Disney rules on minimum age to be w/o adult in hotel room?

[MickeyMinnieMom]

Really interested in what Disney's rules are (not in a debate on what age seems appropriate to each of us ).

I am sure that DISers will have the definitive answer...

• A phone CM just told me that there are no rules regarding minimum age for a child to be in a WDW hotel room without an adult present. Then...
• A CM in an online chat on Disney's site said "Guest must be at least 18 in order to be without an adult in the room."

Which is it, fellow DISers?

We're staying on our DVC points, and I can't seem to find terms and conditions on the room reservation.

Our kids are 11 and 13, and we're thinking about short stretches like us going down to the store in the hotel -- nothing long.

 

[DisneyHardin]

I think the online chat CM may have thought you meant to be assigned to a room without an adult on the reservation.

I've never heard of any rules about leaving kids in the room while you run out for a bit.

 

[maxiesmom]

Sounds like some confusion between how old you can be to book a room and stay in it alone, and how old a child can be to be left alone in a room.

 

[Lynne M]

I also think the chat CM thought you were asking about the reservation. Disney will not allow a room reservation to be made if there is not at least one person 18 or over in the party.

I've never heard of a rule or policy at a Disney resort about leaving children alone in a room for short periods of time.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Must be 18 to be the lead guest registered in a room. No exceptions.

But if they want to just be in a room that is registered to someone else...doesn't make any difference. They don't require that someone 18 or older actually be present in the room at all times minors are present. I don't think there is a limit on how old children have to be in order to be left in a hotel room for awhile. That's up to the parents. and 11 and 13 are more than old enough.

 

[disneyfantotheend]

I agree the online CM was misunderstanding the question. I do not think there is a written rule on age to leave a child in a room for a short period. Most parents are responsible enough to not leave a child who is too young to care for themselves.

 

[tjmw2727]

Agree with the above - I think you need to reword your question to the CM.

You must be 18 to book a room but I can't see any reason why older kids can't be in the room without an "adult". My kids often did their own thing at the parks with their cousins while the adults did theirs and we often met back at the resort. There were also many times when one of my kids would sleep late and meet us or go back early if they were tired.

Never an issue with them being in the hotel room alone - never gave it a 2nd thought.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

Disney's policy is that you must be 18+ to book and check in and there must be at least 1 person 18+ registered in each room rented. (Although I do assume that the policy could vary for say a school filed trip in which you may not have THAT many adults)
Note that does not mean that an 18+ year old needs to be in the room at all times.

 

[smiths02]

I agree with others there is no specific rule or law in FL or Disney. To be safe (in terms of following the "rules"), I would think about the FL guidelines posted above or Disney guidelines.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/faq/parks/minimum-age/
https://disneyparksmomspanel.disney...-meet-height-req-mixed-answers-age-sp-217298/

In other words, if I was in the same resort (staying at YC and eating at Yachtsman or going to the hotel lobby to reckon the hotel bill), then I would say 8 or over (at parent discretion) is within the realm of reasonable (to me that would be like the kid riding rides by him/herself)

If you are leaving the kids to go to another resort or park, I would say that one should be 14 (to me that would be like being unaccompanied at the park).

 

[Shaun176]

There is no specific age in Florida, but the children must be mature enough to be safe, call 911, etc. If you are on the hotel grounds, the average age would probably be 11 or 12. If you go off site, probably 13 or 14.

When I was a kid a Disney, we were basically free range at 12 or 13 a long with almost every other kid.

 

[Best Aunt]

Keep in mind that Disney has been doing room security checks. There were lots of posts about it when it started. Some of the people doing the checks act like you must let them in the room immediately. This could be upsetting to a young person left in the room alone.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I agree with the others. There is no written Disney policy regarding at what age children can be left alone in a room. The CM was referring to the age one must be to be listed as a lead guest on a reservation, which is 18.

 

[bumbershoot]

Must be 18 to be the lead guest registered in a room. No exceptions.

Except for when Dvc’s system decides to put your 7 year old as lead guest on an 8 person reservation...

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

Thanks all!

Taking all of this together, I think we'll let them stay for short stretches. We'll be at BLT and have a V&R ADR, for which I'm still going to get a sitter. That is not a quick meal... ...

 

[DLgal]

Just make sure your kids know what to do in the event of a fire alarm. This has literally happened to us at the last 2 Disney hotels we stayed at, where we actually had to evacuate the hotel and wait outside for a not insignificant amount of time. There are very specific evacuation routes and you may not be able to meet up with your kids if you are in separate areas of the hotel and it has to be evacuated. Keep that in the back of your mind and talk to your kids about it and make sure they have a cell phone.

In addition, instruct them to use the security bar on the door after you leave and not let ANYONE in. If they try to do a security check, have them tell the person their parent is in the bathroom and please come back later.

 

[gottalovepluto]

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