anyone else annoyed at the age 6 requirement?

[snoopy5386]

First off I think the GAD program is a great idea and a great program. However I'm really annoyed that it won't work for our family. I'd love to volunteer and get the free tickets, but we have an almost 4 yo so the program won't work for us. It makes no sense for us to get free tickets for DH and I but not for DD. All of us with kids in the 3-5 range are stuck. She needs a ticket to get into the park, but she can't get one with the GAD program.....We'll be in Fl later in the year and we weren't planning on doing Disney - but I heard about the program and thought great - a bonus free 1 day trip for our family....only not.
I'm disappointed to say the least.

 

[curemyreed]

It does makes sense in that you and husband would each be getting a nearly $80 ticket for free, so you would enjoy a savings.

Also, remember that if you are buying a multi-day ticket, you can opt instead to use your GAD voucher to get special Fast Passes for each of you for the park you turn in voucher at. The person turning in the GAD voucher can obtain a card for each member of his party (up to 6 people) so that, in that example, each of the six people would be able to obtain these special Fast Passes. If utilized in a thoughtful way, ESPECIALLY during times when lines are long, this option can be FABULOUS! For example, a family of four volunteers and each receive a voucher. They purchases 4-day tickets. On the first day Dad turns in his voucher at MK and each member of his family is there at the Will Call window with him so the CM can see there are a total of 4 people in his party. She hands them 4 Fast Pass Special Exchange Cards. Each person gets IMMEDIATE FastPasses for 2-4 "super headliner" rides as well as 2-4 IMMEDIATE FastPasses for 2-4 "headliner" rides. On day 2 Mom turns in her GAD voucher at the Will Call window at Epcot.....repeat as at MK. So...in this way traveling companions who did not volunteer can still benefit from your thoughtful volunteerism!

 

[LaurenT]

My daughter is turning 7 - so she helped us make blankets - but yes, I ould have been peeved if she was left out of the program - I think if you're old enough to pay for a ticket, you're old enough to earn a voucher - so they should set the age limit at 3.
Having said that, you can still volunteer with your DH and then the 3 of you can enjoy a day at MK for the price of a child's 1 day ticket..not a bad deal!!

 

[Jeneadgbe]

I'm not sure why the age limit, my daughter (5) wants to help out all of the time and it would be nice to be able to give her a bonus for it!

 

[brittanyherndon]

I think that anyone that has to buy a ticket, should be eligible for GAD but that is jus my opinion.

 

[LilGMom]

I can see why they have an age requirement of 6 since most kids at that age are in grade school, probably behave better than children 3-5 and for some of the volunteer opporunities they would prefer the better behaved and older children. As a mom of a four yr. old I do wish that it wasn't an across the board age requirement of six years old though. We are doing the Project Linus blankets and my four year old has been involved in the project even though he technically doesn't count towards the project.

To the OP, while you would still have to purchase a ticket for your DD you could try to think of it more of that you are saving $160 on tickets for you and your DH if you do decide to have a bonus day in WDW.

 

[kristennn]

We couldn't find a volunteer opportunity for our 6 year old anyway but I still appreciate the two free tickets we are getting for myself and my husband.

 

[CTmommyx3]

I would still be doing it with my husband and you will just need to pay for the child. Still a great savings!
We did a project making posters so my 2 kids that were ages 8 and 6 got the vouchers, my 3 year old helped us too so he was not left out. of course we will just need to pay for him but I will take any free tickets anyday!

 

[doconeill]

No one knows exactly why the limit is 6 - in fact, I'm surprised that the limit is that LOW. But there could be PLENTY of reasons why it is what it is - practical, legal, etc.

Maybe they looked at the lowest age level that any of the organizations would accept, and based it on that? As it is, organizations that will accept someone even that young appear to be few and far between.

As for not working for you...you'd still have to pay for one ticket, yes. But that's TWO LESS than you would if they didn't have the program at all. If getting a day at Disney for the three of you for the price of a child's 1-day ticket doesn't entice you to go when you weren't planning to before, that's OK...it is well known that Disney is NOT intending themselves to be a day-trip destination anyways (which is why the tickets prices are front-loaded), and those that are coming anyways stand to gain the most out of this. But if you weren't planning on going anyways, I'm not sure why you're disappointed.

 

[snoopy5386]

I'm not disappointed, just annoyed. Like I said this would be a bonus 1 day trip for us. We'll be going for our regular trip in January 2011. The idea of driving 3 hours each way (we'll be near Ft Lauderdale) with a 4 yo and a 6 month old is much less appealing if it is still going to cost us $70 to go. If all of us were free and we only had to pay for gas, food and souvenirs I would do it in a heartbeat. And disney would still make money off our food and souvenirs.
It just seems like there are plenty of opportunities that she could participate in - making blankets, posters, collecting food, etc. We already volunteer a lot in our community - and DD both enjoys it and "gets" it. She gets why we collected our change, donated shoes and clothes, and put together hygiene kits for the Haiti earthquake victims. She gets why we collected food for the animal shelter and food bank at Christmas time. She gets why we sent toys overseas for Operation Christmas Child and why we bought toys for charity during the holidays.
It just annoys me that Disney is both losing out on us as volunteers and as customers due to the discrepancy in the age at which my child needs to possess a ticket vs the age at which she can participate in the program.

