Did You Know?

[jba2]

I posted this on the restaurant board but people didn't take notice. Thought I'd share it here too.
We found out the hard way that Disney will not serve alcoholic beverages to people who are 21 and over who do not have their passport with them. My daughter was asked for id at Trader Sam's and when she showed her Ontario driver's license and her health card, she was told that they couldn't serve her unless she had her passport or a photocopy of it with her.
Canadians do not require a passport to cross a land border into the U.S. if they have an enhanced driver's license or a Nexus card.

 

[minnie56]

Technically, yes this is true. Only when the person 'appears' to be under 21 is it enforced usually.

 

[minnie mum]

You have had several responses to your original thread, but probably the lack of response is because most international visitors have their passport and/or are aware of this policy. . And carding is done not just for anyone who might look to be under 21. They'll card anyone who looks less than 30, just to be on the safe side. DD was carded on every visit for years.

 

[jba2]

Well now I know. I had no idea an Ontario driver's license wouldn't be recognized to purchase a drink but it's accepted as id when checking into a resort.

 

[tmh43]

They aren't trained for what to look for in a fake ID if it's an ID from another country, but a passport is not something someone is going to mess with just to get a drink. I remember people changing old IDs for trips to the states and getting away with it (ones that never would have worked in Canada) so the passport rule just makes sense to me.

 

[jba2]

Back in the day it used to be quite easy to alter id. I don't know but I'm guessing that servers wouldn't be too familiar with ids from all 50 states.

 

[dancin Disney style]

Over the past couple of years there have been many threads about this exact thing. I have no idea how WDW could get the info out that passports are required to get served. While I understand the frustration it could cause I wish someone would card me.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

My DH (44 years old and a salt-and-pepper beard to prove it) was carded at Millers Ale House this past May. He almost fell off his chair.

But.....they accepted his Ontario drivers license as proof of age. We definitely don't carry our passports (or photocopies of them) to dinner.

 

[trivial]

Bizarre. And totally unnecessary with Magic Bands. If they don't include a verified age on file, they should.

 

[pigletto]

Back in the day it used to be quite easy to alter id. I don't know but I'm guessing that servers wouldn't be too familiar with ids from all 50 states.

Exactly. It would likely just be too hard to train them to check properly for fake I.D. They see people from all over the world on a daily basis and liability is such a huge issue when serving alcohol. It's probably easier to train them to check the passports. Those aren't easily altered.

 

[minnie mum]

Bizarre. And totally unnecessary with Magic Bands. If they don't include a verified age on file, they should.

How would magic bands eliminate this? MBs are not mandatory in order to access a park or resort. They do not require proof of ID in order to get one, They could easily be swapped from one person to another.

 

[starvenger]

One thing I just started doing (on my recent Hawaii trip) was to take pictures of everyone's passport photo on my smartphone. That might help with WDW in October, but I'll report back.

 

[KeroKero]

One thing I just started doing (on my recent Hawaii trip) was to take pictures of everyone's passport photo on my smartphone. That might help with WDW in October, but I'll report back.

That's a good idea, I wonder if it'll work there. I learned the hard way last year at F&W, although at F&W in previous years I had no problems with my Ontario Driver's License. I hate having my passport with me, especially having it go in and out of my bag all the time, I'm afraid I'll lose it. What a nightmare that would be!

 

[trivial]

How would magic bands eliminate this? MBs are not mandatory in order to access a park or resort. They do not require proof of ID in order to get one, They could easily be swapped from one person to another.

I meant that it would be easy enough for them to add this functionality to Magic Bands so people don't have to whip out their passports to prove their age. But quite right; there's nothing to prevent swapping them.

 

[elaine amj]

Interesting. I rarely drink and look pretty young but it would never have occurred to me to carry my Passport with me. They tried carding me at Hoop Dee Doo last year when I ordered a Sangria. I hadn't even thought of it and didn't even bring my DL with me. Thankfully, I quickly convinced the server that I was really the mom of a taller-than-I-am daughter and she brought me my Sangria.

 

[tmh43]

I meant that it would be easy enough for them to add this functionality to Magic Bands so people don't have to whip out their passports to prove their age. But quite right; there's nothing to prevent swapping them.

Maybe there could be stations at the resort or something? They can check your ID and upload a picture so you can't swap! Hahaha I would love that as I constantly get carded, and then apologized to profusely as they didn't realize how OLD I am (with their emphasis on old, gee thanks.)

They could also measure kids so that you didn't have to get them measured at each ride if they're on the brink.

 

[Pkltm]

We have had this happen to us at DTD and F&W, it is frustrating because, why would I want to carry my passport with me all the time, especially with Magic Bands we were enjoying going bag-less.

 

[starvenger]

That's a good idea, I wonder if it'll work there. I learned the hard way last year at F&W, although at F&W in previous years I had no problems with my Ontario Driver's License. I hate having my passport with me, especially having it go in and out of my bag all the time, I'm afraid I'll lose it. What a nightmare that would be!

It's what I intend to find out. Realistically I had the photos on my phone in case we misplaced the passports or I was doing an online check-in as this would save the hassle of pulling them out. But since I will have that information I might as well try, right?

At least on the Disney cruise I won't have that issue. Of course, I will have the issue of not bringing aboard my own hard liquor, but that's another forum and another thread.

 

[BadPinkTink]

Im Irish and late 30s but I look young. Its automatic to me to carry my passport everywhere as ID. I was IDed at Hard Rock Cafe at Universal City Walk California this past June!! I would never assume a foreign country would accept ID cards as proof of age for buying alcohol. ID cards whether local or international can be so easily faked and its not fair to expect a different country to recognise genuine ID cards for all the countries in the world who may visit. Passports are a standard generic layout and format, so are the best way to to check ID in a place Disney which has thousands of international visitors.

 

[jba2]

Starvenger, I was told that a coloured photo copy of your passport along with a driver's license would be accepted. I wouldn't chance it with a screen shot of your passport. You can ask them while you're there if they'll accept the screen shot but I'd have the coloured photo copy just in case.