Kids roaming WDW

[dairyou]

Hi,

Just wondering what age you allow your kids to roam around Disneyworld on their own or with friends. When we finally make it back to WDW my son will be 13. He's quite responsible already at 11. We are considering him bringing a friend, but of course if something were to happened we would feel terrible.

We just came back from DCL and he loved being able to check himself in and out. It is really different on the boat though, where could he go, but on the ship

Thanks,
Deb

 

[TheRustyScupper]

1) We let the kids roam at age 10.
2) Then the grandkids roamed at age 11.

 

[spiceycat]

14 is an age I heard as being able to go around WDW - but if your son is mature and his friend is too (generally the problem) - give them a way to contact you - cell phone - and tell him when and where to meet you for meals

 

[BillPA]

A pair of walkie talkies or cell phones would help keep in touch. WDW is a safe place, but you still need to go over the rules about strangers.... The world, saddly is not the same as it use to be.

 

[gene21fan]

just let our kids roamed by themselves 3 weeks ago..
sarah 15 gene 12 had a cell phone

 

[Jordan's MOM]

I have a very mature 11 year old. We leave in ...UMM 8 days . He will strick with us this trip, but next trip he will be 13 and that's the year we have told him he can bring a friend and have some freedom in the parks. This year we will let him and his cousins go though the lines and we will meet them at the end if it's not a ride we wish to experence.When he is 13 he will get more freedom .His friend will most likely be his cousin and they both have spent time in all the parks. They will have cell phones and we will start with a couple hour time span and work from there. They will be in the same park as us for several more years. I say start with a little freedom and work from there.


Jordan's mom

 

[motaei]

I remember that at the end of 5th grade (I was 10), we had a school field trip to Great America. We were allowed to roam pretty freely in the park.

Alas, times have changed & can't imagine allowing my DS10 to roam a big amusement park by himself with a friend. I did allow it at a water park though. Age 13 sounds like a good age to me for a place as big as WDW.

 

[crisi]

Actually, times haven't changed. I'm (ummmm) going on 40 and life was no safer when I was ten or twelve - we (or our parents) were just less aware. Child abductions like Elizabeth Smart seldom became national news. But if you look at crime stats, it hasn't really changed (or, if it has, its actually slightly better than it was). The vast majority of child abductions are a non-custodial parent abducting their own child - stranger abduction is real, but very rare.

And at least we can give our kids cell phones and walkie talkies.

Doesn't mean I'd let a ten year old run all of WDW completely unsupervised. Just pointing out that the past wasn't as innocent as our perception of it.

 

[motaei]

Originally posted by crisi
Actually, times haven't changed. I'm (ummmm) going on 40 and life was no safer when I was ten or twelve - we (or our parents) were just less aware. Child abductions like Elizabeth Smart seldom became national news. But if you look at crime stats, it hasn't really changed (or, if it has, its actually slightly better than it was). The vast majority of child abductions are a non-custodial parent abducting their own child - stranger abduction is real, but very rare.

You are very correct in your facts & I am the same age as you. However, the times have changed in the fact that not only are the adults more aware of "bad things happening", but the kids are aware too. The innocence has left & that is how times have changed.

 

[crisi]

Yep, although I'm not sure its a bad thing. After all, we make decisions based on knowing that stranger abduction exists and is rare....had both us and our parents had the statistics (and no hype, but no innocent lack of information either), would we all have made the same decision?

BTW keep in mind that there are other dangers. I was in the hot tub with a couple. She looked about eighteen or nineteen, which means she may have been twenty or twenty one, but she may have been sixteen or seventeen as well. He was a cast member and definately older than 21. She was a willing participant. Disney is a great place for teenagers to meet other teenagers....you just might want to keep tabs on what your teenagers are doing.

 

[DianaPrincessofWales]

We were at Typhoon Lagoon last week, I took the 6 yr old around and my husband was with the 10 and 12 yr olds. At least he was supposed to be..........he lost them in about 2 minutes. I didn't panic, they are both good swimmers and we met up with them in a bit at the wave pool, no problem. This is a subject I'm going to have to think about on our next trip I'm sure.

 

[tjmw2727]

I think that within the same park I was in, I would let my kids venture a bit at ages between 11 and 13 but with radio and strict guidelines. After that we will have to see how they can do with bus transportation etc. I know that even as an adult the transportation can be a bit confusing and intimidating. I don't know when I will feel comfortable with my girls being on their own. We visit 3-5x per year so they already know their way around as well as I do.

We did a family trip last year and my older neices then 11 and 12 were allowed some freedom within the park we were visiting and it was enough for them. They could go off alone and do the bigger rides while the rest of the family did the family/kiddie rides with the little kids and we met up for parades, lunch etc. That said, even with the freedom they seemed to prefer when an adult accompanied them - just for fun and company. Sometimes it seems they are so "in between in age" they want freedom and independance as much as they want guidance and company.

We did an e-ride one night and while my dd's slept in the double stroller with grandma and grandpa minding them (and having delightful desserts!), dh and I had the best time with our neices (the 11 &12yo). My sil and bil were able to have 1-1 time with the younger neices as well so it was a win/win.

HTH

TJ

 

[deb305]

This summer I took 11 yr old niece and 13 yr old nephew with DD 5 to Kings Island (Cinn). In the afternoon I let the 11 and 13 yr old to go to other rides, with a strict schedule on meeting up. They only did this a few times. There were gangs of older kids menancing younger ones, so after a few hours niece/nephew decided that Aunt Deb was safer.
It's not just the adults you have to worry about, but the mob mentatlity can easily takes over when large groups of teens run together.