Giving teens their freedom.

[pauljriley]

My family and I are looking at visiting WDW next year. We are a large family (two adults, two teen's 14 and 16 respectively, and two kids 5 and 6 respectively), and we're visiting from the UK.

With two teens, there is obviously the issue of how to handle things if they get bored, we don't want their boredom to affect the enjoyment of everybody else, therefore one of our thoughts is to allow them their freedom to come and go as they please. This gives us an issue, if we stay on site, we can limit the area that they can roam to just Disney World, and not have to worry about them going to places we'd prefer they didn't go, or worse, that they get completely lost.

If however, we look at off site resorts we can reduce the cost of the accommodation, but we would need to know that they can come and go using local transportation, without too many worries.

So I open the conversation with a request for some advice that anybody might have.

 

[rucifee]

I wouldn't stay off site and let the kids roam free, there are a lot of bad situations they could get into if they aren't using the Disney resort transportation. I don't normally let my teenagers hop by themselves except between MK and Epcot and only by monorail.

 

[wdwmagic]

Definitely onsite to let the teens roam. I would feel safe letting them do that at WDW, but certainly not outside of WDW.

 

[Courtney6682]

I have a 15 yr old daughter who has been going to Disney her whole life. She has been allowed to go to parks and use the transportation system either alone or with friends since she was 13. She knows Disney just as well as an adult and can safely get around down there. We live in Philadelphia so she has also taken public trans busses with friends up here as well. I personally wouldn't let her use another cities public trans system...but that's just me. Too many things that can go wrong in my eyes...anything from getting lost like you said or who is getting on the bus. I told her that she is relativley safer on Disney prop since it's only vacationers using the busses...mostly families which I feel like cuts down on the pervy/attacker level. Also no chnace of getting horribly lost or getting ON OR OFF the wrong bus. However, I wouldn't judge if you let your kids do it It all comes down to what works for YOUR family..good luck!

 

[rucifee]

I told her that she is relativley safer on Disney prop since it's only vacationers using the busses...mostly families which I feel like cuts down on the pervy/attacker level.

It's definitely not only vacationers who use those buses, anyone in the area can (and often does) use the resort and park transportation. We use the Disney bus system all the time, and we're locals.

 

[George]

Off-site might work if there is a hotel shuttle/bus that runs between DisneyWorld and the resort.

 

[Courtney6682]

It's definitely not only vacationers who use those buses, anyone in the area can (and often does) use the resort and park transportation. We use the Disney bus system all the time, and we're locals.

Right...I said relativley safer because its people vacationing or going to theme parks...not homeless people or gang members or other creeps...nothing against homeless people...I'm just trying to say there WON'T BE as many people giving kids travelling alone a hard time

 

[rucifee]

Right...I said relativley safer because its people vacationing or going to theme parks...not homeless people or gang members or other creeps...

Do you have any idea how easy it would be for a homeless person, gang member, or creep to get on one of those buses? Don't let the magic blind you into thinking you're any safer than you really are. There's even a Lynx bus stop within 1,000 feet of the DtD bus station.

To quote you (again), you said "it's only vacationers using the busses" which is not at all accurate. I'm not saying don't let them go, just don't let yourself be blinded into believing nothing bad can happen. The DtD area itself can be very dangerous.

 

[Courtney6682]

Do you have any idea how easy it would be for a homeless person, gang member, or creep to get on one of those buses? Don't let the magic blind you into thinking you're any safer than you really are. There's even a Lynx bus stop within 1,000 feet of the DtD bus station.

To quote you (again), you said "it's only vacationers using the busses" which is not at all accurate. I'm not saying don't let them go, just don't let yourself be blinded into believing nothing bad can happen. The DtD area itself can be very dangerous.

OK...THANKS...so as the OP ASKED....IN MY OPINION ....its' safer than ANY bus in Philly or any other major city for that matter

 

[Master Yoda]

Full autonomy on site is pretty easy.

For off site you have a few options that will depend on your kids, your level of trust in them and your resort to park transportation options.

The easiest thing to do if you are off site is to travel too and from the parks with your kids and let them be on their own once they get there. All you really have to do is agree on a meeting place for the trip home. Giving them a cell phone will help the going home plan be a little more fluid.

If your off site resort has transportation you can allow them to use that on their own. The biggest con is off site resort transportation is no where near as frequent as Disney's. They often run on a fixed schedule and if they miss the last bus they will have to find another way back. If you choose to let them use off site resort transportation knowing the resort name, address and having the money for a cab will be an essential back up plan.

 

[Tom]

I recommend staying on-site.

My brother and I were teens when my family went a number of times. We stayed off-site until the last two trips as a family, which were the last few years of high school for me.

