Kids and the single rider line - how old?

[aripantaloon]

I was looking at an iPhone app that has wait time and saw that Test Track (which will be closed when we actually go) had a 100 minute wait for stand-by and a 15 minute wait for the single rider line. Since we have shorties who can't ride things like this, DH or I would go with our 8 year-old DD and then, if time allows, switch off, with a rider swap or just go in the regular line.

What age would your child have to be to either a) be permitted to be in the single rider line if there is a minimum age to ride "alone" or b) have you be comfortable with him or her riding next to a stranger and possibly in another ride vehicle?

Obviously, a 15 minute wait vs. a 100 minute wait in this particular situation would be great if we didn't have fast passes, but would it be wise to do. If my DD were say, 13, then I wouldn't question it, but she's 8.

Also, CAN you get into a single rider line with others you know with the expectation of not riding together since all you want is to ride and don't really care if you ride together?

 

[delmar411]

age 7 to be in the single rider line. (it's 7 to ride alone on any ride)

yes you can enter the single rider line together as long as you know you will be split up.

 

[Suellen]

We let my 6 year old do it. BUT usually DH doesn't ride and her and I wait together and then she rides first with DH on the exit side.

Test Track and Rockin Roller Coaster are easy to do this with. Last time we even ended up riding together.... after I told the couple behind us that NEVER happens... you WILL not ride together... then DD and I were sat together....Odd they looked for a party of two and couldn't find one in a reasonable time so they waved us in. Last row of RnRC! Awesome!!

 

[Suellen]

I'm not sure about the age 7 applying on these rides... first time my DD rode RnRC was single rider and she was 5.

 

[delmar411]

I'm not sure about the age 7 applying on these rides... first time my DD rode RnRC was single rider and she was 5.

7 is WDW policy.

 

[elphie101]

As mentioned, the youngest a child can ride alone is at 7 years old, so she'll be fine! Test Track is an interesting ride because the seats are in rows of 3; DBF and I hopped in the single rider line once and were sent to the same car with a family of four. We were originally split up with him in the front and I in the back.....until the kids decided they wanted to be in the same row as Dad and we ended up next to each other

 

[A Mickeyfan]

100 in standby and 15 in single rider.. I doubt that.. seriously... when there is a 100 minute in standby the single rider is more like 30 minutes.. really... I have never seen it that short vs that long.. yes, I have seen 15 minutes, maybe when standby is 45.. but to answer your question, I have never seen them turn away any single riders as long as they were tall enough.. obviously parents do not let their 4 & 5 year olds go alone...

by the way, I am not saying you are lying about the times, I am saying what it read was wrong.. you end up waiting longer.....

 

[heyitsmejosh]

i see young kids in the single rider lines all the time... one day on everest this one little girl kept going around the line with me and my friend like 4 times

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Officially a child must be at least seven to ride anything alone.

And using the Single Rider Line you will be split up at the very least into separate cars and there is always a chance that you will be in separate trains.

And if you demand to ride together, usually the CM will redirect you to the back of the Standby Line.

 

[aripantaloon]

Oh, good. Thanks for the info! I'll definitely watch for the single rider lines since there will always be one of us at the exit with the little ones.

Is it just me, or does it seem so odd that the stand-by wait was 100 minutes, but the single rider line was only 15? Geez, you would think that more people would say "hey, why should we wait over an hour and a half to ride when we could be on in about 15 minutes?!" I think that even if all 5 of us were tall enough to ride and were faced with those wait times, we would gladly get in the single rider line! One parent in front, kids in the middle, and one parent in the back so they always have some parental supervision. I guess if we wanted to buy the ride photo with all of us in the car, then we would want to be together, but it's just a ride. I'd rather go on more rides than stand in a line like that.

 

[LittleMissMagic]

I think it depends on the maturity of the child and how comfortable they are sitting next to strangers. My little sister started doing the single rider lines when she was 7. We did it for Test Track (I think this was actually the first attraction to implement the single rider line... it's the only one I can remember in 2001). Our entire family would get in line, and we would be with eachother until we got to actually being seated in the cars. We'd always send one parent in first, then one parent would be last, and of course we all waited at the end for everyone to get off the ride. Sometimes we would actually be seated in the same car. I remember one time we were in a car with a family of four, and they realized we were sisters, so the family offered to let us sit side-by-side rather than on separate rows. Of course, you shouldn't go in with the expectation of being seated in the same ride vehicle, but it occasionally happens.

 

[Suellen]

hmmm interesting... we have only ever once been asked my DD's age and that was because her and sister (dd2) wanted to ride alone together.... they were 6 and 4 and the CM let them ride alone together.

