How much freedom in the park for teenagers?

[BabyHabs]

We are travelling to Disney in October and staying at Bay Lake. It'll be our 6th visit, but first since pre-COVID (2019).

We have 2 boys who will be 14 & 15 when we are there and they are looking forward to have a bit of freedom in the parks.

The 14 year old isn't overly mature, but 15 yo is - has a part time job and makes his way around town with his friends.

How much freedom do you think would be appropriate in the parks? Giving them a few hours alone to wander and then meet up? Would you allow them to stay at a park later than you or go earlier - to MK for example which is within walking distance?

They are pretty adapt at getting around Disney and familiar with the buses, etc. I'm just not sure with how much freedom I'm comfortable with at their ages, but I know some independence would be good for them (and us).

 

[juxtapose]

My sister and I were also a year apart and starting around that age, or maybe 14/13 my parents would say see you later on vacations like cruises and theme parks where we were contained to smaller areas than say NYC. As long as you can trust them to stay together in MK and head back to the hotel I think they can have some good freedom to go before/after you. With cell phones now you can check in periodically.

 

[sponica]

I view it like this, would you let them at the mall unattended for a few hours, when they can totally hop in a car and go somewhere else and just be back in time for you to pick them up? I feel like the risks are lower at a theme park where they can't say they'll be somewhere and then go somewhere else.

Hopefully I didn't just give you nightmares, but I worked at a mall. That's bad decision central on the weekend nights.

You know your kids better than us though, if you don't think they're up for it, they're not up for it.

 

[disny_luvr]

You know your kids best. I will say my boys went to Disney with their high school band in March along with over 200+ 14-18 year olds in the parks from open to close for a week. They were unattended except for the two times a day they had to check in with their chaperone. I think there are endless groups of kids in the parks pretty much “on their own” between music trips, cheering competitions, sports teams, etc. I was totally fine with it, but my boys are very mature and have been to Disney numerous times, but there were a lot of kids who were there for their first time and totally okay.

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

Mine are 13 and 15 and we give them they're time to ride what they want at the parks so they're not tethered to us. We give them some money and off they go. We decide where/when to meet and that usually works. They also like some rides that we don't too so it gives me and my husband time to chill and grab a drink or snack sans kids. They are fine and manage their time well. We also have a small theme park near our home and they go there with their friends solo. They both do mall and shopping trips at home without us with friends and are fine. I really just think this is child dependent and you can gauge this on your next trip by trying small snippets of time and see if they're good with it and responsible with the freedom.

I do have to chuckle at this since I grew up in FL and our 7th grade field trip was Epcot. It was the early 90s and our chaperone just had us "check in" at certain times throughout the day. Gotta laugh at this as I've chaperoned many field trips and I'd probably be in jail today if I did this. LOL. Anyway, I am 100% guilty of micromanaging my kids whereabouts and having apps to check on them doesn't really help the situation, but I am totally in agreement with you that it's good for us and our kids, to grant them some freedom.

 

[mjkacmom]

At that age they could totally do the parks without us, including transportation. I’ve let kids take the bus/train to nyc with friends as teenagers. HS choir trips let them explore on their own.

 

[ElenaRN]

As long as their cellphones are fully charged and they promise to answer/respond to your calls or texts promptly, I would totally allow them some freedom.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

As long as their cellphones are fully charged and they promise to answer/respond to your calls or texts promptly, I would totally allow them some freedom.

you are assuming they will have service or be in a place they can answer. there are some places that they might not be able to respond in your time frame. my girls were around that age when we started letting them do their own thing and meet us every so often, guess I should say this was before cell phones. the 2 big threats were to stay with us for next time until they could go on own again and it would be a long hot wait in van until we were ready to leave if cast kicked them out. have to laugh our special needs daughter and her group on a choir trip to Disney were one of 6 groups out of 15 groups that was allowed on last day to go to a different park of their choice because being at every meet on time.

 

[cdobert]

Former High School teacher here who took students to WDW. They had to travel with a buddy and send me a picture of them with something recognizable in the park in the background once an hour. It worked well for us.

 

[holden]

We've let DD19 and DD15 go off together alone for a few years now. I'd be comfortable if DD15 went off with a friend (and not her sister) too. I'd book a meal (lunch or dinner) to meet up and check in. I'd also tell her she has to be available by phone.

 

[ElenaRN]

you are assuming they will have service or be in a place they can answer. there are some places that they might not be able to respond in your time frame.

I've found service to be pretty good across WDW. There are a few spotty places sure, It's Tough to be a Bug comes to mind. For the most part though it shouldn't be a problem.

