Unusual ticket upgrade question

[Bill and Jen]

Hi, I have a Question I did not see an answer to on the sticky, so here goes.

My family is going for a bounceback free dinning trip this summer. We have 10 day tickets with this package. My youngest son will be 8 but we are thinking of upgrading him to the adult dinning plan. From what I understand If we pay for an Adult ticket Vs a Kids ticket this will give him the Adult plan.

We are going to upgrade these tickets to AP's.

My Question is, If we upgrade my sons ticket which will be an adult ticket even though he will be 8, will I need to upgrade it to an Adult AP or an Kids AP?

 

[SweetMommy]

I have almost a similar question.......For our upcoming trip in August we have 10 day park hoppers and are considering upgrading to an AP. When and if we upgrade, my son will only be 9, but will probably be 10 before the next time we use it. How does that work?

 

[Allison]

I would think it would be an adult ap as it will be effective the first day you use it on your vacation and at that point in time you are saying your child is 10 by purchasing the adult ticket and dining plan.

 

[nhmomx2]

I don't see why one has to effect the other. If your son is 9 or younger the day you activate the AP then he would be considered a child (and for the OP if your child changes categories during the course of the year your ticket would still be valid - at least this is what we were told at one time when we had the same experience). I would guess that if you wanted him to be able to order off the adult menu and pay the difference in price they would be able to accommodate that.

 

[Eeyore's Pal]

I have almost a similar question.......For our upcoming trip in August we have 10 day park hoppers and are considering upgrading to an AP. When and if we upgrade, my son will only be 9, but will probably be 10 before the next time we use it. How does that work?

If a child is 9 when the AP is purchased, he gets a child AP and it is good for the whole year, even if he turns 10 before it expires.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

If you came to my window and wanted to do an upgrade from an adult ticket to a child AP I would ask for proof of birth date. And then your dining plan would be messed up beyond belief for your cheating the company.

 

[darthspud]

If you came to my window and wanted to do an upgrade from an adult ticket to a child AP I would ask for proof of birth date. And then your dining plan would be messed up beyond belief for your cheating the company.

the way im reading it they arent trying to cheat the company they are in essence giving the company more money..

 

[Cheshire Figment]

the way im reading it they arent trying to cheat the company they are in essence giving the company more money..

They will be paying $33 more for a ten day adult ticket as opposed to a ten day child ticket. They will be getting ten additional adult credits instead of the child credits. That is a difference of around $300. If that is not trying to cheat, please tell me what it is!

 

[Allison]

I don't see why one has to effect the other. If your son is 9 or younger the day you activate the AP then he would be considered a child (and for the OP if your child changes categories during the course of the year your ticket would still be valid - at least this is what we were told at one time when we had the same experience). I would guess that if you wanted him to be able to order off the adult menu and pay the difference in price they would be able to accommodate that.

But for the OP they are essentially activating the ticket when they are on the trip during which they are saying the child is 10.

 

[nhmomx2]

They will be paying to upgrade from the child dining plan to the adult dining plan for a child who is 8 years old. How on earth is that cheating? They are willing to pay additional premiums to upgrade their son from the child portions of the dining plan to the adult portions - if it were the other way around you could say they were trying to cheat the system, but they are not! Give credit where credit is due and maybe read posts more carefully before you decide someone is trying to cheat the system. The question was if they would also need to upgrade the park passes to coincide with the dining plan.

 

[nhmomx2]

Allison - I believe they said their child would be 9 on the initial visit and 10 on a following visit. This is exactly what happened with us and we were told that the AP age goes according to initial activation.

 

[Allison]

Allison - I believe they said their child would be 9 on the initial visit and 10 on a following visit. This is exactly what happened with us and we were told that the AP age goes according to initial activation.

Another poster said that, not the OP. I agree with this scenario for the other poster's question but not for the OP's question.

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

They will be paying to upgrade from the child dining plan to the adult dining plan for a child who is 8 years old. How on earth is that cheating? They are willing to pay additional premiums to upgrade their son from the child portions of the dining plan to the adult portions - if it were the other way around you could say they were trying to cheat the system, but they are not! Give credit where credit is due and maybe read posts more carefully before you decide someone is trying to cheat the system. The question was if they would also need to upgrade the park passes to coincide with the dining plan.

Actually, Cheshire Figment is correct, and you might wish to read the OP's post more carefully. The OP has booked a FREE DINING bounceback. There appears to be no intent to upgrade the free child dining to which they are entitled to a paid adult dining. The intent appears to be to upgrade free child's dining to free adult dining, which they are not entitled to. Even paying to upgrade to an adult ticket, the OP receives a greater financial benefit and Disney gets stiffed the cost difference, which is substantial as Cheshire Figment pointed out.

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

the way im reading it they arent trying to cheat the company they are in essence giving the company more money..

