Credit: Shanghai DisneylandThe way kids gain access to one Disney park is changing next month.
Disney or not, all theme parks have rules. For example, no theme park tolerates antisocial behavior – whether that’s towards its employees or other guests – while anything deemed too lewd or illegal will also often get you removed from the premises ASAP.
When you’re in Mickey Mouse’s domain, some rules are a little bit more specific. Over the years, we’ve seen guests rejected from parks due to their clothing, with anything overtly political typically generating an instant “no” at the park entrance. Guests have also faced issues bringing certain items into the parks, such as selfie sticks (which are strictly not allowed at Disney World or Disneyland) and, in one recent bizarre incident, playing cards.
One rule all Disney parks – or all theme parks, for that matter – have in common is height requirements. Guests must be a certain height to access bigger, more intense attractions, such as Space Mountain, Tower of Terror, or Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind.
At Shanghai Disneyland, this height requirement also affects whether youngsters are admitted for free, at a discounted rate, or a full-price ticket.
Children under three years old—or shorter than one meter tall—on the day of their visit receive free park admission. Meanwhile, those aged between three and eleven, or between one meter and 1.4 meters tall, receive a 25% discount on their ticket.
However, this policy is now changing. Like its counterparts in Florida, Anaheim, and Paris, Shanghai Disneyland will start deciding whether or not a child receives free admission based solely on their age from December 23, 2024.
Guests under the age of three will continue to gain free access. Those aged between three and 11 – regardless of height – will now be eligible for child’s tickets, which will be priced lower than adult tickets.
While this makes the policy easier to enforce, one strength of the old policy was that youngsters who weren’t tall enough to enjoy all of the park’s attractions – therefore wouldn’t get their full money’s worth – wouldn’t generate the same fare as a child who may be the same age but is tall enough to go on rides such as Soaring Over the Horizon (102 cm requirement), Roaring Rapids (107 cm), or Jet Packs (112 cm).
This is the second major change hitting Shanghai Disneyland on December 23. The park will also begin to enforce new ID rules, requiring all guests to present government-issued ID when purchasing and using their tickets. Annual Passholders are also only allowed to purchase one-day tickets on days when their pass isn’t valid.
Scalpers are a real issue at Shanghai Disneyland, both in terms of tickets and merchandise. This new policy will make it harder to price gauge the former. The same ID must be presented both at purchase and entry, with anybody whose details don’t match rejected at the gate.
What do you think of Shanghai Disneyland scrapping this height rule?