Ideas for making Disney special for Tweens

[Tracyee]

Hi. I am looking for suggestions on a special something for one of our kids. We have 4 kids, a 12 year old boy, 4 year old girl, 1 year old boy and a 10-almost 11 year old girl. The 12 year old is developmentally disabled but a lover of all things Disney especially Pooh, the 4 year old is princess crazy and the baby boy is just a baby...

My problem is the 10 almost 11 year old. What can you do, give, experiences for that age group? We have family shirts for our November trip, snow white and cinderella costumes for the 4 year old, and character shirts for the boys, little gift baskets I am making with glow sticks, silly bands, spinner/light up thingies, character pjs etc that I know will delight the rest.

I am just stumped on the older girl. She will turn 11 on the trip and she is now 5' 5" tall so she definitely cannot and would not do a princess costume. Does anyone have any suggestions?

 

[eyor44]

Perhaps she would like a couple tshirts to wear with her favorite character on them.

Get her one of the tour books and have her plan out one of your park days and include a favorite ride from each person.

Would she be interested in doing on of the tours offered with just one parent? My DH and DS are doing the Steam Engine train tour at MK and next time they want to do the Behind the Seeds tour at Epcot.

 

[laughinplace199]

Haved you asked her what she wants? I have a DD11 and she wouldn't wear a costume or a family t-shirt. However, she'd be happy to pick out some t-shirts and/or hats w/her favorite characters on them, as long as she didn't have to match what her brothers (or parents) are wearing.

DD has the Hidden Mickey book and loves looking for those while we're at WDW. I am thinking of taking her on a tour on our next trip. Perhaps something like that would be good for your tweens?

 

[DisneyFansInLINY]

Dooney & Bourke Disney pocketbook! They are a little pricey but so are the princess costumes and all their accessories. This one is on sale from $60.00 down to $42.00. They sell them online as well as at the parks, but I am sure the selection varies.

http://www.disneystore.com/minnie-mouse-pouchette-bag-by-dooney-bourke/mp/1265519/1000812/

 

[DisneyWorldbuff]

Pin Trading... my daughter( a little younger than yours though) loves it. She can pick or theme or character that she's looking for her collection. I usually buy a "lot" (10 or so)of pins off eBay that she can trade for what she wants and it's very economical(around $2 or less per pin). The CMs with green lanyards can only trade with children and they are very friendly. Have fun with your family

 

[ShelliRenee]

Pin Trading... my daughter( a little younger than yours though) loves it. She can pick or theme or character that she's looking for her collection. I usually buy a "lot" (10 or so)of pins off eBay that she can trade for what she wants and it's very economical(around $2 or less per pin). The CMs with green lanyards can only trade with children and they are very friendly. Have fun with your family

My 11 year old son loves to do the pin trading as well. He really gets into talking to all the cast members and exchanging them. Plus, they get to know the cast members and they tend to "help" you out a little more. We also buy off of eBay and he uses two lanyards, one of pins he does not want to trade, and one of pins he is trading.

 

[Lees3rwe]

We just got back and my 10 year old LOVED the pin trading!

 

[rubato]

We buy the ebay pins also. This time around, I got my 11 year old 33 pins for $30. They all are official Disney pins and he's going to trade them anyway, so it doesn't matter what they are. He loves trading with the CMs, but I won't let him trade with anyone else. It's his favorite thing to do in the parks next to the rides.

 

[GaPaige]

My dd is 10, almost 11 also. She is another big fan of pin trading! She also LOVES to meet characters and get autographs in her book. While she doesn't really want anything to do with princesses, she loves Tink and has a couple of shirts with her on them. She also likes her shirts with vintage looking Mickey and Minnie.
I'm always amazed that no matter how cool and grown up she tries to act at home, when we get to the parks, she totally lets herself be a kid! She also really like to help her younger siblings see the magic.
If you want to do something special with her, the Tea at the Grand Floridian is such a wonderful, girly thing to share. She'll love it and feel very grown up.

