I need some ideas.

[RF536]

I am looking for ideas to help my sons ages 2 & 4 stand out a little.

When we go to WDW in Dec. we are going with my sister, BIL and their 2 daughters who are about the same age. Their older daughter has to be the center of attention, and if anyone notices one of the boys, she has to do exactly what they are doing and bring it to everyone's attention. Most of the time this causes the boys to get pushed aside and all the attention goes to her.

Part of the problem is that my older son has a slight speech delay, so he is hard to understand, so he tends to take little bit longer to feel comfortable talking.

I am just looking for things that might get the CM's to notice them and talk to them alittle. This is what I have so far, GOH badges, custom shirts that say 1st trip to Disney.

Any other ideas.

thanks

 

[meb]

maybe you should spend some time w/o the pushy little girl and just your sons so they can get some attention

 

[luvmy2sams]

Take them to the Main Street Barber Shop for some colored gel and pixie dust. They'll love it!

 

[Clare D]

If you are staying on site at a Dsiney Hotel and use the Mono rail I have read that if you have a word with the CM on the platform they can ask the mono rail driver if the boys can ride up front with him/her. They then get a certificate. If you use a Disney bus you can be extra nice to the bus driver and get a ticket that says something on the lines of deputy bus driver.
I would do a search on the DIS boards for more info.
Good luck

 

[ErinInCT]

Harmony Barber Shop is a great idea. They can put a gel Mickey in their hair!! We brought glow sticks for our kids which made them stand out at night & everyone asked them where they got them!! The GOH badges are great. All the CM's & speaking characters called my dd's by name!! They thought it was so cool & did not even put two & two together that they got their names from their badges!! Maybe you can split up for a while from the family & meet up later!

 

[abbylukesmom]

I have been trying to think of things for my ds4 also! So far I have decided to buy glowsticks, a prince cape & crown to wear. DD7, will be wearing Belle costume, so they'll match!

Cute hats are always good. I like your idea with the t-shirts! You might also try to buy them Disney costumes. Depends on the time of year you are vacationing. We are going in Dec, so it won't be terrible hot & humid, that's why I thought the cape would be cute.

Mickey mouse shirts with Mickey ear hats? Would be cute too!

I love my in laws, but couldn't stand an entire vacation with them! Spending some family time with just your DH & DS's sounds like a real treat, make sure you work it in. I hope you have a magical vacation! Some pixie dust for your niece so she behaves!!

 

[buzzandwoodysmom07]

We just got home last night and my 2 boys ages 2 & 4 both got hair cuts with gel and pixie dust. Talk about being noticed!!!! It was great! By the end of the day y 4 year old was responding to adults who were questioning me about his new DO telling them to "just go to the barber shop at the front of the park!" as if he's an expert!! Charged $15 each for cut, gel, sprinkles. I think they will just do the gel and sprinkles for a charge if you don't need the cut! I will warn you the gel runs in the rain and sweat from the poncho, my 4 year old's shirt was a little yellow - no big deal. It was worth every penny to see him beem when someone commented on his hair! The 2 year old could've cared less, but I have great pictures!!!!

 

[RF536]

Thank-you for the great suggestions, I will plan on going to the barbershop for a hair cut. Also we are not planning on spending all of our time together. We are also going with my parents, DH's parents and his older sister. So while there will be times we are together, there will also be time spent apart. My SIL is great with the kids, and might take my older son with her for some 1 on 1 time.

We are also planning on ordering the glow sticks/bracelets online in bulk so that we have some to share with other kids. My SIL also bought the boys flashing necklaces while she was there that you can turn off and flash 4 different sequences.


Thanks

 

[lovesdumbo]

I had brought some character stickers with me and would put them in the autograph books before the characters signed. They always made a big deal out of seeing their stickers.

My DS(nearly 4 at the time) would have nothing to do with the barber shop-he's too loyal to his own barber . I even tried to get my DD(5 1/2) to get her hair pixied but she wouldn't do it either. We even waited around about 15 to 20 minutes watching other kids getting done but they just didn't want anything to do with it. Next time I'm going a few days early with just my oldest DD. We're meeting a friend and her 6 year old DD who is more adventurous. Maybe I'll get DD to try it then. I know she'd LOVE it if she gave it a try.

