Child turning 10

[CdnMom2]

I've seen lots about children turning 3 on boards, but haven't found strategies on children turning 10. Mine will be 10 1/2 by time we go (15 to 16 months away). If I buy a Child's Annual Pass just before her 10th Bday (April'02) will she be OK to use it when we go in Dec/Jan, thus avoiding paying for an ADULT 7 day Park Hopper?

What about buying the ParkHoppers ahead of time? At what point do they want proof of her age. When I buy tix? At resorts? At the gates?

Finally, can you upgrade from a Hopper Pass to an Annual Pass when you're at the Resort? Now thinking of Child #3 who will be turning 10 years 7 to 8 months after we go. If DH sees the Magic while we're there perhaps I'll have a snowballs chance in -- you know --- of convincing him to do a second trip. So if scenario above works, then perhaps we'd get a pass for the 2nd child before she becomes an Adult in Disney's eyes. Do remaining days on a Hopper get credited in some way towards a pass if you buy an annual pass there after a couple days?

Thank you for any info. I love these boards!

 

[Kaa]

Disney trusts you will purchase the correct pass for your children. They do not ask for verification of their ages.

You can upgrade a Hopper pass to an Annual pass while you are at WDW. What you will end up with is an Annual Pass activated on the day the Hopper pass was first used. This will only work if your subsequent trip was within one year from that date.

I want to take this opportunity to remind everyone of the posting guidelines. Please do not let this thread get ugly.

 

[ducklite]

If you purchase an AP, they will ask for DOB. I just did it with my son last week. With adults they ask for your ID (like a drivers license). Also, remember with their new system they are logging your kids ages in their computers when you book. IMHO it's not worth risking the embarrassment of being caught.

Anne

 

[LKS]

I think it is proper to buy a ticket for the age your child will be on the day they first use their ticket. My son will turn 10 in Feb. and we are going in June. He will have an adult ticket even if I buy it before his birthday.

 

[Mercy]

Personally, I would let your own conscious be your guide. Last year when I purchased a hopper pass for my son, I "purchased" it when he was 9. He turned 10 before we went. But I really didn't feel bad about. No one questioned me at the gates in regards to his age. With thousands of people passing thru the gates, there is no way they could question every child who comes thru. Apparently, as already stated, if you purchase an annual pass you must give the childs date of birth, so then you would have to purchase the appropriate pass at the time of purchase.

 

[GoldenOldie]

Originally posted by CdnMom2
Finally, can you upgrade from a Hopper Pass to an Annual Pass when you're at the Resort?
To expand on Kaa's answers a little, the answer to this specific question is no you can't. The resorts do not sell AP's. You can upgrade the passes but it has to be done at a WDW park ticket booth or at a Guest Relations window at a park or at DD.

Do remaining days on a Hopper get credited in some way towards a pass if you buy an annual pass there after a couple days?

If you upgrade a hopper pass within 7 days of first use they will apply the entire amount you paid for the pass towards an AP. The AP expiration date will be backdated to the first day of use of the hopper pass. If more than 7 days have elapsed since first use of the hopper, you will receive a credit for the remaining days on the pass which will be used to offset the purchase price of a new AP that will be effective on the day you upgrade.

 

[CdnMom2]

I hope this thread doesn't get ugly too! I'm not trying to get away with anything illegal. And I'm definitely not looking for any embarassments at gates. Or ruining my children's morals. Obviously kids do go from being 9 to 10 at sometime in a year so this must happen to people who do have Annual Passes and have been once, planning to return again within the year. What are the Disney rules? The difference being that we wouldn't have ours activated even before her 10th Bday. Of course, that also means we are unlikely to have used it for the 8+ days that many do in a year before it expires. I would love to be able to go in April before she turns 10, but we can't because of Family scheduing probs. Disney will have my money way upfront without our even using the pass for months if this is the scenario we use. Now the Park Hoppers is different I can see. With 6 people to consider and paying with Cdn dollars I'm just trying to get the expenses down by being smart & planning far in advance. That's why I LOVE these boards. I had NO idea what a whole other world all this Disney planning is until a few weeks ago when I stumbled across The Unofficial Guide to WDW in the Library New Books area and now there's no turning back. We HAVE to go and before all 4 of my little ones become Disney adults! Thanks for all your help.

 

[LKS]

You may want to look at it financially too. The child's AP is only $10.62 less than the adult 7 day PHP and that is just the plain AP, not the premium, so you would have to pay the extra $30 or so per admission to water parks, if you think you might go. Everyone else would have their 4 pluses. The Child's Premium AP costs $97.50 more than the adult 7 day PHP. I don't think there is anything in here worth tying up all that money for months and months, even leaving the ethics and logistics of activating the pass with the DOB on it out of the equation. Just a thought.

 

[Wislodgers]

GoldenOldie-
I did not know you could upgrade a hopper pass to an AP. What I am wondering is if I
purchase a 7 day hopper and say use 5 or 6 days in a row, could it still be traded in on a
AP? Would they really give you a credit of the entire ticket price even if most of it is used or did I
misunderstand this? Thank-you for any information!!

 

[jsmla]

This was my experience:
Aug. 97: purchased annual pass for my 9 year old DD. Gave correct birthdate.

Jan. 98: called ap line and asked about DD who had just turned 10. Was told that as long as the child was 9 when pass was purchased it was good at that price.

Jun 98: took 2 week vacation and was never asked about her pass.

I don't know if Disney has changed their policy on this (as on so many things these days) but back in '98 it was legal as per the official Disney line.

 

[Kaa]

I guess I just misunderstood the question. If you purchase and activate an Annual Pass when your child is 9 and then return to WDW within a year to use it again and the child is 10, then it is okay and does not need to be upgraded. My understanding of the question was that a child's pass was to be purchased now and not activated until well after the child was 10. If I understand correctly, then I don't believe that is how Disney intended the policy for purchasing passes to work.

Jennifer is correct that Disney will not ask, so it is strictly your judgement.

 

[darel]

My oldest daughter turned 10 in May.So this year will be a three adult and one child purchase.My younger is 7,so when we first went to Disney with our girls,they were 4 and 7.I think paying the proper price for the proper age would be the best thing to do.

 

[jsmla]

Just reread my post and realized I neglected to say that we did activate the pass when it was purchased in 97 (when DD was 9). I'm not always on the ball no matter how fast I juggle.

 

[GoldenOldie]

Originally posted by Wislodgers
GoldenOldie-
I did not know you could upgrade a hopper pass to an AP. What I am wondering is if I
purchase a 7 day hopper and say use 5 or 6 days in a row, could it still be traded in on a
AP? Would they really give you a credit of the entire ticket price even if most of it is used or did I
misunderstand this? Thank-you for any information!!

You understand it correctly. If you do the upgrade within 7 days of first use you can apply the entire purchase price of the PH to the upgrade.

Now here's where your example gets a little trickier. If you are using a PHP and you have used any of the plus options before upgrading, you will only be allowed to upgrade it to a PAP. You will still be able to credit the entire purchase price of the PHP to the PAP. The PAP will be backdated to expire 1 year from the date you first used the PHP.

If you have only used major park admissions on your PH or PHP pass, you can upgrade it to a regular AP as stated above.

Hope thats clear enough.

 

[Wislodgers]

Thank-you! We have not decided what to do exactly yet, but at least it is a good option!