Help! Why won't Disneyland (anywhere on property) accept a renewed DL or Tribal ID as Proof of age?

[Aladora]

So a Canadian DL isn't an accepted ID? My husband and I are both in our 40's.

As I said earlier, I am 44 and have been asked for id 3 or 4 times at Disneyland and no, a driver's license is not accepted. My SIL who is 31 was not allowed to get a drink at Carthay because she had left her passport in the hotel safe.

 

[Reepicheep]

I wonder if Disneyland has a rule that "out of state" drivers licenses aren't accepted when buying alcohol. Otherwise, I can't explain why my Alberta DL was accepted by all the non-Disney places that asked me for ID.

 

[AussieCaribou]

Good to know, we usually keep our passports locked up in the safe while we are out at the parks

Most people who value their passports do. But if you need valid ID, such as to buy alcohol or sign in to tours, you will need to bring your passport.

 

[dec2009mama]

Two weeks ago when we there we went to get a drink at the Cozy Cone Motel....I had my BC drivers licence but they wouldn't accept it, they wanted my passport (all our passports were back at our hotel in the safe). Bummer. When we had lunch at Carthay Circle, however, never once did they ask for ID when we had wine. Odd.

same thing happened to me once, went to get a beer at the mexican place on the wharf and they would not accept my BC DL and wanted my passport. I don't carry my passport around DL with me, it was back at the hotel in the safe so I went elsewhere and had no issues

 

[Reepicheep]

https://disneyland.disney.go.com/faq/dining/alcohol-policy/

It appears that an original passport is the only form of ID Disneyland will accept for non-US residents.

 

[disneyfirsttimer18]

I live in Utah and for as long as they have been issuing temporary licenses(15-16 years), the DLD informs you that it is not a valid form of ID. It's annoying, but it is what it is.

 

[WonkaKid]

I'm 57 years old with a white beard, so no one will mistake me for a minor, but during our August 2016 trip to Disneyland I was asked for ID 6 times when buying alcohol.

I've seen similar things. I think the reason is that in historical legal proceedings, the question was asked "How can you be sure you asked to see this person's ID?" If your policy is to *always* ask, the answer to any such potential questions can/will be "Because we ask *everyone,* regardless of how old/young they appear to be."

 

[WonkaKid]

I was at the park for two days about a year ago and was asked for ID each of the 34 times I was served alcohol. Crazy! ;-).

 

[bumbershoot]

They won't always ask but if they ask (in any state) for legal ID and you don't have it, you don't get the drink.

His ID was fine for Target, the nearby liquor store, and of course, TSA!! to get there!!

Fwiw TSA doesn't care for domestic flights. My dad flies once a year or so and he hasn't had any ID for nearly ten years. He goes prepared to talk and they verify his identity somehow and he gets on the plane. It's addressed on the TSA website.

So the fact that it was accepted at TSA means little, since he could have gotten through without it.

 

[Reepicheep]

I was at the park for two days about a year ago and was asked for ID each of the 34 times I was served alcohol. Crazy! ;-).

I'm quite impressed by your alcohol consumption, although as a person born and raised in rural Saskatchewan I'm sure I could give you a run for your money in a drinking contest. I'm too embarrassed to admit how many beer I drink when we're staying at an Anaheim hotel which supplies free beer during supper hour.

I've spent perhaps 200 days inside California Adventure over the past ten years, and I've never purchased a beer or glass of wine inside the park in all that time (on some of those extremely hot August days I was very, very tempted, however). My frugal German nature makes it impossible for me to pay $8 for a beer, when I know I could pick up a cold six pack of beer at the 7/11 on the way back to the hotel for that price. On the rare occasions we splurge on a nice sit down meal at one of the restaurants at a Disney hotel, I'll treat myself to a beer.

 

[cruisehopeful]

I thought I was being carded in DCA once, but the order taker told me he needed my ID to give me my AP discount for the food I was buying with my alcohol.

