We got the ticket, now this is all about the rules...

[tjmw2727]

Don't feel guilty. Disney charges adult price for 9 year old.

Actually Disney charges a childs price for a 9 year old. Adult tickets are required for children 10 and up, its simple if you don't agree on the pricing then don't go. If enough people don't go then maybe they will change the pricing.

TJ

 

[disneychrista]

Now, are they going to look at me and "card" him or is it o.k. that we didn't get him a ticket? I'm having a guilt-trip here and I need some advice on either side of the fence here

No they won't "card" you but as was mentioned may ask your child his age, be prepared for him to reply "3" very proudly. As for is it "okay" honestly NO, it's not okay.

Don't feel guilty. Disney charges adult price for 9 year old.

Most theme parks charge adult prices for children much younger then 9 (actually as was pointed out 10) because they charge based on height (usually 48").

 

[jayhjay]

Now I am getting concerned b/c DD will turn 3 on the trip. Everything I have heard/read agrees that the age they are to start is the age they stay and I do not need a ticket or dining plan for her. I am very comfortable that we are within the rules here. But of course, if asked, I am sure my DD will tell folks she is 3. Even if I have her birth cert it won't help if its on the second half of the trip after her birthday b/c it will say she is three (unless the CM at the gate somehow wants to look up my ressie and see that our trip started when she was two, which I doubt they have the time or ability to do). Do you think this is going to be a big pain? We aren't going for months so I have no idea if she will look 2 or 3, but I assume there is a chance this will come up.

 

[princessjv]

I agree, you should follow the rules. It is important to teach our children to be honest. I have read many accounts of how children were asked their age at the gate...It was my understanding that it is Disney's policy to never ask age...has that changed?

On a side note, last fall I wheeled my double stroller through the gate daily 2- 3 x and never was asked for my dh(4) ticket. In fact many times when I tried to scan it, the CM would wave their hand and tell me to go through without scanning (we had a 10 day expiry...so no savings to me to scan or not) .

 

[mjmcca]

Last Feb We were at WDW my very tall DD was turning 3 in March. We went to LLT to eat one night and they charged me for her. I could tell the waitress didn't believe me when I told her that DD wasn't old enough to be charged yet. She did take her off the bill but made a comment a long the lines of well come back for her birthday and celebrate.

When we went back in June I bought her her own AP ( I already had one for myself and DS who was 4 at the time)

Hi,

I think this is relevant to what you've been discussing.

I was in DL in California in 1999 going into the park. The woman next to us had a little girl with her. The CM working the front gate asked the girl how old she was, and the girl replied "I'm three." The mom claimed the girl was only 2 but had a birthday coming up in a few weeks and was getting practice telling everyone her age and was just excited about her age.

The CM then told the mom that if she wanted to enter the park, she either had to purchase her daughter a ticket or bring a birth certificate as evidence of the girl's age.

FYI...

If a CM did that to me I would have a manager there. I am sorry but I do not carry my kids birth certificates on vacation with me if that is a requirement of the park then it should be made very clear in the literature. If they made this ( requiring the birth certificate) an actual written policy then it would be very bad PR for them.

 

[teresajoy]

One year, my very small for her age 5 year old daughter was asleep in the stroller. The CM just opened the gate and let us in. We had park hoppers, and had allready used her ticket earlier in the day, so it didn't save us any money.

However, last year when we went, we were asked for my then 2 year old daughter's ticket. She's tall, but I don't think she looked three. We just told the CM that she didn't need a ticket, and they let her in with no problems at all.

 

[maxiesmom]

If a CM did that to me I would have a manager there. I am sorry but I do not carry my kids birth certificates on vacation with me if that is a requirement of the park then it should be made very clear in the literature. If they made this ( requiring the birth certificate) an actual written policy then it would be very bad PR for them.

Don't get angry at Disney for having to question how old children are. Get angry at the people who force Disney to use strong arm tactics by trying to cheat and lie to save a few dollars. Face it, if so many people did not try to sneak their kids in Disney would probably turn a blind eye. They must be loosing tons of money for them to stoop to grilling children on their ages. Why cause a scene because a CM is doing their job? Why not take a copy of your childrens birth certificate so this isn't a problem?

 

[Jen D]

Now I am getting concerned b/c DD will turn 3 on the trip. Everything I have heard/read agrees that the age they are to start is the age they stay and I do not need a ticket or dining plan for her. I am very comfortable that we are within the rules here. But of course, if asked, I am sure my DD will tell folks she is 3. Even if I have her birth cert it won't help if its on the second half of the trip after her birthday b/c it will say she is three (unless the CM at the gate somehow wants to look up my ressie and see that our trip started when she was two, which I doubt they have the time or ability to do). Do you think this is going to be a big pain? We aren't going for months so I have no idea if she will look 2 or 3, but I assume there is a chance this will come up.

