:( Upset over reservations and upcoming trip *UPDATE POST 74 PAGE 5*

[C.Ann]

Thank you for the suggestions. I don't know yet what the difference is. The CM that I was speaking with could not get someone in reservations. I think I am going to look at taking away the park hopper. I need to see if I can figure that out...with our current dining reservations. That may help a lot. I just like the freedom of going where we want.

I have already purchased all of the kiddos' Christmas presents... and the trip is in 35 days.

I appreciate everyone being nice about this. I was afraid that I would get yelled at.. and someone would think that I was trying to cheat the system.

You're welcome.. And if anyone "yells" at you, just ignore them.. It's obvious that you're not trying to "cheat" anyone..

Hope it all works out for you and you have a magical time!

 

[LisaNJ25]

On your mk days when there is the christmas party I would not go back to the hotel for naps.. just leave later in the day an spend the evening swimming at your resort and head to downtown disney. You can make it work We dont even bother with hoppers anymore

 

[HDCooper]

On your mk days when there is the christmas party I would not go back to the hotel for naps.. just leave later in the day an spend the evening swimming at your resort and head to downtown disney. You can make it work We dont even bother with hoppers anymore

My little one will turn into a monster if he doesn't get a nap. BUT, I am very seriously considering the no park hopper.

 

[LisaNJ25]

My little one will turn into a monster if he doesn't get a nap. BUT, I am very seriously considering the no park hopper.

lol you may be lucky and he will fall asleep in the stroller

 

[scanmom]

went in August for a quick trip. It was the 1st time, ever, that I didn't get hoppers. I was really worried that it would be a hassle, but it was fine. In fact, I am thinking of skipping hoppers from now on. Of course, DS and I were on the QS meal plan. I can see that it would be a little more planning when using the TS dining plan. But still doable! I would skip the hoppers. If you really, really need to hop, you can add that option during the trip.

 

[SPBendersky]

Keep trying It is Disney and usually you will eventualy get to someone who understands and can help witht he situation.

 

[Marionnette]

Wow, I would be upset and panicky too if I just found that kind of error on my ressies. Since you will not get the dining credits for him if he is considered to be two on the current reservation you stand to pay alot more than seventy dollars for food over the course of your vacation. Plus you would still need a ticket for him since he really is three. Getting one from undercovertourist would certainly be a little less expensive but not enough to offset the value of those dining credits. A seven day childs base ticket will add about two hundred forty dollars to the cost of your package. If you drop hopping from the other tickets it will save you about one hundred seventy three dollars. So you would need to come up with an additional seventy dollars to pay for your sons ticket. I know that you already bought the Christmas presents but are there any other holiday expenses you can trim? Maybe not buying any new decorations this year? Or reducing holiday food and spirits budget? I dont even want to think of what it costs me to make holidat treats every year! I bet that with determination you can find a way to squeeze two dollars a day out of your budget so that you can pay for your sons ticket!

 

[mrsklamc]

I was going to suggest staying off site but it sounds like you may be able to work it out otherwise. I would not just leave him as 2 on the reservation because I have read on these boards (not personally experienced) CM's at the gate asking kids w/o tickets how old they were.

 

[HDCooper]

I was going to suggest staying off site but it sounds like you may be able to work it out otherwise. I would not just leave him as 2 on the reservation because I have read on these boards (not personally experienced) CM's at the gate asking kids w/o tickets how old they were.

His big sister just turned 6. He thinks he is 6 too.

 

[brergnat]

OP, I just want to point out that, although the dining is "free", you do know you have to pay tips OOP, right? You've budgeted for that, I assume? It's going to run you in the neighborhood of $150 for the week...

Have you paid for your package in full yet? I assume yes. Do you have a credit card you can put the additional amount on, just for now? $300 really isn't that much. You can pay it over time. The interest would be negligible.

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

Like the PPs said, a seven-day MYW ticket (no hopping) is about $240 for a child's ticket. We usually buy hoppers, but I wouldn't for a seven day trip - you should have plenty of time and can still take mid-day breaks and return to the same park.

