How has your trips changed as your kids got older?

[Nebraska_Disney]

We have been taking our kids to Orlando/Disney World since they were 2 years old. We started staying on Disney property about 6 years ago and we try to go every other year. We are not going this summer, which is bumming me and my daughter out the most, but are planning on one more Disney trip next summer before we suggest another type of vacation.

my son will be 14 next summer and my daughter will be 11. They have been going to Disney for years and both really enjoy it. My question is, how have your trips to WDW changed as your kids became teens/pre-teens? I know our last trip, we did very little character meet n greets. My daughter was more interested in going to Cirque de Solei last time and my son enjoyed the WDW Fishing adventure. We did less of the shows and tried to do things we had never done before in all our previous trips. How have others seen their touring styles change? What did you do more/less of? Did you do more water park days? More/less table service meals? We typically will go for 9-10 days, so we don't rush anything.

Thoughts/Ideas/Suggestions on what to expect next time?

 

[Mikie]

I'm interested in this as well. My last trip my youngest was 7 but we traveled with younger cousins too, so we still were in preschooler mode somewhat. Our next trip will probably be when my kids range from 9 or 10 up to 15 or 16. I can already tell we will do fewer (possibly no?) character meals. I'm sure we'll do fewer character meets and maybe not any. I think we'll finally be at a park at closing more than once in a trip and maybe even use EMH for a change.

 

[disneywarriorprincess]

I don't have any kids but i went to disney at 4,7,9, and recently 2x when i was 17. We did mostly character greets and kiddie rides at 4. 7&9 i remember more thrill rides and less character greets. These last 2 visits we did extra magic hours every day and i did all the thrill rides but also a lot of character meals because i hadn't been in a long time.

 

[margot31]

I can't say for when I have kids cause mine is only 8 months. But I can remember when I was 17. It was my high school graduation gift. A big family trip to Disney world. I can say it was fun. More new rides compared to the last time I went which was probably at 10. My parents trust my two older sisters and I to go around the park alone and just meet up at the end to leave the park (we stayed off property at that point) It was fun. Now when I have been with my parents as an adult it was even better cause I could drink with my dad and we all acted like kids. I can't wait to be able to take my kid and can only hope as he gets older he can appreciate Disney as much as I did even at than 17 years old.

 

[amandals2007]

ive been every year since i was 8 and im 26 now. i hate it say it but i still LOVE the meet and greets lol i stil wait in like to see characters but not a much anymore, if i really want to see a character i will but we will book character meals now to see them. except ariel i wait in line for her EVERY trip no exceptions. my parents and i do the drinking around the world challenge now (im an only child too fyi) and we spend more time en epcot enjoying the culture and DTD exploring. we also do the behind the scenes tours too.

 

[mickeymom629]

As my kids got older, they enjoyed the thrill rides together (I was the wimpy FP "runner" ) and they have continued to love Disney.

We started taking them when they were 2,4,6 and I was 5 months pregnant with my youngest in 1993. We became DVC owners in 1999, so that solidified where we were going on vacation .

Every year I tried to plan one new thing - either a new resort (DVC), or a new TS restaurant, or snorkeling in the Living Seas, parasailing at the Contemporary, fishing at the Boardwalk, Segway tour, miniature golfing near the Boardwalk, renting a mouse boat (?) at OKW. I really miss the DTD comedy clubs. We were able to take them once before they closed.

One DS lives in L.A. now and goes to DL/DCA, and is going to be taking his new bride to WDW for their belated honeymoon in November. We took all kids in Jan. 2013 and stayed with our DVC points in a BWV grand villa, so that was very cool!! Another DS and his fiance (the only "non-family" member who could come) took pictures with characters.

They can all enjoy a cocktail in Epcot, or wherever we are dining!

They are all looking forward to going again but, with everyone older, it's harder to plan when. At least we don't have to stick to school schedules as soon as my youngest graduates college
And, as they get jobs, they are responsible for paying for some things themselves.

It is our family's happy place and, though we don't go as often as we used to, they love reliving their memories when we go.

