can you book a 2 year old as a 3 year old to get free dining???

[cab0ad]

I posted this on the Dining board too but I think it may have more to do with booking/rates.

My 2 year old eats quite a bit. We don't want the regular dining plan, we want quick service. Can I book my DD as a 3 year old and get the free dining plan for her too? I'd guess I have to pay for park tickets for her then too, right? My family is getting a 6 day ticket package. Do I have to buy a 6 day pass for her too or can I just get a 1 day pass? I'd love to have free dining credits for her too so she can have her own meal/snack. I don't know if it would save us money to buy OOP for her or buy her tickets/upgrade if possible.

 

[Deb & Bill]

You'll need to buy the same ticket for her that you buy for the rest of the family.

 

[Mrs D]

a 6 day base ticket with taxes is $210.87. The average CS kids meal is $5 (not including tax).

I'd pay OOP.

 

[marcielm]

One other option might be to get everyone 1 day tickets, and then once you are at Disney upgrade the 1 day tickets to 6 day tickets for everyone else in the party.

Of course a 1 day ticket for your 2 yr old would be $64+tax... and you might spend less than just paying out of pocket for a kids' meal at the parks.

Even for QS meals, you can get LARGE portions to share. We went to Cosmic Rays for one of our QS meals, and they have a 1/2 chicken & rib combo meal that comes with 2 sides, plus a dessert. We also got a double cheeseburger combo meal one day at Pecos Bill, and you could easily purchase 1 bun or 2 slices of bread and have 2 hamburgers out of it. They have a toppings bar where you could still load it up with lettuce and tomatoes & such.

I also have a 2 yr old that eats a lot. I have a 9 yr old that eats like an adult. We only had 2 adult & 2 kid meals on our dining plan last spring, and we easily made it work with enough food to share with all six of us (even my 10 mo old was eating table food bites at the time!).

 

[cab0ad]

One other option might be to get everyone 1 day tickets, and then once you are at Disney upgrade the 1 day tickets to 6 day tickets for everyone else in the party.

Of course a 1 day ticket for your 2 yr old would be $64+tax... and you might spend less than just paying out of pocket for a kids' meal at the parks.

Even for QS meals, you can get LARGE portions to share. We went to Cosmic Rays for one of our QS meals, and they have a 1/2 chicken & rib combo meal that comes with 2 sides, plus a dessert. We also got a double cheeseburger combo meal one day at Pecos Bill, and you could easily purchase 1 bun or 2 slices of bread and have 2 hamburgers out of it. They have a toppings bar where you could still load it up with lettuce and tomatoes & such.

I also have a 2 yr old that eats a lot. I have a 9 yr old that eats like an adult. We only had 2 adult & 2 kid meals on our dining plan last spring, and we easily made it work with enough food to share with all six of us (even my 10 mo old was eating table food bites at the time!).

Never would have thought of doing that...Is this "legal" by disney standards? Has anyone ever done this? Do they give you problems if you try?

 

[djblu883]

We have the opposite problem. My DGD is going to be almost 6 when we go next year but when she is at Disney she is too excited to eat and paying for the dining plan for us doesn't seem fair as she will only snack and certainly not enough for a meal. Too much going on for her to take the time to eat until night time when she is back at the hotel and quiet...what to do?

 

[caroline1851]

I think you should just pay oop. The kids meals are cheap plus you'll probaly find there will be enough food with her sharing with you-the servings sizes are pretty good sized. My dd2 was a week short of being 3 and she shared our meals. If she wanted something extra, i just bought it-pretty minimal cost. For example at our breakfast at PM for 1 CS credit, i'd get an omelet, home fries, muffin and 2 drinks. Dh got the same. that was plenty for all of us.

 

[Mrs D]

Of course a 1 day ticket for your 2 yr old would be $64+tax.

But if they are showing her as a 3 y.o. on the ressie, wouldn't she need a ticket for each day?

I know Disney doesn't check ID to see what her actual age is but.... I'm not sure I'd want to play that game.

I think I'd just pay OOP for any extras she may want to eat. I agree that their portions are large and she could get filled up on sharing some of your meals.

Mousesavers offers some great tips of saving when it comes to meals. Here's a link to their cheap eat ideas.

I particularly like this tip for Mousesavers:
Don't Pay For Extras You Don't Want

In the parks, the counter-service menus often list only complete meals, such as a sandwich with fries or fruit, entree with corn on the cob, etc. A little known fact is that you can order anything you want a la carte! If you just want the sandwich, say so. Otherwise you may be paying up to $2 for that side item you don't want. This applies to adult meals only -- kids' meals are only sold as a package.

