Changes coming to minimum age requirement for unaccompanied park entry

[World Showcaser]

I guess it's their parks so Disney can decide but it seems a little silly to me. Why can't parents decide when their child is old enough to fly solo?

Frankly, I think the age should be 10 since Disney considers them Adults at that age

Reading the link, it seems as though it will apply to attractions as well?!? If so, that is going to suck! My 10 and 9 year old have been riding attractions by themselves since they were 7, because their little sister is a total chicken.
Is this a war on solo parents?

I'm also worried about this. We have three children. This means that we won't always be able to fit in the same ride car and will have to split up. We were hoping to let our 8 year old ride alone. If we are right behind or in front of her (or both), will this be ok?

 

[tmarquez]

How will they know how old the kid is? I don't know any 14 year olds that walk around with ID. I guess it is just in case something happens, Disney is covered.

 

[maxiesmom]

Frankly, I think the age should be 10 since Disney considers them Adults at that age

Be grateful they don't consider them an adult for everything--such as your room rate.

I have no problem with them wanting kids under 14 to have an adult along in order to get into the park. It doesn't sound like they will have to be 14 to walk in the parks alone, they just don't want a lot of kids that age alone in the parks, without an adult to answer to. But it doesn't sound as if you can just drop them at the gate either, and adult must enter with them.

 

[Suellen]

Meh...I was with a friend on our own for hours in MK at age 9. But those were different times...or something

I think lots of locals will be upset about the water parks being included in this new restriction. It seems lots of them drop their kids off after school and pick them up around dinner time....

Really? I don't know a single person that does this. Besides... our kids don't get out of school until 3:30 (well that is then the bell rings) and by the time you got to a water park (and I live pretty darn close) it would be at LEAST 4:00 and the parks close during most of the school year at 5 or 6. I doubt anyone is doing that for an hour. Besides you would have to drive home and drive back by closing time. Come on.

 

[Suellen]

FWIW in rides that we are all riding in the same car... Winnie the Pooh, SSE, TSM they always allow my 5 and 7 year old to sit together alone on the same row/side.

 

[World Showcaser]

FWIW in rides that we are all riding in the same car... Winnie the Pooh, SSE, TSM they always allow my 5 and 7 year old to sit together alone on the same row/side.

Yes but that is with the current rules. You only have to be 7 to ride alone. I wonder if these new rules will change that.

 

[DebbieB]

Really? I don't know a single person that does this. Besides... our kids don't get out of school until 3:30 (well that is then the bell rings) and by the time you got to a water park (and I live pretty darn close) it would be at LEAST 4:00 and the parks close during most of the school year at 5 or 6. I doubt anyone is doing that for an hour. Besides you would have to drive home and drive back by closing time. Come on.

Spring Break & summer are coming up, I would not be surprised if parents are dropping off 10 to 14 year olds for the day. Also on weekends.

 

[mydisneykids]

I understand Disney needing to cover itself but come on. We always let the kids bring a friend on their 13th birthday trip and are staying at the beach club. My kids are responsible and know the parks like the back of their hands and they are now saying that if they want to walk over to EPCOT before us and meet us there they will not be allowed in?

 

[2Tiggies]

Frankly, I think the age should be 10 since Disney considers them Adults at that age

That would make sense

It's very difficult to apply a responsible minimum age rule to all kids so I guess they have to choose an age and stick with it. My DD at 7 would have been fine in the park on her own if I'd left her. I wouldn't because we go together and there is no need to split up. Some kids at 14 are not as responsible as someone else's 6 year old. You just can't generalize, but by the same token, Disney can't evaluate each individual child's level of responsibility.

It doesn't bother me either way aside from being a point of interest

As for attractions, I cannot imagine that the same rule will apply for riding. So many people's families are structured with ages that would rule out enjoying much of what the Disney parks have to offer. I just don't see that happening

 

[AJ1983]

It seems from pp that this is to curb the place from being overrun with tweens/young teenagers in small or large groups, with no adult to take responsibility.

If you are there vacationing as a family, I doubt anyone will give your 13 year old any difficulty in reentering the park to join his/her family. You there are there spending money..the local kids have the AP and don't stay onsite, probably don't buy souvenirs, etc.

 

[DebbieB]

An issue I just thought of is Pop Warner. Many times you see small groups of cheerleaders in the parks without an adult. May not be 14.

 

[mummabear]

I definitely agree with this!! Haha!

It makes a good case for kids under 14 paying a child's ticket...

 

[keishashadow]

Basically this keeps the locals (for the most part) from dropping their kiddos off at the parks for the day. More space for me!

I can see how for some folks they will NOT be happy with this though. I'm sure there is something that happened that has brought about this change though.

people are people, doesn't matter where they live. I'd venture to guess that most people wouldn't dream of dumping a kid off at an amusement park. Especially 'the locals' who are more in the know as to crime rates/incidents in their area than vactioneers that can be blinded by pixie dust...confusing the happiest place on earth with the safest.

this new rule is something dreamed up by the disney legal beagles likely to cover their collective behinds.

