Age for when you have to buy a ticket into Disneyland

[kez518]

I see that you have to buy a ticket for anyone 3 and up. My DD is 2 1/2 and I was wondering do they ever ask for proof of age at Disneyland? TIA

 

[CrazyDuck]

They don't ask unless your kid is freakishly huge.... My DD was taller than most kids her age (in the 95th percentile in height). I brought her Birth Certificate just incase we had trouble, but they never questioned us as we went through the gates. On CM did make a comment once that she was so tall but nothing more than that!

 

[gippaloo]

I really doubt that they will ask for proof of age...Unless your child looks waaaay older than what you said. I'm sure they realize that most parents don't carry their young children's birth certificates around with them everywhere. ^_^ I wouldn't worry about it at all!

 

[disneyfaninaz]

Child tickets are 3-9 years of age. My DD has always been big for her age and nobody ever asked us her age. This year, we have to pay adult prices for her!

 

[DisSarahK]

We brought our son when he was 2 1/2 and he was BIG for his age--tall with a big head, big feet, and he talked a ton. Nobody ever questioned us once about his age or gave us any funny looks when we said he was 2 1/2.

(The picture in my signature is when he was 2 1/2--you can see that he was a big 2 1/2 year old...but I guess he still had that round young look about him...but he easily could have been a year or more older than what he was.)

 

[pixiewings71]

One of our visits a family in front of us entering DCA had 2 small boys in strollers, 1 was under 3 for sure, the other was quite tall and did not appear to be under 3 (he didn't have any baby fat and honestly he looked about 5) the CM argued and did not want to let them in without buying a ticket for the older boy. She did end up letting them in but she told them they needed to buy the older boy a ticket their next visit, after they got in they looked at each other and said "well I guess this is the last time we can fake his age". They spoke perfect English but at the gates they pretended to not understand the CM, speaking in broken English "he no 3" over and over, they were totally lying about their son's age to get him in for free.

That said, that was the only time I'd seen anyone question the age of a child without a ticket, if you're worried about make a copy of your DD's birth cert. and carry it with you, just in case they ask. Oh and just so you know, if you take a trip and your DD turns 3 on the trip she will not need a ticket, she is considered 2 for the whole trip.

 

[DisSarahK]

Oooooh, Kerri, that makes me so mad that people would so clearly scam DL like that. ARGH! As the mama of children who are tall for their age, I really appreciate when I am *not* questioned on their age--and then I hear about nutty people who go and do stupid stuff like what you're describing. UGH!

 

[KBelle5]

One of our visits a family in front of us entering DCA had 2 small boys in strollers, 1 was under 3 for sure, the other was quite tall and did not appear to be under 3 (he didn't have any baby fat and honestly he looked about 5) the CM argued and did not want to let them in without buying a ticket for the older boy. She did end up letting them in but she told them they needed to buy the older boy a ticket their next visit, after they got in they looked at each other and said "well I guess this is the last time we can fake his age". They spoke perfect English but at the gates they pretended to not understand the CM, speaking in broken English "he no 3" over and over, they were totally lying about their son's age to get him in for free.

That's when you ask the kid how old they are, haha! I remember my cousin telling me how she tried to get her 3 year old to say he was 4 so he could go on some kiddie ride at a fair (he's big enough to look a year, year and a half older than what he is), but when asked, he proudly told them he was 3!

Going in once, the CM asked the woman in front of us where her son's ticket was, and she said she was going to buy an AP at City Hall, but he made her go to the ticket booth and buy it. If the parent puts up a fight, there's only so much the CM can do. Why put a blip on your own day, and possibly the day of other guests around you by arguing with a parent? Disney'll get their money in food, souvenirs, etc.

 

[jlmarr]

I believe it is an odd statistical anomaly at DL - an inordinate number of 2 and 4 year olds, not very many 3 year olds.

 

[Squirrel!!!]

I took my DD on the day before her 3rd birthday and was not questioned, and she is/was a giant kid.

I just realized from reading this thread that I have to pay adult prices for her the first time this year. She is 10 now. That makes this mamma sad!!!

 

[kez518]

Thanks everyone for the advice.

I can't believe people would lie about a child being under 3 when they are obviously older.

I'm glad I don't have to buy my DD a ticket yet since we had to buy an airline ticket...I wasn't too happy about but I understand she'll probably sit better on her own chair then on my lap, but I'd rather have her on my lap then pay the flight for her.

 

[imcindy76]

When my son turned 3, I took my son, his best friend (who was 2 and 1/2) and the friend's aunt to Disneyland to celebrate. It Never occurred to me that they would question the kids' ages- after all I bought my son a ticket. We had no way to prove his age, although I have to admit his friend was HUGE - as tall as my son and heavier, but with a baby's face. The cast member argued with us for almost 10 minutes about his age and finally took the boy a few steps away and asked him his age which he told them - 3. (He is now 24 and 6'6" tall.) I HATE when people lie and scam - what kind of message does that send?

