When do teens tend to go out on their own?

[westjones]

I was just wondering, at what age do you let your teens go around the parks alone? I have twins, so they would have an automatic 'buddy system'.

My kids are no where near ready to do this, but DH and I were talking about how nice it would be when we stay at Beach Club Villas (our home resort for DVC), and the girls could go over to Epcot and go to the things they want, and he can I can just relax or go to a nice dinner on our own. But at this point it is hard for me to imagine that day will EVER come. So I was wondering, when do parents start letting kids do this?

Thanks,
DJ

 

[Chadsgirl44]

My son and his best friend have been given this privilege since they were 13. We started off my letting them go solo in the same park we were in, also we were in radio contact often! Now that he's 15 he and bestfriend so solo all over - of course now they have cell phones and must report in at least every 2 hours! It makes for a great vacation for both him and us! Not stuck with DM & DD all the time.

 

[westjones]

My son and his best friend have been given this privilege since they were 13. We started off my letting them go solo in the same park we were in, also we were in radio contact often! Now that he's 15 he and bestfriend so solo all over - of course now they have cell phones and must report in at least every 2 hours! It makes for a great vacation for both him and us! Not stuck with DM & DD all the time.

I bet it is easier with cell phones now. That is a good idea. I would feel better if we both had phones.
Thanks!
DJ

 

[erinch]

in the same park, with a few hours, and a firm meeting time and place, we started permitting at age 12. At age 15 we permitted roving a bit further afield and using the transport system--cell phones make all the difference!

 

[ReninDetroit]

Cell phones make it a WHOLE lot easier.

When DS was around 12, we tried using those Motorola walkabout walkie talkies but I guess the batteries died and we lost communication for about 5 hours. Thankfully DS remembered we had a PS somewhere for dinner and we finally met up there. Of course, those few hours roaming the park alone were NOT fun for him or us. !

Now everyone has a phone except DS7, and obviously he wouldn't be roaming the parks alone anyway.

 

[MickeyMouth]

I say 12 years old, with a friend and a cell phone.

 

[ILoveWDW2003]

Much also depends on their familiarity with WDW - my son (14), has been 5 times since he was 6, and will be going with me in June. 2 trips ago, we let him and his cousin go on their own in the same park. Last trip, they were able to go to DisneyQuest or another park - but they had cell phones.

I feel confident in his ability to get anywhere on Disney property on his own.

 

[SB in KY]

Our girls got brave enough to go it alone (everyone is right....cell phones are a great safety net) when they were about 14 and 12. They were WDW vets and while I would occasionally let them do one attraction while we did something else prior to that it wasn't until the older one was 14 that they wanted to wander far from us. And even then only on occasions.

Last summer they took friends (6 girls that were 14 and 16) and we stayed at OKW for a week and we ALL had a ball. DH and I spent the whole week pinching ourselves to see if it was real....DH and I would head to the parks early each AM, sometimes the kids would all come, sometimes they would all sleep in...we would split up after lunch and meet up for dinner some nights, but several times DH and I had dinner alone...it was a delight.

The days when they (and you!!) can wander about on their own will get here sooner than you think!!

 

[Marseeya]

At our local amusement park, I started letting my son go off on his own with a friend at age 11, but they had to check in with us every hour. Keep in mind that this is a very small amusement park. At age 12 and 13, they didn't have to check in so often except for once or twice during the day. I know 11 sounds young for that, but he and his friend were very trustworthy. I can't see letting my DD do it when she's 11 (she's 9 now), but she's a lot less mature than he'd been at her age.

At 14, we'll let him be on his own either at the resort while we're somewhere else, or he can go off on his own in the same park we're doing.

 

[westjones]

Last summer they took friends (6 girls that were 14 and 16) and we stayed at OKW for a week and we ALL had a ball. DH and I spent the whole week pinching ourselves to see if it was real....DH and I would head to the parks early each AM, sometimes the kids would all come, sometimes they would all sleep in...we would split up after lunch and meet up for dinner some nights, but several times DH and I had dinner alone...it was a delight.

The days when they (and you!!) can wander about on their own will get here sooner than you think!!

That sounds so great! I do want to spend time with my girls, but they like being on the go ALL the time. I like down time and relaxing. It would be nice to start out in the morning together and then have a break apart in the afternoon and then meet up for dinner.

