Need advice for sleepy head teen

[jmsvss]

Any advice on how to get a DD15 out of bed and to the parks EARLY so that we can enjoy WDW around Pres Week. I'm prepared to leave him in the room and have him join us later if he won't get up but I really hate for him to miss out. He hasn't been since 2002 and I don't know when we will be back.

 

[Eljay]

Hmmm, that's a tough one. You know how it's often a no-win situation with teenagers. If you are staying on property, they do very cute character wake-up calls. You could tell him that there is a call expected that will be especially for him.

It might be wise to just let him join you later, rather than dealing with a cranky, wet-blanket teen.

Good Luck!

 

[pixiepower1971]

At 15 I would give him your schedule and a cell phone and tell him to call when he is out of bed and ready to meet you. He may surprise you...especially is you plan something he really wants to do...I am not above bribing!

IMO there is nothing worse then a tired cranky kid at any age. Let him sleep if he needs it and you both get to enjoy your vacation your own way!

 

[dizplanner]

Two suggestions - first don't expect him to get up early every morning. Do a sleep in day every third day (i.e. two early days, sleep in day, two early days, sleep in, etc). Second, don't stay out late every night and expect him to get up the next day. Make sure he can get 8 hours of sleep, most if not all nights. In other words, plan a reasonable schedule so that he (and you) doesn't get too tired.

Second suggestion is to make a deal with him - ask him to try it your way for a day or two. He should see that by going early, he is avoiding the lines and getting to do more. Appeal to his logic (15 years olds do have some logic I think). If after a day or two, he would still rather sleep than get to the parks early, have him meet you when he gets up. After hearing what he is missing, he might change his mind and join you for the rest of the trip. If not, realize that it is his choice and his vacation too.

 

[JoEllen]

We have a 16 yr old DD and generally compromise on early mornings. We have made the trek to WDW at least twice a year for many years Since DD turned 14 the early morning treks have become less frequent. When we tried to force her it wasn't worth the grouch we lived with the rest of the day. So we chose certain days to sleep in (Epcot, AK and MGM days) and early days (usually MK and golf days). As long as she knows the plans for the week and is part of the planning process it works pretty well and no sulky teenager

Good luck with the circadian rhythms!

 

[NMAmy]

Well, I had to laugh at this post. WDW is the ONE place I can get dd to get up early.

I've found it very effective to whisper in her ear, "Good morning. The Rock-n-Rollercoaster is calling you." She hopped out of bed so quickly that she almost chipped my tooth!

She knows the benefit of ee and she knows I'll let her take a nap in the afternoon so she doesn't mind getting out of bed early.

 

[salmoneous]

At 15, he's old enough to be responsible for getting himself out of bed in the morning. If the only consequence is that *he* misses out, tell him he's on his own.

 

[jmsvss]

THANK YOU so much. This is so helpful. You're right, if I can convince him once in the beginning to get up early then he will at least have the experience to compare his preferred late mornings to and make an informed decision. This has worried me more than touring plan and ADRs.

Suzanne

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Just back with 3 teen ds and I have all but given up on early mornings in the parks. We have compromised. I read the paper and they sleep and we usually get going by 11 am. We took advantage of 2 extra magic evening hours. After all, its their vacation too. The one ds never gets out of bed. I have found the best tactic is not to give him any money or take away his charging card if we are at the disney hotel (poly), This time we were at the swan, so he knows he cant charge in the parks anyway. I said if you want to eat, get up etc. Sometimes we also have a meeting place etc. Food is usually my best point to cooperate on.

 

[Mic]

Don't tell your son where and what time lunch is until you walk through the gates! I have 3 teens myself that usually bring 3 of their sleepy-head friends along with them to Disney, and sometimes they miss a meal. I can usually convince one or two of them to go to a park early with me, but not all of them always go. On the last 2 trips we did a combination of Early entry and late nights in the parks, and that worked well. Their favorite park is MGM, so I plan an early-entry day and a late night there. For MK, they usually prefer doing the late-night "extra magic hours", but they sometimes accompany me to the early-entry to ride Space Mtn. early. On the last trip, they realized they needed to get to Epcot at opening to ride Soarin', but they whined and moaned about how tired they were all the way from the resort to the park. It was literally all they could do to get to Epcot by 9, and they left at 1 to (believe it or not) take a nap! But I was fine with that...I napped, too, and stayed at Downtown Disney until midnight that evening! Realistically, I wouldn't expect your son to spend all day/every day with the family, but I would expect him to spend at least a few hours with you everyday.