Originally Posted By xrayvision I'm not sure if this has been posted before, I couldn't find it, but every DLR resort guest who possess a multi-day passport is having their picture taken at the front gate of the parks on their first day of visit, before they put their ticket into the "ticket acceptor machine" and enter the turnstiles. Subsequent visits, the guests' tickets are being scanned with mobile devices by castmembers at the parks' front gate, before the guest puts their ticket into the "ticket acceptor machine" and enters the turnstile, so that the castmember can check if the guest picture linked to the ticket scanned matches with the guest presenting the ticket. I asked the castmember what was going on because this process was slowing down the lines to enter the gates to the parks, particularly at Disneyland Park. The admissions castmember quietly told me that the pictures were being taken to ensure that guests were not buying tickets from outside agencies or ticket brokers that allow partial use of pre-purchased multi-day passports, where the guest can return the un-used portion of the ticket to get their money back, which the ticket agency then sells the un-used ticket to another customer to use for admissions. I don't have a problem with this. But, I prefer the finger scan system used at WDW as it seems more efficient, less time consuming and less labor intensive to implement. In addition to the castmember accepting tickets at the turnstiles, there's now an additional castmember (sometimes two castmemers) stationed in front of the turnstiles who are checking every guest ticket to see if they have a multi-day passport and are scanning the multi-pass passports with their mobile device to check the picture, and then taking a picture of the guest at the turnstile if no pic is on file...while the rest of the guests wait in line for this process to take place before they can approach the entry turnstiles to insert their ticket into the ticket-acceptor and come inside the park (including annual passport holders whose pics are already on file). It's not a big deal and I understand. it's just different and it's causing delays at the front gate. I don't know how long they've been doing this. But, the castmember said it was a recent change and I know it wasn't being done this past summer. Finger scanners please.
Originally Posted By xrayvision Or, maybe they can open up a gate(s) for annual passport holders during busy periods as they can be processed quicker and thus can reduce the size of the lines at the entry gates at Disneyland.
Originally Posted By Malcon10t They have been doing this since Jan 8th. And they tried the AP only line, but guess what... "I have an AP, but my nephew has a 3 day pass, can't he just use this line with me?"
Originally Posted By disneylandfan8 I still wish they had an "express lane" for guess with APs (and no other guests) only.
Originally Posted By xrayvision I agree Disneylandfan8. An Express Lane for guests with APs (and no other guests) would be highly appreciated and seemingly not that hard to implement. And, it would reduce wait lines at the front gate as AP tickets don't require the additional ticket screening, photo taking and processing that guests with a multi-day tickets and SoCal CityPasses require. If an APer shows up with a non-AP guest with a multi-day passport, then they should be directed to a line that handles multi-day passports if they want to enter the front gate together at the same time. That's what happening to guests at Walt Disney World with the virtual gates and RFID cards/wristbands as the virtual gates aren't designed to handle non RFID passports. Similarly, if you have a Fastpass for a ride and another person in your party doesn't possess a Fastpass, and you want to ride together, you're usually directed to stand in the Stand-by line not the Fastpass express line. Regarding the SoCal CityPasses, I was standing behind two families at the front of the entry gate turnstile line (one large family with multi-day passports and the second family of four with a SoCal CityPass with multi-day option). After waiting for the first large family to have their photos taken for their multi-day tickets, I was surprised at how long it took to process the SoCal CityPasses for the second family of four at the front gate. It wasn't the castmember's fault...it's the process of explaining how the CityPass works (which was a long conversation due to guest questions), then exchanging the CityPass for Disney tickets, then having the guest sign each ticket on the back, then having their pictures taken, before they can go through the turnstile. If all that needs to happen to redeem a SoCal CityPass, then perhaps CItyPasses should be handled by Will Call or a ticket booth instead of the front gate turnstile. I mentioned Will Call because that's where I had to go to redeem my CityPass and get the real ticket at another attraction...and it makes sense. The front gate turnstiles should be used to admit guests who already have their tickets to the park and are ready to enter the gate. It should be a quick process of handing your ticket to the castmember, or putting your ticket into the machine, having your ticket scanned and walking through the turnstiles. With the new procedure of phototaking at the turnstiles, plus the processing of other types of tickets like CItyPass at the gate instead of a ticket booth, the average time it takes per person to walk through front gate turnstile has been increased. To counteract that increase in time, I think the AP Express Line should be re-opened and special tickets like CityPass should be handled by Will Call as a way to reduce that wait time back down at the front gate line, especially during peak periods.
Originally Posted By phruby That makes too much sense. Since Disney is such a Mickey Mouse company they would never have thought of that!
Originally Posted By TP2000 AP only lines don't work. Too many AP's try to break the rules by bringing in friends/family who aren't using an AP to get into the park that it just becomes a worthless idea. Don't feel like the line to get into Disneyland is worth it as an AP? Then don't go. You probably have errands to run at Target anyway, and shouldn't be spending yet another Sunday afternoon at a theme park.
