Can Teenagers Have Fun at Disney World?

---

Sometimes when people think of Disney, they mistakenly believe it to be a place only small children will enjoy. I have even heard of teenagers groaning at the thought of going! So if you’re thinking of visiting Disney World with your teenager and are wondering what is available for people in their age group, I’ve gathered some suggestions from real life teenagers who have recently visited the parks. Whether your teen is a super fan, a mild fan or not really a fan at all, here is what they are sure to love best.

1. Rides

Riding Splash Mountain

If your teen is a thrill seeker then the roller coasters and thrill rides are what they will like best. While Disney doesn’t have a lot of roller coasters, they’ve spared no expense with what they do have. Clara, age 14 and Disney super fan shares some tips “Some of my favorite rides at Walt Disney World Resort are Journey into Imagination in Epcot, DINOSAUR in Animal Kingdom, and Star Tours in Hollywood Studios. I have a huge love for the Disney dark rides especially Little Mermaid, and Winnie the Pooh in Magic Kingdom. I also love Enchanted Tales With Belle, which is a meet and greet, a show and walk through all in one!” In Epcot, some other favorites of teens are Soarin’ Around the World or Test Track where you design your own car and then during the ride it is tested against the cars of the other guests on the ride. In Animal Kingdom, you can careen off waterfalls on Kilimanjaro Water Rapids. Magic Kingdom offers four roller coasters, as well as some of the classics like Peter Pan’s Flight. Teens will like Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin, which is both a ride and a video game. And finally at Hollywood studios, you have the Tower of Terror and Rockin’ Roller Coaster. Personally, I share the sentiments of 17 year old Imogen who said “Even if I had to ride It’s a Small World over and over for hours I would be perfectly content.”

2. Characters

Meeting Kylo Ren.

Do teens really want to meet the characters? Well, the short answer is that some do and some don’t. My belief is that they should at least meet their favorite childhood character, but if the thought of doing so makes then sigh loudly and roll their eyes, then I wouldn’t force it. Here’s what the teens have to say on the subject, Clara says “I think meet and greets can be especially fun for teens because of the amazing interactions you can have with the characters”.  Eden, age 18 and life time Disney lover, says “I really enjoy meeting the characters. Getting to interact and spend time with your favorite princesses and heroes from Disney movies is so much fun. I go to discuss shoes with Cinderella, explain eBay to Ariel, laugh with Peter Pan, make plans to go shooting with Merida, and get hugs from everyone.”  Four out of five of the teens I talked to enjoyed meeting the characters and the fifth never felt the urge to try it. I took 15 year old Carissa to Disney recently and meeting Kylo Ren is what sticks out in her mind the most from the trip, because it’s such a unique, exciting and intimidating experience. 

3. Food

Teenagers usually love food so this shouldn’t be a hard one. But here are some suggestions. Be Our Guest in Magic Kingdom has amazing theming, and the West Wing is a great and relatively quiet place to sit when you have sensory overload from all the loud little kids. It’s a counter service restaurant during lunch, but for dinner you’ll need reservations and the prices will go way up. In Epcot, teens loved the all you can eat buffet at Biergarten, which offers some adventurous food options, as well, as some more safe ones for picky eaters. Also in Epcot is Via Napoli, which serves authentic Italian pizza. Carissa and I ate there twice on our Disney trip. In Hollywood Studios, I highly recommend the Sci-Fi Drive-in Theater. This restaurant has one of the most unique themes on site. In Animal Kingdom, Lucy suggests Yak and Yeti, explaining “They have chicken lo mien that I love more than anything else in the parks! It’s the best Chinese food I’ve ever had.”  But of course, you have to try the Dole whip served in Animal kingdom and the Polynesian Resort. Clara says “It’s hard for me to pick a favorite place to eat because every single restaurant or treat shop has amazing food.”

4. Parades, fireworks, and Shows

March of the First Order Parade.

Some of these are absolute don’t misses and other ones you couldn’t pay me to sit through, and I’m not even a teen. All of the Nighttime Spectaculars are, well, spectacular. These include Wishes and Once Upon a time at Magic Kingdom and Illuminations at Epcot. Both Fantasmic and the Star Wars fireworks in Hollywood studios are amazing. All of these feature special effects and beautiful displays that leave you breathless and, if you’re like me, teary eyed. Let’s see what the teens say, Eden weighs in with her opinion “The parades and shows are really spectacular. The visual effects and design are beautiful and it's usually accompanied by great music, choreography, and costumes. The various actors do an excellent job and it's really enjoyable.” The Festival of Fantasy Parade in Magic Kingdom is a nice one to go to if your teen wants to see a lot of the characters. March of the First Order in Hollywood Studios is pretty neat as well. As far as shows go, the Monsters INC Laugh Floor lives up to its name and is hilarious. If your kids are a fans of the classics Voyage of the little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast in Hollywood Studios are also good.

5. Miscellaneous Remarks

Here he see a teenager enjoying herself with a couple of mid-20 year-old ladies.

For this section I’ll let the teens speak for themselves.
Eden says “I just love Disney, all of it. It's magical and wonderful and I'm so happy when I'm there. I literally have cried there because of joy and emotions of watching things there. For anyone who loves Disney movies, the story rides are great. They're milder, which is good for those who can't do high thrill rides, but are still very fun. You get to travel through parts of or the story of that particular Disney movie in some kind of "car" that matches the theme. Set pieces and walls are painted and animatronics are used to bring the stories to life. And some of them can be more exciting, like the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. Honestly, there really is something there for everyone”

Lucy says “I love Disney because it’s an entire experience wrapped up in a park. I think older kids will enjoy Epcot the most because it’s the most geared toward older audiences. But of course, I love Hollywood Studios for the rides. Animal Kingdom is a park and zoo in one. There is a lot of sophisticated fun at Disney. I feel catered to there!”

Imogen beautifully summarizes “A lot of people judge from the outside and until you really experience something you don’t know exactly what you may have missed. At Disney World, I looked around at the bright and bubbly displays of princesses and fictional characters and thought 'Is this really going to be fun?' but as your waiting in line you see the smiles on everyone's faces. You see how happy the characters are meeting the visitors. And you get to see your favorite childhood movies are coming to real life. Meeting characters and riding the themed rides really makes you feel like you're in a movie. You forget about what life is outside of the parks. You’re fully immersed in this other world where spinning teacups make a fun pass time, and listening to Cinderella tell you to look for and wave to Jaq and Gus racing in the castle moat is some casual conversation. You'll fall in love with the movie accurate towns and restaurants and the live music around the squares, the beautiful fireworks to finish the late nights and the kind words from Walt Disney welcoming you ‘home'.”