Letting teens walk the parks unsupervised

[Ron G]

My DD is taking her best friend with us next week for our vacation. They want to be able to be on their own in the parks to explore as they wish. I've decided to let them go for short periods as long as we are in the same park. We can communicate via cell phone & will set meeting places & times. My parents think I'm nuts, they say that there are too many people & maybe too dangerous. By the way...the girls are both 14 with good common sense & well behaved ( but a little boy crazy). Just wanted to know if anyone else has done this before. I trust my dd & her friend -they are not trouble makers by any means. In fact , this seems to be the most anticipated part of our trip for them. We have been to WDW almost every year in the past 9 or 10 & she is really excited about finally getting a little freedom. (she doesnt want to hang with mom/dad).

Ron

 

[UrsulasShadow]

My dd17 and ds15 are going to be allowed the same thing this year, if they choose, but since neither is bringing friends, they'll probably choose to follow me (I'm the Disney commando, and they know I'll steer them right). If your dd is mature, I'd think it's safe enough. Remember, though, girls in groups can get REALLY stupid. Esp. around boys. Keep the "on your own" time down to a few hours a day, and check in regularly.

 

[ReninDetroit]

Definately let your kids go by themselves. They'll have tons of fun and feel like grownups. WDW is probably the safest place on the planet. It's such a well oiled machine that even if you lost your kids, all it takes is one cast member to radio another one and an alert is sent out to everyone, the closest cast member to them finds them and you are brought back together within minutes.

I don't think you have anything to worry about. I let my older one loose in the parks with friends when he was 11 or 12, and boys are relatively immature around that age. I'm certain they'll be fine.

 

[goldcupmom]

At US/IOA DS who is 15 was allowed to go alone last summer, even back & forth to HRH. DD 13 desperately wants to, but NO WAY. I'm not sure I'd even be comfortable if she were with a girl friend. She can go w/ her brother, but not alone.

 

[Ron G]

Remember, though, girls in groups can get REALLY stupid. Esp. around boys.

That is SO TRUE !! I have seen her & her friends in action, & thats my only real concern on the trip. They do tend to act silly around the opposite sex at this age...( & I overheard them talking about looking for "hot guys" while at WDW). I'll be keeping the away times down at first untill I see that they act as I expect them too. I do really want them to have a great time though, this is all that they are talking about....the free time to roam the resorts (Poly & CSR) & the parks.

Ron

 

[KAG Mom]

I am allowing my DD and her friend (16 and 15) explore the parks on their own for small periods of time. We all have cell phones and will meet up at a certain time. We will all be at the same park, they will not be permitted to park hop without us. I think as long as you trust your daughter to make good choices, she and her friend will be fine. Have fun!

 

[UrsulasShadow]

Definately let your kids go by themselves. They'll have tons of fun and feel like grownups. WDW is probably the safest place on the planet. It's such a well oiled machine that even if you lost your kids, all it takes is one cast member to radio another one and an alert is sent out to everyone, the closest cast member to them finds them and you are brought back together within minutes.

I don't think you have anything to worry about. I let my older one loose in the parks with friends when he was 11 or 12, and boys are relatively immature around that age. I'm certain they'll be fine.

I don't think that I'd be so certain of their safety, even in Disney. Remember, predators can look just like you and me. But my first opinion stands...safe enough. You can't guard them every minute of every day, and they should learn how to judge situations for themselves. But don't get lulled into a false sense of security, just because it's Disney. Read them the riot act, just like always, give them the tools to find help if they need it, and teach them to be alert to their surroundings. Better training ground than your average city, I suppose.

 

[dixipixi]

We just returned from a trip w/DS's (12 & 16). We started out by letting them go to the pool, arcade, other places around the hotel for a few minutes without us. We gave them specific rules and strict guidelines as to where they should be and what they should be doing. When we showed up, they were always doing exactly as told. We began to allow them a few minutes in the parks (maybe just walking ahead of us to a ride and riding without us while we waited around the exit area).

