Using AP discount for others?

[theluckyrabbit]

The rule is only in place because apparently there were more than enough people taking advantage of their child's AP. As usual, the bad apples make things more difficult for everyone else.
At least your son shouldn't have any trouble using his AP if he has his i.d. and a GC. So you don't have to worry about that on your trip.

 

[bcla]

I believe your son will need i.d. I know in my state you can get a state id for a child. It would be interesting to know if a school id with a picture would work with a child being able to get there own discount. My 15 year old had to show id when she used hers in June.

Depends on the state. I believe most state DMVs (or the equivalent agency) will do so for a child of any age. Some have minimum ages. I remember a discussion on this where someone from Massachusetts noted that they have a minimum age (apparently 14). I got my kid one at 4 here in California. I had to write my kid's name and even serve as a step ladder for the photo.

A passport card might work, but it's $15 for a child under 16 and only valid for 5 years. Also - both parents need to show up in person with the child, along with a $25 fee for the place that takes the application. We did this to get a standard passport along with the passport card. It's kind of a pain, but necessary if the child is going to travel internationally.

I suppose some kids are permanent residents and will have a green card.

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

I will be going to DL with family and occasionally we will split up and they may have my 10 year old son with them.

My dad does not have an AP but my son does. Will they require ID and have my son pay if he wants to use his discount?

They may or may not require ID for your son. However, should your adult family member try to pay using your son's AP, they will likely deny it because the ID won't match the name on the AP. Your son could do as you suggested and use a gift card or cash to pay and pay for the entire group using his AP, but he will have to hand over the money..

I understand their reasoning for being so strict but I think when it us parent and child or whatever adult is with the child it should not be so strict.

I am now surprised that I have been able to use my 20% discount to buy my son things when he is clearly the one that pics it out. So basically I am buying it for someone else.

If child has a AP they should be entitled to all the benefits that an adult would. I don't know what child can pay for all their food and merchandise by themselves so of course they are using the adult who is with them money.

Usually it is just my son and I on our trips but now that we are going with lots of family it worries me about how strict they are.

I know I'm skipping some other things you posted, but your son is getting all the benefits of his AP. He can buy the meal for the entire group as long as he handing over the money. Even though all of my family has AP's, I'm allowed to buy lunch for all 6 of us on my AP since I'm paying. Same goes for merchandise - it may be stuff your son picked out, but as long as you're paying for it, they can't deny it to you. It's when they see the actual exchange of money that they have a problem. So technically we have the same rights with our APs - we may buy what we want with the discount for as many people as we want as long as we are the ones paying and the exchange of any money doesn't happen in front of the CM.

That said, I carry the APs for my family and all their cash (each kid has an envelope). I will pass the AP & envelope to the kid at the register and it's never been a problem and they've never been asked for ID (yet). Maybe it's because they can see I have an AP also? Or that I'm holding them for all of my group and each kid has an AP/envelope. I do know when I buy something, I have to show ID even if I buy something right after one of my kids.

Depends on the state. I believe most state DMVs (or the equivalent agency) will do so for a child of any age. Some have minimum ages. I remember a discussion on this where someone from Massachusetts noted that they have a minimum age (apparently 14). I got my kid one at 4 here in California. I had to write my kid's name and even serve as a step ladder for the photo.

A passport card might work, but it's $15 for a child under 16 and only valid for 5 years. Also - both parents need to show up in person with the child, along with a $25 fee for the place that takes the application. We did this to get a standard passport along with the passport card. It's kind of a pain, but necessary if the child is going to travel internationally.

I suppose some kids are permanent residents and will have a green card.

We're in CA also and we were able to get state issued IDs for all of our kids at the age of 1 (probably could have earlier, but that's when we needed them). Reading all of this, it may be time to start bringing some sort of ID for our older two -I hate the idea of carrying their passports, so it may be time to renew their state IDs.

 

[ten6mom]

I never thought about my kids (8 and 11) needing some kind of ID to use their AP's to buy things. Their school doesn't do student ID's (they're both still in elementary school). hmmmmmm

 

[VandVsmama]

DL should have just kept the photos on the APs.

 

[Nonsuch]

It would be nice if photos were displayed at cash registers, the same as at the turnstiles.

On the other hand, showing ID is not a big deal. I'm very happy that the AP discount applies to most restaurants and stores at DLR. AP discounts are very limited at WDW.

 

[Talldewy]

Question;

Has any one tried to use a phone photo of their ID to show who they are?

I do not carry my wallet while in the park due to it being a check book holder style (large) I worry about loosing it.
I do carry my cell phone and wonder if a photo of my license would be enough for the purpose of getting a discount, after all they do not scan the strip on my license do they?

In our many previous trips I have never needed my ID I either pay cash or a gift card.

Thanks for your help.

 

[IdahoMike]

I got all 3 of my kids APs in June, and found it to be very inconsistent throughout the resort as far as what CMs would and would not allow. I was up front with them each time, letting them know that I didn't have an AP but my kids did. Some of them just took the payment no questions asked, some of them said they couldn't take my debit/credit card because the names didn't match but if I paid cash, they would allow it, and a couple of them were very strict and would not do it. One gal at the Disney Emporium told me that they had been cracking down on AP discount abuse, and that all employees were being audited for what they rang up and it HAD to match now.

 

[lorijohnhill]

Does anyone know the answer to my question (above)?

My brother (no AP) and my 8yr old daughter (AP) were together purchasing lunch. As long as he was paying cash, the CMs had no problems using her AP for the discount.

 

[StormyCA]

BFF and her daughter (both APs) went to the register, daughter put down her items and AP, cashier rang up. Daughter then turned to BFF for the cash (she tends to be a bit scattered as many 13 yr olds are) which her mother was holding for her. Cashier then said that unless BFF had an AP, she could not continue the sale.

It was pretty consistent that the cashiers wanted the cash and the AP from the same person. After a couple of random times of the same scenario, we just totted up daughter's items and handed her the cash before she approached the register or BFF just paid for them herself with daughter's money.

 

[SeattleSuz]

Yeah our friends are AP holders and said to just pay them cash for our lunch and they will just pay for the whole bill using their APs and getting the discount.