Anyones kids not excited?

[scootch713]

This is our fifth straight November going. Started taking the girls when they were 2 1/2 and 5. DD who just turned 9 really doesn't even care to go this year. I have done many different things each year, like last year, we barely watched wishes(bored with it) but found it exciting to be on dumbo while it was going, ect.... this year we are doing BBB new, Hoop De Doo new, never been to Blizzard beach and will be as long as it gets above 78 degrees, which it should... ect.... My husband doesn't go as he teaches, so we would have to go over summer or long holiday(they are not allowed to take the day before or after a holiday off.. so can't go like over Columbus day or anything)..... I thought of leaving her home with him, but she is hardly ever away from me and I think within an hour of her sister and I leaving she will have changed her mind. Part of her lack of enthusiasm is we just had a unplanned splurge vacation to NYC the weekend of Oct 9th... and it was filled with so much excitement, hard to top(met Giada Delaurentiis, went to a kids cooking show wiht Rachael Ray, Ice skated in Rockefeller center, ect, ect.... ) Next year we are doing a disney cruise, I think that was a good decision, maybe we just need a break for the World ????

[Disneyatic]

I was just talking to my friends tonight about something like this. Not being able to predict what my daughter will get excited about. There are things that I get all pumped about and am so excited to share with her and she just isn't into it, and then other times when out of the blue she will love something.
We've only been to Disney two times and both times she was excited, not as much the second time but we had horrible weather and she didn't have her cousin along so I think it was a different experience.
I have come to realize that I try to make up for things I missed as a child by giving her those things and then realize that she is different than me and it doesn't affect her the same. Then I wonder if because she has had more privileges, etc, am I doing her a disservice because she doesn't get excited about things???

I probably think WAY too much about it! And I think I try to project too many of my childhood feelings into my thought process

I think it boils down to each child's personality, how they display emotions and what they are interested in.
Doing the Disney cruise will be a nice change of pace! Have you ever asked her why she doesn't seem excited or what would get her excited?

[lighteningqueen]

I wonder all that as well as with adults. Some of these posters go 3-4 times per year.. How can the magic still be there. You know everything, have done it all many times and things don't change enough to spend the money on it. I think this will be our last for a few years. We went the first time last Dec and will go again in 29 days. I am praying we have a good time and our family enjoys it. It has cost so much more to go this year and the dining plan is iffy for us, will add on 3 days before if we decide. I don't won't to burn out the magic for us by going so much. Our grandson is 5 this year and we have another grandson 7 months with another daughter. We will wait until hes at lease 3 1/2 to 4 to go again. The other one will not be abbe to get out of school so easy and we will NEVER go in summer. The heat is just to extreme to enjoy it. I feel for you and by reading these post I don't want our grandkids to feel that way. So we will not be the family who goes many times thru the year nor the every year either. What we could do with the money we spent there, wow I can't imagine but I will next year.

[PAMOUSELOVER]

My kids are not excited, but then THEY DONT KNOW WE ARE GOING!
But I sure am excited, and we were there last year in Aug.

[MickeyAD]

I understand what you mean. I'm 22 yrs old and have visited the World 9 times since I was 10 yrs old. As I plan this 10th trip I'm taking in January, there are times when it isn't as thrilling as other times. This is usually due to there being something else very exciting going on in my life. So don't get me wrong, I am generally through the roof about this trip. I think it definitely helps keep the WDW enthusiasm alive if you are cautious in avoiding over-WDW-stimulation. When the experience becomes predictable, it's almost depressing how quickly the experience loses its luster.

[Tbelle1976]

My kids are 9 and 7, and other than last year, they have been every year since they have been born. I have noticed that they don't seem as excited as I, so I sat down with them a couple days ago to let them help us with making dining arrangements (we will most likely get the deluxe DDP) and we will start making a list of everything in the parks they don't want to miss.
I want them to be as excited as I am, and it's exciting for me to let them help plan this next vacation!
101 DAYS TO GO!

[SBETigg]

If we went every year, I know my kids would be bored with it and begging to go somewhere else. We go every few years. It works. Now my son is getting ready to head off to college and he prefers to see other parts of the world, but he's still happy for the occasional WDW trip. I think there may be too much of a good thing in some cases, maybe in your daughter's case. I think your plan to try a cruise next time is a wise one. For this time, I guess she might get happy about it once she gets there. I hope so!

