Best Character Dining experiance for an almost 10 yr old DD?

[kangareaux]

We are going in november. She'll be 10 in January. BUT....she's a girly girl AND a tomboy. Will she be too old for this? Should we stick to the *real people* characters (Princesses) as opposed to the *stuffed variety* costumed ones? It's all so confusing if you've never done it.

I've told her about it and said we could do it and she's REALLY excited about it. (She's a very innocent 9 yr old. She'll be crushed when she finds out about santa....*sigh* LOL) I know she knows they aren't real. But I seriously expected a little *I'm too old for that Mom...* attitude. Don't get me wrong, I'm VERY happy she's not like that (YET! LOL!) but I just want to make the right choice to make sure she enjoys it.

Any suggestions? She'll be almost 10 and DH and Brothers will not be dining with us. (She's paying for this with a gift card she earned, so please no lectures about not taking the boys. She earned the gift card and I told her she could spend it on whatever she wanted...within reason...)

What did your 9-10 yr old girls enjoy?

Oh, and it's her first trip to Disney! If that makres a difference.

TIA for any advice!

 

[em-o-so'smom]

I would ask her who she would like to meet and have pictures with...that's how I planned for my 2 older DD's...Storybook dining at Norway was a great way to get a lot of princesses at one shot...but there is no guarantee that her favorite will be present when you go...there were 5 when we went (Aurora-thank goodness my DD4's favorite, Belle, Ariel, Jasmin and Cinderella) Chef Micky's was a great place to meet our other must sees (Minnie, Mickey, Goofy, Pluto and Donald) the crystal Palace i believe has a variety from Pooh but that wasn't what my DDs were into...we also did 1900 park fare and met Cinderella, Prince Charming and 2 female mice from the movie (Suzy and Perla)...when we go in sept we are doing the 1900 park fare Mary Poppins breakfast B/c thet are hoping to meet Bert, and Cinderella's Royal table which I understand for breakfast and lunch has a variety of princesses (we will do norway and chef mickey's again also) So really I would look into who she would be happiest meeting and go that direction...Unofficial guide has a breakdown of character dining...i'm not sure if TGM does

 

[em-o-so'smom]

I think it's great to have a special dinner/meal for her...what a wonderful memory she will have
All the characters we met were WONDERFUL If she has a fav princess and meets that princess while dressed as that one they give extra special attention...
My girls are little but in feb when we went there were lots of girls you DD's age dressed as princesses and at the character meals...at 9/10 there's still a lot of magic
Have fun whatever you choose!

 

[kangareaux]

If she has a fav princess and meets that princess while dressed as that one they give extra special attention...

Thanks to both of you!

Look at my pic to the left of the screen. She LOVES dressing like a princess. (That was her halloween pic.) I'm bringing that dress just in case. I'm sure if I suggest it she'll wear it for that. So maybe the princesses are best. (Although, since DS was peter pan, everyone kept asking if she was Wendy! ) And extra attention is almost always a good thing! LOL!

 

[Beth E. (NJ)]

The thing is that children suspend belief when they are at Disney. My too cool 12 year old loved the character meals when she was there at age 10. It didn't matter what character she met -- she had a huge grin on her face the whole time.

If you find out who she would like to meet I think you will do fine.

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

My DD is definitely not a girly girl, so the princess meals just never floated her boat. She is all tomboy-although slowly coming into that girly phase now that shes hit the teen years. Anyway, mine always like the full out costumed characters better than the other ones. DD fave is Chef Mickey's and Crystal Palace.

 

[ndgqccmiller]

My son was almost 10 when we went in Oct. Friends of ours were telling us that he would not enjoy Disney, but he loved it. His favorite characters were Chip n Dale. Which absolutly surprised me. I just think when your in Disney it is seperate from the rest of the world. I bet your daughter will love anything you plan for her in Disney.

 

[makinorlando]

My DD10 has never been into the Princesses, we have done the Princess meals, and she could not have cared less. Her favs are those with Chip & Dale - her favorite characters.

We have always had a great time at Cape May Cafe for b-fast, Liberty Tree Tavern for dinner, and Garden Grill!

Being local we have done ALL the character meals in the past year (some multiple times) and she will ask to go to the three mentioned above

 

[Joanna71985]

I love LTT myself. I will be doing CM next week.

 

[JohnsonsRUs]

I agree that she will love anywhere you take her because just being there is part of the magic!! We took DD9 in Feb and did Crystal Palace, not only was the food awesome, but she still was into the Pooh characters and even participated in the parade around the restaurant. We also did lunch at Norway and lucked out, getting to see Sleeping Beauty, Ariel, Belle, Cinderella and Jasmine. Our daughter has not wanted to dress up in her princess costumes, even the first time she went, but when we did the P&P party, she sure put on her Pirate costume!! She loved seeing Jack Sparrow and the pirate tutorial too, so we had the mix of all, but it didn't matter whether they were face characters or costumed.

 

[design_mom]

But I seriously expected a little *I'm too old for that Mom...* attitude.

I went to my first character meal on my honeymoon. You're never too old!

(I'd been to WDW lots of times, but never did character dining.) My favorites are the main characters: Mickey, etc. Can you let her choose the characters and see who she wants to see?

 

[HeatherC]

Too bad the Grand Floridian tea doesn't include characters...does it? That could be a special mom/daughter thing.

Have an awesome time!

Heather C

PS I think Crystal Palace is one of the best and the food has always been excellent.

 

[kangareaux]

OK guys. Was taking your adivce and feeling out which characters were her favorites. We were looking at pics of the characters and I was monitoring her reactions. Well, we came upon a pic of one of the princesses and I hear her take in this gush of air and then in a disgusted voice (Much like the crypt keeper comment in the movie where the kid and mom trade places... ) my sweet little angel saying "Ughhh! She's OLLLLD!"

I was shocked at the errrrr..... *extent* of her reaction, but as we went through looking at the princesses, I had to agree. They DID look too old for the parts. But I still can't get over how shocked she was. Too funny!

(Also, I made sure to find some farther away looking pics...and possibly they were different actresses and, well, she might just actually believe it was bad photography making them look old. Helps out my credibility with her that i'm a photographer, eh? LOL!)