Have you lied about your child's age to get in free?

[Tropical Wilds]

My son just turned two at the end of June, but he was an incredibly early talker and walker... Started walking by 9 months and talking by 6 months (and I have the videos to prove it LoL!). By 14 months, he was running like he'd walked his whole life and very easy to understand by anybody when he started talking. We constantly got shocked looks from people when we said he was less than a year and a half. Now that he's two, we're on to full adult sentences, very little babbling (though he says everything he thinks and apparently has no inner monologue), and only a few errors in grammar and pronunciation. By the time he's 3, I'm sure it'd be very hard to lie and say that he's younger than that. Despite being small, hearing how he talks would make it difficult to fib. A stark contrast to his brother who's turning 3 in a few days and still can't talk. Despite being large, he'd be very easy to pass off as 2.

I plan to take my guy to Disney in January before he turns 3 and is still free... But honestly, if we take a trip in the fall and he's coming, he'll be 3 and 3 months, I'll probably say he's 2 so he can get in for free... Unless he's at 40". Then I'd say he's 3, especially if there's free dining.

 

[jekajekalynn]

Although I have never lied about my kids age, I do find it somewhat humorous when ppl go " I would never ever ever ever lie to my kids about anything!", and yet tell them about Santa, and the Easter bunny.

 

[scootch]

Never have, never would... but know several people who have. Also a AAA agent told friends to do it... and also told them to get a 7pm reservations at CP and then stay for parts of the MVMCP! Unbelievable!!

 

[candielips]

I believe a more apropos title for this thread would be "How to instigate a flame war between people who think they are more perfect parents then you"

Agreed!!!!

 

[Kaspar Houser]

According the poll 5% does lie. Just wondering how much money is involved and how much money Disney misses out on a yearly base.

This percentage is very high and now we know why the tickets prices are raised every year.

 

[Kaspar Houser]

I believe a more apropos title for this thread would be "How to instigate a flame war between people who think they are more perfect parents then you"

Maybe the title: why should YOU follow the rules, gives a better idea of how people think.

 

[Tropical Wilds]

According the poll 5% does lie. Just wondering how much money is involved and how much money Disney misses out on a yearly base.

This percentage is very high and now we know why the tickets prices are raised every year.

Yes, the ticket prices going up have nothing to do with inflation, increased operation costs, the addition of a new land, major ride refurbs and rebuilds, the expansion of a park, the building of new hotels, increased worker wage demands... It's because of the 5% that answered a non-scientific poll on a forum says their 3-year-old is 2. LoL!

 

[Jiminy'sGirl]

My son just turned 10 and eats like a bird. Having him as an adult on the DDP in November is going to be a struggle. However, I would't consider lying, but couldn't even I wanted to. Disney "knows" your age.... Once you have been once they keep track of you. When I booked this trip they told me my kids ages..... "So you have a 10 year old and an 8 year old joining you?"

 

[Kaspar Houser]

Yes, the ticket prices going up have nothing to do with inflation, increased operation costs, the addition of a new land, major ride refurbs and rebuilds, the expansion of a park, the building of new hotels, increased worker wage demands... It's because of the 5% that answered a non-scientific poll on a forum says their 3-year-old is 2. LoL!

I suppose you can find a justification for everything.

 

[minnie mum]

I suppose you can find a justification for everything.

Justification for what???? She wasn't justifying anything. She was simply stating that blaming rising ticket prices on the (apparently) few people who sneak their 3 year old into the parks is ridiculously oversimplifying things and not taking into account major economic factors. Sheesh.

 

[nmills]

We are going in November, my daughter turns 3 on the 26th... We planned our trip around going before she turns 3 so we wouldn't have to pay, if it hadn't worked and we had to go after she turned 3 I still would not lie about her age and pay for her. I do plan on bringing a copy of her birth certificate since we are going the 23rd and then on the 25th for the MVMCP and already have bought tickets but not one for her, I do not want to get stuck with her not being able to get in because they think she is 3. She is very petite and I don't think there will be a problem with them confusing her age but it still makes me nervous knowing that we have everything bought in advance and there is a chance they could try and make us pay last minute when everything is already taken care of. I guess we will find out in November if we are going to have any issues.

 

[Karlzmom]

Saying that, we did see a family who was obviously lying about their kids ages, one morning as we were going into DS. We were waiting right at the turnstyle for the park to open, when the guy at the turnstyle asked the two boys in front of us how old they were. The youngest looked to be about 4 y/o and the eldest about five. The oldest boy started to say "fi" when the dad suddenly put his hand over the kid's mouth and said he'll turn three this week and his brother is two. No way were either of those boys two y/o. No where even close to two. The CM just looked at the parents. He then looked at my GS in his stroller and asked how old he was. My GS informed him he was three. I really had a hard time believing they let that family in. That eldest boy was obviously school age. The turnstyle CM had to step away for a minute to talk to another CM. The eldest boy looked up at his dad and asked why he had to lie to the CM and the dad said, "Disney makes enough money off us. A little white lie doesn't hurt, so remember today you are not quite three and your brother is two". He then winked at us. My GS looked at the dad and clearly and rather loudly said, "Lying is wrong. You need to tell the truth". I know alot of kids are really big for their age, but no way possible could these kids be even close to two and you could tell the CM didn't believe them either.

