Enforcement of 14 yr old restriction

[Magpie]

The rule is there for a reason, think worst case, not best case scenario... What if the kids were on a monorail that was stuck for hours, what if there was an evacuation in the park... Is a 10 year old equipped to handle that? Is it fair to ask a 13 year old to be in charge? I know there was a request for no flaming, but.... I am really surprised so many responses are comfortable with the scenario. I have a 10 year old. Maybe I will feel differently in 3 years.

So, let's assume worst case scenario and the irresponsible 13yo ditched the 10yo, who then tried to take the monorail back to their resort alone, which then broke down and had to be evacuated.

I teach ten year olds, besides having grown kids of my own. I would expect the child to call or text me as soon as the monorail stopped. I would expect the child to do what my kids did when they were 9 and 11 and found themselves alone and in an emergency situation - pick a stranger to help them (versus waiting for a stranger to pick them). In that case, my daughter chose a young college girl. At Disney, my kids would know to latch onto a family with young kids (generally the preferred option).

By the way, these are all scenarios we roleplayed from the time my kids were preschoolers. "Pick my stranger!" was a game we played regularly.

Then, once they were off the monorail, I would expect my child to follow the evacuation instructions, staying in touch with me by phone.

In my daughter's case, she didn't have a phone, so she borrowed one from her helpful stranger, while they waited for an ambulance (because my undiagnosed hypoglycemic 9yo had unexpectedly passed out).

You may be surprised what your 10yo can do in an emergency. Start talking to her about it now, and teach her how to identify people who can help her. There's a lot of them out there!

 

[baler31]

One it will put the responsibility on the CM. The policy is "Children under age 14 must be accompanied by a Guest age 14 or older to enter the following Walt Disney World parks and locations:

• Magic Kingdom Park
• Epcot
• Disney's Hollywood Studios
• Disney's Animal Kingdom Park
• Disney's Typhoon Lagoon Water Park
• Disney's Blizzard Beach Water Park
• DisneyQuest Indoor Interactive Theme Park

If you’re planning on some adults-only time at Walt Disney World Resort, we offer childcare service and Children's Activity Centers to provide you with the flexibility to enjoy your vacation as you wish.

Please Check Our Park Rules

We ask that you review our Walt Disney World Resort park rules before your visit to avoid any delays or disruptions. We regularly update our park rules to ensure you have a safe and enjoyable experience at Walt Disney World Resort."

So they can ask anyone to verify the age and provide proof of it and if not they can deny entry. They can also kick guest out of the park if they wish so the same way as asking proof. The policy is enforceable.

Disney childcare centers are not available for over 12.

Children’s Activity Centers
Children's Activity Centers are delightfully themed, supervised play spaces where kids 3 to 12 years of age can watch movies, play games, draw, dine and make new friends.Read More

 

[ellie05]

Disney childcare centers are not available for over 12.

Children’s Activity Centers
Children's Activity Centers are delightfully themed, supervised play spaces where kids 3 to 12 years of age can watch movies, play games, draw, dine and make new friends.Read More

So? That doesn't mean it's ok to break the rule last time I checked it is not Disney responsibility to provide childcare at all or to babysit your kids at the park because it is inconvinient. If people wouldn't have used the parks as babysitting service this rule wouldn't have been place in the first place.

FYI if you go to the concierge they would be more than happy to provide you with a phone numbers of trusted sitters that can watch your kids in your room.

 

[jeneric997]

Right after Disney raised the age to 14 we tested it with our then 13-year-old. We hung back as she walked up by herself and went in at all 4 parks, no questions asked.

As others have mentioned, the reason why Disney changed it to 14 was because they had parents out in DL using it as daycare. I think if your child is middle school aged and doesn't cause issues they would never be questioned. If they go in and act unruly, Disney wants the right to kick them out.

Since we tested it, I haven't thought of it, but last October, my DD 12, went through bag check. I just walked through to the gate at HS. We were no where near each other and no one stopped her with her magic band, that I think still says she is 10! As a family we rarely go through the same gate, everyone wants to see who can pick the best line!

My younger DD won't be 14 until she is in High School, I personally feel the age Disney set is a little too high, but I don't think they enforce it unless there is a reason to.

 

[piccolopat]

We are here now with my 14 and 11 year old nieces. They both look young for their ages. They love the coasters, we do not. The 14 year old says the ride cast member often asks her age. So, make sure your kids are ready to lie about their age or they might be refused.

