How old for kids to ride by themselves?

[Hannathy]

Okay, I must REALLY be protective or something. I wouldn't let my 13 year old ride alone. I barely let my 9 year old go to the men's restroom alone this trip!

We will go with the way, way,overprotective cause that is nicer than the "other"

!3 and you won't let him rid a Disney ride by himself!!! I guess driving in a couple years is going to be out of the question, LOL

My Goodness when? (for the rides)

 

[PoohsFan1]

When we were there in January, my family was getting ready to go inside Space Mountain. In front of us there was a dad and his 2 young DDs. The one DD could not ride due to her being too little. The other DD, who was a bit older, was the right height but looked to be about 5 or 6 years old (of course she could of been older but she was short so who knows exactly) and was able to go on the ride. The dad asked the CM if it was o.k. for the first DD to ride the ride without him and the CM said as long as the dad gave permission for her to ride alone then it is o.k. The dad gave his o.k. and then took the younger DD out of line and let the other DD walk the queue alone. I made sure DH and I kept an eye on the girl just in case she got confused, scared, or anything (she wasn't though). When we got to the loading area, the CM that put us in our designated spots didn't give a second look at her and let her get on the ride like normal. After the ride, we met back up with the girl again and had to show her which way was out. Luckily the girl's dad was standing at the exit (inside the shop) waiting for his DD. I was afraid that he might of been waiting somewhere outside, at which I would of helped her find her dad so she wouldn't get lost either.

Side note, if for some chance the girl was not going to be allowed to get on the ride because there wasn't an adult with her, I had already had it planned that I would explain the situation to that CM and then let them know is was o.k. that she could ride in the same car as us....didn't want her to be disappointed after all that.

 

[chloe4ever]

Okay, I must REALLY be protective or something. I wouldn't let my 13 year old ride alone. I barely let my 9 year old go to the men's restroom alone this trip!

Though, after seeing him this trip, the 13 year old would do great touring alone...though I'd miss him terribly and seeing his...well, non-reaction. LOL

I think you seriously need to loosen those strings and let your kids fly free.....

13 and cannot ride alone.....

 

[chloe4ever]

WOW 13?? Maybe I'm just underprotective - I was PSYCHED when both my kids were 7 and older. I GLADLY send them on the teacups alone now. And this past trip - at 8 and 9 - happily sent them on Rock N Roller Coaster a few times (once is enough for me on that ride - but they love to do it over and over).

Yes, my experience at WDW was that at age 7 they were allowed to go alone. Once when they were 6 and 7 they tried to go on Teacups alone (I was in line with them and in that line you can see them the whole time - I just moved right over to the exit to wait) - the CM asked them their ages, when they answered that dd was still 6...CM looked around for me and made me come in the exit to ride with them. I wasn't trying to sneak them on - They had ridden together on the trip prior so I didn't realize it wasn't allowed.

Anyway - OP - you should be fine.

You are not underprotective, you are just teaching your kids the value of independence and doing things on their own--very valuable skills for being able to function in society.

Too much helicopter parenting is really messing kids ups.......

Kids reach high school and they cannot function on their own or think for themselves.....

 

[anadyr21]

Okay, I must REALLY be protective or something. I wouldn't let my 13 year old ride alone. I barely let my 9 year old go to the men's restroom alone this trip!

Though, after seeing him this trip, the 13 year old would do great touring alone...though I'd miss him terribly and seeing his...well, non-reaction. LOL

Wow. When I was 10 and my cousin was 8, we were allowed free reign all day, while our parents stayed in one designated area, like, the Electric Umbrella in Epcot. We would come check on THEM every few hours to make sure they were ok. We could read the maps and come up with a gameplan. Maybe because we grew up in NYC, we knew how to handle ourselves. Thirteen is a bit old.

 

[poohfriend77]

WOW 13?? Maybe I'm just underprotective - I was PSYCHED when both my kids were 7 and older. I GLADLY send them on the teacups alone now. And this past trip - at 8 and 9 - happily sent them on Rock N Roller Coaster a few times (once is enough for me on that ride - but they love to do it over and over).

Yes, my experience at WDW was that at age 7 they were allowed to go alone. Once when they were 6 and 7 they tried to go on Teacups alone (I was in line with them and in that line you can see them the whole time - I just moved right over to the exit to wait) - the CM asked them their ages, when they answered that dd was still 6...CM looked around for me and made me come in the exit to ride with them. I wasn't trying to sneak them on - They had ridden together on the trip prior so I didn't realize it wasn't allowed.

Anyway - OP - you should be fine.

Me too! I had read the "7 to ride alone" rule here before we went on our trip in April. My DDs are 7 and 9 now, so I happily sat on the sidelines and watched them spin themselves silly on the teacups... twice! They also rode Barnstormer and Primeval Whirl together. We rode those as a family once, but they wanted to ride multiple times. Go for it girls, we'll be right here on this shady bench!

I will add that those are are "open air" lines. I could see them the whole time, and they were walk-on those mornings. I still wouldn't send the 7-year-old off on Haunted Mansion alone. She's not scared of the ride, but I think she'd be uncomfortable in the dark stretching room and with strangers bumping her as they make their way to the ride. But the great thing about Disney is that there are very few rides we don't all want to ride, anyway!

 

[jm-mom]

We were there last week and were told by more than one cast member at more than one ride that our daughter had to be 12 to be able to ride without a parent AND she must meet the height requirement. She is 11 1/2 so from that point on she suddenly became 12 years old! She's over 5' tall so she definitely met all the height requirements.

