How much freedom do you give your teens?

[Mom on a Mission]

We are wondering how others have handled setting their teenagers free in WDW. What rules/guidelines do you set? Our DD and DS are 16 and 14. DD has gone on school trips to NYC, Boston and even Spain where she was pretty much set free within given boundaries and with a "buddy", so she has some skills. They are both very responsible kids.

They both have cell phones, but we're on AT&T and I've heard service is sometimes spotty @ WDW.

We're a little nervous -- Thank you

[tinxmom]

We have allowed our teens to roam (in pairs) in the same park we are in. They have been going since they were little, so they know the lay of the land and we check in by texting fairly often. We split up when they want to do something our younger one does not want to do, or if we are waiting for a parade or a meet and greet - they don't really want to hang around for that anymore, they like to move at a much quicker pace! It has always worked well for us, but it is only for short spurts because we tend to do most things as a family. I think they will love the freedom, but you will find that when they have the freedom, they might end up hanging with you a lot anyway!

[Dopey's Girl]

I don't have teens, but this is how my parents dealt with us long before cell phones. We entered the park as a family. We would see a few things together, then they let my brother and I loose (together only) for a few hours. We had a set time and very specific place to meet up again. It was always noted that if we were late or split up that there would be consequences. We never tested those out though.

Now with cell phones, it would be much easier to check in either via call or text. I have AT&T and haven't ever really had too many issues (except inside some of the pavilions in Epcot) with my service.

[mom2morgan]

Our oldest was 16 on our last trip and we gave her a day where she "hopped to shop". She literally went to every park and a few resorts, and then met us for dinner at Epcot. I guess I feel pretty comfortable in Disney - I have a pretty sensible kid and there are always oodles of people around to help...

[faline]

My daughter had been going to Disney World since she was 7 so really knew the lay of the land as it were. When she was a teenager, she brought a friend with her a few times. We would allow them to go off on their own within the same park we were visiting with instructions to meet up for lunch or dinner as the case may be (This was also in the day before cell phones). One evening, we allowed them to go to either the Magic Kingdom or the Contemporary Arcade - I forget which. We were staying in the campground and they had strict instructions to NOT miss the last boat back to the campground. We had one missed connection when they were late getting to our meeting spot for a lunch but, other than that, they did fine and were quite responsible.

[Mickey'sGirl]

On this past trip, our DS14 did quite a few things on his own. He did not have a cell phone to use, but he would say what he was going to do, and we would say what we were going to do and all was well. He walked back to the Boardwalk from the Studios by himself, went back to the hotel from Epcot by himself, took his little brother to the Arcade, went out to get food etc. He is very sensible and low key and he knows his way around, so I was not worried.

If your kids know their way around, I would not hesitate to let them out on their own ... especially at 16 and 14.

[BigRedDad]

It all comes down to how much you trust your children. Most teenagers have their own cell phones. This makes keeping tabs on them easy. If it were me, there would be 1 main rule: They must stay together. If they can follow that, then I would let them go on their own way across all of Disney property.

You can keep tabs on them via cell phone. I am sure there are apps out there to allow you to GPS track them.

[joonyer]

Being "free" in a Disney park is a lot safer than being in most cities/towns. My parents were "free-range" parents, I was a free-range kid, rode my bike all over town when I was a kid, from age 12-13 on up, and would be gone all day on Saturdays or summer days running around town with my friends and no cells phones back then either. My parents would simply say "be back home by dark". I usually got back well before then 'cause I got hungry. I survived just fine, and so did all of my friends. we knew enough to not engage with strangers, and it was a small town where people knew us and our parents, so we couldn't get into too much trouble. Compared to that, letting my teens "loose" in a theme park doesn't give me a second thought. They do have cell phones, and if they don't check in when we think they should (they always do) we can call them. We have rules and they follow them.

[PlutoPlanet]

We stay in the same park as the teens. With a school group we were with (high school age), the kids could have their park pass OR room key, but not both at the same time.

Texting may work better than a cell phone call.

[#1donaldfan]

It depends on their innate sense of responsibility. Some have it and some don't. I would trust my kids to roam the parks alone as they have been there so many times, know to not trust anyone "out of the ordinary" ..... you just "know" when it's right.....each child is different....

[eandrsmom]

We let my DS14 and DD13 go off by themselves when we were in each park. We set some guidelines, so there was really no problem. The main rule was that they had to stay together. They both have cell phones, so we were able to contact them if needed. Like the previous poster noted, once we gave them the option of freedom, they tended to want to stay with us.

