Upgrade question

[Sazuburns]

We are visiting WDW for 3 weeks in August and have the Free Dining Package (1 x ts, 1 x cs, 1 x snack). Our younger son is 8 and is not happy about the children's menus. He doesn't eat macaroni cheese or peanut butter and since we only eat kosher meat he can't have the nuggets etc, so his choices are really limited.

Our travel agent tried to upgrade him so that he could get adult meals but was told that they can't do this. I know that some people here have done it, and I wasn't asking her to lie about his age, she asked about upgrading him and his ticket to an adult price and we would have paid the difference.

Any advice?

Thanks

 

[TDC Nala]

You can't do what was specified above. You would have to list his age as 10 on the reservation.

This may technically be "lying" but it is not considered an epic breach of WDW rules because you are paying for it - you will have to purchase an adult park ticket for him if you do this. (If you were not on free dining you would also have to pay the difference between an adult and child dining plan).

If you have your travel agent call up WDW and ask to have your son listed as 10 years old and pay the difference for his ticket, this may be allowed. (If the travel agent isn't asking for the right thing you'll get the answer you already got. What you are not able to do is leave his age as 8 on the reservation and also upgrade him.)

 

[Sazuburns]

Thanks, I'll give it a go.

 

[squirrel]

I believe some other posters from the UK couldn't change their child's age either once it was booked with the travel agent.

 

[2Tiggies]

I believe some other posters from the UK couldn't change their child's age either once it was booked with the travel agent.

I was one of them, lol! I don't think you will have a problem if you don't have a flight inclusive package though which seemed to be my problem as they couldn't change the child's age on the flight information since we need a passport to check in. If you do a MYW room and ticket ressie you should be okay, but be sure to check first and check again afterwards to make sure. Mine was charged to me a several hundred £££s and only when I called Disney in the US about something else that they told me that DD would get the kids plan as she is listed as 8 for our trip - regardless of what I paid for. Sadly they couldn't simply reverse the charge without me losing my flights which by that stage (took nearly 3 months to sort out) were full. Then a further few months spent on a ruthless compensation battle. I stress however, this is in the UK.

What TA did you use? If it is a Disney TA they will be quite familiar with the procedure.

 

[TDC Nala]

Of course I missed that this was a British guest - still, you could have the travel agent try to change the age.

 

[Sazuburns]

What TA did you use? If it is a Disney TA they will be quite familiar with the procedure.

It all sounds very complicated! It's not a Disney TA, so they don't know the procedure.

What exactly do they need to do, or am I just wasting my time?

Thx

 

[2Tiggies]

It all sounds very complicated! It's not a Disney TA, so they don't know the procedure.

What exactly do they need to do, or am I just wasting my time?

Thx

No, if you want it, don't write it off without finding out. Just because it isn't an "official Disney TA" is not to say they won't know what to do. Which one did you book through?

As long as it is not flight inclusive you won't have a problem - or shouldn't. But you CANNOT change the age on a flight inclusive or you won't be allowed through security if your confirmation doesn't match your photo ID exactly and on a package they seem to be unable to amend only part of the booking.

Speak to your TA. Tell the person you are dealing with that you have some food issues with your 8 year old and you know for a fact that as Disney classifies a 10 year old as an adult, you could purchase him a 10 years and up (Disney adult) dining plan to alleviate some mealtime stress for your family. It sometimes helps if you briefly and concisely explain why you want to do this.

Secondly, you need an adult park ticket as the type of park ticket (adult/child) determines the corresponding dining plan category that will be applied.

Explain that you are happy to pay the difference to upgrade the ticket and ask if they could "change" the child's date of birth to reflect him as being 10 at the time of travel.

Assuming you don't require passports or birth certificate for the child for any part of your trip, this should not be a problem. I think your reason is justifiable if it makes your life easier. I had a similar reason, knowing full well that it would be way too much food, but allowing me not to worry about meal times justified the extra cost to me. It sounds like it will make a difference to you too.

You have nothing to lose by trying. Just check afterwards that your request has been carried out. Ask them for an amended invoice reflecting the changes and if it makes you feel better, call Disney or see if you can view your reservation online to double check.

I am sorry I made you worry for nothing.

 

[Sazuburns]

Thanks for the explanation.

We booked the flights separately from the hotel package so we should be able to change it ok.

Dh is on the case and said that if necessary we will just cancel the hotel and then rebook it. What we want is still available, and if the holiday costs us an extra few ££ it's not the end of the world to make it the holiday we want.

 

[2Tiggies]

T What we want is still available, and if the holiday costs us an extra few ££ it's not the end of the world to make it the holiday we want.

I agree. I hope it all works out. Sometimes you have to be persistent. Try and avoid cancelling though as sometimes the cancellation charges can make it more expensive than just buying extras on the side. If you have any more hassles, post a question on the UK board as you will probably get a bit more feedback from those who have experienced this on there.

 

[Sazuburns]

Sorted! It took a call to the UK office and we explained that we were quite prepared to cancel and rebook and that we already had enough food issues as a group without having to deal with a limited children's menu. They agreed to change it 'this one time'...

S x

 

[2Tiggies]

They agreed to change it 'this one time'...

S x

They are so disagreeable sometimes. Glad you got it sorted.