 

[TalkDisnerdytome]

I live in Las Vegas and was told by the DMV that if I were to renew my license, even though I have the paper to prove it and the old license, that they would still not serve me. I can't remember what I did exactly so that I was allowed to drink on my birthday but I was warned so even here in Nevada its the same rules. Then while in Arizona when my bf turned 21 his license did not expire until a year after he turned 21 but in Arizona they would not accept his license as proof that he was 21 because of the fact that it was not yet turned horizontal which is the way it gets turned when you turn 21, since his was not expired it was still vertical and they refused to serve him, he was so mad and it was funny because since mine was turned I was buying him alcohol and was pregnant. So they would serve to a pregnant women with updated license but not to him.

 

[Malcon10t]

I assume there must be a recent change to California liquor laws which requires establishments to be more strict?

Not so much that, but more checks are being done, and more businesses are being caught selling to improperly IDed persons and being fined/suspended. There are businesses that say ID everyone, the basic rule for servers in most establishments is ID everyone who looks under 30 or 35. Rule of thumb is to expect to be carded. Don't blame the server. Their restaurant or the company has determined how they are to ID customers, whether it is the minimum of those looking under 35 or if it is all persons. I'm 57, traveling with adult kids. My kids almost always are carded, they range from 27-31.

Someone asked about using their Canada license at Target, this simply means the cashier was not trained properly, and it could cause Target an issue down the road.

 

[Sagginit]

Sorry to hear this. I grew up in a touristy area. The plus side is we had lots of places to go out to when we were 21. The down side was until we looked at least 30 we got hassled a lot of places we went, even with valid IDs. My friend had "duplicate" put on her ID by the DMV when she had to have it replaced as she cracked it in half. She then had to carry her passport with her as she was required to have a secondary photo ID (which how many people have more than a license and/or passport?). It's a hassle for the business too but there are in fact secret shoppers that test businesses so they cannot take the risk.

My husband once realized while we were dating that he needed a new license the day before we were taking a road trip to Canada so he had to go first thing in the morning the day we were leaving. I was furious but then a year later I was asked to go to Canada for a work meeting only to discover that my passport had expired that month. These things do happen to the best of us.

 

[Darkbeer1]

OK, as a native Californian and someone who was in the Bar/Restaurant business, I have a long background on these rules. The state, through its "ABC" division (Alcoholic Beverage Control) has always been strict.

The chain of Bars/restaurants I worked for had multiple large bars on near colleges, universities, sport venues and military bases.

We were one of the first to offer a "bounty" to our doormen for finding fake ID's. Pretty simple, all our doormen got trained by us, we provided the "ID Guide" booklet that has every single Drivers License/ID issued by Federal and State authorities, and since they change every few years, but usually valid for longer than that, you had multiple version out at one time. So that caught a lot of folks, the second check was a signature. If the doorman didn't think that the photo and signature matched, they would need to call a manager. We would then come over, and make a decision. If we agreed it wasn't the right ID for the person, we politely informed them that we are keeping the ID and refusing service/entrance to the establishment. And then offered to have the doorman call the police department if they wanted to dispute the fact. Amazing that no one wanted that called made.

The US Navy Shore Patrol trusted us so much that we were the only bar in town to keep military ID's (The Base Commander had a special regulation made that stated that we were allowed to have temporary custody of the ID's, and didn't have to call them right away, instead we just wrote a small report, enclosed the signature given, and sent ID's in bulk once or twice a week to them).

Both the San Diego Police Department and the ABC sent their new employees, usually "decoys" to use first, to basically show them how it is suppose to happen. We were never told beforehand, but many of us knew the supervisors, so we played along.

But the law is pretty clear, not just for Alcohol, but also tobacco and other regulated items such as lottery tickets.

No matter the age of the person, a purchaser/buyer of a product must have a valid ID on their person at the time of the actual sale.

It must be one of the approved ones listed above.

