World ShowCase and Young Teens

[livingthedream]

We will be spending two weeks in Orlando from 11/29 to 12/14. It will be me, DH, DS14 and DS12.

You see a lot of advice about how to keep younger kids interested in the World Showcase, but I haven't seen anything posted here about young teens.

What experiences have others had taking 14-year-olds and 12-year-olds to World Showcase? Do they enjoy it? Do they get bored? Would they rather be someplace else?

Whatever you can share would sure be appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

 

[iwannabeminnie]

I would like to know also! I will be taking my nieces, 13 and 14, in September. I love World Showcase and would be sorely put out if I had to skip it. What can I do to make it interesting for them?

 

[Dizzy for Dsny]

My son is 11 and loves epcot (he's very mature for his age). He first experienced when he was 9.

I got the best piece of advice from DIS boards the first time we took him there. Since it was his first time to DW and never having been there nor knowing what to expect, a suggestion was made to take him to Epcot first because he would have much more of an apprecition not knowing what the other parks have in store. Of course, I saved MK till last because I think it embodies the whole DW spirit. Probably the best advice ever given and I pass along to all newbies to DW with kids.

Everytime we visit, Epcot is our first stop! It also helps to see if your child is interested in a particular country (i.e., my son loved Pokemon & Yugioh at the time and so Japan was one of his favorite countries).

 

[iwannabeminnie]

Thanks for the tip. We were planning on doing Epcot first, so that works great. Bumping for more ideas.

 

[ReggieB]

Obviously each pavillion (apart from UK) has a film or attraction to give you a taste of the country, so might let them pick a couple to see, rather than dragging them around all of them, I know I would find they would all blend into one after awhile. The street performers and bands about are pretty good too. The shopping is kind of interesting! I love Mitsukoshi Department Store in Japan, it is my favorite. It has some interesting collectibles (a lot od Anime stuff if they are into that) Really interesting to see the bits and pieces you can buy in different parts of the world. Obviously trying new foods is always fun. If your boys are particularly fussy eaters, they can always indulge their sweet tooth and buy a bit of candy in each pavillion. Kind of fun when you don't quite know what you are getting!!

Are they into taking photo's? Give them a disposable camera each and tell them to go and take the most unusual/interesting photo of each country that they can. The effort the imagineers have put into the pavillions is awesome. The back streets of Morocco are a favorite. If they like playing along with that idea you could make a bit of a scavenger hunt by saying they need to take a picture of a particular something in each place, like say a Mickey or something. Something really silly might work aswell as something more straightforward.

My niece is 12, and I know would love World Showcase. But then my nephew (he is a bit younger) I can't see him enjoying it no matter how you try and make it interesting for him. I probably hook him with the photo idea, but not for very long! I think again it's down to what your kids are like. Hopefully my DS4 will enjoy it when he is older, and actually learn a little bit...He just likes to say Konnichiwa to the lady CM's in Japan...I dread to think what he will be like when he is a teenager!!!

 

[ziggystardust]

We did the photo thing when my sister and I were around that age. It was my mom's favorite park so we were there a lot.

We went around and just took fun pictures of all the landmarks in the countries. At that point my sister was also really into France since she was learning the language.

 

[Cinderella822]

My DD is 13 now and has been visiting Epcot since she was 5. She was bored back when she was younger, but we started letting her collect things from each country, which she seemed to enjoy. She's older now and she really likes Epcot. Now she still enjoys collecting a little something from each country and also tasting the foods each country has to offer. Surprisingly, one of her favorites is sushi in Japan. Take the time to really explore each country with your children and let them appreciate the different cultures. Yes, she'd still prefer doing all the rides at the other parks and FW, but its nice for a change of pace. Enjoy!

 

[Eljay]

Be sure to catch a show by Off Kilter at the Canadian Pavilion!
Kids love them & they love kids!
You'll love them, too!

 

[missypie]

C'mon, folks...with boys 12 and 14 there can be only one answer: FOOD!!! Eat your way around the world. Even if you are planning a nice TS meal, I bet your guys will have room for more snacks...fish 'n chips, shwarmas, french and norwegian pastries, crepes, etc. etc. Such possibilites for hungry boys!!!

As an aside, my kids really enjoyed the Chinese acrobats. I don't know if it's always the case, but the ones we saw were children, including a group of boys.

 

[ajcolorado]

We've been there a couple of times with teens and it generally ends up being one of their favorite parks. We do try to set the expectation level accordingly ---this is not the Magic Kingdom. But we let them pick a country or two to eat at. We also encourage them to talk to strangers....the cast members from the countries represented. My daughter would ask them, "How do you say_____ in your country?" and she would have them write the word in her autograph book - she also asked them to autograph the answer. She used the word "cranberry" - don't ask me why. The CM's from cranberry-free countries would say, "We don't have that but we do have a ..."

