Some people have been buying collectible merchandise from Disneyland to resell it to others and Disneyland is doing something about it - they're quietly revoking their annual passes.
Disneyland is revoking these resellers' annual passes under a clause that bans people from using discounts and reselling items purchased inside parks.
It reads: "Benefits and discounts are for personal use only and may not be used for any commercial purpose including, without limitation, to obtain or purchase items or services with the intent to resell such items or services."
Samantha Cudnohufsky, 25, who has a small personal shopping business, had her annual pass revoked. She received a letter dated for November 16 informing her that her Disneyland pass was revoked for one year.
"It came out of nowhere - I had no warning," Cudnohufsky told the Orange County Register. "They took away my pass right before the holidays. … I had several people tell me that other people had been hit too."
Despite her pass being canceled, Cudnohufsky still has to pay the monthly cost of her pass until May.
"They're not stopping the payments," Cudnohufsky said. "I still have to make my payments or they will send me to collection. It's about $71 a month."
Disney provided a statement about these revocations: "Park Rules and Annual Pass Terms and Conditions are in place to help protect the experience for all of our Guests."
Rose Keiser who runs Gothic Rosie's Disneyland Infopage would like to see "flippers" banned, but not punish personal shoppers.
"I think Disney is looking at the wrong group of people," Keiser said. "Personal shoppers are not the problem. Flippers are the problem. A flipper is going to go to the park and walk out with 10 (collectible popcorn) buckets."
It doesn't appear that Disneyland is differentiating between personal shoppers and flippers when it comes to revoking passes.
Cudnohufsky said, "Honestly, I started this as a little side business to help people get stuff. It was just a little bit to help out. I knew Disney was greedy, but I didn't know how greedy."
When hearing of Disneyland's actions, some fans had varying views.
"I don't think they should be banned, but they should only be allowed to buy one (item) per family," said passholder Rori Gelfand of Irvine.
"Good riddance, they should've done that years ago," one fan wrote on the Disneylanders Facebook fan page.
Shaun McClure had a small personal shopping business that involved buying items in Disneyland. He also had his pass blocked, as did his wife though she had nothing to do with his personal shopping business.
"I called the number on the back of my pass and they explained my account had been linked to a social media page selling Disney merchandise, so we were blocked," McClure said. "They told me after a 12-month period, I could be reinstated. To be frank, I'd never read any of the terms and conditions on the pass."
McClure isn't exactly happy with Disney, and like Cudnohufsky, sees the move as a bit greedy on Disney's part.
"I kind of feel like they're making enough money," McClure said. "Why do they have to go after the little people?"
Despite the revocations, Cudnohufsky and McClure still love Disney and would like to return to the park eventually.
"Deep down, I really do want to go back," McClure said. "It's a place I grew up with. We really love to spend time there."
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
