Minimum age of 14 to enter parks alone: Starts March 23rd

[Lewisc]

My guess (and clearly just a guess) is that the recent drowning of the pre-teen at pop century - and the related negative publicity (it made lead story on cnn.com at one point) - may have prompted an overall review of safety/adult supervision policies.

Maybe a good guess. From the article linked by the OP:

The new policy will take effect March 23 at all U.S. Walt Disney World and Disneyland resorts and parks.

Sounds like the policy might be applicable at the resort pools.

 

[Spacedog1975]

Jim Hill Media posits one reason:

http://jimhillmedia.com/editor_in_c...theme-park-guests-to-be-more-destructive.aspx

 

[Tekneek]

Jim Hill Media posits one reason:

http://jimhillmedia.com/editor_in_c...theme-park-guests-to-be-more-destructive.aspx

What Jim fails to address is how not requiring an adult to ride with the pre-teen will prevent these incidents. Given that they can still ride whatever they want, and the companion that is 14+ only has to be with them at the entrance, how would it even begin to accomplish anything meaningful elsewhere in the park?

 

[tjkraz]

What Jim fails to address is how not requiring an adult to ride with the pre-teen will prevent these incidents. Given that they can still ride whatever they want, and the companion that is 14+ only has to be with them at the entrance, how would it even begin to accomplish anything meaningful elsewhere in the park?

I don't know whether Hill is right or not but the policy change certainly couldn't hurt. I suspect there is a different mindset when touring the park, knowing a parent could be lurking around any corner, than there is when you know mom or dad dropped you at the gate and is now long gone.

 

[Spacedog1975]

What Jim fails to address is how not requiring an adult to ride with the pre-teen will prevent these incidents. Given that they can still ride whatever they want, and the companion that is 14+ only has to be with them at the entrance, how would it even begin to accomplish anything meaningful elsewhere in the park?

If someone under 14 is accompanied through the gate, it raises the probability that they be accompanied throughout the park.

 

[bouncycat]

So, what happens if your children look older or younger than they actually are? My step daughter is 16, looks like she's about 12, and my son is 14, looks like he's about 20. My step daughter is 5 foot nothing, and my son is 6 foot. What happens then? Granted they are military dependents, so they both have ID's, but what if the gate person doesn't believe them? They've both been to WDW so many times they can navigate the parks in the dark, blindfolded etc.

Just wanted to know that. Some kids are older/younger than they look. I usually carry my son's ID, so what if he doesn't have it? Just throwing some loops in the mix

 

[Tekneek]

I suspect there is a different mindset when touring the park, knowing a parent could be lurking around any corner, than there is when you know mom or dad dropped you at the gate and is now long gone.

You would probably know if your parent is lurking around the corner in a 30 to 40 minute queue line, and know how unlikely it is if you were walking in opposite directions from the castle.

 

[Tekneek]

If someone under 14 is accompanied through the gate, it raises the probability that they be accompanied throughout the park.

Sure, it raises it from zero to something above zero, but I hesitate to believe it gets anywhere close to 100%. If you intended to have your kid go alone, and only entered because you had to, you're now going to accompany them through the queue of every attraction they want to go on? That's a leap.

 

[Lewisc]

People want to speculate as to the why. Maybe Disney is comfortable, if necessary, escorting a 14 year old out of the parks. Maybe Disney doesn't feel comfortable ejecting, if necessary, a younger child. Having a parent in the park means the parent can be paged so both the parent and brat can be escorted out of the park.

I'm curious if the signage around the pools change.

 

[tjkraz]

The desire to second-guess and nit-pick the policy change surprises me.

As outsiders, we have absolutely no resources by which to evaluate the decision. We don't know how many <14 kids are entering the parks unsupervised on a daily basis. We don't know what sort of damage they do, if poor behavior impacts other guests or what other management issues arise from dealing with this group.

Whatever problems exist today...it's logical to assume they will decrease with the policy change. SOME number of parents will no longer drop their kids off unsupervised. SOME of those kids who are escorted through the gates by mom & dad will think twice before goofing off in front of their friends.

I don't really see the downside here. Sure some children mature faster than others but in terms of a general policy, can't say that I believe 12 and 13 year olds are entitled to greater unsupervised freedom in the Disney parks.

 

[smitch425]

What is the age group of the Pop Warner kids and other cheer competition participants? Maybe that is part of the reasoning behind the change.

 

[Tekneek]

It is a park entrance requirement. It isn't a requirement that the 14+ companion stay in the park. It isn't a requirement that the 14+ companion ever see this other person again for the rest of their life.