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Teddi
07-05-2011, 02:13 PM
Sharing this because I think it's really important for families with young kids to know.
A change since we went at the end of April....

"Children under age 7 years must be accompanied by a person age 14 years or older." In other words, "responsible person" has been changed to be someone who meets the minimum height requirement to ride alone AND is 14 yrs old +.

This applies ALSO to rider swaps. Meaning, your under 14 yr can't be the one to wait with a younger child while adult in the party goes on with another child.

Example: (And a ride in particular where it's more complicated)
Silly Symphony Swings. Riders: Me(mom), Bert 11, Chloe 6, Kaylie 6. Before: I could take my two 42 inchers, one rode with brother (over 52 inches) in a tandem swing, me with the other 42 inchers in a tandem swing. This time: only brother could go, by himself. Being over 48 inches, he could ride alone. He wasn't allowed to ride in a tandem swing w/little sister (even with all 4 of us going on the ride at the same time). He also was told he could not wait with little sister in the rider switch area.

Didn't specifically encounter this on other rides... but this will really be painful for single moms/dad/adults with younger kids.... before as long as adult/parent was ON the ride, it was ok.

A few months ago, we definitely had brother ride switch on BTRR, Matterhorn, Space, etc. Apparently now, in this situation, the little kids and the single parent/adult couldn't do these rides.

Painful. I'm not going to argue it, because Disney has the rights to set policies as they believe best protect all parties. But my littles were disappointed to the point of tears when the entrance CM gave us misinformation and when we went to try to board, we were denied. This was the 3rd trip I've also done as a solo mom with her multiple children. These types of trips will be made much more difficult for families. I'm glad we won't be taking the kids again til after Christmas, which will fall one week after my twins hit 7... otherwise, not sure a solo mom trip would be worth the stress and upset kids.

Seashellmama
07-05-2011, 03:15 PM
Did you get this information from guest services/in writing? That is, do you feel sure it's an official policy change, or a CM making a local call? It sounds like two different CMs gave you different information, which makes it sound like it was the latter, a local situation to that CM and that ride, not a global policy change for the resort.

Teddi
07-05-2011, 03:24 PM
I was indeed given different info. The entrance CM hemmed about it, didn't ask how old my 11 yr old was, gave us the yellow tandem swing cards, and a rider switch card. Two other CMs gave (separately) the answer that a responsible party had to be 14 or over, and that it was a recent policy change. They were very clear about this, very firm.

I looked at about 15 different attractions on the Disneyland website, that is where I got this from:


Guest Policies

Supervise children at all times. Children under age 7 years must be accompanied by a person age 14 years or older.

Even on rides like the Disneyland train, where there is no height requirement. Based on that, I feel pretty certain this is an official policy change.

adriennek
07-05-2011, 03:47 PM
Even on rides like the Disneyland train, where there is no height requirement. Based on that, I feel pretty certain this is an official policy change.

There has always been a policy that children under 7 can't ride alone, even on rides without a height requirement. There's been a policy in the past that the person riding with them had to be a certain height - I want to say it was like 54 inches?

As a mom to three kids, I totally feel for you. :( It's tough to take three to the park alone. I'm fortunate that my youngest is 7 now (and my not-yet-14-y/o was over 54" when he wasn't.) Unfortunately, this, like many other Disney policies will be unevenly applied. And because it's an age restriction, not a "verifiable" restriction like height is, people will abuse it. (Look how many "2-year-olds" the size of 5-year-olds get into the park without tickets or 9-y/o's the size of 12-y/os pay children's prices.)

Teddi
07-05-2011, 04:01 PM
There's been a policy in the past that the person riding with them had to be a certain height - I want to say it was like 54 inches?

Yes, one of the CMs said that, they used to go by height as far as being a responsible person but now they have to tall enough to ride AND 14 yrs old. It was never brought up in April, with riding rides or rider swap. Just so happens, we didn't make it to Soarin, Space, BTRR, or Splash where this particular issue came up (part of the time my SIL and her 3 yr old with with us, sometimes it was just us 4).

3Princesses1Prince
07-06-2011, 08:39 AM
I know this is the policy in WDW too.

LOZZYPOP
07-06-2011, 12:18 PM
(Look how many "2-year-olds" the size of 5-year-olds get into the park without tickets or 9-y/o's the size of 12-y/os pay children's prices.)

