Beware discounts on partially-used Disney passes, expert warns

The planning by many families for a summer exodus to Disneyland is well underway. However, just getting into the park will cost about $92 per person.

"Disney is a little bit expensive and you need to find the best deal you can," said Scott Liljenquist, co-owner of Mousketrips, a travel agency specializing in all things Disney.

"That's all we do," he explained. "We do Disneyland, Disney World and the Disney cruise line."

He said the desire to find the best deal often drives people into buying decidedly less-than-magical tickets. One example: a partially used, multi-day pass for a bargain price, that the seller claims still has days left to use. Sounds good, right? Wrong, Liljenquist said, because all tickets are non-refundable and non-transferable.

"They're really only to be used by the person who purchased them," he said. "If you purchased tickets from someone else to maybe use their unused days, there's no guarantee those tickets will work. There's no way you can find out until you present at the turnstile."

It's the same reason not to buy any Disney ticket - new or partially used - from eBay, Craigslist or any online classifieds.

"While I'm sure there are some legitimate sellers, there are many, many who aren't," Liljenquist said.

"Three's no way to know for sure, and there's nothing worse than arriving at the turnstile with your family and children to be turned away with tickets deemed invalid," he added.

Liljenquist also said Disney has ramped up ticket technology at its theme parks. The gates at Walt Disney World use biometric scanners to compare fingerprints to the prints of the person who first used a ticket. At Disneyland, they use a picture.

At both parks, a mismatch means no "magical kingdom."

"You're standing there with kids who don't understand why Disney won't let them in," Liljenquist said.

Consumers' best best? Buy passes directly from Disney. There is no killer discount, but customers will not be turned away at the gate if problems arise.

Liljenquist said generally, the only other place to get a discounted but legitimate pass is a big price-club store, like Costco. He said websites offering super low prices on Disney passes likely could be a scam.%3Cimg%20src%3D%22http%3A//beacon.deseretconnect.com/beacon.gif%3Fcid%3D153549%26pid%3D46%22%20/%3E</group><group id="32822A32-E53F-4B86-BAFA-4547D714B9AB" type="seoLabels"><seoLabels></seoLabels><