Unsupervised adventures for pre-teens?

[Chili327]

Heading to DisneyIand and have friends kids bringing a friend as well. Wondering about giving them some freedom to roam the park together unsupervised? (both are 12)

Is there anything you would recommend or feel safe letting them do together? Not worried about them leaving the park, but would be nice for them to get some buddy time and feel like they are free to enjoy the park (without the boring adults), but not sure how loose of a leash is advisable. lol

Maybe 12 just isn’t old enough, but if anywhere is safe enough it’s the parks!

 

[CarolynFH]

For me it would depend on how familiar at least one of them is with the DLR parks. We didn't give our kids freedom at WDW until they were 13 or 14 and had been there often enough that we knew if we told them to meet us at a certain place at a certain time, they'd know the place we meant and how to get there from wherever else they were in the given park. And of course we had to be confident they would adhere to the rule about not leaving the park.

 

[HopperFan]

Well the rules are the same there as WDW, they are not old enough to enter the park without an adult, so for me it translates to needing to be 14 to be unsupervised in the park.

NOW at WDW I let my 10 year old go off for short stints with her 14 year old brother, but they also grew up in the park and knew their way everywhere. But 99% of the time they were with us or very nearby. When they went with school and on their own in parks they were 14 and older.

My question is are they already very familiar with DL parks??? I was just there and it was very different from WDW and I would not have been comfortable letting my kids go off alone at that age there.

 

[Chili327]

They’ve never been to WDW, and one of them is pretty familiar with DLR, the other is a first timer.
We’re not talking going to the parks by themselves, just a little adventure while we may be eating lunch or people watching, a short “adventure” just to give them a taste of freedom. Almost like if we have them a specific task to go run some kind of errand. Not hours at a time, maybe we’ll just let them ride a ride alone so they’re stuck in line together. lol

 

[CarolynFH]

They’ve never been to WDW, and one of them is pretty familiar with DLR, the other is a first timer.
We’re not talking going to the parks by themselves, just a little adventure while we may be eating lunch or people watching, a short “adventure” just to give them a taste of freedom. Almost like if we have them a specific task to go run some kind of errand. Not hours at a time, maybe we’ll just let them ride a ride alone so they’re stuck in line together. lol

As long as both of them are generally reliable, "law-abiding," responsible kids, since the one is pretty familiar with DLR, I'd probably be comfortable letting them go for a short time as you describe. I think that riding a ride the adults aren't particularly excited about might be a good choice, with a very clear understanding about where to meet immediately after they get out! Maybe there's a place for the adults to sit and snack right across from the exit, or very near by.

 

[Sprinkles&Sprints]

I grew up going to the parks and was probably 14/15 before my parents allowed my cousin and me to do a nearby activity without them. And even then it was something comparable to them sitting on a bench outside of a store and us wandering around inside.

Honestly, we were trustworthy kids (or ‘law-abiding’ - love that @CarolynFH ) but I think they were more concerned with something happening and us not knowing what to do. This was also pre cell phones. Case in point maybe two years later we were riding solo on Splash Mountain and got stuck at the top for a good hour. Eventually my parents figured out what had happened but I can’t say I wasn’t a little nervous without them. I’m sure there’s a good life lesson in there somewhere (and Disney did comp us two no-expiry park hoppers )

I’m sure they will love even a tiny bit of freedom!

 

[obsesseddisneyfan]

We let Three- 10 year olds run around Star Wars Land they went on rides in that area and did bounty hunting. The adults sat down and drank coffee. It was a wonderful evening. If the 12 year olds are responsible. I say ask them to keep to a world and hang out there. As others have said they need an adult to enter.

 

[Chili327]

I think we’ll start with a ride, then maybe move on to a land, unfortunately neither are Star Wars fans so not sure they would be excited about galaxies edge, but maybe we can do another section.

We did find out yesterday that one is not big on crazy coasters at Knott’s. lol

Thanks for the great advice all.!!

 

[obsesseddisneyfan]

I think we’ll start with a ride, then maybe move on to a land, unfortunately neither are Star Wars fans so not sure they would be excited about galaxies edge, but maybe we can do another section.

We did find out yesterday that one is not big on crazy coasters at Knott’s. lol

Thanks for the great advice all.!!

Pandora land is also themed very well and is enjoyable to just sit down at.

 

[Chili327]

Pandora land is also themed very well and is enjoyable to just sit down at.

Unfortunately, it’s about 3000 miles away.

 

[mjkacmom]

My kids were running or biking around town by 10 or so, I think some of them had season passes to great adventure at 12 and were dropped off.

 

[kwdw]

I think letting them wait in line and ride a ride without you or buying a snack and immediately returning to a designated location are all fine. I've done that with a solo 12 yo who was in the very responsible camp. I also think "separating" in a big store is fine, too, as long as there is a "meet me at this door in a few minutes" arrangement.

 

[Chili327]

Thanks for all the suggestions.
We did end up letting them run around Pixar Pier on our last night while we chilled at Lamplight.