Turning 3 and buying tickets?

[bartty]

My Dd will be turning 3 in the middle of our trip. I read one of the threads here that if you turn 3 in the middle of your vacation she is free the whole time. Is this right?

Thanks
Bartty

 

[Butch50]

When our friend called to buy tickets, she told the CM that her daughter would turn 3 while they were at WDW. The CM said, "She two now though, right?" My friend wasn't catching on, and tried to tell the CM that her daughter would be three. Finally, the CM made my friend understand that she didn't want to hear that the child was going to turn three. THE CM WAS TRYING TO GET THE CHILD IN FREE. So that CM was a big help.

Our two-year-old DD will turn three a week after we are at WDW. Our problem is, we are going to have to take her birth certificate, or no one will believe she is only two. She is 40" tall with shoes on, and looks like some four-year-olds we know. We are lucky though, she will be able to ride several rides that we were afraid she wouldn't get to ride.

 

[alicenwonder99]

I can't imagine anyone at WDW demanding to see a child's birth certificate. That is so un-Disney...kwim?

I always paid for tickets for my kids when they were over 3, but one vacation my dd turned 3 our last day there. I figured that she wasn't born until 10:30pm on the day of her birth, and the park was closing at 6pm that night, so I wasn't doing anything wrong. LOL.

Anyway, I wouldn't worry about it. Don't bother to pay for the ticket. I thought I read somewhere that if your child is 2 at the start of your trip then you don't need to buy a ticket even if she turns 3 while on your trip...kwim? I read this just the other day on one of the other popular disney boards...can't remember which one. If I get time today, I'll see if I can find it for you.

Mary

 

[justhat]

I don't think you'll need to bring a birth certificate. We went with my SIL and niece in May and at the time my niece was 2 years, 9 months and she was almost 39 inches without shoes on and 35 pounds and she was never questioned. Actually, no one ever even looked. Even though she was big for her age to us, I'm sure at WDW they see so many kids of all sizes that they don't question it. I'm sure if the child were 48 inches (the height of my 6yo cousin who was also with us) or something like that they'd ask, but we never had a problem.

Also, even if the child turns 3 during the trip, as long as they're 2 when you check-in then you don't pay for them. Age at the time of check-in is what matters.

 

[lovesdumbo]

We celebrated my DS's 3rd birthday at Disney in Jan. I did not buy a park ticket for him for any days of our trip. I also did not pay for fixed cost meals UNTIL he turned 3. We celebrated his birthday at CP and we did pay for that meal for him.

 

[Maude4Disney]

I believe it is Disney's policy (I'm sure I will be corrected if I'm wrong) that if your child turns 3 during the trip...they are free for the whole trip. You wouldn't have to buy a ticket for your remaining days of your trip. Have a good time and don't worry about it.

Butch50 - our DS was very tall for his age too. At age 2 he was as tall as some 3/4 yr olds. No one ever asked for his birth certificate or questioned us about his age. I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[laceemouse]

I think in one of the guidebooks they say "Disney does not penalize kids for growing up!" The age at the start of the trip stands. This even counts if they grow from a kid ticket to an adult ticket. We have 4 kids, the 2 oldest already require adult tickets, our youngest is 6, and our only DS is a big 9 year old! It will really get pricey when they are all "adults!"

 

[bartty]

Thanks for the quick responese everyone! It's good to know we won't have to spend and extra $200 on tickets! Thanks again

Bartty

 

[SnoWhiteRabbit]

The policy is likely to be true. I've read it on the DIS boards many times, but beyond that, I do know that the rate you check in on stands for your whole trip even if the rates change. In other words if you check in on the last day of the value season, and the rates go up the next day,, you get value season rates for the whole trip...so it wouldn;t be surprising that you could keep the "free" rate for a child who turns three on a trip.

 

[GaTech]

Here is our experience...our DS was 3 yrs 2 mos one one of our trips. When we checked in and bought tickets we asked if he needed a ticket and the CM said no. Later that night I asked another CM so that we didn't have problems the next day and they said he didn't need a ticket. We asked in the morning before going to the park and at the gate and we told by all that he didn't need a ticket. We told them all his true age and we did this each of the three days we went to the park and everyone gave the same answer, "He doesn't need a ticket". We were expecting to pay but when you ask at least 10 times and the response is same everytime we just thanked them and started the day with a big smile.

 

[sarahsmom73]

I worrried about this also, and made a copy of her bc... Never needed it. No one said anything!

 

[mrsgus06]

I too have a 2 year old that is very tall. We were there for 3 weeks in July and I was asked once at the AK and once at MK about her age. I brought a copy of her birth certificate just in case but neither cm wanted to see it. She was tall enough to ride Splash Mountain and loved it but did not like Big Thunder at all. I think just because they are big enough to ride it they might not be old enough to understand it. All in all she did a lot better at the shows than she did on rides. Things can only get better as she gets older!

 

[LisaZoe]

My DD will be just 1 month short of 3 on our trip. She's on the tall side for that age (about 39") and I've been concerned that I may be questioned about her age. I have heard that some kids who are big for their age are asked their age (can't remember if that was at WDW or not) so I want my daughter to answer correctly and clearly that she is "two and a half" (so far it's working). I know some kids start "rounding up" when they approach a birthday so I'm not spending too much time talking about her birthday yet. When she asks, I tell her that the WDW trip comes first then her birthday - which usually satisfies her request.

 

[Nik's Mom]

We were wondering about this too. Our DS will be turning 3 halfway through our trip and we were going to buy a ticket for him. So glad I read this thread!

 

[Mish]

This happened to us one trip, my son turned 3 the day after we arrived. I asked Disney when making our reservation and was told that they go by the age the day you start your trip. That year we arrived on Nov 1st and his birthday was the 2nd. Not one time did I have a problem. You can call WDWT and they will tell you the same thing. Hope this helped.