How to get a 14 year old excited about Disney trip

[Vickilynn42]

I think it's good you are not giving him the money if he doesn't go. I know it's a hard situation to be in, you want this to be a great vacation for everyone and it's only natural to want him to be excited- I really feel your frustration. But I wouldn't allow one of my children to dictate for the rest of us where and how our family trips will be spent. They are expensive vacations, and don't happen every year, so we all appreciate them immensely. My kids are 15, 17 and 20 and would have their bags packed by tonight if they had the opportunity to go again to DW. They have been there 3 times and had a blast each trip.

Personally, if it was one of my kids, I would set a deadline for him to make up his mind- one coming up soon. Either he comes along with you and has an enthusiastic attitude to make it enjoyable for the rest of the family, and worth your money: or he comes with you and hangs out at the resort and has to keep himself entertained (with the knowledge that you are not going to buy him tickets to the park if he changes his mind once he's there): or he stays home with his grandparents with no monetary compensation, and that is that. But that is how I would handle it and everyone is different. If he chooses not to go, and sees how much fun the rest of the family had, maybe it would be a lesson learned. A hard one of course, and yes, it would break your heart- but it might teach him to appreciate these things more.

Whatever you decide to do, I wish you the best, and hope that you have a very happy family vacation next year!

 

[WDWJonasGirl]

That was me on my last trip. I brought my yearbook from 8th grade to look at on the plane and I would text my friends while at Disney World.

 

[15isto2]

Hmm how to get a 14yo boy interested..... tell him their will be Girls at disney

 

[DisneyRookie2007]

The last 2 trips my DS wasn't "enthused" about going to the parks. He likes the thought of travelling, airplanes, hotels, restaurants etc...just not a big park fan....."been there...done that" attitude.

For most rides, he'd wait in the gift shops while the rest of the family went on the rides.

He did love the waterparks though !

This trip he's staying home with his grandparents. We're bring our DD for her grad trip and she doesn't want him there. No biggie for him though - he doesn't really care about going.

 

[pepe of ohio]

The day a 14 year old dictates what he will do and not do.....doesn't fly in our household.....as long as you're under my roof and I'm feeding you and paying the bills...you have no say or options.......everyones goes, no questions asked and how you spend your time there, you will particapate.....sorry if that's harsh but it's how I was brought up and how we raised our children, until you are on your own.....no bartering or options...period!

 

[Bob NC]

Last night my 14 year old boy decided to tell me he does not want to go to Disney World.

What if he says he doesn't want to go to school?

 

[MissManda]

Whew, what a busy week its been. I'm happy to say that we sat down and had a nice talk with DS and he's on board with the Disney vacation.

All along we had been debating on whether or not to add the Water Park and More option to our tickets. After talking about what he would like to do, looks like we'll be adding them on so we can spend time at the water parks and then have some time at Disney Quest. Should be fun and a new experience for all of us! Will probably be a nice break from the other parks in the June heat.

Appears to have been a typical case of the poor down trodden teenager trying to get attention syndrome.

Plane tickets have been purchased and vacation planning has begun again.... and I told him that now that the tickets have been purchased he was not changing his mind and any more "lip" about not wanting to go would be met with the "strictest penalty" I could think of.....Princess Breakfast at Epcot with pictures to follow on facebook. (that should keep him in line for a little while at least!!!)

 

[MissManda]

What if he says he doesn't want to go to school?

There is a big difference between a 14 year old not wanting to go on vacation and not wanting to go to school. Obviously school is mandatory and he knows that.

I was raised to believe that vacations are a reward for all the hard work you put in during the year. My kids work hard all year at school. We hold them to a high standard at school and they meet those expectations. Trip like this are just as much a reward for them as it is for us. While it would be disappointing to not have everyone there, I don't want to force my kids into something that is supposed to be a reward.

