At what age do you allow kids to be in the parks by themselves?

[Betty Rohrer]

Haha! I remember when I was a teen, Disney security wore trench coats and stared us down if we were without adults. They scared the pants off of us! It worked!

not sure what we did but our daughters plus grandkids are all theme park, Disney and others as well, nuts. favorite thing to do. one daughter spent day at Hershey Park today after last one of hers got out for last day of school. even her 13 year old will go off and ride a coaster that he wants while mom takes the younger ones on a ride they want. should say we live in Pa near Hershey

 

[karenh27]

I am LOL at Disney security in trench coats! Super creepy.

Thanks for the info about just having to have someone over 14 with you to enter a park. Pretty sure we'll make them stay at the same park as us at this point, but that is good to know just in case!

 

[NYCgrrl]

wrong thread.

 

[rg35]

I would absolutely let my kids tour the parks alone at that age (14-15 is around the first year of high school, so if they are responsible and can handle being alone without supervision then yes), but I would have a plan of action in case of emergency. Mostly in the event of something happening that would require evacuation. For example, if the park is evacuated and you can't contact each other, then go directly to the car, or whatever. Most people overlook things like that, but I think it's important to have an emergency action plan with kids who may panic in that kind of situation and not know what to do.

 

[karenh27]

I would absolutely let my kids tour the parks alone at that age (14-15 is around the first year of high school, so if they are responsible and can handle being alone without supervision then yes), but I would have a plan of action in case of emergency. Mostly in the event of something happening that would require evacuation. For example, if the park is evacuated and you can't contact each other, then go directly to the car, or whatever. Most people overlook things like that, but I think it's important to have an emergency action plan with kids who may panic in that kind of situation and not know what to do.

That's an excellent point - thanks for posting! I will remember to do that. Even the most level-headed kid can panic in a situation like that if they don't have a plan. And mine are...not the most level-headed kids ever.

 

[leitadisneyfan]

I would be fine with it. As long as your kids know how to behave there should be no issue. Just have them call you or text u every so often so you know they are ok.

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

I left DD and a friend for the first time at 13. They were funny though - they just wanted a taste of freedom. I told them to stay in a certain area and call me when they wanted me to rejoin them. I happily sat down to have a beer alone, and they lasted MAYBE half an hour. I also let them go back to the hotel room alone one evening at Universal while I met friends for dinner later that same trip. And this isn't park related at all, but DD and a friend also walked just over a mile back to our hotel in Edinbugh at 14.

I think some freedom while traveling is a great way to let teenagers start stretching their wings. When I was little, I had lots of experiences alone or with my brother. These days, the kids are rarely unsupervised. I want my DD to have lots of relatively safe experiences figuring things out on her own before she leaves for college! (Oh, and they never need to know that you are watching their path via their cell phone).