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

[ppony]

This really comes down to doing the right and honest thing and thereby teaching your kids to do the honest and right thing!


AKK

I agree. And it's not about feeling superior to anyone else, it's about living w/ yourself and your decisions. Some people can, I can't feel right about insisting my children do the "right" thing if I'm a hypocrite.

 

[Cappy81]

On our departure day of our March trip we were having breakfast at Ohana and even though our DD (who was a little over 3), was on our dining plan, the CM told us that she did not believe that our daughter was over 3 so she did not use one of her entitlements for our meal. Our DD is average height but has a baby face and was a late bloomer getting any hair to grow. It was not even an option to lie. The feeling of guilt that I would have had is not worth the $15-20 that I would have saved. I was sad enough that our vacation was over, let alone ending it on that note.

 

[LilMommyBug]

Nope, and I wouldn't.

 

[larryz]

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

Actually, I can think of a more unscientific poll...

"Have you ever lied about your child's age at WDW?"

__ No.

__ Never.

 

[Tropical Wilds]

Disagree. You can't penalize someone for being tall. A tall 2 year old may be able physically to ride more rides, but most would not be able to from a developmental or emotional standpoint.

By that token, wouldn't requiring people over 3 to pay full price be penalizing them for age, regardless of their regulated inability to partake of an attraction?

At least when you charge by height, you're guaranteed you can ride the rides based on the only enforced limitation at the park. Disney doesn't restrict rides based on experience, those choices are made by the guest... And nobody should pay less based on choosing to do less. That's totally unenforceable. And nobody, regardless of age, pays less if they're not doing a ride... For whatever reason. I think that they shouldn't charge anybody when you can't use a majority of the flagship features due to height limitations... But after that, once you hit that magic 40"...

Besides which, there are plenty of kids that are 2 or under who'd adore those 40" rides. My son turned 2 at the tail end of June and I can't think of a single ride he'd hate. Just because some kids would be scared, doesn't mean all of them would be, and regardless... My father doesn't pay less going into WDW because he has a heart condition and can't ride most of the rides because the ultimate choice to skip the ride belongs to him. Disney says he's of the height, he can ride, the choice to not ride is his. Same would apply in this case. The park around here that implements it has had wild success with it.

 

[Tropical Wilds]

I agree. And it's not about feeling superior to anyone else, it's about living w/ yourself and your decisions. Some people can, I can't feel right about insisting my children do the "right" thing if I'm a hypocrite.

There are plenty of things that I did as a child that I feel completely OK and non-hypocritical about telling them not to do it. And I didn't do any of the big naughties, like drink before 21, party, or drugs. I guess parents who did these things are hypocrites for expecting their kids won't do it when they did it?

 

[TeddiBarra]

Age is just as arbitrary as height. I prefer age. There is no way to charge based on age or height because of what rides you can or can't do. There are folks of all ages and heights unable to do all different forms of attractions for different reasons. Not all things folks can't do are just RIDES anyway.

I reason I pick age is because a parent knows the dates of births for their children. If I was planning my trip next year based on height, I MIGHT end up paying more for my one twin daughter who is right around 47 inches now than her identical twin sister who is 1/2 shorter. For planning reasons, age is a known ahead of time factor where height for growing kids isn't.

 

[Tropical Wilds]

Our 2 year old is 40" tall and is often mistaken for a 3-4 year old. We're going in December and she doesn't turn 3 until Feb. frankly, we're bringing a copy of her birth certificate with us. I am disgusted that people would lie to get their kids in for free. If you can't afford it, don't go. You aren't owed a free Disney vacation. And seriously, what are folks wanting their kids to learn? To lie? Fantastic

Could I afford to bring a 3 year and 3 month old to Disney if I were going? Sure. But if he's not able to use half of what he'd like to use because of height restrictions, I feel comfortable in shaving that 3 months off, spending the money on something that he could use, keep, or otherwise enjoy. If he were over that magic 40", I'd be honest about his age and reap the savings with the free dining.

