Teenagers. They bring a spark of the unpredictable to life. Sometimes, they’re like having an especially hilarious mini-adult living in the house— like an alien from another planet who’s been here long enough to blend in but also is just barely figuring out that the oven is not a reasonable place to store dirty dishes. Other times, their youth becomes more obvious when they melt into a hot mess of emotions over an indecipherable text chain with their friends spoken entirely through memes of cats vomiting rainbows.
Bringing a teen to Walt Disney World can seem an intimidating prospect. Whereas Disney is easily the Most Magical Place on Earth for small children, teenagers are not so easily taken in by flying elephants and daydreaming princesses. In Florida, the easiest solution tends to be to assume that the teenage years is just the age you visit Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure instead. While plenty of reasons can be explored why Walt Disney World outranks Universal in overall theme park offerings, there’s no doubt that Universal’s parks are somewhat-more-ideal for teenagers.
Universal’s advantage in the teenage market doesn’t mean that teenagers can’t enjoy Walt Disney World, however. Indeed, the reason why most teens tend to get annoyed with Disney usually has its root in misconceptions and misguided trip planning. The truth is that The Most Magical Place on Earth is well on the way to becoming more teen-friendly than ever before with the impending arrivals of Star Wars: Galaxy’s edge, as well as new offerings like the Guardians of the Galaxy and Tron roller coasters.
Want your teens to enjoy Walt Disney World as much as you do? We gathered seven tips to customize your trip to be as teen-friendly as possible.
1. Plan to visit during less busy times
Image: Disney
This is probably the top Disney Parks 101 tip we share here at Theme Park Tourist, and it goes double if you have teenagers—resist the urge to plan your trip during Disney’s busiest seasons.
If you have an ultra-extraverted teen who has demonstrated comfort with huge crowds, there’s some breathing room, but the honest truth is visiting Walt Disney World during any of the park’s ultra-busy seasons with a teen is a recipe for disaster. The worst of these include all holiday weekends (especially Christmas, New Year’s, and 4th of July), Spring Break, June through Mid-August, and the weeks surrounding a major opening within the parks.
It’s already rough enough enjoying the parks when crowds are overflowing, a more and more common issues since the “off-season” is much harder to pin down these days (October and the first weeks of December, for example, are no longer surefire times to visit for low crowds), but bringing teenagers when the parks are packed can add all new elements of stress.
While every teenager is different, modern teens tend to share two issues. First, depending on their age and maturity level, they may get frustrated with long lines. Sure, Disney has lots of great ways to keep guests entertained in their queues, even without the need for a smartphone, but most teens have an attention span that is about equal to their age in minutes (13-17 minutes). Their impression of Disney is not going to be particularly positive if they spend the whole time in line.
More important, however, is the increasing issue of anxiety. We live in a culture where modern teens are more stressed out than ever. Leaving aside the wide range of issues behind this phenomenon, anxiety is a familiar struggle to the vast majority of teenagers. Even if a teen doesn’t have an obvious anxiety issue like a disorder, theme parks with near-capacity-crowds can easily leave a teen out of sorts and overwhelmed. Their impression of Disney parks can end up being a negative one due to crowds alone, even if the crowds are the same as they’d experience at another park like Universal.
Want your teens to enjoy Walt Disney World as much as you do? Give them the best impression possible by visiting during a time when crowds aren’t totally bonkers. If possible, take them out of school—this can be a great motivator for them to keep their grades up and do their chores! A few particularly nice times to still visit are mid-January (avoiding holiday weeks), early May, late September, and mid-December on weekdays.
2. Choose your parks wisely (especially in regards to Magic Kingdom)
Image: Disney
The vast majority of families who visit Walt Disney World tend to follow a predictable trip structure. A large emphasis is placed on time visiting Magic Kingdom. In general, first time visitors tend to prioritize Disney’s Animal Kingdom next as a full day park, followed by possible half-days at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and maybe Epcot. If the family only has a three-day pass, one of these two will be skipped.
This tends to be difficult for some to hear (especially more seasoned fans), but if you will be visiting Walt Disney World with teens for the first time, throw the traditional plan out entirely and don’t overdo your time at Magic Kingdom.
