Would you do this?

[maxiesmom]

Nope, wouldn't do it. We actually went thru this with my 11 yr old niece. She was the only one who didn't want to ride Soarin' a second time. We thought about leaving her alone for about a heartbeat. There are way too many people around that it would be so easy for someone to grab her. Even if she screamed how many people would actually look? There are screaming kids every day at Disney, you tend to ignore them after a while, figuring they are tired or over-stimulated.

And even though your son is in a gift shop near CMs, and you say you understand they are not babysitters, you are really counting on the fact that the CMs will take some notice of your child. Otherwise, what is the point of having him by the CMs? With the CMs having to wait on guests and all of the people milling about, it is allot to hope that they would notice if something bad was happening to your son.

The world has changed a great deal in the last 20 years, and not all for the good. There are many things that I did or my parents let me do that I would not let any child do today. Waiting in a car while my parents ran in to get something from a store, going trick or treating without an adult along. I think 10 is too young to be alone at Disney. I'm with your hubby on this one.

 

[DisMN]

I would have let my child wait for me on the benches (as long as I knew my child well enough to know they'd do what they were supposed to).

My parenting philosophy: children need to be given responsibility in small increments so they can grow and mature into handling bigger responsibility. You wouldn't want to thrust them into something at "a certain age" without having given them the baby steps to lead up to it. Sounds like you dh missed a good opportunity for your ds.

I agree 100%.

 

[Ub_Iwerks]

It would totally depend on the child and if he had successfully been in situations like this before. I would have to be 100 percent confident that he would go to the CMs if there was anyone bothering him and that he would not go off with a stranger, under any circumstances.

 

[claytonj20]

Really depends on the personality of the child I think. My Son at 10 was already had a good head on his shoulders and would tell someone trying to get him to go somewhere to get lost, or would go to a CM and ask them to get this guy away from him....

My oldest daughter at 10 (love her to death) could *possibly* take the bait of some guy who said her mom got hurt on TOT and had to meet her in the parking lot (despite our constant coaching).

So son at 10-yes

Oldest Daughter at 10-no

Youngest daughter at 10...we shall see

 

[Matt'sMom]

Would you allow your 10 year old to sit and wait for you to get off of a ride or I am being too trusting?

I had no issue with allowing my DS to do this on our last trip. He went through the TT line with us, then took the chicken exit and waited inside the building. No problems at all, and we were back together within a couple minutes.

It really depends on the individual child. But we believed that our son was mature and responsible enough to be trusted to 1) not leave the building... and 2) to let a CM know if anyone approached him inappropriately.

 

[SuperTink]

It depends on the child, but most likely yes.

BTW, IMVHO, I think the media has done a number on us regarding "stranger-danger", and it's kinda sad.

 

[WeirdTigger27]

If he is very well behaved, the area is populated with CMs within a short distance, sure I would have let him wait the few minutes. The chicken out idea is very good one too.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

So it looks like the camp is pretty evenly split, with valid points on both sides. I agree that DS does need to have a little responsibility now and then, and he is going to middle school next year which is FAR more dangerous than sitting on a bench for 10 minutes at ToT! A child was fatally stabbed at one of our middle schools not long ago.

At any rate, DH will be pleased to hear that he has DISers who agree with him!

 

[HSMndLKfan92]

DH and I recently had a big disagreement about something, and I want to know what other parents think.

Our DS10 is a reasonably responsible guy. He HATES ToT, which is fine. DH and I like ToT, and we actually had Dream Fast Passes to ride it on Sunday. I wanted to let DS sit on a bench at the exit of ToT. There is an area where you purchase the ride photos with some benches where DS could have waited for us - it is INSIDE, not outside the building. There are CMs in that area as well as in the gift shop. Nobody would have bothered DS. DH didn't want to ride ToT by himself so we couldn't "baby swap" DS. DS was fine with the sitting on the bench option - he knew we would be out in just a few minutes. DH refused to even consider letting DS sit and wait for us.

Would you allow your 10 year old to sit and wait for you to get off of a ride or I am being too trusting?

Heck, my parents let me do that.
Except it was for Haunted Mansion.
I had to keep my cell phone on and everything.
I think I was 11, though.

 

[ToriLammy]

Well, I would let my 10 year old do it. And I counted the responses - 17 for and 7 against, that's not evenly split. That is more than 2 to 1 for so while your husband has Disers who agree with him there are more who agree with you

 

[PattiPB]

BTW, I have 9, 7 and 4 y.o. sons. I do let DS 9 go in to public bathrooms alone.

This scenario gives me more anxiety than the ToT photo area!! Sending my boys (now 10 & 8) into a men's public bathroom is worse to me than hanging out in the ToT photo/store area. But, like someone said, the media has really done a number on us all!

