We bought some walkie-talkies this summer because our house sold, and we were planning on moving from Cal to TN, our house fell through, and we're still here. :(

We will take the walkie-talkies to DL with us and my two oldest daughters are asking if they would be able to go out "on their own" although I have no idea WHY they would need to do this. I feel like Disneyland is a VERY safe place, but still, is it THAT safe? My kids are pretty responsible, and would never cause trouble or get INTO trouble. My oldest will be 12.5 and my middle daughter will be 10.5. Is that old enough to let them venture out on their own?? My gut says there's no reason to. But I know I have to give them more rope sometime, may as well do it in a safe environment??

I am thinking the walkie-talkies will be useful for when we split up in groups, each group with a parent. Or like one of us can go sit and hold a spot for the fireworks etc, while the others go play. Then we can be "found" easily...

Ooops. Seems I have misplaced my post again. Sorry about that. I guess there are more forums then I think there are. Thanks for moving me into the proper location.

I think it really depends on the kids. Do you leave them at home alone for any reason, such as after school or while you go to the store? If so, how do they do? If not, why not? Does the reason apply to Disneyland as well?

If you think all of you are ready, then give it a try. Give them a short time, maybe 1-2 hours. Give them specific times and places to meet. Set down rules, such as they are NOT for any reason to leave one park and hop to the other (safer if they dont go out the gates for any reason). Or give them a specific land to stay in for the time period. If they do well and you all feel safe and happy with it, you can expand the rules a bit.

As for walkie talkies. We tried to use ours and they sucked! It was hard to hear, and there were so many other people using them in the park that it was hard to find a station that was available. We found cell phones worked much better.

Hi Whittibo! My gut says NO. I think Disneyland is a big and overwhelming place even for adults. Lots of crowds, etc. I don't know why they would need to go off by themselves either....but just my two cents as a mom, I would say no. I hope this helps one way or another with making your decision. I say go with YOUR gut no matter how much they protest.

Good luck!

I say it's based on maturity. Disneyland is heavily guarded, with undercover and uniformed officers everywhere. However, when crowds come, it can get pretty bad. If your children are mature enough to know to stay together, use the buddy system and not separate and go "boy hunting", then I say, let 'em go. If not, wait until they're older.

Oh, yeah. Walkie-talkies at disneyland suck! too many people at a time

Thanks for the info. I had no clue the walkie-talkies wouldn't work. BUMMER. And we don't have two cell phones. :s oh well.

I too don't have a clue why my kids would want to go off on their own. Doesn't sit right with me. They can be very responsible, this will be our 6th trip, so they know the place pretty well, but still? WHY?

No, I do NOT leave them at home, but that has more to do with where we live, (boon-docks) and who our neighbors are, we had to have the 40 year old son arrested NUMEROUS times and he's even spent 2 months in jail. so we don't leave them unattended at home, but they are able to go out on OUR property any time they want.

I just don't see a need, and where there isn't a need, I guess there isn't any reason!

Why? Because it is fun! I think an hour or two on their own wouldn't be a bad thing. No, they don't NEED to do it, but I remember being that age and just wanting to hang out a bit without the parents. Never did anything bad, or got in trouble, just wanted a little freedom.

I too don't have a clue why my kids would want to go off on their own. Doesn't sit right with me. They can be very responsible, this will be our 6th trip, so they know the place pretty well, but still? WHY?

I just don't see a need, and where there isn't a need, I guess there isn't any reason!
My older 2 were about that age when I started letting them go on their own. (On their own means TOGETHER sans mom. At no time do they get to go ALONE.) They knew the park forwards and backwards. This was before we had cells and radios. We started with time limits of 2 or 3 hours. And they had to meet me on the bridge. It didn't matter if *I* was late, if they were late by 1 min, they lost the priviledge. My middle 2 *NEVER* lost the privledge. (My oldest got tired of waiting for me and walked off to watch the parade, was only off the bridge by 20 feet, but sorry Charlie, that ISNT on the bridge.) It helped teach them independance, getting along between the 2 of them, and responsibility. This was before DCA, and the rule now would include they could not leave the park assigned. (Before was they couldn't leave the park.) Now, they are 15-19, all carry cells, and I still require them to call me when leaving the park or hotel.

You might try it with just one land, ie, let them explore Adventureland for an hour and meet you at the steps to the Disney Gallery or the bridge by Tiki Room. See how they handle it. If they are late, its a great way to teach not to do that again. My middle 2 wouldn't even consider being late. And they quickly learned all the fastest ways to get to the bridge.

well it okay to let them go do things on their own as long they go by the rules that you set

Have you asked for their reasons why they want to go on their own? This is one of those things grown-ups sometimes forget to do ~ as a parent & middle school teacher, I've found myself in your place - wondering, pondering, imagining, worrying - before remembering I can ask to see inside their heads! ;)

This way you do get a better picture of what's up - they probably won't admit to boy-watching :eek: but you'll get a real feel for their motives. I agree with the earlier poster that it's most likely just a "it's so uncool hanging around the 'rents" attitude typical of the preteen world. And I wholeheartedly advocate what others have mentioned also about setting a time & land limit with a clearly defined meeting place and consequences for not being there when you are.

