Help!!! What should I do?

[PandaBear & Boo]

Last night at dinner we were discussing our up coming trip. Which we leave in a few days for. Since I have planned the whole thing some of which is surprises for them I could only say so much. So as I am having fun with the family and them trying to guess where we are eating and so on and so forth. My 16 year old DS turns to me and says "I don't want to go to Disney!" WHAT!?! What do you mean you don't want to go to Disney. We are leaving in a few days and you tell me now that you don't want to go. I can't cancel the trip because you don't want to go. Whether you like it or not mister you are going with the rest of the family and that is final!! What do I do now? How am I going to make this trip better then the last ones we've had. We were just in Disney in January and had a blast. What can I do different this time around? My DS is a great kid. I think he is at that awkward age where you don't want to do anything with your family and you don't want to be seen with your parents. Help!!! What should I do?

 

[Bill From PA]

Had a similar issue with my then 14 yr old son a few years back. Since he was a Disney veteran and an otherwise sensible kid with an understanding of the WDW transportation system, we cut him loose. Once he realized his schedule was his own, he decided to spend most of the time with the family group, had a good time with us and only split off to see more of the fireworks than we had scheduled, plus a little arcade time. Problem solved.

Bill From PA

 

[matt&jakesmom]

Oh those teenage years of not being seen with family. Took me one trip with my friends to realize that mom and dad always paid for everything and now I had too. So when my parents took a trip up north and I asked about going they said no we don't want to be seen with "kids". Yeah they "got me". All kids go thru and you live and learn.

If you are going into a particular park you could always set up a meeting place. Do you have cell phones? I noticed on our recent trip a lot of people were using them to find out where the family was.

Hope it all works out. Maybe he was just joking with you to get a "rise" out of you. If that is the case, it worked.

 

[shellynn24]

I would say take him with you and let him go on his own in WDW. There is so much to do there he might just end up loving it. My parents used to take us to WDW every year as teenagers, and we only saw them for dinner. This is how I learned how to navigate Disney transportation on my own. If you give him his spending budget before he goes off on his own you might just find that he has found his way back to Mom and Dad before long

 

[tjmouse]

Ditto. I was going to say the same - turn him loose and let him do his own thing. Maybe a special trip to Disney Quest or surfing lessons at Typhoon Lagoon (if you can get a ressie, plus kind of pricey) or let him rent a boat (I think he can do that if he's 16). Anything to get him excited about it. I remember going at that age!!

 

[Smooshdog]

It could be that your son was just having a bad day, 16 would put be high school, so maybe the cute girl at school sat by him and he doesn't want to miss that! Take him, he'll go and have fun, but ask if there is something he wants to do and go do it, and give him a couple hours to run around by himself each day. Hope it works out!

 

[Hannathy]

He may just be tired of going to Disney- I know that is hard for some of you to believe but it is true. If you have already been there this year it may be it. It is too late for this trip but before the next trip he may prefer doing something else like use what you would spend on him to go to camp or something, Would he be happier if he took a friend? Would he just be happier to stay home maybe with a friend or family. Is he missing school or some school or sport activity? these things gain importance to teens over going to Disney. I don't think teens should be excused from all family trips but I don't think I would like to go twice in one year either. Why did he say he didn't want to go? For this trip I would give him his freedom to enjoy it whatever way he wanted. (which will probably be different than your way)

 

[Duane]

Is there any way you "fit" one of his friends into the group? I know WDW is much more fun if you have someone to share it with.... Tell him he can bring a friend if the friend pays for his own park tickets, but can use what ever accomodations that you all will be using.... Just a thought....

Duane