Has anyone ever had CM question child's age?

[lclark0621]

Our friends were questioned in March.

We all went together (DH, DS & myself, our friends & their DD).

Their DD was turning 3 a week after our trip. I begged them to bring a copy of her birth certificate. They did but left it in the hotel room.

On our 3rd day they were questioned about their DD. They of course had left the birth certificate back in the hotel room.

They had to buy their DD a one day ticket, because they did not want to go all the way back to the hotel. The next day, they took the ticket recepit & their birth ceritificate to guest services & got a full refund. After that, they carried the birth certificate every day & were questioned 2 other times.

My DS is tall for his age & we were never questioned (he turns 3 in July). But I still brought the certificate with us every day.

It is the luck of the draw with the CMs.

 

[gssmks]

I was shocked when I realized that WDW considers a 10 year old an adult. My DD keeps telling me that it's not long until she will be an adult like me and I no longer get to be the boss.

I do have a question, we get Annual Passes. This year, my DD will be 9 when we purchase the passes, but will turn 10 prior to the expiration date. Should I purchase a child pass, an adult pass, or just not purchase her an annual pass at all?

 

[lclark0621]

(Personal rant
here, I think it is absolutely ridiculous for Disney to crack down and ask for
a birth certificate for a 2/3 yr.old. People are on VACATION, spending tons
of money. I'm sure those that are honest far outnumber those that try and
pass off their kids as being younger....... end personal rant)

Um, seniors need to show proof of age, fl residents, need to show proof of where they live, I have been asked to show my ID when buying alcohol.

Why should Disney NOT require proof a child is under 3?

 

[beattyfamily]

I was shocked when I realized that WDW considers a 10 year old an adult. My DD keeps telling me that it's not long until she will be an adult like me and I no longer get to be the boss.

I do have a question, we get Annual Passes. This year, my DD will be 9 when we purchase the passes, but will turn 10 prior to the expiration date. Should I purchase a child pass, an adult pass, or just not purchase her an annual pass at all?

If you are buying it at age 9 and she'll be 9 when you first use it then buy the child AP. If you are buying it at age 9 but using it at age 10 then buy the adult AP.

If you buy it at age 9 and use it at age 9 and then want to use it again at age 10, they will let you upgrade it to an adult pass.

 

[gssmks]

If you are buying it at age 9 and she'll be 9 when you first use it then buy the child AP. If you are buying it at age 9 but using it at age 10 then buy the adult AP.

If you buy it at age 9 and use it at age 9 and then want to use it again at age 10, they will let you upgrade it to an adult pass.

She will be 9 when I purchase the pass, and will still be 9 during our Christmas trip. I will definitely plan at least one more trip before the passes expire. She will definitely be 10 prior to the second trip. Should I go ahead and buy the adult pass. If I wait and upgrade later is there a discount or something.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Our youngest daughter was 2 last June, turning 3 in August. We were in
the parks for 13 days, and only twice were we questioned, both at the front
entrance to Magic Kingdom.

We were never asked for a birthdate or birth certificate though. (Personal rant here, I think it is absolutely ridiculous for Disney to crack down and ask for a birth certificate for a 2/3 yr.old. People are on VACATION, spending tons of money. I'm sure those that are honest far outnumber those that try and pass off their kids as being younger....... end personal rant)

Ah, while the honest Guests outnumber those who try to cheat, the fact that ANYBODY lies about their childrens' ages makes it perfectly understandable that the business offering the price discount finds it necessary to confirm a child's age.

 

[beattyfamily]

She will be 9 when I purchase the pass, and will still be 9 during our Christmas trip. I will definitely plan at least one more trip before the passes expire. She will definitely be 10 prior to the second trip. Should I go ahead and buy the adult pass. If I wait and upgrade later is there a discount or something.

I would then buy the child pass and then during the trip when she's 10 tell them and I believe they will upgrade it for free!

 

[denanbob]

I'm sure I will get flamed here, but here is what happened to us.............

