Has anyone ever had CM question child's age?

[kaytieeldr]

I was not justifying the behaviour, but I can understand it. Just like I can understand why a senior citizen would try to give the supermarket cashier an expired coupon for tuna fish.

Um, yeah - that would very likely be because the print on those suckers is so danged small.

Not really off topic.........the point a few posts ago was that if Disney lowered their ticket prices more people might not try to pass kids off as younger than they are.

To what price? What year did Guests suddenly start 'misrepresenting' their childrens' ages in order to pay less, or even nothing, for their park admission?

As someone who has worked for various companies as a customer service manager, I would be shocked if Disney would knowingly allow or make it policy for a CM to question a child about their age. There are other ways to handle flagrant cases.

Such as? I'm NOT disputing what you say, I'm just curious what methods you'd suggest?

 

[traviesojmt]

No offense taken, like I said, I look at things at all angles, even yours. But let me ask you this, do you think Michael Eisner's $1.8 million dollar WEEKLY salary was too high? And if you think that salary is reasonable, please explain why. I would love to hear your opinion about it.

The truth is I don't concern myself with what others make. It has never been something that has been important to me. I may not get why sports figures or entertainers make outrageous sums of money, but I know that I willingly pay the price at the theater or sports arena. I believe he makes that amount because people willingly pay the prices listed. If people really though it were too high, they have the right not to visit. If enough people did this, prices would drop. I personally am just one of those people who believes that just because I believe something is unfair it does not give me a right to figure out how to get around it.

 

[denanbob]

Consequently, you are responsible for the price difference. Saying you didn't know (ie ignorance) is not an excuse.

Well at least now we know what the problem is, huh? I'm ignorant apparently. Thanks for your helpful post. Moving on..............

 

[tmarquez]

Um, yeah - that would very likely be because the print on those suckers is so danged small.
To what price? What year did Guests suddenly start 'misrepresenting' their childrens' ages in order to pay less, or even nothing, for their park admission?
Such as? I'm NOT disputing what you say, I'm just curious what methods you'd suggest?

Well I don't work for Disney so it's not up to me, but I don't think a minimum wage CM (actually a variety of them on any given day in any given mood) should just be allowed to do it however they want.

If there's something blatantly obvious about a guest/child trying to get in free I would think it would be referred to a manager to be taken care of discreetly. Otherwise, if it's simply a judgement call (2 year olds come in all different sizes and physical abilities) I would think a company such as Disney would just let it slide, rather than embarass the innocent. JMO.

 

[TikiHut33309]

Wow!! I have never have expected you fellow Disney people to be so mean! Whether or not you agree with what the other woman did, to call her "ignorant" is just crude and nauseating. This is supposed to be a happy place where ADULTS can discuss issues, not call eachother names. I am new here and did not realize there was a pecking order with you angry, self-righteous, mean old hens. I learned a valuable lesson today and will not be returning to these boards. Good heavens, who would have thought??

 

[traviesojmt]

Wow!! I have never have expected you fellow Disney people to be so mean! Whether or not you agree with what the other woman did, to call her "ignorant" is just crude and nauseating. This is supposed to be a happy place where ADULTS can discuss issues, not call eachother names. I am new here and did not realize there was a pecking order with you angry, self-righteous, mean old hens. I learned a valuable lesson today and will not be returning to these boards. Good heavens, who would have thought??

I agree that there is no room for name-calling here. This should remain a civilized discussion. That being said, the poster did not call the lady ignorant. She said that ignorance is not excuse. I think that there is a difference. I can't speak for the poster but I did not understand it to be stated as her calling someone ignorant.

 

[ksoehrlein]

I suppose Disney could have one universal height indicator stick or pole used to determine whether a guest pays child or adult admission and also to determine eligibility for going on certain rides. I doubt if this idea would gain much favor.

Tee hee! I have visions of future threads concerning people who put thin-soled flip-flops on their kids to get into the park and then do the platform-shoes-and-hair-up-in-a-bun routine to get on the rides.

Back on topic. My kids are tall for their ages and we took family trips when each was a month or two shy of their 3rd birthday. Didn't bring a birth certificate or copy thereof, didn't stress out over it, and proceded through the turnstyles without a hitch. Part of it is luck of the draw as to the CM working that turnstyle that day.

Someone (forgot to hit quote again, sorry) suggested that only managers should be allowed to question the kids. This would create quite the back log at the gates. I believe CMs are trained that if they're suspicious, to engage the child in conversation and then "naturally" ask how old they are. The kids almost never catch on that the reason behind the questioning is because the CM suspects the parent of being a liar. I agree that 3-yo children don't always get the answer right, but 4- and 5-yos are almost obsessed with their correct age (remember being "5-and-three-quarters"?)

On a side note, it's a sad day for me today. It's my "baby's" third birthday. Yes, I do already have an AP voucher for him, but it was a sad -- and expensive -- thing to purchase!

 

[ladysoleil]

You are rationalizing.

The bold is mine. I am confused as to why your rates are the same for different years of travel. Before children, I was a travel agent for many years. You are not eligible for 2005 rates on a 2006 package. Perhaps your agent was eating the price difference b/c she wanted to keep the sale?

I have, however, had clients reschedule in different years and keep the original booking to keep the same insurance. It seems obvious as the nose on my face that rates would not be the same-or am I missing something?

