For the Boy Scouts of America, the safety of the youth is an important part of the Scouting experience. In fact, the BSA National Health and Safety Committee developed the “Sweet Sixteen” of BSA safety procedures for physical activity. These 16 points, which embody good judgment and common sense applicable to all scouting activities, includes the Buddy System.
“The long history of the buddy system in Scouting has shown that it is always best to have at least one other person with you and aware at all times as to your circumstances and what you are doing in any outdoor or strenuous activity.”
Practicing the Buddy System on the family vacation is important too!
Walt Disney World Resort and Parks is 40 square miles, that’s the size of two Manhattans or the city of San Francisco. The bubble of Disney is gigantic.
Disney does a terrific job of creating the feeling of magic everywhere – you are on vacation and escaping into the fun is the idea after all. However, it’s important to remind scouts and siblings to stick together with the family and practice the safety tips they learn in scouting while on their vacation,
How to include scouting safety tips on vacation:
- With your scout, look at maps of the resorts and the theme parks before your vacation. Discuss the size of the parks and relate them to your hometown or place they have visited before. As an example, the Magic Kingdom is 104 acres, which is approximately 81 football fields. Discuss how it’s easy to get lost at a theme park and ways you’ll work together to reunite.
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- If you are flying into Orlando, talk about how busy the airport might be and how important it is to practice the buddy system, especially while using the tram service to transfer from the terminals to the main airport building where the Magical Express motorcoach service is located.
- If you are driving to Orlando, talk about rest stop areas and set expectations about stretching your legs and taking a break together as a family.
- When you arrive at your resort, have your scout memorize the Resort Name and Room Number. Hopefully, they already have memorized your cell phone number, but now’s a good time for a refresher. Don’t just count on them being able to dial you from their phone. Phones get lost, left behind, and batteries run out of charge all the time on vacation. Memorizing a number is the best method.
- Each morning, take a photo of your scout, if needed, you can refer to it to see what colors they are wearing and you’ll have an up to date photo handy.
- If scouts have a camera (camera phone, tablet camera, etc) have them take a photo of you each morning too. If you get lost, it’s easier for a scout to show a Cast Member what his parents look like instead of having to describe them.
- Before you head out for your day at the parks, take a non-tech precaution and tuck a business card or slip of paper with your contact information on it into their backpack or shoes. Be sure they know it’s there and where to find it if needed. Temporary tattoos and other labels work well for this information too. For a techy solution, smart watches with GPS location tracking are very affordable these days.
- Magic Bands also hold important information about a scout and his trip. They can be scanned for resort and ride information and some contact information.
- When you arrive at the parks each day, take a few minutes to find a “home base location”. Normally it’s better to stay where you are if you get separated from each other, but a backup location is a good idea for one adult to head to and wait to be reunited with the missing person.
- Also, point out the Cast Members – look at their uniforms and name tags. Remind scouts the Cast Members dress in different outfits depending on the park or land you are visiting, but the name tags all look the same. Cast Members will help calm lost scouts and lost parents. They will usually recommend one parent stay in the same place and wait to be reunited. Cast Members have a system and will work together to quickly locate the missing party. If they find a lost child, they will usually head to the Baby Care Center (there’s one located in each park) and wait until lost parents are found.
- Practice the buddy system while visiting the parks, especially when leaving a large attraction or show. It’s easy to get swept away in a crowd of people all exiting at the same time, so buddies should hold hands or parents can hold onto a scouts shirt until they clear the masses.
