August 28, 1985.
It was a perfect 74-degree summer day when Southern California resident Scott King visited Disneyland for the park’s 30-year anniversary celebration.
On his way through the turnstile, bells and whistles sounded.
“At the time, they were giving away a lot of prizes. One was a Cadillac Seville. I thought I had won a car!” Scott recalls.
Instead, King ended up winning a Passport ticket, which Disney officials said was good for free admission and could be redeemed at any time.
He decided to place the ticket in a scrapbook, where it was mostly ignored over the decades.
Then, after 39 years, he decided to give it to his 18-year-old daughter, Sabrina, to see if the offer was still good.
“She just graduated high school with a 4.3, valedictorian of her class, and this is something she deserves for all the hard work she did,” King said lovingly of his daughter, who was “stoked” to the get ticket.
“It was a crazy idea to me. I didn’t know if the ticket would work, but I ended up in the park!” King’s daughter, Sabrina, told KTLA.
Sure enough, The Happiest Place on Earth was happy to accept it.
When King won the Passport in 1985, Disneyland tickets only cost $16.50. “That’s when you could drive up and park in front of the ticket booth,” King reminisced.
“My daughter handed the ticket to admissions, and the man collecting tickets was so animated, saying this was a really rare thing!” King said, sharing a video of the encounter.
The ticket was validated by a park manager, allowing Sabrina and her boyfriend, Ruben, to enjoy the day at the park – and have a few extra bucks to spend on food and souvenirs.