[BigRedDad]

I would keep trips a secret. If they know it is coming, the can get less excited about it. If you tel them the night before you leave or wake them early to get ready to go, it add to the excitement.

My brother and his family used to have AP's. They live 2.5 hours away. They would go whenever an opportunity came up: free hotel from grandma's points, 2 for 1 nights at off-site hotel, in-state teacher discount on rooms. My 2 nieces and nephew never got sick of it. They would not run around like chickens with their heads cutoff to get "everything" in. They had no plan, no clue what park they were going to, just went lackadaisically through the parks on a weekend. They would bring their own food to keep costs down.

I think a lot of the disinterest is because the parents get too excited. My DD is going for a 2nd time this year, her second trip. I do not think we will be going back until she is at least 40" tall. The reason is half of the rides do not excite her, half the remaining rides, she cannot go on. She loves the shows, characters, parades, and atmosphere. That is what we are going there to enjoy this trip.

[DisneyBabies]

My Dh and I never got to go to WDW as children although we both wish we had. We finally experienced the world last year for our anniversary and loved every minute of it (me a little more than him )! We had decided to take our children for their 5th birthday's and our trip just reinforced our decision. However, it also reinforced to me that we would not take the kids every year because we don't want them to lose the magic! DS is turning 5 in March 09 and that will be his first visit (DD will be visiting her godparents); it will also be his only visit until DD (and any other children we have) goes for her birthday. And right now he knows he is going to go, just not when, and he is thrilled! He has me measure him at least once a week to see if he is "big enough" for Disney.
It would really break my heart if he lost the magic, so we will not be going every year like some families do (although I would love to go every year)!
I think you are right to break things up a little next year by taking a cruise and I think one of the pp's had a good idea that you should ask your daughter why she isn't as excited.

[thrillme]

My DS started getting a little tired around 9 or so. Then I started to think of some "new" ideas to "intrest" him. The following year we started looking for "hidden Mickeys", we started looking into stuff that may not have required miles and miles of walking. I started getting HIM involved in the planning (making sure Disney Quest and swimming was in the plans).

This year he was kinda excited because we did the halloween party and he got to show his new step-Dad all his favorite places.

Now we're putting a little more time between Disney trips by doing a something else from time to time...next year we're planning our first cruise (I've really GOT to get our passports started).

Once they get a little older they may enjoy checking out Universal and IOA for a couple of days...

We LOVE Disney but we LOVE "thrill" rides too.

[bkfree]

Keeping the magic fresh is also one reason why we only go every other year. This Dec will be trip number 3 for our almost 8 and 10 year olds. They were 4 and 6, then 6 and 8 on the first 2 trips. By skipping a year , it moves them into new things to do and keeps it new.
But the MINUTE I sense that they are not excited about WDW, then we will immendiantly move on to Universal or Mexico or a cruise or something else.
While I LOVE WDW, there are too many fabulous adventures in the world and too many great never before seen places to visit and experience with my children to keep putting all my eggs and money into the Disney basket if they are not on board as much as I am.

[#1donaldfan]

you can't make the "magic" happen....it just does....if the kids don't "feel" it anymore, maybe it's time to take off to an alternate destination.......why force yourself to endure something that's not enjoyable

[Imagineer1981]

as a kid we went every year and loved it. I think the key is get them excited about it. Let them be involved in planning or surprise them!!

[FromKnoxvilleto Disney]

We had the same situation happeb when our oldest was 8 and could care less, but she had been on 15 different trips already. That trip she discovered she was not afraid of roller coaster and thrill rides and she is ready to roll whenever we say the word now. Something will happen magical that will reexcite her.

[TinyDancer]

When the experience becomes predictable, it's almost depressing how quickly the experience loses its luster.

I think that's it in a nutshell. I have been to WDW about....... 17 times maybe, give or take. I NEVER get bored there. To me it is different every time I'm there. Sure we ride the same rides and try to even stay in the same cabin (!!!), but its just different every time. My family has gotten very big on surprises. We come up with surprises for each other and we all know they're coming but we don't know what they are. That might be one suggestion. Let your child pick out a surprise for someone else in the group and plan it. Or come up with one for them and drop some hints. Is it maybe that she thinks its babyish? Maybe there is something extra-special grown up thing she could do. Fancy dinner and a grown up dress? I'm not sure, lol, but the key is changing it up!!!

