E-tickets are tickets issued electronically, usually via email or text, with a confirmation code. They are commonly used for air and rail travel, concerts, and sporting events. E-tickets offer convenience and cost savings for vendors. The term “e-ticket” also referred to a coupon system used at Disney parks in the past. E-tickets are now the standard for ticketing, with US airports and airlines transitioning exclusively to electronic ticketing in 2008. E-tickets can be printed or stored on a mobile device, with a unique barcode for scanning.
In general, an electronic ticket is any type of ticket issued by a seller to a consumer electronically. Most e-tickets are delivered via email, but they can also be texted directly to a mobile phone. They are almost always accessed with a confirmation code, usually a unique combination of letters and numbers. E-ticketing is perhaps the most common for air and rail travel, although it can also be used for things like concerts, sporting events, and other ticketed venues. Vendors often find that they save money by delivering tickets electronically, and it’s often more convenient for the consumer as well.
The term “e-ticket” also has an unrelated meaning in the context of Disney parks and resorts, or at least it did several decades ago. In the 1950s, 60s and 70s, visitors to Disneyland in California or Disneyworld in Florida had to purchase individual tickets, or coupons, for each ride. The E ticket gave access to the best and most popular rides and was generally the most coveted. Disney discontinued the coupon system in the early 1980s, although today it sells passes electronically for visitors.
Understand e-ticketing in general
The basic concept of electronic ticketing was introduced in the 1990s, and the idea behind the switch from paper tickets to digitally archived tickets is credited to Joel R. Goheen, the owner of JRG Airlines, based in County Palm Beach, Florida. . At first, digitally issued tickets were a rarity. Today, however, they are ubiquitous, not just in air travel, but in almost every instance where a ticket needs to be purchased and presented.
On June 1, 2008, US airports and airlines transitioned exclusively to an electronic ticketing system. An e-ticket is now used at every airport in America to represent the purchase of a seat on a flight, and most other nations have similar policies. Digitally encrypted tickets are generally intended to offer higher security and better protections against forgery and counterfeiting. They also offer more protections if physical tickets are lost or misplaced, as the value is in the code more than the physical paper it is printed on.
Print and confirm
In almost every sense, e-tickets work the same way as paper tickets. Ticket holders are usually issued a confirmation code at the time of purchase. From here there are usually a couple of options. Sometimes that code can be entered into the vendor’s website to generate a printable ticket. Other times, the code must be entered into special kiosks at the station, airport or concert venue to print the physical pass on site.
Fully mobile options
However, in many places a physical printout is increasingly unnecessary. Most modern e-tickets can be stored entirely on the customer’s mobile device, often as a secure screen displaying both the confirmation code and a unique barcode that security personnel can scan directly from the device. Many apps provide ticket storage for easy access.
Significance in the history of Disney parks
Before the introduction of electronics in the 1990s, an electronic ticket had a completely different meaning. From the 1950s to the 1980s, an electronic ticket was used at Walt Disney World and Disneyland parks as a means of accessing certain rides. These tickets were part of a book of coupons that customers buy with admission—at the time, park admission was a flat fee that didn’t include most rides and attractions. Tickets were issued in denominations A, B, C, D and E; E tickets were used to access the hottest, most expensive and newest rides. Disney stopped producing the coupons that contained e-tickets in 1982. All Disney parks around the world now offer standard e-tickets, which work the same way as any other e-ticket.
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