Early Entry for Resort Guests

[BrownHP800]

Hello everyone. First time poster here. I hope this is the proper section.

We are looking to come down probably in mid-late January 2013. I have 2 boys, 10 and 18. It is going to be a surprise Christmas present for the 10 yr old this year. I did ask the older one if he wanted to go to Disney and he said "Heck yeah I wanna go". Just a little info on the older one. He will be going to college this fall. When we go to Disney he will be 19. He will be playing football (offensive lineman) for Appalachian State University, so yeah, he is quite a giant. Which brings me to my question.

How close do they check for resort ID's for early entry? I have no problems taking my oldest along with us, but I am thinking that after he is in school for some time he is not going to want to come to Disney World with Mom and Dad and will want to go to spring break with his buddies. I was thinking of booking for just me, my wife and youngest son. Then if the older kid really does want to go, just purchase a ticket and just have him stay in our room. I know this is not techinally legal but they charge extra for another adult in the room. If we go to early entry are they going to check resort ID's for everyone? Its been several years since we have been down and last few times I do not remember anyone asking for our resort ID.

Is it bad that I am thinking this way? I am just trying to save every penny I can.

Hope that makes sense. Sometimes I ramble on.

Thanks

 

[PHLtoMCO]

Hello everyone. First time poster here. I hope this is the proper section.

We are looking to come down probably in mid-late January 2013. I have 2 boys, 10 and 18. It is going to be a surprise Christmas present for the 10 yr old this year. I did ask the older one if he wanted to go to Disney and he said "Heck yeah I wanna go". Just a little info on the older one. He will be going to college this fall. When we go to Disney he will be 19. He will be playing football (offensive lineman) for Appalachian State University, so yeah, he is quite a giant. Which brings me to my question.

How close do they check for resort ID's for early entry? I have no problems taking my oldest along with us, but I am thinking that after he is in school for some time he is not going to want to come to Disney World with Mom and Dad and will want to go to spring break with his buddies. I was thinking of booking for just me, my wife and youngest son. Then if the older kid really does want to go, just purchase a ticket and just have him stay in our room. I know this is not techinally legal but they charge extra for another adult in the room. If we go to early entry are they going to check resort ID's for everyone? Its been several years since we have been down and last few times I do not remember anyone asking for our resort ID.

Is it bad that I am thinking this way? I am just trying to save every penny I can.

Hope that makes sense. Sometimes I ramble on.

Thanks

Welcome to the boards!! If you pay for the extra person, they are technically on the reservation and it is "legal." They will get DME as well as their own resort key so they will have access to EMH. We are paying $25/day for my sister to join us for a few days next week on our trip so we just went through all of this!

Enjoy your trip

 

[Sue M]

They won't let him in without resort ID. You must have proof you are a WDW guest to be let into the parks for Extra Magic hours.

 

[Lynne M]

He has to be on the reservation. If he doesn't have his own resort ID, he won't get access to EMH.

 

[purple figment]

For EMH everyone has to have resort ID and most of the time they do check everyone in the group.

Morning EMH - he'll need to show teh resort ID (KTTW card) to get into the park.

Evening EMH - he'll need to show the resort ID to get on rides and attractions.

Additionally if flying, he'll need to be on your reservation to use DME.

 

[Mickeyrella]

I don't think he will opt out of Disney, I am around his age (I'm 20) and I love Disney with my life, plus he can always go to IOA or US if he's looking for more thrilling rides!

 

[MAYNARDS99]

I imagine he will want to go to Disney with Mom and Dad's money, AND on Spring Break with his money and buddies.

BTW classes start January 14, 2013. Maybe go right after New Year's?

 

[Katti Michele]

I'm a little confused with your question. Are you trying to avoid paying the extra $10 a night for a fourth person in the room (or any other costs associated with adding him to the reservation)? If so and are just going to purchase plain ole tickets for him, he will not be able to use EMHs because he is technically not staying at a resort on property. His ticket will be paper (or whatever they use these days) and not the KTTW card that is also your room key, charge card, dining plan, etc. I'm almost certain for morning EMH they make you put your KTTW card in the turnstiles, so I don't think it is possible without him being on the reservation and having one. I could be completely wrong or have misunderstood your question(s) though!

Either way, I think his inner kid will come out and really enjoy the trip and family time, even a big old football player like himself!

 

[Deb & Bill]

If he's going, you gotta pay for him all the way. Including the extra resort charge because he is an adult and dining if you are adding the plan and tickets if they are part of the package.

My son will be a sophomore in the fall and he's looking forward to two trips with Mom and Dad (one in October for his short fall break and our longer fall vacation and one for the marathon).

 

[TxMickeyLover]

I'm almost certain for morning EMH they make you put your KTTW card in the turnstiles, so I don't think it is possible without him being on the reservation and having one.

Just wanted to point out that this is not completely the case. Otherwise, those with Annual Passes staying on property would not be allowed in for EMH. If you are using a ticket that is NOT attached to the KTTW card, they will ask you to show the room key, and they will look at it to make sure the resort dates are valid. When we were there a couple of weeks ago, it was our first time without AP's, so we did have tickets attached to our keys. They still looked at the key even though we ran it through the turnstyle.

