This just in: The Magic Kingdom is boring

[waymickey]

MY DD is 17 and loves MK. she doesn't think it is boring at all. My DH is 48 and also loves MK and went the first time when he was 28. It is not a typical amusment park in fact it isn't an amusement park at all. It is a theme park. The theme is incredible. The "Show" as disney like to call it was planned out to very fine details, like where to put the train station, how the lands connect, and even the color of the pain to n the grounds. It is not boring.

[AndyMan]

MY DD is 17 and loves MK. she doesn't think it is boring at all. My DH is 48 and also loves MK and went the first time when he was 28. It is not a typical amusment park in fact it isn't an amusement park at all. It is a theme park. The theme is incredible. The "Show" as disney like to call it was planned out to very fine details, like where to put the train station, how the lands connect, and even the color of the pain to n the grounds. It is not boring.

This made me think of my family. My dad first went when he was 41 and now he loves Disney so much that he talks about getting a condo in Orlando so he can "live near the mouse."

[SelfmadeWade]

LOL - Kind of made me chuckle :-) I don't know your exact circumstances, but our first trip to Disney was with a "recently acquired" 15 year old boy. I must say, though, that it was a very up-and-down experience for him: partly very exciting, and partly so overwhelming that he got really grumpy and negative. To be perfectly honest, I think there was also a level of feeling he'd missed out since "we" probably weren't his first choice to go to Disney with, if you know what I mean. BUT... He's 21 now and is so hooked that he can't wait to go back

I think this happens a lot with teenagers -they are too cool for Disney World - and then a few years later they are all there on College Night and bringing their own families soon after.

[WDWPrincess]

I think this happens a lot with teenagers -they are too cool for Disney World - and then a few years later they are all there on College Night and bringing their own families soon after.

This is a good point. If the Magic Kingdom were unpopular with teens, then College Night would not be such a success.

[MarkC]

It of course depends on your personality and how many times you've been there. If you're a teenager and you've been there 100 times I could see where it would be boring for you, especially a male. However, we still love it, even though I like Epcot and AK better, and DS about the same. An evening at MK is tough to beat.

[WDWPrincess]

It of course depends on your personality and how many times you've been there. If you're a teenager and you've been there 100 times I could see where it would be boring for you, especially a male. However, we still love it, even though I like Epcot and AK better, and DS about the same. An evening at MK is tough to beat.

I agree. The Magic Kingdom is the best park to visit at night. And also the best night time park to visit even if you are not going to any of the attractions. The atmosphere is wonderful.

[nunners]

The Magic Kingdom provides and instant connection to my inner child and I lose myself in the nostalgia and feeling of enchantment from the moment I enter the place. Maybe it's because I grew up watching The Wonderful World of Disney with my family, reading all the Disney story books, and listening to Disney music. I'm one of those who never visted WDW or DL as a child. As a matter of fact, my first trip was at age 28 with my wife's family. So for me (at age 45), I suppose more than anything, the Magic Kingdom exceeds my childhood visions of what it would be like and I love sharing the experience over and over again with my own family. While we love everything Disney, the Magic Kingdom is the first and last park we visit on every trip.

While the Magic Kingdom may dissapoint thrill seekers, it's grand theming and variety of attractions certainly keep my family coming back. In regard to the Magic Kingdom's appeal to a universal audience (to play on words), Disney's Imagineers are faced with the challenge of creating a feeling of connection with each generation. I look forward to completion of the additions to Fantasyland and to see the Imagineer's visions for that portion of the park brought to life.

[crazygoalie39]

I was 17 for my first trip to WDW and I was begging my parents to go since I was 12. MK was and is my favorite park. It's just so magical. I feel like it's just a difference in personalities. As a whole, I feel like youth is moving more towards the "MK is boring" view, but there are definitely still kids who see the MK for how amazing it really is.

[KatieDuck22]

do her kids think christmas is boring too?

[Dsnygirl]

I've already added a post to this thread, months ago, but my 12yr old DD (who is waiting ANXIOUSLY to be 13 so she can join in on here... ) just read through it and wanted me to say from her, verbatim - "That is just ridonculous!!"

