Gripe WDW with boys!

[AngieWin]

As mommy, however, sign me up for the heroes dinner! Will Tarzan be there?!?

I'd sign up for this one too!!!

 

[AngieWin]

Another mom of boys! We have DSD 13, DSS 12, DS 3 1/2, DS 30 months.

My issue is that alot of the boys activities involve violence in some sort. Pirates/swords, Star Wars/light sabers, Power Rangers/fighting, even Peter Pan has a knife!! I know it seems to be the way boys are wired to enjoy this kind of stuff, but it gets a bit old. If I could convince my boys to dress as a prince, I would!!!

And darn it, I want to go to a Princess party, but no one wants to go with me!!!

Disney, if you are reading, start paying attention to the boys!!!!! (although DSS, I think is starting to pay more attention to Ariel and Jasmine )

 

[GreatLakes5]

Disney, if you are reading, start paying attention to the boys!!!!! (although DSS, I think is starting to pay more attention to Ariel and Jasmine )

Yes when my 11DS found Jasmine in Adventure Land...well, gee, Aladdin who?!? Perhaps Disney IS listening but they know the young male mind better than their own parents....those princesses are filling two niches....happy little girls and happy boys. I know we're not doing dinner in Morrocco thanks to the belly dancer .

 

[Magic2000]

Sign me up for the Tarzan dinner too!!!

My DD has done quite of few of the Princess things - but she's been waiting for some pirate things - for the longest time, she asked about a Toy Story meal - she wanted to eat with Jessie!

 

[dopeyluvsgrumpy]

I agree. During our last trip gramma wanted to get our 3 year old a costume. You always see the adorable little girls walking around dressed as princess', but when it comes to boys the choice was limited. The few "boy" outfits disney offered were too hot for the Florida weather. I know my ds would love a meal with the Buzz Lightyear, Power rangers or Captain Jack Sparrow

 

[disneyjunkie]

Of course there isn't enough Princess stuff in the parks, here's one more.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1428473 They even bother mentioning boys in this ad.

I think it's time for Disney to come up with SOMETHING big geared toward boys.

As for boy clothes in department stores. When my son was 7, my mom found out about The Wooden Solider. http://www.woodensoldierltd.com/
We were able to find great Easter and Christmas outfits in their catalogs.

 

[PA Princess]

I have ds12 and ds11 and dd6 and dd2, so I know both sides of the issue. I really was bothered for many years by the paltry offerings in boy clothes. I now have dd's to shop for and I know where to go to find what I like for the boys (Osh Kosh, Gap and for dress up I usually find what I like at Heartstrings/Kitestrings).

As for Disney, ds's will take their 8th trip this September and they have never, ever not been thrilled by a trip. Yes, I have enjoyed the extra things like the tea party and BBB with dd6, but we have always been able to find fun and special things for the boys to do as well. Here are their highlights for boys:

1. Disney Quest - video game heaven
2. Hoop dee doo Review - they loved that corny humor
3. Steam Train tour - have to be at least 10 and they will do this next trip and are very excited about it
4. Pirate boat trip
5. Wishes cruise
6. Innoventions - fire truck, make your own robot, etc - they LOVE this palce
7. Pressed Pennies - since they were 5 both boys have loved finding penny machines around property
8. Water parks!!!
9. Riding the monorail in front
10. Rides, rides and more rides

That was their ten boy highlights off the top of their heads in like 15 seconds LOL No lack of fun and special...just not the same big ticket expense like with the girls. Wait, remind me of why we are complainging???? ;-)

 

[ch261]

Maybe I'm missing something... aren't the Pirates movies rated PG-13? My boys have never seen them, so they don't relate to the Pirates stuff that much.

My testosterone heavy family always has a great time in the parks- there's no shortage of things that appeal to my boys. They have always enjoyed seeing Buzz and Woody, the Incredibles, the Power Rangers, and now Cars. I think Disney does a pretty good job of making movies that appeal to boys.

Oh... but the clothes... I just swoon when I see those cute little girl clothes and dresses... maybe someday I'll get a granddaughter!

 

[GreatLakes5]

My boys have yet to see the Pirates movies as well - I think they are too young for them after we 'screened' them. So they don't relate to the Pirates as far as Johnny Depp, et al are concerned - they do just naturally find pirates fun in the way boys would find pirates fun.

I've already gained something here though...I think our August trip I'll I'll have them come shaggy and let them hit the barber shop in the MK

I do wonder if perhaps something involving some of the great explorer-types would work someday....my eldest just saw National Treasure and loved that....throw in and Indiana Jones type, Hans Solo, etc....something sort of adventurous/rough and tumble....