My nine year old IS the size of a twelve year old - doesn't change the fact that she is only nine years old. Of course, I can prove her age if need be but I refuse to pay adult prices when she is entitled to the child's price - it's not my fault she's so tall.

Mermaid
07-06-2011, 12:48 PM
My nine year old IS the size of a twelve year old - doesn't change the fact that she is only nine years old. Of course, I can prove her age if need be but I refuse to pay adult prices when she is entitled to the child's price - it's not my fault she's so tall.

I don't think that is what AdK was implying. I think she meant there are a whole lot of "2 year olds" and "9 year olds" out there. Of course if a child is truly just tall- get the cheaper ticket!

SuzanneSLO
07-06-2011, 02:09 PM
There has always been a policy that children under 7 can't ride alone, even on rides without a height requirement. There's been a policy in the past that the person riding with them had to be a certain height - I want to say it was like 54 inches?

As a mom to three kids, I totally feel for you. :( It's tough to take three to the park alone. I'm fortunate that my youngest is 7 now (and my not-yet-14-y/o was over 54" when he wasn't.) Unfortunately, this, like many other Disney policies will be unevenly applied. And because it's an age restriction, not a "verifiable" restriction like height is, people will abuse it. (Look how many "2-year-olds" the size of 5-year-olds get into the park without tickets or 9-y/o's the size of 12-y/os pay children's prices.)

How do they verify eligibility? My Mom and Dad are taking her grand kids next May, when my nephew will be 1 month shy of 7 and his sister will be 11. Not surprisingly, the kids have a greater tolerance for repeat trips on the thrill rides than my 80 YO parents! I suggested postpoing the trip for a month but my Mom is concerned about summer crowds. Both kids are very tall for their ages (I think my nephew is already 50+"). Are they likely to be quizzed on their ages each time they try to ride? -- Suzanne

Malcon10t
07-06-2011, 03:00 PM
They will ask the kids "How old are you??" My niece, who is 6 turning 7 the end of the month, wore her birthday button all weekend, and when anyone asked her how old she was, she answered 7. You never know what they will answer, but the short answer to your question is "Yes, they will be asked." And they will ask the child, not the adult.

adriennek
07-06-2011, 03:23 PM
My nine year old IS the size of a twelve year old - doesn't change the fact that she is only nine years old. Of course, I can prove her age if need be but I refuse to pay adult prices when she is entitled to the child's price - it's not my fault she's so tall.


I don't think that is what AdK was implying. I think she meant there are a whole lot of "2 year olds" and "9 year olds" out there. Of course if a child is truly just tall- get the cheaper ticket!

What Mermaid said. Of course there will be exceptions to the rule. But there are plenty of people, some I know of personally, who push the envelope, so there are a lot more at Disneyland on a given day than there are statistically in the overall population.

I've told the story before of the day AVP and Tony took my eldest to DCA - the day BEFORE his third birthday. (This was when the two-park AP cost considerably more than the one-park AP. I had not planned to buy a two-park AP for a 3-y/o who could not ride most of the attractions there.) They asked at the front gate "How old is he?" because he looked pretty big for a kid who should be free. AVP answered without lying, hesitation or guilt: "He's turning 3 TOMORROW which is why we're bringing him here TODAY."

bumblebeeonarose
07-06-2011, 03:23 PM
Age is an interesting thing. It makes sense that they want someone responsible to be with little kids. Not all 14 y/o are responsible though. And some 11 y/o may be more responsible. But I guess they had to pick an age for the policy.

Height and age often don't match though. A lot of 2 y/o are tall enough for some of the bigger rides like Splash and Matterhorn, but some older kids are not. Our neice just turned five and at 47.5" was tall enough to go on everything except Screamin. Our DD just turned one and she is already 31" tall. Matterhorn only has a requirement of 35". I swear I read somewhere about kids needing to be so tall and at least three. But I just checked and it doesn't say that on the Disneyland website, at least not on the Matterhorn page. They deffinately don't inforce an age with height for young ones because I saw a mom take her son on Star Tours with a FP and she said he didn't have one because he was only two. We expect DD to reach that 35" mark before next June when her 2nd birthday comes around. Our APs are good until the day after her birthday, so she may just get to ride Matterhorn.