 

[delmar411]

We were there last week and were told by more than one cast member at more than one ride that our daughter had to be 12 to be able to ride without a parent AND she must meet the height requirement. She is 11 1/2 so from that point on she suddenly became 12 years old! She's over 5' tall so she definitely met all the height requirements.

If they've upped the age min to ride, we are going to be in for some super ugly scenes from my kids. They ride a good portion of the rides alone. And ODD(14) is in charge of YDS(6) because he's under 7.

I seriously hope this isn't the case. There is no logical reason to have upped the age min at all.

 

[KimK2006]

My DS has done the single rider line at TT since he was 7, which was what we were told the age he had to be to ride alone. If they have chaned it to 12, that is crazy!

 

[hebbynan]

When we go October 2013 - oldest DS will turn 14 one month after we get back. We were planning to let him and DS9 go around the park on their own (same park that we'll be in AND with various times they have to meet up with us throughout the day) armed with a cell phone. Since he's not 14, does anyone see a problem with letting him and his younger brother walk around together without us?

 

[JMSMommy]

It's not so much the ride, it's the waiting in lines. Dh and I still like to ride all the rides, so one of us is right there eagerly waiting to ride as well. At home, he has plenty of freedom, but on vacation with the family I guess I just view it differently.

 

[tjmw2727]

We were there last week and were told by more than one cast member at more than one ride that our daughter had to be 12 to be able to ride without a parent AND she must meet the height requirement. She is 11 1/2 so from that point on she suddenly became 12 years old! She's over 5' tall so she definitely met all the height requirements.

We were at WDW late April, about 3 weeks ago, when my neice and nephew rode together at 7 and 9 on many rides. As far as I know the age hasn't changed from 7 to ride alone. For parents that don't want to ride but don't want to send kids through the lines alone you can wait with them and then take the Chicken Exit. I used this on many occasions when my dd's were smaller.

99% of the time we ride together but I can only do some of the thrill rides once so they get to ride alone if they decide to ride a 2nd time.

My neice is a CM - I will shoot her a text/email to see if the minimum age has changed at WDW.

 

[tjmw2727]

The WDW website still lists 7 as the minimum age to ride alone!

"Guest Policies:

Guests must transfer from motorized scooter or ECV to an available wheelchair, then from the wheelchair to the attraction/ride vehicle.
For safety, you should be in good health and free from high blood pressure, heart, back or neck problems, motion sickness or other conditions that could be aggravated by this adventure.
Guests with young children may take turns experiencing attractions. See a Cast Member for additional information.
Disney's FASTPASS service, a reservation system that reduces time spent in line, is available for this attraction.
Expectant mothers should not ride.
Due to the nature of the experience, service animals are not permitted on this attraction.
Supervise children at all times. Children under age 7 years must be accompanied by a person age 14 years or older.

 

[Sweet Melissa]

I had no idea there were official minimum ages for such things. I guess I just assumed it was at the parents' discretion.

 

[flortlebap]

Theme parks in the UK generally have separate height restrictions for riding alone or accompanied. Here my DD can ride alone at 44", but in WDW shes a month short of her 7th birthday....

 

[KimK2006]

When we go October 2013 - oldest DS will turn 14 one month after we get back. We were planning to let him and DS9 go around the park on their own (same park that we'll be in AND with various times they have to meet up with us throughout the day) armed with a cell phone. Since he's not 14, does anyone see a problem with letting him and his younger brother walk around together without us?

I would have no problem with that. I would have been comfortable when my oldest was 11 or 12 with DS or another kiddo. (Of course, she has been going since she was 2, so she is very familiar with the parks, etc.)

 

[Hannathy]

When we go October 2013 - oldest DS will turn 14 one month after we get back. We were planning to let him and DS9 go around the park on their own (same park that we'll be in AND with various times they have to meet up with us throughout the day) armed with a cell phone. Since he's not 14, does anyone see a problem with letting him and his younger brother walk around together without us?

Absolutely no problem. My DD and DS did it when she was 14 and he was 7.

Also remember tens of thousands of High schoolers and middle schoolers go there on school trips and are on their own for days.

 

[hebbynan]

Thanks for your replies. I just wanted to make sure it wasn't a crazy idea!

 

[SmallWorld71]

If they are over the minimum height then they can ride alone, except for the Tomorrowland Speedway. You have the option of waiting in line with them and exiting instead of boarding on most attractions, including Space Mountain. Just tell the CM you want to exit instead of getting on the ride and wait for them at the end. They will show you where to go.

Just curious about the Speedway part. We are a family of 5 and at least one of the kids has been riding the speedway alone for years, generally starting around age 9 because that was when they were tall enough. DS13 even got a "license" from them once he reached the height requirement and could ride alone. He was 9.

I've have some motion sickness issues and can't ride some rides (teacups, barnstormer....) more than once or at all. DH and I have never had a problem with the kids riding without us. (At Disney, SeaWorld, Universal, Six Flags...) DD started riding rides with her brothers at age 7 and the boys started riding a few things alone around age 9. On rides with more intricate queues (such as R'n'r, I go through the line with them). Others, I just watch and take pictures. I look at my DD9 and I can understand not letting her take a young child on with her (although she would be fine), but I can't imagine saying she is too young to go on a ride without an adult - let alone 12!

 

[DopeyDame]

Just curious about the Speedway part.

I think what Figmant was alluding to is that there are two separate height requirements for the Speedway, which makes it unique. One height is to ride at all, even with a parent, and the other height is to ride alone.