SURVEY - Leaving kids alone at WDW

[ALittleDisneyFan]

I think you've got to do what you're comfortable with.

 

[koolaidmoms]

I think you've got to do what you're comfortable with.

You know your children best. If they are responsible mature girls they can go together to the pool by with a cell phone. As in the real world (I live in a "city") they need to stick together and look out for each other. Disney is a great place but just like the real world there are still sicko's out there.

For staying alone same thing. Will they be in the room ordering pizza or in the parks? Two very big differences. Use your judgement on how responsible your girls are.

 

[gillenkl]

I would let them go othe pool themselves but I don't think i would leave them at the resort while i went somewhere else.

These are my thoughts also.

 

[tjmw2727]

IMHO it totally depends on the kids - both kids - and how they would handle the "what if's".

My dd's are 14 and 12 and in April they were allowed to the food court, arcade and such at POFQ but I always took them to the pool. Mostly because I like the pool though

As far as heading to DTD, I would feel comfortable leaving my two at the resort but they are both used to being alone together occasinally at home. They have both taken the babysitting courses and red cross first aid courses.

You would also have to talk about how you would want them to handle a fire alarm situation, knock on the wrong room door, maintenance visit, etc just in case.

If you did need to return in a hurry you could always budget $20.00 for a quick cab ride.

TJ

 

[fortheluvofpooh]

It would depend. Do you let your children alone when you are at home? Do you allow them to go around the block when you are at home? If you answer yes to theese ????s then I would let them go to the pool and let them be at the resort by themselves. The resorts are so much fun, they have a game room, a store, and a counter service food court.

 

[dmccarty]

I cant say at exactly what age my cousin and I were wondering around MK by ourselves. This was when MK was WDW and there were no cell phones. Certainly by the time I was 13 and my cousin was 15. My mom and aunt would give us our TICKETS, remember E Tickets?, , a bit of cash and send us on our way. We would meet at certain times usually at the old Arcade. I really miss the arcade. I know Disney needs to make a buck but do we need yet another place selling shirts....

We would get to the MK early in the morning and leave when it closed. Most of the time my cousin and I did our own thing.

By the time we were this age both my cuz and myself were staying home alone so we were at least somewhat responsible. If the kids are used to staying alone for a few hours and have handled it correctly then I would not have a problem with them staying in the resort room while we went out to a park or dinner.

By 15 I was baby sitting. If I can baby sit then sitting in a room for a few hours should not be a problem.

Having the kids wandering around the resort by themselves is more worrisome to me than them being in the park or even riding the buses to get to the park.

One day our girls will be doing as my cousin and I did. At what age depends on how they handle chores, baby sitting, staying home alone, etc. Our oldest is 8 and seems to understand safety issues. We have a tractor and implements to work our place. Tractors are VERY dangerous. For some reason people have this Norman Rockwell idea that tractors are fun, well they are , and risk free, they are not. Tractors kill and maim many people every year. The injuries can be severe like loosing scalps, arms and legs.

Our kids have gotten the safety speech regarding the tractor more than once. And they will get it again. This weekend I was out "mowing". Mowing means cutting grass as well as briers and saplings 2-3 inches in diameter. The kids came down to were I was working but they stayed well away from the tractor. A good 100-150 feet away. This was goodness. It was a test and they did not know it. I was about done when they had walked down. After a few minutes I put the tractor up and the kids and I went for a walk to see what I had done. This was to show them the new ways around the place. Familiarization. But also to show them what was left of 10-12 foot tall trees after the tractor had "mowed" them over. Unfortunately the mower will sometimes hit rocks. Showing the kids shattered tree stumps, chunks of what used to be a tree, or large rocks split into pieces hopefully drives home how dangerous the tractor can be.

The oldest most certainly understands. I think the youngest does as well. This is just one of those life lessons they must be taught. If they get it, then they will likely understand the other safety lessons. If they do, they get to wander around WDW by themselves at a somewhat early age. If they don't get it, then they will be wandering at a much later age. Course THEY don't know that.

Later,
Dan

 

[MegaDisney]

Some kids are babysitting at those ages. I would do both.

 

[Poohbug]

I don't see any problem with that if your kids are pretty responsible and feel O.K. with being in the room without you. In another year or less your oldest will be learning to drive and will have alot more freedom, this will be a little practice for being responsible when you don't have parents around.

 

[MichelleVW]

At that age, yes and yes, and I'd let them go to the parks without us, also. We let dd11 and ds9 go to the pool for a bit at the Beach Club. I leave my older 2 home without me.

Same here, at 12 and 14 my girls were taking the bus to the parks by themselves if they wanted too. They had to stay together, but I felt safe. We stayed at AKL that trip and DH and I left them in the resort and we would go out to dinner in Orlando. They had a blast talking to the South African CM's by the animals.

