Daughter out growing Disney

[Disney1967]

I never imagined this would happen BUT my soon to be 14 year old Princess is no longer interested in going to DW. We have an upcoming trip already booked in December. Any suggestions would greatly be appreciated.
Thanks,
Deb

 

[MrToad_at_BLT]

Have you throught about maybe doing one of the behind the magic tours? Maybe she just feels like Disney is too "childish" and just needs to start seeing there's options for older people to have a great time.

Or maybe do a day or two away from the parks and possibly go to Sea World or Universal Studios.

 

[Disney_Dawg]

I agree . . . take her on a tour or sign up to swim with the dolphins! What about taking her to V&A to eat? That's very "grown-up."

 

[swald91]

I know what you are talking about...I keep saying how much longer.....I wouldn't want to do any behind the scenes thing b/c I don't want to spoil it for myself!!! Did you ask her what she likes there-that might help a bit! Good luck.

 

[LiveLaughLoveDisney]

I am around that age and I can not ever imagine not liking Disney! Have you gotten that directly from her? When was 13 before my trip I was thinking Disney is for little kids(wanting to grow up from that). But I got over that when I got to Disney (Like exactly when we got on to Disney's property). Also when I saw other people there my age. Possibly you can remind her that she will not be the only teenager there (like my mom did). If she still does no like Disney when she gets there than maybe you can have a day off at the pool. I personally do not like Universal. I do not like those extreme rides and if your family does not like those over extreme rides I would suggest not going there. Sea World is so much fun though!(not as much as Disney though! ) I hope this helps. If you have any questions you can private message me anytime.

 

[pooch]

caught the Disney bug late. She's now 24 and we are taking our 4th mother/daughter trip in 3 weeks. Its so great going as adults together. Give your DD some time. If she's truly a Disnut, she'll come around again!!

 

[Disney1967]

I appreciate all your suggestions, thank you! I was hoping we could do a segway tour but she needs to be 16! :-(

 

[Planning fanatic mom]

I have my daughters standing next to me. They are 14 and 16. Here is some advice.

1. Let her pick the restaurants.

2. Let her help with the touring plans. She could be in charge of typing them up and keeping them.
(To me it doesn't matter what we do. We are at WDW!!!)

3. My girls really got into pin trading. To make it more difficult they collected a theme. (Villains for DD 16 and Disney Babies for DD 14)

4. We also did a photo scavenger hunt they did with their cell phones. They really liked this one. (This was not a contest, just a family activity)

5. How about the Mousejunkies book or the Hidden Magic of WDW book? She could read them ahead of time and tell you all about everything as she sees them.

My girls also suggest they come along with you to help your DD enjoy herself. (Aren't they shameful, always trying to get a free trip to WDW)

Good Luck, she'll come out the other side. We didn't go in 2008 and the girls will never let me live it down.

 

[chrisgeraci]

My son is 17 and we came upon that day a few years ago. I usually took a friend, you can usually add another child to a room for free and most resorts have rollaways. I usually had the parents buy a ticket and a pass and I paid for the food. It's been worth every cent! And I get to keep going to WDW. Good luck!

 

[mom of lil princess]

I remember when I took a family trip to wdw when I was 15. I really thought it wouldn't be that great but it was one of the best vacations I can remember. My cousin came with us who was 12 at the time, though normally she drove me nuts I really enjoyed having her around. We stayed at the boardwalk and it was during the food and wine. Now you might not be comfortable with this but my family spent time together in the morning and then in the afternoon for a bit let us go off on our own. I remember for lunch they would give us each 15 dollars and let go to all the little stations around epcot. Now my family was very stricked so to have this freedom was wonderful. In the evenings they would let us walk around the boardwalk or just go swimming. It seems silly now but I remember feeling so independent the one day they wanted to stay at epcot and we wanted to go to MK so they let us ride the monorail by ourselves to go over there.
I went there thinking I was going on a childs trip and when I was finished with the vacation I ended up feeling more like an adult then when I had started.

 

[Stitch's mom]

Never thought I would experience that but we did! She was ready to try a different place at 14 too. I was not willing to try a different spot since I have never felt disappointed with anything at WDW! We did something I never in a million years thought we would do...we took a friend for her. Made sure whoever we took was similar in humor and could stand a little brother. I was hesitant (was my husband's idea) but it was fun to take a kid that hadn't done WDW since they were 4 or 5. It made the whole experience new for all of us.

She has since regained the love of WDW (she is now a junior in high school) and it is back to just the four of us. The special tours are a good idea except with the younder brother. It's funny he has never let on that he wants to go somewhere else OR take a friend.

 

[pixiegirlforlife]

My sister has a 16 year old daughter who just loves Disney.I would try doing more older kid stuff you know like um maybe just trying to ask her more stuff she would like to do u know maybe like going to the Disney spa or something you know older kid stuff not just the parks and stuff the stuff that younger kids don't really need or want.


me DH DD DS