Letting kids wait while parents ride something?

[bumbershoot]

Having put a kid in a car at 16 and let him drive away and then left him away at college at 18, I find 14 as a general rule to be a little late in the game

Exactly. But I went to college at 17. Left California to go to Washington, then my mom remarried and moved to Florida. 17, all the way across the country from my family. Yeah, I'm GLAD she let me wander Marriott's Great America with my buddies starting when I was around 10. And that place was way less safe than Disney.

some crazy who figures out he's 10 is going to tell on you for leaving him alone.

There's no one to tell that to, and it's not bad. At Disney you can be alone in the line and on a ride at 7. You can't *enter* a park alone until you're 14, and kids under 7 have to be with someone 14 or over, but there are no other rules. If the kids are freaking out, of course, they'll do the lost child procedures, but it seems unlikely a 10 and 13 year old whose parent is asking these questions would freak out like that.

Make sure they know of the possibility of ride stops, which would delay meeting back up with them.

 

[MermaidMommy]

When DD goes on rides without me, I always have her text me before she gets on the ride, so I know not to worry if the line ends up being longer than expected. I usually have her text me when she's done, too, especially if I'm waiting somewhere that requires a walk. You could do the same with your boys to keep them updated. Of course, it doesn't take much to encourage a teen girl to text!

As an alternative to waiting in the gift shop, you could always find somewhere for them to sit and have a drink or snack near the ride you're doing. I often wait at Sunset Ranch while DD rides ToT over and over. The Lunching Pad would be a good place to wait if they don't want to do Space Mountain. Or, let them do a ride together -- they'll have fun and feel so grown-up.

 

[PrincessV]

My son won't ride most of the thrill rides and has been waiting for me while I ride them since he was around 9 or 10. Safety's never been a concern or issue... but boredom has, lol! Most times he walks through the queues with me because, frankly, themeing and AC beat sitting on a bench outside. Any rides with a dump shop at the end are high on his list: again, more fun to wait in a climate-controlled shop full of shiny things to look at than on a bench outside. I suggest discussing ahead of time the fact that rides can shut down, leaving you stuck for a while, possibly without cell service - just make sure they know this is a possibility and not to panic if you're not out in a reasonable amount of time. Tell them, if it feels like you've been gone forever, they can check with a CM at the ride to find out if it's a break-down. It happened to me once - my son wasn't thrilled about waiting an extra half-hour, but he wasn't worried, since he knew what was going on.

Another thought is to have them go off and do something on their own while you ride - another attraction they like, or shopping, get a snack, whatever. It's usually just me and my son when we go, so he rarely has any interest in taking off; he'd rather just hang out and wait. But when we've been with other kids, they prefer to go do something else while the adults ride something.

 

[kiramay]

On space mountain I let my 9 (almost 10) year old twins leave via the chicken exit after they changed their minds about riding. The 4 year old and I still wanted to ride. I was a little nervous but they were waiting for me in the gift shop. Next trip they'll be around 12-13 and I might let them have a little more freedom. Depends in their maturity levels at that time.

 

[dgagnon519]

We will have 4 children with us on the next trip, ages 15,14,12,11. We are allowing them a little more freedom on this tip. They have cell phones and we are doing are having meeting places and times. They want to ride Expedition Everest 4 or 5 times and I am all set with that. I will ride the safari while hey ride Expedition. I think you know your kids and what they can handle. Last trip, DH and I went to dinner at the resort and we let the kids do the community center on their own.

 

[Pucka1378]

Our boys are 12 and 13yrs old and we have been doing this for a while at DLR. We ride something and then they can go do something else why we ride. We just meet back at location at a certain time. The boys have instructions to stay together and they have a cell phone with them.

 

[Anesthesia Fine]

Back in the pre-cell phone days, if there was something my sister and I didn't want to do, we would be set loose with admonishments to her to listen to me and to me to not be bossy. We were told a time and a location to check in with the folks periodically. We did things together more often than not but it allowed for a little flexibility for all parties concerned. (My dad is not a CoP fan, for example. Hah.)

