New JTA age restriction

[starjazz]

Yes, but as anyone who has ever seen this show knows well, it is made very clear to the participants that they are not supposed to engage however they want. They are taught specific moves, the moves are reinforced, and then they watch each other participant go up and do the same thing. The kid went up and just started swinging wildly, which makes it pretty clear he wasn't ready - in some way - to participate in the show.

I'm not clutching my pearls at your assertion that you might slip in a kid who just misses an age deadline. I think lots of people would do that, But I don't really get how you've also come to defend this kid's behavior. I have three boys, and they are like a roving gang of wild animals at times. I've learned to choose my battles and let "boys be boys" sometimes. But I would have wept in mortification if my kid ever went after the performers like that.

This video was taken at DL. As I've explained, they aren't taught there in the same way they apparently are at WDW. So I'm allowing for a little more leeway because of that.

 

[starjazz]

Why not just say this to start with? Chances are you'd have a better shot asking this at the first, then getting caught in a lie.

Yeah, good point. Maybe I would. My thought is that if I know the requirement is 4, and my kid is dying to do it, and her older sister is signed up, and they came up and asked, I'm pretty certain I'd round up (assuming she's a month or two off). Like I said earlier, when they near their birthday, and people ask how old they are, I typically round up anyway, so its not much of a stretch.

 

[starjazz]

This is Disney's attraction...they get to set the rules including age limits. As a participant, there really is no decision to make on your part regarding age. Just follow the rules. The age limit is there for a reason. I would never be presumptuous enough to assume that I know every reason for the age limit.

As a teacher, I can assure you that children cope better with disappointment when they are taught to do so from a young age. I guess I just don't understand encouraging your child to lie just to avoid disappointment.

This'll probably be the fourth or fifth time, but I'll say it again - I've said all along, I would not encourage my child to lie, nor would I do it in front of her.

And trust me, my youngest has suffered plenty of disappointment in her life. She doesn't need to experience any more - especially not at Disney World.

 

[CT Disney]

This'll probably be the fourth or fifth time, but I'll say it again - I've said all along, I would not encourage my child to lie, nor would I do it in front of her.

And trust me, my youngest has suffered plenty of disappointment in her life. She doesn't need to experience any more - especially not at Disney World.

My apologies...I do see where you said you would not ask your child to lie about her age. But, I think my point still stands. You are willing to lie to get her into the show. By doing so, you are having her participate in the lie. There isn't a huge difference in my mind.

 

[mshanson3121]

Yeah, good point. Maybe I would. My thought is that if I know the requirement is 4, and my kid is dying to do it, and her older sister is signed up, and they came up and asked, I'm pretty certain I'd round up (assuming she's a month or two off). Like I said earlier, when they near their birthday, and people ask how old they are, I typically round up anyway, so its not much of a stretch.

We typically say, "almost 4". But to each their own. However when it's idle conversation it's one thing. When it's breaking a rule, it's another. And just in case you do go to WDW for this - you child is right next to you at sign up, so there would be no way to "lie" about her age, without her around. So... it's all kinda moot.

As for your disappointment comment, I understand very well about disappointment and children going through things they should never have to, and the desire to want to make life rosy for them, or to make up for what they have lost or missed out on or suffered through. That's human nature. But... unfortunately, that's also life, and the last thing you want to teach them is that it's okay to lie to get what they want, or that Mommy is going to lie for them, just because they're "entitled" to it, because of what they've been through.

The good thing is - you've already said she missed out on JTA before and was fine with it. Disappointed, but got over it. So, if you really thought this was going to be an issue, then a better plan than trying to lie and hoping she gets in, would be to plan something special for her.

 

[starjazz]

mshanson - again, this whole thing, from the very beginning, was hypothetical. My kids are now 7 & 5. I was just stating what I WOULD do in that situation. I stand by it.

CT Disney - my point in saying I wouldn't ask her to lie, nor do it in front of her, is to make sure that she's an innocent participant in my horrible act of sin. I'll take the fall. (p.s. - thanks for the apology. it wasn't necessary, but a nice touch.)

 

[Carriemel]

So here's a question - would you lie about your kids' age to age them DOWN? "Oh, yeah, she's not quite 3 yet", when she's one month (30 days) over age 3?

 

[MainMom]

One memory that sticks out 11 years later is taking DD, 3years 2 months, to MNSSHP. I had bought her a ticket like I was supposed to do. When I told the CM handing out the wristbands that she was 3 and had a ticket he thanked me profusely for being honest about her age. Give me THAT memory over a cheater memory any day.

 

[Dug720]

Not passing judgement on the situation but I'm curious to know what you'd do if you lied and then your child told the truth and they confronted you about it?

While one has said she would fess up about it, my guess is most would try and pull the "Oh, s/he just had a birthday and isn't used to saying their new age yet! Remember honey? You just turned 4!"

So here's a question - would you lie about your kids' age to age them DOWN? "Oh, yeah, she's not quite 3 yet", when she's one month (30 days) over age 3?

People have talked about doing this all the time when buying tickets - especially when staying off-property where no MagicBands are involved. And then there is the thing about when restaurants are strict about charging or not (buffets) or strict with kids' meals being restricted to a certain age and under. So my guess is that again yes, most would.

 

[Love Tink]

This video was taken at DL. As I've explained, they aren't taught there in the same way they apparently are at WDW. So I'm allowing for a little more leeway because of that.

They are absolutely taught the same way at DL. Whatever are you talking about (or "explaining")?

We have participated many times at both Dl and WDW, and my youngest took part in the new show on the first day it opened - at Disneyland - last month. And they teach them the same series of moves there that they do in Florida.

 

[aaarcher86]

I've now decided to round up my youngest child's age to go to the BBB next trip. She's 11 months. Close enough!

