No, they shouldn't.
I sometimes wonder what alternate realities some people live in. There are kids in cities that age that take subways and buses and walk great distances just to go to school or after-school activities.
it certainly depends on the child. But by age 11 I was quite adept at going around the MK with my 8-year-old brother for a few hours and meeting our folks at a certain time and place. No one tried to show us their privates or grab ours. And we didn't have smart phones like every child has today (not to mention RFID tracking on tix).
You need to teach kids responsibility and to not be afraid of the world (no matter how scary it can be) and WDW is one of the best and safest places to do so IF the kids are mature and know what to do if they need you/help.
My comment doesn't have anything to do with showing or grabbing. It has to do with social consciousness and the general behavior tendencies of children under or near a certain age. It is about being world wise and knowledgeable of their surroundings. It's about being knowledgeable and sensitive to the expectations of the rest of the people in their immediate space.
I don't care how worldly you are at 7 years of age no one should expect a child to be "independent". In my experience, both being a child and having a couple and now seeing my grandchildren, I am very aware that although when I was a kid, life was a lot less complicated, I think we were more mature then the current crop of young kids. They are more informed and in many instances have more knowledge of things then we ever did, what they do lack is the ability to know what to do with that knowledge. The 7 year old is the first part of the story as we move toward the maturity level of preteen and early teen in today's world, it is pitiful. If I had ever acted the way some teens do today when I was that age, I'd still be grounded!
Kid get most of their education on behavior and limits from their parents or from someone that they respect and, OK I'll say it, fear. Not fear of physical harm, fear of losing respect and approval from the only people that they know intimately and trust. I don't think either comes about when you are dropped off and basically told to sink or swim at that young an age. Sure most make it through the experience but I'm not convinced that they are better people for it.
That's last thing was a slight departure from the point of this though, the point was that it is not the kids that are in any danger, unless they do something really stupid, it is about the comfort and enjoyment of others around them. I have been in line and watched some kid climbing on narrow walls, on the verge of falling WITH THEIR PARENTS LOOKING AT THEIR CELLPHONES. As a parent, my enjoyment level diminished immensely because I was tied up internally worrying that something bad was going to happen to that child. The possibilities of them doing their
Evil Knievel imitations without ADULT supervision multiplies by massive degrees.
You show children how to be not afraid of the world by showing them how to live within it safely. Not throwing them into it with no real ammunition or experience and saying swim kids the waters fine.