Child turning 3 on trip?

[Luv2trav]

Do you have to pay for a ticket?

 

[tjkraz]

If the child will be 2 when the trip begins, no, you do not have to pay for park admission for the duration of the stay.

Trips beginning anytime after age 3 require a park ticket.

 

[crzy4mk]

Wow, what a question!

You will get many different opinions on this subject, which can get rather heated here on the DIS. Mine is this (and I'm flameproof, so if you disagree, so be it): since your child is 2 at the beginning of your trip, don't buy a ticket. Others will tell you to pay for the days you are there when your child is three.

The decision is yours.

 

[Gluman11]

I think that I read here previously that if your child turns 3 while you are at WDW, you are FREE and clear...............if the child is three upon checkin, you pay...............

my little guy is turning 3 on Sept. 20th this year.....we check in on Sept 24th this year...............We are fully prepared to pay for his park passes.........

 

[Luv2trav]

Thank you! Does this go with the buffets as well? I'm just trying to budget..

 

[wendy1974]

I agree that since your child will be 2 when the vacation starts then don't pay for a ticket. Hey, this will be the last time you get to use that perk with that particular child so make it count.
As far as the buffets go I guess it denpends. How many days will you be in WDW and when during that trip will the child turn 3?

 

[WDSearcher]

Others will tell you to pay for the days you are there when your child is three.

I don't know of anyone who will say to purchase a ticket for a child who turns three DURING a trip. It's Disney's policy that a child who turns three during a trip does not need a child't ticket!

 

[lilyprincess]

Just asking, but how does disney know the exact date of birth for your child? If they are on the border do they require a brth cert or something?

 

[alecam]

I don't know of anyone who will say to purchase a ticket for a child who turns three DURING a trip. It's Disney's policy that a child who turns three during a trip does not need a child't ticket!

YUP!!!

 

[WDSearcher]

Just asking, but how does disney know the exact date of birth for your child? If they are on the border do they require a brth cert or something?

Disney trusts that parents are telling the truth about their kids' ages. However, CMs have been known to ask the kids how old they are, just to spot-check that mom and dad are telling the truth!

 

[Luv2trav]

We will be there 5 full days and he turns 3 on day 4.... Thank you for the advice. I just want to avoid any potentially embarassing situations. I don't have a problem paying. We were there last May when he was 2 too and we didn't buy him tickets or pay for buffets. No one ever asked either.

 

[llij]

When we were at WDW with friends in 2002, one of the children in the group was turning 3 while on the trip. Our friends called Disney for clarification on the ticket question and like other posters have said you don't need to pay for a ticket if they are 2 when you check in.

Have a great trip!!!

 

[Mom2Dash]

I just had a MAJOR problem with this with multiple reservation agents from DW. Basically the ressie agents took it upon themselves to put myDS down as being 2 which is now, but will be 3.5 when we go in Nov. When I called them, they told me to leave it as is...HELLO?!? My DS is 36inches at 2.5 and as articulate as most 4 yo's I know. Besides, I'm not one for lying! Despite the agent telling me the CMs wouldn't "check id's" I had them change my reservation to include him on all tickets and dining plans.

The only thing I've learned from this is that if your child is two years old at the begining of the stay, they are free and can do plate sharing - if you have a dining option (which we do) a three-year old must have his/her own option.

Sorry to hi-jack / ramble, I had to get that off my chest!

Jenn

 

[bishop1989]

My opinion. Take the perk of not paying and do not worry about it. I'm assuming that this will not be your last trip to WDW and the cost of one child's ticket who is turning three will be more than covered in your next visits to the World. I know many will disagree, but to me this is a perk that you will not have again so take advantage of it this last time.

 

[Nik's Mom]

I can confirm that if you child is 2 at time of check in, they are free. I called WDW to confirm, because my son will turn 3 on the 3rd day of our stay. I even received an e-mailed response stating that he is free! The problem is, we are doing the dining plan too, so we can't add him to the plan because he won't have a ticket. It's no problem, since he'll share my food. At the character meals, I'll just pay for him.

 

[rkrivas]

Another way of looking at it is that it's similar to the room rate philosophy...if you check in during value season, but the season changes during your stay, you get the value rate for the whole stay. Therefore, if you're 2 and free at the beginning then you're free for the whole stay.