ID question

[slacker]

I'm just wondering what types of identification work in disney world. I'm 21 and from Ontario, Canada and all i have is my BYID card. It's a card issued for the purchase of alcohol, will this work? It's no big deal if it doesn't, but some of the boozey drinks i've heard about here sound so good!!
...and no, i don't have a driver's license or a passport.

 

[rcapolete]

Though they changed the law now and you need a passport to get in and out of the US to canada. If this is the case then that would work

 

[Monty]

I would strongly recommend getting yourself a passport. It'll cost you $87 and save you a world of heartache. Without a passport you cannot fly into or out of the U.S. and crossing the border by land you need a Government-issued photo ID and your Birth Certificate or other proof of citizenship. I recommend a passport for border crossings as well, simply because it cuts your processing time significantly. Passports can be scanned in less than a second, without one the border agent has to manually enter your identifying information into the computer...

 

[PilotWife]

I would strongly recommend getting yourself a passport. It'll cost you $87 and save you a world of heartache. Without a passport you cannot fly into or out of the U.S. and crossing the border by land you need a Government-issued photo ID and your Birth Certificate or other proof of citizenship. I recommend a passport for border crossings as well, simply because it cuts your processing time significantly. Passports can be scanned in less than a second, without one the border agent has to manually enter your identifying information into the computer...

You might want to look into this more. I know that the U.S. is VERY backlogged on getting our passports done, and they (govt) has postponed some of the entry rules that went in effect earlier this yr.

 

[mousermerf]

Canada isn't nearly as backlogged though - or so i've heard.

 

[Monty]

You might want to look into this more. I know that the U.S. is VERY backlogged on getting our passports done, and they (govt) has postponed some of the entry rules that went in effect earlier this yr.

Canadian passport office processes new applications received by mail from the US in 15 weeks, from within Canada within 10 weeks and in-person applications within two weeks. 24-hour processing can be obtained in person for an additional fee of $70 or in 2-9 working days for an additional $30 fee. The expedited processing fees are a new addition, probably because the US passport office has similar fees [but nowhere near the processing times].

The US changes to the passport requirements for air travel allow US citizens who can show a receipt that indicates they have applied for a passport to travel, but they will be subject to additional scrutiny...

 

[tigsmom]

I'm going to agree that getting a passport is the way to go.
We are going to get ours soon and we don't even have any plans to leave the country...yet. Its better to have them and not need them then to have to rush around to have one expedited.

 

[Monty]

I'm going to agree that getting a passport is the way to go.
We are going to get ours soon and we don't even have any plans to leave the country...yet. Its better to have them and not need them then to have to rush around to have one expedited.

Actually, even flying within Canada I find having my passport makes everything easier. Airline check-in goes smoother, they can just scan my passport and they have everything they need. Boarding is better because the passport is easier to confirm ID than the little picture on my driver license.

 

[tigsmom]

Actually, even flying within Canada I find having my passport makes everything easier. Airline check-in goes smoother, they can just scan my passport and they have everything they need. Boarding is better because the passport is easier to confirm ID than the little picture on my driver license.

I didn't think of it that way. I hate to say it, but I think the time will come in the not too distant future when we will need a passport to travel around the country.

 

[Monty]

I didn't think of it that way. I hate to say it, but I think the time will come in the not too distant future when we will need a passport to travel around the country.

Honestly, I would love to see a "Passport Card" that would have biometric data [iris scan - fingerprint data makes more trouble for me :lookaroun] that incorporates driver's license, health card, birth certificate in one readily replaceable easily canceled card. I'd be happier still if they could included multiple credit cards, frequent shopper cards as well as insurance for hospital, car even life could be stored...

Good encryption and tamper resistance are readily available these days and enough anti-fraud and forgery tools are available as well. Carry one card instead of a wallet-full of stuff.

 

[slacker]

Yeah, it is a government issued id. We're driving, not flying. I am mostly just concerned about id in disney world... not only for alcohol, i think you also need some for the keys to the kingdom tour.