As far as the single rider line though ~ no one has ever asked us her age.

 

[aripantaloon]

100 in standby and 15 in single rider.. I doubt that.. seriously... when there is a 100 minute in standby the single rider is more like 30 minutes.. really... I have never seen it that short vs that long.. yes, I have seen 15 minutes, maybe when standby is 45.. but to answer your question, I have never seen them turn away any single riders as long as they were tall enough.. obviously parents do not let their 4 & 5 year olds go alone...

by the way, I am not saying you are lying about the times, I am saying what it read was wrong.. you end up waiting longer.....

I know you weren't saying I was lying. I'm not sure WHO input the wait times, but I got them from the Disney World Magic Guide iPhone app around 6:30 pm tonight. Checking it right now, the stand-by wait time is listed as 60 whereas the single rider is 15. Maybe one the single rider line hasn't been updated and it defaults to 15? I was just using that particular time differential (extreme as it was) as the example since it was what got me thinking about whether we could use the single rider line if the wait times were this far off.

CF - I wouldn't expect to ride together in the single rider line. That's why I asked what age would be appropriate for a child to ride in a car with strangers with the potential for the parent to not even be in the same ride vehicle as the child (as in not even with the child in the front row and the parent in the back row in test track or in the same limo on RnRC).

LittleMiss - I think DD is mature enough to ride with strangers. She *just* turned 8 a little over a week ago and is BEGGING to go to a week's worth of sleep-away camp this summer! She doesn't know anyone else who is going, so it's not like a friend going is the motivation. When did my baby get so old?

 

[pigletto]

The only one we have used is Test Track. DS was seven and a half and the cast member did in fact ask him his age.
We have a designated meeting spot, Dh goes first so he is there when ds gets off, and dd (14) goes last so ds isn't waiting in line alone. We usually use fast pass but have used this system a few times when we wanted to sneak one more ride in on our way out of the park.

ETA) Forgot my part of the plan. I wait in the showroom area or just inside the door at the gift shop in case the ride order was mixed up.

 

[elphie101]

hmmm interesting... we have only ever once been asked my DD's age and that was because her and sister (dd2) wanted to ride alone together.... they were 6 and 4 and the CM let them ride alone together.

As far as the single rider line though ~ no one has ever asked us her age.

It's up to the CMs to spot potentially under 7 children who might be entering the ride alone or without someone old enough to accompany them. Think of it in the same vein as the height requirement. If a child is walking into the line for an attraction and the CM suspects they look too short, they will pull them aside for a measurement. Similarly, if a child is walking into the line and the CM suspects they are too young to be alone, they would (or should) pull them aside to ask their age. It's up to the CM to judge how old they believe a child to be (which doesn't have any physical indicators).

Like the height requirement, the age rule is all about a child's safety. Say somebody let their five year old onto a ride alone, and then the ride breaks down and an evacuation is required. That 5 minute ride suddenly means that 5 year old is by themselves for a long period of time, 1/2 an hour or more. Or maybe there's a six year old waiting in line alone, when they faint from dehydration or trip over a shoelace and split open their head. Now this child needs medical attention with no parent or guardian in sight. Strange, extraordinary unlikely examples I know, but Disney is just preparing for the what ifs.

Got a little carried away with my post there, but I hope this helps someone!

 

[Mama Who]

We did it when DS was 8 or 9. When possible, we had one adult go before him and one after him. Otherwise the adult went first so any unsupervised time was in the line right next to a CM and in a controlled environment.

 

[Suellen]

Well I'll give you the broken down ride... but really it wouldn't have bothered and wouldn't now bother my dd at all... but she has always been much older than her age. (let's just say through a series of unfortunate events she ended up being home alone for two hours after the school sent her home on the bus when she was supposed to be in an after school program ~ she came in, got herself a snack from her snack basket and did her homework. Most 6 year olds would have panicked. Mine just went about her afternoon. Still NOT OKAY ~ trust me ~ but she handled it well)

But I wait in line with her... so she would never be alone except on the ride.

Well she is almost 7 now anyway... but since we were never questioned I never really thought anything of it. Now I know and we won't do it this trip.

 

[torinsmom]

I like it better if you have 2 adults. Send one adult first, then the kid(s), then the second adult. It sounds like there will be one of you with the other child, so that person could wait at the exit. Just go inside the store and through the car showcase. I think you can make it to where the Photopass pics area shown. I would send the child first, as I would worry the ride could break down between me and the child getting on the ride. In that case, the child would be left alone.