 

[starjazz]

They are absolutely taught the same way at DL. Whatever are you talking about (or "explaining")?

We have participated many times at both Dl and WDW, and my youngest took part in the new show on the first day it opened - at Disneyland - last month. And they teach them the same series of moves there that they do in Florida.

I've not participated in the WDW event, but from what I've read, at WDW they meet with the kids before they go on stage and explain what's going to happen, and what the rules are, etc. That step never takes place at DL. There's no pre-show training, no asking how old the kids are, etc. At DL they're picked out of the audience by the trainer, put on stage in front of everyone, given about 5 minutes of "training" and then the bad guys show up. To me, that is significantly different.

 

[starjazz]

So here's a question - would you lie about your kids' age to age them DOWN? "Oh, yeah, she's not quite 3 yet", when she's one month (30 days) over age 3?

I have no idea - I was talking about this particular hypothetical situation, and it was just a comment, not something I intended to be grilled on, but such is life on the DIS.

I guess if you're looking for something more tangible, it seems more natural to me to round up then to go backwards, but again, I'm not sure of the situation you're referring to, so I can't really speak to it.

 

[Mac30188]

Honesty is one of those funny concepts that sounds so simple, but is extremely complex. Honesty is more than just the telling of a lie, but engaging in deception. It can be in the form of a direct lie, an omission of facts, or presentation of only the facts that will define the "truth" you want people to see. The idea that there is anyone in this world that has never been deceitful is difficult to believe. There are many valid reasons not to be honest; (i,e.: not spoil a surprise, not hurt someone's feelings unnecessarily, avoid a grave injustice). Some times honesty and justice are in direct opposition to one another. Therefore the decision on when to be honest is an extremely subjective judgment line that I would be hesitant to be too harsh on another person's opinion. Personally, I would probably not be deceitful about JTA and use it as a learning opportunity for the child about rules. This is not some subjective punishment against the child, but rules exist in the society and my child is not above these rules just because they don't like them. That being said, I really don't think it is a big deal if another parent in another situation feels like being deceitful in this situation is necessary to avoid some weird form of injustice. Just not that big a deal.

 

[AZMermaid]

I've not participated in the WDW event, but from what I've read, at WDW they meet with the kids before they go on stage and explain what's going to happen, and what the rules are, etc. That step never takes place at DL. There's no pre-show training, no asking how old the kids are, etc. At DL they're picked out of the audience by the trainer, put on stage in front of everyone, given about 5 minutes of "training" and then the bad guys show up. To me, that is significantly different.

They recently (within the last two months) changed DL to the sign up at park opening version too.

 

[starjazz]

They recently (within the last two months) changed DL to the sign up at park opening version too.

Right. I think someone else was saying that too. It makes sense. But in the case of the video that someone posted here, I was trying to explain why I thought his actions were rather innocent and likely more common when the little kiddos didn't really have much "training" to begin with. Hopefully a little pre-show pep talk will help with that.

 

[Aurora0427]

If doing JTA is so important to your vacation, wait until your 3 year old is 4. Then go. Sheesh. I'm not a crazy rule follower, but come on. They WILL ask her how old she is. Save yourself the trouble and just wait until she's 4.

My daughter was dying to do BBB and she was 2 months away from turning 3. No go. Was she disappointed? Yes. But she got over it and we went back when she was 3.

 

[piccolopat]

I'll just say right now that if my child is close to 4, and her older sibling gets to do something like JTA, and she desperately wanted to but was left out over a couple of months, I'd full on lie about her age so she could participate. I'm not gonna lie about my lying. ;-)

Age restrictions aren't arbitrary. They are there for the safety of the child and the other children. If you like about your child age so you don't have to be the grown up and tell them they have to wait another year, what kind of example is that? What happens when your child doesn't follow the directions and gets hurt or hurts someone else?

 

[TXStormtrooper]

One memory that sticks out 11 years later is taking DD, 3years 2 months, to MNSSHP. I had bought her a ticket like I was supposed to do. When I told the CM handing out the wristbands that she was 3 and had a ticket he thanked me profusely for being honest about her age. Give me THAT memory over a cheater memory any day.

We had the same exact thing happen to us at Disney. We were thanked by more than one CM for our honesty about our child's age when it was very close and we chose not to cheat the system. We still talk about it every time that trip comes up in conversation.

 

[starjazz]

If doing JTA is so important to your vacation, wait until your 3 year old is 4. Then go. Sheesh. I'm not a crazy rule follower, but come on. They WILL ask her how old she is. Save yourself the trouble and just wait until she's 4.

My daughter was dying to do BBB and she was 2 months away from turning 3. No go. Was she disappointed? Yes. But she got over it and we went back when she was 3.

Age restrictions aren't arbitrary. They are there for the safety of the child and the other children. If you like about your child age so you don't have to be the grown up and tell them they have to wait another year, what kind of example is that? What happens when your child doesn't follow the directions and gets hurt or hurts someone else?

Yeah, we've already collectively been down both of these roads already. To the first quote, I was just speaking hypothetically, but in our real life experience with JTA, we didn't plan our trip around it. We didn't even know what it was. Just happened upon it. If, in that situation, her older sister and her cousin (who were both with us), had been of age, and she was a month short, that is when I was suggesting that I'd likely round her age up if asked by a CM how old she was. I'd do it so that she didn't feel completely left out of an experience that she wanted to and certainly was able to participate in. I wouldn't be inclined to force her to watch her sister and cousin do something like this that she'd have been totally fine handling.

To the second quote, again, I've said that I wouldn't lie in front of my kid, so I'm not setting any example. If someone gets hurt, I'm quite certain an extra 30-60 days wouldn't have prevented it. 30 kids swinging light sabers is inherently risking some accidents, regardless of if they're 4, 6, 10 or 12.