I think the best suggestion given was to have him wait in line with you and then hit the chicken exit. Then he (and you) know EXACTLY how long until you'll meet him. If you got caught in a slower than expected line, and had told him only 10 minutes, you might both get anxious.

Independence in small doses, or dependence for far too long. JMHO, YMMV!

 

[hsmamato2]

DS does need to have a little responsibility now and then, and he is going to middle school next year which is FAR more dangerous than sitting on a bench for 10 minutes at ToT!

Exactly, 10 isn't a tiny child,and leaving home alone,getting on a bus, being responsible enough to get themselves into class,with minimal adult help,if they can manage school,and life in general- yeah I think sitting on a bench for 20 minutes would have been just fine......

 

[Took]

Really depends on the personality of the child I think. My Son at 10 was already had a good head on his shoulders and would tell someone trying to get him to go somewhere to get lost, or would go to a CM and ask them to get this guy away from him....

My oldest daughter at 10 (love her to death) could *possibly* take the bait of some guy who said her mom got hurt on TOT and had to meet her in the parking lot (despite our constant coaching).

So son at 10-yes

Oldest Daughter at 10-no

Youngest daughter at 10...we shall see

I completely agree that it depends on the child. DD (10 1/2) is an only child and quite mature and responsible. She has a healthy wariness of strangers and can be trusted to pretty much do what she says she will. I would leave her in a WDW gift shop for a few minutes. The CMs aren't babysitters, of course, and I wouldn't count on them to watch HER but she could go to THEM if she needed to.

I agree with another poster who says the media has exploited our fear of strangers to an unhealthy degree. I believe statistics show that most children are hurt by people they know, not strangers. I also feel a higher level of comfort at WDW than I do at, say, our local mall. Part of that is just the crowd that tends to go to WDW. I know I would be willing to "interfere" if I saw a child be bothered by what was clearly not his or her parent, and I know other disney parents would, too.

 

[cleo]

Tough call. I agree it depends on the child, but I'd also be pretty reluctant to do it. I used the chicken exit at TOT just last week (DH rode while I checked a few updates for the book) and there wasn't a CM in sight. Notta one. So I wouldn't count on that being the case when your son is sitting there alone.

10 isn't a little kid, but 10 isn't all that savvy, either. I wouldn't leave our 10 year old alone but I'm sure there are kids who would be just fine (frankly, chances are excellent ANY kid would be just fine). But there's just enough 'worry' in me about what COULD happen. As unfortunate as it is in this day and age, when I think about what I would really do, I wouldn't leave the child alone.

That said, Daddy has to be a big boy about it and go on his own. He can't have it both ways.

 

[luvsmickeymouse]

We let DD sit there when she didn't want to ride a few years ago at about 10 or 11 . We had her go through the line with us then had a CM take her to the chicken exit thats right there.I felt a bit safer as it was in a well traveled area but indoors.

I would do something like this. Because there is alot to see, once you get inside before you go down.

 

[Kay1]

Yes. Your child should know the "You're not my father!" thing by ten, and I think Disney is a very safe place. I would certainly let him wait.

 

[MichelleVW]

My girls....yes in a heartbeat.

My brother's kids...no way no how...they seem really immature for their age and are ALWAYS getting into stuff...so I wouldn't leave them alone...

 

[Luv Bunnies]

I wouldn't do it. The child may be responsible and level-headed, but there are too many scenarios involving other people that could happen. Someone could lure him away without making a scene and the CMs wouldn't even notice. This is just how I see it. Maybe I'm paranoid, but I grew up in a law enforcement family and I was taught to be very careful!

My boys are 11 & 8 and they still don't like certain rides, including the Haunted Mansion. My husband and I have each ridden alone many times at Disneyland and I'm sure we'll be riding some things alone on our WDW trip next week. One of us hits the ride and the other takes the kids to something nearby that they like. We meet up at the end via cell phone.

I don't think any ride experience is worth even the slightest risk that my kids could be lost or harmed.

 

[dustysky]

At 10 yes i think i would but you know your child best, some 10 year old would not be able to sit there an be ok with waiting.

 

[icecrystahl]

Well this isn't really my place considering I'm a 15 year old girl. BUT we had a similar situation on our 2004 trip. Mom, dad, and older sister, and I all love TOT. But My 2 younger sisters and brother are too scared to ride it. At that time there ages were 10(sister) 3(other sister) and 6(brother). We just let them wait on the bench right outside the gift shop and they were just fine once we got off the ride. I don't see much danger happening to any child in WDW. There are cameras and CMs everywhere. I could understand not leaving a child under the age of 8 alone while riding a ride but a 10 year old, well there old enough to stay put on a bench for a few minutes. If not, then I think you might have some parenting issues. lol jk!