I have no idea if there is a rule as to X number of chaperones/per group actually be in the park to supervise their charges. However, if they don't have the rule in place, they should and then enforce it.

 

[mom2rtk]

An issue I just thought of is Pop Warner. Many times you see small groups of cheerleaders in the parks without an adult. May not be 14.

Thank Heaven the BTGs are all 15, right? Whew. Crisis averted.

 

[Suellen]

Spring Break & summer are coming up, I would not be surprised if parents are dropping off 10 to 14 year olds for the day. Also on weekends.

I still don't know a single person that does this. Maybe older kids... say 13 and up... even then I don't know anyone.

If the current rule is supposed to be 7 and up can ride alone and 6 and under need a 14 year old to ride with them... (is that the rule) they don't typically enforce this. As I said above... as long as we are in the same ride vehicle with them they allow them to ride together.

 

[o0junebug0o]

That's too bad! I remember one trip many years ago, my parents, aunts, and uncles favorite thing to do in the evenings was to eat dinner at the California Grill and hang out there for hours. My cousin and I, on the other hand, rode the monorail to Magic Kingdom after we finished eating our dinner to ride more rides! We couldn't have been much older than 10! Great memories!

 

[ghtx]

I still don't know a single person that does this. Maybe older kids... say 13 and up... even then I don't know anyone.

If the current rule is supposed to be 7 and up can ride alone and 6 and under need a 14 year old to ride with them... (is that the rule) they don't typically enforce this. As I said above... as long as we are in the same ride vehicle with them they allow them to ride together.

The current rule (on rides) is enforced, it's just that it's allowed as long as you are in the same ride vehicle. E.g. in October my 5-year-old rode on Barnstormer in a row all by himself, while I and my 2-year-old rode right behind him in the next row. He wasn't riding "by himself" since we were right behind him. But if he would have been waiting in line by himself and tried to get on without me there (or someone with him at least 14), he wouldn't have been able to ride.

 

[acebatonfan]

Finally! I could not see how a parent would let a seven year old enter WDW unattended, especially with fears of crime and child predators. Fourteen seems a much better age than having the minimum age at seven, but I am debating whether it might be old enough.

For me, my parents started letting me tour the parks (like hitting TT and MS while they took a break) at fourteen. I was allowed to go on a trip to Disney with my orchestra at sixteen, and they knew I was mature enough to tour the parks solo. Outside of the world, my parents know that I have a lot of street smarts and the wisdom to safely get from one destination to another, even helping my confused mom get through the DC metro system (when we were both first-timers at it). If I wanted to spend a few hours after school studying, my parents would have no problem with me walking the quarter/half mile to the nearest Starbucks and just calling to be picked up.

My little sister, on the other hand, is currently sixteen and cannot tell the difference between down and up, let alone how to navigate a theme park. If someone were to offer her free candy out of a car, she would possibly go into that car. As a result of this, even at her age, she needs to be supervised at all times, and I often have to make sure she is able to safely take a transfer bus from her school to my school whenever she has to come up for chorus rehearsals.

Fourteen seems to be an appropriate age, though it still should be up to parental discretion as to whether to let their teenager enter the parks unsupervised.

 

[ZephyrHawk]

Finally! I could not see how a parent would let a seven year old enter WDW unattended, especially with fears of crime and child predators. Fourteen seems a much better age than having the minimum age at seven, but I am debating whether it might be old enough.

Because some of us are not afraid of crime and child predators, especially at Disney. Are there predators out there? Yes. Could they be lurking at Disney? Sure. Do I worry about them? A heck of a lot less than I do - for example - having the kids swim in Disney pools. A kid is in critical condition right now as a result of nearly drowning at Pop Century this past weekend after the lifeguards were no longer on duty.

Mind you, I wouldn't let a 7 year old into the park alone, but a group of 11-13 year olds who have proved themselves to be responsible? Sure.

 

[Tormania]

people are people, doesn't matter where they live. I'd venture to guess that most people wouldn't dream of dumping a kid off at an amusement park. Especially 'the locals' who are more in the know as to crime rates/incidents in their area than vactioneers that can be blinded by pixie dust...confusing the happiest place on earth with the safest.

this new rule is something dreamed up by the disney legal beagles likely to cover their collective behinds.

I have no idea if there is a rule as to X number of chaperones/per group actually be in the park to supervise their charges. However, if they don't have the rule in place, they should and then enforce it.

Obviously you never went to AstroWorld in Houston. That was all that park was in the summertime and it got so bad that families started staying away and it finally closed down. Not saying that would happen at WDW but, yes, there are many parents would would drop their pre-teens/teens off at an amusement park all day, they already do it at the mall.