A little sad my 9 yr old twins don't want to go to Disney

[kly]

It has been fun reading all the responses. Hopefully this is just a phase and in the future they will ask to go back to Disney.
To be clear...I'm sure they would still enjoy a Disney trip. They simply told me they rather go somewhere else this time. When I asked them why, they said they wanted to go to Hawaii because they wanted to travel outside the country (lol...I'll educate them on Hawaii later).
The truth is that I love Disney, but most of my enjoyment now is really sharing the experience with them. Seeing them enjoy the rides I did as a kid, eating in the same places, watching the shows together, etc. If they are not excited about it, I would definitely not enjoy Disney as much.
The good news is my 4 year old is super excited about his upcoming Disney trip and we get to spend some needed alone time with the third child.
Thank you all!

 

[fla4fun]

He just doesn't want to go anywhere. He wants to miss our Hershey Park trip (DH is OK with leaving him home because we can drive back in 2 hours) I offered Kings Dominion - nope.

I told him that I would load a gift card and he could just do his own thing all week (and eat his heart out) - nope

For several years now, we have let him come and go to the parks by himself or back to the room so DH is perfectly fine with that.

We tried to figure out how to bring a friend along without breaking the bank but even before we figured out that we couldn't afford that, he poo poo'd the idea.

He WILL go if that is what we decide but he will be grumpy and get the whole family worked up. That has been our pattern since puberty hit.

Wow, that would not have flown when my sister and I were tweens/teens. Although we had some input regarding activities during the trip, my parents made the decision where to go and being left behind or having an attitude during the trip weren't an option. I fell in love with Disney on my first visit as a kid, but the next year my parents decided to go to national parks out west instead of Florida. I was disappointed but had a good time anyway. The next year, it was back to WDW, so I was happy. My sister is not as huge a Disney fan as I am, but she never complained the years we went there. She just didn't go as often once she was an adult. We would have felt like we were being disrespectful at the thought of making the rest of the family upset on a trip. Maybe it's just the difference between boys and girls . . .

 

[georgina]

My DS is not that much of a Disney World fan. We went as a family in 2013, when he was 21, and he spent more time in the room than the rest of us, which was fine. Our last whole family trip before that was in 2006.

When I was young the only vacations we took were camping trips within a few hours of home, because that was all we could afford. When our kids were young our vacations were summer trips to visit their grandparents because that was what we could afford. I was not allowed to express opinions about much of anything as a child, and I certainly did not raise my kids that way. I think it is important to listen, and did not read the OP as they were demanding anything or being ungrateful brats about what their father was providing as some posters implied.

 

[mamattorney]

Ironically, my 14 year old was miffed that we booked a cruise for 2018 already. "Another cruise? Can't we do something else?". I wanted to say, "yes, you can. You can stay home and we can save gobs of money because we would be a family of 4 instead of a family of 5 (cruising with 5 is annoying since you have to get either one of the very rare family cabins on the ship or book two cabins)." But I bit my tongue and didn't. She would go to Disney/Universal every year though.

Grass is always greener, I suppose.

 

[NuJoy]

()

 

[DisneyMim]

Not at all. We were one of first people, literally, in 1991 to buy into DVC and our kids, now adults never stopped loving Disney. I think it's because they always thought of Disney as their second home. Both my husband and I are crazy Disney people and I am happy that our kids inherited the gene! Ha ha! With all that being said, Disney is not for everyone and there are many places to go for vacations. We have been fortunate that we have been able to travel other places with our kids too. Maybe take them some other places and they will be ready to come back to Disney later on.

 

[kathy884]

It's so much fun to go to a place that both you and your kids love, so I can totally get your disappointment.

DS now 21 has been a huge SeaWorld fan since age 3. He really didn't like Disney at all till age 6 and then it was an OK place and fun to get together with cousins. He only started loving Disney in junior high, though. DH isn't a big Disney fan, so we always do our main vacation somewhere else, but almost every year when my son was 13-20 I did a mini one on one trip with him (mostly Orlando, but our last trip was Disneyland). What a blast. He still loves Disney, but this year is doing a mini trip in September with a friend (not mom so that's a little sad -- just really the end of an era, but I think he's going to have a great time and totally get this making sense at this point in his live and ours). I was happy that he asked if I'd help him with the planning, and we are covering some of the costs as his birthday present. He will be coming with me and DH to Colorado in two weeks, so that's cool.

There is a great big world out there and I'm sure you'll come up with some fun things to do with the 9 year olds.

 

[katyjeka]

I would take this as an opportunity to travel to some different places. I was sad when our girls asked to do something different as they were tired of Disney. I couldn't believe it as I am a diehard Disney fan!!!! Love everything about it. Well the break was good for our family. We have been to several beautiful places and have decided to take our girls to every national monument and park that we are able to. We've been to several islands and spent two wonderful weeks in Puerto Rico. Our youngest still talks about our trip to White Sands in New Mexico and begs to go back. Funny thing, this was our cheapest trip to date. I would take a little break and see how your kids feel later. As you know what kids love today they hate the next. I'm still trying to figure our girls and the oldest is now 19!

 

[maryj11]

My 14 year old does not act interested in going to Disney until about a month before we leave. I have been trying to get her input on our plans and all she says is I don't know. Yesterday I said maybe we will just go to the beach next year. She said,the whole vacation and not go to Disney at all? I want to go to Disney! So I guess she does like Disney lol.

 

[PollyannaMom]

That said, I can see my 8-year-old wanting to go to Universal instead next time. She's already asked about going to "Harry Potter World" because some of her friends have gone, but I wanted to wait until my youngest is a little older so she'd be tall enough for more of the rides.

It's OK to love both! We do, and we pretty much alternate years.

