Having your kiddo wait while you ride ..

[L&Lfan]

Since I have no children I can only think back to when I was 10 and yes, I definitely could have handled waiting in a gift shop. Especailly one as neat as the one at the exit of Expedition Everest. But even more than that I would have preferred standing and waiting at the area where you can watch the train coming down the mountain. Do you know the spot I mean?

 

[Betty Rohrer]

our 13 and 10 year olds were going off by selves with meet times, before cell phones in parks. if your child is okay I would tae thru line allowing child to take "chicken exit" as child will not be allowed to wait on platform for safety reasons and meet at end of exit line or gift shop depending on ride

 

[Dawn68PA]

If my DD didn't want to ride, I wouldn't either. I'd rather do something we'd both enjoy than leave her alone to wait. The rides just aren't that important to me. I do that with my BF too. If it's just the 2 of us, I'd rather do something with him, than have him wait and be bored. I have more fun with the people than the ride.

Not judging how anyone else does it - this is just me feeling with my family.

 

[L&Lfan]

I'm just the opposite. If I'm with someone who loves a particular ride I'll either bite the bullet and go with them or wait for them. I'm never bored waiting for someone while they're doing a ride they really enjoy. And I love people watching.

 

[angierae]

Definitely think if your daughter is okay with it, that going through the line with you, taking the chicken exit and waiting in the gift shop for you is no problem. It will be less than five minutes.

 

[tjmw2727]

I would let a typical 10 year old wait alone for a ride (or two), not all day every day but if your spending 2 days doing things together there is no reason she can't wait while you ride something she chooses not to. Shows respect for both of you IMHO !

My dd's as well as my niece and nephew have chosen to wait alone as young as 10 at various times for different reasons and its been fine. Even when you have a large group sometimes you can't accommodate everyone so they made the choice to wait.Although I would probably give her the option to wait on a bench right outside with an ice cream or snack instead of walking the line for a ride she can't ride.

 

[staceyeileen]

It depends on the 10 year old. My current 11 yo? No problem leaving him like that at 10. My current 9 year old? There's no way I could do what the OP is suggesting with him in a year. He would be on the other side of the park by the time I got back! My 6 year old? I could probably leave her in charge of her 9 year old brother right now.

I guess that makes sense. I was a very responsible kid, so I remember being left home alone for short periods of time around age 10 (e.g. quick trip to the grocery store).

 

[ajwolfe]

As a mom to 11 yo and 7 yo boys I see no problem in leaving a 10 yo alone in the gift shop for this length of time. My boys are responsible enough that I would even leave the 2 of them alone together in the gift shop if a reason presented itself - 11 yo has a phone. To me this isn't much different than allowing a child of the opposite gender to wait outside a restroom, etc (even though I know that's a huge deal on its own here on this board). Now if you were talking about going to watch an hour long show or going to have a meal without the child and leaving them alone for that length of time, I may feel differently but for 15 minutes I think it would be fine.

 

[mchelle77]

Thanks for everyone's input.

She's DEFINITELY mature enough to be trusted to wait for me. She would probably love being considered old enough to do this too (because I'm usually toeing the line of being helicopter-y! ) She would definitely do the chicken exit (for MY comfort - shorter wait for her) and have her give dad a call, like someone suggested. I WAS asking about her waiting on the exit platform, but I guess the gift shop is fine too.

Although now you all have me thinking of the ride stopping while I'm on it and if THAT happens, I'd lose my $h!t!!! LOL

 

[nugov2]

I agree with her having a phone in case of ride stoppage. I got off of the Simpsons and decided to wait for my dh and kids, well their car was broken and I was waiting for way more than a half hour for them. I started to get nervous and I am an adult(I didn't have my phone on me dumb) and I kept wondering if I missed them. I would imagine a 10yr old would really start to panic if you were gone for that long. I'm not a person who would care enough about a ride to leave one of my kids at any age if we were there together, but I think it is perfectly fine to do so.

 

[bookgirl]

At 10 if she is okay with it I wouldn't see why it'd be a problem, take her to the gift shop, make sure she see's the CM's and then go jump in the single rider line. It's usually pretty fast on EE. Make sure she knows that if there's a ride break down or it takes to long that she is to go stand by the register to wait. Even better would be to find her a place to sit and play a game on your phone, then she can occupy herself and you have a way to call her if you get separated.

and no where near the same but my mom 71 who is a nervous nelly doesn't like most of the rides I like. She is also the type to tell me to go ahead and ride. I get her set up somewhere and then I go do and come back for her. She says she might go shop or something but the truth is that she is much more comfortable with someone with her and will usually wait wherever I leave her. It's kind of like having a child LOL.

 

[allysetraskos]

Different peiple from all different countries obviousaly go to disney, ive seen kids as young at 7 waiting for their parents alone im assuming where they are from its normal... i think as long as your child knows the stranger danger thing, can make a call in an emergency, knows who to go to in an emergency and is trustworthy enough to not move from that spot i dony see the problem..

 

[pixarmom]

If my DD didn't want to ride, I wouldn't either. I'd rather do something we'd both enjoy than leave her alone to wait. The rides just aren't that important to me. I do that with my BF too. If it's just the 2 of us, I'd rather do something with him, than have him wait and be bored. I have more fun with the people than the ride.

Same for us. I've gone to WDW many times without going on my favorite rides. It's probably fine for a responsible 10-year-old to wait for a few minutes, but I'd also prefer sticking with the activities we can enjoy together.

 

[tink9702]

I'd be fine with her waiting for you after going in the line. I'd probably make sure she had a little bit of money for a snack/drink just in case you get stuck on the ride and it's longer than you think. Also, I'd set a time (say 20 min) where she's to call dad if you haven't arrived yet. That way she knows what to do if there is a breakdown on the ride and what time you expect to be back and then what time she's to do something other than wait.

 

[momtosam]

I'm kind of surprised there isn't an official process for this like ride swap.

 

[Swtonscrappn]

My daughter was just about that age when we decided to go on Mickeys Wheel of Death...I mean Mickey's Fun Wheel at California Adventures. She balked at the entrance and told us that she would just wait there. She was perfectly fine, chit chatted with the CM nearby, generally enjoyed herself while I counted the moments until I left my steel trap LOL.

 

[mjkacmom]

My parents let me go to MK all by myself when I was 10 - I had a blast! 10 is when I started leaving my kids home alone for an hour or two, or started sending them to the local deli. I'd have no problem having them wait in a gift shop (or anywhere else) at that age.

 

[BMWTeamLeader]

My 12 year old has no intention of going on Splash Mountain with my wife and I. She says she is going to be happily watch us splash down from outside the ride and at the exact same moment pour a glass of cold water on herself to feel like she was a part of it.

 

[RustManFan]

I might be ok with having the 10 year old wait in the gift shop but expecting them to be responsible for a 3 year old is (IMO) not

 

[maxiesmom]

I personally would have her go through the line with you and then chicken exit, rather than spend the entire time waiting without you in a gift shop or something.

Just tell the cast member as you are loading that she has decided not to ride (heck, maybe being in line she will decide TO ride) and she can wait along the exit path for you.

(I do this for pretty much every ride, since I cannot ride rollercoasters due to a neck injury. But it is more fun to wait in line with friends/family then to wait outside of the lines by myself.)

If it was more than just the two of you, going to do an alternate activity might be more fun, but since it is just the two, have her chicken exit. For rides that load and unload at the same place, you can usually just walk over the seat and wait on the other side of the platform. Just tell/ask the cast member so they know how to load the cars properly.

This won't work if she wants to use the single rider line.