Help With Ethical Express Pass Question

[mrd7896]

Is this post allowed?
I'm travelling with another family over Thanksgiving. Staying at HR so we get Unlimited Express. My family is all set.
The second family that are joining us were thinking of adding their two children to their reservation who now got the all clear to go. I guess the second family received the new price to add in the other two children to the room, tickets, express and it was quite a cost difference.
Since their room can equip the amount of bodies just fine with the bedding they have (1 bedroom suite with living room), she asked if she HAD to add her children into the reservation. My response was "what about their tickets and express" she said she could just separately purchase their entry tickets and 'couldn't we ask for extra room keys and couldn't they use those for the express pass'.
I already voiced the 'Universal's policy is that everyone needs their own ticket and own express' but she has asked..again..if there are really any alarm bells that would be raised.

This is my first time staying at a hotel that automatically includes Express, i've only ever purchased them separately and i know they were name specific. I also have only ever gotten the one ride per day, not unlimited.
I believe when staying at a higher resort, the express is linked to the room keys? Are they also linked to names? If they are linked to names on the room, even if it is an unlimited pass, if two of the same names enter the line within a few minutes of one another is that something that the workers see?

I don't want her to get away with doing this, but i already came at it from the ethical perspective. I also don't want her to be holding up our family during a VERY busy time to travel. I also even mentioned 'but do you really want to be worrying about this for EVERY SINGLE RIDE on EVERY SINGLE DAY"

 

[Minnie1222]

The name of each guest and length of stay will be printed on their individual room card which is also the Express Pass. Their image will be captured for comparison as they enter certain rides.

It's a strange request anyhow. Those are her children and she should be paying for them.

 

[mickey916]

The express passes are associated with your room key and each person's individual name is printed on the room key. I don't think this will work for her. I doubt highly they'll just give her extra room keys because that's exactly what people would do with them is use them as express passes. I also don't know how she would use a room key twice within a few minutes. Would she hand it back through the line? Or would you all have to wait while the other people went through. I really think this is a whole added level of stress that's probably not going to work.

 

[WAstateDVCDaddy]

Too bad she didn’t have twins (or triplets - think of all the money she could save on a daily basis!

I’m not sure what ethical help you need here - you’re obviously uncomfortable with it, so you already know what the correct approach is ethically.

As far as whether or not it can be done, I don’t believe it will work - at least not always. My understanding is that they use biometric validation on some rides, and at entry to the parks. Your fingerprint is scanned and broken down to a specific hash (keyed value). Then on certain rides there are fingerprint scanners at certain points in line. Technically the user is violating the terms of use, as tickets and passes are non-transferable, so I expect there are protocols for rescinding park access to abusers.

 

[mrd7896]

i agree that it's an added stress. and we are travelling over a holiday. part of me wants her to try and it not to work because she is being cheap. another part doesn't want her to cause issues for our group too. and then i don't want her to get away with it, if she does try and it does work. i just didn't know if i could say 'oh they use biometric imaging' and then for me to be wrong. i already told her where i stand but if i had some 'hard no' evidence that would obviously make her choice for her.

 

[WAstateDVCDaddy]

The express passes are associated with your room key and each person's individual name is printed on the room key. I don't think this will work for her. I doubt highly they'll just give her extra room keys because that's exactly what people would do with them is use them as express passes. I also don't know how she would use a room key twice within a few minutes. Would she hand it back through the line? Or would you all have to wait while the other people went through. I really think this is a whole added level of stress that's probably not going to work.

I think the approach would be to get an extra room key, provide that to one of the unregistered guests, and have them use that to access the express lane.

As you noted, the passes are associated with the room key, which is specific to a registered guest, and associated with a users park pass, which is associated with a biometric ID. So it won’t work if they scan biometrics on an individual ride.

 

[Ursula J]

This seems like the kind of thing that could get you kicked out for the day or cause a pretty significant charge to fix. I'd tell her that you read about someone doing this and getting caught and kicked out. Yes, it's a fib, but it might get her to suck it up and pay like the rest of us do. I hate it when people think the rules don't apply to them.

 

[WAstateDVCDaddy]

Quick update - the fingerprint method was suspended during the pandemic. I don’t know if it’s been reinstated, but I’m sure they have an alternate verification process if they’re not usung prints.

