I guess I do not see how it is abuse to the system. The pass was purchased and is good for a 2 day admittance.

"But I'm worried we'll get to the gate and they won't accept them for some reason."

It took me a while to stop laughing.
These tickets are non-transferable and non-refundable. This is precisely why you have to show picture ID, etc. etc.

I wonder if the OP will came back to let us know what happened if they tried to use them.

Yes, SeaWorld, Disney, Busch Gardens (Tampa anyway) all use finger scanners of some sort to match the person going through the gate with the person who first used the ticket.

Now on our trip to Orlando this year we purchased a 7-day admission ticket that worked at both Sea World and Busch Gardens. But I don't think we were admitted to the parks the same way any of the four times we were. Some days they took our finger scans. Some days they asked for photo ID. I think on one day we showed the ticket paper at them and they waved us in.

SO ... you may be able to get in with the tickets, and you may not. But the tickets are intended to be non-transferrable. That's the reason these parks started implementing the finger scanners.

So the amusement parks are using this to scam the customers? You buy 2 days of tickets and can't use the second day so you have to just throw them away? No refund on the unused portion? Can't just give them to someone else to use?

Not the one in question here. It was a two-days-for-the-price-of-one ticket. The park makes money from concessions on the second day. It's a good deal if you use it, but you don't lose anything if you don't.

No one forced you to buy a two-day pass. You bought it at your peril. Why should an amusement park given discounted two-day passes when they know people like the OP will just scam off the discount of someone else.

It is a horrible lesson to children. Like sneaking children into hotels, lying about their ages to get discounts, etc.

No it's not like sneaking a child into a hotel. It's like paying for your child David to share your room and them substituting your friend's child Joseph to share your room because David had a baseball game.

Suppose I owned a bookstore and to increase my turnover, I offered 2 books for the price of one (same title only) with the stipulation that only you could read the books. Fair? Why should I have any control over how you use the books once the money is handed over? The books no longer belong to me, they are yours. You can read both of them, burn one or both, give them as gifts, whatever. The tickets have been sold, money has exchanged hands. If you choose to give out 2 day tickets for the price of one, that's your choice. It should be my choice of how they are used since you now have my money. We aren't talking about sneaking in someone extra, we're asking to substitute a different person to use the ticket.

very well put rm

no surprise there! :-))

One of the conditions of purchase/use is that the tickets are non-transferable. If you don't like the deal, you don't have to buy. However, once you decide to buy, you are required to honor the deal you made.

It isn't a rip-off by Sea World in any way.

"We aren't talking about sneaking in someone extra, we're asking to substitute a different person to use the ticket."

Except the ticket says specifically that you can't do that. By purchasing the ticket, you are accepting the contract that you just can't hand out the second day ticket to any person on the street or even sell it.

The goal of the second-day ticket is to provide a discount--a benefit--to consumers who already have paid for the first day. By passing that benefit on to people who haven't earned it, you are undermining the goal of the discount and forcing retailers to withdraw the benefit.

"The tickets have been sold, money has exchanged hands." Yes, under the terms and conditions of the sale. So if the terms are that the tickets are non-transferable, then the buyer has agreed to that condition when they bought the ticket. If the terms are no refunds, ditto. Doesn't mean the buyer has to like it, but if those terms were clearly posted/written/explained at the time of the sale, then I wouldn't say they're scamming the customer.

A benefit would be a reduction in ticket prices. If it didn't cost $60 or so just to set foot in Sea World and similar such places, we wouldn't have to borrow tickets. Right?

A plea from a former middle school teacher - please consider what you are modeling for your children when you "cheat" the system and hope not to be caught - especially if embarassment is your #1 concern. You are demonstrating for them is it okay to cheat, lie, "bend the rules" - and they will transfer that behavior into school - and into their teen years.

I miss the kids and miss teaching but I don't miss the crap that went along with it - and the "crap" was directly connected to students' misbehaviors and the parents backing them up even when the kids were caught red-handed.

It IS a big deal - at least to some of us, I suppose.

Huh, freeman? What are you saying? If the price is too high for you to afford going, that's really too bad, but saying because you can't afford it, that gives you the "right" to break the rules. . . ?

As mentioned, the two day ticket is set up to encourage the SAME people to come a second day at a discount, not to buy tickets to share with friends.

Starrsville has it right. While you're teaching your kids to break the rules, I hope you give them a few good tips on how to distract the people selling ice cream so you can swipe one for free when they aren't looking. But of course, such action would be justified -- if they didn't charge so much for ice cream in the first place you wouldn't have to try to steal it -- right?

I don't understand what the price of the tickets has to do with anything either. If you can't afford the tickets or just don't want to pay the high price, then don't go.

I agree with the others who say it is wrong to use the passes - regardless of whether you can. The terms and conditions say they are non-transferable.

The posts advocating trying to get away with it make me sad--sad, but at the same time angry. How did so many of you get your value systems so far out of whack?? Do you think of yourselves as dishonest people...because you know of course, that is, so in trying to get away with this, you are as well. Do you think of yourself as cheats? No...? Too funny.

There is no way on earth you can justify using the tickets. Here are the rules, stated on their website. I am certain the same rules are printed on the tickets.

<i>1. When you buy a two day admission ticket to Sea World (San Antonio in this case) you can come back to a 2nd visit to Sea World San Antonio any time until December 31, 2007

2. The second visit must take place by 12-31-07

<b>3. This ticket is non-transferable and non-refundable.</b>

4. This offer is not valid with any other special events or discounts.</i>

There is an option to purchase a single day pass by the way. Adult single day costs $44.09 pp. Adult Multi-day costs 48.99. Bs cousin opted for multi-day, not single. By using these non-transferable non-refundable tickets bought by her cousin, bs83 stands to &quot;save&quot; $200, by her own admission, and Sea World has been cheated out of that same amount. That's not exactly a <u>little</u> white lie now, is it? What do you suppose the penalty would be if you were caught stealing $200 worth of merchandise from a store/company/individual?

Gads people!

I think the OP should just ask their cousin if they were fingerprinted or had their ID checked...if they were then there's a pretty good chance they could use them. If they were fingerprinted or had their ID checked then I would say save yourself and your kids the embarassment and just buy the tickets.

Layla %%-

sorry that should have read if they weren't then they could probably use them.....

so, aucho, the embarrassment would only happen IF they got caught? The parents shouldn't be equally embarrassed about showing their children that it's OK to cheat as long as you can get away with it? How sad. I guess some of us are embarrassed by things others might even be proud of.