The truth is, Magic Kingdom is honestly the least-teen-friendly park at Walt Disney World. This statement is usually met with incredulity by parents and fans, but it’s just the truth for many teens. Don’t get me wrong—Magic Kingdom has a lot to offer, especially if your teens grew up loving Disney. However, if you’re budgeting out your trip time considering the general inclinations of the average Gen Z teenager, Magic Kingdom is the most likely park to leave them feeling “Meh”.
There’s so many reasons this notion seems to defy logic. After all, wouldn’t Epcot be the least teen-friendly park? Even Disney’s Animal Kingdom can seem like a hard sell for teens for those unfamiliar with the park’s offerings. Thanks to Pandora: The World of Avatar and Expedition: Everest, most teens consistently rate Disney’s Animal Kingdom as their favorite. Disney’s Hollywood Studios often takes second place (and may even take the lead once Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opens). As for Epcot, even it often surprisingly edges out Magic Kingdom as a dark horse in the race for teen appeal—more on that in a bit.
Image: Disney
Magic Kingdom absolutely has some great attractions for teens, but it suffers from two significant fatal flaws—it feels the most like a “kid’s park” and a majority of its attractions are either kid-focused or rely on nostalgia. If a teen has no childhood-connection to Disney parks, attractions like Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, and It’s a Small World can just seem cheesy in comparison to Expedition: Everest and Test Track.
If you won’t be bringing small children with you, consider limiting your time at Magic Kingdom with new teen visitor to a half day. This gives enough time to hit a few strategic attractions but doesn’t leave you lingering in the parks for too long. If you’ll only be visiting on a 3 day-3 park ticket and appealing to your teenager is a priority, consider skipping Magic Kingdom entirely—seriously. Unless your teen gets the Disney-magic feelz, they will be statistically more likely to enjoy the other three parks. This isn’t a hard rule, but we have seen the scenario play out enough times to notice a pattern. Kids and adults tend to love Magic Kingdom, but teens can only take so much of it. There are exceptions to every rule and every teenager is different, but this is a pretty frequent scenario. Instead of planning to make Magic Kingdom the top priority in your Disney vacation, spend some extra time in the other three parks instead.
3. Don’t under-estimate Epcot
Image: Jett Farrell-Vega (@mykingdomforamouse Instagram)
Just like there is a real temptation to emphasize time at the Magic Kingdom if you have teens—after all, it has roller coasters and a haunted house–, many parents tend to under-estimate Epcot as a potential teen destination at Walt Disney World. Epcot unfortunately has a kind of poor reputation as a ‘nerd park’. With its strong background in edu-tainment, it seems like just the type of place that would put off teenagers.
I recall when we once took two of our Florida students, high school freshmen, to Walt Disney World. Their families visited the parks frequently, so they were familiar with all four parks. We told them they could pick any park in Walt Disney World for the visit. With little hesitation and to our total surprise, they both picked Epcot. Both were totally normal Fortnite-playing teenage boys. They loved Epcot. We had an absolute blast riding rides and eating our way through World Showcase.
Epcot may not have the non-stop action appeal of Disney’s Hollywood Studios or the fantastical scope of Disney’s Animal Kingdom, but it has several factors in its favor for appealing to teens. First off, it has several great attractions for the age group—Test Track includes the thrills of a high-speed race but also allows teens to dream big and make autonomous choices in designing their vehicles. Mission: Space Orange feels distinctly like a thrill ride to young visitors, and Soarin’ engages their sense of wonder. Many teens do have some educational interests, and attractions like Spaceship: Earth and even Living With the Land engage this, piquing their curiosity about subjects that might sound dull at school. Most modern teens may not feel much nostalgic connection with Mickey Mouse and Goofy, but they certainly might regarding Frozen or Finding Nemo/Dory, which gives Epcot extra points.
Image: Jett Farrell-Vega
World Showcase and Epcot’s festivals add another surprising element. World Showcase scratches the itch of teenage wanderlust, giving adolescents an opportunity to try foods and experience new cultures. Some favorites tend to be the sword displays in the UK and Norway pavilions, the pastries in France and Norway, and especially the Mitsukoshi store in Japan. As for Epcot’s festivals, they provide a fun opportunity for teens to try wild new foods and for them to goof around. Sure, some of the dishes might be intimidating for picky eaters, but there’s so much variety that teens can often find at least something to try (plus, teenage boys are often bottomless pits for food). Festival activities like special Photopass frames, interactive art exhibits, living statues, and concerts add even more teen-friendly fun.
