Fear of teens that are just too cool...

[Disneyhead'71]

We are actually planning on going to UNI for one day of our vacation. My 13 year old is a Potter fan and we thought it might be neat to see (it will be our first time there). My girls who will be 14 and 17 when we go love coasters but my DS (10) only likes the big rides at Disney. We live near Cedar Point in Ohio and he won't go on any coasters there.

I bet money your 10 year old will LOVE The Amazing Amazing Adventures of Spider-man and Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey (those are the parks 2 signature attractions). The 3 "big" coasters are all really well done. Particularly The Hulk. The launch into the zero-G roll is breathtaking. Jurassic Park River Adventure is a must do. Be warned that the other 2 water rides get you very wet. Particularly Bluto's Bilge Rat Barges. On that one you'll get as wet as you would jumping in a pool. Get a locker for all electronics and such.
And if you guys want to do a table service meal, Mythos is quite the treat. As far as counter service goes, the only places I would recommend are The Three Broomsticks in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and Thunderfalls Terrace in Jurassic Park.

 

[RandomPrincess]

My brother, sister and I never got sick of Disney. Even when my brother was in his early 90s grunge wanna be phase he still enjoyed Disney and had fun.

 

[disneygirl1024]

I've been taking my almost 18 year old to WDW since he was 5. He loves going and just following me around the parks. He gets some park time on his own and manages to enjoy himself as well doing that.

On a bus headed to the parks last August, an older couple asked him if he ever felt that Disney wasn't "cool"... He was confused by the question and answered "It's Disney! Of course it's cool."

That sounds just like my son. There are days where he hangs out with me at the parks and then sometimes he goes off by himself to DTD or to ride the monorail. He is such a wonderful kid. On the other hand, his sister would not be caught dead with me. If I had eyes rolled at me once, they were rolled at me 100 times and an attitude to boot. And to her, Disney is eh.

 

[Zipadeelady]

My brother, sister and I never got sick of Disney. Even when my brother was in his early 90s grunge wanna be phase he still enjoyed Disney and had fun.

OH I miss the 90's Grunge phase!!!

 

[StarWarsGirl]

I hope this is the right place to put this thread all seem to be about toddlers and babies but I hope someone has some ideas.

It's been 3 years since our last trip and I now have 2 teenage daughters 16 and 13. My big fear is not broken down rides or chipped paint but of 2 girls that are too cool to admit that they are having fun and won't be silly. Anyone have teens that their inner child resurfaced for that week at Disney? Any ideas...... threats? Ipod confiscation?

I can help. How? I AM A TEEN! AND I LOVE DISNEY! And I'm almost 18. And I'm going with my parents in a few weeks. And I'm excited. And it will be the 42 trip. And my graduation trip will be to Disneyland.

Okay, so I went through the teen blues a few months ago. But not about Disney (obviously, I love Disney). About Hawaii. I didn't want to go. My parents made me (I know, sounds horrible right? Spoiled little brat I am.) Anyway, the time difference between me and friends helped, but my parents basically said "You're going. You're going to have a good time."

My advice is to just not get so into it as to embarrass them. They may not (especially the 13-year-old) want to get silly. Get different books DVDs, and such on Disney before you go, and then ask them what they definitely want to hit. It will be more fun for them if it's their idea. That's what my parents had to do with me in Hawaii.

Also, don't expect them to love everything. Admittedly, when i went to Hawaii, I did not enjoy looking at scenery. That's an understatement; I was bored out of my mind. They will not love everything. But that's okay! And trust me when I say that they will have the example of other teens there having a blast. Do not take them to the Hall of Presidents. We teens usually agree that it's just plain torture.

As a teen, I tend to want to do the rides, the rides, the rides. I don't want to be sitting around too long. While I really enjoy the restaurants, the quicker, the better, and no more than one per day (though sit down breakfasts are generally acceptable. Sometimes. Other times I just want to get started).

I know that they are 13 and 16. Depending on how you feel about it, occasionally let them go off by themselves, especially if you want to sit down for a meal or just do stuff at a slower pace. My parents usually let me take my brother off for a few hours on our own. It keeps us from feeling trapped, and it also gives us the chance to do some stuff that we really want to do on our own.

If they look at all embarrassed, go by the old Jungle Cruise adage: "Wave to the lovely people on the dock! You'll never see them again! But that's okay; you never saw them before!"

 

[Zipadeelady]

Star wars girl thanks for such a great reply! I will definately take some of your advise and even let them read your post.

I will try not to embarrass them by dancing around tomorrowland or twirling down Main Street but this will be very difficult for me not to do.

I will say though that hiking and looking at the scenery in Hawaii sounds spectacular!!

 

[StarWarsGirl]

Star wars girl thanks for such a great reply! I will definately take some of your advise and even let them read your post.

I will try not to embarrass them by dancing around tomorrowland or twirling down Main Street but this will be very difficult for me not to do.

I will say though that hiking and looking at the scenery in Hawaii sounds spectacular!!

You're welcome. Glad I could help. And just let them know: Disney is awesome, and to not have the opportunity to go as a kid or teen is to not have a complete childhood.

It's okay, my mother sometimes sings during fireworks music (we've been so many times she knows the words). If she starts, she usually just gets "the look" from my brother or me. It used to really embarrass me when i was about 13 or 14, but as I've gotten older, I don't let it bother me.

Looking at scenery just is not my thing. My parents say they should have known when I didn't care at all about the animals in Animal Kingdom that I wasn't a nature girl. I was just as happy by the pool (we stayed at Aulani, and the pool there is like a mini waterpark) or snorkeling out in the ocean. Though I loved climbing Diamond Head and Pearl Harbor. I'm sure you guys will have a great time on your Disney vacation.

