Celebrating Adoption with WDW trip...Tips?

[tchrrx]

I've read all of the wonderful ideas for celebrating birthdays at WDW. However, we'll be taking our soon-to-be daughter (5) to WDW to celebrate her adoption. The adoption was supposed to not be finalized until spring, but they've bumped us up to next month! Does anyone have any great ideas as to how to celebrate her adoption? Thanks!

 

[solferino]

How exciting for you! COngratulations.

Our daughter was 5 on her first trip and just being there was exciting enough for her, but she's really laid back too.

Maybe some character meals with her favorites? If she's into the princesses and the budget allows- the perfectly princess tea party at the Grand Floridian? We've not done it but DD's friend did and her mom raved about it.

Costumes to wear in the parks?

If it's going to be a surprise trip could you ask questions to get an idea of what she'd like without it being obvious?

 

[tchrrx]

Great ideas! It's not a surprise trip, but we are going to surprise her with breakfast at CRT. We keep telling her that the princesses are really busy, so we don't know if she'll get to meet them or not. I'm thinking about maybe surprising her with a Cinderella dress & an invitation from 'Cindy' to breakfast at the castle. Any other ideas? I know the birthday button isn't going to work, but are there any other options out there? Thanks!

 

[solferino]

I thought of another idea- there are some fairy godmailer threads, and one titled paying it forward that I believe are sticky... you can have someone send her a postcard from disney with a special message on it. We had one done for DD as her invitation to breakfast with Stitch and it was a huge hit!

As to a special event- try the t-shirt board. There are some wonderful designs and some of the people are willing to do custom ones, too. Maybe your family could have something special for the adoption celebration.

 

[sanctus]

I wouldn't hesitate to get a birthday button, either, because now she's "born" into YOUR family. If you think she'd understand that explanation, it'll get her a lot of extra attention. I think the t-shirts are a great idea, too.

CONGRATULATIONS!!

 

[mbb]

I wouldn't hesitate to get a birthday button, either, because now she's "born" into YOUR family. If you think she'd understand that explanation, it'll get her a lot of extra attention. I think the t-shirts are a great idea, too.

CONGRATULATIONS!!

ITA!

Congratulations to your 'Ohana! Have a wonderful, magical family vacation!!

 

[prestonsmomma]

I say do the t-shirt or some sort of adoption button for her to wear. I'm sure CMs that pick up on it would give her some special attention. By the way, I think it's great that you adopted. We are still considering that option for our family.

 

[Ana~n~Joseph]

Congratulations!

The t-shirt idea sounds great and an invitation from Cinderella to join her for breakfast is fantastic. I'm sure your DD will love it! How about a basket being delivered to your room from a character, maybe Cinderella? I'm sure you can arrange something from Disney florist.

 

[KerriL]

tchrrx,
First, I want to say congratulations!!
We are waiting to adopt our foster daughter and how wonderful for you that it is happening sooner than you expected.
I, personally, would contact Disney Photography Services and schedule a family portrait. They do family reunions as well as weddings, so a special occasion such as welcoming your daughter "officially" into her "forever family" would be a great memory.
Best Wishes!!
Kerri

 

[Figment1964]

Our March '06 trip is to celebrate the adoption of 2 boys into our family. One arrived 2/05 and the other 5/05. We let them decide where they wanted to go to celebrate and this is where they decided. Although neither of them really had any ideas and I think my other 2 boys tipped the scale since we go there often as a family. I wasn't the least bit saddened that they chose my favorite vacation spot.

As far as special things, we're doing several character breakfasts that feature the characters the "new" boys like (Stitch at Ohana and Spiderman at Confiscos at IOA). We've got other meals planned and have mentioned the celebration so it's added to the ADR's. We're also celebrating our wedding anniversary while we're there (18 years!) at HDDR.

I had someone I knew who went in early December mail postcards to each of my boys with a note from their favorite character mentioning how excited they were to have us coming in such a short time.

I also had the same friend get autograph books that I put in their stockings. I bought a bunch of pins ahead of time that I'll give to them for trading when we get there. (www.mousepinsonline.com)

We're trying to be conscious of the amount of money we're spending but at the same time we know that this is a CELEBRATION!

 

[dsnymomadopt2china]

You should go to O'hana's to celebrate your O'hana. Maybe design your T-shirt to have something about O'hana and becoming a family Disney celebration.

 

[solferino]

Another thought are the legacy tiles at Epcot. Unfortunately they're limited to 2 persons per tile... maybe doing one with you and your daughter and the other with your husband and daughter? Or doing three separately but put up near each other?