Teens in the world

[picktails]

Okay, we've had over 10 family vacations to WDW and for our next one in November the the kids are 16 & 13. There's so much here about the little ones , I'd like to hear about family trips with the older kids. What to do - what to avoid - best restaurants - late night adventures
Thanks!

 

[twooley2]

A couple of years back we took my back than 16 year old and she enjoyed hoop de doo, swimming with the sharks at the water park. It cost an extra 20.00 once you get to the waterpark. They have a free one but we chose to pay and you got so much time, I think like 15 minutes with an air filled tank. The sharks were just about 3-4 feet long and mostley stayed on the bottom and there were other fish. No expereince needed either.

 

[chrismass]

I would avoid forcing them up by a certain time - they are old enough to meet you when they wake up!

 

[scrappinDW]

What water park was the shark swim at? We will be going in June with two 14 year old boys. They might like this.
We are also going to let them ride the sea raycers, Disney Quest, of course. I want to take them to the 50's Prime Time Cafe...that should be funny and we will have a total of 7 people so I want to see if we can eat the 'kitchen sink'.
I am going to give them their spending money by having them find hidden Mickeys or answering questions or being extra polite and not whining about getting photo pass pictures. (Do you think that is asking to much?)

 

[tjmw2727]

Our last trip included a 17yo, 15yo, 12yo and a 10yo and it was easier than I thought to keep everyone happy.

The older kids liked DTD, including the magic store, record store, just walking around and they loved our meal at the house of blues. They would have liked cirque de solea and the ballon ride but the balloon ride wasn't operating and we didn't budget for cirque

At the parks they mostly liked the obvious E ticket rides and enjoyed the fireworks at EP and Wishes at MK. They all liked Epcot for soarin, tt and ms as well as the live shows like off kilter, moroccin and even the beatles cover band.

The 17 and 15yo's went to the CR and did some parasailing one day while the younger two did BBB but in hindsight I think the younger two would rather have parasailed. They also have sea raycers and even fishing excursions at various resorts.

Allears has a great section on things to do beyond the parks that you may find helpful. For example I just read a review about archery at the campground that sounds like fun.

TJ

 

[barski45]

Our last trip our girls were 15 & 13, we spent a day at the beach, we are from Idaho and the girls wanted to see the Atlantic. Also we always hit Universal's Islands of Adventure, this place is a blast, the best non-Disney park out there.

 

[MOREMICKEYFORME]

My DD is 16 and when we go in July, I booked her a surprise Segway tour in Epcot with BF. You must be 16 yo to ride. She has her permit, so she is all about driving and she loved trying the Segway in DisneyLand last year...she's gonna love having a Segway to herself for hours!

 

[DisneyDaughter5589]

I went for my 16th birthday (only 4 years ago) and I really enjoyed everything. EXCEPT I did not want to do rides like Winnie the Pooh and Barnstormer. However I had been multiple times before and I am still very child like. So now when I go I want to do everything no matter what.
Water Parks are a great idea.
Plenty of shopping/DTD time as well.
The most memorable thing for me was particpating in The Backlot Tour on my Sweet 16 and getting a Magic Moment Certificate (I almost cried). I think the little things no matter what the age make a HUGE difference.

 

[twooley2]

What water park was the shark swim at? We will be going in June with two 14 year old boys. They might like this.
We are also going to let them ride the sea raycers, Disney Quest, of course. I want to take them to the 50's Prime Time Cafe...that should be funny and we will have a total of 7 people so I want to see if we can eat the 'kitchen sink'.
I am going to give them their spending money by having them find hidden Mickeys or answering questions or being extra polite and not whining about getting photo pass pictures. (Do you think that is asking to much?)

