What Age Can Children Do Parks Alone

[DonnaL]

NMAmy,

That's so funny about actually wanting to go off alone at WS.....I've often thought the same thing, but, as I said we usually always do things together.
However, on our last trip in December our two DS's (almost 25 and almost 17) did go back to Epcot in the evening (one EMH evening and another evening when DH and I just felt like hanging out on our balcony at SSR). But, one of these trips, I am going to just take off by myself and walk, stop and browse WS alone.

 

[anabelle]

I let my two boys (11, 12) stay in Innoventions while we toured the WS. They both had walkie talkies and had to tell us if they were switching from West to East. They did fine. But, I have to say that it did make me very nervous. They are still babies to me. I know that they are very familiar with the parks but I think I am going to wait until they are 15 for me to let them tour by themselves.

 

[NMAmy]

NMAmy,

That's so funny about actually wanting to go off alone at WS.....I've often thought the same thing, but, as I said we usually always do things together.
However, on our last trip in December our two DS's (almost 25 and almost 17) did go back to Epcot in the evening (one EMH evening and another evening when DH and I just felt like hanging out on our balcony at SSR). But, one of these trips, I am going to just take off by myself and walk, stop and browse WS alone.

I know, Donna. They're so sweet about not wanting me to be alone and my first thought when I found out DH wouldn't be there was, "Hey, the girls could do something else and I could browse to my heart's content!" Now I have to figure out how to suggest it to them without hurting their feelings.

 

[dvc guy]

This Christmas for the 1st time I let DD 13 & DS 9 stay in the park alone for a few hours while I went to pack the car . DD is very responsible but not good with direction, DS 9 know the parks inside out so it was a good match. If they had been left alone all day they would have eaten popcorn and soda all day . It is amazing how well they get along with no parents around.

 

[seashoreCM]

13 or 14 is usually old enough to go off on ones own but you as a parent have every right to fear that your youngster could get mistreated or flimflammed by others.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

 

[golden1]

I think 14 is okay if your 14 year old is pretty mature. My parents and I went when I was 14 and they basically gave me a park ticket and said "Meet us for Dinner at 6pm at (enter restaurant here)". It was great!

 

[MouseWorshipin]

We live less than an hour away from Six Flags over Georgia, and one of the reasons I hate to take my family is because of the parents who treat the park as "cheap day care" for their 11-17 year olds while they are out of school for the summer...IMO, if your child can't respect other people and have the common courtesy not to run wild, use foul language every 10 seconds, and grope their boyfriend/girlfriend in broad daylight for all the world to see, don't drop them off at the local amusement park so they can offend the rest of us. Take them to work with you and see how your co-workers enjoy it!

Uh, I don't know what is in the water there in GA, but up here I do not see pre-teens behaving this way around here. I do see it periodically from older teens and adults, but you see that everywhere. Of course I didn't do the things you describe as a kid. I don't do them as an adult. Ick.

Our kids go to amusement parks, they go swimming, they go to the park. When they can drive, they go to the mall and the movies alone, too (and the grocery store! I love new drivers, so eager to run errands for me!)

It isn't "cheap day care." Kids do stuff. They don't stay by Mommy's side until it is time to leave for college, for Pete's sake. I don't need to save money on day care. I provide that myself. Now I'm thinking maybe I should get paid. I'll have to talk to my husband!

Heck, I'll even bet that you went out and had fun when you were a teen, didn't you?

 

[CatherineH]

Thanks to everyone for your replies. I think I will give them a few hours of freedom here and there - and arm them with a cell phone. As many of you pointed out - so far, on every trip we tend to stick together for the most part - this family time is what makes our DVC membership so special. I guess the difference this time is that in addition to our family (where my oldest DS is 14) our neighbours are coming and they are bringing two 14 year old girls - both of whom are close school chums of my sons. I'm thinking the dynamic will be a little different.

I guess I really wanted to get a sense of how safe the parks are - I'm not sure I've ever heard of a child being snatched or harmed in Disneyworld - so I'm sure this isn't really an issue.

Another quick question re: walkie talkies - we've tried using ours here in Toronto at Canada's Wonderland and find there is always too many other users = too much interference. Could it be that ours are just not great quality or have any of you experienced this problem. Do they rent walkie talkies at Disney?

Thanks again to all.

 

[2giddy4wdw]

I have to say that I let my DD12 and her best friend 14 go along, inside the same park that we are in. Only one night after dinner, they wanted to go to MGM and we wanted to go to Epcot. DD has been going to disney since she was 2 and knows the parks. They were told to stay together, even if one had to go to the bathroom, they went together. It worked out great for us. We all had cell phones and kept in contact. This year the one thing we are going to do different is give each girl a whistle to carry with them. That way if anything should happen, they can blow the whistle and get someones attention. I say go with your gut feeling, only you can determine if your child is ready for the responsibility.

