What to do with a grumpy 17 year old?

[TimLBaxter]

Hi,

my family and I will visiting WDW next year for the 6th time, but the first time for 4 years. My son will be 17......and a typical grumpy teenager.

We'll be staying on sites at the Beach Club Villas.

Can anyone suggest something unusual to do to keep him amused?

Thanks, Tim

 

[AJRitz]

Hi,

my family and I will visiting WDW next year for the 6th time, but the first time for 4 years. My son will be 17......and a typical grumpy teenager.

We'll be staying on sites at the Beach Club Villas.

Can anyone suggest something unusual to do to keep him amused?

Thanks, Tim

Not sure it's unusual, but I would think that bikini-clad 17-year-old girls at Stormalong Bay would go a long way toward cheering up a grumpy 17-year-old boy.

 

[bas71873]

DisneyQuest. That's on our agenda for our trip in October. Well, DH's agenda. I'm guessing he will be able to spend ALL day there. Guess DD and I will hang out at the pool and/or shop

 

[jakoky]

lol, i had to laugh at this...as the mom of a 19 year old girl, a son who turns 17 in 3 weeks, and another daughter who is almost 15, i know "grumpy""...my son has been sooooo easy up until 6 months ago, when he turned into a "normal" teenager..wow, can he get grumpy...here is what i hope for you, DW will bring out the kid in him and send the grumpies home...

Our last trip to DL i worried about my "turning 18 on the trip" daughter...she could grumpy and moody...she was unbelievable the entire trip (minus the first night in seattle)...She had a blast on the trip, all my teens did....It was an amazing trip, and all my teens acted like kids-so nice to see...

Good luck!!!

 

[wdwmom0f3]

My 17 year old DD is grumpy most of the time, unless she is at Disney World. Then she is just like me, happy and excited to see & do everything.

 

[mom2travel]

Let him choose some of what you do/see each day. And give him some downtime alone if he needs/wants it! Our DS(15) loves Disney, but is a typical sometimes-moody teen. He needs some space/time during the day when he is not being dragged along and can do what he would like to do. Sometimes it is chilling in the room when the rest of us are at the pool. Or going to see a movie with DH while DD and I do stuff that she likes but he doesn't. Or touring World Showcase with me while DH & DD do thrill rides.

 

[DisneyFed]

Not sure it's unusual, but I would think that bikini-clad 17-year-old girls at Stormalong Bay would go a long way toward cheering up a grumpy 17-year-old boy.

This.

 

[hildarumpole]

I've got a grumpy 16 yr. old boy. He managed to put on a happy face in the parks. The grumps kicked in mostly at the resort. We were fortunate to have a full balcony at the BC, so he liked spending time on it, removed from the rest of us, texting and talking to friends back home. He liked going to the Boardwalk to get pizza slices and snacks, too. Any time we ate, he was happy. His favorite TS spots were Coral Reef, Teppan Edo, Brown Derby and Sci-Fi, for the goofy movie trailers.

 

[mickey&minniealways]

I have one DD age 15, one DS21 and one DS23. We have gone many time with them. Back in 2005 we stayed at OKW in a 2 bedroom. DS' were 17 and 19 then. They also brought along DH's 17 yr old nephew. The boys had a blast. Once in a while they hung out with us. Most of the time they did their own thing. They managed to also find a few friends from home that were there also. And yes they spent a great deal of time flirting with the teenage girls at the pool and the parks. They even took little sis out a few times, looks good to those teenage girls. My normaly grumpy, surly, angry teenage boys became human again for a short time. Thats probably why I have fond memories of that trip. Unfortunaly the best I can say is that teenage boys are really from another planet because they don't resemble anything human for a few years to come. So take it while you can get it and enjoy your trip grumpy free. P.S. I bought all three of them a baseball hat while we were down there. One guess as to which of the seven dwarfs was depicted on it.

 

[wilma-bride]

Is he this grumpy?

Seriously my 17 yo was a complete pain in the butt on our last trip - and wonders why we don't want her to come next year

How about a Segway tour? The one at Fort Wilderness would probably be more fun for a 17 yo boy. I agree that Stormalong Bay could be fun for him too.

 

[NotUrsula]

A few years ago a coworker of DH was planning a trip and asked him what attractions would be fun for a 17 yo boy. He immediately said: "Water parks." The woman replied that her DS was not that into swimming. DH replied that for a teenaged boy it wasn't so much about swimming as it was the eye-candy.

She got all huffy and said, "Well, I'm not paying for him to do THAT!"



The eye-candy tactic isn't particularly reliable with teen girls (because they are often self-conscious and don't want to go to the pool alone), but with boys it's almost a sure bet.

He's 17. Hand him a cell phone and a bus map, then turn him loose and let him do what he likes as long as he stays on-property.

 

[nhmomx2]

We'll have an almost 16 yo (extremely grumpy) son with us this year. Thank goodness my SIL relented and is bringing her 17 yo DS and a friend. We've already come to the conclusion that between the water parks and Disney Quest we may not see much of them for the time we are all there together. IMHO...not necessarily a bad thing

 

[TimLBaxter]

Thanks everyone. Some great ideas in here.

The only problem I can see is if he is eyeing up the 17 year old girls.....what am I going to do???

 

[mickey&minniealways]

What do you do at home when he does that?

 

[sjs314]

Bring along one of DS's friends.

One year when my older DS decided not to go with us on vacation we let our other DS(18) bring along a friend for the trip. It worked out fine no complaints we still visited the parks like a family and did a few TS meals together but we also let them have their space , pool and part time alone which gave DH and myself alone time too.

 

[mickey&minniealways]

Okay now all of the pp who have the DS that need a distraction. Just let me know when you are going so I can point DD15 in the other direction. I don't need anymore headaches.

 

[sjs314]

You can point DD but the DS's will just follow

 

[Mrs. Charming]

Not sure it's unusual, but I would think that bikini-clad 17-year-old girls at Stormalong Bay would go a long way toward cheering up a grumpy 17-year-old boy.

That was my first thought!

 

[♥Cleo]

Hi,

my family and I will visiting WDW next year for the 6th time, but the first time for 4 years. My son will be 17......and a typical grumpy teenager.

We'll be staying on sites at the Beach Club Villas.

Can anyone suggest something unusual to do to keep him amused?

Thanks, Tim

Feed him, get the dining plan & feed him. LOL!! He'll have fun no matter what, my teenage brothers always did. I mean it's disney world, come on, who's 2 cool for WDW? [+ he would love the water parks & maybe Disney Quest ;] I have never known anyone, no matter how they might try to fight it, to have a bad time in WDW he'll crack lots of smiles.