[Tinkerfreak]

We have been going since my DD's were little and they know very well how to get around and were everything is. Once they got to be teens our vacation styles didnt mesh too well and it caused alot of friction. They wanted to sleep in and DH and I wanted to get up and go.
We started allowing them to sleep in. they would call us when they got up and check in with us and let us know what park they were going to and sometimes it was the same park as us and we would all meet up but sometimes not. We found letting them sleep in and have some freedom increased the joy of our trips. We always had dinner together and went to the same park at night for the evening show and we actually did end up spending alot of time together but they still had their freedom to sleep in and do what they wanted. On the plus side I really think it brought them closer as sisters to have that special time together just the two of them. It was so nice to get goofy photos of both of them together that they would send us.
I guess it depends on how well your kids know how to get around Disney, its a big place, and how mature they are.

[buzznwoodysmom]

Great topic. We were just there and my boys, ages 10 and 12, asked at what age I would allow them to do some things without us. They have grown up going to WDW, youngest since he was just 9 months old, and they know the place like the back of their hand. I told them when they are 12 and 14 I'll probably allow them to tour the parks without us a few hours at a time, as long as they stick together and we are in the same park as we are in. Of course I might change my mind when that times comes. LOL

[Mom on a Mission]

Thanks all!!
These are all really helpful in confirming what we had thought. I'm liking the idea of giving them some free time during the afternoon and then meeting up for dinner and night shows. They have also "grown up at Disney" so I'm not worried at all about them finding their way around. Especially together. We're big believers in the "buddy system" 5 days and counting

[Aurora]

In the days before cell phones and when the only theme park in Disney World was the Magic Kingdom, my sister and I were 14 and 13 and were allowed to go off by ourselves for awhile. It was our first vacation at WDW. We will always have sweet memories of that time and still laugh about the fun we had together.

Having teenagers myself now, I didn't think twice about letting them go off for a few hours together on our last trip. They were also with their cousins, who were the same ages, so it was really nice for them.

Regarding spotty cell-phone service, we didn't rely on cell phones to arrange meeting up again. We set meet-up times and then would communicate on the phones to set new times if we wanted plans to change. If we couldn't reach each other though, the plans stayed as originally set. It gave us a way to structure the time apart but also have a little flexibility.

[SBETigg]

Don't feel like you have to jump in all at once with the freedom. Start small and expand once you see how well they handle it. It's no fun for you if you're anxious about them the whole time you're separated.

We started when they were 12 and 14, with the rule that they had to stick together. At first, we kept to the same park/the same part of the park. We usually all wanted to go on rides together, so it was basically World Showcase that required separation. We limited it to one half of WS at a time. Always with a pre-set meet up place and time, and usually we all had phones.

As we got more comfortable, we would expand boundaries. Eventually, next trip at 14 and 16, they could split up from each other briefly. And then go to a park together without us. When my son was 16, he didn't feel well and wanted to go back to the resort on his own to rest. It made me nervous, but I let him and he called once he arrived, perfectly fine, thought it couldn't have been easier and why was I worried? You will know what works for you and what limits you want to impose and change as you go. When you're frequent visitors, your kids tend to know the place as well as their own hometown and it's easy for them to get around.

[BIGDOG]

I leave mine home

[minnie04]

I leave mine home

Good one

[DVC2004]

Last year mine were 14 and about to turn 13 and we allowed them 2 hours of time away from us (but still together with each other) at Epcot. We picked a time and place to meet. They were fine, went on rides, walked around. In fact they came back a half hour early. This past June, in CA we allowed them an hour on their own to take in DTD. They did not have cells at the time. They are now 15 and 13. I have not let them go to the pool or any place alone that we aren't going to be at. For example I would not allow them to go to DTD if we were at MK.

[Katzateer]

My youngest has been to WDW at least once a year and sometimes twice a year since she was 1. She is almost 18 now. The last 2 trips she took a friend and they went to parks and water parks on their own. Since she knew her way around it worked out great. We had connecting rooms. They werent out at night away from the parks except taking the buses back. I wouldn't have wanted them going to Downtown Disney alone at night.

We paid for their meals when we ate together and they paid for their own when they just got counter or snacks. Most days they joined us for at least one meal.

It worked out well and no problems. I did call them if they were gone all day but saw more of them than would of if I had just given $$$ - it was better staying with us since we didn't give her much money for the day.