Uneasy about our super tall 2 year old

[Cupcakesmum]

It's already been niggling me, but after seeing another thread I thought I'd ask. We'll be travelling to WDW with our 4 kids - 6, 4, 2 and 8 months. Our 2 year old will turn 3 a month after our trip. She is super tall - close to 42 inches and a chatterbox. We went to a birthday party last week and she was taller than a 6 year old in attendence. No one believes she's 2. They're always surprised and then we get the wow comments. This is totally fine in everyday life but it really bothers me that people would think I'm scamming the system. Can we offer up her ID? At Sesame Place last year we offered ID and they refused but still acted skeptical. She knows she's 2 so if asked she'll say 2 but she looks more like a 4 year old smart enough to say she's 2. I don't want to ruin the magic by the implication we're cheaters so will they check ID if we present it?

I think I may preface interaction by indicating we know she's ridiculously tall for 2 but here is her passport - at least if they decline they may not be snide about it?

 

[minnie mum]

Welcome to the Dis!

I know the thread you are referring to. If you think her age may be questioned then for your own peace of mind, bring her ID with you.

I notice that you mentioned a passport.I don't think that this would be necessary. Are you an international visitor? Most Americans would just show the child's birth certificate. You could bring that, or just photocopy the first page of your child's passport and use that.

Even if you never need to use it, you can relax knowing you have it if necessary.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

You dont need to present anything unless you are asked. if they ask you say "she's 2." If they ask her, she will say she's 2. If you then need an Id then show the passport (or a copy thereof which might be a better idea), but there's no reason to get out the passport and say 'Don't you want to look at her passport?" unless they ask you to. No problems.

 

[MomofDisneyLoversx3]

Best advice I can give you is to hold your head high, and if questioned tell the truth. I have had issues in "real life" but not in WDW. Both my DDs are tall (my 8yo extremely so). My 13yo is as tall as me (and I'm 5'6" so not short). My now 8 year old is taller than her 10-11 yo friends on swim team and is also very well spoken. Not a single CM questioned us or batted an eye. I just walked up to the turnstile, scanned my ticket, and went through. She has been going to WDW since around 6-7months, and no one has every questioned me. I would not even mention it. You are not trying to cheat the system. If questioned, then say "her dob is xx/xx/xx"

Enjoy your trip.

 

[Aurora0427]

I'd bring her passport just to ease your mind. Be careful if you bring her birth certificate or a copy- if you lose it there's info on there that could be used for identity theft. If you bring the birth certificate, black out everything but her name and DOB. You are so lucky! I'm crossing my fingers my DD, who will be 3.5, will be tall enough for Splash Mountain in December!

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Both of my boys are very tall, and both looked to be 4 or 5 before their second birthday. I took both to WDW every year and was never asked by anyone. If anyone had asked me their age, I would have answered. Had they asked my boys directly, I would have probably been upset.

 

[quakechicago]

It's already been niggling me, but after seeing another thread I thought I'd ask. We'll be travelling to WDW with our 4 kids - 6, 4, 2 and 8 months. Our 2 year old will turn 3 a month after our trip. She is super tall - close to 42 inches and a chatterbox. We went to a birthday party last week and she was taller than a 6 year old in attendence. No one believes she's 2. They're always surprised and then we get the wow comments. This is totally fine in everyday life but it really bothers me that people would think I'm scamming the system. Can we offer up her ID? At Sesame Place last year we offered ID and they refused but still acted skeptical. She knows she's 2 so if asked she'll say 2 but she looks more like a 4 year old smart enough to say she's 2. I don't want to ruin the magic by the implication we're cheaters so will they check ID if we present it?

I think I may preface interaction by indicating we know she's ridiculously tall for 2 but here is her passport - at least if they decline they may not be snide about it?

We have a super tall (now) 3 yo who was a month away from turning 3 last trip. Everyone was nothing but nice. She was asked a lot as were we at restaurants how old she was but more for conversation and food than anything else.

I made sure I told every server (we were on deluxe plan) that she was 2 and I would pay for her meal (if she needed a separate one) and drink and even then they brought her food and a drink for no charge! I expected to pay for hers but no one charged me (she does have food allergies, but finding safe food for her was never a problem) a manager at Akershus even waved away my offering to pay with a smile saying how sweet we were. (We overtipped everywhere of course.)

We never needed id and everyone was great about it. I think a main thing is even though she's a chatterbox and tall, my DD in the face if you know kids, you can tell she's younger than 5.... And they see kids ALL the time.

So go, have fun, and no worries.

 

[dtats]

In 2004, we visited WDW in February, one month before my son, Eric, turned three. He, too, was tall for a two-year-old, and his mouth would never close!

I was worried, like you, that folks at Disney wouldn't believe us either, but the question NEVER came up about his age. But, just in case, I did bring a COPY of his birth ceritificate with us on that trip (just in case).