I also believe that at 14, he's old enough to start making some decisions on his own. I want to know that he's capable of thinking for himself and working through his decisions and understanding the consequences of his actions. Although I don't want to think about it, he'll be driving in a few short years. I want to know when we do turn him loose the first time (as hard as that will be) that he has those critical thinking skills. When we talked to him, we had him explain his reasons for not wanting to go. We also made him think about what would happen if he didn't go (how would it make the rest of the family feel, what would he do if he stayed home, how would he feel later on knowing he missed out on a family trip, etc). What it boiled down too, is that he didn't want to go because he thought it would be just for the younger kids. So, we agreed to let him in on some of the planning and pick specific things he wanted to do. He admitted that he wouldn't want anyone to be sad if he didn't go and that he would probably regret if later if he didn't. Had he decided he didn't want to go, yes it would have hurt my feelings but I would have let him stay home with his grandparents. I do think that he would have regretted it but I do think that he would have learned a valuable life lesson.

For what its worth, he happens to be a very good student: honor roll, several years of perfect attendance, all advanced classes, sports, etc. Yes, I'm bragging but in general he's a great kid that we are very proud of. But he is also very much a typical moody teenager some times. He's also our oldest and so navigating these teenage years is a new experience for us as well! Hopefully we'll learn a few things a long the way because I think his little sister is gonna be a whole lot worse!

 

[cajunbaby1]

Aren't teenage boys a pain in the A..? Boy am I glad mine are now 19 and 21 (course that's a whole nother set of problems).

When we went back in 2005 and they went; we gave them a little time to roam and do something on their own while me and dtr then aged 5 went to the Princess luncheon at EPCOT. Of course they couldn't leave the park; but it gave them a chance to do something without the "girls" around for a while. We then met up at deignated spot and time and continued the day.

Maybe he would like to plan on doing that too? Best of luck on your trip

 

[Blackbeltdisneygirl]

I didn't read all the responses, but my son likes to say those things just to irritate me. He says he'd rather go to a Led Zepellin concert than Disney. He does love Disney though. He wasn't super excited until he actually went and experienced it with us. Have you ordered the planning video? I think it helped my nephew who thinks he's too cool. It has a lot of fun stuff on it.

I am of an opposite frame of mind of some of the posters. My kids don't get an option b/c there is no way I will be in a different state than my kid. That's just me though. I don't like to be away from my kids. That's probably why I homeschool. We figure it will ruin our vacation if they don't come b/c we will be sad they aren't there. Once he gets there he will have a blast anyway. I told my son that yes, he will have to sit through some princess things. That's okay b/c the girls would sit through his stuff too. I made him a princess magnet shirt for the castle so he got excited about going there. He understands now that though all the rides aren't thrill rides, they are still fun, and even though he does have to sit through some girly things, the good outweighs the bad for him. He loves it. I hope you are able to work it out with him. You will probably be much happier if he does go, and he will probably be too even if he doesn't realize it now.

I guess if it were me and I wanted my son to go, I wouldn't worry too much about how he feels right now. He doesn't have much to go on right now, and he's at "that" age. Once he gets there, he won't regret going, and then will be able to decide for himself the next time you decide to go. You may have to bring him and wait for the attitude to change. If it doesn't, you can always leave him to chill at the pool like others said. That way you won't have to deal with mopey pants at the parks. I have a feeling he will be fine though. Maybe getting the video and sitting down as a family to watch it will help though. That's what we like to do.

 

[Karbase8]

My DS11 was not enthused about going to WDW mainly because I obessed abut the planning and talked about Disney all of the time LOL LOL. He was saying "leave me home, leave me home" I must say when we got there he had a excellent time and is willing to go back again. You know your child best, I would not mention it and just book it and say your going LOL or if he really feels strongly maybe he should stay home. Teenagers are very moody and they change their minds in an instant, I would just say this "I know you are not thrilled about going to WDW with your family, your growing up and all, but I would really love it if you came with us as this is a special time a family vacation soon you will be entering adulthood and we may not get this chance again" acknowlege that this may be "corny" for him or whatever and then see if he would change his mind that way?