Help! Emergency trip planning for 6-11-07

[MoeFam]

Hi all! We need help- my mom and sis have decided to do a totally "un-planned" trip to Disney in just a few weeks. AHHHHHH! What do we HAVE To get done...

They have a resort- Saratoga Springs for 5 days and 4 nights

They are planning to do the DDP

The group is 4 moms and 4 sophomores in high school 2 girls, 2 boys

What now? Do we do ADR's for them? What is the best character meal for older teens? What about tickets? Best parks/attractions for teens? My most recent trip planning was for much younger kids- and I had a lot more time to plan- please help!

 

[SnowWhite12]

Since it is so soon, I would go to the local Disney store to buy the tickets. It is cheaper than buying at the gate. Many ADR's are probably already booked. We never do them anyway 'cause we're not crazy about the food at Disney, but since they have DDP, it is certainly worth the call to Disney dining. I recommend Liberty Tree Tavern character dinner. It is a sit-down family-style meal (like Thanksgiving food). It's usually Mickey, Minnie, Goofy...classic characters. I also recommend Hollywood and Vine buffet. They may have to eat weird times of day to get the restaurants they really want. But that could be good, because they can be riding rides while many people are at the restaurants. Since they won't be there for a whole week, it would be quicker if they could eat at restaurants in the parks instead of traveling to the hotels to eat. The Mexican restaurant is a nice atmosphere. A fun place to eat is Coral Reef (the aquarium is just beautiful). Just tell them not to stress, and just have fun!

 

[me again]

Hi all! We need help- my mom and sis have decided to do a totally "un-planned" trip to Disney in just a few weeks. AHHHHHH! What do we HAVE To get done...

They have a resort- Saratoga Springs for 5 days and 4 nights

They are planning to do the DDP

The group is 4 moms and 4 sophomores in high school 2 girls, 2 boys

What now? Do we do ADR's for them? What is the best character meal for older teens? What about tickets? Best parks/attractions for teens? My most recent trip planning was for much younger kids- and I had a lot more time to plan- please help!

No advice to give, other than do you really think teenagers that age want to be with their parents? Mine are 10 & 11 and act like they can't stand to spend one day with us. I can only imagine how they will be as high school sophomores!

 

[MoeFam]

I would assume that if they agreed to a trip to Disney- they are aware that their moms are going to be there! In all honesty this is a group of extraoridinary kids who have been friends since they were very young and take a trip with the four families together every year. They are actually all really excited!

 

[fan_of_small_world]

No advice to give, other than do you really think teenagers that age want to be with their parents? Mine are 10 & 11 and act like they can't stand to spend one day with us. I can only imagine how they will be as high school sophomores!

I was in high school when my family first went to Disney, and we all had a great time - together!

I can see where the teens might have some time apart from the adults, but I think that many families enjoy experiencing WDW with one another.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Well, I have a DS(15) & we all take every vacations together. To get back on topic:

For 4 nights, I'd probably just get the tickets with the package. You'll have to purchase a one day pass to get the DDP anyway. I wouldn't think it would be worth the hassle of purchasing seperate tickets for 3 days more. That is, unless you want to purchase 10 day tickets to use the remainder on a subsequent trip.

Character meals are a little tricky. I would think the girls may enjoy eating with the Princesses still. At that age, I doubt the boys will be interested in Character Meals. They would probably prefer restaurants like Sci-Fi, 50's Prime Time, or WCC. It also depends on their personalities. By the time my son was 10, he had outgrown Character Meals. He really likes dining in the nicer restaurants where he can feel & be treated like an adult. He wouldn't enjoy the 3 I noted above, but most kids do. I think one restaurant most teens would enjoy is House of Blues at DTD. It has a teen friendly atmosphere, & the food is pretty good. After dinner, they can go to Virgin Records & spend all their money. Then again, they may want to spend all their time riding & eat mostly Counter Service. That leaves extra TS credits for the moms to use on Signature Restaurants. My suggestion would be to figure out what type of restaurants they prefer to eat at, then go from there.

As far as the attractions are concerned, again most girls will like all the rides. We females are into whimsy. The boys will probably only want to ride the thrill rides & see the high energy shows. Nothing too Disneyfied. Even if they would enjoy some of the quintessential Disney shows & whimsical rides, they won't admit it with another boy around. All the teens will probably enjoy Innoventions at Epcot.