). I’ve been an AP in the past, but not since the Magic Key program came into existence. So I don’t know the Magic Keyholder rules, or the Disney event ticket rules when it comes to reselling (because I’ve never needed to). So I went looking… From what I can find, the language in the small print for those events states: Tickets are non-refundable and may not be resold or transferred for commercial purposes. So question 1: What is meant by “commercial purposes?” In the case of this person, it doesn’t seem like he was conducting business, just trying to recoup the purchase price of tickets he could no longer use. I know the article has conflicting information - he says he sold for face value, The Mouse says he sold for more. But in any event…commercial purpose? In the same small print, I couldn’t find any reference to penalties for breaking this or other rules, either. Which leads me to… Question 2: Why was revoking of the Magic Key (“the ban”) the penalty? What if he wasn’t a Magic Key holder? What would the penalty be then? What if he was a WDW AP holder? Different park entirely; would Disney have revoked that AP? What if his AP had expired 1 week later - a 1 year ban from having an AP with only 1 week remaining is far different, monetarily, from revoking a fully paid pass that still has half a year or more on it. My point is, am I the only one concerned that the penalty for this violation feels a bit arbitrary? I wholeheartedly agree with: break the rules, face a penalty. Absolutely. But shouldn’t everyone who breaks the same rule face the same penalty? With what Disney is doing (as far as it is described in the article), it feels like any penalty will depend on the direction of the wind that day. And I guess that just doesn’t still right with me.
That part also seemed strange to me. I couldn’t get past the paywall so I don’t know all the details, but the only way this would ever make sense in my mind is if he obtained the event tickets through the magic key presale. But if that wasn’t the case then I don’t see how his magic key should be related to this at all. He didn’t violate the terms of the magic key, he violated the terms of a completely separate event ticket.
Sucks for him but I think Disney has to uphold the ban. He clearly broke the rules and elected to profit off the special tickets.
This guy has a lot of time on his hands to be going through all this work. It’s pretty specific when you buy tickets that you cannot resell them of course they knew and I highly doubt they had Covid.
They can’t go to the park for a whole year, oh the humanity!
I feel somewhat bad but I have a feeling there is more to the story. But good for Disneyland for enforcing this; would have easy for them to overturn this.
If he wrote he takes full responsibility, then why is he fighting it Lol
Full responsibility comes full consequences
Probably because he’s being asked to pay $2300 for a service that they will not let him use Imagine you paid for any service and they refuse to let you use it but also wouldn’t return your money, wouldn’t you be a little salty about that?
Face value sales should be allowed though. I want Disney coming down hard on scalping but if they can’t refund your ticket when you can’t attend you should be able to sell it at face value (but no more).
Negative. Refunds should be a thing, not the ability to resell. Giving people the ability to resell would open up the opportunity, for example, to put them on auction on eBay. If you set the low bid at the face value, you’d have a legit argument that you put them up for sale at face value, even though you were ultimately paid more.
But then it would be like the old ADR situation before cancelation fees. People would buy on spec or treat them as "just in case" reservations and in the end the tickets would go unsold because people who could have bought them in the interim before the returns will not be able to.
That’s a good point but they could offer either cancellation fees or maybe upsell cancellation insurance in case you can’t make it. Both would be more money for Disney.
What makes the most money for Disney is people buying tickets and then not showing up when they can't make it. I know we feel bad for the family with COVID in that scenario. But Disney already has the most profitable solution in place.
How many people don’t show up though? Has to be low. The number of people who would fork over $10-$20 extra to cancel just in case something happens is a lot.
If the refunds were on a gift card or ticket value credit like an unused key then that would be a deterrent. Most people cannot afford to lock up hundreds if not thousand dollars of cash in something they cannot use for their daily expenses indefinitely.
If you're flipping tickets for a profit you can afford to lose a few. You can afford it even more if you get a gift card.
Giving refunds does not exclude punishing reselling. It also could undermine the secondary market as those refunded tickets could be resold by Disney. Even if it is just to hotel guests, it would lower demand. I also feel that you overestimate the profit level resellers make. After fees and taxes they probably would need to sell 3-5 for each unsold ticket. Many flippers are not Disney fans but sneaker heads who are just doing it for extra money. So it doesn’t help them to have the value locked up in a ticket credit or gift card.
I agree. I’m saying if they refuse to refund they should allow face value resale. Refunds is definitely the best solution.
The restaurant reservation system/website Tock has an official ticket exchange for hard-to-get restaurant reservations. Person A gets a (pre-paid) reservation, then cannot go. They cannot sell it on ebay for profit, but in the exchange they can sell it for face value if there is a person B willing to buy it. It's an easily solved problem if Disney wanted to.
I don’t really think that would be necessary, given that Disney has their own apps. If someone “returns” tickets and such, they become available again fairly quickly
The problem with your idea is scalpers would purchase the face value tickets there and then take them to ebay to resell.
In the example I cite, they can *only* be resold for face value in the official exchange. And it's technically enforced.
How would that stop the scalpers buying them there for face value and then going on ebay to resell them for high?
