Teenagers

[michyi]

I'm just wondering if anyone allows their teens to walk around without an adult. I have 14 & 13 year old boys. I'm a bit over protective, but I know I have to let go a bit. Is this the place to do it? They both have phones, too.

 

[Dannielle]

Ours are 14 and 12 and we were considering the same thing.
I think that what we are comfortable with is allowing them to go off within a specific land. For example, if the adults want to look around the Ye Old Christmas Shoppe, then they can go on Haunted Mansion

 

[xlsm]

Mine are 13 and 15. Yes. My oldest would even sleep in and meet us later at whatever park we were in. When I was a kid we'd go on school field trips to theme parks and around age 10 were let out on our own without cell phones, and just the instruction to be a X location at X time.

If a kid has a phone or a watch and can follow instructions, and is responsible/trustworthy (only you know what your kids are capable of) I see no problem with it.

In my opinion, kids need an opportunity to figure things out for themselves sometimes. I coach Odyssey of the Mind (a creative problem solving competition team), and while most of my kids have been with me since elementary school, each year I get a couple of new ones with no experience. The point of the team is that the students do EVERYTHING themselves: write their script, build all sets/robotics/whatever (including using tools if necessary - with supervision), create their own costumes, etc. Often, kids new to the group have zero idea how to do anything on their own or make their own decisions. They have no experience doing things without being told exactly what to do, b/c in school or at home they have someone directing their every move. It is challenging to coach those kids, but they eventually learn, and their confidence grows by leaps and bounds.

 

[tinkerjo]

I let my teens that age go by themselves while we are in the same park. They also have cell phones and we check in often. I buy $20 gift cards and give them 1 for food/drinks if they need them (I don’t want them having charging privileges) but my kids know their way around WDW. I guess it also depend a on the kids maturity level/behavior. A fairly mature/responsible 12 and 14 year old should be fine at least for a few hours to go it alone. About 15-16 I let them use transportation to/from the resort and stay late as long as they were together.

 

[SteveH]

Yes! Kids have to get off leash at some point. Trust but verify. I used to run trips for middle school kids all the time, before cell phones. We would have physical check-in's every 2 hours. If you showed up on time you were free to go, if you were late you got to hang out with the staff for an hour. Now with cell phones its all that much easier. For iPhone users the Find My Friends app makes checking in even easier, I'm sure Droid users have something similar.

 

[mjkacmom]

At that age my kids have been dropped off at Great Adventure for the day. Dd15 and her friends took a 1 1/2 hour train to the beach and back several times last summer.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I'm just wondering if anyone allows their teens to walk around without an adult. I have 14 & 13 year old boys. I'm a bit over protective, but I know I have to let go a bit. Is this the place to do it? They both have phones, too.

As long as they're familiar with the park, I think it's the perfect place. DS is an only, so he rarely went off by himself at that age, but if we'd had two kids, they probably would have

 

[DLgal]

I also have 14 and 13 (as of tomorrow) boys. They are both autistic and only one has a phone (that he never actually uses to communicate), but we let them go off at Disneyland and get on rides without us while we sit and enjoy a drink or some shade. They come back to us after each ride. We are slowly increasing their opportunities for independence.

If they are generally responsible kids who you can trust to behave in your absence, yes, let them go off on their own for a bit in the parks, as long as it's allowed by Disney.I know they have a new "14 and over" rule to enter parks without an adult, but not sure how that applies to letting kids off on their own when you are also in the park.

At that age, my sisters and I would spend entire days at WDW on our own. We'd see our parents for dinner. We would have adjoining rooms at a moderate resort and my sisters and I had our own room. This was in the early 90s, before cell phones. I know times have changed, and Disney has new rules now, but you have to give kids some freedom.

 

[NYCgrrl]

DGD (13.5) and her bestie (almost 13) are getting a free afternoon at the park of their choice this trip. They both already ride public transport solo in the city and go to the 42nd St Library and various museums together unchaperoned so I and the parents are comfortable they'll be fine at DWD. The man is not happy but then he still believes he'll be taking DGD to her HS prom....

 

[DLgal]

DGD (13.5) and her bestie (12) are getting a free afternoon at the park of their choice this trip. They both already ride public transport solo in the city and go to the 42nd St Library and various museums together unchaperoned so I and the parents are comfortable they'll be fine at DWD. The man is not happy but then he still believes he'll be taking DGD to her HS prom....

