Disneyland Pros: Need Ideas for a 10 Yr Old's Birthday Celebration at the Parks!

[HappieMommie]

Hi!

We are surprising our son with a trip to Disneyland for his 10th birthday! What are some special things we could do to celebrate with him at the parks? We also have a 2yr old boy and a 6 year old daughter.

-Which character dining restaurant would you recommend for him?
-Are there areas of Disney that would be especially suited well for a 10yr old boy?
-Downtown Disney: what could we do there to make it extra special for him?
-Any other neat touches we could use to make his day extra special?

Thanks! I really appreciate you guys.

 

[goldies 5]

I would do Goofy's kitchen for him. I would tell them it is his birthday and they will come and sing happy birthday and bring him a cupcake with a candle on it.
Get him a birthday button.
Carsland, Tom Sawyers Island, all the coasters, INDY and TOT. If he loves POTC, he will love the store at the exit. So much cool, fun boy stuff.
DTD has the car store where you can build a car, also if he still likes Build a Bear it is there too. My 10 year old is into Lions and Tigers so we always shop at Rainforest cafe.
My boys love to get Tigger Tails at the end of their day.
Birthdays at DL are awesome.

 

[HappieMommie]

I would do Goofy's kitchen for him. I would tell them it is his birthday and they will come and sing happy birthday and bring him a cupcake with a candle on it.
Get him a birthday button.
Carsland, Tom Sawyers Island, all the coasters, INDY and TOT. If he loves POTC, he will love the store at the exit. So much cool, fun boy stuff.
DTD has the car store where you can build a car, also if he still likes Build a Bear it is there too. My 10 year old is into Lions and Tigers so we always shop at Rainforest cafe.
My boys love to get Tigger Tails at the end of their day.
Birthdays at DL are awesome.

Thank you so very much! Those are all awesome suggestions. I am so excited. We booked this holiday on New Year's Day 2013, and I have been trying to be patient and not getting super excited on purpose. Now, we are 57 days out and I have lots of little planning to do! Ack! You've been very helpful!

 

[goldies 5]

Get super excited. Also, get a photopass ahead of time. I have found it to be worth it. All three of your kids will have a blast.

 

[crystal1313]

You could ask a CM at the Mark Twain if he can pilot the boat. You get to go into the wheelhouse and drive. They also have a guest book to sign up there. ESPN zone has games to play upstairs as well. He will have no matter what! Have a great time!!!

 

[wiigirl]

Get super excited. Also, get a photopass ahead of time. I have found it to be worth it. All three of your kids will have a blast.

 

[HappieMommie]

Get super excited. Also, get a photopass ahead of time. I have found it to be worth it. All three of your kids will have a blast.

You think? We did Photopass in 2010 and weren't as thrilled with it as we were in WDW. (Wait, is this the card that you give to photographers and they take lots of pictures for you? Do they do this at character meals, too?) Maybe it will be different doing it with all the extra birthday treats and surprises! Eee! You guys, I am so excited at this very moment I could scream!

You could ask a CM at the Mark Twain if he can pilot the boat. You get to go into the wheelhouse and drive. They also have a guest book to sign up there. ESPN zone has games to play upstairs as well. He will have no matter what! Have a great time!!!

Wow! I didn't know this! He would loooooove this! Thank you! I love learning about all the extra Disney magic! And the ESPN Zone?! I think we will be spending a LOT of extra time there.

EeeeEEEEeeeeEEEEee!!

 

[goldies 5]

I have a photography background and don't typically do the photopass. But I do it during the holiday season and I find it is definetely worth to me. There are many wonderful locations at night. It is really nice not having to worry about a tripod. I found the photographers to be easy going and when you have a pass they will take a lot of photos. The ability to edit them from home with Disney touches is great too. Also there are so many Santa opportunities. For me that one is important. I also love getting the Small World Holiday photo at night.

 

[HappieMommie]

I have a photography background and don't typically do the photopass. But I do it during the holiday season and I find it is definetely worth to me. There are many wonderful locations at night. It is really nice not having to worry about a tripod. I found the photographers to be easy going and when you have a pass they will take a lot of photos. The ability to edit them from home with Disney touches is great too. Also there are so many Santa opportunities. For me that one is important. I also love getting the Small World Holiday photo at night.

All excellent points. I think I will need to rethink my PhotoPass decision. Thank you!

 

[planningjollyholiday]

Hi!

We are surprising our son with a trip to Disneyland for his 10th birthday! What are some special things we could do to celebrate with him at the parks? We also have a 2yr old boy and a 6 year old daughter.

-Which character dining restaurant would you recommend for him?
-Are there areas of Disney that would be especially suited well for a 10yr old boy?
-Downtown Disney: what could we do there to make it extra special for him?
-Any other neat touches we could use to make his day extra special?

Thanks! I really appreciate you guys.

We just surprised our DS10 with a trip for his birthday. We did the discover the magic tour and he loved it. We also did the wheel house on the mark twain and he thought it was pretty cool.

 

[HappieMommie]

We just surprised our DS10 with a trip for his birthday. We did the discover the magic tour and he loved it. We also did the wheel house on the mark twain and he thought it was pretty cool.

How do I learn more about the Discover the Magic tour? Sounds fun!

 

[awinangie]

Here's the link to the pre-order for the PhotoPass+.

http://disneyphotopass.com/specialoffers/dlrppp.htm

I did a bunch of research before I decided to get it and figured that since photos are super important to me and it would be just my daughter and I, then I'd go for it. So I bought it waaay ahead. Turns out our friends went on a last minute trip, so they took our voucher and I reordered it.

They LOVED it!!

Check it out, you get a CD with stock shots of the parks (which I think will be fun for our photo book), a CD with all of your PhotoPass photos, you can add most (if not all) attraction photos, and most character meal photos. Plus, you get the hard copy photos of the character meal photos. We want to go to Minnie's at Plaza Inn, which isn't included, but oh well...

Can't wait to give it a try!!

 

[planningjollyholiday]

How do I learn more about the Discover the Magic tour? Sounds fun!

The tour is more like a scavenger hunt. The guides have clues and you have to find all the pieces to the puzzle, and you get to go on a few rides along the way. It is offered only on the weekends, starts at 10am and last just under 3 hours. Its pricy at about $50-$60 a person, but its something different to do in the parks and we were glad we did it. You can book the tour up to 30 days in advance.

 

[sandysue]

When we celebrated my son's 9th birthday back in 2011, here are some fun things we did that day:
-Jedi Academy (he was wearing all of his buttons and got picked as did little sister and cousin)
-Big Thunder Ranch BBQ with the chocolate chip cake for dessert
-He and Dad rode in the front of the monorail and the train.

We'll be there again for his 12th birthday next June and he's already said he want BBQ for lunch.