Orlando, the city of so many wonderful choices, but is it enough to please your teenagers and make for a fun and happy family vacation? The answer is a resounding yes!
Finding the right accommodations is a must. We have found that renting a condominium or home in a complex with a pool and other amenities fits the bill. Make sure there is enough space for everyone (parents and teens) to have some personal space and alone time. We rented a condo with room for all (our teenage son brought his PS2 and his DVD's, our daughter brought her CD collection and DVD's for their down time). The pool was also great for fun and relaxation. It is also a good idea to make sure that your rooms are near the pool, that way your teenagers can hang out there alone and you can still keep an eye on things!
Next plan activities that take into consideration your teenager's likes and dislikes. Also, consult them in planning--if your budget doesn't allow everything, let each teenager pick what their first choice activity would be and do that. For example, our teenage son is really into movies so naturally one of his choices was Disney-MGM Studios. He loved the Lights, Motors, Action, Extreme Stunt Show, Star Tours: Star Wars Thrill Ride, Sounds Dangerous, Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, and the Backlot Tour. Our teenage daughter adores animals of all kinds so she chose Sea World. The dolphin feeding and interaction at Dolphin Cove was her favorite, but she also really enjoyed the dolphin show, the manatee exhibit, feeding the seals and sea lions and the penguin exhibit. Universal Studios was our pick for both teenagers who love all things movies. They loved Shrek 4D, Men in Black, Fear Factor, Jaws, Terminator, Twister and more. Universal's Islands of Adventure was perfect for the thrill seekers in all of us, and we had a blast on Dueling Dragons, Hulk Roller Coaster, RipSaw Falls, and Adventures of Spiderman. We also had great fun shopping around Downtown Disney or Universal's City Walk (A lesson learned--make sure your teenagers bring their own money or all of yours will be gone!)
Be prepared to allow your independent teenagers the opportunity to venture out into the park that you are in without you, and give them a set meeting time to check in with you. Give a little freedom to them, and you might just find they want to hang out with you! (Who would imagine? Hanging out with their parents?!)
Follow this advice and then, like we did, you can manage to have a fun (not too grumpy) family vacation in Orlando with your teenagers!
This tidbit of real travel advice was brought to you by L Crawford.
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