In short, resist the temptation to skip Epcot just because you have teens. The park has a neat way of appealing to the side of many teenagers that wants to be viewed as a little more mature then smaller kids.
4. Know the top teen-friendly attractions
Image: Disney
No matter which parks you choose to visit, you’ll want to make sure you hit the best attractions for teen appeal. Every teenager is different—some love thrills rides, some don’t, for example—but statistically, we have noticed that some attractions tend to excite teen visitors more than others. At the same time, some family favorites tend to ring as duds to teens.
At Disney’s Animal Kingdom, you can’t go wrong with Avatar: Flight of Passage and Expedition: Everest. These are often ranked as teens favorite Disney attractions overall. The Hollywood Tower of Terror and the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster tend to hold the crowd at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, followed by anything Star Wars related (we won’t be the least bit surprised if Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run becomes the new frontrunner). At Epcot, Test Track and Mission Space Orange are usually surefire winners, while the Magic Kingdom mountains remain the best bet at their respective park.
If you really want to hit a truly perfect attraction for teens, head over to Disney Springs and try Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire. This hyper-virtual reality experience is truly mind-bending, and it’s practically tailor made for teens.
Here’s an overview of our favorites and some duds for taking teens to each park:
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom
- Winners
- Avatar: Flight of Passage
- Expedition: Everest
- Kali River Rapids
- Kilimanjaro Safaris
- Maharajah Jungle Trek
- Hit-or-Miss
- Dinosaur (some teens find it more cheesy than thrilling)
- Navi River Journey
- Duds
- Primeval Whirl (granted, everyone over the age of 10 seems to hate this one)
- Winners
- Disney’s Hollywood Studios
- Winners
- The Hollywood Tower of Terror
- The Aerosmith Rockin’ Roller Coaster
- The Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular
- Star Tours
- Anything connected to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge
- Star Wars: Launch Bay
- Muppet Vision 3D
- Toy Story Mania
- Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular
- Hit-or-Miss
- Toy Story Land, including Slinky Dog Dash
- Fantasmic
- Duds
- The Stage Shows (unless your teen gets the warm-fuzzies when they watch The Little Mermaid or Beauty and The Beast)
- Winners
- Epcot
- Winners
- Test Track
- Soarin’
- Mission: Space Orange
- The Festivals (especially Festival of the Arts and Food and Wine Festival)
- Mitsukoshi
- Morocco
- Sword displays in UK shops
- Anything related to Guardians of the Galaxy
- Hit-or-Miss
- Spaceship: Earth
- Living with the Land (weirdly enough)
- The American Adventure
- Frozen Ever After
- The Seas with Nemo and Friends
- Duds
- Journey Into Imagination
- The films
- Innoventions
- Gran Fiesta Tour
- Winners
- Magic Kingdom (get ready for some “ouch”, superfans)
- Winners
- Space Mountain
- Splash Mountain
- Big Thunder Mountain
- Tom Sawyer Island (particularly Injun Joe’s cave)
- Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
- The Peoplemover (curiously)
- Everything related to Gaston
- Hit-or-Miss
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- The Haunted Mansion
- The Seven Dwarves Mine Train
- Jungle Navigation Co Skipper Canteen
- The Mad Tea Party
- Duds
- Pretty much everything in Fantasyland, ESPECIALLY It’s a Small World (Peter Pan’s Flight tends to be the most tolerated ride if the wait is short)
- The Barnstormer
- Country Bear Jamboree
- The Hall of Presidents
- Jungle Cruise (in most cases—some teens find it funny)
- Monster’s Inc Laugh Floor (same situation—some think it’s funny, others are horrified)
- The Carousel of Progress
- The Enchanted Tiki Room
- The Tomorrowland Speedway
- Winners
5. Don’t make all of your plans based on younger siblings
Image: Disney
One of the biggest frustrations of teens we’ve met over the years who visit Walt Disney World is feeling like the entire trip caters to younger siblings. It’s a surprisingly common phenomenon. Disney World tends to feel like a park more appropriate to younger kids, so there’s an easy temptation to visit attractions that appeal to them more. Some parents also seem to assume that their teens just aren’t going to like Disney, so they focus all their attention on the younger kids, sometimes assuming that the teens will get more focus on a future trip Universal Studios or Busch Gardens.