I really don't think it is appropriate to tell kids to lie. If Disney chooses to not enforce their policy, that's on them.

 

[jeneric997]

So? That doesn't mean it's ok to break the rule last time I checked it is not Disney responsibility to provide childcare at all or to babysit your kids at the park because it is inconvinient. If people wouldn't have used the parks as babysitting service this rule wouldn't have been place in the first place.

FYI if you go to the concierge they would be more than happy to provide you with a phone numbers of trusted sitters that can watch your kids in your room.

The point they are making is that Disney doesn't feel that kids over 12 need supervision, so they don't provide care past that age at their clubs. So if you have a kid age 13, they can't go to the club and they can't go to the park- which stinks for the kid who is stuck in the room if their parents want to go out.

 

[ellie05]

The point they are making is that Disney doesn't feel that kids over 12 need supervision, so they don't provide care past that age at their clubs. So if you have a kid age 13, they can't go to the club and they can't go to the park- which stinks for the kid who is stuck in the room if their parents want to go out.

Is that really what Disney is saying just because they don't offer their services pass age 12 or is it that maybe there are not enough kids over 12 that use the service so it is not profitable.

 

[whiporee]

You know, in the end all threads reach one or two conclusions:

1) You either think Disney sucks or you don't.

or ..

2) You either think breaking whatever rule happens to apply is okay or you don't.

Everything else just ends up semantics.

We ought to all change our avatars so they reflect our stances, and we could save our fingers a lot of exercise.

 

[mymartianromance]

That must be an awkward training session for CMs tasked with enforcing age requirements.

"If a girl looks like she has boobs, she's probably 14. If a boy looks like he has peach fuzz on his face, he's probably 14."

Well, that would make Baby face me happy. I was an early Bloomer so that meant I had actual boobs by 12 years old.

 

[baler31]

So? That doesn't mean it's ok to break the rule last time I checked it is not Disney responsibility to provide childcare at all or to babysit your kids at the park because it is inconvinient. If people wouldn't have used the parks as babysitting service this rule wouldn't have been place in the first place.

FYI if you go to the concierge they would be more than happy to provide you with a phone numbers of trusted sitters that can watch your kids in your room.

Hmm...trust a park full of strangers.. or one stranger in a hotel room. I will use my own judgement and moral compass to guide my decisions and those I make for my children. I fully support others in making the decisions that best meet the needs of their families. Most 12 year olds do not need a babysitter. Some children have the maturity to start babysitting as early as age 12 or 13. Others are better off waiting until they're older teenagers.

 

[Magpie]

Well, that would make Baby face me happy. I was an early Bloomer so that meant I had actual boobs by 12 years old.

Me, too! And my son hit six feet tall at twelve. And was starting Grade eight (due to a late birthday combined with a Dec 31st cut off).

I think he'd never have forgiven us if we'd tried to hire a sitter for him when we were at Universal.

 

[jeneric997]

Is that really what Disney is saying just because they don't offer their services pass age 12 or is it that maybe there are not enough kids over 12 that use the service so it is not profitable.

We are talking about a company that considers it okay to charge a 10-year-old for adult portions of food- so they have never made sense with some of their age requirements! I'm not a lawyer and I don't know the law of every state, but I think 13 is considered old enough to be left unsupervised for several hours.

I think there are parents who would happily stick their teenager in the kids club- I just think no cast member wants to deal with a 13 year old! I volunteer in middle school every day and I don't blame them!

 

[ellie05]

We are talking about a company that considers it okay to charge a 10-year-old for adult portions of food- so they have never made sense with some of their age requirements! I'm not a lawyer and I don't know the law of every state, but I think 13 is considered old enough to be left unsupervised for several hours.

I think there are parents who would happily stick their teenager in the kids club- I just think no cast member wants to deal with a 13 year old! I volunteer in middle school every day and I don't blame them!

Exactly we are talking about a company that will make profit of babysitting your husband if there is profit to be made, not that they will care how hard it is for their CM at all. So it is far fetch to assume that Disney doesn't think children over 12 don't need supervision. If they felt that way they could easily change it to 12 to enter the park. Considering the policy is fairly new as of 2013 it says otherwise.