That is probably one of the biggest reasons we like the cruise right now. My twins (age 11 1/2) can go to a movie or to the lab on their own while DH and I have some relaxing time. We don't have to be on the go with them all day. Sounds like in a few years we can do something like that at WDW.

We love Beach Club Villas and Boardwalk Villas because of the closeness to Epcot. That will be a great when the girls are older and want to head out to a park on their own when they are in high school.

DJ

 

[monarchsfan16]

We've never been allowed on our own, but we may be allowed to have a head start into one of the parks when we're down there this trip, because Grammy and Grampa are spending a night and mom and stepdad want to see them off before they join us in the parks. I'm 18, and have a 14 and 13 year old sister and stepsister. Mom and stepdad totally trust me, but don't trust the youngest too much, so they don't let us go off on our own if they can avoid it. I guess it sort of depends on the kids. My mom really wants us with her at all times though, because to her its not a vacation if we're not with her.

 

[crazymomof4]

Our 2 boys were 12 and 14 on our last trip. We let them explore the parks on their own (but with each other) for part of the day. We had two way radios that worked really well, so we had contact with them.

 

[westjones]

Our 2 boys were 12 and 14 on our last trip. We let them explore the parks on their own (but with each other) for part of the day. We had two way radios that worked really well, so we had contact with them.

We have those two way radios with the subchannels. Did you get a lot of other people breaking in our your radio? I worry if a lot of people are using them, they won't work well.
DJ

 

[crazymomof4]

We have those two way radios with the subchannels. Did you get a lot of other people breaking in our your radio? I worry if a lot of people are using them, they won't work well.
DJ

I read on these boards that the more expensive ones work better. So that is what we got. I think ours can be used for up to a 5 mile range. At any rate, we didn't experience any interference or people breaking into our channel. They worked great every time. We were there during the slow season (late Sept-early Oct) so it may have been different if it were more crowded. (??) I don't know.

 

[glewis1123]

On a trip in 2003 we let son age 9 and 2 nephews ages 10 & 12 roam in the same area while we relaxed in a shady spot.

Then last year nephew age 12 and our son age 11 got to roam the same park.

both times we had the motorola radios that worked great and everytime they moved from one attraction to another they had to check in - so we always knew where they were.

It worked great and let them have some "controlled" independence.

 

[SeaSpray]

May 2001 when DSs were 13 and 10, they stayed with us the entire time. It was DS10's first time at WDW and DS13's second time, so they were not at all familiar with the parks, and we were not at all comfortable with letting them go off. At the time, it didnt even occur to us as an option.

This July when we go, they'll be 17 and 14, and they will definitely be allowed to go off on their own as long as they stay together and keep in touch via cell phones. We plan on letting them go to DisneyQuest each afternoon if they want to.

We plan on all starting out together at one park, have lunch, then they can go their own way until dinner. Although some days, we will let them go on their own right after breakfast, and some days they won't have to meet us for dinner if they don't want to.

I am hoping this trip will be a good mix of family-togetherness, and also of letting the boys feel some independence.

 

[disneyfreakjackie]

Our two oldest DD's (16 and 14) will be venturing off together for the first time during our next trip. They will stay together, they each have a cell phone and so do DH and I. They will have to be in the same park as us though!! They don't have a problem with that, we have already discussed it. They will spend some time with me, DH and our two youngest DDs because I need pictures!!! They also know this!!!

 

[wicket2005]

I have sons 14 and 16, this is the first time we have been when they are old enough to be trusted, too young on our other visits. If they wanted to wander in the same park I wouldn't have any problems with them doing this at all, provided we had phone contact. However, they tend to want to stick with us which is great because I like us all being together.

We stick together because we are in another country, thankfully one where we are all speak the same language though. I think we feel more secure when we are all together.

 

[jjsmom]

Last year, we allowed DD & friend (both 13) to go own their own (some). I personally think WDW parks is one of the safest places for any kid and it allows them to make some decisions on their own (managing time, money, and negotiating things with their buddies like where to eat, what rides to ride). Later in the week they asked to go to the movies at DTDWS. We discussed and said yes, as long as it was during the day. So DH rode the bus with them and walked them in, he found out the running time and said they could have an extra 1/2 hour to go to the Virgin Record Store. We allowed about 30 min to wait for and ride a bus back. They showed up exactly when expected. Point is, I think that giving both freedom with specific boundaries works well for teens and parents.