It was at typhoon lagoon. Just remember to do the one that charges the 20.00 extra as they could do it together with no one else in the seperate area and you can see them from below down some stairs in a little window. My 16 year old liked it and the younger ones chose to watch. There were some sting rays too

 

[picktails]

Guess I'm on the right track - DS was almost 15 last trip & really wanted to do the Segways but not old enough! We learned quickly to let him sleep in mornings and meet us when he got up as suggested here, so I don't think he'll get up in time for the tour this time now that he is old enough! His choice...
Definitely will continue to not rush him out in the mornings as it's not worth the stress; he enjoyed riding the buses himself last time and meeting up with us later (think the independence was a big hit.)
Hanging out at DD is a great idea; he'll be almost 17 this time so with a curfew he can stay down there in the evenings a while...
Now DD13 - that will be a challenge!

 

[Joey128]

It has been about 5 years, but we took our DD17 to Disney and she loved it! It was a much nicer trip with her being older. She had a better appreciation for Disney than she did when she went at the age of 10. My other DD20 chose not to go with us then, and now she wants us to take her to Disney so she can have her special trip with us. I'm not complaining since I could go to Disney every year, except it's not in our budget to do that. Every 5 years is better than nothing!

Wow, my DD20 would love to do the Segways. How much do they charge for that and how much time do they spend on them? Thanks

 

[NHdisneylover]

What water park was the shark swim at? We will be going in June with two 14 year old boys. They might like this.
We are also going to let them ride the sea raycers, Disney Quest, of course. I want to take them to the 50's Prime Time Cafe...that should be funny and we will have a total of 7 people so I want to see if we can eat the 'kitchen sink'.
I am going to give them their spending money by having them find hidden Mickeys or answering questions or being extra polite and not whining about getting photo pass pictures. (Do you think that is asking to much?)

I think you know this but not sure from your post: the Kitchen Sink is not at the Prime Time Cafe. It is at Beaches N Cream which is in the Yacht and Beach Club. It think teen boys would really love that challenge. We got a Kitchen Sink for Easter dinner one year Family of four plus our 16 year old exchange student and a family friend. We finished it--mostly because of DH, family friend and DS who was 6 at the time and probably ate his weight in ice cream

 

[a1tinkfans]

It was at typhoon lagoon. Just remember to do the one that charges the 20.00 extra as they could do it together with no one else in the seperate area and you can see them from below down some stairs in a little window. My 16 year old liked it and the younger ones chose to watch. There were some sting rays too

I NEVER knew there was this option!
Do you need reservations for this? Anything special I need to to do???

 

[TINK0998]

I am going in a week with a 15 yo boy. He is very excited about "eating" around the world. He plans to have some traditional food from each country.

 

[geffric]

I have been with teens and will be back this summer with 2 16 year old boys..Summer is teen time.. they can sleep late and do some swimming lazy around and then meet us for dinner and then hit the parks until 2 am.. they love to explore on their own..play mini golf.. hang at the water parks, do the rides during EMH at night. Teens love WDW

 

[scrappinDW]

I think you know this but not sure from your post: the Kitchen Sink is not at the Prime Time Cafe. It is at Beaches N Cream which is in the Yacht and Beach Club. It think teen boys would really love that challenge. We got a Kitchen Sink for Easter dinner one year Family of four plus our 16 year old exchange student and a family friend. We finished it--mostly because of DH, family friend and DS who was 6 at the time and probably ate his weight in ice cream

I did know this, but thanks for making it clear to others. Sometimes I just ramble and don't make any sense. If you ate one with 6, I am thinking we can do it too!!!

 

[nurse.darcy]

I take my son every year, he is 16 this year and still very much loves going with mom. He is a big kid at heart, trust me here. For instance, we went to Disneyland for my birthday and went on all the kiddy rides, the rollercoasters, the shows, watched fireworks and fantasmic. It was the best birthday. This year he is bringing a friend and because my son likes to make rope drop with mom, he will "force" his friend out of bed so we can do that on some days. I do fully expect he and his friend to wander some by themselves, but I know my boy. He also likes adventures in dining and trying new foods is right up there. He doesn't care for character meals but loves things like 50's Prime Time, Fultons Crab House, Yakitori House in Japan, etc.

Here are a couple pics of me and my boy enjoying the Land and the World. . .

Goofing at Mr. Toad's

Enjoying Character time: