Free admission?

[clee687]

My BIL/SIL and nephews have been at WDW this past week. They texted me on their 2nd day and asked if MK let you in free after a certain time in the evening. I said I had never heard of this and Disney and free usually don't come together (not a criticism...they need money to build more attractions for my visits!!!) Our local theme park and water park have reduced rates after 4pm but not free. Last night they texted me again and said MK quits charging admission after 7pm! Is this correct? Or are they crazy? I asked if it is always 7pm, no matter what time the park closes(thinking the park closed last night at 7 . He didn't know about other days, but said it was 7 last night and closing was at 11pm. If this is true, I don't guess it bothers me that they do this...just that I am the WDW nut and didn't know and they go every few years just to say they did, but don't really care about it or enjoy it that much. Thanks for any info!!

 

[The Mom]

Did he actually get in for free?

If so, it would be the first I had heard of it, and I often arrive at WDW at that hour. I usually have an AP or FL Resident pass, so don't care about only popping in for a couple of hours. But I definitely need to use my pass to enter.

 

[clee687]

He said he did. I was wondering if he just misunderstood and still scanned his tickets and would discover later that he actually used a day on it...but he did this last night and are leaving for home this morning. ???

 

[nolatron]

The parking lots stop charging for entry after sunset. You just drive right on by the closed booths.

But not the theme parks.

 

[clee687]

Thanks! I have done a google search also and nothing anywhere says you can go into MK for 4 hours for free!!! I don't know how I'll convince them they can't if they insist that they did though. BIL always finds away to get around rules though. They are the type that always complain about the food/service at restaurants so they won't have to pay for the whole meal. The first time they went to WDW, he wouldn't tip the servers at all because he would never see them again so it shouldn't matter...not sure if he has started tipping or not since then. Needless to say, I don't go out to eat or vacation with them!!!

 

[CaptainShortty]

There is no hour where you can enter MK for free. As someone said they stop charing for parking at a certain point but never the theme parks. The only modified admission ticket I know of is the Florida resident ticket that allows you to enter Epcot after I believe 4PM for lower than full price. Other than that as far as I know there is absolutely nothing. I would love to hear more of the story from them to find out if/why it happened.

 

[miles1]

They are the type that always complain about the food/service at restaurants so they won't have to pay for the whole meal. The first time they went to WDW, he wouldn't tip the servers at all because he would never see them again so it shouldn't matter...not sure if he has started tipping or not since then. Needless to say, I don't go out to eat or vacation with them!!!

Sounds like the jerk we were seated next to at 50's prime time last week. He called the server over to complain about different aspects of their meals so many times she had to call the chef out of the kitchen and he wound up with three free meals, and the kids got some trinkets to compensate. Our meal (the same dishes) was great. I actually wrote the server a note with our tip to congratulate her on her patience. THe entire story is in the Cast Member Appreciation Board.

 

[MissM]

The only modified admission ticket I know of is the Florida resident ticket that allows you to enter Epcot after I believe 4PM for lower than full price.

And even that is an annual pass. It's not just a one-day ticket. Florida residents can buy an "Epcot After 4pm" AP.

The whole story seems...odd. I've seen them taking parking fees at like 7pm, so to say you can go in for free? Makes no sense.

 

[Kobe!!]

Wasn't there talks about Disney doing something like this about a year ago?

Something along the lines of a ticket to just get you into the park(s) not to ride any rides. Along w/ a few other options? I never heard anything updated about it thought...

I think your friend is lying, sorry!

 

[fbp]

This is crazy tawlk.

 

[Rescue Ranger]

Well, I have always been able to get into the parks for free for a 30min time limit. Like a shopping pass. You could go on a ride or 2 if there were no lines. But thats about it.

They would charge you if you were there longer than 30min.

 

[peachykeen]

No like the others have said definitely no way into the park for free, at least not as a rule. Guest Relations can make exceptions for Park Hopper misunderstandings (bought an 8-day base ticket but wanted to use two days on one calendar day, etc.) But MK is very stringent on their Park Hopper policy and you really have to "wow" them for them to give you a comp ticket to come in. Not sure what he is referring to. :shrug:

And regarding the "shopping pass" for 30 minutes, Guest Relations tracks individuals who are provided that exception and can stop providing that service at any time to a Guest who begins to abuse the "policy." I put policy in quotes because that is not even a guaranteed service, but is done on a case-by-case basis.

 

[Jakester]

yeah they let you in for free, like 30seconds before closing.......

 

[invader]

Hopefully they didn't but a hopper without knowing it..

 

[Bravo 229]

They definitely do not let you in for free. I went back into the MK last night around 10pm after returning from dinner at EPCOT, and like always, they ask you to scan your ticket.

 

[clee687]

They were coming home today and have been looking for info before I talked to them...but I may have figured it out. A few weeks before they left he called me yelling because he had gone online to purchase the park tickets and he didn't think they should cost so much. (bet yall didn't know I'm in charge of pricing, did you? Don't feel bad...I didn't know myself) Anyway, I sent him to undercover tourist to look for discounts...just checked and there 5 day park hopper (which is what they were getting) is the same price as the 6 day park hopper! He probably put 5 day in cart, never realized and went through the turnstiles last night and just believed it was free! Or asked about it and they asked to see his tickets and told them he could go and just ignored the reason why! Of course this is all assuming he did get they passes through undercover tourist...I'll check tomorrow. Thanks everybody!

 

[rob0519]

My brother in law and his wife live near Tampa and I wanted to take them to dinner at Epcot. The dining reservation castmember told me they would both need park tickets and that there is no reduced cost ticket available at any time for the general public.

If you are attending a convention that is being held at WDW you can get slightly reduced park admission that is good after 5:00 pm, but it is only available through convention services.