Adults not riding certain rides...

[Crystal824]

They would be fine in line alone. If you use FP, you will hopefully not encounter any lines that long. If you do, you can go through the line with them. I went to WDW with my DH when I was 30 weeks pregnant with our DD. I coudln't do the big rides, but I often went through the line with him and just didn't ride. The CMs would direct me where to go right before he would board. You could do this with your kids if it makes you feel more comfortable.

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

It really makes them feel very grown up. I love to give my 12 yo daughter little calculated bits of freedom at Disney. She enjoys feeling trusted and give us a chance to let her spread her wings under somewhat controlled circumstances.

I do the same thing. Alison is 10, and I will walk her to the entrance of a ride and wait for her at the exit. She loves to ride the same ride over and over and over again, and I love that she loves to do that. However, I can only take the jerkiness of Space Mountain about 5 times before I need to sit it out for a while.

We also do single rider lines when they are available. There aren't many at Disney (Expedition Everest and Rockin' Rollercoaster come to mind), but when they are available, she feels really grown up getting to ride with someone besides mom.

 

[KimK2006]

I would have no problem with mine waiting in line with each other at those ages. Either wait at the exit, or if they have a celll phone, have them call when they get off. They will be fine! (Of course, some of the lines are interesting to go through....)

 

[bumbershoot]

We walk all the way through the line with them and then let them ride. We mostly do this to ensure they do not get bullied in line.

What sort of bullying are you concerned about?



My son is 8 and with some rides at Universal when we have the Express Pass, he just goes on his own. Flight of the Hippogriff and the Woody Woodpecker coaster being the key ones. The lines are *fast* with EP and it just seems ridiculous to walk through the line with him for 2 minutes, meet him at the exit, and do it all again. So we take some well-deserved bench-time and meet interesting people.

But I haven't found myself in a situation where I feel like sending him into a line on his own at WDW. FP is nothing like Uni's EP, so there will almost always be a wait at WDW, and he might get bored and maybe even lonely. Wait, he did do a 25 minute line at Disneyland, for the Gadget's Coaster there, but almost the entire line was visible from the outside, and I could see how he did. He wasn't rude to anyone, he didn't accidentally bump people, he chatted with people, he did GREAT, and that lets me know that he's really picked up the kind ways to wait in line and pay attention so you don't back up the line, etc. Obviously I'm more concerned about how HE does over what others do.

When people cut in line when we're all in line, we don't do anything but grumble. I keep the specter of the famous fight in line for the teacups from a couple years ago in my head, and remember that NO line cutter is worth lasting injuries, civil lawsuits, or arrests. And I want him to adopt that attitude as well.


So...a 12 and 9 year old in line together? It's really up to the kids, how well they get along, how well they do in lines anyway (do they swing on the ropes/chains/rails? pay attention to the movement of the line?), will they cause problems if someone cuts ahead of them, etc etc?

If I would just be waiting outside for them, I would probably just wait with them. If I had shopping to do, or *wanted* to sit on a bench perhaps with an adult beverage (assuming I'm not at MK of course), etc, then I might just send them off. What I, myself, probably would NOT do would be to go on another ride, because then what if *my* ride had a problem? Just increases the possible complications in my mind, so I would try to keep myself available.

 

[LoveToDisney]

Cell phone don't always work inside the ride/cue areas so be aware of that. I have several rides that I don't ride myself but enjoy staying with the kids thru the cue area and then taking the "chicken exit". I just let them know I will see them at the exit of the ride in the gift shop. That way, they aren't alone while waiting in the cue.

 

[drinkme]

With my kids I had no problem allowing them at that age to wait in a line alone. However, you said this is your first trip. Also, you said you are overprotective. With those 2 things to keep in mind, I would just stand in line with them.

Who knows, maybe by the end of your trip you will feel more comfortable allowing them to do the coasters over & over (& over & over) by themselves.

 

[MSSANDRA]

The reality is, if the ride breaks down while they are on it, your being in line before that is not going to make a difference. You certainly can stand in line with them and they will direct you to the exit, but it is almost always different than where you got on. If there is a breakdown while they are in line and you or they are not ok with the longer wait, they can bail out of the line. It is a comfort level thing. Would NOT allow without a cell phone. We have let my DS and DN then 11 ride alone and meet them at the end but it was during a VERY uncrowded day. I would suggest FP as much as possible. Remember you can get a PS for each ticket so assuming you have two adults not ridding a trill ride, you can get two PS for two different ones for your kids. I have also just sucked it up and ridden a few rides I had no desire to ride just so my DS would not have to ride alone but DH would NOT do this so no judgment if that does not work for you!

 

[dolphindan1]

FWIW, we let our then 10 year old ride RnR by himself....Me and my oldest son went to ToT cause the youngest didnt want to ride...I walked him to the exit and said I will meet you right here...if I am not here you can go ride again then walked him to the single rider line...Then we left to ride ToT...When we got back he was coming out the exit and said he was riding again...I thought it may have been his 2nd or 3rd time as we were gone only 20-30 mins...He said it was trip number 8....He loved it and we had no issues...