 

[RookieLady]

A word of caution . . .

I have and do let my 10 year old wait for me in the gift shop. He has a cell.

On our last trip, I allowed my 14 year old to board a bus from CBR to MK alone. We have been a gazillion times, and the kids know their way around. His father put him on the bus and told him to sit by the driver. My son was meeting his aunt and cousin who were staying at a different resort. My son had cleared bag check and was waiting for his aunt in the area between the bag check and the ticket turnstiles and was approached by a single man who wanted to use his phone. My son said no and moved closer to the CMs at the turnstiles. I relay this to remind everyone that children are approached, even at Disney.

Even after that happened, I allow my children to go off at Disney, but I make sure they know what to do.

 

[Julylady]

I would also ask you to consider the relationship between the two kids. In the event of something unforeseen happening, will the younger child take direction from the older one. Will they stick together no matter what happens? That's the thing I have to continue to stress with my 13 and 10 year olds. For example, at a recent sporting event they wanted to go and get popcorn alone. Ten minutes later, the youngest came back alone. Sister found some friends and wanted to talk to them for a minute, younger one didn't want to so she came back alone. Ugg... They both got in trouble for that one. Although older one said she just wanted to say Hi and not be rude, younger one darted away from her. That's the kind of behaviour I worry about.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

considering that the elder one is thirteen, if you feel they are responsible, they have a phone, they know where they are supposed to wait for you and they have basic safety instruction (such as don't go off with anybody no matter what they tell you, find a cast member if you have trouble) can't see any issues.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I see no problem with it. At 10 I stayed home all summer, went outside, made meals for me and my brother. At 13 we did Six Flags all day with no cell phones.

Last trip DS was 11 and he didn't want to go on EE. DD5 was ready to ride with me. I got him an ice cream and he sat outside the ride and waited.

This trip they will be 15 and 9 and if they want to go to the parks without me I plan on letting them this next trip. Mom could use a few hours at Trader Sam's while they bond in the MK, if they would like to.

 

[ttintagel]

We were turned completely loose at 12 and 13. I think as long as they agree to stay together, and they're pretty responsible kids, it shouldn't be a problem.

 

[Trinity88]

I would have no problem leaving them while going on a ride. I would make sure they know to go to a cm if there are any problems. But other than that, I wouldn't worry at all.

 

[kelsma03]

My oldest two are the same ages as yours, they have a cell phone and love having some alone time together at Disney parks. We keep in contact and have a set meeting time. They take good care of each other. Plus my oldest is an grouchy old man trapped in a tweens body so I know he's not going to cause any trouble.

 

[VAfamily1998]

At that age, I'd have them go on a different ride, or I'd have them buy a snack or something while you and your Dh are on the ride. I wouldn't even bother having them go through the line and exiting through the "chicken exit."

 

[mistysue]

There's no one to tell that to, and it's not bad. At Disney you can be alone in the line and on a ride at 7. You can't *enter* a park alone until you're 14, and kids under 7 have to be with someone 14 or over, but there are no other rules. If the kids are freaking out, of course, they'll do the lost child procedures, but it seems unlikely a 10 and 13 year old whose parent is asking these questions would freak out like that.

Make sure they know of the possibility of ride stops, which would delay meeting back up with them.

I didn't mean to say it was bad, but the laws in most states are unclear about when you are allowed to leave kids alone so it's good to have the child know not to tell people his age or whatever. Many states don't say anything about which children are allowed to be alone until they are around 12 and even then it's only assumed you are allowed to leave them alone because they are above the state age for child care.

 

[mummabear]

I am not 100% sure myself, my kids are still so young. I haven't given it a lot of thought.
However if you do decide to do it make sure you have a plan with them for if the ride breaks down, it is unlikely but possible and you don't want to be panicking if you get stuck somewhere for a while