At what age do kids lose interest?

[Schmoodle]

I know there are some kids that never lose interest in Disney - my oldest DD, now 22, was that way.

I've taken my two youngers twice - first trip they were 5 and 6YO and loved it. Last year they asked me to go back, and had a really good time (10 and 11YO), but I could see the level of interest waning a bit. DD2 has never been a princess girl, and they were not nearly as interested as DD1 - she was young during the Little Mermaid/Belle/Jasmine days, very exciting when all that new stuff came out!

Last year's trip happened to coincide with DS's birthday, so DD2 informed me we'd need to go back for her birthday. Also, they are very excited to check out the Wizarding World at Universal. So there is another trip to Orlando in the works sometime in the next year or two.

But after that, I'm not sure they'll really want to go back, and that makes me kind of sad. Of course I can always go with a friend if I want to (DH refuses), and there are probably future grandchildren I can enjoy the world with.

Anyway, just wondering if other families have faced this, and if they older kids do still want to go, what are the things they enjoy?

 

[dhardawa]

Last time we went, my daughter had just turned 8 and she wasn't all that into it. Oddly enough, we are going back now that she is almost 10 and she is so excited she is about to pop!

 

[PatsMom]

My DD never lost interest. She is 18 now and a freshman in college. She is ticked off at me because I am going to Disney without her at the end of this month to celebrate my 50th birthday. And we have trips scheduled for January and May when she can join us. January we are celebrating her un-birthday (its in July and we couldn't stand the crowds). She's not getting a cake or wearing a birthday pin or anything like that. But we are following some personal birthday celebration traditions like dinner anywhere you choose on the designated day. And I might pick up a present for her. In May we are celebrating my DH's 65th birthday.

I am also fortunate that my DH is a Disney fanatic and so even if DD can't go with me, he is always ready for a trip to Disney.

 

[stsomewhere]

My kids are now 11 and 8. They lost interest about 3 years ago. I did get them to go to Epcot in Feb. for a day before our 3night DCL cruise.

We just went on a 7 night DCL cruise end of AUgust. I aaked the kids if they wanted to go to WDW befoe for a few days. They choose to go to COCOA beach instead.

They would rather sail on DCL than any other line. But, they are not really into characters.

 

[auralia]

well i'm 28 and i never lost interest... i had to DRAG my husband to the world for our honeymoon (which was only my second time there) because his father had poisoned him to disney telling him it was all a sham (even though he'd never been there). My husband i am proud to say is a complete disney file now. Not as bad as me but he is very excited about our upcomming trip and even went to disneyland to experience the original park and liked it more than the world for its "older feel".

 

[xipetotec]

I know there are some kids that never lose interest in Disney - my oldest DD, now 22, was that way.

I've taken my two youngers twice - first trip they were 5 and 6YO and loved it. Last year they asked me to go back, and had a really good time (10 and 11YO), but I could see the level of interest waning a bit. DD2 has never been a princess girl, and they were not nearly as interested as DD1 - she was young during the Little Mermaid/Belle/Jasmine days, very exciting when all that new stuff came out!

Last year's trip happened to coincide with DS's birthday, so DD2 informed me we'd need to go back for her birthday. Also, they are very excited to check out the Wizarding World at Universal. So there is another trip to Orlando in the works sometime in the next year or two.

But after that, I'm not sure they'll really want to go back, and that makes me kind of sad. Of course I can always go with a friend if I want to (DH refuses), and there are probably future grandchildren I can enjoy the world with.

Anyway, just wondering if other families have faced this, and if they older kids do still want to go, what are the things they enjoy?

Something else I think you need to keep in mind is that as they get older, they might be interested in "different things" there. My 16 year old just went on a trip this year with his classmates. He *loves* disney and had a great time being their tour guide there, but what he showed them wasn't necessarily what I expected. Their interests in attractions change, the restaurants they want to eat at changes. But if you're lucky, they still want to go and have a magical time...

 

[Darcy03231]

My kids lost interest around 10-11, but having said that we'd been on multiple trips by that time. I'm sure if they'd never been or only been once it might have been different.

We started cruising about the time the youngest turned 10 and they all love it! They also love Busch Gardens and US/IOA. Actually, its been kind of nice to go to the Orlando area and see some different things.

 

[happymommy]

My kids still love it, but it's the whole vacation experience that we all enjoy. My DD has never been "into" princesses, and my son liked Buzz Lightyear for a year maybe, so we got a photo with him once. It's never been about the characters for us, though.

We love some rides, the restaurants, the shows, the resort, swimming, just the whole atmosphere. We like Epcot to explore the countries, and Innoventions is always changing (darn, we miss Fantastic Plastics). My kids could spend a whole day at Innoventions. I like that I don't have to drive anywhere, just take their transportation! Magic Kingdom is cool for them, but it isn't their favorite park. We like Epcot, DAK, and DHS a bit more, in that order.

