Looking for ideas for an 11 year old girl

[mastermind307]

I'm planning a mother/daughter trip for May/June 2018. My DD mentioned that she wants to do BBB again, but I'm not so sure she'd enjoy it at her age. She's done it twice before when she was 5 and 6. I think she did enjoy it then, but she's not one to get overly excited about things. I've also heard that BBB has changed since the last time she went. I've read that there are no longer photopass photographers there and they don't use the gel so the hair styles don't stay in as well. So I'm trying to get some different ideas for something that an older girl might enjoy. It can be something just for her or something we can do together.

 

[five_mouseketeers]

How about going to the salon at Grand Floridian and then having afternoon tea there? My daughter (almost 6 at the time) and I went last spring and I made her an appt there before the perfectly princess tea (you can look into that too but your daughter might be passed that---I felt my daughter was too young for a regular afternoon tea). Anyway, her hair was beautiful.....they do a lot of hair for onsite weddings so it was kind of an updo with braids, etc. my hubby liked it so much more than after her bbb the previous year.

 

[ArwenMarie]

Are there any characters she likes? Character meals can still be fun at that age (or any age)
How about a fireworks dessert party? We did the Happily Ever After one at MK, it was great. I think they have a Frozen one too at Epcot
Or maybe that Early Morning Magic at MK if they still have it. That could be a fun mother-daughter event

 

[Ceilidhscot]

Does it have to be in the parks? A mum / DD shopping trip at Disney Springs or one of the outlets perhaps then a fancy meal at one of the posher restaurants?

It'll make her feel a bit more grown up (what 11 yr old doesn't want to be treated like an "adult").

 

[greentea]

Well, a little hard to say without knowing the sort of things she's interested in. With her asking to do BBB, is it because she remembers liking it, or because she wants to feel fancy and sparkly, or maybe she also doesn't know what other special things are available?

Like previous posters, I also thought tea the Grand Floridian (and going to the salon first is a great idea), or a dessert party. Some other ideas:
Picking out pearls together in Epcot?
A carriage ride?

At that age I would have been all about things like the Wild Africa Trek to see the animals, so it really depends on her.

 

[mastermind307]

How about going to the salon at Grand Floridian and then having afternoon tea there? My daughter (almost 6 at the time) and I went last spring and I made her an appt there before the perfectly princess tea (you can look into that too but your daughter might be passed that---I felt my daughter was too young for a regular afternoon tea). Anyway, her hair was beautiful.....they do a lot of hair for onsite weddings so it was kind of an updo with braids, etc. my hubby liked it so much more than after her bbb the previous year.

I have thought about taking her to a salon, but couldn't find much information on them. If you don't care sharing, how much was it for them to do your daughter's hair? I think my DD would enjoy it and it would feel more grown up than BBB. I'll have to look into the afternoon tea. I'm not sure if that's something she would like.

Are there any characters she likes? Character meals can still be fun at that age (or any age)
How about a fireworks dessert party? We did the Happily Ever After one at MK, it was great. I think they have a Frozen one too at Epcot
Or maybe that Early Morning Magic at MK if they still have it. That could be a fun mother-daughter event

I'm planning to do 2 character meals. We always begin our trip with dinner at Garden Grill. I'm still deciding on another one, maybe a breakfast one on our last day. She might like a dessert party, she does like sweets! I'll have to look into the one at EPCOT since we're staying at BWV, it would be convenient. I had actually thought about maybe doing the Early Morning Magic at MK if they're still doing it when we go, but not sure it would be worth the cost for us.

Well, a little hard to say without knowing the sort of things she's interested in. With her asking to do BBB, is it because she remembers liking it, or because she wants to feel fancy and sparkly, or maybe she also doesn't know what other special things are available?

Like previous posters, I also thought tea the Grand Floridian (and going to the salon first is a great idea), or a dessert party. Some other ideas:
Picking out pearls together in Epcot?
A carriage ride?

