Do Your Teenage Boys Still Enjoy Disney?

[erineab]

My son is now "double digits" and my husband and I recently had a conversation about how many more years he will continue to enjoy our annual WDW trips. I know every child is different but I'm curious to hear from those who have or have had tween/teenage sons. Can it still be a special and enjoyable experience for them?

 

[erineab]

Oops I meant to post this in "Theme Parks Attractions and Strategies" forum. I'm not sure how to move if there. ..perhaps a moderator can move it.

 

[cyndiloveswalt]

We have been DVC since 2006 so my boys have been to Disney many times! They are now 12 and just shy of 18. They both still love it and look forward to our trips! We have taken a friend for the older one the last couple of years thinking they could co their own thing but they still hung with us almost the entire trip. They slept in a couple mornings and met us and I think they stayed out later 1 or 2 times.
This Thanksgiving will be our last long full family trip for a while as our DS17 will be heading off to college after one more year. Cannot believe how fast it has gone!

 

[c3h3a3r]

My boys are 12 & 10 and I am hoping they enjoy our trip at the end of the month as much as our first trip in 2011

 

[Sydney2977]

Our two boys, now 16 and 20, still love Disney trips. Of course some of our touring strategies and interests have changed but they love different experiences now. Older DS went this past Christmas time with his girlfriend. Younger DS is supposed to go with his school band this spring and definitely wants me to go along to chaperone. He just randomly commented yesterday that he doesn't think some of the kids that go will really appreciate WDW- he said they'll just rush from one rollercoaster to the next or think some things are lame. But he does have plenty of friends that still love Disney too and go with their families. It really just depends on the kid but hopefully you'll get lucky and your son never really grows up!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Our 20 year old son adores Orlando, but has no interest in Disney. He much prefers the SeaWorld parks (as an animal lover) and Universal parks (as a movie buff) to any of the Disney ones.

Once Star Wars Land fully opens at Hollywood Studios, it may be enough to woo him back again. At his stage of life, he's just not looking for princesses or childhood whimsy. The balance of the Disney parks don't offer enough thrill rides to suit his adventurous side, and Mickey Mouse has never been a hero for him. We enjoyed our family Disney-only trip in 2009, but since seeing all the other things that Orlando has to offer, he's definitely never expressed an interest to focus additional vacations around the Disney parks.

He's now been to Orlando a total of 8 times (his first trip to celebrate his 13th birthday, and his most recent in April/May 2016), and Discovery Cove is easily his favourite park of all.

 

[loves to dive]

My son and I have been going since he was just shy of 3, he is now 35 and still enjoys it. We used to go every other year and do the other year somewhere else. My honey doesn't do any kind of vacation other than diving, he is not my son's father so until my son was around 12, it was just he and I. After my honey came into the picture it was important my son and I still have our time together. I've started going twice a year in the past 3 years and he tries to go at least one trip a year with me if he can schedule it. We introduced his now ex- wife to WDW, she had never been as an adult.

 

[bankr63]

You'll know your kid better than anyone else. My two are now 18 and 20 and over the years the focus has shifted from Disney to Universal quite a bit. We still do some Disney every trip, but the rides are bigger and better at Universal, and the theming for Harry Potter outdoes anything Disney has done. There is always a beach day thrown in too, and usually a bit of retail therapy as they have gotten older.
ETA: and breaking the Disney bubble gets us staying off site in accommodations superior to Disney for far less money.
Orlando is a great place for every age with something for everyone; just be open to it and try new experiences!

 

[Firepath]

Our 19 yr. old son still likes to go but since he hates to fly (and it's too far to drive), he is now happy with every other year or so. His first visit was when he was 5 yrs. old and he has never really gotten tired of it. College and work schedules are really making our family trips difficult though. I hope your son remains a lifelong fan!

 

[THEDISNEYTHREE]

.

 

[Marlyn]

I'm about to take my twin boys there to celebrate their 21st birthdays! They have been going since they were 5 and they still love to go!

 

[Upatnoon]

My son is now "double digits" and my husband and I recently had a conversation about how many more years he will continue to enjoy our annual WDW trips. I know every child is different but I'm curious to hear from those who have or have had tween/teenage sons. Can it still be a special and enjoyable experience for them?