Some kids are babysitting at those ages. I would do both.

Exactly.

 

[Darcy03231]

Do you allow them to go to your local mall unsupervised? If yes, I would think you could let them go to the pool by themselves. If no, then I would supervise them at the pool.

 

[rubyrain]

First thank you all so much for all the great response's that you have left! They have given me some great ideas and have eased my mind considerably. I trust my girls and I think that I have taught them enough that I feel they will be totally responsible but you just never know what can happen. I did'nt even think about disney quest that sounds like a good idea. I also did'nt think that it took 2 hrs there and back to dtd! dang how big is this place lol.
thanks again everyone! We can't wait to go!! H ave a great disney day!!

 

[a Really Bad Egg]

!. Yes they can go to the resort pool if we are at the resort.
2. No, we will not leave them alone at the resort.

 

[cajunpeach]

I think you should do whatever you would do at home, if you leave them at home with access to phone etc., then why not? I also understand what the PP said about buses etc., but if there was a real emergency, you'd jump in a taxi, wouldn't you?

My thoughts exactly.

 

[marcyinPA]

My boys are 13 and 9 (they'll be 14 and 10 when we go to WDW in June), and I leave them at home for a few hours at a time without a problem. I'd let them go to the pool alone, ONLY if there are lifeguards on duty. No lifeguards, NO WAY.

As for leaving them in the resort, I wouldn't venture too far. But, yes, I'd leave them in the room if DH and I wanted to go to the lounge or something and have some "adult' time. Which, in fact, I think we might do when we are in Disney in June! I'm also considering booking Artist Point for DH and I and letting the boys eat counter service and play in the arcade and stuff. We'll have our cell phones, so I don't see that being a problem. It's really nice when they get to an age where they can function on their own and you can actually have a nice couples time!

 

[star sweeper]

I don't personally have children this age, but I think it depends a lot on the maturity and trustworthiness of your children. I was always responsible and sensible as a child, so my parents let me go to MK for a few hours with my brother when I was 13 and he was 8, left him in my care when I was 16 at home for a week (during school year), and made me guardian of my brother in their will at 18. You, and only you, know if your kids can really handle this. Think about it honestly and make the decision that works for your kids.

 

[VAN]

I just read the original post and am responding to that and none of the comments that follow.

Every child is different. If your children are responsible and generally can be trusted to following your direction, I think leaving them at the room would be fine. I would be uncomfortable in letting them go to the pool (unless they don't go in and then what's the point), because you are putting your trust in some unknown lifeguard to watch your children. What if the pool is busy with little ones? What if the lifeguard is not paying attention? etc.

Anyway, having said that - you say this is your first time at WDW. I think I would plan for this outing later in the visit when everyone has had a chance to get the lay-of-the-land and be comfortable with surroundings. I would also plan to go to, say Epcot, and then let the kids ride on the rides while you and your spouse eat at one of the Epcot restaurants ... with both groups in possession of a cell phone. You would all be in the "same place" but enjoying different activities.

That's just my opinion ... again, all children are different and only YOU know how responsible your's are. HOWEVER, they are children and you are the parent responsible for them. If you are going to worry about them instead of being able to relax, then what's the point in going out without them?

Anyway, just my opinion.

 

[Q-man]

The eldest is 15 and will be out of the house in 3 years. Time to start giving them some responsibility in watching out for themselves while you are still readily available for guidance and critiquing their choices. Disney is fairly safe place to do it. But you know you kids best.

 

[tjmw2727]

First thank you all so much for all the great response's that you have left! They have given me some great ideas and have eased my mind considerably. I trust my girls and I think that I have taught them enough that I feel they will be totally responsible but you just never know what can happen. I did'nt even think about disney quest that sounds like a good idea. I also did'nt think that it took 2 hrs there and back to dtd! dang how big is this place lol.
thanks again everyone! We can't wait to go!! H ave a great disney day!!

I didn't realize this was a fist visit in which case I would still definately let them explore the resort together but maybe not so much the parks or head to DTD without htem. WDW is HUGE and it can take a good 1/2 hour to get to DTD depending on the route the the traffic. On the return you have to add the possiblitiy of a 20/30 minute wait for the bus, a couple stops and then the return trip. FWIW we always budget $ for cab rides when visiting DTD or the other resorts.

I would wait until a few days into the trip to decide what your going to be comfortable doing. You may find that you just want to be together alot of the time anyway and IMHO there isn't much left to do at DTD right now.

Either way your going to have an great vacation

TJ

 

[bopper]

I would definitely let a 15 and 13 year old stay in the room by themselves and would also let them go to the pool by themselves.

 

[Belle1962]

They would probably enjoy DD too!!! Or maybe you could leave them at DisneyQuest for a few hours while you and DH do DD. (With strict instructions not to leave the building)