On our last Disney cruise, our oldest son had reached the age where he was old enough to get check-out privileges to check himself in and out of the kids’ club. He thought this was great and while we had initially been worried about allowing this freedom, he really proved himself to be able to handle the responsibility. After we got home, he started questioning when he would be able to be by himself in the theme parks. He has been to Walt Disney World almost 20 times, so we have no doubts that he would be able to maneuver the parks without getting lost. However, he’s only 9 ½, so we told him he still had a few years before he would be able to do this. I started looking on the DISboards to see what others had to say about this topic and found a thread discussing the same question.
The original poster, Jmarie76, asked: “My husband and I will be traveling with my very responsible 13 year old daughter and 10 year old son. My husband and I are toying with the idea of leaving the kids at the hotel while we enjoy a late dinner for just the two of us. My question is… are they still too young to be left alone? At home we’ve had no problems doing this occasionally. Also, while at the parks is it safe to let the kids venture off without us? We have safety rules the kids follow in regards to malls and such and has worked for us but, Disney is a whole other world.”
Other posters seemed to be fairly unanimous that they would allow this with their own kids, but they did bring up some interesting points about rules they would make or questions they would ask the kids.
Alesia: 1. I wouldn’t have a problem with it.
2. I would let them. I’d make sure one of them has a cell phone. And set a very specific meeting place in case they get separated.
JustCallMeMommy: I’m all about age appropriate amounts of freedom. A 13 year old is old enough to babysit, so I would have no problem leaving them alone for a couple of hours if you know they are mature enough to stay in the room.
SmallWorld71: DD was 11 on our last trip. She had no problems using her magic band to ‘pay’ for food/ snacks at the resort so they should be fine to get food if that was part of the plan. Make sure they know the pin code and how to use the magic bands.
I would not let them swim. To the best of my knowledge, Disney has signs by the pool saying that children under 12 must be accompanied by and adult but I am not sure of the exact wording.
Jess_S: The WDW website says that kids under 14 need to be accompanied by an adult to “enter the parks” and that kids under 7 need a person over 14 with them on rides. My view is that this leaves it open for responsible kids between 7 and 14 to do some rides on their own.
Mousemommy1: We have already started testing [our kids] when in the parks when we are going from attraction to attraction, we have them lead the way so we know they know where to go and where everything is, etc…
Baklava: Will the 10 year old obey the 13 year old if it’s necessary? The sibling relationship is a big part of the decision.
worm761: I have to say that I am a paranoid parent. (DH stops me from helicoptering so I’m just paranoid. LOL) I wouldn’t leave my kids alone in a hotel room. Not even at Disney and we go yearly.
I would have no problem with letting them wander the parks by themselves if I were in the park with them. If it were me, I would do the dinner alone with DH inside a park and let the kids go off for a few hours on their own if they are familiar with the parks.
ruthies12: make sure they know that they are allowed to tell worker’s to leave if one comes in the room for any reason, like housekeeping or what not. Make sure they know how to call the front desk for security if for any reason they encounter a worker who refuses to leave or does anything that in any way makes them uncomfortable.
supertinyluckycat: I’m the definition of a helicopter parent and I think even I would be fine with both ideas. If you’re staying onsite I would feel fine with leaving them at the hotel but offsite- i dont know. I’m even nervous staying at the condo we booked offsite because people are crazy these days. I feel like florida has a lot of crime but I would feel ok with it at a disney hotel.
Has this been an issue your family has discussed? At what age would you be comfortable leaving your kids alone in the hotel or in the theme parks? Share your opinion below!