A lot of the teens we met really enjoyed certain elements of visits to Walt Disney World, but these elements were either skipped or glanced over compared with activities more appropriate to younger siblings. Another thing that triggers this is falling into the trap of assuming the family needs to all do the same activities together. This means that if the younger kids don’t like roller coasters, the family skips them even if the teens would be up for them. Foods are chosen based on the picky palates of smaller kids, and much time during the day is sucked up standing in line for the most popular attractions in the parks for little kids.
While every family has different needs, try to resist this model of trip planning in favor of something more balanced. Yes, smaller kids have a lot of unique needs, and they can even be more demanding than teens. If you want your teens to enjoy Walt Disney World, a more balanced trip approach will include attractions that they enjoy as well. This may mean splitting up into two groups for thrill rides (or letting the teen ride alone in the single rider line) or using the rider switch option. Smaller kids might get moody if they’re used to having the trip catered to them, but your teens will appreciate feeling like their needs are being considered as much as their siblings.
6. Make the food a (teen-friendly) adventure
Image: Disney
There tends to be a common assumption that teenagers only want to eat hot dogs, cheeseburgers, and spaghetti. While, yes, many teens are picky eaters and these are all safe bets for eating at Disney, many parents make a major mistake when planning meals at Walt Disney World…
They treat teens like small children when it comes to their food choices.
Don’t automatically assume that your teen might not be interested in some adventurous choices at Walt Disney World. Many teens have just reached the age where they are willing to try some new foods, so long as those food seem appealing in some way. Walt Disney World is a great place to introduce teens to new cuisines, new desserts, and let them try some exciting food that just might be the best thing they’ve ever eaten outside of grandma’s cooking.
At Animal Kingdom, instead of Pizzafari, try Satu’li Canteen’s sci-fi themed exotic fare. At Magic Kingdom, instead of Casey’s Corner or even Be Our Guest, try Jungle Navigation Co Skipper Canteen. At Epcot, instead of the Electric Umbrella or Liberty Inn, try Katsura Grill, Sunshine Seasons, Kringla Bakery, or Tangierine Café. At Disney’s Hollywood Studios, either try the Sci-fi Dine In Theater or some of the (soon arriving) offerings at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. We’re hoping the Black Spire Outpost finally redeems the dismal food options at this park.
As for sit down dinners, be careful with character dinners and teenagers. While some teens do well with Disney characters, others are weirded out by the unwanted attention of even a very-funny Mickey Mouse or eyelash-batting Disney princess. If your family likes character meals, go for it—just give teens some extra grace if they get shy around the characters.
7. Respect that teens don’t want to be treated like kids
Image: Disney
Being a teenager is a weird time in life. You know enough things to feel like a semi-adult, but you’re too young to actually have that autonomy (or attention span). There are few things teenagers hate more, though, than being treated like kids.
In a way, it’s the number one reason why some teens recoil from places like Magic Kingdom—it feels like a “kid” place. They don’t want to be sung to, play with dolls, or cozy up to some characters that they now-totally-know are real people in a costume.
What is the best advice for bringing teens to Walt Disney World? Stop treating them like little kids.
Yes, teens like to have fun, goof off, and generally scream their heads off on rollers coasters… but if you treat them like they are intelligent and can contribute to decisions in the family, that confidence and encouragement will have a positive effect. Consider including your teen in some of the decision-making processes for your trip. Provided they maintain a good attitude, let them have some input on rides, meals, and entertainment. Yes, stretch them to try new things, but let them feel like they’re an active part of the trip, not just a passenger.
Even more so, consider giving teens some level of controlled autonomy on the vacation. If they’ve demonstrated a level of trustworthiness, consider letting them ride a ride or explore a little alone (if you want to keep an eye on their location, an app like Life360 works great, even within the parks). It’s a great mini-experience in prepping for adulthood.
Have you ever brought a teenager to Walt Disney World? What’s your best advice to first time families?
