Questioned for Park Hopping?

[TrainsOfDisney]

I was just questioned by a front gate CM and then a Lead on why I left and re-entered the theme park “so quickly” - the CM literally said “ the system flags tickets when it looks like people aren’t doing what they are supposed to.”

I left DL park to get salt and straw ice cream at downtown Disney, hopped into DCA to watch 5 & Dime, and then hopped back to DL.

Really strange.

It seems the logical thing to do is just ask to see an ID if the pass gets flagged? But questioning? Seemed really strange.

I’ll also add my frustration that I can’t get a paper ticket as my pass. I hate having to log in on my phone everytime I enter a park or use a discount.

 

[drizgirl]

I was just questioned by a front gate CM and then a Lead on why I left and re-entered the theme park “so quickly” - the CM literally said “ the system flags tickets when it looks like people aren’t doing what they are supposed to.”

I left DL park to get salt and straw ice cream at downtown Disney, hopped into DCA to watch 5 & Dime, and then hopped back to DL.

Really strange.

It seems the logical thing to do is just ask to see an ID if the pass gets flagged? But questioning? Seemed really strange.

I’ll also add my frustration that I can’t get a paper ticket as my pass. I hate having to log in on my phone everytime I enter a park or use a discount.

I have to think they're watching for people trying to hand their ticket off to someone else to use. No idea how that would actually work though.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I have to think they're watching for people trying to hand their ticket off to someone else to use. No idea how that would actually work though.

Yeah. Like it would make sense to maybe flag it and have the CM take a closer look at the photo just to make sure it’s the right person.

I think the questioning was probably specific to the CM - she acted like she hadn’t seen it before and had to call a lead.

Now that I think about it… I wonder if this is a bigger issue now with the digital tickets?

 

[D.Silentu]

I'm a little thrown off on this one as well. Since they seem to take a picture of everyone anyway, why the extra steps when they can see if it is the ticketholder?

 

[Sailor310]

I've had the same thing happen to us when we cut through DCA to go to DL.
You know, Trains, we just went to the ticket booth and got paper tickets for our APs. I asked about the $20 charge. The CM just laughed and gave it to me with no charge.
It took CMs awhile to get used to seeing paper tickets for APs for meal discounts, but after a few visits CMs were used to them.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

You know, Trains, we just went to the ticket booth and got paper tickets for our APs. I asked about the $20 charge. The CM just laughed and gave it to me with no charge.

Oh really? I asked at a ticket booth and was told they weren’t an option at all.

 

[Sailor310]

Oh really? I asked at a ticket booth and was told they weren’t an option at all.

Wow! It might have the last iteration of Magic Keys. I can't remember if I've used it for this latest MK.

 

[TP2000]

I was just questioned by a front gate CM and then a Lead on why I left and re-entered the theme park “so quickly” - the CM literally said “ the system flags tickets when it looks like people aren’t doing what they are supposed to.”

What you have just experienced is not questioning and very poorly worded language from a badly trained CM (implying bad behavior of some kind). What you have just experienced is actually World Class Guest Service! You have been immersed in it.

I left DL park to get salt and straw ice cream at downtown Disney, hopped into DCA to watch 5 & Dime, and then hopped back to DL.

How dare you use the Resort as it was designed and intended to be used. Stay in your lane, buster!

It seems the logical thing to do is just ask to see an ID if the pass gets flagged? But questioning? Seemed really strange.

It's simply poorly trained CM's, and then poor front-line (AKA Dockers-clad) management of those badly trained CM's. Layered on top of a ticketing system that doesn't reflect that actual reality on the ground in the environment it exists in, which is the fault of the park management's executive leaders.

I’ll also add my frustration that I can’t get a paper ticket as my pass. I hate having to log in on my phone everytime I enter a park or use a discount.

"I don't want the public to see the world they live in when they're in the park. I want them to feel they're in another world." -Walt Disney

 

[Parteecia]

“ the system flags tickets when it looks like people aren’t doing what they are supposed to.”

What are we "supposed to" do? Is it in the fine print? Why would there be any rules about how often you can enter or exit? As others have noted, they can check our photo to eliminate shenanigans.

This really makes me want to test it.

 

[CaptinEO]

What you have just experienced is not questioning and very poorly worded language from a badly trained CM (implying bad behavior of some kind). What you have just experienced is actually World Class Guest Service! You have been immersed in it.



How dare you use the Resort as it was designed and intended to be used. Stay in your lane, buster!



It's simply poorly trained CM's, and then poor front-line (AKA Dockers-clad) management of those badly trained CM's. Layered on top of a ticketing system that doesn't reflect that actual reality on the ground in the environment it exists in, which is the fault of the park management's executive leaders.



"I don't want the public to see the world they live in when they're in the park. I want them to feel they're in another world." -Walt Disney

It's really so sad all these changes Disney makes that ruins the experience. I feel one day their app is going to be down (it happens in tech) and it would cause so much havoc since they tied your whole visit into this app.

You won't be able to enter the park, get AP discounts, get handicap return times, visit sit down restaurants, or go on the new Mickey and Minnie Ride (VQ Only) or have park photos

I remember also reading how when Magic Keys came out, fans actually printed their own physical tickets with their Magic Key barcode (for park entry and discounts) but disney for no apparent reason stopped allowing the use of printed barcodes. People solved the problem Disney created and they refused to let their guests make a convenient solution that had zero impact on them.

 

[Parteecia]

You won't be able to enter the park, get AP discounts

That why I took screenshots of the entry/discount and PhotoPass codes. Much less frustrating.

