17 will be great age for AC. There is no age limit, but, obviously, the younger kids won't get a lot of the references and jokes, but they still will enjoy the obvious sillyniss of the characters. The parents of younger children, however will be singled out by the cast members for their fine parenting skills in bringing their kids to a 'bar'!!
Disney has modified one of the main characters over the years to make her less 'suggestive'. The french maid used to be called Fifi, and was usually a very coquettish, 'dumb blonde' type. The last time we went (summer 07) the character had been renamed SugarSnap and was now much more 'with it'. Being a hot blooded male, I missed the old character!