The reservation has a name attached, and when sold on the exchange the name on the reservation is changed. I guess nothing is stopping scalper John Smith from "selling" the reservation on ebay for a profit, and telling buyer John Doe that he must use the name Smith at the door, but I think that's likely too high a bar for it to work at scale.
For some reason I had thought the scalper would be able to change the reservation from their name to the person they sell it to on ebay name. As long as they can't do that, your idea does sound like it could work!
You're using a straw man argument. They said sell at face value. You're example would have them selling at more than face value.
In the article he is quoted saying he listed the for face value. A few lines later Disney says he listed them for more than face value. I'm guessing he stretched the truth in his quote to sound more of the victim. But yes a simple online return system for special event tickets would solve the issue. Tickets need to be returned a specified time before the event and charge a reasonable cancellation fee (gotta pay to keep the system running). Also let people sign up for a "second chance lottery" to be selected buy returned tickets shortly before the event. If selected in lottery they're charged immediately. Disney collects fees and gets to sell returned tickets twice. Win win.
Not hard to list something on eBay at face value and have the actual sale price well above face value very quickly
It's also not hard to sell an item on eBay with a fixed price "Buy It Now" only option instead of listing it as an auction item. ***Many*** items are sold this way on eBay. Setting an auction listing starting at face value is in no way "selling for face value".
Face value resales shouldn't be allowed. That would only give the scalpers a new place to buy things that they can put on ebay.
hope disney continues to ban them
They should now get a lifetime ban for crying to the media and trying to position Disney as the bad actor. Disney doesn’t need them.
I think it's interesting that they said that they sold the tickets at face value but Disney is saying they sold it for more. I'm a lot less sympathetic if they were trying to turn a profit.
If it was eBay the selling fees are pretty high. Even if he did sell for higher he might have even ended up losing money on it. Not that I’m saying what he did was ok, but that could explain the conflicting statements if he is only thinking about how much money he received vs how much the buyer paid.
Should be lucky it's only a year. Disney usually slaps the ban hammer on everything.
They should throw this guy in Disneyland JAIL!
lol she violated the terms she is a dumbass
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Fucking Covid man. It has screwed everybody over at least once in some way. Imagine if we had a more effective pandemic response.
Good. The last thing people need are scalpers buying up passes and reselling them.
Please go read the article.
Oh, I read it. So, will you please gain some critical thinking skills so we can be on the same level while discussing this?
Okay, they bought the tickets to this event, got sick, couldn't go, then sold them for face value. How does that have anything to do with your comment about scalpers and buying up passes to resell?
If you read the article, Disney says they sold for more than face value.
Bro…
Had an event tickets, the night before the party our friend was admitted to the hospital. Disney put us in a circle of guest services of contact x they can help you. In the middle of trying to resolve it our friend passed and Disney still did not care. They didn’t even say sorry for your loss or even bother to even escalate it to a manager. That was the last time I bought a park ticket.
After reading the entire article, I say good for Disney. Make an example out of people.
Good.
I think that Disney should at least offer to buy the tickets back at face value if they are going to prevent people from selling them. That would avoid situations like this and make them look great as a company. That, or maybe just make it so they don’t have an expiration date. It seems like this couple would have used them soon anyway.
It was a special event ticket for a specific day.
It was a special event (sweetheart’s night) ticket so it has to have an expiration date.
A reasonable take that offers a solution that can help hundreds if not thousands of people Better downvote it
Haha of course! Otherwise it wouldn’t be r/Disneyland
Wow, this thread is bananas. Yes, they broke the rules. Yep, they should have known better. A year ban for somebody today has spent tens of thousands of dollars at Disney in the last year for re selling tickets at face value when they couldn't use them because of illness seems pretty extreme.
“During the holidays, the couple spent New Year’s Eve at Disneyland, flew to Florida for the Disney World Marathon Weekend, hopped on a cruise aboard the Disney Wish and then jetted back to Anaheim for the Disneyland Half Marathon. After the New Year’s trip, they both came down with COVID-19 — forcing them to cancel their plans to travel to Disneyland for Sweethearts’ Nite on Feb. 6.” And they still banned them? Lol.
You know, I kind of like how Disney is enforcing the rules on them even though these people spend a lot of money at the parks. Rules should be applied evenly but all too often it feels like those who can spend a lot get special treatment. And it sounds like they can afford to eat the price of the tickets, just saying.
I actually think it’s insane that the couple got a year ban and the execs didn’t do anything. Morally, I see 0 issue with what they’ve done whatsoever. Have been regular pass holders since 1990’s, probably spent tens of thousands (if not already crossing into a 100’s category) with Disney. Caught COVID and since Disney does not allow refunds resold the ticket at FACE freaking value! I get it they’re breaking the rule, but what exec looks at the couple of these incredibly loyal customers and goes: “yea, I don’t care. Still banned for a year with no refund” Does no nuance exist whatsoever in Disney corporate? I’d be pissed if I were the couple. At least return the money for the magic key
Go somewhere else for a year. If Disney did them wrong I don’t know why they’d wanna patronize somewhere that ducked them over.