 

[Supreme Leader]

That happened to me and my friend one time. We had reservations for DCA but wanted to go to Disneyland, so we went to DCA for coffee first and then left that park and when we scanned in at Disneyland park, the cast member looked so confused. She told us the system still had us scanned in at DCA.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

That happened to me and my friend one time. We had reservations for DCA but wanted to go to Disneyland, so we went to DCA for coffee first and then left that park and when we scanned in at Disneyland park, the cast member looked so confused. She told us the system still had us scanned in at DCA.

That’s a good point - especially with park hopping starting at 11 am now this would happen more frequently.

 

[BuzzedPotatoHead89]

Happened to me as well when we stayed at the Grand CA over the holidays. We would cut through DCA entrance to get to DL. It was flagged as “suspicious activity”.

 

[MarvelCharacterNerd]

Happened to me last week when I ran between parks just to catch a character out at one park then went right back to the other park a few minutes later. Got the "NO" honk instead of the "YES" tweet at the gate. CM asked 'did you just go over there really quickly?' I said yeah, I just ran to meet a friend and then came back. CM overrode the problem and let me back in. It's a system thing.

But also yeah they do not provide physical passes even though their contract says they do. I recently got a new phone and discovered it has a periodic phone screen problem where it just goes suddenly dark and I can't see anything - so it doesn't matter if I took a screenshot or not as the screen goes completely black every so often. I went to the ticket booth when this first happened and was told they could not print me out a pass of any kind. All they could do (after I showed my ID and my blank screen phone) was hand write out my pass number on a piece of scrap paper. They told me go back to the gate and see if the CM would type it in for me and I might be able to use that to enter but I couldn't use it for discounts or anything else because those need to be scanned only. So basically, no working phone and you are out of luck. I turned around and left. It's a HORRIBLE system with no backup. (And for the record, when I first got my key, I also went to the ticket booth to get my physical pass and was told they don't do that for anyone.) #thedisneydifference

 

[TP2000]

Happened to me last week when I ran between parks just to catch a character out at one park then went right back to the other park a few minutes later. Got the "NO" honk instead of the "YES" tweet at the gate. CM asked 'did you just go over there really quickly?' I said yeah, I just ran to meet a friend and then came back. CM overrode the problem and let me back in. It's a system thing.

But also yeah they do not provide physical passes even though their contract says they do. I recently got a new phone and discovered it has a periodic phone screen problem where it just goes suddenly dark and I can't see anything - so it doesn't matter if I took a screenshot or not as the screen goes completely black every so often. I went to the ticket booth when this first happened and was told they could not print me out a pass of any kind. All they could do (after I showed my ID and my blank screen phone) was hand write out my pass number on a piece of scrap paper. They told me go back to the gate and see if the CM would type it in for me and I might be able to use that to enter but I couldn't use it for discounts or anything else because those need to be scanned only. So basically, no working phone and you are out of luck. I turned around and left. It's a HORRIBLE system with no backup. (And for the record, when I first got my key, I also went to the ticket booth to get my physical pass and was told they don't do that for anyone.) #thedisneydifference

This is all a giant disaster waiting to happen.

They have to backup system in place. They have no physical process to admit paying "guests" into their parks if the digital system goes down.

And if you use the Resort as it was intended, that is if you move freely about the property via your own two feet, the designed system flags you as a potential fraudster and a CM questions your behavior and motives as their customer using the product that you paid for.

Absolute perfection. World Class Guest Service!

 

[Ryan120420]

When a ticket is scanned, the ticket gets "locked" to the park it was scanned at for 30 mins. So if you scan in, then exit, and re-enter, or park hop within that 30 min window, the turnstile will give a "Locked- (DCA/DL)" error message. It's to prevent ticket fraud, Usually a Lead has to come and give the CM the ok to override the error message. But now, thanks to the wonderful reservation system, this issue pops up multiple times per day thanks to people thinking that you need to go to your reserved park first before you can hop over to the other park after the start of park hopping hours.

 

[CaptinEO]

Soon they'll apprehend you for leaving the parking lot too soon.

"You can't leave, my computer tells me you've been here for less than 90 minutes".

"I need to bathe and change my infant".

"I'm going to need a management override before you leave ma'am, wait here for 20 minutes"

 

[mickEblu]

I was just questioned by a front gate CM and then a Lead on why I left and re-entered the theme park “so quickly” - the CM literally said “ the system flags tickets when it looks like people aren’t doing what they are supposed to.”

I left DL park to get salt and straw ice cream at downtown Disney, hopped into DCA to watch 5 & Dime, and then hopped back to DL.

Really strange.

It seems the logical thing to do is just ask to see an ID if the pass gets flagged? But questioning? Seemed really strange.

I’ll also add my frustration that I can’t get a paper ticket as my pass. I hate having to log in on my phone everytime I enter a park or use a discount.

Happened to me last week when I came back to DL from DCA with my baguettes. Figure it out guys. You have 2 parks 100 feet from each other.

 

[Nirya]

I have to think they're watching for people trying to hand their ticket off to someone else to use. No idea how that would actually work though.

Speaking from hypotheticals and not at all learned experience, but back in the day you would scan in with however many tickets you had. Then one person would walk out with those tickets, hand them to the next people in the group, and walk in the gates again. If the CM mentioned you did not have a reentry stamp, you would just say you washed your hands after using the bathroom. You could do the same thing to an extent with the old APs which had the grainy photos of you on the back, especially if you looked close enough to the person.

It's harder now with the pictures digitized, but I've still seen friends use APs/Magic Keys bought by their siblings to get in.