my 7 year old doesn't wanna go to Disney

[JB2K]

My son said, "I dont want to go on vacation to stand in line, that is not fun" Seriously, Disney is not a vacation, you need a vacation after that vacation....LOL

Today's kids are a lot smarter than many parents give them credit for. They know the value of standing in line not being fun -- plus, a vacation is doing what the vacationer wants to do, on the vacationer's terms.

I think a lot of what motivated the original post on this thread is television advertising/marketing -- Universal Orlando, for example, is amped-up with characters such as Spider-Man and Shrek. Even without shuttle launches, Kennedy Space Center comes-across as way cool for the science-minded. Meanwhile Disney is...well, Disney - complete with Princesses and Fairies!

Add to that the "overload" of Princesses and Fairies that has been taking place at the MK over the past couple of years (at the expense of gender-neutral attractions such as "Mickey's Toontown Fair"), and you might get the idea of where the young men in your household are coming-from in their reluctance to go to the "happiest place on earth".

In Disney's defense, they could do a better job at marketing "what's cool" about their parks/resorts -- many people, particuarly those who've never been there, think it's a kiddie park with Mickey and friends.

 

[ceecee]

My DD still loves it at 15. She also said she'd rather do Disney than go to England this year, she said she'll visit England while at Epcot! At 7 he is still too young to have an input so take him and he will have fun. Probably a jealous kid at school told him it was for babies (they've obviously never been there!). My friend is taking her 14 yr old GS troop and one of the girls said they were too old for Disney...she had no idea until they started making their list of to dos...get some books for him to go thru. We loved the Birnbaum's Disney for kids book.

 

[ytown818]

To me this is a family vacation that you want all parties involved to enjoy. Yes you could force him to go and yes he may have a good time.....But I guess I wouldnt want to turn him off completely from Disney. There are so many other magical vacations that can be exciting and fun for everyone. What a few more years and he may be more than excited to go.

 

[Tiggernut_jadie]

i may be old-fashioned and sooo politically incorrect but...

when did we start ASKING our children for permission?? We all know he's going to enjoy it once he gets there. When I was a kid, we were told to get in the car. We never dreamed of telling our parents we didn't want to go.

Take him anyway...sometimes the few have to go along with the majority, whether it's their favorite option or not. If you leave him with Grandma, he won't like that either.

Please don't take this the wrong way but... since when does a 7 year old decide on vacations? I would tell him too bad, you should be thankful that you are even going. Then go, and you and your family (including the 7 year old) will have a wonderful time!

^^^THIS^^^

My DD is 10 and until she PAYS for her own vacation then she goes where we decide to go...She also knows that any stroppy behaviour will result in loss of privileges and even LESS say in what we do the following day.

Its called being the parent in the parent/child relationship!

 

[patsal]

My answer would be simple, you are only 7 so you don't have an option, however you do know that we wouldn't be doing the same things you did when you were 5.

If the protests continues, I woudl remind that a vacation is something you had hoped to do to include the whole family, however if he prefers not to go he can stay with Grandma, aunty, whoever while the rest of you go and have fun. At our house we call it the 25% off sale.

 

[MinnieForMe]

^^^THIS^^^

My DD is 10 and until she PAYS for her own vacation then she goes where we decide to go...She also knows that any stroppy behaviour will result in loss of privileges and even LESS say in what we do the following day.

Its called being the parent in the parent/child relationship!

Last week, we were at TL on Thursday and my kids were hoping to do BB on Friday. Dad and I were tired and said "no, we'll wait until next year for Blizzard Beach". They were not too happy since they have endless amounts of energy. Wouldn't you know my teen says "but mom we live in a democracy" implying that the 3 kids wanted to go to which I told him that HE lived in a dictatorship and I was the dictator. LOL. Surprisingly, they survived just fine at the resort pool that day!

It's still a surprise to me when my teen tries to override my authority. How much longer until he realizes that he doesn't win? I'm guessing til he's 20!

 

[sparklynails23]

My 11 and 13 year old sons had a great time on our trip. They said it was the best vacation ever. Their cousins were there for part of the trip, so that made a difference. They're old enough to enjoy the rides and the restaurants. We all liked the dive-in movies we saw, too. Just tell your son that the kids who say Disney is for babies are just jealous that they aren't going. That's probably the truth.

 

[patsal]

Last week, we were at TL on Thursday and my kids were hoping to do BB on Friday. Dad and I were tired and said "no, we'll wait until next year for Blizzard Beach". They were not too happy since they have endless amounts of energy. Wouldn't you know my teen says "but mom we live in a democracy" implying that the 3 kids wanted to go to which I told him that HE lived in a dictatorship and I was the dictator. LOL. Surprisingly, they survived just fine at the resort pool that day!

It's still a surprise to me when my teen tries to override my authority. How much longer until he realizes that he doesn't win? I'm guessing til he's 20!

DS will be 20 in a few months...he is just starting to get that!

 

[jackie101]

We have taken our childrena ages 10, 9, 7, & 7 to Disney once and Cancun once and they all voted on going back to Cancun this yr instead of Disney.

 

[honeydiane1953]

We have taken our childrena ages 10, 9, 7, & 7 to Disney once and Cancun once and they all voted on going back to Cancun this yr instead of Disney.

That's what I am talking about. Everybody does go crazy over Disney and sometimes different vaca's r relaxing. Disney as we all know is NOT! Fun yes but exhausting. Mix it up!