A new trend from Mainland Chinese influencers boasting about renting out Hong Kong Disneyland’s Magic Access annual passports to people for highly discounted entry to the park has gone viral and prompted threats of legal action and police intervention from the resort, according to a new report.
Per the South China Morning Post, influencers on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok, have gone viral for boasting about visiting Hong Kong Disneyland for as little as HK$100 (US$12.74) by renting out a Magic Access annual pass from someone online. The post prompted outcry from both Mainlanders and Hong Kongers alike, as well as a strongly worded warning from Hong Kong Disneyland themselves.
“Hong Kong Disneyland will handle such abuses very seriously and will contact the law enforcement authorities if there is any suspected case of fraud or illegal conduct,” the resort cautioned.
The rental of Magic Access passes is somewhat widespread in the wake of travel restrictions between Mainland China and Hong Kong coming to an end early this year. On Carousell, a site similar to eBay for Hong Kong and other Asian countries, the Post found around 20 listings for use of the silver or gold membership, costing an average of HK$100 (US$12.74) a day with a refundable HK$500 (US$63.71) deposit for the card and another HK$50 (US$5.37) per rental.
Ten offers were also found on mainland social media platform Xiaohongshu with similar prices. In some cases prospective renters could pick up their cards in Hong Kong or Shenzhen, located right next to the mainland’s border with the special administrative region.
Tickets to Hong Kong Disneyland range from HK$639 ($81.43) to HK$759 ($96.72) per day, while Magic Access passes run from HK$1348 ($171.78) to HK$4278 ($545.15) depending on which tier is chosen.
All sellers on Carousell list a required gender for customers to match the photo and name of the cardholder. Some added appearance requirements, such as glasses, hairstyle length or specified an age range.
Three lessors on the platform contacted by a Post reporter posing as a prospective renter said Hong Kong Disneyland does not check IDs or require guests to remove their face masks to verify identity. “They won’t check [your identity]. They will just glance at you – just walk in confidently and you’ll be fine,” one said. The vendor told the Post she first started renting her pass to friends before deciding to list it on Carousell. Another vendor targeting men said “[I’ve rented the card] six times, all successfully. If you’re really afraid and don’t mind, you could send me your hairstyle for a check. I will judge [the similarity] afterwards.”
Allowing others to use Magic Access annual passes is of course a violation of the pass’ terms of service, and is grounds for revocation of their pass, trespass from the park, and legal action from police. The resort said “Cast Members reserve the right to refuse admission and deny membership benefits to visitors whose identity, age or eligibility can not be verified. Magic Access members can also have their memberships revoked if unauthorized or commercial uses of the pass is discovered.”
The Hong Kong Police Force declined to comment to the Post on whether they had received reports of Magic Access pass misuse. Meanwhile a spokesman for Carousell told the Post they’re not in a position to enforce third-party agreements between Hong Kong Disneyland and the owners of the passes, but reports of potentially illegal transactions would be reviewed within 24 hours with investigation and possible further action to follow.
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Source: South China Morning Post
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