At that age I would have been all about things like the Wild Africa Trek to see the animals, so it really depends on her.

I'm not sure why she wants to do BBB, I think she just wants to have her hair done. She's not interested in princesses anymore so she won't be dressing up. I think if I decide to go that route I'll book an appointment at a salon.

We've never picked a pearl before so that might be something we could do.
We've done carriage rides before (one at POR and two at Ft. Wilderness), but she loves horses so I'm considering doing one again. I thought about the trail rides, but since she's used to riding her own horse, she might find it a bit boring to just ride in a line. She'd probably still like it though because it involves horses.

Thank you for all the suggestions!

 

[NeedMoreMickey]

On the beach side of Yacht/Beach Club area there is a place that will braid hair with the color string, maybe better for a pre-teen girl. There is also a little stand that sell jewelry that you can do the pick a pearl. It's a lot quieter than doing the pick a pearl in WS Japan. Easy to get to from Epcot through the International Gateway follow the walk over to the big ship on the sand. I think over near the Boardwalk they also have the hair braiding.

 

[NinaBella]

I wouldn't do BBB for an 11 year old and especially not in May/June. When my daughter was 10 we had younger relatives visit. She wore a white strapless dress (with Nike Pros underneath and pink converse shoes) and put her hair in a bun and we added a very small Disney tiara and she went around the parks that day.

I would suggest the Grand Floridian. Last March (DD was 14) we went to a very late character dinner with the Step-Sisters and Prince Charming at the Grand Floridian . It was great! The hotel is beautiful.

If you can get a morning appointment to get her hair braided, I think that is a great idea. My daughter hair was always too short and baby fine for braids.

 

[mastermind307]

On the beach side of Yacht/Beach Club area there is a place that will braid hair with the color string, maybe better for a pre-teen girl. There is also a little stand that sell jewelry that you can do the pick a pearl. It's a lot quieter than doing the pick a pearl in WS Japan. Easy to get to from Epcot through the International Gateway follow the walk over to the big ship on the sand. I think over near the Boardwalk they also have the hair braiding.[/QU

I think DD would really like to have her hair braided and since we're staying at BW, I'll have to look into this.

 

[TwinkleKS]

Henna tattoos. My kids love them and they last a lot longer than face paint. You can get some really nice designs. We get them in Morocco in Epcot, but there are other locations too (AK comes to mind).

 

[Megara5115]

I like the idea of a spa service at GF... When my son was 11 last year I let him go through the menus online and pick one place to go while we were down there (he picked Homecoming). I think he liked having some say in the planning. He also enjoyed the ambiance and food at Biergarten.

 

[Happiest mommy]

love all these ideas! as I have a now 12 yr old and have no clue either what do with her

 

[Hikergirl]

Since you are staying at BW I'd take her over to the Dolphin and go to Mandara Spa for hair and maybe mani/pedi.
I don't know prices off hand, but you can find info on them at Disneyworld website.

When my dd was that age she really like the pick a pearl (at Japan) and picking out a setting. She is 19 and still wears her pearl pendant.

Whenever someone is looking for something special to do I will always recommend the Epcot Aqua Seas tour. You get a backstage tour and then 30 minutes snorkeling in the tank. It was a great experience.

 

[five_mouseketeers]

I have thought about taking her to a salon, but couldn't find much information on them. If you don't care sharing, how much was it for them to do your daughter's hair? I think my DD would enjoy it and it would feel more grown up than BBB. I'll have to look into the afternoon tea. I'm not sure if that's something she would like.



I'm planning to do 2 character meals. We always begin our trip with dinner at Garden Grill. I'm still deciding on another one, maybe a breakfast one on our last day. She might like a dessert party, she does like sweets! I'll have to look into the one at EPCOT since we're staying at BWV, it would be convenient. I had actually thought about maybe doing the Early Morning Magic at MK if they're still doing it when we go, but not sure it would be worth the cost for us.




