Child (ages 3-9)

[Wes]

I find the mailing for the May 25-27, 2004 Member Homecoming galling in it's attempt to define children as ages 3-9, so that a 10 year old is considered an adult. It's like they don't live on the same planet as the rest of us.

I am not arguing with their right to charge whatever they want. But I think the flies-in-the-face-of-reality definition is bound to set a tone of unreality that is decidedly un-magical. If they are going to offer tiered pricing, they should at least have some integrity and offer one or more tiers for children of ages 10-17.

No wonder there is so much rancor among the Disney shareholders.

 

[Michelemouse]

Disney has always based its ticket pricing this way. Under age 3 requires no admission charge. Ages 3 - 9 are considered a child and ages 10 & up pay the adult price. (I do remember they had a Junior ticket in the 70's but I don't think they offered it for long.)

It's really no different than most major theme parks (Six Flags comes to mind) who tier their pricing based on height. At our local Six Flags people under 48" pay one price and people over 48" pay a higher price. At a certain height (which corresponds loosely to a certain age...there are always exceptions though) a person is able to enjoy all of the rides in the parks without being affected by height restrictions. Whether they choose to ride these rides is up to them but they are technically able to do so. The higher price just reflects a person's ability to take full advantage of what is offered.

I realize that it is a shock to think of a 10yo as an adult, and I don't think that Disney means to imply that they really are adults, but it is fairly standard industry practice.

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

Whenever I do anything at WDW where I am asked by a CM how many children are in my party, I always answer by asking back "do you mean children according to Disney or according to me? We usually always laugh and the CM sheepishly says "I'm sorry, according to Disney".

This has been their defination for as long as I can remember but now that my youngest of four kids is almost 10, its starting to hit me. Six adult AP's is a real expense.

HBC

 

[crisi]

What gets me is they'd want me to pay $250 for a three year old - when none of the activities start before a three year olds bedtime! Or are even that interesting to a child.

Yep, I'd let my preschoolers run around the MK from eight to midnight! What planet are they from. Now had they had an extra EE for DVC members only, maybe a special character lunch at Spoodles or Olivias, I could see it MAYBE being worthwhile.

 

[DVC-Don]

I think they pretty figure that by age 10 the kids can ride most every ride in WDW.

 

[Pa@okw95]

It has been that way at WDW as long as I can remember, like one person said 10 year olds can go on all the rides, most go on more than adults. At any rate I never had a problem with their age situation, under 3 is a good idea for being free because they can not go on most rides, and a lot of times they just fall off to sleep. At any rate, the Homecoming is way out of hand as far as price is concerened for everyone not just teenagers.

 

[Macnjac87]

I just bought 5 4-day park hoppers for our family of 5- our kids are 14, 11 and 7- and it came to a whopping $940!! Yikes! Only 2 years left until DS7 will be paying full fare. Won't stop me from going,tho!!

 

[wdwstar]

and when you go to the restaurants on disney property isnt the age 12 and up pay adult prices on the buffets?

they have us coming and going, after a while i would get confused how old the kid was........

when i make my ressies and the cm would ask "how many children i say (2) 6 and 14, and they dont say anything back to me.
maybe one cm would say 1 child 1 jr. and i would just smile.

 

[ClarabelleCow]

Yep, I'd let my preschoolers run around the MK from eight to midnight! What planet are they from. Now had they had an extra EE for DVC members only, maybe a special character lunch at Spoodles or Olivias, I could see it MAYBE being worthwhile.

Maybe I'm the minority, but I would! It's vacation, sleep in that day, while on vacation, all schedules are off, its all about fun! And if the kids can handle it, why not! My then 3 year old loved the Very Merry Christmas Party, we got back to the resort around 1:00am, he loved not waiting to ride Buzz!! But we made it a slow day, and he survived and didn't miss a beat, but boy did he sleep on the flight home the next day!!!

 

[kweaver]

I don't see the 8 to midnight thing being a big deal for kids. Most DVCers aren't commandos...so it's not like you have to be at the parks from 8am to midnight just to take advantage of the MH.

