The holidays are a time of joy, giving, and cheer, but for some folks in Vancouver, it seems to be a time to profit from the Stanley Park Christmas Train.
It didn’t take long for tickets to sell out for Bright Nights, with many complaining to the Vancouver Park Board about the ticketing system.
Nooooooooooooooooooo! Tickets for the Stanley Park train for the entire holiday season sold out in 90 minutes. https://t.co/guiXRU4gTn
— David Tindall (@dbtindall) November 10, 2023
To make matters worse, only one of four trains will be in operation, which meant fewer spots for people to get tickets for.
Now, it seems like some “opportunistic d**kheads,” as one Reddit user coined them, are reselling the tickets that were so hard to get.
To its credit, the Vancouver Park Board acknowledged the challenges with the ticketing system.
📢 Please be advised that Bright Night train tickets have now sold out. We thank everyone for their patience and recognize the challenges that some users encountered during the ticket buying process. 1/2
— Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation (@ParkBoard) November 9, 2023
Still, many people on social media were all aboard the Disappointment Express.
Challenges to say the least. Now I have to break it to my kids that even though I go on at 9am and waited in que…we never got tickets. Thanks for the lost memories.
— Ashley (@ashleyringram) November 9, 2023
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Tickets were being sold for $15 for adults, $13 for seniors, and $11 for children, with kids under two admitted for free.
One seller was selling tickets for $50 each, $35 more than the highest-priced ticket.
Vancouver Craigslist
I’m reselling tickets on CL for 8 x original price!
Great deal, I’m not greedy! đź‘Ť
— Jason #45 was The Goat! (@ToscaLivesOn) November 10, 2023
Some people are even looking for tickets on Craigslist, offering more than face value for them:
Vancouver Craigslist
We’re hoping Vancouver-based author Aaron Chapman is joking with this post on X:
I managed to scalp my Stanley Park Train tickets for more money than my Taylor Swift tickets.
— Aaron Chapman (@TheAaronChapman) November 10, 2023
Some people on social media have suggested that it’s a sad state of affairs when people are scalping tickets to an event meant to be a fundraiser for the BC Burn Fund.
“Pretty lame to be scalping tickets to an event that is a fundraiser. The BC Burn Fund puts hundreds of hours setting up those lights,” said a user on Reddit.
Another user said, “Really sad how greed is taking over everything.”
The conversation about scalping got so contentious on Reddit that it has turned into hot takes about the City of Vancouver as a whole.
“It’s a vicious, devouring city I tell my friends and family back on the prairies.”
Others are calling out the ABC party after the mayor celebrated the success of ticket sales.
Over 23,000 tickets sold in 90 minutes! Awesome to see how excited Vancouverites are for the return of the Stanley Park train. pic.twitter.com/NU5qZquZqq
— Mayor Ken Sim (@KenSimCity) November 10, 2023
“I f**king love that ABC calls this a win when it was revealed that they only actually got one of the four trains working.”
Daily Hive received a statement from Showpass about ticket sales and safeguarding against scalpers.
“We knew that Bright Nights was a highly sought-after event, so we wanted to make sure as many excited fans got to go as possible.”
It added that it implemented two safeguards, including disabling guest checkouts and a six-ticket limit per ticket type to prevent bulk purchases.
Did you get tickets? Let us know in the comments.
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