Outgrowing Disney

[MICKIMINI]

My 11-year-old is almost to the point of she can take it or leave it. Us parents on the other hand still love to go, we are going to see if she can bring a friend and it may be nicer for her. If not, we may sell off some points and go less often.

We brought a buddy at that age. He knew his way around and we gave him a bit more freedom which increased as he got older. Having a buddy who comes from a WDW family helps.

 

[ML_LovesDisney]

When did your kids outgrow Disney? I have two boys. One is 4 years old and really into thrill rides and the other is 20 months. I have a feeling they will be more into Universal in the future (which makes me super sad because I love Disney!)

Trying to gauge how much time I have left

My kids have not outgrown it. We’ve been going since the exact age your kids are now! We don’t go twice a year anymore, we usually go once, but stay in a 2BR vs studio or 1BR.

 

[rotlex]

When did your kids outgrow Disney? I have two boys. One is 4 years old and really into thrill rides and the other is 20 months. I have a feeling they will be more into Universal in the future (which makes me super sad because I love Disney!)

Trying to gauge how much time I have left

Our 20 year old daughter s as obsessed as ever. Our 14 year old son, while he still enjoys WDW, would MUCH rather go to Universal or frankly, an outdoor adventure such as the Grand Canyon, ski resorts etc.

 

[Figment1983]

I'm 39.... I've been to Disney World every year since I was born and never felt like I outgrew it. My kids are 9 and 13 and have been every year as well and still love going.

 

[heynowirv]

I think the rebellious late teens are "outgrowing ' Disney. But my DD is 36 and getting married next year. She still is kamikaze when we go to the parks and her fiancé is Star Wars all the way. When those grandchildren come it will be another generation to share the experience.It never grows old because of the next generation to see it thru. IMHO of course.

 

[SailorsWhyf]

My “kids” are 26, 24, 20 and 18. We still haven’t outgrown Disney! In fact the 24 year old works in MK and the 18 year old is starting DCP in January.

 

[nolatravelgirl]

If your oldest is only 4 then I think you have a ways to go before they outgrow it. WDW is much more than a theme park where you run for coaster to coaster.

 

[DisneyFive]

I don’t think our kids will ever outgrow WDW. The only thing I can see happening is Disney pricing them out or making enough changes that drive them away.

Our first visit was 2010 and the kids were 3, 6 and 8. Now they are 15, 18 and 21 and we had an amazing time at WDW this summer of 2022.

Still haven’t tried Universal. I’m sure they would enjoy it but for different reasons. WDW Will always have that magical bubble for us

 

[DCLMP]

I don't think liking or disliking Disney is age related. Some people never like it and some people like it until they die at a very old age.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Our kids were 16 and 13 when they outgrew Disney....BUT then when the older one graduated from college, he asked for a trip to WDW for his graduation present. Our younger son was thrilled when he got an internship at Disneyland when he was in college; and now we've taken our children and grandchildren several times. So in our case there was a "growing out of" for a few years, but the "back in" has been another 20 years-so far.

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

We took our first WDW trip as a family when my eldest was 3. My eldest is now 11, and we've been to WDW 5 times and one DCL cruise. But our first UO/IOA trip as a family last Spring was a real eye-opener, it was so much easier, no spreadsheets or need to constantly be on an app. My youngest, who is 6, was tall enough for a lot of the rides and had a great time. I have two boys who love Universal IP like Harry Potter and who can't wait for Epic Universe and Super Mario Land to open in 2025. If it weren't for Star Wars and the Guardians coaster at Epcot, I would confidently say that we would be a Universal family from now on, maybe with a DCL cruise here or there. But overall, I feel sure that by the time my youngest is 13, we'll pretty much be done. There's national parks, international destinations, skiing.

 

[bakerworld]

Our first vacation with kids our eldest was 10y. She'd been asking to go since she was 5y. She loved WDW and continues to enjoy it. It amuses me that now she's 41 with her own 3 kids she's realizing how much work is a WDW vacation.

