How to get DS14 excited about the trip

[smylie1]

My DS14 is not the least bit excited about our upcoming trip! He doesn't even act excited that he'll be missing a few days of school. He's never been one to show much emotion about anything, but it's driving me crazy! I mean come on! It's WDW!!! Any suggestions about getting him "in" to it?

 

[bigbabyblues]

Tough one. A day at Disney Quest? That's about all I've got....

 

[PlutoPony]

DS 13 probably wouldn't be excited about missing a couple of days of school because of the amount of work he'd have to make up. Could that be part of the issue?

 

[kileybeth]

Has he been before? Maybe he doesn't know all there is to do? We are very comfortable giving our teen boys some freedom as well to go and do what they are intrested in while we take younger kids on their rides.

Ask him what he would like out of the trip, he may suprise you! If he has been before maybe it is just a case of his friends teasing him about going again or saying it's a baby amusment park.

some of my teens favorite things. Pool of course, arcade hopping, evening EMH, Innovations, Mission Space, Disney Quest, and water parks.

forgot, downtown Disney and figuring out how to manuver around on all the different Disney transport (monorail, buses, boats)seemed to entertain mine as well

 

[Aliceacc]

When the Seniors at my school go down, they all rave about Tower of Terror and Expedition Everest. Is he aware that it's not all Mickey Mouse and Cinderella??

How about the restaurants-- do you want to give him some say in the meals?

Does he have a cell phone? Can you arrange it so that he'll have a little time away from younger siblings-- either on his own or with dad-- to do those thrill rides?

Has he seen pictures of the pool? The arcades? Does he have an IPOD or something he can bring along?

How about DDT-- is there anything there to interest him?

 

[eventsdj]

My son (16) , was not the least bit excited eithor, so he's staying home with grandpa.
I didn't want to drag a miserable kid around the parks, and pay big bucks to do it.
He's much happier to hang with his grandpa and buddies, and NOT miss all the homework.
(and he's been there before, so we let him decide for himself)

 

[trivial]

As long as he's willing to go, I'd say just wait until he sees it... the lower his expectations, the more surprised he'll be. I can't imagine a teenager not wanting to go, but I would have no concerns about them not enjoying themselves... I just can't see that happening.

 

[kileybeth]

oh yes, ToT and EE were absolute favorites this time with our 2 teens.

to the OP has he been before? still wondering if he may be getting the teasing a bit by those (jeolous but not willing to admit it kids) or as my DS15 is a very quiet type kid I can totally understand having one who just doesn't voice his excitement very much. let us know how it goes.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

At 14 I wouldn't be taking a kid out of school for a few days for a trip. That is a LOT of school to miss and a lot of homework/classwork to make up. Your son is probably totally stressed about what he will be missing in school while he is away, and how he will ever make it up. I would have lost my mind from stress if my parents had taken me out of school for a few days for a trip when I was 14. That's the freshman year of high school! I never would have made up the work and I would have been behind the 8 ball for the rest of the semester. Is there any way that this kid can stay home with family or trusted friends so he doesn't have to miss school for this trip

 

[katyjeka]

Our 12 year old daughter was not excited before we left, except for the plane ride. Well, once we arrived she got into it and we had a fantastic trip. I think once you arrive your son will be great. Have a wonderful trip. Janice

 

[baybemama]

At 14 I wouldn't be taking a kid out of school for a few days for a trip. That is a LOT of school to miss and a lot of homework/classwork to make up. Your son is probably totally stressed about what he will be missing in school while he is away, and how he will ever make it up. I would have lost my mind from stress if my parents had taken me out of school for a few days for a trip when I was 14. That's the freshman year of high school! I never would have made up the work and I would have been behind the 8 ball for the rest of the semester. Is there any way that this kid can stay home with family or trusted friends so he doesn't have to miss school for this trip

Well, on the contrary, I would be thrilled to miss school for a few days and I did in fact, to go to Disney on multiple occasions. It was pretty common for kids to be gone...in fact...we even missed school for a few school trips and kids that played sports would often miss a class at the end of day if they had to travel for a game. Teachers didn't seem to mind too much and they gave me work to take with me. It didn't take much to catch up at all...so I guess it's different for every kid. At 14 I was also entering the world of angst many teengagers seem to enter which involves appearing apathetic to anything our parents do for us so maybe he's just not expressing his excitement...yet.

 

[trivial]

At 14 I was also entering the world of angst many teengagers seem to enter which involves appearing apathetic to anything our parents do for us so maybe he's just not expressing his excitement...yet.

That's what I would guess as well. Taking a teenager out of classes for a bit doesn't seem like a big issue to me.