 

[MamaMermaid]

As long as their cellphones are fully charged and they promise to answer/respond to your calls or texts promptly, I would totally allow them some freedom.

This is my thought as well.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

I've found service to be pretty good across WDW. There are a few spotty places sure, It's Tough to be a Bug comes to mind. For the most part though it shouldn't be a problem.

been a few years but we had a trip where we had a lot of service troubles esp at MK where we spent a lot of time with grandkids in different groups of families

 

[ElenaRN]

been a few years but we had a trip where we had a lot of service troubles esp at MK where we spent a lot of time with grandkids in different groups of families

That's never been my experience but just goes to show you things can happen and back up plans are always a good idea.

Esp with this generation of children who have always had phones/devices, make sure they know what to do if service is down. I know I don't have many #s memorized anymore. Might be a good idea to have your kids memorize your phone number. That way if their phone gets lost or broken they can have a CM call you.

 

[fairestoneofall]

I let me two oldest go into MK by themselves when they were 16 and 13. We walked them over there and then came back when they were done (we were staying at Shades of Green). They were fine. They kept in contact throughout the night. And I didn't worry because my daughter can navigate MK in her sleep! They had a great time!

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I've found service to be pretty good across WDW. There are a few spotty places sure, It's Tough to be a Bug comes to mind. For the most part though it shouldn't be a problem.

Service was one thing I thought of especially as you get deeper into some of the queues. I think I lost service in FOP at some point?? IDK there are def. some places where cell service drops more than one probably thinks of when it comes to queues. But something else to keep in mind is time spent on a ride, or in a show.

It's good advice you gave just maybe framing what "prompt" means. Def. set up the expectation OP that once a message comes through or a phone call does at the earliest time you can message or call back do so, don't just blow off the parents just because they are giving that latitude.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

That's never been my experience but just goes to show you things can happen and back up plans are always a good idea.

Esp with this generation of children who have always had phones/devices, make sure they know what to do if service is down. I know I don't have many #s memorized anymore. Might be a good idea to have your kids memorize your phone number. That way if their phone gets lost or broken they can have a CM call you.

most likely CM will not have a phone on them. at small park I work at if you are found with phone in your pocket it will be taken until end of your shift. calling for a teen would be caught on camera anywhere in park. so I would not plan on that. would have numbers written down rather than memorized as teen could have a problem remembering if upset and thinking they could be in trouble for being late. also what would happen if it is your phone that goes missing? some rides if it would fall out of your pocket it can not be gotten until end of day. if it was me so long after phone in time and you have not been able to contact I would have a meet in person place planned. say you are to call in by 330, if you reached each other by 4 meet at space mountain.

 

[ShannyMcB]

Bigger question, will they get along and stay together? That might be the bigger issue....I kid, sort of.
I think it would be ok if everyone was in the same park or close by. Personally I wouldn't send them off to AK if I was at BLT but them headed to MK would be ok with me.
I like the idea someone mentioned of pictures with familiar stuff in the background.
Even though my kids are young my gut is telling me as long as they aren't trying to navigate rope drop or post-fireworks they'd probably be fine. Those times would be way too stressful for me!

 

[saraheliz]

I just did a trip with 15 and 13 year old girls.
They mostly wanted to stay with us, but there was one day we went back to rest in the room with younger brother (after lunch at the GF) and they went back into MK alone- probably 1:30/2-6ish? I would have been fine with them using transportation alone as well if they wanted to or needed to for some reason. It helps that the 15 year old was at Disney earlier this year with her high school music group so she felt very comfortable navigating the parks (they only had to check in with chaperones at meal times). We set ground rules (checking in every once in awhile, drinking water, etc) and they loved it.
The only exception for me would be (and this may sound strange) Epcot during Deluxe extended evening hours. It was very dead/quiet over on the Land side of Epcot after 10pm or so, and with the construction, there are a few stretches of sidewalk with basically no lighting. I didn't even like being on the walkway alone with my 6 year old...too few people around and too dark.
Other than that, I would think most neurotypical 14 and 15 year olds could handle being in the parks alone and navigating transportation/walking to resort just fine, especially after a day or two of getting familiar with it. Plenty of kids that age navigate city buses to get themselves to and from school every day!

 

[RunDisney Matriarch]

I wouldn't see any trouble with two boys that age getting some freedom within the parks. And maybe you could stagger the freedom based on a test run or two? Maybe the first is we'll meet in an hour at a particular location. Then you can make sure they're responsible enough to follow your instructions and get a chance to take the 15 year-old's temperature to make sure the 14 year-old isn't giving him too hard of a time. If they're doing well, you can extend the intervals. But for our family, we wouldn't extend that freedom outside of a park. We go in together; we leave together.