 

[maxiesmom]

Hmm...trust a park full of strangers.. or one stranger in a hotel room. I will use my own judgement and moral compass to guide my decisions and those I make for my children. I fully support others in making the decisions that best meet the needs of their families. Most 12 year olds do not need a babysitter. Some children have the maturity to start babysitting as early as age 12 or 13. Others are better off waiting until they're older teenagers.

And that is fine to do on your own. Going into a private business, you are bound to follow their rules.

 

[Nancyg56]

Hmm...trust a park full of strangers.. or one stranger in a hotel room. I will use my own judgement and moral compass to guide my decisions and those I make for my children. I fully support others in making the decisions that best meet the needs of their families. Most 12 year olds do not need a babysitter. Some children have the maturity to start babysitting as early as age 12 or 13. Others are better off waiting until they're older teenagers.

Again, your home your rules. When you enter a business, you should abide by the rules posted

 

[OFF2NVRLAND]

As for the monorail, the last person my kids need for comfort would be me - I'd freak out! Kind of like when we got lost in Camden NJ at night on a faulty GPS loop, and I told the kids we were all going to die.

This made me LOL! Kind of reminds me of when I was driving my boys and we got caught in a hailstorm with trash cans and debris flying all over the road. I could have handled it better to say the least . In my defense though, it did look like a scene from the movie Twister.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I really think the rule was developed more for DL than WDW, anyway. Parents were buying annual passes to DL for their children & using it as daycare (drop off in morning, pick up in evening).

Wow. I don't know whether to judge those parents for taking advantage, or wish I was a kid who got to spend my entire summer at Disneyland?

Right after Disney raised the age to 14 we tested it with our then 13-year-old. We hung back as she walked up by herself and went in at all 4 parks, no questions asked.

As others have mentioned, the reason why Disney changed it to 14 was because they had parents out in DL using it as daycare. I think if your child is middle school aged and doesn't cause issues they would never be questioned. If they go in and act unruly, Disney wants the right to kick them out.

Since we tested it, I haven't thought of it, but last October, my DD 12, went through bag check. I just walked through to the gate at HS. We were no where near each other and no one stopped her with her magic band, that I think still says she is 10! As a family we rarely go through the same gate, everyone wants to see who can pick the best line!

My younger DD won't be 14 until she is in High School, I personally feel the age Disney set is a little too high, but I don't think they enforce it unless there is a reason to.

I think this is the real point. Disney needed an objective way to handle a very subjective situation. I don't think their intent was to keep experienced families from entering in shifts and meeting up inside the park. But they needed a way to handle situations without parents of kids who do get in trouble being able to argue about what is reasonable behavior and what isn't. This way, they can just point to the age limit when they need to.

We ought to all change our avatars so they reflect our stances, and we could save our fingers a lot of exercise.

Or a code in our signatures. Let's see,
Rules - Always to the Letter, With Limited Exceptions, or Made to be Broken?
Parenting - SAHM, WOHM, or Part-time?
Cats on the counter - Disgusting or Inevitable?

So far, I'm an EPI.

What else should we add?

 

[bumbershoot]

pick a stranger to help them (versus waiting for a stranger to pick them).

de Becker?

Well, that would make Baby face me happy. I was an early Bloomer so that meant I had actual boobs by 12 years old.

Most of the girls in ds's dance program (active, fit kids) are in training bras by 9 and are starting to "need" them before 11. I personally could have used a bra at 10 but refused until 7th grade when my mom pretty much wrestled me to the ground and out one on lol.

To think that a chest means 14 is odd.

And as of a week ago my 11 year old boy is taller than me. They're going to start carding ME soon when I'm with him!

We are talking about a company that considers it okay to charge a 10-year-old for adult portions of food-

My son has been eating adult portions since he was 8. And he's not alone. There are some tiny eaters out there, but I know very few.

We realized our kid meal days were done when he was an old 8 or maybe 9 when he polished off a kid meal then was hungry enough to eat an adult meal of fettuccini Alfredo at Universal's Lombard's.

 

[rastahomie]

Most of the girls in ds's dance program (active, fit kids) are in training bras by 9 and are starting to "need" them before 11. I personally could have used a bra at 10 but refused until 7th grade when my mom pretty much wrestled me to the ground and out one on lol.

It's the First World diet. All of those hormones in our meat, making our kids reach puberty earlier and earlier. And also, maybe, better nutrition and medical care.

 

[TeresaNJ]

How would anyone know your children would be alone? They could be with the people passing through the entrance gate in front of them.