All that to say, whether or not his ticket is on a KTTW card or he has a separate ticket, he will be asked to show his room key for entry, and they will look at it closely to make sure it is valid.

 

[maj42169]

They also look at the room key at each attraction before granting entry during evening EMH.

 

[Polydweller]

Hello everyone. First time poster here. I hope this is the proper section.

We are looking to come down probably in mid-late January 2013. I have 2 boys, 10 and 18. It is going to be a surprise Christmas present for the 10 yr old this year. I did ask the older one if he wanted to go to Disney and he said "Heck yeah I wanna go". Just a little info on the older one. He will be going to college this fall. When we go to Disney he will be 19. He will be playing football (offensive lineman) for Appalachian State University, so yeah, he is quite a giant. Which brings me to my question.

How close do they check for resort ID's for early entry? I have no problems taking my oldest along with us, but I am thinking that after he is in school for some time he is not going to want to come to Disney World with Mom and Dad and will want to go to spring break with his buddies. I was thinking of booking for just me, my wife and youngest son. Then if the older kid really does want to go, just purchase a ticket and just have him stay in our room. I know this is not techinally legal but they charge extra for another adult in the room. If we go to early entry are they going to check resort ID's for everyone? Its been several years since we have been down and last few times I do not remember anyone asking for our resort ID.

Is it bad that I am thinking this way? I am just trying to save every penny I can.

Hope that makes sense. Sometimes I ramble on.

Thanks

Ok, if he is staying in you room you must pay the extra adult fee. Not doing do is not 'technically illegal', it's actually illegal. Filing to pay a fee is fraud. Coming on a bit heavy but saying I'm just trying to save every penny simply isn't an excuse. If you tried that in one of my consortiums's we most definitely woul take one action. And hotels have seen every scam in the book and are looking for them.

Pay the fee, it isn't much, be legal, get everyone a KTTW card. Then you won't worry about any of this. Being caught avoiding such a small fee justbisn't worth it.

 

[POOHsie]

Our friend wasn't sure of his time at Disney until the last minute. We were already checked in for a few days. On the day before he arrived, we visited the lobby to add him to our reservation, and arrange round trip Magical Express service for him. When he arrived on the ME bus next day, we went to the lobby together and checked him in. He got his own KTTW card and tickets were purchased for only the days he needed. We were charged for the third adult in the room, just for the nights he was there. I'm not sure what we were charged per day. I believe Value is $10, Moderate is $15 and Deluxe is $25.

What I'm saying is Disney allows last minute additions to a reservation. In your case, it's to your son's advantage to have a KTTW card and Magical Express service. ME service alone makes the extra person charge worth it. The only thing he wouldn't qualify for would be Dining Plan because he has to be on the reservation ahead of time, for the same amount of days as you are.

 

[aubriee]

They won't let him in without resort ID. You must have proof you are a WDW guest to be let into the parks for Extra Magic hours.

He has to be on the reservation. If he doesn't have his own resort ID, he won't get access to EMH.

I can verify from personal experience that this is true. One trip last year, my husband and I were getting ready to leave for morning EMH at Epcot. Not wanting to carry a bag all day, I was trying to put my stuff in his cargo pockets. Being AP holders, I decided we only needed one KTTW card that day, so left mine in the room and just put my AP in his billfold with his. I didn't even think about needing it to get in for EMH. Sure enough, even as crowded as it was, they were checking everyone for their room keys, before we even got to the turnstyles. I tried to explain that we were in the same room and all I brought was my AP for park admission. I even asked if they could call the resort to verify that I was staying onsite with him. They were apologetic, but wouldn't budge. They said I had to go all the way back to the room for my KTTW card. Since it would have taken me over an hour to get back to the room, grab my KTTW card, and then catch a bus back to the park, we just chose to sit around outside until the general opening. You better believe though, I haven't forgotten my KTTW card since.

We were down there in Feb with my 3 y/o GS. We went to several EMHs (both morning and evening). Every single time we had to show all three room keys. I did ask the first time if we needed to get out my grandson's and was asked, "Is he 3 y/o? if so yes". Since they wouldn't let him put his finger on the scanner for his park ticket, he really enjoyed showing them his KTTW card. lol Since my husband and I have APs, we bought just a paper MYW ticket for him, so none of our park tickets were on our KTTW cards. We had to have both to get in for EMH (the park tickets to put in the turnstyles and the KTTW cards to show we were staying on site and were eligible for EMH).

 

[GoofyFan1515]

They have always checked us closely. Easier to just add him than the hassle otherwise.

 

[wcpamotm]

They said I had to go all the way back to the room for my KTTW card.

Not necessarily so. Guest services at the parks are (or at least have been) able to give you a new one. We've done this once when forgetting a KTTW.

Keep hold of this one, as it replaces the one you left behind.

 

[HANDYMOM]

The bottom line is, it should be done according to Disney policy or not done at all. This question sounds a lot like the discussions on how to get around buying a new resort mug for free refills.

If you know Disney's policy, which the OP clearly does, then follow it.

That being said, when planning which January week, consider the effect Marathon Weekend has on the parks and especially the Disney internal transportation. We LOVE January to visit, but we have learned to push our check in to at least the last day of Marathon Weekend.