Our younger two are very blasé. They've been going since they were 8y and 4y so they're very much 'been there, done that'. During the trip they were 17 and 13 we only insisted they evacuate the room by noon for housekeeping. We'd come back around 3p to get them out of the pool, eat some dinner and they'd go off to the parks in the evenings. They both say the parks are the best in the evening.

We joined DVC when our kids were in their 20's. The younger two used it for a pool during the day, party at DD/DS at night vacations and didn't both with the parks. Our middle is 38y, still has 2 days on a 2013 NE ticket and doesn't go any more. Our youngest at 34y will go for a long weekend and buy a one day park hopper.

 

[robinb]

When did your kids outgrow Disney? I have two boys. One is 4 years old and really into thrill rides and the other is 20 months. I have a feeling they will be more into Universal in the future (which makes me super sad because I love Disney!)

Trying to gauge how much time I have left

My DD is 23 and she hasn't outgrown Disney yet We always had Annual Passes so it was always Disney.

That being said, my DH and I are cutting back on Disney. It's always been an expensive vacation, but now it's ridiculously expensive.

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

Ours have gone a lot, so that's part of it. But by 16 and 13 they said they were done. We started adding in Universal when they were 14 and 11. We suggested bringing friends, but that's a challenge. For now, we're doing other things as a family, and DH and I use our points for ourselves.

 

[MickeyMouse3!]

Our kids are adults and still love Disney, although we took them to Universal once when they were teens and they loved it. We are DVC and stayed at Disney while visiting Universal. Lately, with the higher costs that are becoming the norm at Disney, we will probably do more stays at DVC, but visit neighboring parks instead of the mouse trap.

 

[DeutscherDon]

I have been going since 1973, then my wife and I started going, then we had kids, and now we’re retired and still going. It hasn’t happened yet and now that they both daughters have children it has circled back to the beginning of taking your child to experience the magic and wonder through their eyes. Prices change but those memories are still priceless!

 

[loves to dive]

I'm going with never. My son is 42 and has been going since he was just shy of 3. We are introducing a new generation with his daughter. We took her when was 5 months old and he and his SO took her again this last Sept. when she was about 17 months old. We've tried Universal twice through the years and while he loved roller coasters he didn't enjoy them enough to take time away from a Disney vacation.

 

[Alicatt]

My kids are 12 and 14 and have been to WDW 3 times, Disneyland once and will be going on their second Disney cruise in February. We all love amusement parks and thrill rides so we always do one day at Universal. We've been to a dozen different amusement parks and always have fun. We have a special place for Disney though and I think we will always want to go. Except for my husband. He's not a fan. But I bet when the kids are in college if I'm paying, they'll be on a plane. And I am more of a fan now than when I was a kid!

 

[CarolynFH]

DD is Disney dad by the way

I'm glad you defined that - I was confused, because I read DD as "dear daughter"!

 

[Vulnox]

I think if all your cards want are thrill rides then that may become an issue. But it's going to be probably five more years before even the oldest can start getting on any rides that are more "thrill" than what Disney offers at the upper end.

I also thought Disney World was something you outgrow until we went in 2019 for the first time since I was 10. I was blown away by how much there is to do. Yeah if you only care about checking off boxes on highest/fastest roller coasters, that's not going to go well. But there are usually closer and cheaper amusement parks that are based around that stuff. Disney offers so much more in terms of environment that I have never found anywhere else. We are mid-30s and have a great time the three times now we have gone since that 2019 return trip. Our kids just went for the first time at 6 and 8 and had an incredible time and there's still so much to do.

I imagine there will be a dip in enjoyment in that 13-16 range, where their priorities may be more around hanging out at the quiet pool and checking out shopping and dining stuff than actual park time, stuff that we could do just as well at home so the Disney specific enhancements won't be as appreciated, but I imagine that will shift back and if not my wife and I will likely still love going with the friends that reintroduced us to magic.