Help a mom out! 3 teens

[Aytons4him]

Need some Disney teen expert help.

I am planning our family's trip and I have both older teen children and preschoolers so this makes for some time apart. The younger ones will be doing some extra park days and the 3 older teens will be having some time together on their own.
We will be staying on property at the Carribean beach. I am looking for some sample intinerarys for teens and favorite places to eat when you are not at a park.

Any fun resort hopping options ( not pool hopping), neat things to see, great places to eat, cool food courts?

Looking forward to hearing some great ideas!

 

[Newsies]

Hi!

I don't know your teens and what they enjoy doing, so I don't know if my suggestions will really be any help

• Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon, Disney's two water parks, are a lot of fun.
• Downtown Disney is a popular non-park teen location. There's a lot of shopping, a movie theater, bowling, lots of great restaurants, etc- it's awesome! There's also Disneyquest in Downtown Disney, a fun indoor arcade/theme park, but I'm not sure whether or not your children are too old for it.
• Animal Kingdom Lodge is a really, really fun resort. You can see animals and enjoy a meal at Boma or Sanaa.
• Another resort I enjoy visiting is the Polynesian Resort. It's right on the monorail, so you can also stop by the Contemporary Resort and the Grand Floridian! All of them have lots of dining, shopping, and activities.

 

[Aytons4him]

Thanks newsies!
I think they will do a day at blizzard beach for sure! Also downtown Disney is a must! What's your best suggestion for table service restaurants down there for them to eat at? It would be for dinner. They would probably eat a quick service lunch there as well.

We will probably go check out animal kingdom one afternoon as a family. I sooo want to stay there.
As for those monorail resorts any suggestions of what to do if they do go take a tour one day?

 

[Arge Droz]

If you're looking for a table service in Downtown Disney for the whole family, I would recommend Rainforest or T-Rex Cafe. If it's just the teens, maybe House of Blues, Planet Hollywood, or Fulton's Crab House if it's not out of your price range. As far as tours go, do you mean the official tours Disney offers? If so, the Backstage Safari Tour at Animal Kingdom sounds awesome. But you mentioned pool hopping in a previous post and I would actually recommend that. The Polynesian has a great new pool. The Art of Animation has the largest pool on property and it plays music under water. Port Orleans: French Quarter & Coronado Springs have great slides at their pools. If you stay in a Disney resort, all the resort pools (except the Yacht & Beach) are available for you. But other than that, I agree with Newsies, just walking around and checking out the different hotels can be pretty fun. Or they might enjoy walking along the Boardwalk. Or maybe they might enjoy a scavenger hunt. I don't know, a few suggestions.

 

[LilPiglet]

My parents and me usually stay at the BoardWalk since we are DVC members and that is our home resort. Hanging out on the boardwalk is great and going to ESPN for the Wings and Fries and the Sports trivia(which my dad loves) is a lot of fun. Downtown Disney is also great for food and shopping. I am only 13 and don't get to go by myself, but I still have a blast with my Mom and Dad. Other resorts to hop to is definitely The Grand Floridian Resort. It is so beautiful and just great to walk around the resort and the lobby. Resort restaurants for eating I would agree that Boma at AKL is great. Also the BoardWalk Bakery for some great pastries and sandwiches are fantastic.

 

[soccermom16]

I was there with 4 teens this past December - my 2 kids took friends - and I was worried about them having too much 'free time' on their hands. Both sets of kiddos spent time on their own. The 13/14 yo girls did one day at MK by themselves, spent lots of time swimming in the quiet pools at the resorts and time at DTD. The two 16 yo boys did a ton on their own - golfed 2 rounds, went to the movies and spent time at DTD roaming around...

Since I was worried about 'too much free time', I made a 'gift bag' for each one and handed it to them at the start of the trip. They each got: their magic band, hand sanitizer, gum, their $50 gift card to spend on food (we paid for all food for all the kids), some snackies and a scavenger hunt list. I created the scavenger hunt based on where I knew they would be. For example, with the girls spending time at MK, I put a few specific things on the list for only the girls to find at MK. With the boys golfing, I did the same. Then there were things like, take a pic of you and the captain of the ferry boat from SSR to DTD (since we stayed at SSR), where can you get a free sample of chocolate at DTD (there are actually 2 places...if you are there at the right time!), what character 'spits' at DTD, take a pic of you/friend with your favorite Disney hat on, etc. I had them take alot of pictures for proof....then I'd also end up with pictures of them when they were doing things on their own and having fun! It worked out well and I think we got a lot of pictures we normally wouldn't have gotten had I not had them take pics!

Good luck!!