 

[twoeeyy]

We have not been to WDW for a few years.
What do they do to the hair when they pixie dust it. Is this something a girl could have done. My 12yr old has pink in her hair so this sounds like it might be right up her alley!

 

[slk537]

Pixied is when they put colored gel in the hair and sprinkle foil Mickey heads on top and they stick...DS did this last May and he certainly did get lots of attention! The guide on the Jungle Cruise even made him a part of her "tour"...

Girls would love it too - I don't know if they have pink, but DS got red gel. However, once it dries it is impossible to get all the way out. he had red streaks in his hair for two more days, despite washing and swimming.

But it is definitely a wonderful experience for the kids...!

 

[GADISNEYGIRL]

Don't buy an autograph book~buy a T-shirt (white or another light color) instead...take a large-ish embroidery hoop and a fabric marker, and have characters sign the shirt. We got lots of comments and compliments from characters, CMs AND tourists! And the best part is, when he gets home, he can WEAR his souvenir, and get even more compliments! That is still DS' favorite shirt. That way, even if the other kids have autograph books, your DS will be "different" because of the t-shirt.

 

[devotedchristian]

Can you do a separate vacation so you wouldn't have "competition"?

 

[twinmommyks]

Our family wore matching INCREDIBLE shirts - they were the red ones with the Incredible logo - and purchased at the Disney Store.

We got alot of attention, even had our pictures taken by a few people, received alot of nice comments and the CM's would call my ds9, Dash, my dd4, Violet, and we informed everyone the our ds4, was JackJack, because his moods change so quickly!! Even if you didn't want to wear the shirts, your kids would still get alot of attention. We had so much fun with this. We did wear matching shirts the other days and just blended in, but those Incredible shirts were Incredible attention seekers!!!

Good luck and I'm sure that whatever you do will be fun!!

Bren

 

[RF536]

GADisneyGirl- I love the t-shirt idea for autographs, I will keep this in mind and discuss with DH.

TwinmommyKs- I was thinking of making the 4 of us matching shirts, so they will be unique. We will see how they turn out. Since they seem to get attention, I will add it to my to do list.

Taking a seperate vacation, in not an option. This was suppose to be our vacation with the grandparents, my sister and BIL decided to join us when their plans with his parents fell through. One saving grace is that while most of us are camping they will be at the Wilderness Lodge, so we will have time in the morings and evenings away from them. Also we will arrive in Orlando 1 day before and leave 1 day after them and have 1 day at Sea World without them.

 

[cour10ee]

Hi --

I read a post on another thread about someone who makes character cards to bring instead of an autograph book -- not exactly sure what they did but in your case, maybe you could get some larger index cards and decorate one for each of your sons' favorite characters using stickers/cut out pictures/drawings -- this could be a fun pre-trip activity to get them in the mood to meet the characters as well. The opposite side of the cards could say something like "Hi, my name is ___ and my favorite thing about (your character) is ___. May I please have your autograph? Thanks!" Then your DS's could hand the card to the character and not necessarily have to say anything if they are feeling uncomfortable or shy. Plus it would 1) be a great ice breaker w/the characters and 2) give you a special hand made memory of the trip.

Whatever you decide, have a great time!

 

[katrini111]

What about getting him a lanyard and some trading pins (get some cheap ones on ebay) to trade? Then he could have some one on one attention from each CM he trades with.

 

[RF536]

Thanks for the suggestions.
We were also thinking of having special stickers to give to CM's who were helpful or made our trip special. Several months ago, I found a program at Big Lots that allows you to create and print your own Disney stickers. You can choose between Toy Story, Winnie the Pooh,Little Mermaid and Mickey and Friends. You can also choose the background and small accents to add to each sticker.

At the same time I also found a program that allows you to create and print Disney T-shirts using the same characters as above, so I will be making them a couple of special t-shirts.

How do these ideas sound?

Thanks

 

[lisaslp]

I am new to all of this, what is a GOH badge? and where do I get it?
We will be in WDW during 2 birthdays, one kid and one adult, and celebrating my mominlaws retirement of 44 years of teaching. She deserves a medal but we are taking her to WDW instead! :
Any ideas on how to celebrate these 3 events?
Thanks