 

[party like it's 99]

This might cause some initial trouble but my mom told me not to text my friends during the day, but rather only when we were in the hotel room. At first I was a bit apprehensive, but it really made me appreciate and focus on quality family time more than I normally would have.

 

[Alexis]

I used to sorta be shy and try not to act too excited cause I didn't know if I looked dumb or embarrassed to look like im having fun because of my age but that didnt last long, i only acted that way two trips. Now im 18 and enjoy disney so much.

 

[RedDad]

We have 14 yo and 3 yo girls (yes, drama) and this has been a big challenge for us. The first time we went our oldest was 9 and she loved it. We then took both when the youngest was around 15 months, and had a great time, but lately our oldest just has no interest unless she has a friend her age around. We tried one trip with another family with a kid her age that went well, and we did often let them wander the park by themselves. We actually left her at home last August when we took our youngest because she didn't want to go.

We've found that the water parks are a big hit with the teen, as well as UNI. My wife and I really don't care for UNI, but we'll usually sacrifice one day to make our kid happy! We're trying again with the whole family in June, so we'll see how it goes...

 

[Figgy1]

We have 14 yo and 3 yo girls (yes, drama) and this has been a big challenge for us. The first time we went our oldest was 9 and she loved it. We then took both when the youngest was around 15 months, and had a great time, but lately our oldest just has no interest unless she has a friend her age around. We tried one trip with another family with a kid her age that went well, and we did often let them wander the park by themselves. We actually left her at home last August when we took our youngest because she didn't want to go.

We've found that the water parks are a big hit with the teen, as well as UNI. My wife and I really don't care for UNI, but we'll usually sacrifice one day to make our kid happy! We're trying again with the whole family in June, so we'll see how it goes...

Welcome! Teens!!!!!!!!!!!!! Good luck. I'm lucky my older one actually still loves Disney. Maybe let the older one help with the planning that might help!

 

[RedDad]

Thanks! Love this place! We're trying to get her in on the planning for this trip, but my wife is such a planning fiend when it comes to WDW.

 

[ExtinctJenn]

I haven't read all the responses but throwing my two cents in here quickly...

I have a 20-year old step son. He and his fiance' lived with us for about 2 years and in that time we took them to WDW twice. I can tell you that both times, the two of them regressed in age about 10 years and became little kids. They had a blast. Now that said, we did institue a no phones rule to ensure that but it was successful. My step-son's first trip was when he was 12 and he definitely thought he was too cool for it. I have so many pictures to show that once in the doors, that 12 year old MAN became a kid.

 

[fractal]

Our last trip was in August 2011. At that time I had a 17 year old and an almost 15 year old. I found that Disney World is a great place to give them some freedom. They both had cell phones so we let them go out on their own a bit and do their own thing if they wanted. Teenagers tend to have little patience with just following around their parents all day.

One thing that teenagers do love is to eat. So I made sure we had a table service meal every day. I also booked a couple special events - the Epcot Segway tour for my wife and 17 year old daughter and the Epcots Aqua Seas tour ( scuba/snorking ) with my 15 year old boy and 10 year old daughter. They also had a blast at the Hoop-de-doo-review.

I hope this helps and have a great trip!

 

[RedDad]

Our older daughter does enjoy the food at Disney, particularly the World Showcase and deluxe resorts. She and her friend loved 50s Prime Time and she could live in the France pavilion. DHS is probably her favorite park for rides.

 

[Brittany--]

I'm 19 and I'm going to Disney in a few weeks with my dad. We've been going since I was a baby and I can honestly say there was never a time where I have not enjoyed it. Even in my "I hate everything, I'm a rebellious pre-teen" phase, I still had a smile on my face the whole time I was there.

 

[disneysince71]

So Zip we have 4 wonderful kids 10,15,17,19 with the 2 girls in the middle. They have grown up at Disney. They never feel like it is kid stuff. They never feel like it boring. We do have a no cell phone at Dinner rule... In fact I confiscate them as we go in.. Nothing worse than paying 200 bucks for dinner and your kids texted the entire time. Anyway... at Disney we are together and the kids bond.. its a great experience and I hope you have the same...

 

[Zipadeelady]

So Zip we have 4 wonderful kids 10,15,17,19 with the 2 girls in the middle. They have grown up at Disney. They never feel like it is kid stuff. They never feel like it boring. We do have a no cell phone at Dinner rule... In fact I confiscate them as we go in.. Nothing worse than paying 200 bucks for dinner and your kids texted the entire time. Anyway... at Disney we are together and the kids bond.. its a great experience and I hope you have the same...

Thanks!! all the responses on here are quite encouraging. I gave my girls the choice of possibly going elsewhere and I got a huge NO! I think I'll let them have some time on their own and definatly do the no texting while were all together.

 

[Daihinson]

I hope this is the right place to put this thread all seem to be about toddlers and babies but I hope someone has some ideas.

It's been 3 years since our last trip and I now have 2 teenage daughters 16 and 13. My big fear is not broken down rides or chipped paint but of 2 girls that are too cool to admit that they are having fun and won't be silly. Anyone have teens that their inner child resurfaced for that week at Disney? Any ideas...... threats? Ipod confiscation?

My nephew aged 19 has been joining us at WDW for 6 years. He always opts to bring a friend and their favorite park is DHS and of course Downtown Disney. They love to choose their own restaurants and create a schedule, minus the younger ones. I am a true believer that Disney is for all ages. Don't let the teens fool you, they will love it and meet many other "cool" new friends.

 

[Stu bailey]

We had 'em late. They are 15. Still like us and still like Disney.