Our family plans to nap/swim/rest at the hotel in the afternoon...and then head back to the parks til closing (last time we weren't back to our hotel til 11).

I do have a problem with it if they don't have any activities planned specifically for the pre-school/younger child age group. I would hope that, at the very least, they have tons of characters walking around to meet and greet.

 

[dianeschlicht]

My thought was why are they pushing so hard with another mailing when there are no DVC rooms left on site for those dates!

 

[wdwstar]

that is what i dont understand, i thought about it back at the end of jan. but when i called no studios were available, if its only going to be me or i bring dh im still not interestec in staying in a 2 bedroom if any are left now or at the wdw resorts, it wont feel like a home coming if we cant stay in a dvc resort, call me spoil but isnt that why we bought into dvc to have a home away from home

 

[Tigger1]

I am afraid that if they had a junior ticket it would cost more than the adult since juniors desire the expensive rides.

It is funny how at 10 you are an adult if buying park passes, 12 if you are eating, 18 for room reservations. Never an adult in your imagination while at Disney.

 

[jaysue]

Originally posted by Tigger1
It is funny how at 10 you are an adult if buying park passes, 12 if you are eating, 18 for room reservations. Never an adult in your imagination while at Disney.

 

[vernon]

I think the ages are about right.
At 10 most kids can experience every attraction in the parks.
At 12/13 most kids can eat as much as many adults
18 is a reasonable age to put as a restriction on booking a room.

what's the problem?

I think Disney (and many other parks) pick 10 (which may be a year on the young side) as they can use a reasonable "rule of thumb" that if a child is post puberty it's likely they are older than 10. If you added 10-17 ages in there the park authorities could have difficulty in asking for ID to prove people are less than 18. Many 14,15 16 year olds can look much older than their real ages, IMHO having the age restrictions as they are make it hugely easier to police (and therefore a lot less controversial) avoiding more rows at the gate (which would definately make for a few "unDisney" experiences.

 

[llp479]

Our twin dds and I joke about them becoming an "adult" on Saturday 3/27. They turn 10 the day we arrive. Thankfully, we've got AP's that all I have to do is exchange for an adult AP. But it will hurt in August when I've got to renew!

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

In the past, several theme parks used to sell admission tickets based on heighth vs. age. I think that was easier for people to "swallow" as they knew their children were tall enough to go on all the rides, therefore they should pay the same admission as adults. Must have been a nightmare for the people selling tickets with all those parents telling their kids to squat down a little at the measuring stick (LOL).

 

[Wes]

Originally posted by vernon
I think the ages are about right.
At 10 most kids can experience every attraction in the parks.
At 12/13 most kids can eat as much as many adults
18 is a reasonable age to put as a restriction on booking a room.

what's the problem?

My problem with it is that the words "child" and "adult" have meanings that are completely inconistent (in common usage) with someone of age 10 being considered an adult.

If the tickets are based on expected utilization of facilities, then maybe they should be labelled in that way. But it grates on common sense to call a child of 10 an adult.

 

[erikthewise]

Originally posted by Tigger1
I am afraid that if they had a junior ticket it would cost more than the adult since juniors desire the expensive rides.

It is funny how at 10 you are an adult if buying park passes, 12 if you are eating, 18 for room reservations. Never an adult in your imagination while at Disney.

It gets worse than that. On Disney cruises, children are 3-12, so 13 and up pay adult fare. The Grand Floridians' childrens activities are open to ages 3-10, not 3-9. The childrens clubs at various deluxe resorts are open to ages 4-12.

 

[Michelemouse]

Originally posted by erikthewise
It gets worse than that. On Disney cruises, children are 3-12, so 13 and up pay adult fare.

Yes, but they use the "3-9" and "10 & up" designations for excursion pricing so even on the ship they aren't consistent.

I understand why they price things the way they do but it would be nice to have consistent designations throughout the resorts/parks/ships.