My son liked Universal for the theme (Spiderman was pretty cool), but he doesn't ride roller coasters, and I didn't like the atmosphere there. It was more like Six Flags to me, kind of tacky, but not too bad, just I don't need to go back soon!

I guess some families continue to like it as the kids get older. My mom gives me the whole, "aren't you going to go somewhere else this time?" grief. Yes, we do go other places, last year we did the Disney cruise and Hawaii as well. This year we went again to Hawaii (no we won't get sick of that either, used to live there). But we still love Disney!

 

[ebtbmom]

Sadly my son, 11, has lost his interest. The only things at WDW he gets excited about are the Lego store and Disney Quest. We're going to DLR in Jan and I'm taking him to Legoland for a day which he's excited about. He actually suggested that we stay at Legoland and just drive up to DLR for a day!

To be fair, my son has never liked rides, so maybe that has something to do with it. The Jungle Cruise is the only one that he really loves.

 

[momofrrr]

Our kids are 22, 17 and 13 and they have definately not lost interest. We never have a family dinner (DS22 moved out about a year ago) all together that the subject does not come up. We always talk about a dinner or the timing of a ride or show, always something Disney is discussed. This year he is bringing along his girlfried of about 18 months who has never been and he is so excited to show her he can hardly wait. I hope that they change their minds........

 

[solar]

I try to change the things we do, try to add something new each trip so that it's a different experience. If we usually go to the parks during the day, we'll try at night, or if we try a new place to eat, or try an attraction we may have overlooked before.

I actually was getting to that point for a little bit, but for some reason, I'm fired up all over again - since I get to plan 3 trips during this next 10-12 months. Now, I'm fired up with THE MAGIC. Man, I am SO HAPPY it's back in me!

What I did was dive into the DisBoards again, pick up some books on Disney I hadn't read before...and just dug for things I didn't think about or hadn't known about.

I think adding a little variety helps.

 

[powellrj]

My oldest DS lost interest when he was about 15. He is now 26 and still won't go back. I think we will have to take his poor wife if she is ever going!

Middle DS had lost interest at about 15 and then went with his show choir to compete and it gave him a new love of all Disney. He has friends that are doing the disney college program and now he wants to go too!

DD still loves going at 13, so I hope she keeps wanting to go for a long time!

 

[JOCAmom]

My son never really had an interest in Disney. He just went on the vacations to eat. My oldest daughter hasn't lost complete interest but there are other places she would prefer to go. We went to Universal in June and she loved it. She's very much into thrill rides right now and Disney doesn't cut it.

My youngest 2 daughters still love it and always talk about going back and what we are going to do when we are there. I'm hoping their enthusiasm lasts for a few more years.

 

[Mrs.Toad]

My 11yo hasn't lost interest yet. I remember when I was a kid, I lost interest in Disney around 11 or 12, and preferred other parks with more thrill rides. I'm still a thrill ride junkie, but regained my love of Disney parks around age 20 or so.

 

[I Am What I Am]

I'm 15 and I haven't lost interest. And my 13 and 8 year old brothers haven't either.

I'm probably the most excited person in my family for our upcoming trip. XD

 

[teresajoy]

I started going when I was 2 and I'm 40 now, and I haven't lost interest yet. That's me in my avatar in the red jacket on my second Disney trip at 3 .

My son is 17 and he still loves it as does my 11 and 6 year old daughters.

You just never know I guess!

 

[tam626]

Dh & I are pretty excited about going back & of course our 4 yr old is. My dd who is 18 could care less & my son is 23 & does'nt care to go. I took them when they were 9 & 14 & my son had an ok time & the 9 year old liked it but never asked to go back. I think it's more the person than the age. Did any of that makes sense?

 

[Fall1]

This thread is making me sad! We are taking our 2 1/2 year old twins in 5 weeks (yay!) and it never occurred to me that they might lose interest some day!!

 

[disfan07]

I'm 20 and i have not lost interest at all.

I've been going since i was 6 months old and have been to WDW 19 times and DL 5 times and going again in 6 weeks

We're planning on going back to WDW for 10 days for my 21st bday next june and i am so looking foward to it

 

[cindyfromga]

I have a DD20 who is a Disney addict like her dad and I. We have a DS17 who loves the big thrill rides at the other parks, but he gets excited to head to Disney. I was talking to him about our trip in December and asked if we had to buy just a one park/one day ticket which park would he like to go to. His reply was the one with Space Mountain.
We have lived in Georgia since DD was 9 and DS was 6 and we have been to "the world" just about once a year in those 11 years. Each trip, we all get excited to visit.