Adult at age 10?

[C.M.O]

So I am sure this has been discussed before but when I tried to search nothing came up. Has anyone ever made a complaint about their child being an adult at age 10? I just don't understand it. This is the first year I am going with my child as an adult. I thought it was just ticket prices but it is everything! I can't afford to do anything anymore. I was going to book the pirates and pals and thought for sure she was a child since right in their wording it says "Guests under 16 years of age must be accompanied by a paying adult". ? then they tell me that she is an adult? Very confusing. I can't even begin about the character meals, she will not eat half the stuff on the adult menus and she will not finish any of it. Who can I contact about this? Sorry to complain so much, it is just frustrating. Thank you for listening

 

[Goofyernmost]

It's based more on the ability of them to participate in all the attractions that are available. Younger, there are some that due to size or temperament, will not be able to take advantage of what is there. Meals, I can't speak for anyone else but around that age, my kids and now my grandkids were able to eat way more then any kids meal offered, so they are charged at the higher price. It's not about maturity, its about consuming.

 

[C.M.O]

I understand for park tickets but maybe have a junior price for meals and Pirates and Pals? My daughter still eats off the kids menu and whenever I can, I do too. Adult meals are way too much food. It just is making it very hard to do the things we want to do. I am paying the price of a park ticket to eat dinner at a character meal. Just doesn't seem right. I am a single mom so it is just her and I. I can't imagine having a bigger family.

 

[Weather_Lady]

You can complain, but WDW makes way too much money from designating kids-as-adults to back down from this policy. I agree with you that it is ridiculous and unfair, but it's also something WDW is very up-front about.

You're stuck as far as the ticket pricing, but you can still save money on dining. If you can't afford the adult upcharge for your daughter, then I'd NOT get the dining plan and I'd skip the buffets and character meals (the ones with pay-one-price pricing arrangements, like Crystal Palace, Hollywood & Vine, Akershus) altogether. You won't miss the lower-quality food you tend to get at buffets, and you can still take your daughter to character meet-and-greets to meet the characters. If you want to have some table service meals, do them only at table service restaurants that offer a la carte pricing with a separate childrens' menu (e.g., Be Our Guest, Coral Reef, Via Napoli, Raglan Road, Mama Melrose, to name a few). It's an open secret that anyone -- adult or child -- can order off of the children's menu at such places if they wish. Ditto for counter-service meals. (More tips here: http://blog.touringplans.com/2012/0...-walt-disney-world-dining-with-a-10-year-old/)

 

[Goofyernmost]

I understand for park tickets but maybe have a junior price for meals and Pirates and Pals? My daughter still eats off the kids menu and whenever I can, I do too. Adult meals are way too much food. It just is making it very hard to do the things we want to do. I am paying the price of a park ticket to eat dinner at a character meal. Just doesn't seem right. I am a single mom so it is just her and I. I can't imagine having a bigger family.

Totally understandable, however, one has to realize that Disney cannot have a program for every scenario that might come up. They have probably done a study and determined that from that age up, kids tend to consume like an adult. At least it's fair, you've reached the age of 10 you pay the higher price and everyone 10 and above has too.

 

[Mawg]

never heard of them questioning a 9 year old on if they were 10. Just saying.

 

[Goofyernmost]

never heard of them questioning a 9 year old on if they were 10. Just saying.

Pretty embarrassing if they do ask though! Honesty prevents problems most of the time. It may be more expensive but, it's not a good experience when caught in a lie.

 

[JillC LI]

I agree with @Weather_Lady. Skip the dining plan and pay out of pocket for food. Then skip buffets and character meals. Do lots of other character experiences. And order off the kids menu for your daughter when you eat, whether it be at a table service or counter service place. It sounds like you are not big eaters as adults either so the dining plan is likely to be too much food for you and a waste of money.

 

[lazyboy97o]

never heard of them questioning a 9 year old on if they were 10. Just saying.

No, but does MyMagic+ know ages?

 

[jaklgreen]

You can order kids meals for you over 10yo if you want. Like others have said just skip the buffets if you are worried they will not eat enough. My kids never ate the "kids" meal junk. We always had then split an adult meal and the servers where very nice about it and they usually brought the food out on two plates for us. We still split meals when we go if we are not too hungry. I think a lot of people do this. By the time my girls were 9 & 10, they could put away an adult meal no problem. My younger one will suck down a filet no problem. LOL

 

[Weather_Lady]

No, but does MyMagic+ know ages?

