Scalpers won't like Shanghai Disneyland's electronic fast entry ticket

Shanghai Disneyland will no longer issue fast entry tickets in paper form to visitors — starting from Wednesday.

Police believe the move could help to deter scalpers from trying their luck at the park.

Also the park will strengthen identification verification procedures of "Fastpass" holders’ identities at its attractions, police said on Tuesday.

Scalpers are a common sight around Shanghai Disney Resort and are often spotted approaching visitors to sell them fast entry tickets, which they sell on at high prices.

Police said disputes between visitors and scalpers are frequent, disturbing order at the theme park.

Scalpers have even stolen entrance tickets from visitors by promising to use them get quick entry passes and then running off with the entrance tickets. Disneyland says a visitors' Fastpass tickets should correlate to their entrance tickets.

“Most of the victims were tourists from out of town who hoped to save time and be able to play at more attractions and didn’t have much knowledge about the rules of the theme park,” said Shen Zhen, an official of the Police Department of Shanghai International Tourism and Resorts Zone.

If caught, the scalpers are usually punished with an admonition, a fine or five to 15 days of detention.

“From now on, if the scalpers hope to ‘serve the tourists,’ they will have to take away the tourists’ phones to download Fastpass tickets on an app or take their entrance tickets to the Fastpass ticket machines,” Shen said.

The Disney Resort hasn’t announced the exact date when visitors can use the app to get fast entry tickets. In the meantime, entry tickets can be digitally stamped at a Fastpass machine.

Meanwhile, instead of examining a Fastpass holder’s identity once at the attractions, staff will now do it twice to ensure the fast entry ticket is linked to the entrance ticket, police said.