I feel bad for the kids. I was subjected to "age reduction" as a child [not at Disney, at a buffet that charged by age]. It was humiliating and I really couldn't even eat because I knew it was a cheating. The fact that I still vividly recall the event says something on it own, as its nearly 35 years later I can't imagine having what is supposed to be a happy memory from Disney [and isn't that the point of taking kids there to start with?] marred by shame, confusion and the thought that Dad is a liar and a cheat! Do parents who do this kind of stuff even stop a moment to consider what it looks like the the children or how it feels to a child to know they have been made an unwilling accomplice? Anyway, to OP, no..I would never lie about my kid's age to gain any kind of financial advantage.

 

[Kaspar Houser]

Justification for what???? She wasn't justifying anything. She was simply stating that blaming rising ticket prices on the (apparently) few people who sneak their 3 year old into the parks is ridiculously oversimplifying things and not taking into account major economic factors. Sheesh.

In you're easy 5% is just a few?
I bet that is even not half of those that cheat.

 

[chartle]

In you're easy 5% is just a few?
I bet that is even not half of those that cheat.

Or it could be less than 5% since this is about as an unscientific a poll as possible.

 

[nansmama]

I wouldn't do this with my kids, but my mom used to with me and my brother! One of my clearest childhood memories is standing in line at the ticket booth of an amusement park and my mom saying to us, "If anyone asks, you're 8 and you're twins." (My brother and I were 9 and 10 at the time, but small for our ages.) It made me so nervous that we were going to get caught. So just a caution that this type of thing can make an impression!

 

[jlhill4444]

On my first trip with the kids (and second trip for me) I did not purchase a ticket for my DD who had just turned 3 weeks before the trip. We stayed off site and I was under the impression that kids three and under were free, not kids under three. I felt really bad when I found out researching my next trip two years later that I had misunderstood the rule. However, with that being said, I am not sure I would have purchased a ticket for her to begin with if I had not misunderstood. I would like to think I would have, but at the time we had just purchased our house and finances were tight. We ended up getting round trip tickets for four people for a grand total of $60 so it was a complete budget trip. We only spent two days at Disney and we got the park tickets very cheap by sitting through a horrible time share presentation for Hilton. We spent the rest of the trip visiting and staying with friends. I was not questioned at all about DD's age (she was very small for her age). I did purchase a ticket for DS on that trip when he was 4, but there would have been no way he would have passed for 2 (or 3).

I don't think I would ever try this again, now that I know the rules because I am sure I would be the one to be caught. I have a DD that is 15 months now and we are planning three trips next year before she turns 3! Once DS turns 10 we will upgrade him to an adult, he would like the food better anyway. But, I don't judge anyone that fudges their child's age to get in free or cheaper at Disney. Each person is only held accountable the his or herself.

 

[minnie mum]

I wouldn't do this with my kids, but my mom used to with me and my brother! One of my clearest childhood memories is standing in line at the ticket booth of an amusement park and my mom saying to us, "If anyone asks, you're 8 and you're twins." (My brother and I were 9 and 10 at the time, but small for our ages.) It made me so nervous that we were going to get caught. So just a caution that this type of thing can make an impression!

Unfortunately I think you're preaching to the choir here. I think that doing this is beneath contempt, but I also think that anyone who would do this could care less what kind of impression it left on their children.

 

[minnie mum]

In you're easy 5% is just a few?
I bet that is even not half of those that cheat.

You are trying to formulate conclusions based on very unscientific assumptions gleaned from a skewed and small sample of the population. Assume whatever you want, but it's deriving from bias and not fact.

 

[Colleen27]

"Also, if you've ever given disney the birthdays of your kids for a celebration visit, they keep it in their system, so even if you wanted to lie about someone's age, they'd know."



Is this true? When would that little tidbit of information pop up? Last year I lied and said my two younger kids were older (said they were 10) and paid more for tickets so that they would have better dining options. This year, one of them IS 10, but the other is still 9, but I still said they were both 10 again and paid the extra, again. Are you saying that at some point between now and check-in, or at check-in, they are going to call me on that?

No, it isn't true. If it were we'd be seeing a huge rash of complaints about it by now from the many, many, MANY people who up-aged their kids for a free dining trip at some point in the past. And frankly, Disney's system doesn't seem advanced enough to track ages; I suspect that information is static in nature and doesn't update at all unless you book another trip and provide updated ages, because on several occasions they've had really out-of-date ages attached to my kids' names.

 

[chartle]

No, it isn't true. If it were we'd be seeing a huge rash of complaints about it by now from the many, many, MANY people who up-aged their kids for a free dining trip at some point in the past. And frankly, Disney's system doesn't seem advanced enough to track ages; I suspect that information is static in nature and doesn't update at all unless you book another trip and provide updated ages, because on several occasions they've had really out-of-date ages attached to my kids' names.

I don't think they ask for birthdays, because if they don't, they can only guess and be up to two years off.

Of course they do use that data for marketing purposes. If you took a trip say 2 years ago and had a 5 year old. They could send you a promo that's aimed towards parents with 7 year olds.