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Operators of the Stanley Park train have apologized for the “deeply frustrating experience” people went through trying to get tickets to the popular Bright Nights event — but said this year is totally sold out and there are no plans to open up on-site sales or more dates this season.
“We know that technical issues in the ticketing process left many first-time guests and loyal fans unable to secure tickets, and we are very sorry for the disappointment and inconvenience this has caused,” said the Stanley Park Railway in a social media post on Thursday.
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“We understand how frustrating it is to encounter long wait times and website errors while making plans for the holiday season with friends and family.”
The train will chug through a forest of holiday light displays for more than five weeks from Nov. 29 to Jan. 4. But when seats went on sale last Friday, it took less than a day for them to sell out, even though many users reported lengthy delays and the website had to be paused repeatedly because it was overwhelmed by users.
The Vancouver park board said it has read hundreds of comments about the gaffes and glitches, and plans to use that feedback so the operations and event planning team can improve the process next year. But the park board has no plans to drop ticket provider Showpass, which is under contract through 2028.
Meanwhile, organizers “strongly discourage purchasing tickets from third-party sellers, as we cannot verify their legitimacy, and can only offer refunds to original ticket-holders in the case of event changes,” they warned in the post.
Bright Nights is a fundraiser for the B.C. Professional Fire Fighters’ Burn Fund. The park board notes that no tickets are needed to take in the light displays and activities in the Stanley Park plaza. Volunteers spend more than 6,400 hours setting up and taking down almost three million Christmas lights for the Bright Nights display.
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It follows the Halloween-themed Ghost Train, which was hit with several cancellations last month. The board said Showpass is working through its callback queue this week to compensate ticket-holders impacted by the cancelled dates.
The board said it has ruled out reserving some seats for in-person purchases: “In recent years, the demand for Bright Nights tickets has grown significantly.
“To address the challenges of high demand and ensure a smoother process, we made the decision to move entirely to online ticket sales,” it said. “This allows guests to plan ahead and secure their tickets in advance, reducing stress and uncertainty around availability. This model is similar to what you would find with concerts and other popular events, where tickets must be purchased ahead of time to ensure entry.”
While not ideal for everyone, the board defended the online system as offering “the best solution to accommodate the majority of guests, including those travelling from farther away or with specific accessibility needs.”
The board said it’s open to the possibility of offering advance registration to locals, who make up about 35 per cent of ticket-holders for the train events. It said organizers “will need to explore the possibilities with Showpass to determine if advance registration for local residents can be implemented.”
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