No, but the kids know how old they are, and for many parents, lying in front of their kids (or asking their kids to lie to a cast member if asked their age) is not a precedent they want to set.

Certainly, if a guest has been to WDW before with their child, the child's name and age will be "tied" to the parent's in WDW's reservation system. If WDW cared to look up that information, they might challenge the guest about why their child hasn't aged, although I've not heard of that happening...

 

[Mawg]

No, but does MyMagic+ know ages?

It could if you are already in the system.

 

[Mawg]

Kinda thought that comment wouldn't go over well. I struggle with the OP's problem too, 10 for some to start eating off the Adult menu is good but not so good for others. I kind of feel like the discretion should be more for the parents. If the parents want to pay for a kids meal off the menu then great, if they know the kid's not going to like it and wants to be treated like an adult then pay for the adult.

 

[jaklgreen]

Kinda thought that comment wouldn't go over well. I struggle with the OP's problem too, 10 for some to start eating off the Adult menu is good but not so good for others. I kind of feel like the discretion should be more for the parents. If the parents want to pay for a kids meal off the menu then great, if they know the kid's not going to like it and wants to be treated like an adult then pay for the adult.

Nothing is really set up that would be up to the parent. If that were the case then they would be able to offer kids sized portions of whatever food we ordered. For those of us who do not feed their kids the stuff that is on the regular kids menus everywhere. I would love it if that were an option so, as you say, let the parents decide what their child eats. I would have loved it when my kids were younger if the kids meals were just mini versions of adult "normal" food.

 

[Mawg]

The first time we took my youngest he was 3 (oldest 5). We stayed offsite and I bought the tickets at the local Walmart. I said I needed 2 adult tickets and two child tickets. They asked how old my youngest was and I said 3. They said don't waste your money on him just say he's 2. I still bought the 4 tickets. Then when entering the parks one of the cast members actually said to me, you should have just said he was 2 and saved some money. I felt honest about it but at the same time felt a little ripped off.

 

[PhilharMagician]

When my daughter hit the 10 Y/O mark we cut out almost all of the buffet meals. Se still mostly ate off of the children's menu at the a la carte locations.

The big killer IMHO are the dinner shows. The adult price incorporate the cost of alcoholic beverages and they still have the same age cut-off. There should be at least some sort of tween/teen rate slightly higher then the 9 and under rate.

Today my daughter is 15 and weighs 90 lbs. If she went to a Disney buffet she would eat about $4.00 worth of food and I would be paying $40.00 for that to happen. At least someone is making a lot of money and it certainly is not me.

 

[George]

No, but does MyMagic+ know ages?

If you're in the database, it is a hard thing to hide.

Disney did use to offer junior pricing. Allearsnet has a great ticket price history page - http://allears.net/tix/tickethistory.htm

My son is 10, my daughter is 8. We won't be doing the dining plan any time soon. They'll let anyone order a kids meal. The buffets are a bad deal. Very, very bad based on amount and type of food eaten by most kids. The change in pricing structure relative to kids and the upcharge for no expiration tickets are the two biggest changes in Disney pricing for families. Even more important than any increase.

 

[lunchbox1175]

I agree with @Weather_Lady. Skip the dining plan and pay out of pocket for food. Then skip buffets and character meals. Do lots of other character experiences. And order off the kids menu for your daughter when you eat, whether it be at a table service or counter service place. It sounds like you are not big eaters as adults either so the dining plan is likely to be too much food for you and a waste of money.

I agree here, you should pay out of pocket, then you won't have to worry about her not getting a kids meal.

 

[flynnibus]

Totally understandable, however, one has to realize that Disney cannot have a program for every scenario that might come up. They have probably done a study and determined that from that age up, kids tend to consume like an adult. At least it's fair, you've reached the age of 10 you pay the higher price and everyone 10 and above has too.

You think this was scientific?

I think it was more 'whats the tipping point people will tolerate' and we can pocket the increased revenue. When they started charging the same price for child and adult on certain APs... it's not because 'the 6yr old was found to use just as much resources as a 21yr old' - It was Disney saying 'we dont have to discount this anymore'

 

[Goofyernmost]

You think this was scientific?

I think it was more 'whats the tipping point people will tolerate' and we can pocket the increased revenue. When they started charging the same price for child and adult on certain APs... it's not because 'the 6yr old was found to use just as much resources as a 21yr old' - It was Disney saying 'we dont have to discount this anymore'

I said "probably"! Doesn't really matter, they can charge what ever they want and we can pay it or not go. Right?