The good news is my 4 year old is super excited about his upcoming Disney trip and we get to spend some needed alone time with the third child.

Those are memories he'll treasure forever. Have fun!!

 

[MainMom]

I offered to buy a carrying case and to bring his xBox1... no go

I think if you are making him go I would still do this as well as your Gift Card idea. I have had a couple of vacations with a moody teen and I have gained much more sympathy in this area. I'm now of the camp to just leave them in the room and do my/our own thing. Mine eventually came around, I hope yours does too. Good luck!

 

[china mom]

While I refuse to let a 14 year old dictate what we will do, I am realistic. He and DH play off each other and then the mood swirls around until it encompasses the entire family. I don't want to have that happen on vacation.

 

[Baklava]

I have enjoyed Disney since my first visit 35 years ago.
I was planning a family vacation in Spring '18 and my 9 year old twins told me they don't want to go back to Disney. They prefer a cruise or Hawaii (they have never been there). I figure we take a break for a few years and see if the magic comes back.
I then decided to book a short 4-day Disney trip with our 4 year old next week while the twins are in camp and they didn't even care that they are not going. So sad
On a good note, I'm now happy I didn't buy into the DVC that we were thinking about.
Have any of you experienced something similar with you kids as they grow a little older?

Disney does cruises and Disney does Hawaii. Get yourself a little Disney magic if you decide to honor their wishes. We're spending our DVC points this year on Aulani and in a future year we'll be renting our points and using the cash for a Disney cruise. (Better value than using points directly on a cruise.)

My son (19) skipped our last DLR trip. It made me a little sad.

 

[Dakota731]

We only went every three years when my kids were younger so that way they had a chance to miss it! There are a lot of other cool places in this country that we wanted to see and absence makes the heart grow fonder.

 

[MagicalMicycles]

After taking my now 8 year old DS on his 1st Disney vacation ever, to Disneyland last year, he was like "why do we need to go again?"
By the time I can afford another trip, which should be a couple more years from now, I hope that he has changed his tune.

I recommend you let him listen to the Paint the Night soundtrack. His tune will change from "Why should we do this again," to "When can we do this again?"

 

[Arielfan98]

When I hit the age of 10 my family stopped the annual WDW trips and we went on caribbean cruises instead. It gave us a chance as a family to get outside of the country, learn about other places/culture and time to do other things like go to the beach or explore new cuisine. After a 5 year hiatus, we returned to Disney, and we now go regularly. With that said, I never lost my love for Disney, but I wanted to try something new and it was a good time traveling to different places on a large ship. I now have those special and wonderful memories tucked away. When your twins are older like me (I'm now 20), they will most likely want to travel abroad. I am no parent, but I would prefer to explore the world with my kids first than "send them off" to some foreign country alone when they are older. Also, they may find they might not even like a non-Disney trip and that would solve your problem, wouldn't it?

 

[TwinkleKS]

I hadn't thought about this when I posted earlier ... but when my stepson was young he refused to go anywhere ... like totally threw a fit ... didn't want to fly ... didn't want to drive ... was convinced that something horrible could happen, etc. So we got to the point that we would just book vacations when he was with his mom. Fast forward to now ... we have three younger kids ... he is an "adult". The younger ones go everywhere (Costa Rica, Disney, San Diego, wherever) ... and now he complains that "we never did anything with him when he was little".

I think my moral to the story is ... make memories with your kids and take them places when they are younger when you can afford to.

 

[Donnainnj]

I made the mistake of asking my 9 year old what his favorite vacation was, he gave me his top 5, as a countdown...
5. Disney World (been a real lot)
4. Universal (going there this summer)
3. Disney Cruise (going this fall and he doesn't know yet)
2. Hawaii (I thought for sure this would be number 1, it is for me)
1. Disney Hilton Head (Love it, but I didn't expect it to beat out Hawaii and the cruise)

I also have two adult daughters. The oldest gave up the mouse at about 18. (but was willing to take the cruise) She is 24 now. The 20 year old is my Disney Nut. She decided she was going to go to school in Florida and made it happen. She is now going to school and working part time at Universal. Her boyfriend has an internship at Disney starting in August. She will probably do the college program, or an internship at Disney before school is over and hopes to start her career there.

 

[TwoMisfits]

I would take this as an opportunity to travel to some different places. I was sad when our girls asked to do something different as they were tired of Disney. I couldn't believe it as I am a diehard Disney fan!!!! Love everything about it. Well the break was good for our family. We have been to several beautiful places and have decided to take our girls to every national monument and park that we are able to. We've been to several islands and spent two wonderful weeks in Puerto Rico. Our youngest still talks about our trip to White Sands in New Mexico and begs to go back. Funny thing, this was our cheapest trip to date. I would take a little break and see how your kids feel later. As you know what kids love today they hate the next. I'm still trying to figure our girls and the oldest is now 19!

Amen...we stopped in 2012 b/c of the price spiral and FP+ work, not lack of interest, but we've had time to enjoy Pigeon Forge TN, a Christmas visit to Busch Gardens and Colonial Williamsburg, a cruise to New England and Canada, a coming cruise to Grand Turk and the Bahamas, and next year, a short getaway to Niagara Falls (combined with a visit to the grandparents and Columbus, Ohio for a game convention in a big Northern swing), and 2 Darkside trips plus "other" Orlando...in fact, when I asked the kids about the Niagara combo trip vs doing theme parks at Christmas, and said we could only do one, they chose Niagara b/c they have gotten into seeing new things...

The world is a huge place and there's so much to explore...I will admit, not having a tiny one anymore now makes that possible, and I enjoy seeing the world with them, not just a theme park...there's only a few more years when we can do it as a complete family, and I'm happy to make the most of it...