 

[andee515]

We did our voluntering at an animal shelter with our 3, 4 and 8yo. The 3yo didn't do anything, but the 4yo did pretty good though. I just told the kids it was for the whole family, it would have been nice for her to get a voucher, but no big deal; it was a good experience for them

 

[JEAhrtWDW]

I am only annoyed because I was so excited to signup my family and my sister's family, but her daughter turns 6 TOMORROW and the registration would not go through I promise she will not mke any blankets before her time

 

[AJKMOM]

I volunteer at 2 organizations for special needs groups. Neither one would allow a child under 6 to volunteer there. In fact, the therapeutic horseback riding organziation requires their volunteers to be age 14 or over.

 

[mickey2minnie1]

What info do you leave to sign up? Did you leave your actual children's names and ages on the express info? What other personal info is needed. I have applied to two and have not heard back from either. I did not include their names, just ages. Would that do it?

 

[sramos89]

I work as a Manager of Volunteer Services for a living and am planning our first trip to Disney in May. I think what Disney is doing for volunteer organizations is AMAZING!!! However, at my organization I can not have anyone volunteer under the age of 14- (We are not a host agency for Disney) There are lots of reasons why- our insurance, liability- on and on. Please don't DIS Disney for stepping up and doing something so great. Just pay for your younger kids and enjoy a super saving plus the feeling of volunteering and doing something great! I really want Disney to get nothing but LOVE for what they are doing! I don't see many for profit businesses reaching out to help!!
Thanks for volunteering and getting your kids involved early!

 

[Dizzyworld]

We were having issues on the teen end. Since they were minors, an adult would have to be with them. Not a problem. The problem was many of those opportunities were for children ages 14- 18 only. The adult would not be allowed to participate, just hang around. We wanted a family opportunity.

I wish other groups would have posted the hours they needed volunteers. And some groups posted a 1.5 hour window while another posted a 12 hour window.

We finally gave up and went with Project Linus.

 

[DisneyAndRedSox]

As someone who recently paid big bucks for an AP for a 4 year old I am extremely disappointed that there is not some type of alternative for the little kids. I am not expecting a free day, but even if a kid does a 'good deed' for others they deserve something small like a pin that says they are a Junior VoluntEAR (like the 'Birthday' pins they give out for free.) We have been teaching DD to give to others- clothing that doesn't fit to Goodwill, old books to the library sale, old linens/towels & stuffed animals to the local animal shelter. If DD got some type of recognition from Disney I think it would be a wonderful thing!

 

[Ka' eo]

I really think this is a glass half full/half empty thing. Instead of thinking I did not get one ticket for my 6 year old, how about, "I got 3 free tickets and it is only costing us $17 each for a day at Disney instead of $80 each or $320 total? I mean saving $240 is huge.

This is a wonderful program and I think complaining about the age limit really misses the intent of this program.

Sorry for the lack of empathy, but seriously, this is a very generous thing Disney is doing. This is not a free handout. It seems like it's never enough sometimes.

 

[DisneyAndRedSox]

I really think this is a glass half full/half empty thing. Instead of thinking I did not get one ticket for my 6 year old, how about, "I got 3 free tickets and it is only costing us $17 each for a day at Disney instead of $80 each or $320 total? I mean saving $240 is huge.

This is a wonderful program and I think complaining about the age limit really misses the intent of this program.

Sorry for the lack of empathy, but seriously, this is a very generous thing Disney is doing. This is not a free handout. It seems like it's never enough sometimes.

Personally I think having an age limit sends the wrong message on the intent of the program, and like I said before... I am not expecting a free day, but I think Disney dropped the ball on not having some type of alternative for the kids who are old enough to have a ticket, but too young to sign-up. I don't want my 4 year old to think she is too young to help out or make a difference. We have AP's so I am not even thinking of how I can financially benefit from GAD, I am doing it because I have always wanted to volunteer and never thought I had the time, and this is giving me the opportunity.

And it is a disappointment to hear there are so few opportunities for the kids that are older, it took my friend a month to find something for her 15 year old son.

 

[Ka' eo]

Personally I think having an age limit sends the wrong message on the intent of the program, and like I said before... I am not expecting a free day, but I think Disney dropped the ball on not having some type of alternative for the kids who are old enough to have a ticket, but too young to sign-up. I don't want my 4 year old to think she is too young to help out or make a difference. We have AP's so I am not even thinking of how I can financially benefit from GAD, I am doing it because I have always wanted to volunteer and never thought I had the time, and this is giving me the opportunity.

And it is a disappointment to hear there are so few opportunities for the kids that are older, it took my friend a month to find something for her 15 year old son.

But someone so young is going to get the message from the parent. So have them join in, role model for them and make them part of some type of volunteerism. It is such a wonderful thing to volunteer and kids learn this from parents primarily. I would recommend buying a pin for a child or even making up a certificate for them. I realize some volunteer activities cannot allow young children due to safety and insurance costs, so perhaps the children cannot attend the exact Disney volunteer.

I am sure the program is not perfect in terms of opportunities. And some folks appear to have worked a lot harder than others. We only had to make 5 cards to get a ticket. We put tremendous time in and made 10 cards instead. I read where some people worked 35 minutes and others 8 hours. So this is going to be a varied experience. We were happy in our remote area to find an opportunity for all our family.

It is really discouraging to read someone complain when they earned 3 free tickets and feel going to Disney for a day is not worth the $70 they have to spend for the one child under 6. That is what I responded to.

I won't keep commenting. I just think one can be negative and find things to complain about in anything. This clearly is just that type of thing.

Half full, Half empty. Each person can decide.

I know this promotion is just that for Disney, but they are going to be giving away an incredible amount of park tickets, all to the benefit of wonderful charities and organizations.

Peace to all.