Yes! You read that right. I used the words Joy/Tween/Teen in the same sentence! I think a lot of people believe traveling to Disney is done once kids hit a certain age. I think you just have to change your perspective and Disney is a whole new world (no pun intended) for your entire family when you travel with this age group!
To start with, at the age of 10, your child is now technically what I lovingly refer to as a "Disney Adult". This is the age in which Disney charges adult prices for things like tickets and dining. With that said, lumping kids into the ages of 10-17 is quite daring of me, don't you think? So why did I do it?
A tween is defined as someone who is too old to be a child and too young to be a teenager. I'm putting them on this post because it's my opinion that if Disney is charging a higher rate at the age of 10, Disney also views them differently from the age of 9 to the age of 10. However, let me state that because of this definition, some tweens may fall into my former blog post, while others may fall into this post. Where and when they fall into each category may also depend on who you travel with, or how you travel. For example, my son as a tween, certainly feel into the realm of my "kid" blog post through the age of 12. He was the oldest of two and we never traveled with other kids. My daughter, on the other hand, quickly fell into the teen category. Not only did she have an older brother, but this was the age when we started traveling with another family who also had older children.
There are some unique joys of traveling with this age group.
The most visual thing to mention is that you can slowly watch your kids inch their way taller than you! If you're like me, and you don't take a ton of family photos at home, there's a moment when you look at a picture and you realize, wait a minute - how did this happen?! For me that moment happened when I compared Disney pictures from August 2016 to November 2017.
They get into it more than you would expect. A tween/teen loves nothing more than to be on technology. This is the age they'll use that technology to help you plan the trip. They may help you map out the best route to take in the park, they may find the unique treats that you might not have found on your own, they love to watch Point of View (PoV) videos of a ride or experience. Some enjoy lists, so be prepared to be presented with a list longer than your days might be able to accommodate of the treats they wish to taste while there!
Collecting. Believe it or not, there are a lot of different things that this age can focus on if they are big into collecting. And with two teens in my house now, I'm finding that collecting is in their DNA. We started with Vinylmations, but those are not really a thing much these days. You can collect Mickey/Minnie ears, Trading Pins, Sorcerer Cards (these are FREE at the Magic Kingdom), Park Maps, Pressed Pennies, Park Pins (these are the free ones given from Disney; different than the ones you purchase to trade), Walt Disney World Transportation Cards, Ornaments, and more! Obviously these range in price from free to pricey. I've found that the pressed pennies and the trading pins seem to be the most popular for my household these days. Probably because the pressed pennies are affordable on their budget and fun to hunt for and the trading pins are provided to them by Mom and Dad!
Thrill rides. At this point in time, pretty much most of the tweens/teens have hit the point in time where they will take these thrill rides head on. If not with love, at least for the challenge of saying they at least did it once or for redemption on past trips where they chickened out! So get those tweens/teens on every ride you've not been able to go on before and enjoy it! Because pretty soon you might not be able to handle those thrill rides! LOL
They still enjoy the characters. It might be for different reasons - maybe it's because Snow White is cute or Gaston is good looking, but either way, they'll play along. And at the end of the day, they'll always enjoy a meeting with one of their childhood favorites - even if it means waiting in line for 40 minutes with screaming toddlers! And I think the characters realize too that it takes a special tween/teen to meet them so they'll go out of their way to make the interaction special.
Their maturity level. They really take a step up in maturity. I know you're thinking, teens? What? But traveling with a tween/teen to one of the Happiest Places on Earth is simply FUN! If done right, the entire family is able to enjoy themselves playing together. This was the goal Walt Disney had when he dreamed of Disneyland...a place where "parents and children could have fun - together". No matter the age of the children! Let your tween/teen see you in a way they don't see you at home. It's good for them to see their parents laugh and say "again!" to that wild roller coaster or that sugary sweet!
The food. They really get into the food. Nothing more needs to be said.
