This just in: The Magic Kingdom is boring

[MaxPower]

My neighbor just got back from a first-time trip to Walt Disney World and I was surprised to hear her family's review of The Magic Kingdom.

She and her husband took their 11 year old son and 10 year old daughter for five days and the kids liked all of the parks except for the Magic Kingdom.

The kids described it as boring.

When I asked the boy what was boring about it - he specifically stated that the Jungle Cruise was "lame" and that Space Mountain was like a kiddie roller coaster. ( He was expecting a big drop at some point).


The girl said that a lot of the time, you just rode through things and looked at mannequins ( She was referring to Pirates of the Carribean - but also mentioned The Haunted Mansion, Hall of Presidents, Country Bear Jamboree, Peter Pan, Snow White, Pooh and It's a Small World as additional examples.) And she has a point - the Magic Kingdom has a lot of attractions where you simply sit and look at mannequins.

Everyone of course has hastheir own tastes, but from our conversation it made me wonder if today's youth could be unimpressed with the attractions that are imagination-based and were considered cutting-edge decades ago.

Not surprisingly, they loved all of the thrill rides: Tower of Terror, Expedition Everest, Rock N Roller Coaster plus other star attractions such as Toy Story Mania, Soarin, Test Track, Splash Mountain and Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger spin.

In a nutshell, these two kids liked everything that was not just a sit-and-look attraction.

With our current I-phone/downloadable apps/video game based society, is the Magic Kingdom becoming a park that's really just a playground for the pre-school set and a comfortable relic for the nostalgic old-timers who fondly remember the Magic Kingdom in its heyday?

Can the Magic Kingdom really impress kids aged 10-16? Or is it boring?

[BluewaterBrad]

Great post. I will be interested in the replies. We do not have any children, but the main reason we visit so often is to be able to use our imagination. Once again great post.

[DizneyRox]

We spend the least amount of time at MK on all our trips, we'll usually end up spending like 2 1/2 days on a two week vacation.

Definitely our least favorite, most hated park.

[cajundisneyfreak]

I strongly disagree.My kids and I love Magic Kingdom.My boys are 12 & 18.It's our favorite park.It's where all the magic happens.In fact my 18 yr.old loves Carousel Of Progress.We sing the song the whole time we're in there."It's a great big beautiful tomorrow shining at the end of everyday." Magic Kingdom is always our first and last park to visit on our trips.What can I say? We are disney freaks.

[plutosnana]

I know my 12 year old sister loves MK and so do my other siblings. It's not boring for me. Maybe the kids looked up to someone who thought WDW was a joke? Either that or they could be thinking that their high and mighty. Some kids r just like that. They think their too old for that. Since their 10-12 year olds of course!

[Michelle15]

I love MK I do agree that some kids who play video games a lot are going to be more geared towards the other parks.

[Jillirose]

We have two kids, ages 12 and 15 now. They have been to Disney 9 times in as many years. The trend has been to spend less and less time at MK, both because of the type of attractions and the crowds. We get there early, ride all the faves (Splash, Pirates, Space, Haunted Mansion) and dash!

[Scar]

Maybe the kids looked up to someone who thought WDW was a joke?

That's similar to what I was thinking. I can see the parents repeating over and over, "This place is boring... let's go ride some real rides."

[disney1122]

Magic Kingdom and Epcot are our faves!

14 yr old and 5 yr old - they both love MK! Sure, there are rides that the 14 yr old doesn't like as much as our 5 yr old, but she just loves the atmosphere at Disney....Does she LOVE Snow White's Adventure, no, but its a classic ride.

We are in love with Disney!

[wdwnutz]

Disney is all about the magic and using your imagination! Imagination is a wonderful thing!

[Rosanne]

This is an extremely interesting post!

I think it takes a certain kind of people to enjoy Disney. If you are in it for the cheap thrill, then Magic Kingdom isn't the place for you. Neither is EPCOT really.

I also think that 10-12 is a difficult age. Kids that age disagree just to disagree. Older teens, 20 year olds, etc. enjoy feeling like a kid.

Tell them to go to Universal next time :-D. Just kidding, Universal fans... maybe.

[SBETigg]

I think the two kids in question are quite possibly unimaginative and dull, sorry to say, and not that the MK is boring. My kids were 8 and 10 on their first trip and they are 17 and 19 now, and still do not find the MK boring. It's their favorite park, though they also love the thrill rides and the other parks. I know lots of kids who love the "sit and look" attractions. I would not use those particular young specimens as gauges into the minds of kids everywhere or assume that they speak for their generation.