 

[kileybeth]

I would have to assume (yeah, yeah, I know) the OP knows her son well enough to know whether taking him from school or not is a big deal. I would really love to hear more from the OP. We have traveled to Disney many times throughout the school years and never had an issue. I personally would not set foot in Disney over the summer months. So to each his own! I imagine there are many of us on both sides of that issue!

Our kids are 25, 20, 15, 12, 5, and 2. Every single one of them has had at least one trip that did not excite them the way I would have liked. They did still enjoy the trip, just not the way I would imagine them doing it. Point of our trips has been many faceted each time. to relax for Mom, to see it all for Dad, to ride ride ride for the tweens and toddlers, to see shows for the girls, to do water parks for boys, to shop for Mom, to find something new each time for Dad, on and on it goes. Never the same trip twice.

Hopefully OP will come back on and tell us how it is going! we all know what a tough age 14 can be if only from looking back at our own lives!

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

That's what I would guess as well. Taking a teenager out of classes for a bit doesn't seem like a big issue to me.

I'm in the process of becoming a high school math teacher, and it WILL be a big deal to me if one of my students is missing a few days of class to go on a vacation. High school is a tough age to miss a few days of school for a vacation. Playing catch up for weeks or months in 8 different classes won't be fun. I would just have wigged out if my parents had done this to me when I was in high school. It makes me cringe just to imagine having to catch up on all of that work

 

[Christy LOVES Disney]

i know a bunch of kids that missed class for family vacations. usually they would go talk to the principal and then they would communicate with the teacher or the student would. not all people can take summer trips or are willing to. I don't think any of my teachers ever had any problems with this as long as they were pre-warned. To the person in the process of becoming a math teacher you are in for a rude awakening when your kids dont show up for class due to family vacations.

 

[smylie1]

OMGosh! I haven't been receiving email notifications! I didn't know anyone had responded!

First let me thank KileyBeth for acknowledging the fact that I do know my son and what he is capable of doing. He is in the eighth grade, he just turned 14 so he is still in middle school. He is in AG classes and does very well academically. I have spoken to all 4 of his teachers and all are fine with our trip, if not a little jealous. It is over the MLK holiday so he will actually only be missing 3 days, 1 of which is "Raider Day" (if they've earned enough "Raider Bucks" they can cash them in for a day of games and free time), and here's the kicker...I'm a teacher! I have children every year taken out of my class for vacations, you just roll with it. But I HONESTLY DO NOT want this thread to turn into the old "should or shouldn't take kids out of school for vacation" arguement. Those are very tiring.

Since posting, he has said that on our last trip, which was also our first, we we're too rushed. He is right about that! He is very laid back like DH, I on the other hand, wanted to take the parks by storm! I told him this time would be different since we have been before and knew what we wanted to do again and what things to avoid.

He does have an iPod and a cell phone, so perhaps those things will keep him entertained if the parks do not.

He is a very responsible 14 year old. Considering the fact that he does have a cell phone, would you allow your 14 year old to return to the room to nap on his own? He asked about that and I'm just torn on the idea. What do you think?

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

To the person in the process of becoming a math teacher you are in for a rude awakening when your kids dont show up for class due to family vacations.

At the school I expect to teach at, I don't think that kids would **dare** do this. It's a school of choice (like a charter), and you get the boot back into regular public school if you go against any rules or if you don't pass the exams every year. The parents of these kids have to go through a lottery to even get their kids in, and they have to be motivated enough to help their kids stay once they are in. That is why I have chosen this school...the focus is on education, period. I think that they would laugh their you-know-whats off if a family asked to take a kid out of this school for a vacation. Actually, I think they would show them the door and instruct them as to how to enroll their child in the regular public high school

 

[smylie1]

At the school I expect to teach at, I don't think that kids would **dare** do this. It's a school of choice (like a charter), and you get the boot back into regular public school if you go against any rules or if you don't pass the exams every year. The parents of these kids have to go through a lottery to even get their kids in, and they have to be motivated enough to help their kids stay once they are in. That is why I have chosen this school...the focus is on education, period. I think that they would laugh their you-know-whats off if a family asked to take a kid out of this school for a vacation. Actually, I think they would show them the door and instruct them as to how to enroll their child in the regular public high school

To each his own. My children are young for only a little while, I intend to make the best of it! He is a straight A student in AG classes. I feel I am focused on formal education as well as education through life experience. That's all I'm going to say on this subject.

 

[smylie1]

My son (16) , was not the least bit excited eithor, so he's staying home with grandpa.
I didn't want to drag a miserable kid around the parks, and pay big bucks to do it.
He's much happier to hang with his grandpa and buddies, and NOT miss all the homework.
(and he's been there before, so we let him decide for himself)

I asked him if he would rather stay with his grandparents, but he said he wanted to go. I think it's probably like someone else said about it just being his age. I think maybe it wouldn't be "cool" to show excitement. I'm hoping once we're on our way he'll that he really did have a great time last time.