Oldest child getting tired of Disney!!

[BraveLittleToaster2]

We go to Disney about every other year, sometimes once a year. Our youngest two children love going and usually our oldest does too. We are planning our next trip and our oldest made a comment about "it's just Disney, we've been a bunch already"

He is 13. So teen years. He doesn't like Daredevil rides or coasters so mostly does rides his younger siblings like.

Anyone have this happen? What did you do? Keep going...Make a compromise and vacation somewhere else? We already have one other vacation planned for another place too. (Sigh)

 

[TwoMisfits]

We go to Disney about every other year, sometimes once a year. Our youngest two children love going and usually our oldest does too. We are planning our next trip and our oldest made a comment about "it's just Disney, we've been a bunch already"

He is 13. So teen years. He doesn't like Daredevil rides or coasters so mostly does rides his younger siblings like.

Anyone have this happen? What did you do? Keep going...Make a compromise and vacation somewhere else? We already have one other vacation planned for another place too. (Sigh)

I'd find vacations that work for everybody. Maybe that still means Orlando with a split with Disney and other attractions. Maybe that means entirely new places. Disney doesn't tend to cater to teen boy experiences, so it's not a surprise he might be "been there, done that"...

Having a teen myself, I've decided there are so many places we haven't been that I won't be able to take her to in less than 4 years, so we're actually planning to go all new places until she's in school...

 

[Westcoastwild]

Well, he could be just being blasé.

But it's also possible he's just hungering for something new. Something "real". As a teen, I got most excited about the nondisney portions of the Disney trips. Active vacations, new cities, educational stuff. You could ask him where he'd LIKE to go and see if it's in the budget.

Just a guess here, but he'd probably put up with Disney if a whole new country was involved. Or if you split your Disney time with a trip to NYC or SF (not sure what coast you're talking about.) or a national park.

As an adult, I'm back to loving Disney because it's an EASY vacation. No driving, no transit, constant entertainment all day long. But I think he's got to get past 21 (so he can drink) and see the complexities that go into planning his own vacations to get to that point.

 

[22Tink]

My son who's 17 chose not to come on our last 2 Disney trips and is skipping this year's trip too. His last trip was when he was when he was 14 and he didn't enjoy it at all. He loved it when he was little but he's definitely done with Disney now. That said, he has no problems with us going without him. My husband has also 'quit disney' so they went ocean fishing and they're planning to do another trip doing something that interests them both more. My girls (23, 21 and 8) all still love Disney though.

 

[wilkeliza]

Have you been doing non-Disney vacations over the years? I can imagine since he doesn't really like rides maybe it isn't a Disney thing. Maybe he just doesn't like amusement parks. Is there anything at Disney he likes that you can do the next trip to be special for him?

 

[Disney Khaleesi]

Could you take him over to the Universal for a day? I love Disney, but it wasn't an annual thing for me as a kid, and for a good reason. My dad wanted me to try other experiences, other types of travelling, and see other things. If Disney is commonplace, he may not find it special or exciting anymore, he may view Disney as just something that your family does. Do you travel elsewhere? Are there any school trips he can go on? I find independent travel really beneficial starting at that age.

 

[LilTinkFan]

My two have refused to discuss going back this summer. The older has mentioned Harry Potter once but otherwise they do not want to go...they have used the been there done that argument.

 

[fdefulvio]

We usually go to WDW every other year. Last trip, two years ago, we did Universal. This year my two oldest (DSs) will be 13 and 14, and my DD will be 8 1/2. We have a trip planned for WDD this August because I see this as the last trip that they will all still be "children".

I don't think they will lose their love of Disney, but two years from now they will all be in a more mature stage of their lives. I see how much more mature they are now than they were the last time we went four years ago (4 1/2, 9 and 10).

 

[Westcoastwild]

Could you take him over to the Universal for a day? I love Disney, but it wasn't an annual thing for me as a kid, and for a good reason. My dad wanted me to try other experiences, other types of travelling, and see other things. If Disney is commonplace, he may not find it special or exciting anymore, he may view Disney as just something that your family does. Do you travel elsewhere? Are there any school trips he can go on? I find independent travel really beneficial starting at that age.

If he doesn't like rides, he isn't going to like Universal. The HP thing is pretty cool if you're a fan or a really young kid or just like set design. But Universal is hellish if you don't like rides. I semi-enjoyed it the only time I went as as an adult, mostly because my motion sickness has subsided to the point that I can ride the coasters at least. But I hated it as a kid. Some kids just aren't into amusement parks. It's not a kiddie thing or familiarity thing- it's just an "amusement parks feel fake and too safe" thing.

Independent travel is pretty awesome but honestly until I was 18 I definitely preferred traveling with my family. Because in school tour groups, you have a lot less freedom and input, unless your parents are along...and then you're back to it being a family trip lol.

 

[BraveLittleToaster2]

We have been to NYC, Boston and Rhode Island as weekend trips. We are planning a trip with just him to Washington DC next summer, which he is excited about. We took him to Philadelphia when he was younger.