I believe Disney allows a family to PAY for the difference between a child DDP and an adult DDP if the child would like to order off the adult menu. In that instance, an adult ticket is also required. The OP is trying to get the adult DDP for free for a child by paying a few extra dollars for an adult ticket. If that ticket is then upgraded to a child AP, it is the best of both worlds for the OP - no additional money paid at all, but the benefit of adult credits is obtained.

Disney can't win - either people complain that their ten year old that never eats has to pay adult prices (if the DDP is not free), or someone with an 8-year old wants to get the adult plan instead of the child plan (but only if it is free). Disney is offering free food, but apparently not enough free food for the OP.

If the OP returns within a year to use the APs again and actually pays for the DDP, the child will be nine with a child's AP, so the OP can buy the child DDP. So why should Disney provide the adult DDP for free for an 8-year old when Disney is the one paying?

Generally, if you have a younger child who wants to eat from the adult menu or an older child who requires adult pricing who wants to eat from the kids' menu, the DDP is not the best choice. Disney offers free dining as one of many discounts. If it doesn't work best for you (general you) under the terms Disney has stated, another discount should be used instead.

OP, I'm not suggesting that you are intentionally trying to cheat the system, because people have posted that they have paid to upgrade their child to an adult meal plan. The difference here is that Disney is providing the DDP for free, and the cost to upgrade to an adult ticket (particularly if you upgrade to a child's AP and get credit for your ticket anyway) doesn't offset the cost difference between the child DDP and the adult DDP. It's no different than a party of two booking four people in their room to get free dining - they get "phantom credits" and in return buy a couple of tickets that they can use on another trip anyway. They pay no additional cost in the end, and Disney pays for twice as many meals.

 

[Disney/Universal Fan]

I really don't think the OP is trying to cheat the system, just asking a question. I think the Disney employee who answered is out of line by saying the OP is trying to cheat the system. ANd then to come back and say," If that is not trying to cheat the system, I don't know what is" is another slap in the face. I used to disregard the comments about rude cast member's, but now I am beginning to wonder.

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

I really don't think the OP is trying to cheat the system, just asking a question. I think the Disney employee who answered is out of line by saying the OP is trying to cheat the system. ANd then to come back and say," If that is not trying to cheat the system, I don't know what is" is another slap in the face. I used to disregard the comments about rude cast member's, but now I am beginning to wonder.

I would not presume to speak for Cheshire Figment, but I would expect that it would be frustrating as a Disney CM to read some of the threads on the DIS (particularly this week, for some reason):

Can I get away with not buying a ticket for my three year old?

Can I say my three year old is two or ten year old is nine so I don't have to pay so much?

Can I sneak someone into the CL lounge who is not staying Club Level?

Can I reuse my mugs from five years ago so I don't have to pay $13 per person to get new ones?

Disney is usually represented in these cases as the big money corporation, but Disney is the employer for a lot of people on the DIS, people who have probably seen friends laid off due to the economy. I think there is a feeling of ownership when they perceive that Disney is not getting its due, because that directly effects their livelihood and that of their friends (again, not speaking for CF at all, but I can only imagine how CMs cringe when they read some of these threads).

I think the OP's question was more an extension of a practice that Disney has allowed when the family pays the difference. In the OP's case, however, the difference wouldn't be paid.

It all comes down to intent, which can't generally be easily discerned on a message board.

 

[5boyz]

I would assume and adult....sorry I have not read thru yet, I am going to in a minute.

I too have a ticket question and didnt want to get started reading here and forget to post my question..... So can you buy water park tickets seperately? I have looked but cant find anything?

 

[5boyz]

If you came to my window and wanted to do an upgrade from an adult ticket to a child AP I would ask for proof of birth date. And then your dining plan would be messed up beyond belief for your cheating the company.[/QUOT


Sorry take back what I said...forgot it was free dining!

 

[darthspud]

They will be paying $33 more for a ten day adult ticket as opposed to a ten day child ticket. They will be getting ten additional adult credits instead of the child credits. That is a difference of around $300. If that is not trying to cheat, please tell me what it is!

Yes but not every child wants to eat off the childrens menu... yes most kids are happy with PB and J or chicken nuggets every meal BUT some kids actually like to eat other stuff besides that and allowing a child to eat off the adult menu shouldn't be the end of the world.. when the whole party in the party package has to have the same package making a family pay OOP at meals for a child who won't use a childs dining point is not fair to that family

 

[5boyz]

Yes but not every child wants to eat off the childrens menu... yes most kids are happy with PB and J or chicken nuggets every meal BUT some kids actually like to eat other stuff besides that and allowing a child to eat off the adult menu shouldn't be the end of the world.. when the whole party in the party package has to have the same package making a family pay OOP at meals for a child who won't use a childs dining point is not fair to that family

It is too bad you could not really do it 'MY WAY' instead of 'DISNEY'S WAY'...