Do we need tickets for my 3yrs 2mths kid?

[littlehawkie]

Hi all,

My kid will turn 3yrs 2mths when we visit Orlando in Apr. Do u think it is necessary to buy tickets for admissions to theme parks?

 

[crazyforgoofy]

If so then put it on. You are going to get flamed, I'm afraid.

Do you HAVE to? That depends. How do you feel about breaking the rules? What would you do if you were "caught"? Is your child able to tell people how old he/she is?

If this is truly your first post on the DIS I want to welcome you. You may have chosen a difficult subject to begin your participation however.

 

[maciec]

If you plan on getting your child into any of the parks then YES you must have a ticket for your child. The rules of admission state that any child 3 or older must have a ticket to enter the parks. Also, keep in mind that you won't be paying the same price as you would for an adult ticket.

If your ultimate goal is to save a few $$$'s you may want to check out Ticketmania . Many people on these boards have gotten some good deals on thickets through them.

Another great site that you may want to check out is Mousesavers

By the way Welcome to the DIS!!!!

Melissa

 

[Del]

Very nicely stated Melissa...kudos


Del

 

[sbrown]

We went 2 weeks after my DD turned 3, and yes, we bought a ticket for her. If anybody asked how old she was, and I was to tell them "2", she would have surely corrected me that she just had a birthday, and was now 3.

 

[Julia M]

My gut level feeling is that you are asking, "will I be caught if I cheat like this?" The answer is "no, it's unlikely". Kids are not usually queried as to their age.

We go to DL frequently, and have never seen anyone stopped. In fact, we went with friends who brought their 3 1/2 year old twins and did not buy tickets.

Having said that, I would probably do it (buy a ticket, I mean). Our last trip was in 2001, when my youngest ds was 3 1/2. He was (and is) small for his age, and we could have easily passed him off as under 3. I just felt funny lying about it.

It's really about what you will and won't do.

On the other hand, I have a 5 + 4 hopper plus pass I bought for my oldest ds last year during one of Ticketmanias specials. Problem is, ds is over 9 and was actually over 9 when I bought it. Truthfully, when I ordered over the phone, I wasn't even thinking about ages, I just ordered 2 adults and 3 kids (he was ten at the time......a kid to me!)

I'm not sure what to do now. He shouldn't use that ticket, but I hate to buy another pass.

So, I have my own dilemma.

Julia

 

[Schmeck]

Julia M, my mom made the same mistake at SeaWorld - she got 3 adult tickets and 2 child tickets, even though my oldest was 11 yrs old at the time (isn't that the cut-off at SeaWorld too?) Anyways, we didn't even realize our error until we got back to our hotel and looked at the flyers/maps, etc.

When DD pointed out that she should have had an adult ticket, my mom was shocked that her first grandchild was in the "adult zone", LOL! Of course, now both of my girls are over the Disney junior age limit, but I'm still in the habit of saying, "2 adults, 2 kids, please" Guess I should practice "4 adults, please" before our next trip this summer?

You could upgrade that pass (no extra cost, I believe) during your next trip.

Schmeck

 

[my3princes]

Julia M

I believe that you can trade in the extra child ticket towards and adult ticket. Can someone back me on this one?

 

[BevS97]

you can definitely upgrade the childs ticket to an adults one, and if the ticket was bought when the child was 9, then I believe there is no charge

 

[Soupermom]

When we booked our WDW package I said 2 adults/2 children, not thinking about the fact that my daughter would turn 10 one month prior to leaving. I realized the problem a few months later and decided I better call back and try to fix the situation....when I called the CM told me it would be too much trouble for everyone to change the ressie, age, etc. so he said thanks for being honest, but not to worry about it. Do I need to do anything when we arrive?

 

[angel's momma]

Julia M, is the hopper pass new or partially used? If it's not partially used, I don't think the upgrade is free.

 

[Hillbeans]

We just returned with our big 3 year old and YES, we bought him a 7 day hopper plus.

You obviously know the rules if you're asking if you can "bend" them just for the 2 months difference.

If we couldn't afford his ticket, i'd rather not go then lie about it. For the people that "honestly" assume it's free or that buy a childs ticket for an adult by mistake it's just that, a mistake.

 

[andromedaslove]

I have actually heard that here recently they have been asking how old kids are at WDW. They haven't asked us, which is surprising because my son is 2 (he'll be 3 the end of April, and he is HUGE for his age. Most people look at him and think he is at least 4 because of how big he is and how well he talks.

 

[Julia M]

Our park hopper ticket I bought is not partially used......I bought them early, to get the 5 + 4 deal from Ticketmania and to save money (I knew they would go up in price). I paid $210 for a 5 + 4 hopper pass, a 5 + 2 for an adult would now be $300. (I paid $257 for our adult passes)

I'm really mad at myself......I didn't do it intentionally, of course, buying him a kids pass.........but even at the movies here he's still a kid, and still eats kids meal. Ugh.

I still don't know what I'll do. I may call Disney and see what they say.

Julia

 

[spr0m]

I'm guilty on our Decmber trip my DD had just turned 3 before the trip and we had AP's that were renewing in Feb 2004 so I planned on getting her an AP then which I did. I think Disney should have a 3-5 year old ticket as well because she wants to go on some rides and can't due to the height limits. In the Magic Kingdom alone she still can't ride any of the mountains which are the most popular rides. Same at the other parks the most popular things are for larger kids The AK safari is the only exception.

 

[chrisn]

My DS was a small 3 1/2 year old. We did have a 5 day Hopper Plus and a 3 day Universal Escape for him. I was curious to see if we would be asked his age. Out of 7 parks only at one were we asked his age and it was at Magic Kingdom.

 

[dpuck1998]

Do you need a tickets, no.....
Will they ask you, doubtful....

The only question is if your comfortable with it or not.

I have a (now 5 year old) who is very large for his age
and never have been questioned. I had a 2 year 11
month old on my last trip and never had anyone question
me. Even if they do ask there really isn't a way to prove
it one way or another.....my 3 year thinks he's 5 most of
the time

of course YMMV (you mileage may vary) but if your ok with
it chances are you won't have any problem.

I have not had to make the choice so I can't judge one
way or another.

 

[Julia M]

I posted earlier that I accidently bought a child's ticket for my soon to be 12 year old (instead of an adult pass). Since I bought from Ticketmania, and got the 5 + 4, it would have been a pain to try and upgrade to an adult pass (besides, I got it at a discount AND prices have gone up since)

I WAS WRONG!!!! I did buy him an adult pass. For some reason I was sure I didn't, but when I actually looked at the passes, I found I did!

Sometimes I do something right!

Julia

 

[tink'smom2B]

Not really related but we purchased a 7 day park hopper for our 9y/o son and was told it was a great purchase because unused days would never expire and he could use it even if he returned as a 25y/o! I laughed at the thought of it, but the seller assured me that he could use it as long as it was his ticket. I'm sure he could upgrade to an adult ticket, but would be money ahead if he just used his ticket up. Seems silly doesn't it?

 

[disneyfreakjackie]

We must have dealt with an extra nice CM, when our DD was three, we were purchasing our tickets, I was purchasing one for her, the CM asked how old she was, I told him three and a couple of months. He said don't worry about her, she's still a baby!!