Help! My teen feels he is 'over Disney!'

[lizanne]

Oh, we will still go...I just want him to be as excited about the trip as he used to be...ya know, when he was younger. The Segway tour and the Kingdom tour sound interesting....maybe that will be enough to keep him from complaining. LOL

And no, I don't want him to bring a friend 'cause he will be a senior next year and after that...I figure he won't go with us once he is in college.

So basically, DH and I are seeing the next family vacation as the vacation before he is on his own and 'out of the house.' KWIM?

Once he is in college...*if* he does go on vacation with us, he'll probably bring a friend or girlfriend. After that, he will probably marry, then it will be 'his family' and once the kids...well, you get the idea.

I guess maybe I'm being too sentimental with the next family vacation 'cause I can't believe that he will be graduating soon and "on his own" and an "adult." Waaahhhh!

Thanks for the ideas...keep 'em coming!

I know the feeling, I have 4 boys, 1 daughter. Sometimes the harder we try to keep them close the harder they fight to be let loose. We never let any of them stay home while still in high school.

We're DVC members since "91, so we've been to WDW many times and have had the same experience. We tried to take the outlook that the better time they had the more likely they'd want to return. The older 2 always brought someone, my daughter to have another girl, the oldest boy to have someone closer to his age. As they got older it changed to boyfriend and girlfriend. These two are now 30 and 28 - single - and still ask if we have room for them each year (with a friend of course).

The younger ones never brought anyone-they are all close in age. They usually hang out with us and they no longer ask about going (youngest is 22 and graduates college this year). Their memories from their visits when they were younger are great but the older teen years are somewhat boring. When they were 17 or older we suggested they bring a friend but for one reason or another it never worked out.

I know taking a friend isn't always an option, and I certainly am not trying to tell you what to do, just sharing my experience.

By the way, one thing my boys always enjoyed was lunch or dinner at the ESPN Club on the boardwalk.

 

[disneyholic family]

sign up for the segway tour (not keys to the kingdom - boring for a 17 year old)...
also sign him up for the surfing lesson (assuming he can swim)...

you can also go biking, boating, fishing, riding, parasailing, etc etc etc..

beyond that, ignore him.....teens think it's all about them...make it clear to him that it's not....
also make it clear you're all going and if wants to sulk he can but he's going with you and you're going to ignore his temper tantrums....those are good for 2 year olds not 17 year olds...

 

[babar41]

Family time is important. I agree with the OP, this may be the last "family vacation" they take.

Some posters have suggested taking a friend. If I were in the OP's shoes, I wouldn't do that. Having a friend along is almost like not having your DS with you on vacation. Might as well leave him home with DGP's.

I would tell DS that family vacation is exactly that, a time that the family goes on vacation. All members of the family will go. If he chooses to sulk then explain to him that the vacation is not just his vacation, but everyones vacation. He has a choice, he can either enjoy himself or he can sit in the room. Since you would like him to enjoy himself ask him to start investigating the different things that are offered at WDW, things he would be interested in doing and that he thinks the family would enjoy. Make him part of the planning process.

Good luck to you. Teenagers are lots of fun (said with a bit of sarcasim). Just keep reminding yourself, your DS that used to love Mickey and was sooooo cute is just hiding in a teenagers disguise. Hope you have a wonderful trip.

 

[jann1033]

When asked why he didn't want to go, he said that 'it's boring and he's seen it all. Plus, he can't imagine spending 2wks with just us!' (this is the child that I gave birth to W/O painkillers! Ugh!)

What can I say or do to help him change his mind about Disney?

Thanks!

wait till he's 28 and has kids???? 17 is still the" roll the eyes you guy are idiots" stage..this too will pass and if you go and he doesn't he'll probably be sorry he missed it and just not tell you till 10 yrs later.

we have always taken trips to places other than disney and let them have a say in vacations to a point but our kids were ok about going with us at that age . we did let them bring a friend on the trip and have a little more freedom ( like they could go to illuminations as a group on the bus with out us...nerve racking but baby bird's gotta fly) but they were good kids, not prone to drinking ect so we were able to trust them not to do a lot of terrribly bad things once they were out of our earshot. they toured with us during the day, ate with us but then could do a few things on their own at night (swim, ect) if we didn't have specific plans but had to be back by normal curfew which was 11 pm. truthfully this was good for us too since it gave us alone time.

our kid's friends were like part of the family so that wasn't a problem ( i was and still am a "mom" to more than just our 2 kids)

a lot depends on your relationship though..is he just blowing off steam and putting up a face ( disney to 17 yr old boys might seem uncool or what ever the current terminology is so he might feel he has to say that) or does he really not want to go? if the family trip is to disney and if he really doesn't want to go i'd let him stay with grandma and no vacation for him but i probably wouldn't force him to go. he is getting to be an adult and has to learn to make decisions and accept the consequenses of them

 

[Pats Dragon]

My kids continued to love DW even through college. I try to make it "our trip" and plan different things that they would like. How about the friend idea, segways, water parks, Disney Quest, renting boats, adult dinners, pleasure island and when is of age buying a beer at places in epcot. I am very lucky that my 2 kids love DW as much as me and hope we can always go every year. We'll just adjust schedules and arrangements as demographics change. I wouldn't giv e him the choice to stay home though and don't let him pout either. Its like visiting grandparents. Teens sometimes feel bored but feel good about going.

 

[Dopey's twin Dippy]

my dd is now 16 1/2, so the last few summers we have brought a friend. it worked out great for all of us. and last summer with the discounts she brought 2 friends, had 2 rooms at asmusic. they are really close friends, and we have had great times with all her friends to. they also buy their own tickets, if we eat somewhere nicer we pay of course. but their moms wanted them to pay for what ever they want ed to buy, and if they were down the pool they would just pay for food. there was no problem at all. but we are all good friends, so we knew before we left ,what their moms wanted them to pay for. not to sound cheap, but it all worked out GREAT. ..we didnt get to go this summer, and of course im so depressed.........haha......we started going in the summer when she couldnt miss school. we used to go in oct.

 

[mickeyfan2]

How about offering a surfing lesson at Typhoon Lagoon.

If that does not work, then leave him home, but he has to stay at a relatives house.