 

[Princess-Less]

Subscribing to this one! 4 boys here, hence, the username. Our boys seem pretty much entertained just by being at WDW. There is so much to see and do. This trip we're doing plenty of character meals...LTT, Chef Mickey, Crystal Palace, Donald's, also WCC and Biergarten... and we are even having dinner in Norway with the princesses . They haven't even complained about it (...yet!). I think the Princess interaction with a table full of little boys could be just as priceless as if they were girls. I think they will enjoy the Pirate Tutorial outside of Pirates of the Caribbean too...and Woody's Cowboy Camp, if they still do that...so you could try to see those? Also... As cute as the girls clothes are, I would go broke if I had to dress a daughter The stuff is adorable. But, in the long run we're saving with hand-me-downs, and no expenses looming in the future for hair-makeup-nails-shoes-jewelry-clothes,etc....!

 

[SmallWorld71]

Had to chuckle for a couple of reasons when I read this post. 1st - We are planning a trip for August and DS8 wanted to do something special. He loves the Mad Hatter and thought the Tea Party looked fun but seemed like it was a "girl thing." So, he asked me if I could tell Disney that his sister was too young and needed him to go with her so that he could go without being embarrassed. Hey Disney- make your extra activities sound cool for boys too!
On the flip side, the Tea Pary won't be happening because of 1900 Park Faire refurb. but we are going to Pirate and Princess instead. I very happily started talking to DD4 about getting our hair done and what princesses we would be and she just gave me a funny look and said, "Mama, I'm going to be a pirate." So not BBB for me.

Also, while I have to agree that there are few nice boys clothes at holiday time, as a parent of 2boys and 1girl, I have far more complaints about the girls' clothes. Way too much stuff tries to make girls look far older than they are. It's appalling.

 

[Princess_Michelle]

Last year my son played in both the little water fountain areas in MK and soaked BOTH outfits...I frantically searched the ENTIRE Kingdom for something to buy. NADA. All kinds of pants, shorts, skirts, dresses, etc. for girls. There were Pirate costumes (too heavy for the hot day) and....that's it.....for boys. I ended up finding a section of baby stuff by Winnie the Pooh ride and LUCKILY, they had a 36 month size onsie.....I was so completely annoyed that Disney had failed me...

 

[declansdad]

I have ds12 and ds11 and dd6 and dd2, so I know both sides of the issue. I really was bothered for many years by the paltry offerings in boy clothes. I now have dd's to shop for and I know where to go to find what I like for the boys (Osh Kosh, Gap and for dress up I usually find what I like at Heartstrings/Kitestrings).

As for Disney, ds's will take their 8th trip this September and they have never, ever not been thrilled by a trip. Yes, I have enjoyed the extra things like the tea party and BBB with dd6, but we have always been able to find fun and special things for the boys to do as well. Here are their highlights for boys:

1. Disney Quest - video game heaven
2. Hoop dee doo Review - they loved that corny humor
3. Steam Train tour - have to be at least 10 and they will do this next trip and are very excited about it
4. Pirate boat trip
5. Wishes cruise
6. Innoventions - fire truck, make your own robot, etc - they LOVE this palce
7. Pressed Pennies - since they were 5 both boys have loved finding penny machines around property
8. Water parks!!!
9. Riding the monorail in front
10. Rides, rides and more rides

That was their ten boy highlights off the top of their heads in like 15 seconds LOL No lack of fun and special...just not the same big ticket expense like with the girls. Wait, remind me of why we are complainging???? ;-)

Your list is very true but the point that many are making is that Disney has not created events that are targeted at boys in the same manner that they have for girls.

 

[robin09]

You can go to Crystal Palace (Winnie the Pooh characters) or Chef Mickeys. Both would be good Character Dinners for boys. Ohana and Whispering Canyon both have fun antics that are good for boys.

As for the other stuff, my personal opinion is that it is not necessary to do extra "special" things. There is a ton of stuff in the parks and at the hotels to do without paying extra for tea parties and bbb. It almost seems like people on this board go out of their way to find things to spend money on. And then they say its because the kids want to do it. Would the kids even know about this stuff if Mom wasn't telling them about it in the first place? I don't think too many kids are surfing the web looking for things to do on their Disney vacation. OK, I got that out of my system. I'm done now. Back to your regularly scheduled program...

Sorry but I have to DISagree! LOL

My DD now 8 has been surfing disney since she was 6... plans what rides to go on and we discuss where to eat! ROFl. ... I have a little one that is definitely a disney fanatic!
Whew, now with that off my shoulders.....

