Quick WDW Theme Park Strategy Check-up (For Girls)

[kaetra]

2. I normally eat meal bars, fruit, juice, etc. for breakfast. So I always bring those from home. (We keep a cooler in the room and fill it with ice every night.)

Mini fridges are in all rooms now, so that's a bonus.

 

[kaetra]

I have a 12 year old daughter. She's more about rides than characters, but she still loves Crystal Palace with Pooh. When she was 7 we did CRT and she thought it was just OK. Meeting Cinderella in her castle at the beginning was a pretty big deal, but other than that she didn't have enough fun there for me to justify the cost of doing it again. Akershus might be a much better experience. There are lots of princess greet opportunities in Epcot World Showcase too.

If you can you may want to take a costume in her size of her favorite princess and have her dress up as that princess for an MK day. That's very affordable magic if you bring the costume from home. No need to BBB, just dress up in the room and put a little glitter on, or get pixie dusted at the shop in Fantasy Land. We also brought a small Tinkerbell gift basket (her fave character at the time) from home with some fun stuff, snacks and a few park necessities and secretly put it out in the room and said Tinkerbell delivered it. It was very affordable and a huge hit.

Be sure to get her a "First Visit" button from your hotel. CMs tend to make a big deal about first timer kids.

Adding an extra day to a 5-day ticket is practically free compared to park hoppers.

 

[tink9702]

A couple other thoughts:

- if she has any Disney clothes make sure her parents pack those so she can wear them if she wants. She's possibly too old for princess dresses but a shirt with Anna/Elsa on it would be great in the photos as well. Typically girls care more about what they are wearing.

- I agree with possibly ditching O'hana & Tusker house. She'd most likely enjoy either Askershus, or 1900 Park Fare if she likes Cinderella. Your boys might get a kick out of the stepsisters and stepmother at 1900 as well so it wouldn't "just" be a princess meal. I'd do a QS dinner after AK or leave the park for dinner that night.

- Epcot is great for princess meet&greets. If you didn't want to do a princess meal between MK and Epcot you can hit all of the princesses. Just keep in mind you'll get on a lot less rides on this trip so prepare your boys ahead of time!!! We thought Mulan was fun to meet even for our son. Epcot also has Aurora, Snow White & Belle. I would check with her parents (if you aren't sure) to see who her favorites are (other than Anna/Elsa) and make sure you do those at least.

Just wanted to add that I think it's wonderful that you are bringing her on your trip with you. She's a special girl to have you as a godparent!

 

[kaetra]

I'm really surprised Anna and Elsa weren't available for FP at your 60 day mark. They were available for all my days when I checked at 60 days.

 

[CinderElsa]

Just a FYI, not for controversy, but Disney Gay Days at Walt Disney World June 2 - June 8, 2015. Some people just may want to adjust their touring or may want to be ready for an explanation for their kids during this time.
I work with gays and have family and friends that are gay.

Uh... good for you?

 

[Ava]

I would do Akershus for a girl who wants to meet princesses. Breakfast is typical American food if the Norwegian lunch/dinner menu doesn't appeal to you. You get a photo with Belle in her yellow gown before the meal, and during the meal its usually Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, and Snow White who come around.

Enchanted Tales with Belle is another way to meet Belle in her yellow gown if you don't want to or can't do Akershus. Even if your goddaughter doesn't want to participate in the show, she can still join the line of children at the end to meet Belle. There's a Photopass photographer there as well.

Also, keep trying for A&E FP+ - try for 2, you'll have more luck searching for a smaller group. Then you can take your goddaughter to meet them while the boys do something else (since I assume your teenage boys don't care about meeting A&E).

 

[crazylady]

Are the boys still going? If so, I'd still keep the O'hana reservation if it is a family favorite. What about dinner with Cinderella and the step sisters at the GF? This would work for her and the older kids too.

I would prob switch your AK and Epcot days so you can get an earlier start on driving on your last day.

 

[Bkk40in2011]

That is too funny!

 

[poeticdiabetic]

Are the boys still going? If so, I'd still keep the O'hana reservation if it is a family favorite. What about dinner with Cinderella and the step sisters at the GF? This would work for her and the older kids too.

I would prob switch your AK and Epcot days so you can get an earlier start on driving on your last day.

I'm thinking around the same thing.

 

[scanmom]

I would look into staying offsite in a condo. You'd have more space and save a lot of money. Since you'll have a car, it shouldn't be a problem. Then you could use that savings for either the hopper or an extra day.