Looking back on this ten years later, I have to chuckle at worrying about what turned out to be a non-issue.

I'm sure you will, too, in 2024!

Have fun on your trip!

 

[Aggiegrl]

My DS was 42" on our trip 3 months before his third birthday. The ONLY time it came up was when they were collecting FP for Soarin. The CM asked for his, we told him he was 2, and we went on our merry way. I figure they don't gave many 2 years that meet the height requirement, so it just didn't occur to him that my son was ticketless.

 

[Cupcakesmum]

Thanks so much to everyone for the reassurance. We're travelling from Canada - I think the copy is a great idea! We'll copy both her birth certificate and her passport since the latter has her picture. I will definitely hold my head up high. It really is a nice perk to have kids under 3 be free and I really would never want to be perceived as abusing the system. We're hoping that if all goes well we'll make the same trip again before our youngest turns 3.

Thanks again!

 

[aribelle]

Welcome to the Dis!

I know the thread you are referring to. If you think her age may be questioned then for your own peace of mind, bring her ID with you.

I notice that you mentioned a passport.I don't think that this would be necessary. Are you an international visitor? Most Americans would just show the child's birth certificate. You could bring that, or just photocopy the first page of your child's passport and use that.

Even if you never need to use it, you can relax knowing you have it if necessary.

The passport would have a photo of her so that some snide CM couldn't say "yeah, it's a birth certificate but it is HER birth certificate".

While it's probably not necessary and probably has only a slight chance of changing a jaded person's mind, if it makes you feel better OP, then bring it. Just like the disability that is not physically obvious, sometimes people just need to accept that there is a reason for what people are doing, and it's NOT always to scam the system.

 

[Kimmly]

Have her sit in a stroller. No one will say a thing. We have never been asked about our kids, and we go down to disney monthly.

 

[Robo]

No "proof" is needed.

Disney does not ask parents for proof, they only ask parents to be honest.

 

[Aggiegrl]

No "proof" is needed. Disney does not ask parents for proof, they only ask parents to be honest.

Yeah, this. Don't overthink it. They see millions of kids of every shape, size, and age every year. They won't bat an eyelash.

 

[Muskrat191]

On our last trip, my older DD was 2.5. While not as tall as OP's daughter, she was 39" tall. We were travelling with friends whose 3.5 year old DD was the same height and weighed less than our DD. They sat side by side at character meals and we were never challenged that one girl had to pay and the other was free.

 

[MSSANDRA]

We did bring a reduced size copy of his birth certificate, but it was never needed. They might ask the child how old they are, but I have never heard of them really giving anyone any trouble. When our little guy was almost 3 and asked how old he was, he would reply 18!

 

[Wiloughby1]

I think the easiest confirmation is your older kids- They'll be the first to comment on the age, right? My 4 y/o is about to overtake my 7 y/o in height and people often ask if they are twins or back-to-back babies. The kids immediately correct presumptions!

 

[ErinsMommy]

I just want to say how jealous my DD is that almost 3 year olds are as tall as she was when she was almost 6.

 

[butterfly71076]

It's already been niggling me, but after seeing another thread I thought I'd ask. We'll be travelling to WDW with our 4 kids - 6, 4, 2 and 8 months. Our 2 year old will turn 3 a month after our trip. She is super tall - close to 42 inches and a chatterbox. We went to a birthday party last week and she was taller than a 6 year old in attendence. No one believes she's 2. They're always surprised and then we get the wow comments. This is totally fine in everyday life but it really bothers me that people would think I'm scamming the system. Can we offer up her ID? At Sesame Place last year we offered ID and they refused but still acted skeptical. She knows she's 2 so if asked she'll say 2 but she looks more like a 4 year old smart enough to say she's 2. I don't want to ruin the magic by the implication we're cheaters so will they check ID if we present it?

I think I may preface interaction by indicating we know she's ridiculously tall for 2 but here is her passport - at least if they decline they may not be snide about it?

From another Mom to a tall kid, I carried my DS's birth certif. when he was almost 3. We wanted to get in one more trip before we had to pay for him and took him May/June 2010, his birthday is in Oct. Nobody questioned me or him, he was sitting in his stroller, with his sippy cup and pacifier. I was glad I had it, just in case.

I will say, I did get a few looks from people who probably thought he was older than he was. Mostly older ladies "tsking" at me changing a diaper, and giving him a pacifier while sitting in a stroller. I finally said to someone, "not that it's any of your business, but he's 2, so stop giving me dirty looks and mind your own business" and she huffed off. Not my finest moment, but I was a bit tired of ignoring it.

The best part about having a tall kid, they can go on some of the big rides! Hope you have a fantastic trip!

 

[ibela]

I had my ds4 (he's about average height I'd say) in a stroller so we could navigate through the crowds quicker and the CM was surprised that I had a ticket for him, I wasn't asked how old he was. Don't worry.