Teens going to Downtown Disney

[JoEllen]

I posted this on the "Families" Board but would like another opinion too.

We are bringing a friend of our 13 yr old DD's with us to OKW this May. DH and I plan to play golf a few days and are trying to decide what the girls will be allowed to do on their own. I thought it would be safe for them to take the boat to DD and shop but only go as far as lego land. (Not over the to West Side)
I wasn't so sure about letting them go to the Parks on the Disney buses.

The response has been just the opposite. Opinions from the Families Board are that DD is not safe but the Parks are. I'm sure alot of you have been thru these decisions. Can you let me know what worked for your families?

Of course, the parents of our daughters friend have the ultimate decsion. That goes without saying.

Thanks for hearing about your own experiences.

JoEllen

 

[dznymom1]

I would be much more comfortable with my teen at any of the parks rather than at Downtown Disney. Another possibilty is to have them spend a few hours at Disney Quest if that interests them. Or if they are anything like my niece they might be happy hanging out at the pool, listening to their walkmen, gawking at cute lifeguards and drinking virgin pina coladas

 

[DisneyHumbug]

I have let my teens do both, and I will tell you I feel much better when they are in a park instead of DTD.

 

[JoEllen]

Thanks for your responses! I guess DD isn't as safe as we thought and that's good to know in the planning stages.

They should be fine with the pool and at the Community Hall. I'm still pondering the Parks.

 

[Pa@okw95]

I don't think anyone read that you would be doing this while golfing which means during the day. I see no problem with allowing 13 year old girls to go anywhere during the day especially anywhere at WDW. They will be freshman in high school, not starting first grade.

 

[jcanary]

We are faced with the same dilema this July where my 16 yr old DD will be bringing 3 friends to help celebrate her 16th birthday. We have discussed it with all of the families and we feel safe within the resort or the parks and that's it. We will all have cell phones, and that is including atleast 3 of the four girls so we will be in constant contact. The girls will be expected back at our villas for lunch and most dinners we will be going out. In the afternoons we have plans to use the boat and bike plan extensively so we will be transporting them and will be at that resort pool or in a boat ourself. We will go to DTD one or two nights for shopping and one night to take them to Pleasure Island. We have worked out our planning with all families and everyone feels good about it, especially since there are four so there will never be one left out. If someone is left out then they understand all priviledges are taken away. The kids love their freedom but they have to be reminded that there are people out there that make this world not a safe place. We will also have walkie talkies for in the park. Have a fun time planning. I have and I really love it. We will be down there for 2 weeks and my husband will be the only guy - poor thing. Can't wait to have fun like a 16 year old.

 

[Terry S]

I think either one would be fine, but I would feel more comfortable when they are in the parks since that is a paid admission and anyone go to DTD. Mine are still young, but we have already been discussing at what age we will let them do what.

 

[wdwnut]

hi: our youngest is 15. we have been bringing our kids' friends for many years and have had a ton of teens with us. i would definitely say the parks are much better than dtd. we've never felt comfortable with them alone at dtd until they were at least 15/16 yo and we knew what kind of judgement they would use.

 

[Mic]

We took 3 of our 14-year-old's friends with us in June, and we were much more comfortable letting them run free in the parks than at DD. The girls, of course, had made plans to hang-out at PI and such nonsense, but we nipped that in the bud before we left home. I had a meeting with the parents of the girls, and everyone agreed...no DD without the parents(in other words, they weren't going!). We had no problem with them taking a bus (or in most cases for us, a boat from BWV) to any park, as long as they (1) stayed together at ALL times, and (2) each girl had her 2-way radio. And I have to say, I felt the girls got a lot of attention from the castmembers. These girls are now half-way through their first year of high school, and they still talk about that trip and want to go back! Oh, one thing you should consider when taking someone else's child on vacation: an emergency medical treatment form signed by parents and notorized. I had 1 for each child, and luckily did not need it. On a previous trip to Orlando, our son had cut his chin while checking into the hotel and needed stitches, so I made sure I had this form from everyone before leaving. Have a great time!

 

[grinningghost]

We plan to allow our 14 year old DD and her friend to go to DQ alone, as I'm pretty sure once they get in there, they won't want to leave. (And I'm sure there will be plenty of cute boys in DQ to keep their attention, much to DH's dismay). I'm not sure how thrilled I'd be with them just wandering DTD aimlessly at night though. I'm still thinking on that one.

 

[Lucky4me]

They will be safe in the parks.

Get them some maps before you leave and have them study where everything is.

Tell them not to talk to any strangers except CMs. If anyone tries to talk to them and they feel threatened, tell them to yell security! and Disney security will come out of the woodwork. They won't have to worry though, the parks are very safe.

I've let my kids go on the busses when they were 10, 11, and 12. As long as they stick together and have a plan in case they do get separated, they'll be fine.

The reasons I believe the parks are safer: it costs $50 just to get in and there are CMs every three feet or so. DTD is free to the general public and the CMs are inside the stores.

 

[dvcmomdeh]

I had this dilema last summer and will have it again this summer. We will have two 15 yo and two 12 yo. What to do? Disney says the legal age is 18 to be anywhere on property without an adult.

 

[Rajah]

I also would consider the parks safer than DTD, regardless of the time of day. Though during the day I'd consider DTD much safer than at night.