 

[JohnsonsRUs]

We are leaving in less than 2 weeks to celebrate DD's 13th b-day at WDW. She has no idea, but I have been asking her questions about things she would or would not want to do the next time we go (we have been 5 other times). I asked her about getting autographs, she said she would still want to, but I am thinking about maybe doing a pillowcase or something different than an autograph book. She is totally into pirates, so we may do the Pirate's League, but it will be a last minute thing if we can get in while we are there because it's iffy. She loves to do pin trading and I have a bunch of pins from e-bay that we will give her. She also loved the Kim Possible activity at Epcot the last time we were there, so we will do that again. Now that she is learning more about the different countries at school, she seems to like Epcot even more. I am anxious to hear if anyone has any other recommendations also.

 

[sparklynails23]

Just went with a bunch of tweens. They were just happy to ride the big rides and enjoyed eating lots of junk and shopping for their own t-shirts, hoodies, and little souvenirs. The older tweens really liked Kim Possible at Epcot.

 

[Worfiedoodles]

I would definitely make sure you take her to Tren-D in DTD. It is full of really cute stuff for young ladies and not so young ladies. It's relatively reasonable, you can always find a charm or necklace, blank book or mug, adorable shirt or pjs in great fun patterns. There are also things you can't find anywhere else. I make it a point to visit every trip, I always find cute things for my tween and teen nieces, and maybe a little something for me...This would be a great stop for just mom and daughter, while dad has the others in Once Upon a Toy, or grabbing a quick snack...

Maria

 

[laughinplace199]

I would definitely make sure you take her to Tren-D in DTD. It is full of really cute stuff for young ladies and not so young ladies. It's relatively reasonable, you can always find a charm or necklace, blank book or mug, adorable shirt or pjs in great fun patterns. There are also things you can't find anywhere else. I make it a point to visit every trip, I always find cute things for my tween and teen nieces, and maybe a little something for me...This would be a great stop for just mom and daughter, while dad has the others in Once Upon a Toy, or grabbing a quick snack...

Maria

Hi Maria

You gave some great advice to the OP (and I'm going to use it also). We seldom go to DTD, but DD and I are taking a mother/daughter trip this April and I think we will have to check out Tren-D. It sounds perfect for her. I'm also going to take her to see Cirque. I've always wanted to do that.

 

[Elmo888]

We went last year with DD9 (December 2009), and she was 2 months from turning 10 (4th grade). And she is really mature and more of a sporty girl. And she was done with princesses.

She loved the Kim Possible adventure at Epcot. We let her take control (at some point, DH took her to finish one of the adventures), and she loved it. We did Kim Possible two or three times (easy to do while you tour the World Showcase). And she really liked the Sum of All Thrills ride in Innoventions in Epcot where she designed her own ride.

She also loves the characters, like a PP said. Not the princesses, but she loved seeing Tink and the other fairies. She doesn't think our trip is complete without a character meal with the Fab 5. She likes Chef Mickey's. That is another point - she really liked helping me plan and liked when I asked her opinion on something.

She hasn't ever been into pins (after three trips), but she does like jewelry - necklaces and bracelets.

You also might find that there is something else that is not so obviously Disney that she likes. The fairies are a great example (DDnow10 likes the fairies), but my DDnow10 is really into Alice in Wonderland. She has read the book multiple times, loves the Alice in Wonderland tees at Old Navy (along with other Disney character tees at Old Navy), and is going to be Alice for Halloween. Still has a Disney angle, but just not so obvious.

Have a great trip!

 

[polkadotsuitcase]

Another vote for pins! My guys weren't interested in them at all until they were about 8 and 10 -- then they were suddenly REALLY interested in them!

 

[polkadotsuitcase]

Another thought -- probably something you're already doing, but thought I'd toss it out there! -- she's the perfect age to really roll up her sleeves and help plan the trip. My 12yo is *really* big into the "grown up" side of stuff -- planning routes, strategies, touring tips, etc. Maybe she could feel some "ownership" of the whole trip by being integral to the planning stage? Bonus: Maybe by doing it together, you'll hit upon something that would be unique and special to her. Good luck and have a great trip!