Everything I have heard on this board and from Disney is that if the child turns 3 during the course of the trip you don't have to pay for the remaining days. The age at the beginning of the trip holds. Now you may want to copy the birth certificate if you are worried, then if it comes up you can show Junior turned 3 yesterday but the room key shows your stay is last Sunday through this Sunday.

My son will also turn 3 on our next trip, on Day 6 of an 8 day trip and I was told I would not need to buy him a ticket. It does feel a little weird but I've been told this by multiple CMs, so....

 

[mjmcca]

Don't get angry at Disney for having to question how old children are. Get angry at the people who force Disney to use strong arm tactics by trying to cheat and lie to save a few dollars. Face it, if so many people did not try to sneak their kids in Disney would probably turn a blind eye. They must be loosing tons of money for them to stoop to grilling children on their ages. Why cause a scene because a CM is doing their job? Why not take a copy of your children's birth certificate so this isn't a problem?

Excuse me I am not angry at Disney I am upset at some power hungry entry level person who would be overruled by a manager. DO you bring a birth certificate with you when you travel in the country for your child? I think asking for that is ludicrous. Unless it is company policy clearly stated as such by Disney managment I should not have to take a copy of my birth certificate with me with all of the otehr documents and tickets I need to travel. There is no way Disney would make this a written policy because the PR is really bad for them.


The point will be moot in a few years when everyone will be required to have a passport to travel in in country.

 

[maxiesmom]

Sorry, I know this is a little off topic. But the fact is that Disney would not feel the need to question children's ages if not for so many people trying to get out of paying for park passes. So to be angry at a CM for trying to enforce Disney policy is pointless. If you are reading this thread you are now aware that you may be asked for proof of your children's age. Why not bring poof of it avoid a scene? What would you do if you were not let in? You would end up wasting money on a ticket that you do not need. So why go looking for a fight?

 

[kaysmommie]

To me it sounds like WDW expects people to say children are younger than they are thats why they make you pay for 3 yr. old and charge a 10 yr. old adult admission. My dd is 5 we bought her a pass at 3 and they could care less about checking it because she is small. Now when she is 10 she will be too small for most of the adult rides so that is wrong to charge 10 yr. olds adult admission IMO. It should be age 12. My dd is just now in a booster car seat at almost 6. I payed for her ticket when she was 3, but it seemed unexpected so I assume alot of people don't really buy a 3 yr. old a pass.

 

[snickerboo]

My ds will be 3 two weeks before our Disney trip. My mom says we're crazy not to just try and pass him off as not-yet-three (he's small for his age and immature. If he was asked how old he was, he couldn't tell you.) For me, I just can't do it. Technically it's breaking the rules. And, for us, we're Canadian so, apparently they can ask for his birth certificate and expect us to have it, sicne he needs it for entry into the US. We're just going to pay-I know it's quite a bit of extra money but the jimminy cricket in me won't let me do it.

 

[long4disney]

We brought our dd's birth certificate or passport with us when she was 2, because I was worried they might question her age. She has always been so tall for her age, so she easily looked like she was over 3 years old. She is now 3 1/2 and people think she is 5 years old.

I never was questioned about her age at the gates to the parks even though she looked like a 3 year old. I just felt better bringing her i.d. with in case it would come up. The only times we were asked about her being 3 was in the restaurants, since they wanted to charge her for the child's price.

If your child is not 3 yet when you start your trip, I don't believe you need to buy a pass for them. When we went to disney with my niece, she was in that situation, and turned 3 in the middle of the trip, so they did not buy a pass for her.

 

[justhat]

I do not carry my child's birth certificate with me and unless Disney said I should bring a copy along to prove her age I'd be pretty upset if that happened to me too. In fact, we don't even have her birth certificate cause it was stolen (along with mine and my husband's, our marriage certificate, ugh, I could go on) when my mom's house was burglarized last summer. We have not gotten her (or ourselves) new ones as we have no need for them at this time. We each have passports but never bring them with us for domestic travel so we have no ID for our daughter at all when we're on vacation. If they told me when I book a trip that I'll need ID for my 2yo then I'd bring her passport, but if I'm not told that, why would I carry ID for a 2yo? So in response to the OP, if I wanted to sneak in my daughter once she turns 3 I'd just use that same reasoning, that I was not told I'd need to prove her age so I have no ID for her. Of course, I'd be prepared to have a birthdate ready so that if it even gets to that point, and they ask for proof, you say you don't have any, then they might ask what his birthdate is, if you have to think about it and make one up then you'll look suspicious.

Also, sorta OT, but Disney's policy that your kid is whatever age for the trip that he was when you began your stay, is that for onsite guests only? I mean, if we're in WDW for 6 days and my daughter turns 3 on day 3 and I say "she turned 3 yesterday but we started our trip 4 days ago so she's free" but I'm not staying on property, how do they know that I'm telling the truth? I guess they could send me to guest services and have my ticket looked up to see what days I used it on, if that's even possible, but would they go through all that? I would think no. So in that case, then maybe if I were trying to sneak in a 3yo I'd just say "today's his birthday" if it were after my check-in day and then he'd still be free.

With that said, we took my neice when she was 2 years, 9 months and was around 38 or 39 inches and about the same in pounds and no one once questioned her age.

 

[mjmcca]

Sorry, I know this is a little off topic. But the fact is that Disney would not feel the need to question children's ages if not for so many people trying to get out of paying for park passes. So to be angry at a CM for trying to enforce Disney policy is pointless. If you are reading this thread you are now aware that you may be asked for proof of your children's age. Why not bring poof of it avoid a scene? What would you do if you were not let in? You would end up wasting money on a ticket that you do not need. So why go looking for a fight?

That's just it he isn't enforcing a policy he is making policy. There is no policy from Disney saying they require proof of age. They make it very plain that they require proof of age for say PI. It is all of their advertisements. A CM telling a parent that they have to provide fro them a birth certificate is them making policy.

 

[gris gris]

Ticket media is not transferrable and now with biometrics they can enforce this with adults. In the above senario if the tickets were purchased together they will pass on everyone's hand biometrics as they are coded that way. Otherwise it may have been random or they may have noticed that you were with a large party and assumed you may have mixed up the tickets.

My question might be way off topic - but what is this biometrics stuff? Is this new at WDW?

DH & I have 2 days left on our park hoppers from 1999.

10 family members went in 2003 and we have 9 park hoppers, each with 2 days left on them. We were planning on bringing some of these with us this year.

Is each pass in the original purchasers name? And now we have to provide finger prints to use them?

Even though I have leftover days, should I be prepared to buy more tickets?

 

[mjmcca]

My question might be way off topic - but what is this biometrics stuff? Is this new at WDW?

DH & I have 2 days left on our park hoppers from 1999.

10 family members went in 2003 and we have 9 park hoppers, each with 2 days left on them. We were planning on bringing some of these with us this year.

Is each pass in the original purchasers name? And now we have to provide finger prints to use them?

Even though I have leftover days, should I be prepared to buy more tickets?

The biometrics are new. They will ask you to put you finger in the scanner when you place your old tickets in the ticket reader. They will now not be able to be used by anyone else. If you vcompletely use up the oolder tickets then it wont be a problem. If you leave one day or any pluses on them then those remaining options can only be used by you or your husband ( whoever was scanned for each ticket)

 

[Hannathy]

If more people were honest Disney wouldn't have to ask for proof. Just look at the boards they are full of people asking questions on how to sneak around policies 'cause oops Disney, or Universal missed crossing a "t" here or dotting an "i " there. Just this thread alone. Why should I ultimately pay more so you can get your 3 yr old in free or use your 9 yr olds food credits that you know you only paid $10.00 for to pay for your adult $35.00 meal. Great for the twist the rules for me gang lousy for the rest of us. I am glad they occasionally ask for proof and if I am legitamately getting my child in for free I'll bring proof, is that really that much to ask. All they want is a xeroxed copy they aren't asking for a notarized copy for heavens sake.

Back to the question some things in life are black and white. breaking a rule is just that, what it depends on is how comfortable you are with doing it. I always say switch it around if Disney GAVE you something for turning 3 you better believe people would demand it on the exact day their kid turned three not oh he is only 3 for a month we'll give it to him next time.

 

[gris gris]

The biometrics are new. They will ask you to put you finger in the scanner when you place your old tickets in the ticket reader. They will now not be able to be used by anyone else. If you vcompletely use up the oolder tickets then it wont be a problem. If you leave one day or any pluses on them then those remaining options can only be used by you or your husband ( whoever was scanned for each ticket)

So, when we enter using one of the 9 tickets, we'll put our finger in for scanning and then we can use it until it's "dried up"? Then use another one the same way? I don't know why this confuses me so much! I feel like I'm doing something that isn't honest - am I? Or are we just lucky that we held on to passes that never expired?

 

[Samar]

Thanks everyone for your replies. Let me say this though. I am the one who is feeling guilty about "disobeying" the rules. DH doesn't care. He's a penny-pincher so when we booked our vacation, we listed our childrens ages and it was said that we only needed tickets for us.

I have been telling him everyday to just get the tickets for DS so we don't have to take the chance but since he is the moneymaker in the family, I can't do it without his consent. Control issue, I know.

I think I will make DH take DS through the turnstile and if he gets asked about the age, he can look like the idiot for not listening and not me. Either that or I will take DS to the register and tell him he just turned 3 and needs a pass and see what they say.

I needed this thread with all the various opinions to show him that it's just not decent to lie for a few bucks.

Also, DS doesn't say his name or age. I think he's stuck trying to absorb 2 languages at home and mixes it into his own language.

Thanks again.