are you kids not excited about trip?

[tonysgal34]

My 12 year old is pitchin a fit that she wants her own bed on our trip and has no interest in going to disney anyway. Now I know that it took us awhile to get to the point of being able to do this and we still have to do it economically(thus the one room with two beds and she will sleep with me and the DS sleeps with DH).

Our kids are 12 and 9 and we don't want to wait until they are even older and won't enjoy it as much. The 12 year old slept with me last year at Hampton for my cousin's graduation and I figured that she wouldn't mind doing it again-apparently she's got issues with it. I really don't know what to do......do we just cancel the trip since she says she doesn't want to go, or do we go ahead and plan it knowing that she'll have fun even though she acts like it's a horrible idea??? Anyone else ever have this problem??

 

[BevS97]

I bet she'll enjoy it once she gets there, I can remember being 12 and everything seeming difficult and just wanting to argue for arguements sake.

Would it be possible to take an airbed, and let your dd sleep on that? Maybe she is not comfortable with sharing a bed with you at this time, I think at that age everything to do with personal space can become a real issue, so it might be a solution?

Bev

 

[Jordan's MOM]

Sounds like she is 12!!!!! I know she will have fun once she gets there but I would set down some ground rules as far as behavior and attitude go. Let her know the expectations and consequences ahead of time. Get her involved in the planning. Let her choose some places to eat and get her excited about some of the coolest rides.
Depending on where you stay you might have some options in sleeping spaces. Were are you staying??

Jordan's mom

 

[deirdrefitch]

The first few times at Disney my two sons had to sleep together.
Not a pleasant experience. Teenagers seem to have a distorted idea of who is on whoms side. We stayed at the Comfort Suites Maingate East in Kissimmee last year. For $50.00 a night we got a two room suite with a pull out sofa sleeper. Heaven! This year we are renting a house in formosa gardens. Hopefully, this will go over even better! Try hotelmartusa.com, or hotelkingdom.com
for great prices. Good Luck!

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

Our one word solution for keeping our grumpy sleepers away from each other: AEROBED. They are God's gift to moms everywhere!

 

[luvflorida]

We experienced something similar to your situation just a few months ago. My husband had to fly to Orlando on a business trip, so I thought it would be a great opportunity for our twelve year old daughter and myself to get out of snowy Maine and spend a week in sunny Florida. We have always taken trips and Florida is one of our favorite places to go to. Well, our daughter didn't really want to go, and she especially didn't want to go to WDW. I was baffled, especially since she'd be missing a few days of school. I thought she'd be really excited about going. After talking to her, I could see her side of things. She didn't want to go because she would have nobody her age to do things with, (her brother and sister are both in college and couldn't go), she would DESPERATELY miss her friends and she would spend the whole vacation wondering what terrific events were going on back home without her. I guess when you're twelve, walking around the parks with just your mom and dad is not tops on your list of favorite things to do.

Anyway, we told her that we were all going and that hopefully she would end up having a good time. And you what? She did end up having a good time. And I even insisted on a trip to Gatorland because I have wanted to visit Gatorland every time we have been to Orlando and I have always been voted down. Nobody wanted to walk around and look at alligators. Well, we did it this trip and we really enjoyed it, even our daughter.

Sure, we had those moments when our daughter acted sad and depressed because she missed her friends, and the highlight of each day came at night when we would return to the hotel and allow her to hook up the laptop to the internet and spend time IMing her friends. She also had fun shopping for a few gifts to take home to some of her friends. So by making a few compromises on both sides, everyone actually enjoyed the trip and we were all glad that we went.

By the way, one of the best evenings we spent was dinner at Medieval Times, and when "our" knight threw a carnation to our daughter, well, if she could have floated out of the arena, she would have! I thought I saw stars in her eyes!

So, I know I'm being long-winded, but it sounds like your daughter is being a typical 12 year old. I can't help you with the bed thing, however, because my 12 year old always wants to be in the same bed with me when we go on vacations, (well, unless big sis is with her), but maybe you can come up with some other option for her. An inflatable mattress? Rollaway?

Good Luck and I bet she'll end up having a grand old time!

