Teens and Disney

[kevin03]

Hey everyone. Soon, my family and I will be staying at the Disney Resort. There will be 8 of us. My one concern is my nephew. He's 17 and I'm worried that he'll not have a good time. You know at that age (15-19), they want to hang out with there friends or just want to be left alone. Now yes, I'm a Disney Pro, but this is something new to me. Is there any suggestions on what Teen Kids can do without being bored? Any suggestion will help.

Thanks and have fun planning.

Also, how do you put your ticker counter on your thread?

 

[Darcy03231]

Has he been to WDW before? If not, it will a completely new experience for him and I doubt he'll be bored.

I have teens (16 & 18) who have been to WDW multiple times. They now don't want to go anymore. We did spend a day at WDW in April (we did a US/IOA vacation) and had fun. We did all four parks in one day. We just hit the big rides (Rockin' Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, Toy Story Mania, Dinosaur, Test Track) and did some show and ended up at the Magic Kingdom for the fireworks (we also got a ride in on Pirates of the Carribean, the Haunted Mansion, and Small World - which we have to do, family joke). We also managed to catch some shows at DHS. Kids had a great time because they got to do the rides/shows they wanted to do and Mom had a great time because she was at WDW.

I would sit down with him and see what he's interested in doing. At 17 he's certainly old enough to wander around on his own and do his own thing if he's not interested in what you want to do. You might find there are some mornings he just wants to sleep in and hang out at the pool (my kids did this a couple of times during our week at US/IOA) and meet up with you later.

One thing I've found traveling with teens is if you try to force them into a vacation that they don't like/want to do, they can make the trip pretty miserable.

 

[kevin03]

Thanks, Darcy. That helped me alot. I'll try not to force anything on him. He hasn't been since Summer of 97 (he was only 6 then). And you and I both now there have been ALOT OF CHANGES (LOL). We plan to do Universal as well, so he'll have more than enough things that he will want to do. I just hope he dosent' get board.

Thanks again,
Kevin

 

[Darcy03231]

Thanks, Darcy. That helped me alot. I'll try not to force anything on him. He hasn't been since Summer of 97 (he was only 6 then). And you and I both now there have been ALOT OF CHANGES (LOL). We plan to do Universal as well, so he'll have more than enough things that he will want to do. I just hope he dosent' get board.

Thanks again,
Kevin

You're welcome! Some of the things my kids like:

DHS - Rockin' Rollercoaster, Tower of Terror, Toy Story Mania, Back Lot Tour, Lights Motors Action stunt show (DS), Indiana Jones stunt show, Beauty & the Beast (DD - DS doesn't car for it).

AK - Dinosaur, Expedition Everest, Primeval Whirl, Kali River Rapids

Epcot - Test Track, Soarin, Mission Space

MK - Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain, Pirates of the Carribean, Buzz Lightyear.

AK and DHS are their favorite parks. You also might want to check out Disney Quest in Downtown Disney. Its another teen favorite.

 

[MKandy]

Hey everyone. Soon, my family and I will be staying at the Disney Resort. There will be 8 of us. My one concern is my nephew. He's 17 and I'm worried that he'll not have a good time. You know at that age (15-19), they want to hang out with there friends or just want to be left alone. Now yes, I'm a Disney Pro, but this is something new to me. Is there any suggestions on what Teen Kids can do without being bored? Any suggestion will help.

Thanks and have fun planning.

Also, how do put your ticker counter on your thread?

A big thing that helped me when I was a teenager (took a trip when I was 16, then again at 18) was searching for Hidden Mickeys. I bought the book and went off on my own a couple of times. Exploring Disney on my own was possibly my favorite part of those trips. I enjoyed taking in Disney a different way. I slowed down a lot to enjoy different aspects of WDW. I suggest having your nephew go off on his own a bit. Do whatever he wants to do and I feel confident that he'll enjoy himself. Like I said, Hidden Mickeys (especially the harder ones) were great! I'd have to ride attractions over and over to find some and it was fun! I find that teenagers enjoy Disney if Disney is shown to them in a different way; other than "a place for kids." I'm sure he'll have a great time, as well as the rest of your traveling party!

Have a magical day.

 

[MKandy]

You're welcome! Some of the things my kids like:

DHS - Rockin' Rollercoaster, Tower of Terror, Toy Story Mania, Back Lot Tour, Lights Motors Action stunt show (DS), Indiana Jones stunt show, Beauty & the Beast (DD - DS doesn't car for it).

AK - Dinosaur, Expedition Everest, Primeval Whirl, Kali River Rapids

Epcot - Test Track, Soarin, Mission Space

MK - Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain, Pirates of the Carribean, Buzz Lightyear.

AK and DHS are their favorite parks. You also might want to check out Disney Quest in Downtown Disney. Its another teen favorite.

Great choices! Those are some of my favorite as well. Although at DAK, I can't believe Kilimanjaro Safaris is not on that list (although I'm a bit biased).

DisneyQuest at DTD is another fantastic place for teens. Great suggestion!

 

[Darcy03231]

Great choices! Those are some of my favorite as well. Although at DAK, I can't believe Kilimanjaro Safaris is not on that list (although I'm a bit biased).

DisneyQuest at DTD is another fantastic place for teens. Great suggestion!

I know - I really like it but according to them its "lame".

 

[Ava]

I really liked World Showcase in Epcot as an older teen. It was fun to explore all the different countries, and it's not really "kiddie" at all. A 17-year-old boy might have fun eating his way around the world too, getting snacks from different countries.

 

[mousefanmichelle]

My almost 15 year son loves Disney and I think it is because this last trip he had his 16 year old cousin with him to hang out with some of the time and becuz I let him have some freedom and go at his pace on some things. I really think that made all the difference to him. In fact he made me so happy the other day when he said he can't wait to go back (hopefully next year )

 

[Jill in Chicago]

Our teen loved every minute we spent in World Showcase. He especially enjoyed Off Kilter and we bought him a CD. Have a basic plan, but let him bow out if he wants. For instance there may be one day he wants to sleep in, and hang out at the pool, or arcade. Let him have his space.

Really listen to his choices. Our teen wanted to do Space Mountain and Splash Mountain, but none of the traditional Peter Pan type rides. Your teen may be totally different.

All teens are different about the wanting to be with people their own age. What I've found when teens are doing a family type vacation though, away from their friends, they actually enjoy it, and spend a lot of time bonding and enjoying time with everyone.