How can I do a magic visit for a small-town 10 year old and her mom?

[bababear_50]

I would definitely plan a day at Epcot for a 10 year old

First---- