How strict is Disney with the Under 3 Rule?

[Thinking]

I'm curious how Disney confirms that your child is under 3. I'm debating on whether to buy an expensive ticket for my daughter who will be 3 by only a couple of weeks when we visit later this year.

Anyone have experience with this situation??

 

[BethR]

Hi Thinking!

Since you do not have your e-mail or Private Messages available, I will warn you this way. This is a very "hot topic" on this and several others on the DIS.
Disney will not ask for a birth certificate or any other "proof" of your daugher's age. Many people WILL take their 3 year olds into Disney without paying for them. But many do NOT.

Basically it is up to your own conscience. You must decide for yourself.

TO EVERYONE ELSE - This will NOT become a debate NOR will we have any personal attacks. Sharing of personal experiences is fine.

Thank You!

 

[Spoisal]

Our next trip is Jan 25 - Feb 1 2003 ....my daughter turns 3 on February 8th. No problem, you say? I hope not! My daughter just turned 2 & she is the height & weight of a 3 year old NOW .....she'll probably look 3 1/2 or 4 when we go next year. Should we take some sort of id?????

 

[Kacey]

We were just down in January and our grandaughter who was 2 at the time was along too. I told her mom to bring her birth certificate-just in case-to prove her age because she, too, is very tall. Only once were we questioned--a CM at the Epcot entrance asked me how old she was and when I answered 2, she waved us in. Never asked for proof, but did question her age.

 

[Beanie]

Well I can't answer your question, but I would like to share what has happened to me...

My Dad works for Disney, so we get into the parks for free...I have never bought a ticket to get in Disney, therefore, I had no idea the age limit was 3! We went to Disney about a week after my son had turned 2 and upon getting to the turnstiles so my dad could get us in, I told him that we would need another spot on his card for Andrew (he of course, didn't know this either, just agreed with what I said)...so we told the CM at the turnstile that there was 3 of us, instead of just me and DH...LOL I mean, of course it didn't really matter I guess since I didn't actually pay to get in the parks, but here I thought I was being very honest by thinking that we would need another spot on dad's card for my son to get in, when in reality, he was supposed to get in free anyway! LOL

 

[WDW Dreams]

We were at WDW this past September with my big 3 year old DS. We purchased a package deal for him (I've since learned that we will never again purchase a package "deal") - as it turns out, not once did we use his plastic card for admission, nor were we ever charged for any of his or his 2 year sister's sit down meals. My conscience tells me that I did the right thing and paid his way, my heart tells me that it's just that much longer before I can afford Disney again! IMHO you have to do what will allow you to sleep at night.

 

[klynn]

Even though I have AP for my kids there has been no time that a CM has asked about ages. In fact, this past Dec. my 4yo (who was in her stroller) insisted her AP get inserted even though the CM just wanted the adult pushing the stroller to insert their AP.

 

[LKS]

We purposely made a trip a few weeks before my daughter turned 3 so that she would be free. She is above average in height, but not huge, and she was very verbal and brave (rode everything she was tall enough for). I think if someone talked to her they would have assumed she was 3, but I don't remember being asked at the turnstiles (5 yrs ago, so maybe I forgot). She was not in a stroller at that point either, since we rented. At many of the character meals though, they would automatically charge us for her meal and I would have to get them to take it off. Even though she wasn't 3 yet, I felt embarassed at having to make them go back and take the charge off when she did eat, enjoy the characters etc... I'm so paranoid I figured they probably thought I was lying.

An aside. At Colonial Williamsburg, they did not ask for proof of age, but you had to get a free child pass for the little kids which involved making everyone who got tickets actually go up to a person and say that their child was under, I think 6 up there. Some people probably still lie, but it's much less innocuous than Disney's system. I'm surprised that Disney hasn't gone to that with the number of people who sneak their 3 and probably 4 year olds in. They have to know.

 

[Kermit]

I don't have kids, but some people on these boards have reported having CMs ask the kids how old they were. They know that kids like to be older and probably will tell the truth.

One thing to keep in mind is that your child's age at the beginning of the trip is what matters, even if they turn 3 while you're there. If it's possible for you to move your trip back a few days, this wouldn't be an issue at all.

