Credit: DisneyA Walt Disney World Resort ticket is expensive. Even with recent ticket discounts, it can cost hundreds for a family to enter a Disney theme park for just one day. Park Hopper upgrades and Park Hopper Plus Water Park add-ons bump the price up even more.
Disney Parks offer discounted tickets for children under ten and free admission for those under three. But this isn’t enough for some families who abuse the system to avoid paying for an extra Walt Disney World ticket.
Related: Disney World Drops Park Hop Reservation Requirement For Guests
Last year, a viral TikTok showed a family hiding a five-year-old in a car seat at the entrance to Magic Kingdom Park. Once onto Main Street, U.S.A., the little girl climbed out of the stroller. Some defended the behavior.
“All the negative comments on here clearly don’t have kids age 3-5 that are not tall enough for most rides.. good job! We did this too til about 5 😂,” @cccaaattty wrote on TikTok.
Most Disney Parks fans were disgusted.
“What this does is encourage these types of people to continue to be dishonest,” one commenter wrote at the time. “They should pay the ticket cost like the rest of us who have children. I have 3. 2 of my kids do not go on rides. I still paid for them to get into Disney and Universal multiple times. That’s what parents should do.”
Still, little has changed. On Reddit this week, multiple parents bragged about sneaking older children into Magic Kingdom Park, EPCOT, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
“We took my twins a week after their 3rd birthday last year,” said u/simple_observer86. “Their birthday is normally presidents day week, but Presidents day ended up being a week later, wife’s a teacher and had off for presidents day, so that’s when we were there. ‘Oh yeah we are here for their birthday’ and no one ever questioned it beyond that. The adults paid to get in, we paid for food, we bought souvenirs and stuffies that the kids wanted. They’re not gonna ask.”
“Our kids were still under 3 up until they turned 5 lol,” u/ChefBoyAnde728 said.
Some parents warned to train children to lie about their ages ahead of time.
“They don’t ask the parents, they ask the kids, and it’s always the kids that rat you out – ‘How old are you princess?’” u/gogo-gaget wrote.
Inside the Magic doesn’t recommend or condone lying about your child’s age. If caught, Walt Disney World Resort reserves the right to ban you from its theme parks, Resort hotels, and Disney Springs.
Should Walt Disney World Resort amend its ticket policy because of rule-breaking? Share your thoughts with Inside the Magic in the comments.
Please note that the story outlined in this article is based on a personal Disney Parks Guest experience. No two Guest experiences are alike, and this article does not necessarily align with Inside the Magic’s personal views on Disney Park operations.