Ticket Advise For Just Turned 3 Year Old

[_queenie_]

Don't flame me for this, but I did it when two of my kids were 3.25, and they're tall!

That was in the '90s though, Disney as gotten a bit stricter since then. Nobody ever said anything, but I believe now so many people try to get their 3-year-olds in for free, they have to ask a lot of questions.

You could try it, I don't think it's a huge deal, but you may run into some trouble. I'm going to stay neutral on this issue. At least your child will have only been three for a few weeks, when my niece was a few weeks shy of her sixth birthday (obviously she's pretty short) my BIL lied and said she was 2.5 to get the free ticket!

 

[Rylee]

We are planning our 09 trip and my daughter will turn 3 on the day that we are leaving(to come home).

If I am understanding your post correctly, your daughter will be free!. If your daughter is 2 at the time of check-in, but will turn 3 during your stay, Disney will not require you to purchase her a ticket.

 

[bumbershoot]

If I am understanding your post correctly, your daughter will be free!. If your daughter is 2 at the time of check-in, but will turn 3 during your stay, Disney will not require you to purchase her a ticket.

I had to read it a couple times too. She moved her trip so that her daughter would be allowed for free. First trip was planned for later in the year, and she moved it.

 

[Camno's Mama]

I would probably just pay it because I have a guilty consciense, but they won't ask you if your child is that close. Our son was almost 3 1/2 when we went and we could have passed him off if we had wanted to. No one would have known the difference. You do have to consider what you will do if they do ask, though. Most of us don't want to make our kids lie, and you would be caught in a tough spot.

Don't worry about asking this question...people here are nice for the most part, and you shouldn't be afraid to ask a question that has been asked many times before. It's something that a lot of people, if they're being honest, have struggled with! Go with your gut!

 

[TJA]

Definitely try to move your trip up if possible! I feel your pain....we have twins and went to WDW many, many times before they turned 3. But after they turned 3, ouch!! We still take our trips to WDW, but it sure does sting a little more. After our girls turned 3, I will say that we were given breaks at character meals. The servers could obviously see the twins didn't eat much, if anything. I remember one character meal that they actually slept through. We had several servers tell us that kids should be free at age 3, which I do tend to agree with. Anyway, good luck with your situation!

 

[jodifla]

We went a few days before DS turned 3. Nobody asked us anything about his age.

They most likely won't ask you, either.

 

[MSSANDRA]

We went a few days before DS turned 3. Nobody asked us anything about his age.

They most likely won't ask you, either.

One trip DS was nine (adverage size) and HE was asked at least twice at the gate and at two different buffet meals how old he was. Always in a fun manner but it was clear they were checking his age. We carried a reduced size copy of his birth C. just in case. No one asked DH or I anything about his age.

 

[thumperjr9]

One trip DS was nine (adverage size) and HE was asked at least twice at the gate and at two different buffet meals how old he was. Always in a fun manner but it was clear they were checking his age. We carried a reduced size copy of his birth C. just in case. No one asked DH or I anything about his age.

My DS will be just turning 9 when we go in Oct. I am planning to take a copy of his birth c. too. He is very tall, most people think he is 11 or 12. I would hate to think that people would be questioning if we were trying to sneak him in to get a lower price.

 

[kokomos]

Have you tried pricing the trip yourself and buy the tickets through undercovertourist at the discounted rate? You could save some money that way unless you planning to get the dinning plan.

 

[emma'smom]

We bought our dd-just turned three her own annual pass which we never even put through the machine once (too bad it is an AP, if it were a regular ticket it never would have been activated). Not once did we get asked for her ticket and since she was in a stroller, they just waved her through. We had a ticket.....never used it. If you buy your child a ticket, remember that you can work it for your fast passes. Also, we did find that having my dd3 was also a waste of money....she never ate much of anything. Perhaps if she were closer to 4, she might have taken more advantage of the plan. However, we did follow the rules, since she was three. My point, move the date if you can because you may just be frustrated because you had to pay for you child when just a few weeks earlier you wouldn't have had to.

 

[bumbershoot]

We bought our dd-just turned three her own annual pass which we never even put through the machine once (too bad it is an AP, if it were a regular ticket it never would have been activated). Not once did we get asked for her ticket and since she was in a stroller, they just waved her through. We had a ticket.....never used it.

omg I would have forced it into the CM's hand. At DLR that's what I do, just hand the CM all three, while one of us goes through the turnstile and the other adult and DS go through the gate thing. They have no choice but to scan it!

 

[DisneyMOM09]

One trip DS was nine (adverage size) and HE was asked at least twice at the gate and at two different buffet meals how old he was. Always in a fun manner but it was clear they were checking his age. We carried a reduced size copy of his birth C. just in case. No one asked DH or I anything about his age.