Time to burst the Disney bubble. I think they would love a trip to Universal. More thrill rides and a lot less princesses and toddlers. Also, water parks should be considered.

 

[baldy6060]

My son is 15 and will be 16 when we go back. He gets annoyed with my constant Disney talk. He has also said he'd like to try Universal. Then I reminded him his 3 year old brother won't be very entertained and my wife and I can't ride as many "big" rides due to motion sickness. He was ok with it. I took him to Six Flags Great America so he could get some thrill rides in this year. And my plans next year will involve some old things I know he loves (anything Star Wars, Yehaa Bob, Sanaa) and some new things I think he will like (Pandora, 50s PT, a water park visit or 2 and a surprise KTTK tour). I'm trying to keep it fresh for him. We may try a new touring strategy like half days or park hoppers. We also plan on staying at AKL and he's never been there. He likes seeing his little brother having fun, too, and I think when he sees the magic through a little boy's eyes he'll have a new appreciation for it all and start to understand why we love it so much.

 

[NinaBella]

My boys (23, 22, and 14) do NOT like Disney. They haven't in several years. We no longer take them. In fact, we only go when relatives come and visit us

OP, why not just ask your son if he wants to continue to go to Disney or try something different.

My 14 year old wants to go to Ireland. My 13 year old daughter wants to go to Korea.

We just returned from a trip to Washington D.C. and Niagara Falls, Ontario. My kids enjoyed this more than going to Disney. My 14 year old son use to say his favorite vacation is when we went to the mountains over MLK weekend. He and his sister were too small to ski or snow board so they just went tubing with us while the older boys went snow boarding. We rented a large cabin and the grandparents came. We didn't have Internet so we played a lot of board games.

 

[lovin'fl]

DS-19 has been going since he was 6. He has had moments of complaint and said "no more Disney" at times...BUT mostly he still likes to go. We just have had to space trips out more since he was about 15. He likes to go for the dining. He will ride some rides. He likes to come and go as he pleases (sleep late, get up to go for whatever CS lunch he fancies and then he'll meet us for TS dinner and do a couple FP+ with us). He has skipped out on a few trips the past couple years and can manage a trip every 1-2 years.

Twin DDs-17 still like to go any time they can...gotta luv 'em!!

 

[Brian Noble]

Mine does, but that might be because on our last trip---a "boys' week away"---we rented a Nissan 370Z, and took some golf lessons. He liked the golf almost as much as he liked driving around in that car! That was a year and a half ago, and he still notices it when someone else has one of those cars.

 

[lennyd]

i have 1 12,10 and 8 yr old and they are starting to gravitate towards universal my 12 yr old has not found a roller coaster scary enough to say im not going on that one

 

[Aliceacc]

My 18 year old still enjoys it.

The 600 seniors in my school go every spring, and the Senior Trip is a huge thing for both genders.

My husband's all boy school sends 400 17 year old boys every year-- they love it too.

 

[lovin'fl]

i have 1 12,10 and 8 yr old and they are starting to gravitate towards universal my 12 yr old has not found a roller coaster scary enough to say im not going on that one

Yes, forgot to mention this too. My 3 do prefer US to WDW. But they like to stay at WDW (we are DVC) and get a little Disney fix but they do LOVE to ride at US. They aren't so into the characters, parades and little classic rides at WDW so much but still like to get a little of the magic (a couple rides and the dining and fireworks).

Also...took twin DDs to Food and Wine last year and they loved it. They are going again with us this year. DS-19 wants to go to that too, when he turns 21. So maybe try different events/times of year for a little something different.

 

[jsrj21]

My "boy" is 20 and he cannot get enough! We started taking him when he was 5 and he caught the bug. I book my trips with Dreams Unlimited and my agent always comments how "cool" it is that my son still wants to go to Disney with his parents. My wife is not as much a Disney freak like my son and I but I told her that as long as he wants to go with us, I'll squeeze every last trip out of him....because one day, it may end.

My son likes many things and is really easy going but we're going to be nice to Mom and take her on a trip to the Southwest next year and he already told me that we can't go without him. I would say that we're lucky in this regard.