 

[LoveToDisney]

They take your photo the first time you enter the express cue if you aren’t already in their database. There’s no way to get a free “extra” room key that is not keyed to one of the paying room guests. The reason Premier resorts charge for the 3rd and 4th adult is because of the express pass. Tell your friend they take pics so there’s no free ride. They will need to pay the extra for their kids. The other option is to buy the express pass when they buy the separate tickets but that usually costs more than the extra cost to the room. If you could “just get extra room keys”, everyone would cheat that way.

 

[Disneychick13]

What they want you to do won’t work. They won’t give you an extra key. They only give you one key per person registered to the room.

 

[DizneyFamof4]

US will only give you keys for the people on your reservation, because all keys are individually created specifically with their names. My DD lost her key and when we went to get a new one, they had to totally create her a new key specifically for her with her name on it and disabled the other key in case someone finds it and tries to use it. And their system will definitely know if they see 2 tickets with the same name and now you are the one in trouble. In the old days (before technology) you could actually get away with this, but not today.

 

[Minnie1222]

How many adults and children will be in each room and what is the maximum capacity per room? She doesn't want to add the children to her room, but she wants them to be in your room? I'm confused.

 

[3gr8boys]

It doesn't matter if there is a way to cheat the system- It is wrong. Express passes are for individuals and all hotel guests are supposed to be on the reservation. I wouldn't be a part of it.

 

[AJA]

No what she is suggesting wont work.

How many are on your room reservation at HR? Your room at HR will hold 4. This is just an example (for you anyone that may be in a similar situation) if you only have 2 currently in your room and the “children” involved are 18 or older you can add them to your reservation (in name only to your reservation) they will need to be there when you check in. It will add $50 each/nightly to your reservation ($100 per night for 2) but would be much cheaper than buying express daily.-these people would have a key to your room though, make sure you are ok with that.

If they are not 18 or older NO WAY would I try to add them to your reservation.

 

[ClapYourHands]

It’s literally $50 per “kid” per night at the hotel. That’s nothing compared with the cost of buying express alone. It’s a holiday, so the parks will be packed and hotel rooms at the three premier hotels will likely sell out because so many people want express.

There are times it pays to be thrifty and there are times the risk (getting caught and booted out) outweighs the reward (saving $50). It’s a big risk for a small reward.

 

[HopperFan]

Since their room can equip the amount of bodies just fine with the bedding they have (1 bedroom suite with living room), she asked if she HAD to add her children into the reservation. My response was "what about their tickets and express" she said she could just separately purchase their entry tickets and 'couldn't we ask for extra room keys and couldn't they use those for the express pass'.

It doesn't matter if there is a way to cheat the system- It is wrong. Express passes are for individuals and all hotel guests are supposed to be on the reservation. I wouldn't be a part of it.

SO MUCH THIS ^ and I'll take a step further and say it is fraud and you are risking your family's vacation because she doesn't want to pay for her family.

I would straight up tell her "NO, that will not work. If you all decide not to purchase Express Pass for them then we can just meet up for lunch, dinner and breaks between rides."

 

[Smugpugmug]

People that try and cheat the system like this are why we can't have nice things. She should just buy the Express pass for her kids.

 

[raidermatt]

Scammers.

No alarm bells would be raised because they will not give her extra room keys that can be used for Express Pass. Period.

That said, I would be interested to hear what her excuse was going to be for asking for extra room keys with Express Pass. One for each hand?

The cost difference for adding people to the room, which comes with Express, is minimal. The bulk of the increase is for park tickets, and there is no way around this either.

Probably too late since Thanksgiving is only 2 months away, but maybe she can find a cheaper room at Portofino or Royal Pacific. Failing that, she can move to a hotel that is cheap enough to allow her to purchase Express Pass separately and still save money.

People that try and cheat the system like this are why we can't have nice things.

Exactly.

 

[mamapenguin]

The DIS doesn’t support cheating the system. This should not even be a discussion. Ethics.

 

[ClapYourHands]

The DIS doesn’t support cheating the system. This should not even be a discussion. Ethics.

I think it does make a good discussion because every single person here has said don’t do it. Some are focusing more on the morality and others on the impracticality, but no one is promoting the plan as a good one. OP came here to be validated in thinking it’s both ethically and logistically unsound, and people delivered.

And as for the friend who wants to try it, she is unlikely to be swayed simply by OP saying it’s immoral, but she might be dissuaded by OP pointing out the ways in which it’s unlikely to work and too risky to be worth it.