To add a bit to that... she and her younger sister (9) are, of course, like any kids, and LOVE the bigger rides... they look forward to them every trip. But you couldn't GET them to miss riding PoC or Splash, or IASW (in fact, my DD12 was appalled that I didn't ride it on my last "girl's wknd" trip... ) and Peter Pan...they wouldn't miss them. I can't account for why -- why some kids "get it" and enjoy every aspect of WDW and others don't... I certainly have friends who have visited and come back with the same comments as the OP's friend about the rides. In fact, my hairdresser has a 4yr old son who isn't interested in MK anymore b/c he wants the "big" rides already.... ??? ... so maybe it's partly how the parents react to the rides and parks, as well?? If you've got parents like most of us here, who love everything about Disney and the parks and who really "get" what Walt was trying to give everybody -- we pass that on to our children from little on, without even realizing it, and they grow up (at least quite often) feeling and thinking the same way. And if you have parents who are "ho hum" about it and are thrill riders themselves who really don't care about the ambience of the parks, the "feel" of being there and all the little details that get missed so easily, well then maybe their kids react the same way and walk away a bit disappointed.

(I realize that's quite a generalization, as I come from a family that had nothing to do with Disney, and here I am, a happy WDW fanatic and they all think we're ... but I do wonder if it happens more often than not??)

From Julia:

"I love the Magic Kingdom!
I love the Magic Kingdom!
I love the Magic Kingdom! "

[Ramblingman]

Not sure if I can add anything original to this thread, but that won't stop me from commenting. Although my first thought was...posting this thread on this site is sort of like going on HuffPo and announcing that Nancy Pelosi is a loser.

Seriously, I can understand the teens and their thoughts. I don't agree, but I can understand. It sounds like a conflux of things combined in a perfect storm to make it feel boring for them.

If a parent has gone before, they can transfer their sense of wonder. If a child begins going when they are young, they recall things when they are older.

That is part of the point, and it's been touched on by many posts here. MK has not changed much, and that is by design. However, The Mouse recognizes that there are others who need something different, so they opened another park, and then another, and then...

WDW is an entire experience, not just one park. Each park has its own little pockets of experiences. I've heard some people say they love MK but Fantasyland is not for them. That's why they have Tomorrowland.

WDW is large enough for everyone to find something that they love. If you're not into parks, there's Downtown Disney. I'm not trying to preach to the choir here, I'm just saying there is enough for everybody. The post said they did find things they liked.

I would say that the teens will eventually come to appreciate the other areas. It's hard not to.

For the record, I first went when I was young when WDW first opened. My DW went when she was young as well. We first took our kids when they were in diapers. Our next trip is scheduled just after my DS21 graduates college and DD19 finishes her first year. We are all looking forward to the trip, especially because we are taking DS's girlfriend, who is a grad student but has never been to WDW before (and is scared of mascots, so this should be fun).

We get to see it through fresh eyes, while imparting our memories to her. I think we will all come away with a new perspective.

[MrPeetrie]

The Magic Kingdom is by far our most favorite park in WDW.

First, it just has more "Magic" than the other parks. But more importantly, it is the park with the most rides we can ride as a family. We are heading back this October, and with DD8 and DD1 1/2, there are so many rides we can all do together. On the other parks, we mostly need to utilize the child-swap option to ride rides. Then, only one parent can experience their child's delight at a time. This will be our first trip with our son. I remember our trips with our daughter, being able to spend the entire day riding rides together as a family.

I go to Disney to see the looks on my kids' faces. And, right now, we'll get the most fun at the Magic Kingdom. As they get older, that may change. And whichever park they want to spend the most time will probably become my favorite park. But for right now, it's the Magic Kingdom.

Currently, Disney is running this WONDERFUL ad campaign, showing actually home videos of kids finding out they're going to Disney. Seeing the look in their eyes and hearing their expressions makes me tear up. I can't wait to see my kids' faces light up down there. I can't wait to ride every ride they want to. I can't wait to make their trip "Magical."

We've been lucky enough to take my daughter down there three times. She already "gets it" about Disney. She's a Disney junkie. The other night, she told me the Magic Kingdom's her favorite park because there's more rides there for her and we don't have to split up. That's good enough for me.

Counting down the days until October.....

[CaptainSad]

I am 55 and have been there 26 times since 1983. I can tell you one thing, you can't take the kid out of me. As long as I live I will keep going and this kid in me will never be bored...

Since I posted this back in October I went to WDW in December. There were 11 of us including my 11 month old GD. Her great grandmother is the biggest Disney person you would want to meet. Every time my mother would see her she would always sing her the Mickey Mouse Club song. She would also show her Mickey and as many characters as she could. Of course she had never been there before. But when she started seeing the characters from home at the MK her eyes lit up. She did not cry at all like most babies do when they are with characters. At the Crystal Palace for breakfast one morning when Pooh and friends came out she was sitting in her high chair just smiling away. When they came over she would give them a big hug or touch there nose. I know she will remember the next time we go when the Fantasyland opens in a year or two. This I know because every time a Disney commercial comes on she sits and points at the TV with the biggest smile. I can guarantee you she will never get bored with WDW.