When staying out on 192, I wouldn't have even attempted to travel alone (or with my brother, who is 4 years younger). But on-site, we had free reign to use Disney transportation.

We also traveled as a pair, never alone. And today, as others have mentioned, there's even more reason to worry about kids - especially if one or both are girls. There are creeps everywhere....even on Disney property. NEVER let one travel alone (in my opinion).

Disney transportation is easy (brainless) to navigate. Trying to find your way on and off property, and through an urban area, can be tricky for an adult...let alone teens who are visiting a foreign country and may not be used to public transportation.

If you think your kids are responsible, safe and wise enough to figure things out on their own....try off-site. But if you're hesitant on any of those factors, stay on-site.

Regardless, assuming they have smart phones, put GPS tracking on them so you always know where they are.

 

[HRHPrincessAriel]

OK...THANKS...so as the OP ASKED....IN MY OPINION ....its' safer than ANY bus in Philly or any other major city for that matter

I would say a Philly/NYC/any major city kid that travels public transportation is a lot more street savvy smart than your average suburban dweller. Doesn't NYC now have uber for kids?
Anywho its up to each individual parent and to the maturity level of kids. I teach HS. There are some freshman that are more responsible on day one then some of my seniors on graduation day.

 

[popcenturylover]

Our 1st trip as a family was in 09'. We stayed on-site with our 2 older kids who were teenagers at the time & our 8 month old. They were 15 & 17. We let them roam with the understanding that they stay together, check-in periodically, & meet up with us for dinner. We also made sure they were back to the resort by a reasonable hour in the evenings. It made for a more pleasurable trip being that they just wanted to be at the beach in the first place. Fast forward 6 years & we just had a fun family trip last month where all the kids & grandkid were together most of the time & had a great time!

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Wow, talk about the helicopter parent generation around here, eh? My sister and I (12 and 15 at the time) did E-ride night and all sorts of park hopping on our own when we stayed at POFQ many years ago.

 

[Hockey89]

My family and I are looking at visiting WDW next year. We are a large family (two adults, two teen's 14 and 16 respectively, and two kids 5 and 6 respectively), and we're visiting from the UK.

With two teens, there is obviously the issue of how to handle things if they get bored, we don't want their boredom to affect the enjoyment of everybody else, therefore one of our thoughts is to allow them their freedom to come and go as they please. This gives us an issue, if we stay on site, we can limit the area that they can roam to just Disney World, and not have to worry about them going to places we'd prefer they didn't go, or worse, that they get completely lost.

If however, we look at off site resorts we can reduce the cost of the accommodation, but we would need to know that they can come and go using local transportation, without too many worries.

So I open the conversation with a request for some advice that anybody might have.

I roamed Disney from 13 on with no issues with friends. I would only do it on property and if they are confident to be able to get from park to park... I knew Disney like the back of my hand by that age so my parents felt fine....

 

[Disnee4Me]

Let my sons park hop on their own since 2007 (we stayed on property) when they were 12 and 17 and the next two years after that. The 17 year old knew his way around the parks better than my DH and I. He's just got that natural instinct. Even when we went to Italy in '12 (see my picture). He got us all over Rome with a map and his limited (one semester) of Italian.

 

[DManRightHere]

i agree with on site. Disney busses run much more frequently and will maximize everyones time. The teens also won't have to worry if they miss a bus as another comes in 15-25 minutes.

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

So I open the conversation with a request for some advice that anybody might have.

Offsite - you run the risk of becoming a taxi service for everyone, at all times of the day and night. Yes, you'll save more money on your holiday but at what price to your sanity.

WDW Resorts - for almost complete peace of mind, this is the option to go with. That said, I wouldn't allow them to go off by themselves anywhere over Disney's 40+ square miles - you need to have some responsibility over them and knowledge of where they are. So, on any given day allow them to visit MK. Arrange to meet up with them at meal times. As the holiday progresses so the trust in them increases

 

[RememberWhen]

I ran around by myself or sometimes with a sister from 13 (pre cell phone, but we had some nifty walk or-talkies) onward. Park to resort to park to dtd. Of course, I did get completely drunk with a couple of strange boys one night... But that was a long time ago.
If your teens are relatively trust worthy and interested in doing Disney things, they should be ok onsite. If you end up at an offsite hotel I would probably travel into and out of the bubble as a family.

 

[pauljriley]

Thank you for all of your replies, these, along with sage advice from relatives far more experienced with frequent holidays (vacations for those stateside), has solidified that on site is by far the preferred option, but please feel free to continue sharing advice as far as the teenagers are concerned.

Thanks again.