At what age can kids be on their own at resort?

[rdaky]

We are not American so I think I am also asking from a legal/cultural perspective - in Australia we don’t have these security checks.

This is definitely not an American thing, but it is a Disney thing. We travel throughout the United States and stay in hotels regularly and Disney is the ONLY place where we have ever had to deal with this nonsense of checking our rooms for no justified reason whatsoever.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

At those ages we left the kids in the room to do a date night in Epcot. During a 10 day trip the kids liked having an evening to chill out, watch tv, play on their iPads, phones. We would grab them QS before we headed out and we’d be gone for 4 or so hours.

When I went with DD12 alone I didn’t leave her in the room alone (not even to grab food) because I knew she’d freak out if they did a room check while she was showering or in the bathroom.

She’s 18 now and since she was 15-16 I leave her and she knows about the room checks.

 

[Anthony1971]

This is definitely not an American thing, but it is a Disney thing. We travel throughout the United States and stay in hotels regularly and Disney is the ONLY place where we have ever had to deal with this nonsense of checking our rooms for no justified reason whatsoever.

Room wellness checks have always been a thing... It has become more apparent in recent years because of less housekeeping as this does count as a wellness/security check. If a hotel cleans on a daily basis it counts if you decline cleaning and the hotel allows you can bet your room will get checked daily by someone else. We have never been to a hotel where the room was not entered on a daily basis from DC to CA and in between. One can NOT stop or request a hotel from doing this. It is in fact common practice not just Disney. I have no idea what hotels you have stayed in but our rooms have been checked cleaned daily ever where.
OP if your room is cleaned daily this will be the "security" check if not someone will come to empty the trash it is not a big concern. It is more like a knock one answers would you like your trash taken out... You can say no and the person will move on. We have never had anything different at Disney. If no one is in the room you will find an empty trash can or cleaned room if your room is cleaned daily.
This is known as a wellness check and hotels do this for many reasons... Yes some may get singled out for some reason or another and encounter more checks although we have never experienced this.

 

[dez1978]

I am not asking to be snarky.
i am genuienely interested!
Why do you feel a resort is ok to be left alone but not a park?

My first thoughts are 1) a resort ( especially a deluxe with inside hallways and room doors) can be an isolated place depending on what building you are in and what time of day it might be. 2) in the parks, a cast member should be within seconds of finding to ask for help whether they are working a foodcart or sweeping or are inside a store or standing near an attraction entrance.

I'm a grandmother of an almost 10year old and hoping to get back in Jan 2026 so I'm interested in any other thoughts! THX

IMO, for my kids, I'd feel more comfortable at the resort because it's smaller, and they are most likely to just chill in the room. But even if they left the room, I wouldn't worry about them getting "lost". At the parks, I'd be more concerned they'd get turned around and not be able to find where they are supposed to be. Mine are 13&10 and stay home alone and are fine. At a local park this summer, we did let them, and their older cousin (15) go off on their own a few times, and they were fine.

Having said all that, I know that at age 11, back in the early 90's, my parents dropped my friend and I off at the gates of Six Flags with tickets and $20 and told us to meet them back at the gates at whatever time, and we were off on our own lol. Gen X childhood at it's best lol.

 

[DizneyFamof4]

Room wellness checks have always been a thing... It has become more apparent in recent years because of less housekeeping as this does count as a wellness/security check. If a hotel cleans on a daily basis it counts if you decline cleaning and the hotel allows you can bet your room will get checked daily by someone else. We have never been to a hotel where the room was not entered on a daily basis from DC to CA and in between. One can NOT stop or request a hotel from doing this. It is in fact common practice not just Disney. I have no idea what hotels you have stayed in but our rooms have been checked cleaned daily ever where.
OP if your room is cleaned daily this will be the "security" check if not someone will come to empty the trash it is not a big concern. It is more like a knock one answers would you like your trash taken out... You can say no and the person will move on. We have never had anything different at Disney. If no one is in the room you will find an empty trash can or cleaned room if your room is cleaned daily.
This is known as a wellness check and hotels do this for many reasons... Yes some may get singled out for some reason or another and encounter more checks although we have never experienced this.

If you get cleaning service than yes, but we have been to a lot of hotels over the last 3 years and when we put out the "do not disturb" sign or just tell the hotel that we do not need room cleaning, no one comes by. I can only go back 3 years because that is when we started traveling with my MIL. We may get her to go out for a few hours on 1 day, the rest she would rather stay in the room then sight see and since she is elderly I take a room camera to check in on her every so often while we are out. So between MIL and camera I know for a fact no one did a room check during all those days. Heck a lot of hotels are short staffed as it is and do not have the staff to do room checks if the cleaning crew doesn't do it.

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

IMO, for my kids, I'd feel more comfortable at the resort because it's smaller, and they are most likely to just chill in the room. But even if they left the room, I wouldn't worry about them getting "lost". At the parks, I'd be more concerned they'd get turned around and not be able to find where they are supposed to be. Mine are 13&10 and stay home alone and are fine. At a local park this summer, we did let them, and their older cousin (15) go off on their own a few times, and they were fine.

Having said all that, I know that at age 11, back in the early 90's, my parents dropped my friend and I off at the gates of Six Flags with tickets and $20 and told us to meet them back at the gates at whatever time, and we were off on our own lol. Gen X childhood at it's best lol.

I was asking HooperSnag because it seemed like they were leaving a single kid alone, not multiple kids. I'm still curious why a resort but not a park. I'd like to know if I'm missing something.

 

[Wayland10]

We left my 12 and 15 year olds alone in the mornings while my husband and I went to the closest park- AKL to Animal Kingdom - a few years ago. They were teens who had zero interest in getting up before noon and were responsible. They had room charging privileges and we had food in the room if they woke up, and we told them they could go to the pool and walk around if they stayed together, but all they wanted to do was play games with their friends and have screen time. The 15 year old could also go back to the room by herself if she wasn’t feeling the park, and she did a few times. It was not a problem, but they’re both trustworthy and mature kids.

 

[Elephantay]

I am not asking to be snarky.
i am genuienely interested!
Why do you feel a resort is ok to be left alone but not a park?

My first thoughts are 1) a resort ( especially a deluxe with inside hallways and room doors) can be an isolated place depending on what building you are in and what time of day it might be. 2) in the parks, a cast member should be within seconds of finding to ask for help whether they are working a foodcart or sweeping or are inside a store or standing near an attraction entrance.

I'm a grandmother of an almost 10year old and hoping to get back in Jan 2026 so I'm interested in any other thoughts! THX

In your resort room, they can lock the door and have privacy in the bathroom. There is a phone in case of emergency.

In a park, there are thousands of people, public bathrooms, and way more space and activity- it can be overwhelming depending on the crowds and activities, weather, etc.

 

[Rory607]

My kids are about those ages and I would have no issue leaving them in the room together for a while. My oldest has a phone and could get a hold of us at any time. I would let them know about security checks and I like the idea of having them step into the hall while cast members are in the room. And if they feel uncomfortable at any point, go the lobby and call us from there.

As far as the parks, I think it’s very dependent on maturity level of the kids. My DD went to a theme park (not Disney) at 13 on a school trip and they were mostly unsupervised in the park. They had to check in periodically with a chaperone. I didn’t think twice about it as she is very mature and responsible. I was keeping tabs on her location, but I really wasn’t worried at all. My younger one has ADHD and is very attached to us. I honestly don’t think he would want to be alone in the parks without an adult, even his teenage sister. I hope one day he’ll go to college without me, lol