[JasonH]

The year: 1984, summertime, 7 years old. The trip: First time to Florida to see my grandparents and a couple aunts, uncles and cousins who have moved down there. Little did I know, that was also gonna turn out to be my first trip to WDW. I didn't know about it till the day we were leaving from seeing the family.

There were a couple family members that had a couple things to say before we left though. My grandma thought it wasn't too keen of an idea to take me and my DBro to EPCOT Center b/c she thought it would be too boring for us. (As if!!! ) And my Uncle Mike had to get the idea into my head that HM was scary beyond all belief! (Again, as if!!!)

Anyways, when we got there, I was just simply amazed at everything (even with me crying in the queue to HM b/c I was scared to go on it b/c I thought it was gonna be too scary ...which btw, HM is my all-time fave ride after that day ). Now mind you, I'm a kid that started with a Coleco-vision with an Atari 2600 adapter as my first video game console, always loved goin to the arcade to play the latest video games and pinball games, into big thrills and yet I loved MK and EPCOT Center. And it was only a 2-day trip there as well! From that trip alone, I was hooked.

Fast forward to a total of 27 trips later, a couple of which were solo trips, I now have 2 nieces that I adore and think of as my own daughters and guess what....they're hooked on it too! It's goin on 3 years since we've last been since the economy got tough on us and we couldn't go....but we're definitely trying to work out a way to go this year. And to this day, my fave park has been and most likely always will be MK. There have been rides and attractions that have come and gone (and I miss them all the time), and ones that have stood the test of time and still remain. But it's b/c of those rides and attractions that makes MK so special and I feel sorry for anyone who goes and doesn't really see it that way. It was the last idea, his imagination, of the man himself, Walt Disney, that it took his brother Roy to complete it after he was gone. And now we can't imagine a world without WDW, a place where we can be "within Walt's imagination" and also use our own. If you can't go there and become a kid again and have a blast, or at least look at it through the eyes of your own children (if you have any) and have fun with them, then honestly I believe you to be on the list of "The Most Boring People In The World"!!!

[MrPeetrie]

And to this day, my fave park has been and most likely always will be MK. There have been rides and attractions that have come and gone (and I miss them all the time), and ones that have stood the test of time and still remain. But it's b/c of those rides and attractions that makes MK so special and I feel sorry for anyone who goes and doesn't really see it that way. It was the last idea, his imagination, of the man himself, Walt Disney, that it took his brother Roy to complete it after he was gone. And now we can't imagine a world without WDW, a place where we can be "within Walt's imagination" and also use our own. If you can't go there and become a kid again and have a blast, or at least look at it through the eyes of your own children (if you have any) and have fun with them, then honestly I believe you to be on the list of "The Most Boring People In The World"!!!

Perfectly said!

[Davyjones]

Can't go to Disney looking for magic if you don't have it in you. That's what I believe.

[CanadaLovesDisney]

Can't go to Disney looking for magic if you don't have it in you. That's what I believe.

Truer words were never spoken!

I cant wait to use this line!

[Cjsmom1811]

I agree that kids now a days are to wrapped up in video games and violence. Their imaginations arent what ours, as adults, are or use to be. Magic Kingdom is your main source for all your favorite childhood friends to come to life!!

My friend and I went in 2006 for our highschool graduation. It was her first time going to WDW and we were 18. I had her close her eyes and walked her towards the top of mainstreet, when we got there she opened her eyes and saw the castle for the first time. She was literaly speachless until we stood right infront of the castle and then said, and i quote, "I feel like I am 5 again!" We had the most magical time EVER! We met Buzz Lightyear and she was in tears because she was so excited. I believe that we stayed for a week and we went to MK about 3 times.

I will ALWAYS treasure my memories at MK. In june I am going to WDW for a day with my boyfriends family and we are only going to MK. I hope that my son will grow up and enjoy all the MAGIC that MK has to offer. It is always our first and last park to go to when we visit WDW.

If you cant handle the magic, get out of the park

[Olivia's Daddy]

If your just looking at the rides, I can see how a pre-teen type might come to that conclusion. But the rides are only one facet of the entire park experience. If you go to a run of the mill park, you have a big plot of land with a bunch of rides on it. In that case the quality of the park is the quality of the rides. I would suggest to kids their age to take a closer look around and think about the entire MK experience, rather than just the rides.

[WDWPrincess]

I think it's a safe bet that when your daughter is grown and has a family of her own, she will be taking them to Walt Disney World!