So you know, this all comes more from the teacher-me than the mom-me ~ my almost 7-year old begs me daily to let him ride his bike around our block, to no avail...It took me until last year to let him play in our front yard for more than 15 minutes without me being outside, too! I'll pray for ya! :)

This is just my opinion as a former CM and from my husband who is a former Guest Relations CM. Go with your gut and if you don't want your kids to wander without parental supervision, then don't let them. Despite, Disneyland having so much security, don't allow that to let your guard down. And we had the walkie talkies also and there was so much air traffic that it seemed REALLY useless.

All kids want to be on their own, it's not suspicious at all, at least not at their ages.

I was off "on my own" at DL by their age, I'm an only child but was allowed to go "our own way" when a friend was in tow--tod had siblings and, after a certain age, they too were turned loose. We just set up times and meeting places, if we weren't there on time and didn't have a darn good reason as to why we weren't there on time, we were back within parental grasp.

My own kids were on their own by that age. They didn't have their cells then, either, so the same rules applied..."where are you going--okay, meet us at the flagpole at 5:30". They were always good about it and the one time there were 20 minutes late they came with the excuse "The Matterhorn went down while we were on it."

They were outraged when tod walked over to City Hall and asked "has the Matterhorn gone down within the last hour?" But we meant business and they knew it.

There were a lot of places I wouldn't let the boys loose at that age, but DL wasn't one of them.

-TLMt

I have a daughter (and a second one on the way) and there is no way I would let her go off on her own until she is at least 16. Our children may be responsible and trustworthy and stuff, but you cant count on other people to be also. DL may be heavily gaurded, but still, they dont know the man your baby is walking out of the park with isn't who she is supposed to be leaving with. Sorry if I sound too overprotective, but sometimes you have to be in this day and age, ya know?

I have a daughter (and a second one on the way) and there is no way I would let her go off on her own until she is at least 16. Our children may be responsible and trustworthy and stuff, but you cant count on other people to be also. DL may be heavily gaurded, but still, they dont know the man your baby is walking out of the park with isn't who she is supposed to be leaving with. Sorry if I sound too overprotective, but sometimes you have to be in this day and age, ya know?


I'm with you - it's not my child I don't trust as much as the weirdos out there! Better safe than sorry...

I have a daughter (and a second one on the way) and there is no way I would let her go off on her own until she is at least 16. Our children may be responsible and trustworthy and stuff, but you cant count on other people to be also. DL may be heavily gaurded, but still, they dont know the man your baby is walking out of the park with isn't who she is supposed to be leaving with. Sorry if I sound too overprotective, but sometimes you have to be in this day and age, ya know?
When I was 16, I was bringing my 4-7 yo sisters to Disneyland. I think it goes with how each of us were raised. We cant protect our children 24/7. Someday they have to wander off on their own. It definately depends on the child. My older 3 started going alone when the oldest was 12. The younger of those 3 was 9. They did very well. They were never allowed off "alone". They had to be together. The younger one is now 15, and only in the last year has she been allowed to bring a friend and go off. I can understand wanting to keep them glued to you til 16-18, but I don't think it is reasonable to think that will happen without a fight.

When I was 16, I was bringing my 4-7 yo sisters to Disneyland. I think it goes with how each of us were raised. We cant protect our children 24/7. Someday they have to wander off on their own. It definately depends on the child. My older 3 started going alone when the oldest was 12. The younger of those 3 was 9. They did very well. They were never allowed off "alone". They had to be together. The younger one is now 15, and only in the last year has she been allowed to bring a friend and go off. I can understand wanting to keep them glued to you til 16-18, but I don't think it is reasonable to think that will happen without a fight.
I understand where you are coming from..it really is a personal choice for every parent. And *lol* about it not being reasonable to think it'll happen without a fight..I KNOW there will be a fight, but it's not my job to make them like me. It's my job to get them to 18 confident, independent, somewhat well adjusted, and in one piece. If the girls dont like it it's too bad because the laws says their booties belong to me until they turn 18. Muahahaha.... :D

This is a hot, emotional, and very personal topic at its heart - we all have our own stories to back up why we make the decisions we do and of course, they are valid for us. On that note, I suggest reading (in the future, not before you make this decision for this trip ;) ) Gavin deBecker's Protecting the Gift. I found it remarkable in that it taught me how to actually listen to my own self, my natural intuition (strange that you need to be told to trust yourself!) but also how to teach my children the same thing. Kids can't really learn what it means to listen to their gut if they've never come close to a situation that is even a little uncomfortable, worrisome, or creepy. And I know that now sounds like I would release my children into the wild so they understand what it means to be scared but if you read the book, I think you'd be amazed and liberated in your everyday life.