Here's a related tip: reader Hadley B writes, "The last time we ate at the Backlot Express in Disney's Hollywood Studios I was reeling from the kid's meal prices and asked why they were so expensive at this one place. I was told I could order the same meal without the little plastic souvenir box for $1.50 less. With several kids this adds up fast. My kids were definitely willing to put the money towards an ice cream later in the day rather than have a rather useless plastic box (which would have been a pain to keep up with all day). The cashier told me that any time a counter service kid's meal comes with one of these boxes, ordering without it and saving $1.50 is an option."

 

[abirdd]

I know Disney doesn't check ID to see what her actual age is but.... I'm not sure I'd want to play that game.

Sorry to hijack, but I wanted to say Disney does/can age check. In January, we were asked to prove/confirm our little guy's when we checked into the resort (passport), and again TWICE at the MK (verbally). He's very tall for his age, and did not turn 3 until 8 weeks after our vacation.

I just wanted to point this out - since we were not the only ones being asked to provide this information. As another mother noted to me - Disney seems to have started checking more and more.

I realize in the OP's case, we are talking about increasing the age. Honestly, I would not bother - given the cost of a park ticket versus paying OOP.

 

[caroline1851]

I hope they check i.d.'s when my mil tries to pass my almost 11 year (TALL) nephew for a 9 year old to save money on the ddp.

 

[snykymom]

We have the opposite problem. My DGD is going to be almost 6 when we go next year but when she is at Disney she is too excited to eat and paying for the dining plan for us doesn't seem fair as she will only snack and certainly not enough for a meal. Too much going on for her to take the time to eat until night time when she is back at the hotel and quiet...what to do?

What to do? Don't get the DDP. It's not required! It only makes sense to do the DP if you eat the way the paln is set up. We don't (and this time, my d will only be joining me for 3 days of a 7 day trip). It's never bothered me in the least.

Do the math. If it's not worth it, don't do it.

 

[amarberry]

We did this a couple of years ago with DD when she was 2. She has a severe food allergy and is picky on top of that, so I would have been miserable if I had to order something that I thought she would eat. Our trip was 9 or 10 days and we were mostly eating at non-buffet, non-family style meals where we would have needed to purchase her a meal, so I felt that it was worth the price of a 1 day base ticket that I could use for her in the future. It would not have been worth it if I needed to buy her an unnecessary ticket and purchase the dining plan.

As far as logistics, CRO made it seem like it was perfectly legal to do this as long as I purchased the 1 day ticket for her (I upgraded mine to an AP, my husband's to a park hopper, and I actually used DD's ticket from this trip last fall when we purchased her an AP). I know some people will say that you might have issues with your child's age in "the system" if you age your child up, but we have visited many times since and never had a problem with my DD's age in the system (that includes the additional trips we took before she turned 3).

 

[rdevine10]

We did this a couple years ago, as our younger DD has food allergies and we wanted her included on the dining plan, without the rest of our group having to order what is considered safe for her. (she was 2 at the time). We were never questioned at the gates upon park entry, as she is a peanut (in fact, she could probably still pass for under 3!!!).

We did the one day base ticket and upgraded the rest at check in. We were grilled by the staff for a while, but I explained our situation. Looking back at it, I would probably now just as easily payed out of pocket... mainly for avoiding the whole annoyance factor of being felt like I was trying to do something wrong! Bottom line, I dont recommend it!

 

[cab0ad]

Thanks for the advice! After thinking about it we upgraded to the regular dining plan so we can eat buffet/family style and she can have her own plate. Now all I have to do is stress about finding SOMETHING available over Christmas...

 

[Mrs D]

I'm so glad you figured out what will work best for your family.
The good news is you have almost a month to decide where to make ADR's at!

Have fun planning!

 

[Microcell]

I hope they check i.d.'s when my mil tries to pass my almost 11 year (TALL) nephew for a 9 year old to save money on the ddp.

Tee hee.. my DD is 11 and is 5'3.. we had to take her birth certificate along when she was 9 because they thought there was a mistake on the reservation when we checked in, (aka they thought we were lying)and were sure she was 10. So it was nice to have it to show them!

 

[StuckInKS]

I hope they check i.d.'s when my mil tries to pass my almost 11 year (TALL) nephew for a 9 year old to save money on the ddp.

Although what you're MIL in trying to do is wrong, I just don't see how they can check IDs on kids. What if you don't have an ID for them? The PP who had her IDs checked had a passport because she was from Canada, but if you are from the US, what type of proof would you bring? I'm not sure if they could force you to upgrade your tix in that situation. I know that you *can* bring a BC for proof, but if you're trying to get away with something then you're not going to do that. If Disney is going to ID kids who they think are older than 3 or 9, shouldn't they tell parents to bring a BC with them? My DD was two months from turning 3 on our last trip and if they would have tried to say she was 3 and made me pay for her (something that I thought about when we got to the gate,) I would have been furious.