We are going to Cape Cod this summer (beaches) as well as Disney and are also planning on going to South Carolina next summer to visit family.

Thing with Disney is that we get large discounts due to being employees so we figure we should go as much as possible because you never know when that will no longer be available to you.

Perhaps I will talk to him more in depth about this. We usually try to do new things at Disney every time we go. This time we were going to do La Nouba. We've done mini golfing. We have taken our oldest on the animal kingdom safari trek tour, which he enjoyed.

Glad to hear it others have been through the same thing!!

 

[kreckl]

Could you take a friend for him? He's at a great age to be able to walk around a bit without you, have someone to enjoy the pools with, etc. Or could you go someplace else? I wouldn't feel good about "forcing " a trip to Disney ( or anywhere else.) It would be one thing if he'd never been and you want to expose him to someplace new, but he's been there. I would listen to him.

 

[melanielll]

Can he stay with a relative or friends? I wouldn't let one no vote sink the trip for everyone if it were at all possible. If not - in my house - he would have to suck it up and take one for the team.

My kids are grown. We have been almost every year for over 20 years. A few years we missed, and a few years we doubled up on. Their interest waned for a few years when my youngest was 8 or 9. We took a couple of off and when we started up again, everyone was back into it. It is interesting to me how different each trip can be. One year - it was all characters. Another - all rides. One year - MGM most days. The next year - all MK. We let them guide most of how days are spent.

 

[Hikergirl]

It could be his age, or because you go so often, or because he just isn't into it anymore.
Same thing happened to our family, the last trip we all took together was in 2013 when my youngest was 13. At that point it was pretty clear that he and my older ds had no interest or excitement over going to WDW again. I knew it was time to move on to another family vacation destination, one that we all can enjoy. That isn't to say we won't go back to WDW, dh and I went last Sept together, I plan on going Sept 2018 with some friends, and I can always talk dd in to a trip.
If you want to take the younger ones, you can still go with them, leave your oldest with a friend or relative.

 

[BraveLittleToaster2]

I've thought about asking a friend, though his best friend loves thrill rides and in sure that wouldn't work too well with my son not enjoying it.

I hate to cancel the trip only because my youngest is 3 and loves Disney and I want him to have the same experiences my older two got to have.

I could ask his grandparents to take him and I'm sure they wouldn't mind. I'll look into that.

I asked him where he would go if he could go anywhere in the country. What did he say? Hawaii. Haha. I don't think we will be affording those plane tickets anytime soon.

 

[MamaBelle4]

Honestly, if it were me, I'd take him. You aren't doing something he actively hates and forcing him to tag along, it is something he is bored by. Give him a little freedom to explore on his own. Reevaluate after this trip.

 

[mjkacmom]

My teens love camping (yuck), cruising, and the beach more than WDW.

 

[kreckl]

A three year old is happy on the escalator at the mall. No way would I ever put the likes of a three year old before a 13 year old. Imo, he's telling you what he thinks and I would strongly want to encourage that as he's headed into the teen years. If he's been many times he knows what he's talking about and it sounds like he's asking for different experiences/time with his family.
What is it he finds appealing about Hawaii? Maybe he's looking for a less hectic trip, or beach time, or something that includes nature....

 

[robndani]

Honestly, if it were me, I'd take him. You aren't doing something he actively hates and forcing him to tag along, it is something he is bored by. Give him a little freedom to explore on his own. Reevaluate after this trip.

I agree. While certain parts of the trip may not be his favorite there's still family meals, swimming in the pool, etc. Maybe let him completely plan one of the days - he may surprise you! Also, sometimes you have to do things in life that you might not love, but if Disney is that thing right now it's probably not so bad. My aunt let one of her kids miss a trip and she was miserable the whole time without him there. Have fun no matter what!

 

[janicept]

Time for Universal.

My gosh, I read some of the other posts that sound like kids don't even want to go on vacation. I don't have kids so really shouldn't respond but my god that sounds so spoiled. Just don't go on vacation or leave them with a friend or family member and you go with the ones that want to go.

We only took road trips growing up and mostly educational stuff. I don't recall having a choice in the matter or anyone caring if I wanted to go or not. LOL - maybe that's part of why I chose not to have kids. No concept of how to deal with them.

 

[MamaBelle4]

A three year old is happy on the escalator at the mall. No way would I ever put the likes of a three year old before a 13 year old. Imo, he's telling you what he thinks and I would strongly want to encourage that as he's headed into the teen years. If he's been many times he knows what he's talking about and it sounds like he's asking for different experiences/time with his family.
What is it he finds appealing about Hawaii? Maybe he's looking for a less hectic trip, or beach time, or something that includes nature....

She's trying to make it fair for her kids. DS13 went, what, 6 or 7 times before he decided he didn't like it anymore. IMHO, it isn't fair for a 13 year old to dictate vacations and the 3 year old miss out on her trips because big brother has gone already and is bored with it.