All good fairytales start with a bit of magic. For one man that came in the form of a lucky ticket that had been sitting unused for more than 46 years. The discovery of the “old family keepsake” and what it unlocked was shared on TikTok, where it instantly went viral.
More than 8.5 million views later, Matthew Ables’ video of his ‘golden ticket’ has captured the attention of Disney World enthusiasts everywhere. Ables said that the ticket had been sitting and “collecting dust” since well before he was born. The ticket was a reminder of his family’s love of visiting the park.
In the video, Ables stands by the old drawer where he found the ticket. Ables showed the yellow ticket booklet, which had originally held 10 tickets for “10 Adventures in Walt Disney World The Magic Kingdom.” The back of the booklet read, “Admit one entry to The Magic Kingdom” and also had an admission for a “transportation ticket.”
@matthewables I tried getting into Disney World using a 46 year old ticket #disneyworld #disney #themepark #funny #fyp ♬ original sound – Matthew Ables
After examining the ticket closely, Ables came to a surprising conclusion. “I realized it had never been used and there is no expiration date,” Ables said in his video. “Which means I’ve either found the golden ticket or I’m delusional thinking that the mouse is gonna let me use it to get inside nearly half a century later.
So like any good TikToker, Ables hopped on a plane to Orlando, Fla., and put the magic ticket to test. Once he arrived at Walt Disney World, Ables walked up to the Guest Relations office and asked an employee if he could use the ticket, even though it was 46 years old.
So, he decided to fly to Orlando, Fla. and go to the park to test out whether he could use the ticket to go inside. The TikTok video then showed him walking up to a ‘Guest Relations’ office and asking to use it for entry into the park, explaining that it was an old ticket.
When Ables got to the ticket booth, he wasn’t sure if his ticket would be accepted. The staff member took the ticket and began stamping it.
I was getting nervous there because she started aggressively stamping ‘void’ all over the ticket booklet and then left,” Ables said.
Suddenly, he said, the staff member left and quickly returned with a more modern yellow entrance pass, allowing him access to the park. He scanned in and was allowed into the theme park for one day. “I can’t believe this actually worked,” he said. His video showed him walking up through the entrance castle.
Matthew Ables found a 46-year-old ticket to Walt Disney World. Photo courtesy of Ables
He ended the video by highlighting the fact that the same one-day admission ticket bought today would “cost more than 20 times its original value,” going from $8 in 1978 to $164 in 2024. One commenter on his video said that the old ticket “was treasured relic I do hope they put it up like a museum piece. It is something from the past.” Ables, however, said that he had tried to get the old ticket back but they “kept it.”
Commenters were thrilled that Ables was able to make his way into the park on an $8 ticket, something it turned out, others have been lucky enough to do as well. “My whole childhood, my parents used old tickets they had. It’s always been so cool they still accept them,” one person commented. Another said, “what! my grandparents have like 10 of those! thought it was a souvenir all these years.” Watch below for a look at Ables and his experience entering Disney World with his ‘golden ticket.’
