Would you let your child wait for you outside of ride???

[MrsHull88]

My son has just turned 10, he is now allowed to stay in a car alone when we go into walmart or the grocery store. If he goes into walmart with us sometimes he will take a book and ask if he can sit on the benches outside the restrooms or outside of the pharmacy which is fine too. You know your child best and if he is happy to just sit and read a Disney book or look thru a Disney brochure then I would let him wait it out.

 

[mcbj]

I vote no.

 

[lovedworld]

I would never leave a 10 year old alone at a theme park.

 

[bizeemom4]

No way on Earth. What happens if the ride breaks down and you can't communicate to your child? Could he wait for an hour alone? I could not enjoy the ride at all out if sight of my 10 y.o.

 

[Dreamer & Wisher]

I wouldn't let my 10 year old sit outside the Haunted Mansion. The ride is a longer one, I am not sure where the chicken exit is. You go directly into the stretching room from the line. I think you should have your husband come to the Magic Kingdom. Perhaps it would be better if he stayed at the resort on the day you visit a different park.

If you were to share with your son how Disney creates the different effects in the Haunted Mansion would that help alleviate his fears? I think there is a website explaining the back story and all of the effects.

 

[Mama Mouse]

I would not let my 10 year old wait alone at a theme park for that long, no. There are just so many variables-wait time, what if he needs to use the bathroom, what if he gets thirsty or overheated, what about predators (of the human kind), what if the ride breaks down and you're stuck on it, etc. Too many what ifs.

That said, if your husband is on the trip, there's no reason your 10 year old should have to or that you should have to make that decision. I realize he wants to relax-we all do-but when it gets in the way of your kids' good time and, potentially, safety, I believe he loses the option to spend days alone in the room worry free. Just my thought, although I'm sure there could be extenuating circumstances that require him to have downtime. If not, though, I think Dad needs to get up and get to the parks and do his job. Jmho.

 

[Chief Powhatan]

My DD is 9 and I would not do it. No ride at Disney is worth that risk.

 

[2009CAN]

NO WAY. No ride is worth the gamble. If my child were 15, then I'd probably do it. At 10, not a chance.
There are too many things that could go wrong. What if the unthinkable happened like what happened at the Boston Marathon and you were separated from your child?

 

[agavegirl1]

When do you ride HM? I have ridden it in both DL and MK and never went if it was over 10 Min.

 

[LoriZH]

We let our twins who were 10 at the time go to the arcade in the resort (Contemporary) but I was having a heart attack the whole time, it was my husband who thought it was okay even though he kept on checking on them (I watched over the inside balcony to make sure they never walked out of the arcade, this is when it was one door in and out during refurb). They wanted to do some things on their own in the resort together and my husband talked me into it. We also let the run down to the cafe to fill their drink cups a couple of times together, again I watched over the balcony. We were close by but that means nothing if one would wander off and the other got lost etc. They were pretty mature and responsible at that age, I wish I could still say that at 15 .

Disney's rules are that you must be 8 (or 9??) to enter the parks alone, so I assume they believe it's safe for a child to go in the parks unattended, why not wait outside a ride?

My vote is that you know your child better than anyone. I personally would not let my 10 year old wait outside a ride alone, I would do the child swap. Someone always gets to ride twice

The parks in my opinion are a lot different than inside a resort when they're with their sibling. Again, you know your son more than anyone and if you feel safe about it that's all that matters.

 

[ttintagel]

Yes, absolutely at age ten. It's a nice, relatively enclosed area with plenty of seating, and there's a merchandise cart with a CM right nearby. Make sure he understands whatever ground rules you have (no wandering off, etc). If he has a phone, so much the better. I think it'd be a great opportunity for him to learn a bit of independence.

 

[Mama-san]

You know your son so do what you think is best. Have you asked him if would have an issue with waiting outside?

I personally would not have a problem allowing my DS (now 11) to do this, provided the posted wait time was under 20 minutes and he had a cell phone. At the HM, I would probably recommend that he go over to the shooting arcade to kill the time. I know his maturity level and I feel that he could handle himself appropriately if an issue arose. I definitely would not do it if my DS was not comfortable with the situation. My DS would probably be into it.

Good luck!

 

[iheartdisney]

i would let my 9 and ten year old do that, no problem. They've been going single rider on Indiana Jones since they turned 7, so I assume i could trust them tro wait if they didn't want to go on a particular ride. Heck, if they could pull out the ipod or Kindle, they would probably not even know we were gone.

You can't plan your life around fears of a terrorist attack. An asteroid could fall while you are in the bathroom. A crocosaurus could come out of the seven seas lagoon and grab you right off of the ferry. I mean, as long as we are planning for contingencies that are probably never going to happen.

 

[Aliceacc]

Personally, no, I would not leave my 10 year old (daughter, in my case) while I went on a ride. I know she would absolutely follow my directions, but I would still rather skip the ride than worry about her safety. I would be concerned that in the event that the ride broke down( as we all know they sometimes do), those 10 minutes could be much longer. I've been to WDW enough times that there's no one ride that's THAT important to me. If she and her sister or brother both skipped the ride, it would be a different matter, but I wouldn't be comfortable leaving her alone for that length of time.


Then again, I'm the same mom who refuses to put in for the Senior trip to WDW because I won't go to Disney World without my kids. I couldn't enjoy it without them.

But to each his own-- go with your own comfort level (and, more important, that of your son.) Each of us has our own style of parenting that works best for our families. And there's no right or wrong answer here, just a matter of personal comfort levels.

 

[WantToGoNow]

Yes I would. My son was 10 on our last trip and waited for us on several attractions that he didn't want to ride. You will not be able to utilize child swap since I'm assuming your 10 year old meets all of the height requirements.

 

[Gracie09]

It depends on the kid but probably. Get him a snack and cellphone and tell him to stay put.

 

[momofboyz3]

This will be our 1st time @ WDW & I'm trying to think up every scenerio (going as a single parent). I do have a very mature almost 10 yr old. I also have twin boys 13. While I would allow a my 13 & 10 hang out together and wait, I would not let them wait alone. This is not because of a safety issue, more so I don't want them to feel bored just hanging out waiting for me to ride a ride. But, this is just my own opinion

 

[dansdad]

Yes we have done it before and would do it again.

 

[maxiesmom]

You know your son so do what you think is best. Have you asked him if would have an issue with waiting outside?

I personally would not have a problem allowing my DS (now 11) to do this, provided the posted wait time was under 20 minutes and he had a cell phone. At the HM, I would probably recommend that he go over to the shooting arcade to kill the time. I know his maturity level and I feel that he could handle himself appropriately if an issue arose. I definitely would not do it if my DS was not comfortable with the situation. My DS would probably be into it.

Good luck!

That is what I was thinking too! If you feel he is mature enough to handle being alone for the time it takes your to ride HM, give him a bit of money and have him play in the shooting arcade. That should keep him occupied for the 30 minutes or so it will take you to ride. There is seating in that area too, so if he gets bored tell him he is to park it and not move from that area.

 

[NYDisneyKid]

I know in this day and age we have to ultra-careful with our children but I was just wondering if anyone has ever or would consider letting their child wait outside a ride for them. My son will be 10 years old and he does not like haunted mansion (scares him). I won't force him on it but am wondering if I could leave him right outside the ride on a bench to wait for us. He is very mature and would never leave or go with anyone but I would probably be nervous the whole time I am in the ride. Any thoughts?

YAYYYYYY,, a parent that WONT force a kid on a ride. Way to go. Kudos to you