 

[ktlm]

DD is 9. EPCOT has been her absolute favorite park other than MK since she was 2. We also go to DL, and EPCOT is the only thing she misses when were are there. EPCOT actually has a ton of princesses, Snow White, Belle (blue dress), Sleeping Beauty, Jasmine (often with Aladdin), Mulan (while technically not a Princess- merchandising typically groups her with them). Mary Poppins and Alice are also there. Does she like Phineas and Ferb at all? They are big with that age group here, and DD is absolutely nuts about the Agent P missions in World Showcase. That is one of her favorite WDW things- the special effects are really cute. DH loves them too- more than once I have had to pry the communicator out of his hands, and make him give it back to DD. Biergarten is a favorite with both DD and DH. EPCOT is a 2 full day park for us. If you asked DD, she would say if you are going to skip anything- skip AK. She has never been a fan because there is no real princess presence there, and we have a good zoo at home, so she is not interested in going around and looking at the same kind of animals she can see at home when she could be doing "Disney" and princess stuff instead. I like AK, but DD is not a fan. She usually humors me for a while and then she is usually begging by noon to go back to EPCOT or MK. I will say that has changed a bit since they started doing the Wilderness Explorer Adventure Badge booklet- they can go around the park and do things in different areas to earn badge stickers. That kept her interested in AK until about mid-afternoon. It is still her least favorite park though. Does your 9 year old girl have a decent zoo at home? If so, she may tire of AK very quickly. Again- another aspect of going with a princess loving girl! Also, I don't know what the construction status is there currently, but last fall it was bad. The construction walls really detracted from the AK experience in my opinion. Someone else that has been there recently can probably tell you if it is better now.

As far as whether eliminating the park-hopper is a mistake-that can be remedied. You can add it on while there if it is needed. I don't know her energy level-but my 9 year old DD is an open to close parks girl. For us- we pretty much always go back to MK or EPCOT on AK day. Unless it is the holiday season with Osborne lights- DHS is another day where we often hop to MK or EPCOT in the evening (unless Fantasmic is important enough to you to face that Crowd- we prefer it at DL, so we skip it at WDW). You said you love evening EMH- we do too, but we don't like the extra crowds EMH bring during the day. We typically go to a different park, and then hop over for evening EMH in the evening. We like the flexibility park hopper provides, but there is no reason for you not to attempt to save the money on it-knowing that you can change your mind if you suddenly feel the need to hop!

As far as Anna and Elsa- you will need to get there VERY early and be in the front of the rope drop pack. In addition to competing with a lot of the rope drop crew, you are now competing with the crew who booked BOG breakfast specifically to be in that area and get to A&E BEFORE the rope drop crew gets there. If you aren't at the front of the rope drop pack-you can expect that line to already be 45 minutes to over an hour by the time you get there (7DMT can be the same way). Don't give up on the FP+ idea. If it didn't happen on your 60 days (looks like you are past that), then keep trying daily- several times a day if possible- things do pop up.

Just a warning- a PP talked about their DD not wanting to wait any significant amount of time for characters/signatures and preferring rides. My DD has always been the exact opposite. The most important thing to her is the characters. She would be happy spending an entire day going from one character to the next and not even riding the rides. In fact, we had one day (I think she was 6 or 7 at the time), where we did go from character to character all day and only rode 2 rides the whole day. DH and I were going nuts. She will still tell you that was the best day ever. (We went back the 2nd MK day and since she had seen everybody that day was about rides and everything else thank goodness). Don't know which way your 9 year old will go. Since she is nuts about the fact you met Anna and Elsa, you might find that she is a character hound like my DD.

I think it is wonderful that you are making her dream come true! Going with a girl is a ton of fun! Have a fabulous trip!

 

[irene_dsc]

Other questions - is she a Disney princess fan in general, or just a Frozen fan? My dd (just turned 11) can sing all the songs from Frozen, but has never been a huge princess fan.

I will second the recommendation the 1900 Park Fare dinner with Cinderella and the step-sisters, however - that was fun for all of us when we did it, and didn't feel like princess overload (whereas your boys may be resentful if the trip feels like all princesses all the time!) 9 is also an interesting age where they sometimes want to be a little kid, and sometimes want to be more grown up, so you will need to play it by ear as far as what rides she wants to do (are the teacups a thrill or a yawn?).

Oh, and we just got back from our trip. The walls are definitely still up at AK, and detracted a lot from the atmosphere. The kids enjoyed reading the signs, but I missed it.

 

[poeticdiabetic]

I would look into staying offsite in a condo. You'd have more space and save a lot of money. Since you'll have a car, it shouldn't be a problem. Then you could use that savings for either the hopper or an extra day.

Understood and it makes sense. But she really want to do WDW the way we normally do it. And we are the On-site, Stay-On-Property-At-All-Times family. Yes, it may be less expensive, but she knows how we roll. Plus staying onsite for the entire trip is our tradition. But it does make sense to go off-site, though.

 

[poeticdiabetic]

Other questions - is she a Disney princess fan in general, or just a Frozen fan? My dd (just turned 11) can sing all the songs from Frozen, but has never been a huge princess fan.

I will second the recommendation the 1900 Park Fare dinner with Cinderella and the step-sisters, however - that was fun for all of us when we did it, and didn't feel like princess overload (whereas your boys may be resentful if the trip feels like all princesses all the time!) 9 is also an interesting age where they sometimes want to be a little kid, and sometimes want to be more grown up, so you will need to play it by ear as far as what rides she wants to do (are the teacups a thrill or a yawn?).

Oh, and we just got back from our trip. The walls are definitely still up at AK, and detracted a lot from the atmosphere. The kids enjoyed reading the signs, but I missed it.

I did make the change between my AK and EPCOT days. Plus, I think we're going to 1900 park Fare.