 

[twinmomplus2]

This sounds familar, we get Villas and still our 16 year old DD wants her own room. Beaware for us anyway, this was an awful age. We go every year and the year she was 13 I thought her Uncles for whom I may add they and she are crazy about each other. Truly I thought they may strangle her she did so much moaning and groaning. They both ended the trip vowing never to travel with me again. However they have traveled every year with us still, So we all recovered. Even now she does not want to go and leave her friends etc... however she doesn't want us to go if she doesn't, so she goes. If she starts I simply smile and walk away...as for the sleeping in the room. I buy an air mattress for our twins who do not use a crib, It would be worth the money to buy her one and avoid the whole subject enirely. If she wont sleep on it maybe little brother would? you and hubby together and she gets the other bed. However I would only let your son use it.. if he saw it as a treat, not as a way to get her what she wants. depending on his age it may be cool to him. good luck its just the puberty thing they do gradually and I say gradually get better....

 

[Gilligan]

Hi, I know this thread has been talking about 12 year olds, but we're from the UK and my 9 year old son isn't excited about going to Disneyland. I thought he'd be over the moon, as 5 yr old sister is, but he can't tell me one thing he's looking forward to. It transpires he is worried sick by the safety announcements on the planes. He translates this as meaning something WILL happen to the plane. Also, he's scared because we're going to America, and of course America is at war with Iraq (as are we, but we'll let that pass!) I showed him on the map how much further away from Iraq you guys are compared to us, and that we're pretty far away too, and that's helped! Oh yes, and we're planning on going to the Everglades, and he's scared of snakes, spiders, and probably the alligators too. Oh, and as an aside, his best mate told him terrorists are planning on poisoning our water supply. Now he's scared to drink the water. (We're working on this one!) Thanks for reading this; I just feel a little frustrated that something I'm so excited about isn't shared by all the family. Little bit of a downer. However, I know my son. Once we're there, I know he, and we, will have a great time. I'll have to let you know about the snakes and spiders bit though!
Jill

 

[jwsqrdplus2]

I think the air mattress idea is probably the best idea if DD is totally adverse to sleeping in same bed with you. But a suggestion, rather than an actual air mattress which can be pricey, get a pool raft from Walmart. They are cheaper, pack much smaller, and while they are a little smaller than a twin bed, your daughter will have her own "bed." Also, it can serve double duty as an actual pool raft! Just a thought.

 

[Disney Ella]

I'm not looking forward to those pre-teen and teenage years. At that age I would have wanted my own bed too. You've gotten good suggestions. Have you also looked at booking one of the more reasonably priced suites? Maybe she'd like to sleep on the fold out couch in the living room and have the whole room to herself when the rest of you go to bed.

Gilligan, I think you're absolutely right that he'll love it once he gets there. One of mine was very concerned about the plane crashing. I told her there was no way I would get on a plane if I didn't think it was safe (not that I have any way of spotting an unsafe plane!) and that seemed to help. Once he sees how much fun it is, hopefully he'll forget about the spiders and everything else that could go wrong.

 

[hocksocmom]

Oh my gosh! We are in the EXACT same situation. DD is 13 and DS is 9. DD wrote in her yearbook last year that WDW was her favorite vacation spot and now, less than a year later, she doesn't want to miss school or friends and says she'll just stay in the room! She's only ever been to Disney once, as a 3 year old. We're hoping that when we get there her attitude will improve but I do believe it's just part of the age. As far as sleeping, I've heard that many resorts can provide cots. CBR supposedly one of them. We're going to bring a sleeping bag for that purpose.

Would LOVE to hear from those who've experienced similar situations with teens not wanting to go . . .

 

[Wish Upon A Star]

I don't understand how both me and DH absolutely love WDW and only 1 of my kids does.

I have a DD (13 1/2) and a DS (9 1/2) and DD was absolutely hormonal when we visited last July. She didn't want to hang around us, see the parades, swim, etc . . .DH and DS and I went to the pool every night while DD stayed in the room and showered and watched t.v. . . . She was no fun at all. Every pic I have she is smiling though, so it seemed like she had fun, but she really isn't into WDW anymore I don't think she's my child at all.