Since you will get the full benefit of the dining plan once your son turns three, you will not be paying out of pocket for his snacks and counter service meals, along with the one table service meal that is not a buffet. A kid's table service meal is about $10, a counter service meal is about $5-6, and a snack is about $3-4. If you drop park hoppers ($57.51 per person x 3) and count the value of the food for your son that you would have to pay for if he were still two (7 counter meals at $5, one table service at $10, and 7 snacks at $3 each), you have trimmed about $238 off your trip - just enough for his ticket.

You can add hopping after you arrive for the same price, so if you are there and decide it is worth it to hop, you can add it during the trip.

 

[stazmatic]

In every trip for the last 6 years I have NEVER had a CM ask how old my kids are. And for every trip I had one kid 2 and under. One of my kids was a very tall 2 and had glasses which made her look even older. No question. It's up to you - but I wouldn't worry about it. Here come the flames........

 

[riley2008]

In every trip for the last 6 years I have NEVER had a CM ask how old my kids are. And for every trip I had one kid 2 and under. One of my kids was a very tall 2 and had glasses which made her look even older. No question. It's up to you - but I wouldn't worry about it. Here come the flames........

Same here. Seriously - you did your part to be honest. I wouldn't worry about it. Go, have fun. Don't waste the time and energy - there are real things to worry about.

 

[Belle5]

OP-you represented yourself truthfully to the CM. Honestly, in this case--I would just go with it and try not to worry about it.

 

[Fyrefly]

Honestly, the CM screwed up, not you. It's not like you were trying to take money out of their pocket by lying about the ages, or even that an independent TA screwed up, Disney did it. If their people couldn't be bothered to keep track of something like a birthday to get them more money, I'd say they don't deserve it.

Are there records of your kids birthdays somewhere on the ressie or a paper trail so you can say it's not your fault? I'd go ahead with your trip, and on the very odd chance someone actually does call you out, be like "Sorry, I booked through Disney. I was given this package, with these codes, etc. I gave my kids birthdays to your CM, paid in full, and this is what I ended up getting. This is a problem on your end, not mine." Then provide documentation if necessary.

Why should you change your plans now because somebody hosed up their end and didn't get you the right quote? Clearly you're aren't planning beyond your budget. If you had known, you could have paid.

 

[Marionnette]

Same here. Seriously - you did your part to be honest. I wouldn't worry about it. Go, have fun. Don't waste the time and energy - there are real things to worry about.

OP-you represented yourself truthfully to the CM. Honestly, in this case--I would just go with it and try not to worry about it.

Honestly, the CM screwed up, not you. It's not like you were trying to take money out of their pocket by lying about the ages, or even that an independent TA screwed up, Disney did it. If their people couldn't be bothered to keep track of something like a birthday to get them more money, I'd say they don't deserve it.

Are there records of your kids birthdays somewhere on the ressie or a paper trail so you can say it's not your fault? I'd go ahead with your trip, and on the very odd chance someone actually does call you out, be like "Sorry, I booked through Disney. I was given this package, with these codes, etc. I gave my kids birthdays to your CM, paid in full, and this is what I ended up getting. This is a problem on your end, not mine." Then provide documentation if necessary.

Why should you change your plans now because somebody hosed up their end and didn't get you the right quote? Clearly you're aren't planning beyond your budget. If you had known, you could have paid.

I think y'all are missing the part about free dining. If the ops son is not listed as being three years old, then there will be no free dining credits for him. Two year olds eat free from there parents plate in the table service restaurants but they dont get free food at the counterservice places. If the op just lets it go, she will not get those free dining credits for him for the week. Which means that she will probably end up spending at least a hundred bucks out of pocket for his meals.


















And the op also wants to do what she considers to be the right thing.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

Honestly, the CM screwed up, not you. It's not like you were trying to take money out of their pocket by lying about the ages, or even that an independent TA screwed up, Disney did it. If their people couldn't be bothered to keep track of something like a birthday to get them more money, I'd say they don't deserve it.

Are there records of your kids birthdays somewhere on the ressie or a paper trail so you can say it's not your fault? I'd go ahead with your trip, and on the very odd chance someone actually does call you out, be like "Sorry, I booked through Disney. I was given this package, with these codes, etc. I gave my kids birthdays to your CM, paid in full, and this is what I ended up getting. This is a problem on your end, not mine." Then provide documentation if necessary.