It's not an issue of what I can afford, it's an issue of what I'm willing to pay for. I'm not willing to pay park admission for somebody barely outside of the freebie age when he can't ride the flagship rides, the rides he'd love the most. It's not like the money isn't going to Disney anyway, it's just going to something that will benefit him.

Considering that I pay for all my trips without the use of credit cards, can afford to take the time off from work, am debt-free (other than my car loan), have a steady job, a savings, and don't rely on social services/EBT and foodstamps/assisted living/government assistance, etc to get buy in my personal life, I can say with a clear conscious that I can truly afford the vacation I'm paying for. But that doesn't mean I'm keen on wasting money.

And at the age of 3, when the tickets and packages are all prepaid before he gets there, it's not like 10, 20, or 30 years from now he's going to say "Hey ma, you remember when you got me into Disney by saying I was 2 and I had really been 3 for 2 months? That's why I robbed a bank, lied to my boss, and started smoking weed."

 

[LoveMyMoos]

Yes, I know this isn't going to be a popular answer, but I'm offering it anyway. We have done this. When we took our now 7 year old, 4 months after he turned 3, we were honest about his age and paid for his ticket. But this year, my daughter turned 3 less than 2 weeks before our trip. So in terms of park tickets, we said she was 2. At meals we said she was 3 so we paid for those. So yeah, we've done it. Sharpen the pitch forks and light the torches ladies and gentlemen, let the lynching commence.

 

[Tropical Wilds]

Age is just as arbitrary as height. I prefer age. There is no way to charge based on age or height because of what rides you can or can't do. There are folks of all ages and heights unable to do all different forms of attractions for different reasons. Not all things folks can't do are just RIDES anyway.

I reason I pick age is because a parent knows the dates of births for their children. If I was planning my trip next year based on height, I MIGHT end up paying more for my one twin daughter who is right around 47 inches now than her identical twin sister who is 1/2 shorter. For planning reasons, age is a known ahead of time factor where height for growing kids isn't.

That's the prime reason behind why height isn't used at the big parks yet, where you prebuy packages. It's different when it's a local theme park... It's not like people are booking those a year out. But with Disney... My son could be over 40" by next September, or he could be over that by January. Who knows?

 

[bumbershoot]

That's the prime reason behind why height isn't used at the big parks yet, where you prebuy packages. It's different when it's a local theme park... It's not like people are booking those a year out. But with Disney... My son could be over 40" by next September, or he could be over that by January. Who knows?

That's a really good point.

There are flaws with every pricing scheme. I think they've just tried to get it AS fair for as many people as possible.

My son is tall, but emotionally hasn't wanted to ride various things that he could. So I know both sides of having a taller child but that still doesn't ride everything. And you know what? It's STILL worth it to pay.

We went to Disneyland once when he was 1 and then 2. And when we planned our first BIG trip there for when he was 3, we were happy to pay for him, and even upgraded him to an AP. Even though Disneyland charged (just like WDW does *now*) the same price for 3 and up for APs. We were excited that he was old enough to have a charge! And now that he's 8, I recognize that his child-ticket days are coming to a close, so we're enjoying the trips we can take until he turns 10. It's all exciting, how things change as he ages. And the occasional ticket or AP cost to us is *nothing* compared to how much he already eats. We're frightened for his teen years!

 

[Magpie]

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.

Navigating this just takes a little creativity and imagination. I told my kids that Santa is the Spirit of Christmas. When they were little, they thought "spirit" meant ghost, and decided Santa could walk through walls. (Hey, it also solved the whole, "What about folks who don't have chimneys?" question!)

When they got older, they gradually came to understand the concept of the Spirit of the Season, and the larger more complicated idea that Santa represents.

Whenever questions came up, I simply asked, "What do you think?" and they'd tell me. I treated it just like any other game of make believe, in which you don't accuse kids of lying, or lie to them yourselves, you just follow their lead.

My children have never accused me of lying to them about Santa, and I really don't feel I ever did. I'm under no obligation to tell my kids *everything*, or even correct them when they're wrong. They're allowed to have their own opinions about things. Heck, I even let my daughter believe that atoms are like little solar systems, even though they're totally not.