This Sept I plan to let the boys tour together on there own...12 and 17 year olds...the wife and I can enjoy ourselves looking in shops and seeing shows that we have never been in or hadnt seen in several years....I am soooooo looking forward to it

 

[aubriee]

I'd estimate that the probability for "stranger danger" (or any other kind)
in a random ride queue, full of dozens... to hundreds... of other guests (mostly families) would be near 0.0%. (If someone wanted to "remove" or otherwise "distress" the kids, that villain's face and actions would be seen by dozens and dozens of other guests in the queue.)

But again, what happens if the ride stops for a technical breakdown and the kids are "alone" stranded on the ride for 10-30-45 minutes.

The reason I'm stressing this is that it a very real possibility considering the more recent situation of major attraction shutdowns at WDW.

Would that happen?
I'd say it has a much, MUCH higher likelihood than any kind of waiting-in-line "negative situation."
.

When they're that age, it depends on the kids. If they're good about noticing what's going on around them, I'd let them go. But if they tend to zone out or are easily distracted, maybe not.

I agree, it depends on the kids. As an AP holder I go to WDW several times a year and since my husband is not as big a Disney fan as I am, alot of those trips are solo trips. I've seen alot of kids in line by themselves. I remember a couple of years ago waiting in line at Expedition Everest (fairly early in the morning, so before the single rider line opened up). There was a family right behind me that was driving me bonkers. Mom and dad had their noses in their iphones and the two kids spent the entire time arguing and pushing each other and just kept bumping into me, while mom and and dad ignored them. What made it ironic is that there were a couple of kids (an about 8 y/o little girl and a 12 y/o boy) waiting by themselves right in front of me. The two kids by themselves were so well mannered. They talked among themselves, but you could tell they were just really polite, well brought up kids. Not wanting to scare them by having some stranger talking to them, I didn't say much to them, but did answer when the boy asked me if I had ever ridden EE and smiled when he made a comment about the badly behaved kids right behing us that kept pushing each other into me. We were seated right behind each other on the ride and so when the ride ended I automatically followed them out through the gift shop to where their mother was waiting for them right outside. I approached her and asked if the two kids were hers. She gave a startled oh no look, then looked at her kids as if to say 'what did you do wrong now' and the kids gave a startled look, like 'we didn't do anything wrong, why are you tattling on us'. I laughed and told her I just wanted to complement her on raising some very well behaved kids and I was really impressed with how well they acted waiting by themselves with no adult supervision. The boy then laughed and nodded his head toward the family that had been so rude and obnoxious in line and said, "unlike some kids whose parents are standing right there with them, right?" The mom seemed to really appreciate me taking the time to complement her kids, but they deserved it.

As far as a ride getting stuck with solo kids on it, I would hope that any adult present would automatically keep any solo kids safe. I know I have seven grandkids and no matter what was happening on a stuck ride, if I saw kids alone the old 'mother's instinct' would automatically kick in. I woukd never approach a kid or even initiate a contact, but no way would I be able to not help reassure a scared kid. I remember riding Dinosaur a few years ago and right behind me a man was riding alone with five kids. He said two were his and three were his girlfriend's (who did not want to ride). As we were going through the line, I very quietly asked him if he had ever ridden Dinosaur and whispered it had scared the pants off my grand daughter a few years before. He laughed, rubbed the youngest little boy on the head and said he was their tough one and not afraid of anything and would be fine. I just shrugged and hoped he was right. I was placed in the first row and he sat in the second row with three of the kids and placed two of the kids in the front row with me (including the oldest and the youngest one that he had said was not scared of anything). Almost as soon as the ride started, I felt a little hand slip into mine. The little boy was obviously scared. Not wanting to be accused of touching someone else's child, but also not willing to pull my hand away from a scared kid, I squeezed his hand back and left it in mine. By the end of the ride, the poor kid had his face buried in my side and I had my arm around him. As we got through the dark part) after the big dino jumps out and they take the picture, the kid raised his head, put his finger to his lips and said, "Don't tell". I felt so sorry for him. He wasn't crying (maybe afraid of his older siblings giving him a hard time) but had been scared, clutching a total stranger the entire ride. I didn't have the heart to tell him that we were going to be showing up in the area where they take the photo. I walked straight out, so if they did stop at the photo viewing area, I'm not sure what the dad thought of his brave little man obviously terrified and of the stranger the poor kid was cuddled up to. It would have been obvious that the kid had turned and grabbed me, not I him.

 

[aubriee]

oops, duplicate

 

[MichelleBBB]

Gosh my kids (9 and 7) go on alone all the time. We are always there at RD and use fastpass and single rider so we never bother with rides that have any type of line. But I watch them get in line and then wait by the exit. Somehow they have made it through without being bullied.