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| How much independence for this kid on our Disney vacation? |
One of the questions running through my mind as we
anticipate our next Disney vacation is how much independence will we
allow/desire/create for our eleven year old boy. He has grown up enjoying Disney vacations—11 trips
to Walt Disney World and 5 Disney cruises—and with each trip has earned and
demonstrated more independence.
Our most recent cruise, we gave him check-in/out privileges
for the kids clubs on board. This was
the first time he had had those privileges.
We had thought about it the cruise prior, but changed our minds at the
last minute, since it was our first time sailing on the Dream and we were
concerned he wasn’t familiar with the ship.
That was no longer a reason or excuse when we gave him that privilege as
we were again sailing on the Dream.
He handed the privilege well, “mostly” returning to a
designated meeting spot at a designated time.
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| This photo we had no idea about until we got our pictures. |
On the ship, he ventured off to the AquaDuck—which required
changing into his swimsuit, navigated getting his picture taken by a ship’s
photographer, and even took in a movie on his own. He is quite independent! We had a communication system in the
stateroom so that he knew where we were and vice versa.
He explored portions of Castaway Cay that were near the
beach on his own.
Our thinking, right now, is that he will again have the same
privilege on the next cruise, as this time he will be able to select between
going to the Oceaneer’s Club and Edge—for kids 11 to 14. He is excited to be able to do both. And, once he is 12, the decision about
onboard privileges, other than charging, is no longer ours.
Now, what about while we are at Walt Disney World? How independent will he be? I can say over the last couple of trips, he
had ridden rides by himself, including navigating the queue. During our last trip, we got in line to meet
characters at the Circus tent, and he went to ride the Barnstormer. We knew the time for the stand-by line, so we
could estimate how long it would be before he returned. Also, when we neared the front of the line
for the characters, I was prepared to have the people behind us move ahead
while we waited for his return. The boy
returned and we met characters and posed for photos.
Since we were staying at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort,
spending the evening at The Dig site provided something for everyone in our
family all in one location and with visual access to all. The husband and I could be in the hot tub and
still keep and eye/ear for the boy if he was in the pool, on the playground, or
watching a movie poolside. Our next
vacation is booked for Port Orleans French Quarter, that has all of the
amenities—pool, playground, hot tub, evening movies at the resort, but they are
all spread out and have either buildings or foliage in between, negating visual
access. Though, the last time we stayed
there, the evening movies were being shown in the courtyard just outside our 3rd
floor room.
I mentioned to the boy yesterday, that he may be the one to
refill our mugs—something I would only consider while staying at Port Orleans
French Quarter—as the food court is not far from any of the resort
buildings. The boy seemed interested to
take on this job, typically held by his dad.
And, with MagicBands being used as room keys, I know he will keep it
with him at all times—on his wrist!
When making decisions about his independence, we have taken
cues from him, too. Is he
comfortable? (It was his idea to go ride
the Barnstormer while we waited.) Is he
confident in what he is doing? And, are
the husband and I okay with the level of independence? All of those factors go into making the
decisions, many of which have to be made on the spot and in the moment; no
anticipating every situation. It does
help to be somewhat mentally prepared to make those decisions though.
I am sure we will have stories about this on-going tug and
pull when we return. There always are!
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