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A black market for park tickets has grown up in this theme park mecca with illegal transactions occurring every day in the heart of its fantasy fueled tourist district. Detective Kelly Boaz of the Orange County Sheriff's Office says illegal ticket sales is a multimillion dollar business.
"There is a lot of money out there in this type of activity," said Boaz, who works in a seven-person special unit dedicated to the theme parks.
This underground market is an unintended consequence of annual ticket-price increases and the popularity of multi-day passes that have made the tickets very valuable. A single-day ticket to a park costs almost $60, while a four-day park hopper, granting entry into all four Disney parks in Orlando, can cost $220 a person.
"The theme parks have always been an incredible experience that some people treat as a commodity," said Universal Orlando spokesman Tom Schroder. "So as long as there have been theme parks and theme park tickets, there have been people trying to take advantage of that."
The black market also has been fueled by the proliferation of booths selling discounted tickets in almost every major hotel and restaurant, or in front of every tacky T-shirt shop, in Orlando's tourist district.
The number of booths has increased in recent years from several dozen to 200 or 300. Many of the booths are run by timeshare companies that use the tickets as an incentive to get tourists to see their properties. They can rent for as much as $15,000 a month.
http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/business/12550068.htm
"There is a lot of money out there in this type of activity," said Boaz, who works in a seven-person special unit dedicated to the theme parks.
This underground market is an unintended consequence of annual ticket-price increases and the popularity of multi-day passes that have made the tickets very valuable. A single-day ticket to a park costs almost $60, while a four-day park hopper, granting entry into all four Disney parks in Orlando, can cost $220 a person.
"The theme parks have always been an incredible experience that some people treat as a commodity," said Universal Orlando spokesman Tom Schroder. "So as long as there have been theme parks and theme park tickets, there have been people trying to take advantage of that."
The black market also has been fueled by the proliferation of booths selling discounted tickets in almost every major hotel and restaurant, or in front of every tacky T-shirt shop, in Orlando's tourist district.
The number of booths has increased in recent years from several dozen to 200 or 300. Many of the booths are run by timeshare companies that use the tickets as an incentive to get tourists to see their properties. They can rent for as much as $15,000 a month.
http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/business/12550068.htm