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.

 

[MickeyMomV]

I would let them roam together on property. If the 16 year old is trust worthy and old enough to drive a car (in the US at least) I would hope you can trust them out in the Disney bubble with a 14 year old sibling.

That said, my son is 11 and I dread the day we let him off by himself (or with a friend). Not sure if its because it means he is growing up or if its because it means I'm getting older.

 

[MickeyMomV]

After reading back through this a couple of thoughts came to mind. A good portion of the people on here, or at least commenting on this page, are Disney professionals. Multiple trips over a long period of time. The OP is from the UK and has not said if this is their first trip. If the roles were reversed and I was bringing my family to a vacation destination in another country I might have a little "helicopter parent" coming out until I/we got the lay of the land.

This in mind, take a day or two to get to know your surroundings and how things work (ie, magic bands, transportation, meal times, cell service, park hours) and then give them some room.

 

[MickeyMomV]

I made them check in not out of fear but, to make sure everything was okay. Things can happen. Not just being kidnapped but, they could get into a situation that maybe they can't handle or get hurt. Like other posters have said wait until you have a teenage girl roaming the World by themselves! ESPECIALLY if she's Daddy's little girl!!! Anywho, our kids are doing fine & one even lives in South Carolina. (no thanks to my so called "Helicopter Parenting")

A little helicopter parenting can be a good thing. Not full blown Apache mind you but a nice little Mosquito (yes I had to Google helicopters to get the examples). It helps make sure we don't have too many teenagers talking about their daughters at home and how they will treat them when they grow up and go to Disney.

 

[KoalaKoala]

Tell them not to rent a boat. Other than that, I'd let them roam free unless you know them to be the type to accept offers of alcohol from strangers. Maybe meet up for meals as a secret way of checking up on them and so they remain within a predictable radius. Have fun!

 

[LdyApxr]

I say it all depends on the kids. My own two sons, I have no issues with turning them loose even when they were younger(one just turned 26 last week and the other will be 17 next week). Whether it was at Disney, motorcycle races or anywhere else, they have always been respectful of others, and responsible. I have taken 6 of my nieces and nephews on at varying ages(three of them with me and my son when they were all 7-12yrs old) and most of them gave no issues but with a couple other nephews, I could not take my eyes off of them for a moment even though they were well old enough to know better and even though my son is older than both of them, he is also smaller than one of them and that one turned out to be a bully and a thief. It was not a pleasant vacation and quite a wake up call for my family and I.

 

[FutureCEO]

There is always track the phone app Bit too Big Brotherish but then again Disney can track you everywhere now too.

It's your kids, you know them best. Then again, the UK is different than the US (in a good way).

 

[LdyApxr]

There is always track the phone app Bit too Big Brotherish but then again Disney can track you everywhere now too.

It's your kids, you know them best. Then again, the UK is different than the US (in a good way).

You are very correct about the difference between the UK and the US but I only know this because while I have never visited the UK(or any other country sadly lol), following the WSBK, BSB, and MotoGP series and meeting many of the riders and teams(Italians are freaking amazing, Spaniards can be but some are just too serious, Brits are hugely entertaining!) it is always funny that when the series returned to US soil after 13yrs, the European riders were very disturbed at first by the access given to the fans in the racing paddock because that is not done in any of the other countries, Access to the riders is unheard of at most tracks.

Not into the tracking my kids because luckily I don't have to but even as a kid myself(mind you, way back when) my parents were never the clingy type. My sons have always been independent and I just do not think I could be a good parent to a child who would be afraid to leave my side. Then again, my sons have also never met a stranger so it was always a fine line between trying to make them aware of what could happen while at the same time trying not to scare the wits out of them. LOL

 

[Courtney6682]

A little helicopter parenting can be a good thing. Not full blown Apache mind you but a nice little Mosquito (yes I had to Google helicopters to get the examples). It helps make sure we don't have too many teenagers talking about their daughters at home and how they will treat them when they grow up and go to Disney.

Sad face lol...I brought my daughter to Disney for the first time when I was 19 and she was 17 months lol...I'm just kidding with ya...I'm 33 now and my daughter is 15 and she best not make me a grandma until I'm dead!! lol

 

[LdyApxr]

Sad face lol...I brought my daughter to Disney for the first time when I was 19 and she was 17 months lol...I'm just kidding with ya...I'm 33 now and my daughter is 15 and she best not make me a grandma until I'm dead!! lol

I'm opposed to grandkids at any age and my sons are 26 and 17(next week) but then again, as my sister tells me, when I was 5 I said I did not want any kids and I wanted 20 dogs. Well I have two kids and 4 dogs so I guess I am on my way(and at 46, there are NO more kids coming)

 

[DiSnEyF@n]

IMO they should be fine if you're staying on property, however, here's a true story of what happened when my stepchildren were on their own at EPCOT for an afternoon... DS 15 and DD 12.5 (I put 12.5 bc she is honestly pretty mature for her age)... Anyway, here goes:

DH and I were going back to our hotel (The Dolphin- which is within walking distance to EPCOT's International Gateway entrance) to put our DD 6months down for her afternoon nap. We let DS and DD stay at EPCOT a few days earlier while we put the baby down for a nap so this wasn't new to us. They weren't strangers at being all alone in the parks and all was ok that day (even though they fought - which they tend to do here and there), so we decided it was ok for them to do it again... As DH and I are enjoying a nice adult beverage on our balcony while the older kids were off (supposedly) having fun in the park and our littlest in dreamland in the hotel room, all was right in the world... Then DH's phone rings... Its DD 12.5 and she says DS walked away from her and she doesn't know her way around the park to get back to the hotel. (IMO it was VERY smart of her to call her dad and not talk to any strangers until we found out where she was and that they were separated). We told her to tell us what was around her and tried to guide her out of the park... Meanwhile I was calling DS to find out what the heck was going on... They eventually found each other and walked back to the hotel... What happened was DS told DD which way he thought was the exit (the International Gateway) but when DD asked a castmember where the exit was the castmember pointed them to the front of the park (not the exit to the EPCOT resorts). She went one way and he went the other way after fighting about which way to go (UGH) ... Needless to say they were not allowed by us to venture off by themselves again that trip... We are going back Feb 2016 when DS will be 16.5 and DD will be 14... Here's hoping we can give them another try at being on their own and they don't mess it up.

So, my point with this story is that it doesn't matter (to me) where you're staying or what transportation they are taking.. Make sure they BOTH have phones and that they both know what to do in case of emergency. They should also know that they MUST stick together. Knowing their surroudings is equally important too... I had NO idea that DD wouldn't have known her way around there, especially bc it was her 5th time there. Having a map handy would have been helpful.

Best of luck in your decision... Just know that anything can happen no matter where you stay... Just make sure your kiddos know the rules about being on their own.

Best of luck!

 

[SMS55]

Remember that it's a family vacation. Don't give the teens too much freedom either. You want everyone to spend some time together. I understand they might get bored if you're little ones are waiting in line for Mickey Mouse or something. One thing we do is my wife takes my daughter to see Ana and Elsa and the big kids (myself included) go on Space Mountain (she hates it). On site, they can go back to the room if they're bored or stay out later. I'll stay out later with the 12 year old because my wife goes back with our 4 year old and puts her to bed.