dining plan and turning 3?

[duckyfordonald]

My DS will be turning 3 two days after we arrive at Disney. The CM told us that we do not need to purchase park passes or dining plan for him, because he will still be age 2 at check-in. My question is, after he "officially" turns 3, and the servers at the restaurants ask his age - what do we say? If we say he is 3, will we be charged a dining credit? Will we have to explain our situation at every TS meal? I'm a bit confused how to best approach this. Would appreciate any advice or anyone with previous experience with this - THANKS!

 

[jeannief]

I've never had this issue, but if it were me, I would be honest and explain what happened if (and only if) they ask his age. Will it be a pain? Maybe, but it's the best way.
Enjoy the trip!

 

[kcashner]

Disney counts your age at check in as your age for the trip. We have encountered this both on the ship and at the parks. So, your "turning 3" should still count as 2 for dining and park admission (as in free).

As to answering servers, I'd just explain if asked. We were never asked for proof, but you might consider making a xerox copy of the birth certificate and placing that in your wallet.

One exception to the above--on the ship, if you want to do an excursion that requires you to be a certain age, you can do that even though you are listed as younger for booking. The supervisor can over-ride the computer. That's probably more than you needed to know, right?

 

[jayhjay]

We have this exact same issue. In fact, I might have even posted the exact same question! One thing that I found is that your card will indicate how many adults and kids are on your plan. For example, my card will say 2A 1C for my DH, older DD, and I. So it should be clear that my little DD is not on the plan (and the only way one member of the party can not be on the plan is if they are under 3). So I am assuming that most CMs will just go by what is on the card and hopefully it won't require explaining the situation every time.

 

[duckyfordonald]

Thanks for all of the great advice! While I realized that we were "allowed" to have DS,turning 3, off the dining plan, I was just looking for an "easy" way out of explaining it at every TS (where we are almost always asked for the ages of the kids). But yes, I certainly CAN explain our situation if necessary (DS7 will probably want to tell everyone it's his little brother's b-day trip anyway!), and we will just hope that our cards will verify and/or clear up any confusion.

 

[LBKMAMA]

This makes me feel better....I just switched our reservation to late September, we will return from WDW the day before my DD turns 3. This and free dining for the rest of us is saving us a bundle. The only thing that worries me is she is a very tall girl and I don't want people to think I'm cheating the system. I was going to bring a copy of her birth certificate just in case. Your right though I gave her birthdate and our Key to the World cards will only have my two boys and DH and I on them so that should be enough proof so to speak? My husband thinks I worry to much..

 

[Disneynutbsv]

We kind of have the same thing going on but at the other end. Our twins will be turning 10 during the trip, but I was told that if they start the trip at 9, they stay 9 in their system. So, after this years trip they will be considered adults....