[Tink#64]

Dh & myself didn't not visit WDW for our 1st time until DS's were 4 & 6! It was the ultimate vacation! We all fell in love with WDW! We talked with several people that trip & couldn't believe how many people visited every year! (Of course now that I've found Intercot, I see that many people visit multiple times in a year! ) I would love to be able to do that! But I'm not sure it would be as exciting for us. We didn't return the following year, but then we visited the next 3 years in a row! We loved every trip, but that year we did notice that the kids, although excited about the vacation, were asking "Do we have to do this?" with some attractions! It was during that trip that DH & I decided that we'd start visiting only every other year. The next year we did a week at Myrtle Beach & we all loved it but - we realized that we all started experiencing WDW withdrawal! So this year we returned to the magic & it was awesome after skipping a year! No one wanted to pass on anything! We all wanted to do everything we could, especially knowing that we wouldn't be back for a couple of years! We try to add in new experiences with each visit to keep it fresh & exciting & always a new adventure! I would be so sad if the magic ever actually was lost to us! I'm hoping with visiting only every other year, we can keep it exciting for all of us!

[Disney Doll]

I went regularly as a child, but only every few years not every year. DH and I have been taking annual trips since 2002. We really love it and there are still things we have not tried. We usually like to try a new resort each time and try to plan in a new restaurant or new attraction we want to see. For instance we just returned from a trip a couple of weeks ago, it was out 1st MNSSHP and 1st F&WF. I kind of like that we have seen it all because there is no pressure to do everything. We are planning to keep taking our son every year at least while he's young. Once he's older I'm sure his interests will branch out and so will our vacations. There's a lot to see and do in the world besides WDW as much as I hate to admit it. I think the cruise is also a good option and we plan to do that eventually ourselves. I think the suggestion to get DD involved in the planning is a good one. When I was a kid family vacations were family decisions. Everyone got a say and even the kids' opinions were valued.

[brdavis]

When the experience becomes predictable, it's almost depressing how quickly the experience loses its luster.

I couldn't agree more. But (at least for us), the experience hasn't become predictable because the parks change (slowly) and my children change (rapidly), and there is such a wealth of things to do and experience. Yes, if you always hit the "big" thrill rides they might become "boring"... so don't do that. Explore Tom Sawyer island. Look for Hidden Mickeys. Try to eat at a new place at least once every day. Marathon-ride things like BTMRR during the parade (a *great* time to do it). Go with folks who havn't been to Disney, and enjoy watching someone else discover the Magic for the 1st time, while you rediscover it for the 99th.

I'd have to agree that when it becomes boring (for me or my kids), while stop doing it. So far, we are one of those families who have the amazing good fortune to do this at least once a years for many years. DS is 11, has been going 1-2 times a year since he was 2, and had a hard time going to sleep this last trip when we came home... because he was crying because he missed WDW so much.

--
Brian "the magic hasn't left yet" Davis

[RockinRollerMom]

I went almost every year as a child. I remember both my DS and me going through a phase that we were too cool for disney. (I think it was more in the teenage years) I agree with all of the other posters of keeping it unpredictable. This December will be my DD8 4th trip. We almost booked a different trip (all inclusive or a cruise) but when it came down to it we all wanted to do Disney one more time. We have a theme this year of seeing and doing things that we have never done before. As the lists of these things grows she gets more and more excited. Just a few of the "new" items that she has never expierenced are : Illuminations, Toy Story Mania, checking out the Boardwalk and renting either a bike or watercraft, looking for the paintbrushes at Tom Sawyer's Island, staying at CSR and eating at some new places. I hope your trip ends up being magical!

[Scott C]

I just don't think I am going to take my kids for a while. I think that the problem is the kids these days. They need constant stimulation. They now longer seem to be content with just hangin' out. Maybe I am just getting old, but I could just hang out in the parks for hours -- never go on an attraction and be satisfied. Now way my kids would feel that way. I feel many things have changed since 1971(or 1955 for that matter). It seems like coasters and the like are all that the kids care about. When is the last time you saw a line for CBJ. My kids, DS18 and DS16, were not smiling in any of the pictures from our last couple of trips. It seems that Disney has a big problem keeping current teens interested.

My rant for now
Thanks
Scott C