We never let the 12 y/o go anywhere by himself, but we did allow the 16 y/o to go to the pool, arcade, or walk around the Boardwalk ( we stayed at the YC) by himself. I think that gave us all a break from each other and they had a taste of freedom during the trip.

But I have boys. The 16 y/o is 6'2" and weighs almost 200 lbs. So I don't worry about someone hurting him as much as I would a 5' 100 lb girl the same age.

I found an excellent place to let them roam around on their own was DisneyQuest. They knew they could not leave the building, and they had to check in w/me or DH before they went to another floor. We were able to keep tabs on them very easily without having to be right on top of them.

 

[bubba73]

I was able to walk around all the time by myself when I was a teenager at WDW. My parents and I didn't enjoy the same rides as I am a thrill junkie and they don't like anything faster than It's A Small World! We would always meet for either lunch, dinner, or snacks and the evening shows. But that was a different time then. I can't imagine letting my kids go off by themselves now. Anything can happen. I mean it can happen whether I am there or not but at least if I am there, I can try to fight for my children if needed. Now, I will be the first to admit that Disney does hold a certain type of halo over it. For the most part, it seems like everyone there stays pretty well behaved. I believe that is one of the reasons that I keep going back as many times as I have. I love it there.

Dancing my way to POP in 4 days
:thewave:

 

[disneyfreakjackie]

They will be fine!! We let our "boy crazy" DD's 16 and 14 go off on their own last month. Only in the same park. It worked out GREAT!!! They had a GREAT time, got to do only what they wanted to do (we also have DDs 10 & 8). We met at specific times and they both have cells as well as DH and I! Made for a much more relaxing vacation not trying to please six people of all ages!!!

They also got to check out all the guys!!! I'm sure that was half the fun! It was wonderful seeing sisters getting along so well. I notice they have been inviting each other places (movies, malls) now that we're back home!! They RARELY ever did that before. So I'm sure it was a bonding vacation for the two of them, too!!!

 

[lfama]

When I was 15, my parents let me wander through DW by myself. I do think that Disney is a safe place, although I am sure bad things do happen there, as everywhere else in the world. As long as your child and her friend have good judgement and behavior, I think they'll be fine. I would, however, give them a big talk about picking up random boys in the parks. It sounds innocent enough, but you never know who they could end up talking to. And, not to scare you, but when I have witnessed a many 13, 14, 15 year old girls who would get hit on by much older boys (so much older that they were MEN), and who would actually go off with them. So my word of advice to you is let your daughter + friend know to be careful, and as much as they won't want to listen to you, drill it in their heads anyway. Have a magical trip to the World!

 

[MyGoofy26]

I was about their age when mom first started letting me take friends along and then go off on our own. (Wow, I just felt really old when I realized that was almost 15 years ago!) My friend and I were a lil boy crazy, but really, in Disney - we weren't thinking about boys as much as we were about being IN DISNEY on our OWN! LOL!

We met up every few hours with my mom and aunt. We still spent a good bit of time with them, but we'd take a few hours off and go do our own thing. I had been to the parks more time than I could count and mom knew that I knew where I was going, what I was doing, and what to do if something happened. WDW was old hat to me by then (considering we'd gone so much that in kindergarten I actually asked "mommy, do we HAVE to go back to Disney?" I still get teased.)

And this was all before we had cell phones, we didn't have walkie talkies. . . the only thing we had to coordinate was our watches. I'm sure they'll be fine. If you're worried, try it for short amounts of time. Maybe an hour or two, enough to get through a section and then meet up.

 

[HaleyB]

We let our son do this with a friend or cousin starting at around 11. By 15 I was letting him go all over, even other parks. He has always been very conservitave and mature (though girl crazy, that is unavoidable I think).