Why should you change your plans now because somebody hosed up their end and didn't get you the right quote? Clearly you're aren't planning beyond your budget. If you had known, you could have paid.

While in theory I agree with you and yes, it is their screwup it isn't going to matter if you are at the gate and they refuse you entry because the child is 3. They will tell you "sorry about that but he needs a ticket." You can fight and show documentation until the cows come home but at the end of the day the child is 3 and requires a ticket. They are not going to give someone a 7 day parkhopper.
OP- maybe you can put it on a credit card and pay it off. I have to agree that $300 isn't a ton of money considering how much WDW costs. In the past the CMs don't come out and say "How old are you?!" They will have a conversation with the child though like this "Hello! How are you doing today? Are you going to see Mickey Mouse? Wow that sounds like a fun time! I see you are a big sister. How old are you? Wow, you must be a lot of help to Mommy. How old is your little brother?" etc. So unless you are coaching your child it is very possible that they will find out your child's age and you won't even realize they are doing it. I know this because the CMs always talk to our kids. We've always bought them tickets if they were of age but we always chuckled once we figured out what they were doing.
Don't take the chance. Buy the ticket. Have a fun trip!

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

Just wanted to add that my daughter (who is very tall) has been asked about her age at WDW and it happened AT TS restaurants. They kept trying to charge us for her when she was 2 and technically ate free at buffets. Yes she was listed as 2 on the ADR...the servers don't always look at that. So if you go to the buffet and they question his age, you are going to be charged for him eating at the buffets. So in essence you will be paying OOP for MOST of his meals (since you said you were eating at buffets) which is going to cost you a lot more than shelling out the $224 for a park ticket and getting his dining for free.

Also wanted to add that someone nicely pointed out not to forget about tips in your budgeting. For 4 people to eat at mostly buffets, your tips could be more than $20/day, esp if you plan on having any alcohol beverages (which are also OOP). I would budget slightly higher (25 at least) and be pleasantly surprised if it's less.

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

Just wanted to add that my daughter (who is very tall) has been asked about her age at WDW and it happened AT TS restaurants. They kept trying to charge us for her when she was 2 and technically ate free at buffets. Yes she was listed as 2 on the ADR...the servers don't always look at that. So if you go to the buffet and they question his age, you are going to be charged for him eating at the buffets. So in essence you will be paying OOP for MOST of his meals (since you said you were eating at buffets) which is going to cost you a lot more than shelling out the $224 for a park ticket and getting his dining for free.

Also wanted to add that someone nicely pointed out not to forget about tips in your budgeting. For 4 people to eat at mostly buffets, your tips could be more than $20/day, esp if you plan on having any alcohol beverages (which are also OOP). I would budget slightly higher (25 at least) and be pleasantly surprised if it's less.

Both of my kids are tall, and both were asked their ages when they were two. We did get charged for a buffet for one of them at two years old, but I brought a copy of the birth certificate and offered it to our server. No problem getting the bill fixed, but I was glad to have the BC so they didn't think I was trying to scam them.

 

[Fyrefly]

While in theory I agree with you and yes, it is their screwup it isn't going to matter if you are at the gate and they refuse you entry because the child is 3. They will tell you "sorry about that but he needs a ticket." You can fight and show documentation until the cows come home but at the end of the day the child is 3 and requires a ticket.

Yeah, but it's not right OP should pay for them not being able to do their jobs.

I agree the Free Dining could be an issue, I forgot about that. If the child in question isn't a big eater and can still eat off plates, it might not be an issue. If not, I still think it's better to pay $100 dollars unexpectedly than $300, but you'd have to budget the meals out to see exactly if it's worth the savings.

Honestly if there is documentation where you told the CM the right age I'd call again and take it as high as you can go. Say it's expensive to go, you would have been fine if you'd known, the exact same trip as last year already cost $300 more without the extra kid's tickets, and frankly if they can't book vacations properly you'd consider taking your vacation dollars elsewhere next year. Point out what they did was wrong, their invoices were wrong, it's their fault. Maybe at least you can get some sort of deal on the messed-up ticket. It's really their screw-up and I don't think its appropriate that they shouldn't be held to the same standards as other businesses. If you're determined to do this the "legal" way, get that bit between your teeth and fight as hard as you can, I say.