I'm not sure why she wants to do BBB, I think she just wants to have her hair done. She's not interested in princesses anymore so she won't be dressing up. I think if I decide to go that route I'll book an appointment at a salon.

We've never picked a pearl before so that might be something we could do.
We've done carriage rides before (one at POR and two at Ft. Wilderness), but she loves horses so I'm considering doing one again. I thought about the trail rides, but since she's used to riding her own horse, she might find it a bit boring to just ride in a line. She'd probably still like it though because it involves horses.

Thank you for all the suggestions!

Sorry for the delay on getting back to this! I'm still new to posting. I think just hair was around $50-60??? That's sort of a guess from memory. I had the whole package done....hair, nails and makeup and it was close to $100 (90 something maybe) with a tip included. If she's just wanting her hair done I do highly recommend them. Not sure if I can figure out how to post a pic, I should have one here on my phone. Trying to post photo of the back of her hair, I'll see if it works...

 

[mastermind307]

Sorry for the delay on getting back to this! I'm still new to posting. I think just hair was around $50-60??? That's sort of a guess from memory. I had the whole package done....hair, nails and makeup and it was close to $100 (90 something maybe) with a tip included. If she's just wanting her hair done I do highly recommend them. Not sure if I can figure out how to post a pic, I should have one here on my phone. Trying to post photo of the back of her hair, I'll see if it works...

Your daughter's hair looks really nice. That kind of style looks so much better and grown up than the BBB ones. Did it stay in for very long? Do you remember how far in advance you made the appointment? I want to ask her what she wants to do, but she won't find out we're going until Christmas and my 180 days is November 30.

 

[stsomewhere]

I just went on a mom/daughter trip with my 16 yr old. She was like a kid again. We had dinner at BOG, lunch at Brown Derby ( her favorite of the trip), dinner AT mAMA Melrose, and princess lunch at Arkerukus.(Sp?). We took our time doing things that she wanted. She wanted pictures with as many characters and princesses that she could. We got the photopass and got a lot of pictures taken. She wanted a henna tattoo. We relaxed and took everything at a leisurely pace compared to when we go with her dad and brother.

 

[TJDisneymama]

I'm planning a mother/daughter trip for May/June 2018. My DD mentioned that she wants to do BBB again, but I'm not so sure she'd enjoy it at her age. She's done it twice before when she was 5 and 6. I think she did enjoy it then, but she's not one to get overly excited about things. I've also heard that BBB has changed since the last time she went. I've read that there are no longer photopass photographers there and they don't use the gel so the hair styles don't stay in as well. So I'm trying to get some different ideas for something that an older girl might enjoy. It can be something just for her or something we can do together.

We just came back from my DDs 10th bday trip. She did BBB and absolutely LOVED it.....she already said she wants to do it again next time. There were plenty of other 10-11 year olds getting done while we were there.

There are still photopass photogs there.
I think they used a little gel or cream or something, but they don't laquer it up like they used to. Her bun stayed perfect for 2 days, then started getting a little straggly.

 

[TJDisneymama]

we also did the pick a pearl in japan and she loved that as well. we got ours made into rings.

 

[five_mouseketeers]

Your daughter's hair looks really nice. That kind of style looks so much better and grown up than the BBB ones. Did it stay in for very long? Do you remember how far in advance you made the appointment? I want to ask her what she wants to do, but she won't find out we're going until Christmas and my 180 days is November 30.

Thank you, it was really pretty. My husband liked it and he's brutally honest about his opinion on things, lol. It stayed in the rest of the day....not the following day but easily until bedtime. It was held with Bobbi pins so she wanted those out to sleep. I think I made the appt a couple months before, but it wouldn't have been difficult to get an appt (not like at bbb). I wanted the first appt of the day so she would be done and able to take some pics, etc before our tea at 10:30. I think they opened at 9. I didn't have an issue getting the exact time I wanted. Hope you have a fabulous trip!!