Now this got me thinking maybe I need to do this for our older daughter. She will be nine (and a half) at the time of our trip but is fairly tall for her age now so I can't imagine it won't be the same next year. Am I going to have a problem? She doen't turn 10 for many months after our vacation!!

 

[ginnymac]

FYI...When we took our son (about 1 month before he turned 3), we were asked...a couple of times. He was tall for his age and quite talkative. He volunteered his age ("I'm almost 3!!") several times. I'm sure many people would have thought that he was 4.
We brought a copy of his birth certificate, just in case, but never pulled it out.

 

[DannyDisneyFreak]

If you want to teach your daughter to lie don't buy a ticket.
If money is so tight that you can't afford another ticket maybe reschedule your trip for a later date when you are in a better position financialy.
Sorry to be so blunt.
My daughter had just turned three our last trip and she also did not go on my rides so I can see the delema. I think the best thing to do is to back your trip up before her birthday and avoid the whole problem.

 

[livie1205]

we planned our trip a week before our dd2 bday just to avoid this issue...she will be three 2 days AFTER we check out but she will be two during our trip so I will NOT be getting a ticket...I have thought about bringing proof of her age because she is so tall for her age and will be so close to her b day but I know disney will not question us about it so I am not going to worry about it.I am sure alot of people dont but tickets for their 3 yrs old but unless its really really blatent they will not ask for a ticket(unless the kid is clearly 5)but you have to be careful of that because then your kids will think it is ok to do that...

 

[SharpMomOfTwo]

I am always one to save a buck, but I can't stand to lie... I just can't, don't know why, I can't even tell the smallest white lie, but makes me feel sick if I do. In you case I would do two things - try to move it up the three or four weeks, and also get a AAA membership if you don't have one already. Yeah, it will cost you $50, but you will save 10%-20%!!! That is so worth it!

By the way, if you do fib - I wont think any worse of you!!!

 

[aidansmom]

Definitely try to move your trip up if possible! I feel your pain....we have twins and went to WDW many, many times before they turned 3. But after they turned 3, ouch!! We still take our trips to WDW, but it sure does sting a little more. After our girls turned 3, I will say that we were given breaks at character meals. The servers could obviously see the twins didn't eat much, if anything. I remember one character meal that they actually slept through. We had several servers tell us that kids should be free at age 3, which I do tend to agree with. Anyway, good luck with your situation!

I didn't realize that servers will use their own discretion with charging a child who doesn't eat much. It's very frustrating to me that we will be paying all that money for DS 3 who eats absolutely nothing (and I'm sure less than nothing when Donald Duck, Little Einsteins, etc. are visiting her table).

I'm not at all into being dishonest - we will certainly pay for her park passes, though I think it would be really nice if Disney would tier their kids' prices (i.e. charge less for 3-5 y.o.s). But I'm interested to know if this is a common occurence at restaurants - has anyone else had this experience?

 

[lulu71]

I'm not at all into being dishonest - we will certainly pay for her park passes, though I think it would be really nice if Disney would tier their kids' prices (i.e. charge less for 3-5 y.o.s). But I'm interested to know if this is a common occurence at restaurants - has anyone else had this experience?

We went in February with a large group, some of the kids were still two, some were already three and not once did a server try to charge the three year olds.

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

If you are doing the DDP, they now ask when you make your ADRs how old your child is...so it's on your reservations. The server will know whether to charge your child or not.

I also have had my child asked (and was charged for her at Boma...this is before they asked ages). We went 7 weeks before her 3rd birthday and we were asked several times how old she was (she's tall and talks like a teenager). We had a photocopy of her BC with us.

 

[brymolmom]

Keep in mind that MOST of what you're paying for at character meals is the characters themselves, which the kids get more out of (depending on the meal and the characters) than the parents do - so really, it could be said that kids should pay more. You get so much out of it - autographs, hugs, and not having to wait in line at the parks to get them.

I think 3 is a good age to start paying for both because it is the age when most kids start getting a lot out of the parks. DD was 3 on our trip when she reached 40 inches and she said about a million times 'I want to go on test track AGAIN' - so, it makes sense that she pays a regular kid price. She goes on everything that most adults go on - only the 'really thrilling' rides are the ones she doesn't - and many adults choose not to go on those either.

If you don't want to pay a lot for the child who is 3 to go to buffets- schedule table service meals. Then you can order exactly what he/she will eat - or nothing at all if you choose. But obviously you want to do the character meals for the characters - so just look at it as paying for the characters themselves instead of the meal. And besides, most kids at LEAST eat the dessert at the buffet - so that's one thing in their stomach!