None of us have ever been to Disney (DH and me included). We decided to book a trip last January ('05) for October 29-November 5. My DS would be turning 8 during our trip. All I did was plug in the numbers that the website asked for and it popped out a quote (did not tell me that age 10 was the magic age for price increases). On October 29, I would have had a DD6, a DS9, and a DS7 (turning 8 during the trip). I ended up using a travel agent then on the advice of a friend of mine. She transfered my booking over from the WDW site to her travel agency for me. All was well. UNTIL.........my husband switched jobs last April which caused him to not have any vacation time until he was there for a year. So our Disney trip was off and I was sooooo sad. However, our lovely TA said we could just "postpone" until DH had some vacation and change the dates so that we didn't lose our trip insurance and we could just transfer over the deposit. This was a wonderful idea and even though I was sad our trip was being postponed, at least it wasn't officially cancelled........yet. As it turned out, it was a good thing that happened because my DS7 broke his leg in September and we could not have gone anyway. So our trip was postponed until May 6th, 2006. Christmas came and went and so did our bank account. I emailed our TA in January and told her I was afraid we were going to have to cancel because I just didn't think there was any way I could come up with the money. I told her to wait though just INCASE our tax return was going to save the day (which I was not counting on because we withdrew from a 401K and knew we'd be penalized come tax time). Well, low and behold, I have NO CLUE how it happened, but we got a HUGE tax return which was going straight to Disney. Our dream was back on!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So I had the airfare and the whole trip paid for with our tax return and now I just had to come up with enough money for spending money (we are on the dining plan, so we're not planning on needing TOOOO much extra). So as I went back to an old email to see how much I owed on the balance, I noticed she still had my DS listed as being 9. He turned 10 in January (after our original trip was planned for, but before our rescheduled trip). I didn't know if this would be a big deal or not, but I thought I'd better mention it. She emailed me back and said that not only would HIS ticket price (and dining plan price) increase, ALL OF THE REST OF OUR TICKETS WOULD TOO! Because Disney raised their prices in 2006, and if she changed any part of our initial reservations, then she'd have to redo the whole thing and we'd get charged the 2006 prices. This was going to end up being a $300 difference at least. Well, I could NOT afford that (mind you, I could BARELY afford the trip before). She said since it was an honest mistake/oversight and that nobody was trying to cheat anybody out of anything, we could just leave it alone (she knew it could possibly ruin our trip). Here's why I don't feel bad about it:

1). He will ride the same rides he would have ridden because it goes by height, not age so they aren't losing anything there.

2). Because he is "9" on the dining plan, he will be ordering from the childrens menu when we go so they will not be losing any money there.

3). I didn't intentionally scam anyone or try to get around paying my way.

Plus, if I can't afford the extra $300, I would possibly have had to cancel the trip so they would be losing ALOT of money. So they are benefitting from this too.

And yes, if anyone is wondering, I talk too much and I can never just get to the point............ If you're still with me, thanks for reading! And please don't tell me I'm going to H-E-double toothpicks because of this, ok?

Peace!

 

[beattyfamily]

I'm sure I will get flamed here, but here is what happened to us.............