The teas and bibbidi make my blood boil. . Yes Jenn would love to do it.. but we have already spent SOOOO much money, do I really have another 3 or 400 extra for these 2 items. I wanted to do the tea 2 years ago, all because of the doll she would get afterwards.. nice memory.. souvenir.. My girlfriend talked me out of it and told me to just buy the doll! So that's what I did, and I'm really glad I did!

We did the Family tour and there were both boys and girls there and all had a great time. This year we are debating the pirate cruise. .. I'm really nervous about her going alone. DD has aspergers, and adhd, so without me with her makes me nervous! I see alot for boys and girls.... I've always found the boys to be sooo much less expensive then the princesses ... it's not fair! lol

 

[disneyjunkie]

Your list is very true but the point that many are making is that Disney has not created events that are targeted at boys in the same manner that they have for girls.

Exactly.

They're putting a BBB boutique in the MK. Why can't they do something huge like that near POTC, Buzz or Tom Sawyer Island for the boys?

 

[NotUrsula]

I've got to say that I've always been happy for the flipside of this; less merch directed at boys has always meant that much time I *don't* have to spend listening to the gimmes when I'm on vacation. (Don't think DS doesn't love shopping, but his only rule about clothes is that they can't be itchy -- he is all about TOYS when he shops. Lately he likes collecting pins, too.)

DS10 did the pirate cruises several times, and was thrilled to get away from the 'rents all by himself, but by age 7 he was completely over that kind of thing; it's all about coasters and waterslides now. He never has cared for live characters (Thank you, God! Not a single moment of park time wasted in autograph lines!), and while he liked dressing up, he didn't like it the way girls like it, and preferred to mix up his characters so that he could maximize the "powers" aspect.

IME with my own boys and relatives', boys seem to like the experience of WDW just for what it is; they like the rides and the themed pools most of all, and the trappings don't mean much to them. All of the extras are nice, but given the choice they mostly just want to get to the head of the ride lines as often as possible.

 

[NemoMOm]

I see that alot of people are writing about POTC which is true for older boys. However, when you have little boys like the OP, they are too young for the movies. Therefore, they have no idea what a pirate is and may even be scared by them. They have no frame of reference.

As far as merchandise, we were there Feb. and looked EVERWHERE for something for DS (age 2). We were only able to come up w/3 t-shirts and those were hard to find as well in his size. We went to all parks and DTD for stuff. At AK I went to all the shops looking for shirt for him and even asked cms to look in the back. I finally found one (after a cm pulled it from the back) after being told by another cm that they do not make shirts in his size.

Oh, I forgot they did have a plush LM car that talks when you smack it.

 

[disneydreamerbelle]

Last year my son played in both the little water fountain areas in MK and soaked BOTH outfits...I frantically searched the ENTIRE Kingdom for something to buy. NADA. All kinds of pants, shorts, skirts, dresses, etc. for girls. There were Pirate costumes (too heavy for the hot day) and....that's it.....for boys. I ended up finding a section of baby stuff by Winnie the Pooh ride and LUCKILY, they had a 36 month size onsie.....I was so completely annoyed that Disney had failed me...

Last year I ran into the same problem with a rainstorm while we were on a ride. The only thing I could find with pants for my DS 2 were pajamas. He enjoyed it, but I got a few looks for him wearing them at 1:00 in the afternoon.

 

[teacher100]

Maybe I'm missing something... aren't the Pirates movies rated PG-13? My boys have never seen them, so they don't relate to the Pirates stuff that much.



That is my biggest gripe about the things out for boys. They make these movies PG13 and then push the toys on kids younger than 13. My 7 and 11 year old are too old for the preschool stuff, but they would have gotten into a Power Ranger, Incredibles character meal. They enjoy Chef Mickeys and those type meals, but it would be nice to have more variety. I guess in the long run it will save us money. I hate to say it, as much as I love Disney I can see them wanting to do Universal and IOA when they get older and gutsier enough for the wilder rides.

 

[jcc0621]

I agree - I am the mother of a 3.5 year old boy, and shopping especially frustrates me to no end...there's a girls DEPARTMENT, and a boy's RACK.

OMG, DH an I say this all the time, it is so frustrating, isn't it?

We are going to WDW in August here are some things we planned with DS (who will be 1 week shy of his birthday), Breakfast at O'Hana with Lilo & Stitch and a dinner at the Sci Fi Dine in. We did the Donald Duck breakfast last year and it was cool. We are going to let him get some potato head stuff at DTD too. We are also going to be there during the Pirate & Princess Party in August, so I am hoping there will be some pirate activited for him there. Have a great trip