[ali'sdad2003]

I can understand that taking kids for the 1st time at that age would result in that kind of response. I think, if you start taking the kids when they are younger, that the rides are not just entertainment but they become special because of the memories that go along with them. If you are looking for "Great America" type of rides, Disney is not the best place to go. You either understand the "Magic" or you don't. The "Magic" is why I keep going back. I imagine others feel the say way. The thrill rides are great but I would not miss any of the classics for anything.

[DizneyRox]

We spend the least amount of time at MK on all our trips, we'll usually end up spending like 2 1/2 days on a two week vacation.

Definitely our least favorite, most hated park.

Rereading this it may be confusing. It's two half days, NOT two and a half days. A total of maybe one day over a two week period.

[Stu29573]

Nope, it's not boring. The kids may be a bit jaded and may be trying to be cool, but the fact that they missed the point is their own issue, not the Magic Kingdom's. My daughter is now 20 and her favorite park has always been MK by far.

Thrill junkies may not get it, and that's ok. There are plenty of other places they can go to get their fix. (I tend to think that always going for the bigger thrill is a dead end in the long run, however. Everything gets surpassed. everything becomes boring eventually if there is no imagination involved.)

But if you want a place that stirs the imagination and warms the soul, it has to be the Magic Kingdom.

[Daisy'sMom]

Isn't sad that alot of today's youth don't want to use their imaginations and think they have to be entertained each and every moment?

[gollybass]

I'm 26 and I love the Magic Kingdom, its just about being in another world, where ghosts are around and animals talk. For the record I play video games too! Some people just don't get it I suppose, and as other posters said, are just boring.

[Disneymom4ever]

My boys absolutely love the MK, and they are 14 and 17! Then again, they grew up going there, so maybe that could have something to do with it. Perhaps first time kids might not appreciate it as much-just looking for thrills. We have so many wonderful memories from that park! As a matter of fact, we just went to Cedar Point for my boys, so they could have their thrills on coasters. My 17 yr old just said this morning, it was ok, but the magic was just missing, like you get at Disney. He would rather just go to Disney. Yep, my boys "get it".

[AllDisney]

Funny to see this post. Years ago we knew this family that took their 2 boys (5 & 8) to WDW for the first time.

I was shocked when I asked how the boys like it. The mom said the boys looked forward more to stopping at South of the Border than WDW (this was way before video games). They wanted to hang out at the Holiday Inn & swim in the pool all day! They took the boys back a few years later (boys 9 & 12)......same thing.

They never did go back. Go fig!

[forever a child]

I took my DD at ages 9, 10 and 11 to WDW. When she was 12 years old I announced "Guess where we are going for spring break?" Her reply hurt me deeply, "Not Disney again!?" Well, no in fact we were going to go to the Grand Canyon and go white water rafting and camping in the canyon. But still, I was hurt that she had that attitude towards our Disney trips.

Move forward now to age 15. DD and I had been trying to get back to WDW for almost a year. I had left my job and was going back to school full time, so we had lost the ability to take the expensive vacations we used to take. Our last vacation was when she was 13 (I had pre-paid the year before I left for school) a package deal for a trip to Florida and Sea World, which we had not yet done. But we started watching our last trip to WDW from our 6 days of video. My DD announced "Boy, I was little bit of a spoiled brat." Well, yes, perhaps a little and it also was just that age! She announced how much she wanted to visit WDW again and how great-full she would be to get to go again.

Well, we finally got to go again this spring; she was 15 years old for this trip. We had SUCH a GREAT time! She posed for photos, she rode all the rides I wanted and changes plans with me a couple of times when I just got tired. She helped carry the bag when it seemed hot and heavy and I tried some new rides with her that she wanted to try. We worked together and both had a great time. We got back home and both decided we wanted to go back.

MK is our favorite park (followed by Epcot as second place). We try to start and end our trip there. She loves POTC, Philharmagic, she wants to try Dumbo on our next trip. We love the train, Peter Pan's Flight, Snow White, of course Splash Mt, Space Mt, the people mover, Buzz lightyear...all the fav's.

Perhaps it is an age thing. I think my DD will always love WDW. I don't see her outgrowing it! I am glad she saw how she behaved as a child and even that she has had to go without for a while cause I think it has made her more greatful and less "spoiled". I never hear "this is boring" coming from her lips.