Mistaken age & Dining ????

[Honeybehr1]

I bought the dining plan for our trip Oct 16-21st. My youngest will be 2 1/2 when we go. But he looks like he is at least 4. At two he is about 41 inches tall now. Noone has ever guessed his age correctly.

I just know that I will be questioned about his age since he doesnt even look like he could pass for 2. Would a birth certificate be adequate or should I get a photo identification card issued by the State we live in?

Has anyone ever had a problem?

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

They won't ask the childs age. If by mistake, they would put his meal on your bill, or take an extra credit off for his meal, just tell the CM his age. I also had a big 2 year old. No one ever asked his age.

 

[DeirdreTours]

I have a nephew that is just enormous for his age. Easily looks two years older. 41 inches is very, very tall for 2! Although the pp is correct, if I were you, I would take the birth certificate along just in case you are ever questioned at a restaurant or at park entrance.
Totally OT-- My sil has frequently been frustrated by strangers expectations of her son based on his size. When he was 3, he easily looked 5 and was taller than most 5 years olds. Sometimes people would actually make remarks about his "babyish" behavior-- like "you are such a big boy to be crying over that" kind of thing.

 

[webray]

I would take a copy of the bc just in case...so you don't have any hassles or headaches along the way.

 

[DiscussDisney]

Although this doesn't pertain to dining, take the copy and I'll tell you why. When DD was 2 1/2, she was also very tall for her age. We had no problem getting into the parks at all. The problem was with the Fast Passes. There was 4 of us and and when we handed over 3 fast passes (she didn't need one), the CM would ask for the 4th. We would tell them she was 2 1/2, and their response....She's 2? YES, she's still 2. This happened on about 1/3 of the rides. Even though they let us go on each time, it was embarrassing. If we had the certificate, I would have whipped it out and said take a look.....HA!

 

[Cindy B]

I too had a huge child. We got looks all the time on the rides. See, my son was 3 turning 4 on our first trip and he was OVER 48 inches. Yes, my son rode Tower or Terror and RnR at that age. He turned four on the trip and rode those rides.

For the record he hated Tower then, but loved RnR. He was measured up and down for all those rides and still rode them. Now he's almost 11, over 5 feet tall and wearing the same size shoes as my DH!

 

[crisi]

He will eat free at buffets, but you will still pay for him at sit down restaurants, unless he eats off your plate. And if he eats off your plate, they don't care if he is 17.

 

[Laurajean1014]

My son is 9 and lots 11 or 12. No-one has every questioned me. If they have I would tell them to ask my son, if they persist, I would pay the adult rate (at times he can eat as an adult). I would have no problem with it at all.

 

[Lizzybee]

My son is very small for his age, he is 11 and weighs 58 lbs. He wears a size 8 slim pants so people mistake him for a 7 or 8 yr old all the time, unless they hear him talk. He's also gifted so since he was little people have been "amazed" at how well he can talk, part of that is he was always a couple of yrs older than he looked. We were stopped at the entrance of Epcot because he was using a ticket with biometric code (since we was 10 when we went in March). The CM said "wait you are too young to have a ticket like that." I pulled the CM aside and said "he's small for his age, he's 10, I have his military ID if you would like to see it." She let him through without checking the ID. We are going again in 24 days (I can't put up the tickerfactory because this is a surprise trip and the kids would surely see it so...shhhh) and since we have free dining and his credits are for "adult" I'm definitely bringing his ID. He has become very sensitive about this since he is now a "pre-teen" so I will probably try to quietly tell the person when we check in for ADR the situation so the server doesn't make a fuss at the table in front of him.

 

[bamamom]

I was wondering about this also, my 9yr old son is 5 foot and I thought they might think I was trying to get him by as a child when dining. He is just going to be tall like his dad and maybe when they see his dad they won't question it Everytime we eat a buffet the waiter always ask "him" how old he is

 

[TammyC]

I would get the state I.D. if it is not too expensive or time consuming. Some might say that you could not prove the birth certificate is for that child. And, I like keeping the birth certificate in a safe place at home. We got a state I.D. for our son (it was $6) - he thinks it's neat, and I like having something showing his photo with me all the time.

 

[MamaQuack]

Lizzybee,
I too have a small sized son who is gifted. When making any reservation I stress that we do not need or want any child's menu. Mine too is very sensitive. He is 14 but looks 11 or 12. As soon as we hit the podium I say something like 2 adult menus please or if I can catch their eye I just shake my head when they reach for the kid menu. Have fun!

 

[Honeybehr1]

I would get the state I.D. if it is not too expensive or time consuming. Some might say that you could not prove the birth certificate is for that child. And, I like keeping the birth certificate in a safe place at home. We got a state I.D. for our son (it was $6) - he thinks it's neat, and I like having something showing his photo with me all the time.

I think its around $15 -$20. I still have the one from my oldest son from 3 yrs ago. I think i will go with the ID so that I dont have to worry about loosing his birth certificate.

 

[Merriwind]

Our dd7 is very tall, very verbal and gifted as well. No one ever guesses her age correctly--and really never has. Nowadays the guess is usually 10 or 11.

Our trip to WDW when she was 2y11mo had me quite nervous about being "proofed." So, I carried a photocopy of her birth certificate along. The question was never raised, but I felt better for having it. (I suppose if someone asked you to prove it was your child's birth certificate, you could show your license with the same last name, but I would be amazed if anyone probed that far!)

Have a wonderful trip!

 

[slp87]

My DD was also 2.11 yrs old on our first trip and in the 100th percentile in height. Our last trip she was 9 and still very tall. I've never messed with taking her BC and never been questioned. I truly don't believe that WDW would actually challenge someone on their child's age. Do people lie about it, sure, but I'm not and don't believe I should have to justify the truth.