None of us have ever been to Disney (DH and me included). We decided to book a trip last January ('05) for October 29-November 5. My DS would be turning 8 during our trip. All I did was plug in the numbers that the website asked for and it popped out a quote (did not tell me that age 10 was the magic age for price increases). On October 29, I would have had a DD6, a DS9, and a DS7 (turning 8 during the trip). I ended up using a travel agent then on the advice of a friend of mine. She transfered my booking over from the WDW site to her travel agency for me. All was well. UNTIL.........my husband switched jobs last April which caused him to not have any vacation time until he was there for a year. So our Disney trip was off and I was sooooo sad. However, our lovely TA said we could just "postpone" until DH had some vacation and change the dates so that we didn't lose our trip insurance and we could just transfer over the deposit. This was a wonderful idea and even though I was sad our trip was being postponed, at least it wasn't officially cancelled........yet. As it turned out, it was a good thing that happened because my DS7 broke his leg in September and we could not have gone anyway. So our trip was postponed until May 6th, 2006. Christmas came and went and so did our bank account. I emailed our TA in January and told her I was afraid we were going to have to cancel because I just didn't think there was any way I could come up with the money. I told her to wait though just INCASE our tax return was going to save the day (which I was not counting on because we withdrew from a 401K and knew we'd be penalized come tax time). Well, low and behold, I have NO CLUE how it happened, but we got a HUGE tax return which was going straight to Disney. Our dream was back on!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So I had the airfare and the whole trip paid for with our tax return and now I just had to come up with enough money for spending money (we are on the dining plan, so we're not planning on needing TOOOO much extra). So as I went back to an old email to see how much I owed on the balance, I noticed she still had my DS listed as being 9. He turned 10 in January (after our original trip was planned for, but before our rescheduled trip). I didn't know if this would be a big deal or not, but I thought I'd better mention it. She emailed me back and said that not only would HIS ticket price (and dining plan price) increase, ALL OF THE REST OF OUR TICKETS WOULD TOO! Because Disney raised their prices in 2006, and if she changed any part of our initial reservations, then she'd have to redo the whole thing and we'd get charged the 2006 prices. This was going to end up being a $300 difference at least. Well, I could NOT afford that (mind you, I could BARELY afford the trip before). She said since it was an honest mistake/oversight and that nobody was trying to cheat anybody out of anything, we could just leave it alone (she knew it could possibly ruin our trip). Here's why I don't feel bad about it:

1). He will ride the same rides he would have ridden because it goes by height, not age so they aren't losing anything there.

2). Because he is "9" on the dining plan, he will be ordering from the childrens menu when we go so they will not be losing any money there.

3). I didn't intentionally scam anyone or try to get around paying my way.

Plus, if I can't afford the extra $300, I would possibly have had to cancel the trip so they would be losing ALOT of money. So they are benefitting from this too.

And yes, if anyone is wondering, I talk too much and I can never just get to the point............ If you're still with me, thanks for reading! And please don't tell me I'm going to H-E-double toothpicks because of this, ok?

Peace!

All I have to say is Disney's website now says "Please specify child ages at time of travel" so there's no mistaking it anymore.

 

[denanbob]

All I have to say is Disney's website now says "Please specify child ages at time of travel" so there's no mistaking it anymore.

You obviously didn't read what I wrote.

 

[beattyfamily]

You obviously didn't read what I wrote.

Obviously, I only read parts of it since it was so long and I thought you were saying you plugged in his current age and not his age at time of travel. My mistake.

But it was only an fyi for everyone anyway and certainly not an accusation.

 

[seashoreCM]

If they are going to "penalize" you with change fees for updating the ressie to reflect correct ages due to a modified travel date, you would be better off not making the update and sneaking your overage child through. Just my opinion. You were perfectly willing to pay the added cost of one more adult and one fewer child but in this case Disney actually rejected that. Which now in my opinion makes "sneaking" no longer a correct way of describing what you will do.

 

[PreppyPolyMom]

I was shocked when I realized that WDW considers a 10 year old an adult. My DD keeps telling me that it's not long until she will be an adult like me and I no longer get to be the boss.

I do have a question, we get Annual Passes. This year, my DD will be 9 when we purchase the passes, but will turn 10 prior to the expiration date. Should I purchase a child pass, an adult pass, or just not purchase her an annual pass at all?

LOL My DS11 loves the fact that Disney considers him an "adult" makes him feel so grown up.

 

[denanbob]

If they are going to "penalize" you with change fees for updating the ressie to reflect correct ages due to a modified travel date, you would be better off not making the update and sneaking your overage child through. Just my opinion. You were perfectly willing to pay the added cost of one more adult and one fewer child but in this case Disney actually rejected that. Which now in my opinion makes "sneaking" no longer a correct way of describing what you will do.

