Up to 14 Months in Prison for Disney Guests Helping Others “Skip” the Queues

The thrill of a Disney park visit is supposed to be about immersive rides, fireworks spectaculars, and beloved characters — not about figuring out who’s trying to scam you before you even enter the gates.

In recent years, frustration has grown among theme park fans over bad guest behavior. Whether it’s parents lifting children onto their shoulders during nighttime shows, influencers livestreaming entire parades, or groups cutting ahead in line, patience often runs thin in the “happiest place on earth.”

Nowhere is this more evident than in the endless queues. At parks around the globe, complaints about line-cutting dominate fan forums and social media posts.

From Disney World in Florida to Disneyland Paris, long wait times are a near-universal grievance, making the issue of queue jumping all the more heated, with some calling for those who engage in the practice to be banned from Disney parks.

Disney Park Cracks Down on Fake Fast-Track Tours

With guests keen to cut queues by whatever means possible, professional scammers have taken advantage of their desperation.

According to local news outlets, two individuals were imprisoned this week after posing as authorized guides have been offering fraudulent “VIP access” and fast-track tours for Shanghai Disneyland through social media platforms.

These packages, marketed as a way to skip hours-long waits at blockbuster attractions like Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Soaring Over the Horizon, TRON Lightcycle Power Run (the OG on which Magic Kingdom’s version was based), Zootopia: Hot Pursuit, and Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treasure, carried hefty price tags.

The cost ranged from 799 yuan ($112) to 4,880 yuan ($685), with victims promised exclusive tours, no waiting time, and priority entry. In reality, the sellers had no connection to Shanghai Disneyland. Guests were either assigned unlicensed guides or provided instructions via WeChat. Few legitimate fast-track passes (known as Disney Premier Access at Shanghai Disneyland) were actually purchased.

“Reporting the incident would result in losses,” victims were allegedly warned after demanding refunds. Many received only standard admission tickets, while some were threatened into silence.

Over the course of two months in 2024, the operation raked in more than $10,900 from unsuspecting guests. On October 21, the Shanghai Pudong New Area People’s Court sentenced two individuals to prison terms of 14 and 10 months, respectively, calling the case “organized fraud that maliciously exploits the trust of tourists and poses a significant threat to society.” Both also received fines.

Theme Park Scams Are a Growing Problem

Disney fans are no strangers to scams. Shanghai Disneyland has already implemented strict measures to counter ticket scalpers, requiring every guest to provide ID at purchase and match it again at the gate. These steps were designed to shut down illegal reselling operations, which have plagued the park since its opening.

In the United States, fraud takes on different forms. One common scam involves reselling military-exclusive Disney World tickets on platforms like Craigslist and Facebook. At the end of a long park day, some guests have even been approached outside the turnstiles by people asking to borrow or buy their used admission.

Guests themselves have occasionally tried to bend the rules. Earlier this year, reports surfaced of non-Florida residents attempting to pose as Floridians to qualify for discounted Walt Disney World Resort annual passes. Disney has since tightened verification methods for residency-based perks.

For travelers planning their dream Disney vacation, the takeaway is simple: be wary of any shortcut that seems too good to be true. Whether in Florida, California, Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong, or Shanghai, scams tend to thrive in spaces where anticipation is high and wait times are long.

As Shanghai Disneyland’s recent sentencing shows, theme parks and courts alike are beginning to treat fraudulent fast-track operations as more than just minor mischief. For those hoping to cheat the system, the days of getting away with it may finally be coming to an end.

Have you ever noticed a Disney scam?