They often bring their own money! At this age they realize the value of a dollar a little more, and perhaps are earning their own - whether it's because they have their own babysitting job, an actual job, or are simply saving their birthday & Christmas money from family members. It means they have a little more freedom in spending it how they want to. Let them! If they want to spend it all on giant pretzels - in the same day, so be it!
You can go all day. And by all day, I mean ALL day. Tweens/Teens can go from Extra Magic Hours to 2am! Now, with that said, there are a handful that will need to sleep in a couple days. This is where the trip dynamic changes from earlier trips. Earlier trips had earlier evenings. While traveling with this age group will most likely have later starts! Use the time to let the tween/teen sleep a little while you grab coffee/breakfast. It can also make it tricky if your family is like mine where one child can wake up early and the other can't. We've done the fighting and we've done the splitting up. I'll admit the splitting up is much more enjoyable for everyone! Just accept this and decide how the family will split up for a while in the morning and meet up later on.
Speaking of splitting up. This is the age where they want to explore a bit on their own. Gasp! A family vacation where the family isn't all together. This concept was very difficult for me in the beginning. Remember back when our kiddos were 3 and I stated if they couldn't remember the vacation, your memories were just as important? Now is the time when you have to flip the switch on this and realize that their memories are just as important. If you're traveling with others and you can send them off in pairs or groups this is easier. But it's also nice if you're able to just allow your teen (I reserved this for teen status alone) some alone time if they wish. My son still recalls fondly the one hour he was given at EPCOT to do some Pokemon hunting alone when he was 13. I think he likes that we trusted him enough to let him go off and that he was able to control his own time, if even for only this short amount of time. If doing this, it's important to set some boundaries. Our family boundaries were: Don't leave the Park we're at, Text back immediately if we try to reach you, Meet at the designated place and time, Take pictures, and Be careful! Use the time to focus on younger siblings if you have them. Or, if you find yourself alone or alone with only other adults, find something adult friendly to do for a short time!
Experience the "MORE" Disney offers! There are Disney After Hours parties, Tons of things to do at Disney Springs or Downtown Disney, Behind the Scenes Tours, Golf, Diving, Mini-Golf, Archery, and Water Parks (where you don't necessarily have to hop into the water to hold your child up any longer!). This age opens up almost everything that is offered at Disney.
Don't be afraid to take this age to Disney! Even if it's your first trip. There's nothing like seeing that Joy light up from within on your tween/teens face that you don't see at home when you're trudging through the daily tasks of school, homework, and chores!
Have you taken this age to Disney? Share your Joys with me!
To start with, at the age of 10, your child is now technically what I lovingly refer to as a "Disney Adult". This is the age in which Disney charges adult prices for things like tickets and dining. With that said, lumping kids into the ages of 10-17 is quite daring of me, don't you think? So why did I do it?
A tween is defined as someone who is too old to be a child and too young to be a teenager. I'm putting them on this post because it's my opinion that if Disney is charging a higher rate at the age of 10, Disney also views them differently from the age of 9 to the age of 10. However, let me state that because of this definition, some tweens may fall into my former blog post, while others may fall into this post. Where and when they fall into each category may also depend on who you travel with, or how you travel. For example, my son as a tween, certainly feel into the realm of my "kid" blog post through the age of 12. He was the oldest of two and we never traveled with other kids. My daughter, on the other hand, quickly fell into the teen category. Not only did she have an older brother, but this was the age when we started traveling with another family who also had older children.
There are some unique joys of traveling with this age group.
They get into it more than you would expect. A tween/teen loves nothing more than to be on technology. This is the age they'll use that technology to help you plan the trip. They may help you map out the best route to take in the park, they may find the unique treats that you might not have found on your own, they love to watch Point of View (PoV) videos of a ride or experience. Some enjoy lists, so be prepared to be presented with a list longer than your days might be able to accommodate of the treats they wish to taste while there!