Now my daughter I might keep a little closer, and I doubt I would let her go off with a friend at 11, but at 14 or 15, yeah, I think I would. But don't quote me on that, she is pretty wild at 7 so maybe not

 

[goofy4tink]

My dd and I will be traveling to WDW with another mom and her dd in Oct '06. The two girls have been lifelong friends (moms met in childbirth class!) and will be celebrating their 13th b-days in WDW. They will be allowed to have some 'alone' time each day. Probably an hour at first then working up to a few hours by the end of the trip. We will have been to WDW about 9 times by then and my dd knows it like the back of her hand. The girls will have to check in with us periodically and meet us at a prearranged spot. If they mess up just once...well, so much for the 'alone' time priviledge!!!
I would say to try it for a brief period of time and see how it goes.

 

[alicenwonder99]

On our last trip, I let dd17 and dn13 go off alone most of the time. They wanted to hang out by the pool during the day while the rest of the family was at the parks. We would meet up somewhere for dinner, then they would stay at the EMH park until closing while the rest of us went back to the room. The only place I wouldn't let them go off alone was Downtown Disney in the evening. If it was dn13 and one of her friends, I'd say NO WAY because she isn't mature enough nor responsible enough. But dd17 has shown me throughout the years how much I can depend on her to be responsible.

If I were you, I'd tell the girls that the first time they don't check in with you when they're supposed, then they can't go off on their own anymore.

BTW, we didn't have our cell phones with us on our last trip, but if you have your phones, then you would definitely feel more comfortable letting the girls go off on their own.

Mary

 

[SheepdogMom]

My dd was 14 when I let her and her best friend go off on their own while we were in the same park. Most of the time, they chose to walk with us anyway. I think with my dd it was more the idea that they could go off on their own if they wanted to.

Last trip my dd was 16 - the same thing - her and her best friend could go off on their own - but we all walked around together for the most part. One thing we did was silly but fun,we had a bus race. When leaving MGM early one day, they went to the TTC and got a bus to the hotel and we waited at MGM for a bus to the hotel. We got there at exactly the same time.

I would just make sure the expectations are clear, check-in times and places, meeting for meals, etc.

 

[jeannej]

Every year since 6th grade (that is about 11 almost 12) my children have gone on school sponsered trips that let the kids (with a buddy) roam the park without the adults tagging along. My daughter is now 14 and has done Sea World, Universal and IOA that way. My son is 12 and sent his first field trip of this type in the Magic Kingdom. They didn't encounter any real problems.

So, when we go as a family in December, if they want to do this, I will let them. we have cell phones and will just meet up at prearranged times.

I can tell you I was a nervous wreck the first I let my oldest do this but it turned out fine.

I have to tell you that I was romaing that parks at 14 by myself.

jeannej

 

[blessedby3]

My DD 15 and her best friend 16 will be allowed to roam the same park as us on their own this November. I always remind DD that she and her friend should not draw attention to themselves by being overly goofy. This applies at WDW down to the local mall. She has always followed my rules about being on her own with a friend. We will keep up with them on cell phones and meet for meals,snacks , shows, and I have a feeling they will want to hang out with us some anyway. I agree with the previous poster that you cannot make a blanket statement saying WDW is the safest place. Think about it, a child molester in the parks has tons of what he wants right there - children. I have spoken with DD about not talking to strangers, drawing attention to herself, etc. I feel comfortable with her and a friend roaming WDW, but I dont for a minute believe all is completly safe there. Things could happen anywhere.

 

[MdmMim]

I think I'd ask the girl's parents what they think about this, just to have all bases covered.

 

[Worfiedoodles]

I think I'd ask the girl's parents what they think about this, just to have all bases covered.

The best advice I have seen, yet! If you are going to be responsible for someone else's child, you want to make sure they are o.k. with your plan.

It sounds very reasonable to me, for girls that age to be given some freedom. I would definitely hold them to the rules, and perhaps have "random" cell phone checks.

Stern warnings about predators are always a good idea....

Have a magical trip!