They didn't really reject it, but my TA said since we booked originally in 2005, we could keep the 2005 prices since we just changed the dates. However, to make ANY changes to the tickets (changing DS's age), they would re-do the tickets from scratch and we'd have to pay the 2006 prices too. In my opinion, that's what my trip insurance was for (to lock in my rate incase of a change of plans). I paid $90 for that insurance. Anyway, even though my son will be 10 and using a child's ticket, I will make him eat from the child's menu (even though they aren't designated on the room card as adult/child meals). I just honestly can't afford the $300 this close to our travel date. If I would have known about it back in October, I could have planned for it. My TA didn't know Jake had a birthday between our travel dates, and I didn't know a 10th birthday meant anything since we've never been there before. It truely was an honest mistake/oversight and no deliberate cheating/sneaking was going on. I feel bad, but not bad enough to cancel our trip over the unexpected expense! LOL!

 

[denanbob]

Obviously, I only read parts of it since it was so long and I thought you were saying you plugged in his current age and not his age at time of travel. My mistake.

But it was only an fyi for everyone anyway and certainly not an accusation.

I certainly understand skimming my ridiculously long post (LOL!)......I can't ever seem to get to the point and fully explain what I need to say in a brief statement. Since you quoted my post, I guess that's why I felt like it was directed at me, but it is a very good FYI for everyone because I've heard people mistake that before. Sorry if I was overly defensive.

 

[beattyfamily]

They didn't really reject it, but my TA said since we booked originally in 2005, we could keep the 2005 prices since we just changed the dates. However, to make ANY changes to the tickets (changing DS's age), they would re-do the tickets from scratch and we'd have to pay the 2006 prices too. In my opinion, that's what my trip insurance was for (to lock in my rate incase of a change of plans). I paid $90 for that insurance. Anyway, even though my son will be 10 and using a child's ticket, I will make him eat from the child's menu (even though they aren't designated on the room card as adult/child meals). I just honestly can't afford the $300 this close to our travel date. If I would have known about it back in October, I could have planned for it. My TA didn't know Jake had a birthday between our travel dates, and I didn't know a 10th birthday meant anything since we've never been there before. It truely was an honest mistake/oversight and no deliberate cheating/sneaking was going on. I feel bad, but not bad enough to cancel our trip over the unexpected expense! LOL!

second post....I certainly understand skimming my ridiculously long post (LOL!)......I can't ever seem to get to the point and fully explain what I need to say in a brief statement. Since you quoted my post, I guess that's why I felt like it was directed at me, but it is a very good FYI for everyone because I've heard people mistake that before. Sorry if I was overly defensive.

FYI...Actualy the card itself will show how many adults and how many kids are on the plan, for example, my card showed 2A and 2C for my family of 4. So the waiter/waitress will expect your son to order off the child's menu.

No problem on the other post. It was just an FYI.

 

[maxiesmom]

I don't understand why people get upset that Disney tries to enforce their age policy. Unfortunately people do lie, have their kids lie, or find any loophole that they can to save a few bucks. And somewhere along the line it has become ok to do so. Has the world gone mad?

 

[keriannhoward]

DS was almost 3 and a half, and DH had his ticket with DD and her friend (we split up and the one with the stroller goes through bag check while the lucky parent skips through with the big kids). When I handed my ticket to the CM I panicked realizing I didn't have DS's, while I was scrambling for my cell phone to call DH, the CM just opened the gate and pulled the stroller on through without a word. She never even asked his age.

On the other hand, last month in Key West I had DD and my nephews and neice and headed to the Pirate Museum. While in line I asked one nephew how old he was-he said loudly "Ten, but I can be nine if you want me to be!" I nearly died when he said that but everyone else around us laughed. That led us to a long discussion about honesty lol

 

[eeyoreiscool]

We haven't been asked about our sons age. Although if someone asked him, they would get an answer ranging from 1 to 8 right now.

 

[bicker]

I was shocked when I realized that WDW considers a 10 year old an adult. My DD keeps telling me that it's not long until she will be an adult like me and I no longer get to be the boss.

You should tell her that Disney doesn't consider 10 year olds "adults" but just "regular". Then you can tell her what it means to be "regular".

Seriously, Disney doesn't have "child" and "adult" tickets -- they have tickets for "Ages 10 and up" and tickets for "Ages 3-9". This isn't some rite-of-passage issue.