Collecting. Believe it or not, there are a lot of different things that this age can focus on if they are big into collecting. And with two teens in my house now, I'm finding that collecting is in their DNA. We started with Vinylmations, but those are not really a thing much these days. You can collect Mickey/Minnie ears, Trading Pins, Sorcerer Cards (these are FREE at the Magic Kingdom), Park Maps, Pressed Pennies, Park Pins (these are the free ones given from Disney; different than the ones you purchase to trade), Walt Disney World Transportation Cards, Ornaments, and more! Obviously these range in price from free to pricey. I've found that the pressed pennies and the trading pins seem to be the most popular for my household these days. Probably because the pressed pennies are affordable on their budget and fun to hunt for and the trading pins are provided to them by Mom and Dad!
Thrill rides. At this point in time, pretty much most of the tweens/teens have hit the point in time where they will take these thrill rides head on. If not with love, at least for the challenge of saying they at least did it once or for redemption on past trips where they chickened out! So get those tweens/teens on every ride you've not been able to go on before and enjoy it! Because pretty soon you might not be able to handle those thrill rides! LOL
They still enjoy the characters. It might be for different reasons - maybe it's because Snow White is cute or Gaston is good looking, but either way, they'll play along. And at the end of the day, they'll always enjoy a meeting with one of their childhood favorites - even if it means waiting in line for 40 minutes with screaming toddlers! And I think the characters realize too that it takes a special tween/teen to meet them so they'll go out of their way to make the interaction special.
The food. They really get into the food. Nothing more needs to be said.
They often bring their own money! At this age they realize the value of a dollar a little more, and perhaps are earning their own - whether it's because they have their own babysitting job, an actual job, or are simply saving their birthday & Christmas money from family members. It means they have a little more freedom in spending it how they want to. Let them! If they want to spend it all on giant pretzels - in the same day, so be it!
You can go all day. And by all day, I mean ALL day. Tweens/Teens can go from Extra Magic Hours to 2am! Now, with that said, there are a handful that will need to sleep in a couple days. This is where the trip dynamic changes from earlier trips. Earlier trips had earlier evenings. While traveling with this age group will most likely have later starts! Use the time to let the tween/teen sleep a little while you grab coffee/breakfast. It can also make it tricky if your family is like mine where one child can wake up early and the other can't. We've done the fighting and we've done the splitting up. I'll admit the splitting up is much more enjoyable for everyone! Just accept this and decide how the family will split up for a while in the morning and meet up later on.
Speaking of splitting up. This is the age where they want to explore a bit on their own. Gasp! A family vacation where the family isn't all together. This concept was very difficult for me in the beginning. Remember back when our kiddos were 3 and I stated if they couldn't remember the vacation, your memories were just as important? Now is the time when you have to flip the switch on this and realize that their memories are just as important. If you're traveling with others and you can send them off in pairs or groups this is easier. But it's also nice if you're able to just allow your teen (I reserved this for teen status alone) some alone time if they wish. My son still recalls fondly the one hour he was given at EPCOT to do some Pokemon hunting alone when he was 13. I think he likes that we trusted him enough to let him go off and that he was able to control his own time, if even for only this short amount of time. If doing this, it's important to set some boundaries. Our family boundaries were: Don't leave the Park we're at, Text back immediately if we try to reach you, Meet at the designated place and time, Take pictures, and Be careful! Use the time to focus on younger siblings if you have them. Or, if you find yourself alone or alone with only other adults, find something adult friendly to do for a short time!
Experience the "MORE" Disney offers! There are Disney After Hours parties, Tons of things to do at Disney Springs or Downtown Disney, Behind the Scenes Tours, Golf, Diving, Mini-Golf, Archery, and Water Parks (where you don't necessarily have to hop into the water to hold your child up any longer!). This age opens up almost everything that is offered at Disney.
Don't be afraid to take this age to Disney! Even if it's your first trip. There's nothing like seeing that Joy light up from within on your tween/teens face that you don't see at home when you're trudging through the daily tasks of school, homework, and chores!
Have you taken this age to Disney? Share your Joys with me!
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