 

[Disney Dreams]

...Going in once, the CM asked the woman in front of us where her son's ticket was, and she said she was going to buy an AP at City Hall, but he made her go to the ticket booth and buy it. If the parent puts up a fight, there's only so much the CM can do. Why put a blip on your own day, and possibly the day of other guests around you by arguing with a parent? Disney'll get their money in food, souvenirs, etc.

I don't know that questioning the age of a child (aka, doing their job) is
beyond that which a CM can do. You mention in your post that the CM made the lady go to the ticket booth and buy a ticket even though the woman said she was going to get an AP for the son inside the Park. This is how it should have happened. If someone does not have a ticket, they cannot enter the Park. If their plan is to get an AP they can purchase a ticket outside of the park and then upgrade to an AP inside the Park. To say that "Disney'll get their money..." from other sources is like saying they should just let everyone in for free. If you're over three, you need a ticket.

I believe it is an odd statistical anomaly at DL - an inordinate number of 2 and 4 year olds, not very many 3 year olds.

Now THAT was funny! (And so very true!)

- Dreams

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

We took DD in June and she turned 3 during the trip. We were never once asked about her age. We did not need proof even for meals, etc.

 

[pixiewings71]

Oooooh, Kerri, that makes me so mad that people would so clearly scam DL like that. ARGH! As the mama of children who are tall for their age, I really appreciate when I am *not* questioned on their age--and then I hear about nutty people who go and do stupid stuff like what you're describing. UGH!

Yes me too, I almost went to the CM and told her but DBF told me to let it go. Well I guess I did let it go, but when we walked past them I said very loudly that people who scam the parks should get kicked out. lol That's me being passive aggressive.....lol

That's when you ask the kid how old they are, haha! I remember my cousin telling me how she tried to get her 3 year old to say he was 4 so he could go on some kiddie ride at a fair (he's big enough to look a year, year and a half older than what he is), but when asked, he proudly told them he was 3!

Going in once, the CM asked the woman in front of us where her son's ticket was, and she said she was going to buy an AP at City Hall, but he made her go to the ticket booth and buy it. If the parent puts up a fight, there's only so much the CM can do. Why put a blip on your own day, and possibly the day of other guests around you by arguing with a parent? Disney'll get their money in food, souvenirs, etc.

Well the CM tried to talk to the kid BUT the parents kept interrupting, they kept saying "no English" in their broken Asian accent that they were clearly faking. If I had been the CM I would have just called a supervisor over and let them take it from there. The CM kept us waiting in line (which was ok with us, we could have gone elsewhere but we wanted to wait to see what happened lol) while she argued with them over the older boy needing a ticket.
As for the woman buying her son an AP once inside, that's not allowed, you have to have a ticket in hand to enter the park, you can buy your AP voucher online and that gets you in the park or you can buy a 1 day ticket and then upgrade using that but you have to have some kind of admission to enter. That's the policy and had that situation come up with us it would not have put any kind of blip on our day at all.

I took my DD on the day before her 3rd birthday and was not questioned, and she is/was a giant kid.

I just realized from reading this thread that I have to pay adult prices for her the first time this year. She is 10 now. That makes this mamma sad!!!

LOL We took DD10 in December for her bday trip, she wanted to eat at BB for her bday dinner on her bday. When I made the reservation I told them she was turning 10 that day, the CM asked if we would be there before that day and I said "yes, we will be there the 12-17" and she said "then your DD counts as 9 the whole trip" so she got to order off the kids menu at BB, which was good since she won't eat anything off the adult menu there. LOL

 

[letthembelittle]

On our trip when our dd was barely 3 yrs old nearly everytime I went into the park the ticket taker took my two tickets and then asked who the other ticket was for, while scanning the crowd behind me, when I would answer it was for my dd who was in the stroller they always looked at me weird. Granted she was little but we were being honest....

Now I do think that you should pay based on how tall you are, since my now 3 1/2 yr old ds isnt quite 40 inches it kinds stinks to pay for him since he cant do any more then he could 6 months ago when he was free.

 

[skiingfast]

Now I do think that you should pay based on how tall you are, since my now 3 1/2 yr old ds isnt quite 40 inches it kinds stinks to pay for him since he cant do any more then he could 6 months ago when he was free.

Wouldn't that penalize long kids who are younger?

 

[Disney Dreams]

... Now I do think that you should pay based on how tall you are, since my now 3 1/2 yr old ds isnt quite 40 inches it kinds stinks to pay for him since he cant do any more then he could 6 months ago when he was free.

So does my 6'5" husband get a discount for all the things he has to skip because he can't fit in the ride cars?

No, I am not serious in my question, but there are probably more things my DH cannot do in the Park due to his height than there are things your 3.5 year old cannot do due to his height. It is what it is.

- Dreams

 

[letthembelittle]

Wouldn't that penalize long kids who are younger?

I suppose it would penalize their parent's pocketbooks but their kids can go on more rides so it should (in my opinion) cost them more.