Of course, since most kids in their early teens don't have IDs with their ages on them, it'll be up to front-gate cast members to play "guess my age" when deciding to let a kid into the park without a parent or older sibling.
Disney's not had a consistent rule on this before. I spoke with a Walt Disney World cast member this week who said that there had been a policy that one had to be 14 to be use the WDW transportation system alone, but that parks weren't consistently enforcing any age rules once you were at the front gate. When I worked at Disney, kids had to be at least seven to ride attractions on their own, but I don't recall any explicit age limit to get into the park without a parent. At Disneyland, in California, some local parents for years have been using the park as a babysitter, buying annual passes for their children who more often than not go to the park on their own.
Fourteen's the average age for a high school freshman, so the policy will hit some middle school and elementary students who'd been using the parks as an after-school getaway. Maybe some kids staying at the Epcot resorts won't be able to run over for pastries in France while their parents take a nap or hit the hotel bar, either. But I suspect that resourceful kids near the cutoff age simply will find a way to "blend in" with some adults or older kids who look like them when they're entering the park. And, of course, kids under 14 will continue to be able to go on many attractions alone once they are in the parks.
Thoughts?
Tweet
I am surprised 14 is the cutoff. I can see sending a 14 year old back for something in the hotel. I would have said under 10. either way, though, parents should be parenting their kids and not just dumping them off someplace to fend for themselves.
On that note, maybe they should raise it to 16. The vast majority will have an ID (license) by then, enabling them to actually check. I wouldn't be surprised to see more parks adopt this rule in the near future.
Because if they don't, someday soon they will stop some kid, maybe a minority, and they'll get labelled as racists for letting white 13-year-olds in the park and stopping black 13-year-olds. Or just get sued for discriminating, whether it's a minority thing or not.
You don't make rules just so you can randomly enforce them. That isn't fair.
BTW, at lot of swimming pools have rules about ages, but generally the age is 12. Either you have to BE twelve, or you have to be OVER 12.
Lastly, if you don't have a rule that says the kid has to be escorted by an adult, how are you going to claim you have any rational basis for the rule? So a parent who has free time can come to the park with their kid and escort them to the gate and send them in, but if the kid's parents have to work, and the kid gets out of school and comes on a bus, he can't get in?
This article has been archived and is no longer accepting comments.
I am not sure if this will do anything. What is the point? Are there many problems with young children in the Parks?