How do we prove that my nephew is 2?

[Disneyland_Mama]

I know at DLR, they are really strict and more often than not, extremly rude when questioning a childs age. When my DD was 2, almost 3, I was questioned by an old man CM and so was my DD. He kept asking her how old she was and being a child with great vocabulary she told them, "I'm 2 years old." He had to get a supervisor, because they did not believe her age. I was told I needed to buy her a ticket because she was obviously older than 3, just because of her speech ability. I could not believe it. I simply went to another line and the CM just smiled at us and let us in.
My advice, go to a line with a younger CM. I would still bring your childs BC, just in case. I know I brought DS2 birth cert. when we went to WDW.

 

[lntsmom]

Actually that's a great idea - especially since ride accessability is determined by height.

If not, you are very, very wrong. VERY wrong. Very, very, very wrong. One of my boys has always been in the 95th %tile of height. The other has never been on the charts...ever. He is in Kindergarten and is taller than many of the 4th graders in his school.

Does that mean he should do activities that are age appropriate for 9 year olds? I don't think so! 5 is 5 and 9 is 9.

Basing price on height is discriminatory and fails to acknowledge basic theories of child development. Our local amusement park uses this system, so we don't go there.

This attitude is, unfortunately, all too common. Being tall doesn't make a kid mature. It is unfair for anyone to expect a tall 2 year old to act as if he/she was 9...which is what charging based on height would do!

 

[MateasMom]

Magic Mountain charges by height. I suppose it makes sense, since a taller child is able to go on a wider variety of rides. But let me just tell you that I was sweating it when we took 7YO to MM. She's almost to the point of needing an 'adult' ticket.....but won't go on anything outside of kiddy land and the carnival type rides. She's not even that tall of a 7YO. The height limit is 48", which I suppose could be a tall 5YO even. So barely out of the 'free' age range and already at an adult price.

 

[minnietoo]

If not, you are very, very wrong. VERY wrong. Very, very, very wrong. One of my boys has always been in the 95th %tile of height. The other has never been on the charts...ever. He is in Kindergarten and is taller than many of the 4th graders in his school.

Does that mean he should do activities that are age appropriate for 9 year olds? I don't think so! 5 is 5 and 9 is 9.

Basing price on height is discriminatory and fails to acknowledge basic theories of child development. Our local amusement park uses this system, so we don't go there.

This attitude is, unfortunately, all too common. Being tall doesn't make a kid mature. It is unfair for anyone to expect a tall 2 year old to act as if he/she was 9...which is what charging based on height would do!

First of all - it is not my "attitude" - it was a thought put our there for discussion. I actually thought about this later during the day (while I was away from my computer) and realized that this thought did not take into consideration maturity and age appropriate activities. You are correct - height is not the same as age.

 

[Mtnman44]

The ticket cut offs by size, not a pay by the inch strategy. For example:

-Under 36" is free
-Over 36" pays the childs price
-over 12 years or over 60" pays adult price.

Seems fair.

If not, you are very, very wrong. VERY wrong. Very, very, very wrong. One of my boys has always been in the 95th %tile of height. The other has never been on the charts...ever. He is in Kindergarten and is taller than many of the 4th graders in his school.

Does that mean he should do activities that are age appropriate for 9 year olds? I don't think so! 5 is 5 and 9 is 9.

Basing price on height is discriminatory and fails to acknowledge basic theories of child development. Our local amusement park uses this system, so we don't go there.

This attitude is, unfortunately, all too common. Being tall doesn't make a kid mature. It is unfair for anyone to expect a tall 2 year old to act as if he/she was 9...which is what charging based on height would do!

 

[Mtnman44]

I've never seen any "You must be THIS mature to ride this attraction" signs.......

.

Does that mean he should do activities that are age appropriate for 9 year olds? I don't think so! 5 is 5 and 9 is 9.

Basing price on height is discriminatory and fails to acknowledge basic theories of child development. Our local amusement park uses this system, so we don't go there.

This attitude is, unfortunately, all too common. Being tall doesn't make a kid mature. It is unfair for anyone to expect a tall 2 year old to act as if he/she was 9...which is what charging based on height would do!

 

[Zoemakes5]

I personally would take a birth certificate or other documentation. I've heard horror stories! Both at DL and WDW of parents spending valuable time arguing about age, and in some cases denied admission until someone paid in full. One that stands out to me is a woman who had twin 2.5 year old girls who happened to be pretty tall, she dealt with the CM and a manager, both telling her she needed to puchase tickets or not go in. She ended up missing her ressies to CRT (a prized commodity at WDW!!) There was a dad who was taking his daughter to something in EPCOT, can't remember what it was, and DD had a child's ticket. The CM didn't believe her age and they ended up clearing up the matter, but missed their ressies. There was another example given (WDW as well) where the person had a copy of a birth certificate and the CM wouldn't let them in, saying they must have changed the date! They do have the right to deny you admission. It's our hope and expectation that they will do so only when needed and be reasonable about it. Unfortunately, too many people do lie about ages to reduce the cost of admission, either that they are a child when they should have adult tickets or when they are under 3 when they aren't. As a result, they are getting stricter with everyone.
That's just at Disney, don't even get me started on what I've seen with airline flights!!!
I personally just wouldn't want to deal with that issue at all and would take a copy of the BC for my own peace of mind.

 

[Zoemakes5]

The ticket cut offs by size, not a pay by the inch strategy. For example:

-Under 36" is free
-Over 36" pays the childs price
-over 12 years or over 60" pays adult price.

Seems fair.

I think paying by height is a reasonable way to do things, and I have extremely tall kids.
The price has to do with ability to access, not choice as to whether to access. You pay the same rate if you're pregnant, or can't ride the "big" rides based on some other physical limitation, too. My four year old DD will go on more "big" rides than her 10 y.o. brother, so age isn't always a factor either. And at Disney, how many of the rides are truly "big" that would impact the ability for most children to go on. Not many.
I know your pain though. We have a local amusement park that does it by height, too. I pay full adult fare for everyone in my family. While I don't like it, I do think it's "fair" as everyone in my family has the choice to go on just about any ride.