Woman Says Knott’s Unfair to Tall Children : Rules: Amusement park now limits ticket discounts to those under 54 inches tall. Mission Viejo woman says her 11-year-old daughter passed that mark long ago.

Kids are no longer considered kids at Knott’s Berry Farm, where a new policy limiting price discounts based on height has angered a Mission Viejo woman who says it’s discrimination.

Thomasina (Tommie) Pagliarulo, 28, was banking on the park’s discount for children when she planned a birthday party at Knott’s for her 11-year-old daughter’s girlfriend, who turned 11 on Saturday.

But Pagliarulo canceled the party when she learned the park now gives price breaks only to people shorter than 4 feet, 6 inches tall, or 54 inches.

Both girls have long since shot past the 5-foot mark, and an 11-year-old Buena Park boy who was to join the celebration is 5 feet tall, Pagliarulo said.

Park officials say the new policy, which went into effect Feb. 6, is fairer than the old one and helps fight ticket fraud.

Pagliarulo disagrees.

“There’s just no way I’m paying an adult ticket price--$26--for an 11-year-old,” said Pagliarulo, who learned of the price difference after calling the park Friday. Instead of Knott’s, she took the children to a roller skating rink. Under Knott’s previous discount, a child’s ticket cost $13.95.

“I just can’t afford it,” she said. “I think this discriminates against tall children in Orange County.”

The previous policy gave discounts to youths aged 3 to 11, Bill Dayton, vice president of marketing at the park, said. But people shorter than 54 inches are restricted from many rides because of safety precautions, so the new policy allows for ticket price based on park-goers’ access to rides, he said.

“It does away with designations about what makes a kid a kid,” Dayton said. “When you think about it, why is any age magical? If 11-year-olds get a discount, why not 12-year-olds?”

The policy change means that shorter people--regardless of age--will get the discount, said Dayton, who said the new policy has been publicized along with a new park promotion. However, a recorded message at the park says that only “children” up to 54 inches will be admitted for the discount price.

The new policy was also begun partly because of problems with teen-agers posing as youngsters to get the discount ticket price, Dayton said. Since the new policy began, ticket sales for children have dropped from 34% of all ticket sales to 29%, possibly representing the extent of fraud, he said.

The height restriction meets medical estimates for the average height of an 11-year-old, Dayton said.

But Pagliarulo said the park should update its medical charts.

“My 4-year-old daughter Danielle is already 4-foot-1,” said Pagliarulo, who points out her family is not unusually tall. She is 5 feet, 6 inches and her husband is 5 feet, 10 inches.

“These limits are just unrealistic,” she said. Pagliarulo said she does not plan to return to the park, where she was married six years ago and where her father once worked as a food services manager.

“We usually plan at least one trip a year with the kids,” Pagliarulo said.

Dayton said the alternative to the new policy was unrealistic. It would have required parents to bring some form of identification, such as a birth certificate, to prove their child’s age.

“We had a situation where clerks were arguing with teen-agers who were insisting they were 10 and they had hair on their face,” Dayton said. “I don’t think it’s realistic to have kids carrying ID.”

Pagliarulo said she brings her child’s birth certificate with her when there may be a question about her daughter’s age.

The new policy also ushers in higher ticket prices at the park.

Under the old policy, children under 3 were admitted free, children aged 3 to 11 paid $13.95, adults paid $23.95 and seniors over 60 were charged $17.95, Dayton said.

Now, children under 3 are still admitted free, people shorter than 54 inches pay $15.95, adults are charged $25.95 and seniors still pay $17.95.

“We thought we had a nice, happy solution,” said Dayton, who said few people have complained.