 

[gepetto]

I just wanted to say...I feel your pain. I just bought my 10 year old an adult AP.

 

[SueM in MN]

I have seen posts where people's kids were asked how old they were while going thru the turnstiles, so you are taking a gamble.
Kids can be real persistent too, as we saw when we went to see the movie, Harry Potter. A man ahead of us in line told the clerk his DD was 2 when he got his tickets. I could see her holding up 3 fingers and saying "I'm this many" (the clerk asked him again for the child's age, but didn't ask the child). The little girl started to hold up her fingers again at the place where they take your ticket and she did it several times when they got popcorn. They sat in the same row as we did and she told several people how old she was while we were waiting for the movie to start.
Even though my DD is disabled and can't go on some rides, we have always paid whatever the price is for her age. I personally would be running around with a red face, felling really guilty if we didn't.

 

[cforza]

Your not kidding Geppetto! I doubt Disney is too strict with it's enforcement since they more then make up for it when they start charging your 10 year old CHILDREN as ADULTS! Don't worry, they get the money, eventually! At any rate we went when my son was 2 and a half and no one even asked. But then again, he was, and still is small for his age.

 

[DisneyKidds]

When we were at WDW last with our almost 3 DD who is tall there were two or three times when a CM asked if we had a ticket for her. We told them she was under 3. No questions asked, no proof required.

While we look forward to our next trip to WDW, we don't look forward to having to pay for another AP and her meals at the character breakfasts. Oh, well.

 

[beattyfamily]

I'm in the same boat, Thinking, my younger DD will be 3 years old on October 8 and we're going back to WDW October 26. So she'll be about 2 1/2 weeks over 3 years old.

Oh well, they've got to make the cut off at some point don't they?

I could have made the trip in September or early October, but we wanted to go for Halloween. So we've got to live with it....bummer!

 

[Disneydenise]

This can go either way. When my son was 9 he was charged for an adult meal price at a buffet and he was still a child and not big for his age. I did ask to have it changed and the CM made me feel like I was cheating. Oh well I personally think that 9 YO should have to pay the same for a pass as an adult. Now my children are teens and they are getting more out of their pass than I am but I guess I like the shady spots where I wait for them at the various mountains.

 

[gottago]

Okay, I have a question. Did I understand in reading some of the previous post that Character Meals are free for under 3 years old? If this is true, I was unaware. Please let me know.

 

[BethR]

Hi gottago!

Yep! Children under 3 are free at the character meals.

 

[3MinnieMom]

We went this past year in late Sept, and our youngest turned 3 in July. We had so many friends/family members question why we wouldn't go prior to her 3rd birthday to save a lot of money. We're so glad we waited, despite the cost. By the time we went to WDW, she was fully potty trained, no longer required naps (or just needed a quick little nap while in WDW, versus > 1hr long nap), she walked the entire 7-day trip w/out needing a stroller, she was tall enough (>40 inches) for rides such as Splash Mountain and ToT, she was able to interact so much better with the characters, etc. It was all well worth the money !!! The thing that has us bummed is the cut-off for adults. My dh does not want to return to WDW until at least Fall of 2003. By that time, our oldest dd will be 10 yrs old (she'll turn 10 in late May of 2003). We thought the "adult" cut-off was 12 yrs old. Will she also be charged adult prices for all the character and non-character buffets at age 10 ?? Should we return prior to her 10th b-day (of course, if money grew on trees, that answer would be a no-brainer YES). Thanks for any info on this.

 

[gepetto]

3minniemom....the adult AP's are about $50 more than the child's. As for the buffets, I'm pretty sure the ages for kid's prices are 3-11.

To add to the original topic....I have seen CM's ask kids their ages at the turnstiles also. Most 3 year olds I know happily tell everyone they see how old they are. Whether they ask or not.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

over 9 is the cutoff point for children at most major theme parks.
Disney is NOT very strict about this, at this time, as they expect people to be honest and not lie (silly Disney), however, if this type of stuff continues, it will not be long before you have to bring proof, just like with the airlines for a "lap child".