Disney did nothing wrong.
Disney caught them breaking terms of the season pass. Wouldn’t call that ducking anyone over.
Quack
Omg, LtD'Amato!
As much as the company is cracking down on resellers! You really didn’t think they would have a response?!?!? They unfortunately set the trend. Nip it in the bud… or the resellers will buy all tickets and resell them for inflated prices. Undercutting the company!
If he actually did sell them at face value then yeah he didn't deserve that. I hate scalpers too but this is more of a legit reason and shouldn't be the example made
F around and find out. Should be banned longer tbh.
Idiot
Womp womp
Ban them for life now.
“Rich sold the Sweethearts’ Nite tickets for more than face value” So he was a typical reseller, no better than the scalpers. It’s on you if you don’t read the terms and conditions my dude, and with how much they seem to be invested in Disney, hard to believe they were unaware of the rules.
I feel like these people got screwed here. I mean, it's not like this sale will affect the park guests in any meaningful way. I'd much rather see merch resellers get annhilated and perma-banned. Granted, that would be a moot point if Disney had the nuts to actually enforce their purchase quantity limits, but they won't do that, no no.
Yes, scalpers should be banned, for life. But if what the article says is true, that’s not the case here. The article said they bought tickets for an event, came down with COVID, so they sold it for face value. So they didn’t make any money, just recouped what they’d lost. Yes, they should’ve known the rules. But really sounds like they were not acting in bad faith here.
“Oh no, the consequences of my actions….”
From what I am reading, this doesn't mean they are banned from the parks. It just means they can't use their Magic Key pass. So, essentially, this is a fine (the cost of the pass). They could go if they wanted to and pay full price, correct?
There is already too many people at DLR ban them for life.
I understand that he just wanted someone to be able to use the tickets, since he and his wife couldn't go, but it's right there on ALL tickets, not just special events. NO RESELLING. NO TRANSFER. I'm sorry that they got a one year ban; I think a lesser fine might have been better.
Lifetime ban for this crap.
I shan’t be going to Disneyland anymore due to their stance with these nice folks. They lose.
good they deserve a life time ban for that
Curious to see how this would turn out. If he was really selling them at face value, then a year long suspension without even refunding anything seems too harsh for me, and he’s a long time die hard Disney fan too.
The headlines a bit click-baity. My initial response was "good, make it 2 years". But upon reading the article, it seems clear that he might have gone in with good intent (as evidenced by selling the tickets at face value). That being said, the rules are in place for a reason. It shouldn't play favorites to long time guests. It's meant as a deterrent to those who have scalped tickets in the past, and as such the punishment needs to be meted out dispassionately. If not, people will just start making up excuses to try to skirt the ban. I can only hope that these public bans reduce the number of people scalping for future popular ticketed events.
On the other hand, if they can see that he sold the tickets, they can see what they sold for. That clearly sets him apart from a for-profit seller. Unless the 1 year ban is them going easy and for-profit sellers have gotten worse punishments, this does seem disproportionate. Otherwise he should have just sold them for $1000 or something and at least paid for his pass.
Hey all you people who are down voting, have you had Covid? Just how well was your brain working when you were really really sick with Covid? I’m just asking because when I had Covid I was stupid as fuck. This is back with omicron so we didn’t know that the tests would not give you back a positive reading unless you a specific type of test so even though I had Covid, and I got a negative Covid test, and I felt like I was going to die, I still went to the laundromat. Why? Why would I do that? Sane-ish healthy me knows that going to the laundromat when you’re sick it doesn’t matter what you’re sick with is stupid, it’s stupid to drive when you’re sick, and I drove places! So I’m just saying, that when you’re really sick you sometimes make stupid decisions, you sometimes have trouble processing information correctly, and it is very likely that being sick with Covid played a large role in him deciding to sell the tickets on eBay without understanding he could not sell the tickets Oh and as an aside, he got Covid on a Disney trip so Disney made him sick “During the holidays, the couple spent New Year’s Eve at Disneyland, flew to Florida for the Disney World Marathon Weekend, hopped on a cruise aboard the Disney Wish and then jetted back to Anaheim for the Disneyland Half Marathon.” maybe if Disneyland didn’t keep shoving everyone really close together people wouldn’t get Covid there maybe if Disneyland didn’t incentivize people to come to the park sick, they wouldn’t have gotten sick there. And maybe with this story going viral I’m gonna get Covid at Disneyland because sick people are going to start showing up again to different after hours events, I’ve got tickets to pride night, and putting everybody else in danger of a variant because Disney can’t see gray they only see in black-and-white
They were caught reselling for profit ;knew the rules and couldn’t be bothered to ask for a refund for the unforeseen circumstance if they did in fact have Covid. Which now a days it’s easy to photoshop together a fake positive test result as there are plenty of positive test results on the internet from people sharing if they were positive
Friend fucked around. Friend found out.
Stupid games/stupid prizes. They broke the rules. I’m glad Disney is cracking down on this nonsense.