Failure to do so can cause the server/cashier, to be cited by law enforcement and/or loss of their job. (Similar penalties happen to those who give alcohol to minors, a common law enforcement sting is to have minors hang outside a tore and have them ask a person to buy beers for them, and they get cited if they do).

The actual liquor license owner usually is placed on probation the first time caught, which means more frequent checks, and if they get caught again, they can have their liquor license revoked, and since some of them are worth over $100,000, it is understandable why establishments are so strict.

 

[WonkaKid]

I'm quite impressed by your alcohol consumption...

Hope you're not disappointed but I was kidding. I'm actually a Teetotaler killjoy . Strong black tea is my drug of choice these days ;-).

 

[Maddysdaddy]

Someone asked about using their Canada license at Target, this simply means the cashier was not trained properly, and it could cause Target an issue down the road.

Granted, I haven't been down to CA in almost a year, but I have never had any issue using my Alberta DL at Target when I toss a couple of bottles of wine in my cart.

Even as a dude in his 40's with grey hair and grey in his beard, I get carded every time and a manager/supervisor is always called over to take a look at my DL. No Target location I've ever been to (probably 8-10 across So Cal) has refused to accept my DL as valid ID, even though from what I'm reading in this thread, it sounds like they probably should.

 

[DisFan84]

Thanks for the replies. I had a hunch you all would have more information than I could find on Google!

I feel bad that my daughter's DB should have renewed his licence WAY before the acutal expiration date to comply with California's requirements... but, Sheesh! How would he have known!!??

Lesson Learned is tough but true. Ouch.

Again, thanks for the California information. Guess we didn't think it was so different between states.

How long prior to his trip did he renew? I too am in WA state and just renewed mine over last weekend. We leave in 18 days for our trip, but was shocked when they told me i'd get my actual card within 30 days. Here's hoping it's a lot sooner than that.

 

[grnflash]

But the law is pretty clear, not just for Alcohol, but also tobacco and other regulated items such as lottery tickets.

No matter the age of the person, a purchaser/buyer of a product must have a valid ID on their person at the time of the actual sale.

It must be one of the approved ones listed above.

Failure to do so can cause the server/cashier, to be cited by law enforcement and/or loss of their job.

This isn't correct. The law is indeed clear - that alcohol may not be sold or served to anyone under 21. Acceptable id's are also pretty clear and described in detail. But that's about it. There is no law that purchasers must have id. Nor one that sellers must id anyone.

Now in order to obey the one clear law (no selling to under 21'ers,) businesses are given wide latitude on their carding policies. So many places card everyone (and refuse sales without approved id) which makes it easier both to assure no under 21 sales and to train staff with such clear policy. But they don't "have" to card anyone at all. They should, they'd better or they'll end up without a liquor license. None-the-less, the actual act of verifying age via an approved id is not legally mandated at all.

As to why businesses go so far to id everyone, you are correct regarding the stringency of the ABC and costliness of both the initial alcohol license as well as any fines. I think one would have better luck fighting the IRS than the CA ABC.

 

[StormyCA]

I wonder if Disneyland has a rule that "out of state" drivers licenses aren't accepted when buying alcohol. Otherwise, I can't explain why my Alberta DL was accepted by all the non-Disney places that asked me for ID.

Well, as close as our two countries are, Alberta isn't actually 'out of state'. Technically it's in a foreign country. So where DL would accept a NY license as an 'out of state' ID, it wouldn't accept an AB one.

As far as other places accepting your DL, it's up to each business to decide what they'll accept AND the chances they take in accepting it. I'd be willing to bet that the number of underaged kids trying to buy booze at Disney is legion. Disney has a helluva lot riding on their 'family friendly' reputation AND the profits from liquor sales (those prices!!!). The last thing they want is the publicity they'd receive for serving minors (can you imagine the spin the media would put on that?) and the lost revenue from getting their license suspended.

BTW, I was in AB this summer for the first time. What a breathtaking part of Canada it is!