jamesvu

I would like to buy 4 tickets / 2days in disney world as well as universal .
Anyone know how to get a good deal . Thanks in advance

WillCAD

Disney tickets are rather tightly distributed by authorized ticket resellers; as such, their prices are also rather tightly controlled. The only discounts you're going to find are from those authorized resellers, or from travel agencies that specialize in Disney; those discounts are generally going to be no more than 5%-10% below the gate price.

Universal tickets are a slightly different story. Universal often has good deals going on their own web site, and the authorized resellers typically offer specialized ticket deals that Universal doesn't offer on their web site. It's not uncommon to find a week-long unlimited Universal ticket for the price of a two-day Disney pass.

My preferred ticket broker is UnderCoverTourist.com. They are local in Orlando and have the best discounts of the several resellers I've dealt with. They also handle Universal and Seaworld Orlando tickets, and tickets to many of the other attractions and dinner shows in the Orlando area. You order online or by phone. They will mail your tickets to you, or send them to your hotel the day before you check in, or you can pick them up at a UPS store in Orlando when you arrive (with advance notice).

Most hotels in Orlando have a ticket counter in the lobby, or sell tickets at their concierge desks. These are usually legitimate resellers, but their prices are no better than the gate price. Get your tickets in advance, from UCT.

A word of warning: Both Universal and Disney use a biometric ticket verification system which uses fingerprints to match a ticket to a particular person. You can NOT use a ticket that someone else has used - the turnstiles will reject it - so if someone you know has a 10-day ticket that has unused days left on it, and tries to sell it to you, don't bother. It's a waste of money. Those leftover days won't work for you.

Another word of warning: Disney tickets expire 14 days after the first use, so if someone you know has a 10-day ticket from a trip last month, but didn't use all of the days, the unused days all expired 14 days after he first used the ticket, so it's worthless anyway, even if you can figure out a way to get past the biometric system.

Both of these warnings add up to one big warning: NEVER EVER NEVER EVER NO MATTER WHAT should you buy tickets on eBay or Craig's List or from anyone other than an authorized reseller of Disney or Universal tickets, because 99% of them are intentional scams, and the other 1% are people trying to resell their leftover days without realizing that the leftover days are actually worthless to anyone who buys them.

djk7

WillCAD's information is spot on. Also be aware that you'll probably see kiosks in front of convenience stores souvenir shops that tout discount tickets. They are generally either reselling multi-day tickets with days left on them, or require going to a time share sales pitch. If the former, you are liable to have trouble using the tickets with no recourse to the seller. For the latter, you'll be subject to several hours of high pressure sales pitch before you see tickets.

HelloKittysMum

I don't know where you are from but we get access to different tickets in the UK.

WillCAD

Quite true. Disney offers different ticket options to folks coming in from other countries; in particular, they offer a 14-day ticket to UK residents which is not available to those in the US. Which makes some of the US residents who want a longer ticket than the 10-day, just a bit jealous!

dcman2

To second most of the above advice, go with an authorized reseller. Discounted tickets to Disney aren't heavily discounted anyway, and you move very quickly into a negative cost-benefit ratio. You MIGHT save a few bucks, for a lot more hassle and a greater chance of problems. I'm a member of AAA and they offer a variety of packages that take off some of the cost of Disney, but you'll get more mileage trying to save money in other ways. Disney is expensive, there simply isn't any way around that.

dcman2

ninerfan

We get ours off of Craigslist, visitors buy three day passes, decide they only want to spend 1 day. Voila

gelmonroy

I couldn't agree with you more. There are a lot of ways to be cheap on your travel, like commuting to wherever tourist's spots you go to, instead of renting a car or taking a cab. after all, disney and universal studios are worth every penny.
:-:

WillCAD

And what do you tell the Disney employees when you put your fingers in the reader at the turnstile and it refuses you entry because its not your ticket?

Or, what do you do when you find out that the tickets you bought are expired and worthless?

Rebelyell

Universal sells a three-day ticket at many Costco stores. It costs about the same (or less) as the one you buy from Universal but you have until the end of the year to use the days. The ones you buy from Universal have to be used in two weeks.

flamingpanties

I visited the Orlando theme parks in the 1990s several times and they weren't doing this fingerprinting business. When did they start fingerprinting paying customers like they've been arrested?

adamak

They have been doing that for 8-10 years now, I think. Started with the annual pass. Now all tickets are not transferrable anymore.

CUTiger78

Does WDW no longer sell tix that don't expire for an added fee?

flamingpanties

Are they fingerprinting little kids? I don't see why they would be allowed to profile children.

I'll be skipping "the happiest place in the world" from now on. I don't like these new tactics.

CUTiger78

Fingerprinting? Sort of, but there's no ink and paper involved. You put one finger on a scanner when you first enter on a particular ticket and then put that finger on the scanner for recognition upon each later entry.

Would a retina scan be better?