 

[Monty]

Yeah, it is a government issued id. We're driving, not flying. I am mostly just concerned about id in disney world... not only for alcohol, i think you also need some for the keys to the kingdom tour.

Since you'll need a birth certificate as well to cross the border, the combination of Gov't-issued photo ID and birth certificate should be OK for proof of age in FLA.

 

[hematite153]

Yeah, it is a government issued id. We're driving, not flying. I am mostly just concerned about id in disney world... not only for alcohol, i think you also need some for the keys to the kingdom tour.

When are you going? After Jan 1, 2008 they might require a passport to drive across the border as well (the reports seem to vary regularly but it is definitely coming sometime soon).

I was worried about the reports of long waits for passports and delayed renewing mine because of it. But, I got one in June. I waited in the passport office for about an hour and a half and had a new passport delivered to my home less than a week later.

I agree with others, having a passport makes all border crossings easier--even driving ones. Plus, there's a security in knowing that you could fly home if something went wrong. Can you imagine having a family member in emergency surgery and being a 24 hour drive away?

 

[mkt]

I didn't think of it that way. I hate to say it, but I think the time will come in the not too distant future when we will need a passport to travel around the country.

Welcome to Amerika citizen The second we get internal passports, I leave US soil... not even the colonies, I'll leave altogether.

 

[maelstrom]

Welcome to Amerika citizen The second we get internal passports, I leave US soil... not even the colonies, I'll leave altogether.

I'll assume you've seen the Amerika miniseries with Sam Neil, etc.

Do you have your papers, comrade?

 

[slacker]

No no, i leave on the 11th of august. We put all the thought into the passports and it turned out it didn't come into affect until later.

 

[maelstrom]

No no, i leave on the 11th of august. We put all the thought into the passports and it turned out it didn't come into affect until later.

I'd still advise you to start going about obtaining a passport. It's a good thing to have.

I'm so glad that I got my passport almost two years ago before all of this nonsense. I ended up not using it because none of my friends wanted to go to Vienna and Prague with my school and I didn't want to go without at least one person I knew. Same thing happened with Peru. But I digress. My cousin works for the USPS and got everything filled out all efficiently for me. It is just unfortunate that the passport office sent me a passport with all of my information on it with an older lady's picture. Ah, all questions and concerns about this country can be answered with: "left hand does not know what right hand is doing, nor does it care". :brick:

 

[hematite153]

No no, i leave on the 11th of august. We put all the thought into the passports and it turned out it didn't come into affect until later.

I'd still advise you to start going about obtaining a passport. It's a good thing to have.

I agree with maelstrom. My DW resisted getting a passport when we cruised in the caribbean for our honeymoon. I argued the safety aspects of having a passport when out of the country. She ended up getting one "to make me happy" but has frequently said how glad she is to have it since. There really is a feeling of security in knowing that you can use it to fly in an emergency, or to get help if something goes wrong.

Yes, Aug 11th is coming up fast. However, I really did have a passport within a week of applying. If you get your pictures and guarantor signatures today and then take a long lunch (preferably outside normal lunch times) at the passport office tomorrow you could have a passport by the time you travel. If nothing else you'd have the receipt saying that they were mailing you one and some people have had success flying with this during emergency situations. (The US government has created a system where proof of application for a US passport will suffice for now, but, they haven't got the same official line for application for Canadian passports.)

It's your choice. If you really don't want to get a passport make sure you have an undamaged, official birth certificate with you or you'll likely get held up at the border both directions--I had a friend who had to wait at the Canadian border until her husband arrived (hours later) with the document she'd forgotten to bring.

 

[mkt]

I'll assume you've seen the Amerika miniseries with Sam Neil, etc.

Do you have your papers, comrade?

bits and pieces, yes. My older brother Peter is commuting between Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Miami due to his work, and he tells me that in China he feels less restricted and more free to do as he pleases than he does in the US.

Me, I left for a federally-ignored, self-governing US colony located less than an hours flight from 5 other countries (including one which I have right of abode in), should the ____!t ever hit the fan.