 

[jaletu2000]

We allowed my older DS to go off by himself when he was around 13, I think. It was only in MK and we were in the same park at that time too. We had radios (didn't work too well) and tried to keep in touch.

The last trip we let him tour alone in MK and had a hard time getting back together. He wouldn't show at the time he was supposed to. That meant we spent our time waiting for him!

I would really be all for letting him loose in the whole place now (he's 16) except for the idea that if anything happened I might not know about it for hours! That thought scares me a little. I know - I'm such a MOM!

However, now we have cell phones and I think we can stay in touch better. So the next time we go, he'll probably insist on going his own way - which I completely get. He should have some freedom on his vacation.

The younger DS is another story. I don't think he'll be solo for quite a while yet! He turned 13 last spring! So you have to know your kids and deal with them accordingly. Yours may be such seasoned and mature WDW travelers that they can take the whole thing on and not give you a moment's discomfort. And believe me, they'll have a blast! It just depends on the kid.

 

[NOLAminnie]

I think it depends on a few different factors...
How mature and responsible are the kids? Do they do well home alone or at the movies or the mall by themselves? Have they been to WDW before and do they know the transportation systems, layout of parks and how to find cast members if they need information.
My mom and aunts who I always went to WDW with started letting me and my cousins go to the parks by ourselves when we were about 11 or 12. By then we were WDW veterans. this was before the days of cell phones but we ususally checked in with them by meeting for lunch or dinner. I'm 31 now and have great memories of exploring the parks with my family.

 

[fan of the TTA]

you're rite.

i guess it doesn't matter really on the age. just as long as they are mature!

 

[heidijot]

Good Morning,

We have been going to Disney since the kids have been 15-10(now 18-12) and we always enjoyed the experience as a group. There has been times when on certain rides like the Tower of Terror, we would split up or my oldest would go in the singles line of Mission Space but we truly enjoy the family aspect of our WDW trip.

I would let my older son now 18, go off on his own, but I would miss the fun of being together!!! And also the use of cell phones is always a good way to stay in touch.

Heidi

 

[DisneyWisher]

Good Morning,

We have been going to Disney since the kids have been 15-10(now 18-12) and we always enjoyed the experience as a group. There has been times when on certain rides like the Tower of Terror, we would split up or my oldest would go in the singles line of Mission Space but we truly enjoy the family aspect of our WDW trip.

I would let my older son now 18, go off on his own, but I would miss the fun of being together!!! And also the use of cell phones is always a good way to stay in touch.

Heidi

I'm not trying to undermine what you are saying but you should also think of the memories they are creating by being able to go off together alone. By letting siblings spend a few hours at Disney away from Mom and Dad, you are allowing them a different sense of fun. My older daughters are 22 and 20. We let them go to the parks for the first time by themselves when they were 14 and 12. Even to this day they talk about their first time at Disney on their own. The only scare I had was Sept 11, 2001. My youngest daughter (8yrs old then) and I were at MK when they closed the parks. When I got back to my resort I right away called the room. The older girls were going to MGM then to BB. They weren't in the room. Small moment of panic, youngest got my attention to show me that the girls were walking toward us. They had just gotten off the bus to BB that turned around to bring them back.

Maybe its different for me. When I was 11 we went to MK with our class. As long as the kids are well mannered and familar with Disney you shouldn't have a problem. To the poster that said they were going to give the kids whistles. Please don't. I understand you wanting to protect your kids but if they get into a whistle war or use the whistle inappropriately. I wouldn't want to be behind the kids that just blow on them because they have them. If you know what I mean. Better to teach the kids to yell "I don't know you, I'm not going with you, you aren't my mom or dad". You'll get a lot more concerned parents wanting to know whats going on then with a whistle.

 

[The Sweetness]

I will let my dd go off in between meals, or maybe even a half day SOME of the time next yr. I have dropped her w friends at the mall, and she has a cel phone. DH will be teaching her how to drive this summer (starting to anyway ) So I better adjust a bit, mommies lil girl is growing up

 

[NeedsNEscape]

DH and I started gradually with the kids. First, we let them roam the hotel and pool at WL alone (they were 9&11 at the time) while DH and I had a quiet dinner at Artist Point. Then we let them stay in the room at AKL when they were 10&12, while we went to Victoria and Alberts. At 12&14, DH and I were comfortable letting them roam DCA at Disneyland while we ate a nice dinner in their Napa Valley restaurant. Last year (at 14&16) they were old hands at roaming WDW and I was pretty comfortable letting them do it.

This summer, my DS is turning 18 and I am encouraging his friends to go to WDW for an away trip. I figure I can put them on a plane and they can get WDW transportation, spend a couple of days and fly home. It's safer than
some of his other ideas.

Thank goodness for cell phones...

 

[fan of the TTA]

9?

i think maybe that's pushing it