Off Kilter is a big hit with our crowd. They also checked out MoRockin' at the Morocco pavillion.

 

[PatsGirl]

I have to agree with Missypie! My son thought Epcot was boring until the last couple of times we went. He is a very adventurous eater and loves to try new things. He now eats his way around the world. Of course, this costs a small fortune....

Usually when we sit down for dinner, he either takes this time to explore on his own or just has room for an appetizer or smoothie so maybe it evens out at the end, NOT!

Also, being a high-schooler now and being taught more current event info, he is somewhat more interested in the educational merits of Epcot (did you catch the "somewhat"? )

I have just recently learned about the passport and kidcot stations as well as the Japanese candy lady and other kid-friendly Epcot attractions and I hope that this interests my DD,8, on our Nov/Dec trip which will be her first Epcot trip. She, unlike my DS, is "allergic" to anything other than grilled cheese, fries, nuggets, etc. and would rather die than try sushi or lamb or enchiladas

Oh well, gotta love em, they belong to ya.

Brenda

 

[minijeanie]

First hit the ride in Mexico, then go on to the ride in Norway.
Take them to the fantastic show in USA and if you time it right, you can see the candy lady at Japan.

Don't know your heritage but if it is from one of the countries represented, plan on eating lunch or dinner their. My kids really enjoyed that.

They are now 15, and 14 and fiinally appreciating world showcase some. They did enjoy eating in Japan as well.
Good luck, very hard to gear them away from MS, TT and now Soaring.
my kids have been ride kids from 3 and 4.....
tough to go on any vacation that doesn't have a roller coaster.

 

[soccer mom]

We always go during low attendance times with the other parks closing earlier. So we have several reservations for later dinners throughout the trip in the World Showcase and do it increments, never spending a whole day at Epcot. It has a different atmosphere at night and my teens enjoy it this way. Sometimes walking over to the Boardwalk, and of course seeing Illuminations at least once.

 

[CharlesTD]

The biggest thing I have found is if you let them choose things to do while touring WS and any part of Epcot it will make it far more enjoyable for them thus making it far more enjoyable for you.

 

[rascalmom]

My dd13 loves to collect the pressed pennies. Almost all the countries in WSC have them.

Desserts at France.

Pastries at Norway.

We've been several times since my girls were in elementary school. They are now 17 & 13 - Epcot is always the park they want to visit first.

 

[Saxsoon]

I am a teen myself and I really enjoyed off kilter. Even my parents don't care for the shows much. But the shopping is very interesting, seeing items and such. The Ameican show is okay though, plus it is a great place to cool off. And may I suggest a reservation at the crown and pub for the illuminations in England. Excellent food and a great view

 

[dyna]

My DD enjoyed WS much more at 13 than she did 6. She loved Off Kilter and British Invasion both. And the Living Statues in france as well.

At 12 she loved the different Santa's from each country and hearing how each celebrated Christmas and wished she was there again during the holiday season when she was 13.

At 13 she did enjoy the food and wine festival but was not as adventurous as mom and dad with the different foods she ate. I'm sure she'd still enjoy eating her way around the world in candy tho or desserts now that she is a couple years older.

Don't miss Illuminations another favorite of DD's oh and she really enjoyed the American pavillion the shows and music there.

 

[Eljay]

Another idea, over at Innoventions East there is a section called the Internet Zone. For no charge, your kids can send a 10 second video email clip to friends, family or to themselves at home! If they want to do this, make sure they have email addresses with them. They can also plan out a 10 second message so they don't stand there for the whole time waving & saying Hi.
My niece sent a cute message home to her dad. She said something like, "Hi Daddy, I'm moving into Cinderella's castle, send money!" She was 13 at the time.
Enjoy!

 

[BluOrchid2]

World Showcase is my son's (14) favorite part of WDW, probably tied with MGM, tho. He is looking forward to spending a good part of his day there at the Germany pavilion. He has had one year of German in junior high school and is already pretty darn fluent in it due to the fact that he plays Xbox games over the internet with guys in Germany and converses with them in German on a daily basis. He totally loves the language, and just wants to go talk in German to the CM's who work there, about all things German.

 

[MomofKatie]

For teen and pre-teen girls: SHOPPING! and cute CM boys from other countries..

For teen and pre-teen boys: FOOD! and pretty CM girls from different countries.