 

[PlutoFan76]

When we went when my daughter was 8, the trip included CRT and we couldn't make it all the way around the world showcase because her feet hurt. For our 2015 trip, my daughter was 17. At the last minute she wanted to meet Ana and Elsa. I was able to get a last minute fast pass for one and she used memory maker to get the pics. She was more than old enough to go by herself. Plus, it was food and wine festival. I think she enjoyed meandering around EPCOT and trying the food even more than I did. We shared different food and she loved food she would have never tried when she was younger. I love my Disney memories of her when she was young, but I get to to go at a pace more comfortable to me and do more adult things now.

 

[dugthetalkingdog]

I have been going to WDW with my kids since my daughter was 2 1/2. My son who is 24 no longer goes with us, but my daughter who is now 20 is still a kid at heart. Now when we go, we
focus on a certain theme..In May we went for Star Wars weekend and did all the activities related to Star Wars..Mickey Jedi Dining, Galactic Breakfast, Feel the Force Premium Package etc. Thanksgiving
trip, we will focus on Christmas decorations and MVMCP, and Tea Time at GF. She still loves to meet the characters and even get their autographs. The May trip she was so thrilled when she met
Beast at BOG and they danced. The trips now are more fun, because we are not rushing park to park and trying to see and do everything. We can take our time and find the Magical Secrets at WDW.

 

[dprincessmom]

We started taking DD at 5 - this trip she is 11, gone every year since 5...

• Standing in line for Meet and Greets is mostly a thing of the past. If there is a new character (last time A&E with FP+; this time perhaps Baymax) maybe, but usually no one else she wants to stand in line for. First few trips, we spent a lot of time in line for those M&G.
• Dining - Character Meals are fewer and farther between. We will do Ohana each trip, but unless she requests, I think we are done. This will change when the younger cousins are old enough but for now (and no extended family trips) more choices and a little easier to get.
• The Water Park and Fun option - the last trip we had this we used most of ours, typically we would only use 2 or 3. Not getting this trip and she is kind of bummed, but we are staying deluxe so we will have some resort time )
• Rides are still important but there's no pressure to ride everything. We have our favorites and we have our "oh no, not riding that agains" and we are ok with this.
• Other things in parks - SOTMK game, pin trading, pressed pennies - DD loves all of these and is willing to forgo something else for the time to do this.

Example for our upcoming trip:
AK - rope drop EE, Kali, Primevil Whirl, Dinosaur and maybe Safari, hop to MK to play SOTMK, pick up a FP+ or 2 for lower priority rides.
MK - rope drop, midday break, return trip to MK.
Epcot - rope drop TT, Soarin, Figment, Mission Space, Spaceship Eart; hop to MK to play SOTMK, FP+ for lower priority rides.
HS - rope drop, Frozen stuff, RNR, TT, GMR, TSMM, ST, Animation Academy (a couple of times) and rerides as available.

 

[Simba's Mom]

OMG-as a mother who took her sons to WDW about every 2 years from the time they were about 3, it was always so interesting to see the difference in interests from one trip to the next. At their youngest visit, they did lots of character meals, but by the time they were teenagers, the closest they wanted to get to a character meal was when we went to Whispering Canyon Cafe. And DS #1 did his first ride on Space Mountain at age 7. Ironically, as they got older they liked Peter Pan's Flight more. They were fascinated by the way the Imagineers scaled it (Yes, they became engineers). We just took our DGDs for their first trip to WDW at ages 2 and 4. Now I can't wait to take them again in a few years to watch their growth. Will the little one still love IASW? Will she be afraid of The Magic Carpets of Aladdin still? Will they want to spend as much time in the resort's pool?

 

[Nebraska_Disney]

Great replies and appreciated too. It is hard to know what my 14 year old son and 11 year old daughter will be into or want to do, but we will have fun regardless. My daughter has already mentioned going to Cirqu again. Would love to hear from more of you on this topic.

 

[Princesspolly0110]

Honestly.. I got older and kept going and my parents stopped going lolololol. I'm sure you'll love having a trip with older kiddos!

 

[ColoradoDis]

As my kids have gotten older, we have done water skiing and the "mouse sprite" boats. Also, they are much more adventurous about food - gives us a chance to try new restaurants. They still love the classic rides but also like Animation Academy which is more difficult for the younger ones. In a few years, your kids will be old enough for some of the backstage tours - very fun. You can also investigate "Dining with an Imagineer".

We've been taking trips since our oldest was 3 (now 27) and our youngest started at 2 (now 23). Every trip has been fun. Still taking trips and took our son-in-law for his first Disney trip (age 25) a few years ago. This year we upgraded our tickets to annual passes and we're going for it - 4 trips, including one with just my husband and me and another one to see the Christmas decorations.

Have fun.

P.S. Nebraska_Disney - I grew up in Beatrice, NE - still visit family often.

 

[Lisaloo]

It gets easier! Less gear to tote around, independence for the kids and they are so helpful now. I loved the magical times when they were younger, but I can honestly say I have enjoyed my kids more on each trip we have taken.

 

[Planogirl]

Our biggest changes were more dining in full serve places and no interest in meeting characters. I can't say that I minded.

 

[ciera321]

We haven't changed our touring style much at all. We started taking our oldest when he was 4 back in 1989, and our youngest when he was 3 in 1996. We do eat at much nicer Disney restaurants these days, but we still take afternoon breaks like we did when our boys were young. We still get to the parks at least 60 minutes before posted park opening. And we still have that giddy excitement when we drive onto Disney property. One thing we have changed is, we don't buy that many souvenirs anymore. Just a few items that we can use on a daily basis to remind us of DW. We are definitely hooked, as my DH and are have 3 trips planned within then next year and a half, plus were just got back home last month.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

My kids have 5 and 6 trips under their belts, respectively, but they're only 5 and 8. I'm already seeing a change in the way they do the parks. We do fewer character M&Gs now than we did on our earlier trips, which I'm happy about. We no longer feel the need to do everything and instead stick to our favorite things. Pool time is a must now...before it wasn't so important. But the biggest recent change is that they requested to go to Universal and cut time away from Disney on our last trip. We're going again in October, and my daughter, whose birthday is falling during the trip (just a coincidence) requested that she spend her birthday at Universal and wants to have dinner at the Hard Rock rather than Chef Mickey's.

 

[aretha30]

As our kids have gotten older we've added more TS meals. Next year we will be adding the water parks for first time. We are also looking at some of the tours and trying to decide which one they would like best. There is such a variety of things to do for older kids; our vacation evolves each year as our kids change.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

Whoops. Wrong post!

 

[kathy884]

Ages 12 - 19 // Went annually -- usually just for a long weekend. Stayed offsite on every visit -- hotel for short visits/condos for full week. Often had extended family join us. In these seven years and seven trips five were just two or three days and two were full weeks. Hit whatever we fancied on mini trips, as no big discounts. // DS loves all the parks, but order of preference is #1 SeaWorld, #2 Disney with Magic Kingdom being the favorite, and #3 Universal (enjoying their parks more with the new areas). // On mini trips we usually just hit two theme parks -- usually SeaWorld and the Magic Kingdom. // One week long trips we usually hit three parks plus do a second day at SeaWorld as it's only $15. One day at Universal is plenty and is typically only done for a full week and we get the hopper. Sometime when we just have two days, we get the hopper for our one day at Disney and hit two parks.

Now that DS is 19 from seven years in a row, I'm a little burned out on Orlando, and for our mini get-a-ways have been doing New York City instead. Just did that -- enjoyed it and am doing it again next year instead of Orlando (more appealing to me and DS just loves NYC -- even as much as he loves Orlando). It is more expensive than Orlando too, FYI, -- lodging and food are way more, and a Broadway show is similarly priced to a one day theme park ticket. Also FYI -- DH hates Orlando, so never comes on those trips. He can tolerate NYC though.

Our main vacation is always somewhere other than Orlando or New York that appeals to all three of us // Last five years and upcoming -- Sedona, Yellowstone, Cruise out of San Juan, Kauai, Puerto Vallarta, -- coming up Estes Park/Rocky Mountain National Park -- next year Blackhills/Badlands/Mt. Rushmore area

FYI -- I've done about 38 Orlando trips since 1971 DS is almost 20 and has done 11 Orlando trips. I actually enjoyed taking him to Orlando more when we was 12 + than I did when he was little, hence the mini annual trip. For the seven years I picked it, it was the most fun thing I could think of to do with my son with our mini budget, and each trip was an absolute blast. Looks like, though, I'm entering another phase -- my city phase.