In regards to your actual post, I saw this on the Matterhorn page •Supervise children at all times. Children under age 7 years must be accompanied by a person age 14 years or older.
And this •Guests with young children may take turns experiencing attractions. See a Cast Member for additional information.

If the two policies work together then you could never leave a child younger than seven with anyone younger than fourteen. So I guess that means you couldn't ride while your son waited. I guess once they turn seven they are magically mature enough to be left alone with him though.

And I still wonder how you prove it...? At 14 my brother looked ten. At ten, I could have passed for 14...

LOZZYPOP
07-06-2011, 05:39 PM
What Mermaid said. Of course there will be exceptions to the rule. But there are plenty of people, some I know of personally, who push the envelope, so there are a lot more at Disneyland on a given day than there are statistically in the overall population.

I've told the story before of the day AVP and Tony took my eldest to DCA - the day BEFORE his third birthday. (This was when the two-park AP cost considerably more than the one-park AP. I had not planned to buy a two-park AP for a 3-y/o who could not ride most of the attractions there.) They asked at the front gate "How old is he?" because he looked pretty big for a kid who should be free. AVP answered without lying, hesitation or guilt: "He's turning 3 TOMORROW which is why we're bringing him here TODAY."

I know you weren't trying to generalize Adrienne. I just wanted to point out that in some cases, parents are being genuine when they claim their 5 foot tall daughter is only 8 or 9. I'm a pretty honest person and when she turns 10, I will be buying her adult ticket for sure. But in the mean time, I have to try and get the kid's price while I can - I sure can't buy kid's clothes or shoes for her any more!

It's a hot button issue for me since I seem to get the stink eye a fair bit when people don't think she is acting her "age". She usually is - problem is that her age is only 9.

Teddi
07-06-2011, 05:59 PM
They will ask the kids "How old are you??" My niece, who is 6 turning 7 the end of the month, wore her birthday button all weekend, and when anyone asked her how old she was, she answered 7. You never know what they will answer, but the short answer to your question is "Yes, they will be asked." And they will ask the child, not the adult.

That was pretty much my exact experience.

And as I summarized, the 11 yr old couldn't wait with a younger (age 6) sibling. And actually, they didn't even ask the 6 yr olds how old they were, they just said he flat couldn't wait with them. Generally, we've had to rider switch because DD "K" doesn't like the faster scarier rides, though "C" generally likes them. C even rode ToT (though she said, NOT TIL I AM 10! will she try it again, lol) with DS 11, while I waited with "K", who was too scared to even wait with her brother! In this scenarios, only DS 11 could ride alone (assuming height is met)

MermaidHair
07-06-2011, 07:26 PM
It's a hot button issue for me since I seem to get the stink eye a fair bit when people don't think she is acting her "age". She usually is - problem is that her age is only 9.

Oh Lozzypop, I have one of these too. Harder still, to get other KIDS to realize DD(10 and 5ft 2in) is not acting immature. AND she is already starting to borrow my clothes (tshirts, sweats, etc):eek:. The plus side is that she could ride anything she wanted to starting at her first trip to DLR at age 5!

lisamk
07-06-2011, 07:47 PM
sorry I am being so thick on this one....so if there is one parent and 2 kids both under 7 (assume all height requirements are met) basically you are out of luck for that ride unless you can all fit in one car? Because a 6 year old could not wait by themselves while the parent rides with the 5 year old? (this is what we recently did on the bumper cars in bugs land at dca)

adriennek
07-06-2011, 07:48 PM
sorry I am being so thick on this one....so if there is one parent and 2 kids both under 7 (assume all height requirements are met) basically you are out of luck for that ride unless you can all fit in one car? Because a 6 year old could not wait by themselves while the parent rides with the 5 year old? (this is what we recently did on the bumper cars in bugs land at dca)

This is correct. This part has always been the policy - that children had to be 7-y/o to ride alone.

ETA: The change in the policy was that previously, the only requirement to accompany a child under 7 was to be of a certain height. Now to accompany a child under 7, the person must be a certain height AND age 14.

foolishmortal
07-06-2011, 08:03 PM
I know you weren't trying to generalize Adrienne. I just wanted to point out that in some cases, parents are being genuine when they claim their 5 foot tall daughter is only 8 or 9. I'm a pretty honest person and when she turns 10, I will be buying her adult ticket for sure. But in the mean time, I have to try and get the kid's price while I can - I sure can't buy kid's clothes or shoes for her any more!

