2 unrelated Q from a newbie

[toyeshop]

Hi all. We are going on our first ever family vacation in August w/ FD. Woohoo! Two questions - can you visit other resort's pools when you're not staying there? Rather than treking back to where we are staying for an afternoon break, stop at whatever pool happens to be nearby. Save oodles of time - is this a no-no?

What proof of age do I need for the children at that critical age 8/9 - or is it the honor system?

 

[Captain_Hook]

Pool hopping is not allowed unless you are a DVC member and even then you can't go to certain pools.

For 8/9 year olds....(I'm guessing for park admission or dining?) I would bring a copy of the birth certificate just to be on the safe side.

Have a great time when you go!

 

[Desnik]

I have never brought proof of my kids ages. An 8/9 year olds are considered kids for dining and park passes. Unless they are really big kids that look much older than I wouldn't bother bringing a copy of their birth certificate. FYI, Disney considers 10 year olds adults. As for the pool hopping, no it is not allowed. As a DVC member(Disney Vacation Club) we are allowed to pool hop, but not at AKV, or BCV, and they block out holiday periods and other busy times. Even though I am allowed to do it as a DVC member, I still find it a bit of a pain to do and we don't do it at all. If you need a break mid day, you could plan a sit down meal for lunch. You will be rested and in AC!

 

[trivial]

What proof of age do I need for the children at that critical age 8/9 - or is it the honor system?

Just in case you're not aware, 9 and under are considered kids; 10 and over are considered adults.

 

[K and K's Mommy]

In October I took a two year old who was three weeks from being three. No one asked a thing, and he is big for his age. I never even thought about needing anything.

Definitely do not pool hop.

Have a great time!!!

 

[bzzymom]

I wouldn't worry about it at all. We have traveled there many times and never had a question about the age. We were truthfull.

We went during free dining in Aug 2006 with 2 kids, 2.5 and 9. We stayed at ASMovies and we went back to the room every day in the afternoon for a break. DH sat out at the pool while DS swam and I stayed in the room with DD to nap. This worked good for us, and we didn't feel we wasted time because the parks were open late and we were there at night. It was so hot and humid, I preferred being in the parks at night. We did not do an early entry days. We got to the parks by 9:30 or 10, except for the one character breakfast we had which was at 8:45.

 

[toyeshop]

I think I am more excited than anyone else at least at this point in the game!

What do you think of park hoppers? I have read pro and con opinions. I ordred park hopper tix, but I'm thinking of taking them off (there are 6 of us)and just add it if we need it.

 

[PADISFAM]

to the boards-- you will find lots of opinions on park hopping- we loved it. It will depend on what your plans are, how much 'endurance' the kids have, ADRs, EMH & such. Good luck & HAVE FUN

 

[trivial]

What do you think of park hoppers? I have read pro and con opinions. I ordred park hopper tix, but I'm thinking of taking them off (there are 6 of us)and just add it if we need it.

Adding Hoppers if/when you need them is a good plan. Personally, I had everything planned out so that park hoppers weren't necessary. If you have everything planned out in advance (which restaurants you'll eat at, which park(s) you'll visit each day, etc.), it's possible you won't need them.

 

[Aliceacc]

Hi and welcome!!

We're going in August too; I can't wait!!!

This may help you get organized: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1715551

I'm glad we got hoppers. That way, my dinner reservations can be where I want to eat, not tied into which park we'll be in. Plus, we can change parks if the first is too crowded.

 

[K and K's Mommy]

We had park hoppers our first trip, and I can't imagine not having them. We love to hop around, especially on Animal Kingdom day. If we do an early morning entry, we rarely stay in that park. That said, if I had never used them before, I might not notice the difference.

 

[bzzymom]

We always get park hoppers, partly because eat most of our evening meals at Epcot in the World Showcase. If you are going during free dining and plan on eating at the different countries in epcot, it would be worth it. We eat at Japan, Canada and Italy every trip and then we go from there. Once we ate an early dinner in France, then took the boat over to MGM for Fantasmic.

We like having the ability to switch parks if one is really busy. One day, we went to MK and it was really busy, so after a few rides, we hopped on the monorail and went to epcot and it was really nice for lines that day. Also, we like doing EMH and sometimes we will switch in for that reason.