The Easter Bunny was even easier. That was clearly make believe and my kids never seemed to think otherwise.

 

[ABE4DISNEY]

Now I am not saying I would lie or have lied BUT who in their right mind is going to come in here and admit it??????
Tons of people do it, but no one admits to it. Kind of like picking your nose or peeing in the shower! :lmao

Disgusting and, unfortunately, probably correct.

 

[disneydivamama]

Could I afford to bring a 3 year and 3 month old to Disney if I were going? Sure. But if he's not able to use half of what he'd like to use because of height restrictions, I feel comfortable in shaving that 3 months off, spending the money on something that he could use, keep, or otherwise enjoy. If he were over that magic 40", I'd be honest about his age and reap the savings with the free dining.

It's not an issue of what I can afford, it's an issue of what I'm willing to pay for. I'm not willing to pay park admission for somebody barely outside of the freebie age when he can't ride the flagship rides, the rides he'd love the most. It's not like the money isn't going to Disney anyway, it's just going to something that will benefit him.

Considering that I pay for all my trips without the use of credit cards, can afford to take the time off from work, am debt-free (other than my car loan), have a steady job, a savings, and don't rely on social services/EBT and foodstamps/assisted living/government assistance, etc to get buy in my personal life, I can say with a clear conscious that I can truly afford the vacation I'm paying for. But that doesn't mean I'm keen on wasting money.

And at the age of 3, when the tickets and packages are all prepaid before he gets there, it's not like 10, 20, or 30 years from now he's going to say "Hey ma, you remember when you got me into Disney by saying I was 2 and I had really been 3 for 2 months? That's why I robbed a bank, lied to my boss, and started smoking weed."

No, it's the message that you are sending to your child that you make your own rules and don't respect the rules otherwise. Justify it anyway you want. Wow. Wasting money? I am floored.

 

[canopynut66]

No and why would one do that?

 

[Colleen27]

They should scrap the young age limit and go with a height limit. Many amusement parks are set up that way and there is no ambiguity. If you're not a certain height, it's easy to see.

But people don't buy their tickets to most amusement parks months or even a year in advance. Basing ticket requirement on height would make selling packages very difficult, both because parents would be uncertain what they needed and because of the added issue of the dining plan. My 4yo isn't even close to 40" yet but she certainly needs her own meals when we're on a DDP trip!

And height brings its own set of ambiguities, unless they also went to a central-measurement scheme for rides (a concept that has already proven problematic and prone to abuse) - a child who is barely 40" might very well measure tall enough at some attractions but not tall enough at others.

 

[DisneyFive]

I guess I never really thought too much about it , but the first time we went two years ago our son was 3 yrs and 4 months. We paid for him per the rules. It didn't change our pricing all that much since we needed two rooms at POP anyway due to us being a party of 7 the last two years (4 adults, and 3 kids). In the grand scheme of things the price would only have changed due to his park tickets, which is a small portion of the overall price.

Dan

 

[livinlife25]

We will not be lying in the future about ages. I read something about how we are teaching our kids to lie. To lie in general and lie to me. How can I tell him to lie to someone else, but then demand he tell me the truth and that lying is wrong? I think some parents do it more than they realize, from sneaking food into movie theaters, lying about their age at restaurants, theme parks, etc. Sometimes the truth is hard and does cost more. But worth it in the end.

 

[JerseyJanice]

To be honest, I did not lie about my son's age when we went shortly after his 4th birthday and bought him a pass, but I was kicking myself afterward.

We brought him into the parks in his stroller and not one CM looked for or expected a pass for him. We could easily have saved the money we spent on his pass. He remembers little about that trip and wouldn't have known the difference, so it's like not we were teaching him a lesson about honesty either.

Frankly, I got caught up in the Disboards or other sites at the time and was convinced I needed to buy one. I would tell anyone in the same boat I was in to save their money on the pass and spend it elsewhere in Disney.

 

[juliebug1997]

By that token, wouldn't requiring people over 3 to pay full price be penalizing them for age, regardless of their regulated inability to partake of an attraction?

But, you don't pay full price for a 3+.