Kids riding alone?

[prettypixie]

This Sept me and the kids are going alone. My DD will be 11 and my DS will be 6. I am thinking of letting my DD ride some "thrill" rides alone and also maybe do a ride swap (still thinking about that). What would you do?

 

[Safari Queen]

I don't think I'd be comfortable that an 11 year old girl could handle someone who might act inappropriately toward her because she's alone. There are always teenagers out and about and I'm sometimes a little freaked out with their behavior. You'd never forgive yourself if something happened, or even if she was really frightened being on her own. You know your daughter, but I think I'd wait until she's older and can handle herself with strangers.

 

[RACHELSMOM1]

Depends on which rides. In Fantasyland you could feel safe. On Splash mountain, depends on your DD and her personality. My 8 year old is bi-polar and would probably try to jump out of splash mtn and space mtn.

 

[Chipmunk89]

You meant ride alone, not go off in the park alone, right? In that case, you know your DD best. Could she handle the ride alone without freaking out. I would let my DS8 go alone. But he gets on things that I would NEVER do. Sometimes after we've done a ride as a family, we'll go again. But this time in the single rider line. But that's us. You know what your 11 yr old can handle.

 

[SueM in MN]

This Sept me and the kids are going alone. My DD will be 11 and my DS will be 6. I am thinking of letting my DD ride some "thrill" rides alone and also maybe do a ride swap (still thinking about that). What would you do?

With 2 adults, you can do the ride swap - one adult rides with the 11 yr old. When the ride is over, the other adult rides with the 11 yr old.
If it's only you and the 2 children, you could not do ride swap because the 6 yr old could not wait alone while you and the 11 yr old are in the ride.

i think whether to let the 11 yr old ride alone depends a lot on how mature your 11 yr old is. I also think it would depend on how scared she's likely to get. It's one thing for an 11 yr old to ride alone on a thrill ride she is familiar with, but I'd feel much more uncomfortable with the same child riding something alone for the first time.

 

[Chipmunk89]

With 2 adults, you can do the ride swap - one adult rides with the 11 yr old. When the ride is over, the other adult rides with the 11 yr old.

So the 11 yr old gets to ride twice? If me, DH and DS8 do a ride swap....Me and DS8 can go first, then when we get back, DH and DS8 can go?

 

[mrzrich]

So the 11 yr old gets to ride twice? If me, DH and DS8 do a ride swap....Me and DS8 can go first, then when we get back, DH and DS8 can go?

Only if you have a second child who doesn't meet the height requirement.

 

[winterman]

So the 11 yr old gets to ride twice? If me, DH and DS8 do a ride swap....Me and DS8 can go first, then when we get back, DH and DS8 can go?

If there are only 3 of you (as in your signature) there is no reason to do that. All three would ride at the same time.

I'm happy for you that DH will be home soon. I hope he stops in Bangor, Maine. We have a very active troop greeter program.

 

[Lamandpercy]

I have no kids of my own but was sat with a young girl (maybe 8-9) on Test Track last visit. She was sat alone (think her party had been in single riders line). She was quite frightened by the fast bit and grabbed my hand and held on tight! This was no issue for me being female but had me and hubby been other way round and she grabbed him I don't think that would have worked out!

If your daughter has been on the ride before and knows what is coming it may be ok but some of them may be a bit much. I went on ToT with hubby and was in tears with fright by the end lol!

You could go into single rider line with her so she in queueing alone and then not ride. If you are bothered about her waiting in line, or use fastpass.

 

[dlstc]

I will be in BB, AK and Epcot alone with the kids - DDS 8 and 6, and DS 1. They are not big thrill riders, but if something comes up, I plan on holding DS1 and walking through the line with them. Once the kids are on the, or almost on the ride, I will take DS through the chicken exit.

I'm going in three weeks. I'll try to remember to let you know how it went.

HTH,
Diana

 

[prettypixie]

I will be in BB, AK and Epcot alone with the kids - DDS 8 and 6, and DS 1. They are not big thrill riders, but if something comes up, I plan on holding DS1 and walking through the line with them. Once the kids are on the, or almost on the ride, I will take DS through the chicken exit.

I'm going in three weeks. I'll try to remember to let you know how it went.

HTH,
Diana

This is what I was thinking of doing with DD. We have been to WDW several times and only this year had I thought about letting her do some rides alone. My DS is only 42 inches so of course he won't be able to ride say Spc Mtn but I think it would be cool for him to walk thru the que to see everything and know by the next time we come he may be able to ride. I don't know what I will do yet, I guess it will depend on the ride, the crowds and DD at that time. Thanks for all your suggestions

 

[princess22]

This is what I was thinking of doing with DD. We have been to WDW several times and only this year had I thought about letting her do some rides alone. My DS is only 42 inches so of course he won't be able to ride say Spc Mtn but I think it would be cool for him to walk thru the que to see everything and know by the next time we come he may be able to ride. I don't know what I will do yet, I guess it will depend on the ride, the crowds and DD at that time. Thanks for all your suggestions

Just be prepared to not be able to go in space mountain with you son. Some of the cast members are really strict, and if they don't meet the height requirement at the front, they won't even let that child in the building.

