What (about your kids) surprised you?

[Urbss]

I've been thinking about the past 3 years with our son and thought this might be an interesting thread.

What attractions were you really excited about your child/children seeing that they didn't seem all that crazy about? Or, what attraction did they really enjoy that you would never have believed that they would like?

I can't think of anything my son (now 6) doesn't like about WDW. After 3 trips there he seems like an expert and loves it all.

But, there are 2 attractions that I am surprised he really likes.

1st was Carousel of Progress. It was closed the first year he went, but he fell in love with it when he was only 4! Very Surprising to me, although that is one of my favorites since I was a pre-teen.

2nd was The Great Movie Ride last year when he was 5. We had to go right back on it (and we had to wait extra long because I asked the CM if we could do the "other" version").

So, how did your kids surprise you??

Tom

[Gregandmel]

Our 2 boys are 20 & 11 years old and have had 2 trips the past 3 years. My biggest surprise is that my 20 year old son keeps asking when we are going back. I thought for sure he'd think it was just a "so so" vacation but our trips have been so wonderful that he's hooked! Gotta love it!! They both grew up with the Disney classics and to see my older son in the ship for Peter Pan with a huge grin on his face makes my heart melt! You are never too old to enjoy Disney

[darthmacho]

I've told this story before, so I apologize for those that have heard it, but I'm still surprised how much they love Dumbo. I figured since they were 6 and 9 for our trip, that they would want to start with Space or Splash Mountain, but they insisted on starting with Dumbo.
Now Splash Mountain is their favorite ride, and I figured that they'd want to start with that ride next year, since they'd be 8 and 11, but guess what...we're going to start with Dumbo again.

[buzznwoodysmom]

My youngest has always loved COP. It surprised me that he sat through it so interested at just 9 months old the first time, while other kids were screaming with boredom! Now at 9 years old he still loves this attraction, and its a must do for him on every trip.

My kids are kind of "old souls" when it comes to WDW. They like the thrill rides, but there is a very special place in their hearts for all the classic Disney rides. I don't think they'll ever think they are too old for Peter Pan, POTC, HM, TTA, COP, and all the other non thrill rides WDW has. My oldest sometimes doesn't want to do some of the thrill rides, even tho he's ridden them before and liked them. He'll often as me if I want to "people watch" with him while his dad and little brother ride some of the thrill rides. I always get a kick out of that!

[T-Belle]

My daughter loves Living With The Land. She's 28 now but has loved it since she was a little girl. This amazes me because she has always been such a girlie girl. She's never been into farming or anything "outdoorsy". Amazing!

[Mousemates]

that my daughter fell in love with Figment way back in the day and still loves him as a college freshman.

[Kairi_7378]

We're taking my son for his first trip n a few days... but I've been really surprised at how much he enjoys reading the Imagineers' Guides to the parks. He loves looking at the artwork, looking at the maps, etc. I'll update with his park surprises when we get back!

[LVT]

While waiting for the Great Movies ride to start the CM asked trivia stuff. My 21 year old son knew the correct names of Donald's nephews.
I certainly did not.

[IloveDisney71]

My girls were 2 & 3 the 1st time they the MK so we did a lot of Fantasyland rides and they loved them all. When we finally made it back when they were in 3rd & 4th grade they surprised me by falling in love with the COP - to this day it is a MUST ride every time we go. They LOVE it!

[ryca1dreams]

When my son was younger, he really loved RnRC. A few years back he decided he didn't like it and now as a teen still refuses to go on it. I was a little surprised at that. He says it's the sudden takeoff. We'll see...

[buzznwoodysmom]

When my son was younger, he really loved RnRC. A few years back he decided he didn't like it and now as a teen still refuses to go on it. I was a little surprised at that. He says it's the sudden takeoff. We'll see...

My oldest son has done the same thing. He used to love ToT, RNRC, and Everest. He now says the falling in ToT, the sudden take off and loops in RNRC and the backwards part of Everest gives him an uneasy feeling in his stomach and chest so he'll often not want to ride them. Once in a while he'll brave RNRC and Everest, and enjoys them when he does it. I think it depends on how he's feeling before he rides. However, ToT is an absolute NO GO for him now.

[mom2mickeyfan]

My 5 year son loves Living with the Land. He loved it when he was 4 also....would talk about whenever DW came up.

[Gator]

My son really loved Winnie the Pooh, even though he doesn't watch the show or the movies. That surprised me. My daughter surprised me with her being a thrill seeker. At the age of 3, she was 40 inches and begging to go on Tower of Terror. She loved it. Weird.

[texas211]

Our 2 boys are 20 & 11 years old and have had 2 trips the past 3 years. My biggest surprise is that my 20 year old son keeps asking when we are going back. I thought for sure he'd think it was just a "so so" vacation but our trips have been so wonderful that he's hooked! Gotta love it!! They both grew up with the Disney classics and to see my older son in the ship for Peter Pan with a huge grin on his face makes my heart melt! You are never too old to enjoy Disney

That surprised my dad as well with my sister and I. We kept doing family vacations until I was in my 20's (i'm the oldest). Now that I have my own family, we still go to WDW. Hmm, maybe I should bring the old folks in tow...

[Lisaj13]

The first time my kids went to Disney was Disneyland when they were 8 and 12.

DD2 has always been very shy and sensitive, so you can imagine my surprise when she turned out to be a roller coaster demon. After going on California Screamin' her older sister declared, "you people are insane! I'm not going on there again!" Which meant that I was the designated roller coaster co-rider for the trip!

This past trip to WDW in August we all enjoyed Rock 'n Roller Coaster - several times!

[MstngDrvnDsnyLvr]

That my daughter would rather go to WDW than ANYWHERE else with just me (she's got 3 brothers and a father - DH) for her HS graduation trip. So my then 17 yr old and I will be at WDW in June of next year.

[TinkerbellsMom]

My daughter was 4 years old on her first trip to WDW and I kid you not, her favorite attraction was the POFQ pool! We had to literally beg and bribe her to go the parks in the morning. At one point we even had to lie to her, with the help of a Lifeguard, by telling her that the resort pools are closed in the am until lunch for cleaning...

Fast forward 6 years and 8 trips later, her most favorite ride is Test Track, then all the mountains. The Magic Carpets ride always has a soft spot for all of us as she loves having the camel spit on her Dad.

[BrerGnat]

My kids had been going to Disneyland from the time they were babies, so they were familiar with all those rides.

But, when we first took them to WDW, and they were 5 and 4, their favorite ride was...Spaceship Earth! I couldn't believe it. We must have rode it 15 times that week. We're going back (2 years later) in December, and that's what they want to ride first. I mean, I love SSE, but I can't say that I liked it that much when I was their age.

[MrPeetrie]

On my DD's second trip to WDW, she was 2 1/2 YO. I was amazed at how much she liked the dark or scary rides. She loved Haunted Mansion. She loved Hopper in It's Tough to be a Bug; Ursula in Voyage of the Little Mermaid. I thought they'd frighten her, but they didn't.

On her next trip (DD5), she took a fascination with Carousel of Progress. Since my wife can visit that attraction only once during a vacation, it was I who sat through that show MULTIPLE times.

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

My son is pretty fearless so I was surprised that he isn't a big fan of Tower of Terror...

An old attraction I absolutely hated and would think my son would have hated also was Tarzan Rocks...he loved it. He also loves Living with the Land, but I like it too