I'm asking not to debate, but because I genuinely want to know- wouldn't paying for most of your package before the rate change keep the original rate? If the portion of the package that included the tickets was already paid (I don't know how they allocate the payments made, I am just guessing), the rate shouldn't change. It would be no different than people who bought tickets in 2005 to use on an 06 trip- they aren't going to get charged more at the gate because they paid less for their tickets. But, if a change was made that made it necessary to cancel and rebook, current pricing for those tickets would apply.

I'm just guessing- logically it makes sense to me, I don't know how Disney actually handles reservations made and then moved to a higher rate period. I suppose it's possible they would honor the original rates depending on how much was paid off at the time, right?

I suppose it's also possible that the agent "ate" the difference as a courtesy, but again, perhaps a cancel/rebook scenario would generate more costs for her and cause her to need to pass along the extra pricing difference?

Again, just conjecture- but I suspect the key is something about how Disney handles purchases of multiple items in their system.

 

[Bird-Mom]

I'm asking not to debate, but because I genuinely want to know- wouldn't paying for most of your package before the rate change keep the original rate? If the portion of the package that included the tickets was already paid (I don't know how they allocate the payments made, I am just guessing), the rate shouldn't change. It would be no different than people who bought tickets in 2005 to use on an 06 trip- they aren't going to get charged more at the gate because they paid less for their tickets. But, if a change was made that made it necessary to cancel and rebook, current pricing for those tickets would apply.

I'm just guessing- logically it makes sense to me, I don't know how Disney actually handles reservations made and then moved to a higher rate period. I suppose it's possible they would honor the original rates depending on how much was paid off at the time, right?

I suppose it's also possible that the agent "ate" the difference as a courtesy, but again, perhaps a cancel/rebook scenario would generate more costs for her and cause her to need to pass along the extra pricing difference?

Again, just conjecture- but I suspect the key is something about how Disney handles purchases of multiple items in their system.

The difference lies in that when you buy tickets only, you have them in hand; your purchase is complete and the rules of the tickets are that they are not activated until first use and expire 14 days after that first use unless you add the non-expiration. This is why you can use tickets purchased 10 years ago if they aren't activated. Or in case of old hoppers, because they have days left over that do not expire per their rules.

A package is different. It contains separate components of hotel, tickets (not yet in hand for the situation in question), and also dining plan in this case. Until all components are paid for dates chosen, the buyer is subject to increased costs. Often I would get clients who were planning farther out than rates were available, so I would create the package based on last year's cost and do the confirmation as "Rates Subject to Change." so that they could put down a deposit and start paying on the trip.

My guess is that the agent did eat the difference for the first revision to keep the sale, but when they agent realized the large increase (due to the dining plan), she presented the poster with the additional cost. The commission on Disney bookings is not large enough to eat a $300 difference and support the booking.

And FTR, I did not call anyone ignorant. I said that ignorance (defined as lack of knowledge) was not an excuse.

 

[WeLoveThePoly]

My DD turns 9 two months before our trip this year. I know at age 10 you are considered "adult" for tickets and meals. She's always looked older than she is and I plan on taking a copy of her birth certificate with me ... just in case.

Debbie

 

[DrTomorrow]

First, regarding the "ignorance" references. In all accuracy, denanbob was actually claiming ignorance ( The condition of being uneducated, unaware, or uninformed ) as a defense:

Ok, AGAIN............I didn't KNOW his age change meant anything at all. I didn't KNOW that 10 year olds are considered adults. I've never been to Disney before.

Ignorance - not knowing - is not an insult.

Second, to those who are surprised about "rudeness": This is a discussion forum. It is a place where Disney-related issues are discussed. Situations are presented, comments are made, opinions are given. Disney or not, we don't all agree on every issue. When someone posts their specific situation, they are offering it up for public comment; why else would they be posting on a discussion forum? And merely disagreeing with someone - even disagreeing strongly - is NOT necessarily rude.

To the poster who is so worried about Eisner's salary: as a Disney stockholder, it was my business - as a Disney guest, it is not.

To whoever said (could be the same person) that lowering admission media prices would decrease parents from cheating, this is wrong in so many ways.

1. No good reason to - by example or in practice - teach your child to lie.
2. People will take any excuse - and sometimes not even care if there is one - to lie.
3. Even if the price were $1.00 for 10+ and $0.50 for 3-9, there would still be folks who would lie - and ask their children to lie - to save those two quarters.

Finally, if you know what the rules are and deliberately ignore them, then you are a violator. Whether or not that bothers you is up to your own conscience and/or belief system, not for an internet discussion board to validate.

IMHO - YMMV


ETA: I am interested in one thing that denanbob said: that their package rates were "locked in", even though the dates of their vacation had changed dramatically (from one year to the next). In my experience, once you change your dates, previous rates go out the window. For example, if I booked a package for dates all in the value season and then changed them to the premium season, I'd certainly expect to pay more. Just curious about the "lock in" concept....

 

[gssmks]

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!

Thanks for the information!

 

[gssmks]

For those who were asking about APs, this is what I was told when I called WDW to ask how it works.

DS9 has an 8 day MYW child's ticket as part of our August package. We want to upgrade to APs when we arrive. I told the CM he will be 10 when we go back in December, so I didn't know if it would be easier to get an Adult AP for DS to begin with.

CM said if DS is 9 at the time the AP is activated then it is valid for one year, even if DS turns 10 within that year. Next year he will have to renew with an Adult AP. You do not have to go have it changed.

This information is great. If upgrading was required, I would have definitely upgraded, but I was hoping to get by one more year.

 

[jpolak]

Bump