 

[beattyfamily]

Just be prepared to not be able to go in space mountain with you son. Some of the cast members are really strict, and if they don't meet the height requirement at the front, they won't even let that child in the building.

That is true. If a child doesn't meet the height requirement, they are not suppose to let them in the line.

 

[redheadx3]

I took my two sons last Dec. It was just me and DS 11 & DS 6 at the time.
DS6 was tall enough to ride all the rides except RNR. Both of my boys like the thrill rides especially the older one. This was DS11 second time but DS6 first time at WDW, so the DS11 knew what to expect.
We rode all the rides together and depending on the ride, who sat with who.
On the little rides, they rode together and I was by myself. On the thrill rides, DS6 rode with me and DS11 would ride in the seat in front of us.
On a few of the rides (I call them medium thrill, SplM & BTMR) once we had been on them once, I would let DS11 & DS6 ride together with me sitting just behind them. Now when it was time for RNR, which I knew my DS11 couldn't pass up. We got 3 FPs, then came back later. DS11 rode RNR 3 times in a row. DS6 and I waited in the gift store for DS11 to come out each time.
He was in WDW heaven.

 

[delmar411]

We allowed DD (then 9) to ride Space Mtn alone. We all waited for her at the exit and she went through the fast pass line. But she loves that ride and you sit alone so I felt she'd be fine. And she was. We also do the single rider line at Test Track but have been lucky to get into the same car. What we had setup was that if we weren't in the same car that I would ride first and then wait right there for her on the opposite platform.

 

[SueM in MN]

That is true. If a child doesn't meet the height requirement, they are not suppose to let them in the line.

They may not let you into the line if you have a child who doesn't meet the height requirement. They may be more lenient with a 1 yr old, who is obviously too young than they would be with an older child who might be close.

I will be in BB, AK and Epcot alone with the kids - DDS 8 and 6, and DS 1. They are not big thrill riders, but if something comes up, I plan on holding DS1 and walking through the line with them. Once the kids are on the, or almost on the ride, I will take DS through the chicken exit.

I'm going in three weeks. I'll try to remember to let you know how it went.

HTH,
Diana

Also, a child must be at least 7 to ride without an adult, so the 8 yr old would be able to ride alone. The 6 yr old could not ride with the 8 yr old though (because there needs to be an adult with the 6 yr old).

 

[myrsfmly]

They may not let you into the line if you have a child who doesn't meet the height requirement. They may be more lenient with a 1 yr old, who is obviously too young than they would be with an older child who might be close.

Also, a child must be at least 7 to ride without an adult, so the 8 yr old would be able to ride alone. The 6 yr old could not ride with the 8 yr old though (because there needs to be an adult with the 6 yr old).

Last year on SM my DD aged 12 was in a wheelchair (broken foot) and they would not let me walk with her to the front of the ride with my 3 yo DD, kind of forcing me to let my DD go alone, which I wasn't comfortable with mostly because of maneuvering the chair in the dark... I waited forever for her to come out (literally) finally ignoring the CM's who were sure everything was fine, went in through the exit and found her in a corner (in the dark!) inside where the CM had dumped her in her chair after the ride telling her to wait there and they would be back to take her out via the handicapped exit... she sat for over 30 minutes and no one ever came back for her.... It was more the wheelchair though that made it a horrible situation, I would have let her ride alone a million times in a regular situation, but I won't trust a CM again that says "don't worry Ill take care or her," either!

 

[chop456]

We have gone thru the single rider line at EE and TT - DD9 and DS7. My kids have been on those rides before, so they know what to expect. We also go thru the "this is where we meet" routine. I usually have DD go first, DS next (so I can watch him) and I go last. DD waits at the meting point for DS and myself.

 

[Freyja]

We let DD (then 10) go on a couple of thrill rides by herself on our last trip. These were all rides she had been on before so she knew what she was getting herself into.
We waited on a bench by the exit so she´d find us as soon as she was finished.

 

[debbieinaustin]

Once when we were at Disney for some reason I only had 2 fast passes for Peter Pan. So I let my then 10 year old son and his 6 year old sister ride without me. I did, however, wait in line with them, see them get on the ride, and then wait where they would get off.

The problem was that it was the one time we've experienced where they stopped the ride mid-way through. (They were helping an elderly lady on the ride and had stopped the conveyor belt.) So as my son and daughter were dangling over Captain Hook the ride came to a stop. It scared my son to death! He was fairly certain that they would be stuck there forever. If I just could have warned him that was a possibility then I think he would have been less scared.