Disney World has a rule that kids under 14 need to be accompanied by someone 14 or older to enter the parks without an adult.. Just so you know.

 

[NYCgrrl]

Disney World has a rule that kids under 14 need to be accompanied by someone 14 or older to enter the parks without an adult.. Just so you know.

Uh oh. Oh well at least neither grrlie knew the plan yet so their ignorance will be bliss. Will pass on the bad news to bestie's parents and his idea of good news to the man.
Thanks for the heads up!

 

[michyi]

Thank you so much for all of the responses. I will let them explore!

 

[3gr8boys]

I would let my boys tour a park without us no problem. I think the harder decision is whether to allow park hopping or returning to the resort without a parent. Last trip we let DS15 roam as wanted on his own. DS11 was always with an adult or DS15. Next trip they will be 13 and 17.....I will be treasuring every moment they actually spend with DH and I .

ETA I have to confess that it was fun to enjoy things with just DH that the boys wouldn't have had the patience for.

 

[Prince & Princess]

I'm so glad someone asked this. Our "kids" will be 17 and 15 when we go this year, and I'm dreading letting them go off on their own. I know they're ready, but part of the fun is spending time together! We are still up in the air about letting them go to/from the resort to parks without us. My oldest is joining the military next year so this might be the last family trip for us for a while and I'm not ready to let him be an adult just yet

Likely they will be allowed to come and go on their own as long as they stay together-DD is the 15 yr old and her dad would handcuff her to him if he had his way!! We have the dining plan so they already know they can pick whatever they want for lunch using a counter service credit, same with snacks, but they know they have to eat dinner with us wherever we have reservations. I planned on getting gift cards for additional snacks or for shopping.

OP to answer your question, I think if they are responsible they can handle some freedom. We used to live in Ohio and would let our kids run around Cedar Point by themselves at that age, they just had to answer their phones or meet us at a certain spot at xx time, and stay together.

 

[Nevada Jen]

I let my 13 year old leave Epcot by himself and take a bus back to the resort and was only mildly worried about him. But we live in a big city, so he is not freaked by the number of people and logistics like a farm kid might be. He also has a good sense of direction and is bigger than me. I was probably in more danger without him!

 

[NYCgrrl]

I let my 13 year old leave Epcot by himself and take a bus back to the resort and was only mildly worried about him. But we live in a big city, so he is not freaked by the number of people and logistics like a farm kid might be. He also has a good sense of direction and is bigger than me. I was probably in more danger without him!

This is similar to my initial thoughts and idea but since my traveling kiddos are under the age WDW has instituted I'll obey the rules even if I think my traveling kiddos would be OK.

 

[cruisin5]

Yes! The main rule ... Stay together, stay together, stay together.

 

[easyas123]

I let my 13 year old leave Epcot by himself and take a bus back to the resort and was only mildly worried about him. But we live in a big city, so he is not freaked by the number of people and logistics like a farm kid might be. He also has a good sense of direction and is bigger than me. I was probably in more danger without him!

Our boys were raised on a farm- going anywhere requires a drive of at least 20 minutes, and there is no public transport. However, we traveled as much as we could so what we started doing was letting them loose in the airport at about 8 & 10. Teaching them to travel on their own and be aware of how a airport operates. We'd start by giving them their boarding passes and teaching them how to find their gate on the monitors, then we'd send them on their way. We'd be behind them enough to keep them in sight but they didn't know that! They got the hang of it after a few trips (I knew they'd be traveling solo or without adults and wanted them prepared so they wouldn't miss any opportunity). I proud to say they navigated from DC to Johannesburg at ages 12 & 14 and back and forth to the Bahamas and Caribbean many times as young men, without a single international incident!
I'd guess we let them loose at about 10 & 12 at Disney Parks? I can't recall exact age. They didn't have cell phones yet, so we gave them one of ours, told them they needed to stay together, and gave them a hour or so to go and do a ride or two and meet us back at a decided upon location. It worked.

 

[mjkacmom]

This is similar to my initial thoughts and idea but since my traveling kiddos are under the age WDW has instituted I'll obey the rules even if I think my traveling kiddos would be OK.

WDW requires kids to be 14 and older to enter a park, there is nothing mentioned about leaving a park.

 

[Klayfish]

Our kids have been going off on their own since they were 12, 9, 9