It's a hot button issue for me since I seem to get the stink eye a fair bit when people don't think she is acting her "age". She usually is - problem is that her age is only 9.

My DD's Bf gets that all the time. She was almost 5'8 at 8yrs old! She is now 12 and is over 6ft tall, poor kid looks 17 and is 12.
Now my Grr is 8 and looks like a 5yr old. Short guy. Mean but short.

Hope you don't get any more stink eyes! Hang in there in a yr or 2 they won't even ask any more.

candles71
07-07-2011, 12:20 PM
This is correct. This part has always been the policy - that children had to be 7-y/o to ride alone.

ETA: The change in the policy was that previously, the only requirement to accompany a child under 7 was to be of a certain height. Now to accompany a child under 7, the person must be a certain height AND age 14.

Except, Midway?? (The one with the day trip reports), said he experienced "parent swap" at the Bugs Bumper Cars because niether of them was old enough to ride by themselves and he was alone with the kiddos. He had never heard of this and was trying to excercise "regret" to his daughter they couldn't ride because he was just one parent, the CM volunteered the option.

3Princesses1Prince
07-07-2011, 12:35 PM
sorry I am being so thick on this one....so if there is one parent and 2 kids both under 7 (assume all height requirements are met) basically you are out of luck for that ride unless you can all fit in one car? Because a 6 year old could not wait by themselves while the parent rides with the 5 year old? (this is what we recently did on the bumper cars in bugs land at dca)

On the bumper cars I think they'll let one parent swap out kids while the other child waits on the loading dock.

wwomant
07-07-2011, 01:38 PM
When we did the bumper cars a CM offered to ride with (then) DS5, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to ride, as I had to be with DS3. DS5 thought it was pretty cool to get to ride with a CM. :)

pixar
07-07-2011, 08:47 PM
Height and age often don't match though. A lot of 2 y/o are tall enough for some of the bigger rides like Splash and Matterhorn, but some older kids are not. Our neice just turned five and at 47.5" was tall enough to go on everything except Screamin. Our DD just turned one and she is already 31" tall. Matterhorn only has a requirement of 35". I swear I read somewhere about kids needing to be so tall and at least three. But I just checked and it doesn't say that on the Disneyland website, at least not on the Matterhorn page. They deffinately don't inforce an age with height for young ones because I saw a mom take her son on Star Tours with a FP and she said he didn't have one because he was only two. We expect DD to reach that 35" mark before next June when her 2nd birthday comes around. Our APs are good until the day after her birthday, so she may just get to ride Matterhorn.


I've always wondered if admission should be based on height rather than age. Under 35" would be free. 35" - 48" would be the discounted price. Any taller, you pay the full admission.

adriennek
07-07-2011, 09:32 PM
I've always wondered if admission should be based on height rather than age. Under 35" would be free. 35" - 48" would be the discounted price. Any taller, you pay the full admission.

That's... pretty much how it is. The average 3-y/o is about 35-37". 48" is the average height for an 8 y/o. (CDC Growth Charts (http://www.cdc.gov/growthcharts/clinical_charts.htm).)

AVP
07-08-2011, 07:02 AM
That's... pretty much how it is. The average 3-y/o is about 35-37". 48" is the average height for an 8 y/o. (CDC Growth Charts (http://www.cdc.gov/growthcharts/clinical_charts.htm).)Sure, but by making it age-based and not height-based, Disney avoids all sorts of related issues. Height-based pricing implies "we're charging based on how many of the rides/shows/attractions you can consume," so short adults, pregnant women, guests who can not transfer from their wheelchairs, and folks with serious back conditions could then presumably say "well, WE can't go on "X" number of rides, so we should get discounted admission too."

AVP

Bolivar
07-08-2011, 08:24 AM
We took my youngest on his first trip in August of 2006 just before he turned three in October. He was 40” tall and the cast members gave us a hard time a lot. We would get fastpasses, but because he didn’t have a ticket we couldn’t get him one, so when we would return for the ride we would explain that and they would question his age, measure him about a million times and finally let us on but making it clear they didn’t believe he was two. I was wishing I had brought his birth certificate.