Platform 9 3/4 Ticket

[Mark Hammond]

I’ve got a couple of novelty Platform 9 3/4 tickets that came with some Harry Potter merchandise that I bought for the kids for our upcoming trip to UOR. Would one of the Universal staff on the Hogwarts Express attraction accept the tickets from the kids? I just thought that it would add to the experience for them if they thought that they actually had to present a ticket to board the train, but I didn’t want to put either them or the Universal staff in an awkward position. Has anyone either done this or seen it done before?
TIA.

 

[Disxuni]

I would imagine that if it can be done you'll have to go up to them ahead of time in order to warn them / ask them if they would accept the tickets as part of the experience. They're constantly reminding / shouting towards guests while in the area (especially at Kings Cross station) to have your 2-park tickets out and ready, so they're not wanting to play around, but maybe you might be able to make some form of arrangements?

Like you said, if you just show up and your kids present the tickets (without giving the actual 2-park ticket instead since that is needed in order to get onto HE) and nothing else, they'll probably not get it and either be confused, or perhaps might be able to think fast on their feet and say something about the tickets, while also implying they need an actual pass.

Either way, I don't think it would be that genuine of a moment even if you say something ahead of time, as they still need the two-park pass (or AP) and they have to scan their finger prior to getting onto HE. So, unless they think it would be cool to do all that and on top of that giving them the HE ticket and still feel like a genuine moment from the films, go for it?

 

[Sue M]

As mentioned you would also have to provide their park tickets and do finger scan. I don’t know how that would work if you’re trying for the kids to think all they need is the train ticket.
Maybe the staff would have an idea. Try going when it’s less busy.

 

[Mark Hammond]

Thanks for the replies. I’ll ‘assess the situation’ when we’re there. Not the end of the world if it’s not appropriate, as the kids are only 6&8, so they won’t know any different anyway. I genuinely thought that there’d be other people doing this though. Obviously not...

 

[jacksdadcan]

Maybe right before boarding/boarding you could mention it to a CM to ask for tickets from your kids? As mentioned you have to show tickets/finger scan long before you're at the train, so that might not be the right time. But you could have a bit of a wait when you're at the train or even as you're boarded on the train might provide a better opportunity.

 

[skylock]

I would suggest giving the ticket to the person loading you on the train.

 

[bumbershoot]

They’ll surely notice that no one else is doing this...

Also, in the books and movies no one hands over a ticket, either.

On real UK trains they come by and look at your ticket once you’ve set off, though sometimes that gets missed, FYI. So even in the muggle world they aren’t taking tickets.

 

[Mark Hammond]

From the last few replies, I think the best opportunity would be just prior to actually boarding. I don’t think the kids would even register that nobody else was doing the same, or that they’ve already scanned in and everything else, as they’re only young. Thanks for your input everybody. We get there tomorrow!!!

 

[skylock]

From the last few replies, I think the best opportunity would be just prior to actually boarding. I don’t think the kids would even register that nobody else was doing the same, or that they’ve already scanned in and everything else, as they’re only young. Thanks for your input everybody. We get there tomorrow!!!

Let us know how it works out.

 

[jessicag13]

i agree and think the best time would be right when getting on the train- but it might be easier to just remind the kids they have to "show" their tickets when boarding, instead of actually having anyone "take" the tickets. i bet any enthusiastic employees would gladly play along, and you can just pass by any that don't catch on fast enough.
ditto to let us know how it works out- i bet this would be a fun thing for hp-obsessed families to do with a little planning/printing ahead of time.

 

[skylock]

i agree and think the best time would be right when getting on the train- but it might be easier to just remind the kids they have to "show" their tickets when boarding, instead of actually having anyone "take" the tickets. i bet any enthusiastic employees would gladly play along, and you can just pass by any that don't catch on fast enough.
ditto to let us know how it works out- i bet this would be a fun thing for hp-obsessed families to do with a little planning/printing ahead of time.

I like the just showing it too. And I am sure the train loaders will play along much more readily than the ticket checkers.

 

[escapeartist]

How about putting 9 3/4 tickets facing outward in a clear landyard? After TM scans real ticket, you can ask to scan the 9 3/4 ticket in the landyard? Then they can "keep" the 9 3/4 ticket after it's scanned.

 

[Disxuni]

@Mark Hammond, how did it go with the kiddos?

 

[Mark Hammond]

@Mark Hammond, how did it go with the kiddos?

Although we arrived on Monday, it wasn’t until late (and 18+ hours of travelling ) so the day was a write-off. We spent the day today doing all the other stuff in USF, and tomorrow will be IOA. We’re doing our ‘Harry Potter Day’ on Thursday, so will give it a go then, and I’ll post back!

 

[Mark Hammond]

So... We had our Harry Potter day, and got the girls to hand the tickets to the crew member on the loading part of the platform just prior to boarding the train. We didn’t give the crew member the heads up ourselves, we just let the kids get on with it themselves.
He’d obviously not had this done before, but he ‘sort of’ went along with it, although I don’t think that he was a particularly jovial-type anyway (a bit like myself.lol)
So far, so good... However, he came onto the train before the doors to the carriage closed to return us the tickets, as I’m guessing that he must have thought that we wanted them back. We overcame this by telling the kids that he’d just stamped the tickets, and that he knew the ‘secret’ that they were now wizards, as they were in Gryffindor Robes with wands in-hand that they’d bought that morning from Ollivander’s with their Harry Potter money.
It didn’t go exactly as I’d expected, but the kids weren’t any wiser, so all in all, it was worth doing. I took some photo’s, but obviously wouldn’t post them anywhere as they’ve also got the crew member on them. We had a great day, but the Florida heat was brutal, so had to bail out early, but we came back later to watch the light show on the castle, which I thought was fantastic!

Thanks again to all who replied!

 

[Disxuni]

So... We had our Harry Potter day, and got the girls to hand the tickets to the crew member on the loading part of the platform just prior to boarding the train. We didn’t give the crew member the heads up ourselves, we just let the kids get on with it themselves.
He’d obviously not had this done before, but he ‘sort of’ went along with it, although I don’t think that he was a particularly jovial-type anyway (a bit like myself.lol)
So far, so good... However, he came onto the train before the doors to the carriage closed to return us the tickets, as I’m guessing that he must have thought that we wanted them back. We overcame this by telling the kids that he’d just stamped the tickets, and that he knew the ‘secret’ that they were now wizards, as they were in Gryffindor Robes with wands in-hand that they’d bought that morning from Ollivander’s with their Harry Potter money.
It didn’t go exactly as I’d expected, but the kids weren’t any wiser, so all in all, it was worth doing. I took some photo’s, but obviously wouldn’t post them anywhere as they’ve also got the crew member on them. We had a great day, but the Florida heat was brutal, so had to bail out early, but we came back later to watch the light show on the castle, which I thought was fantastic!

Thanks again to all who replied!

Good to know that it wasn't too awkward and that they returned the tickets. Their reasoning for returning the tickets is good thinking. As I would have simply told them they would need them in order to return home (as most people ride both ways since going to and back on HE is different). Glad they seemed to enjoy the experience!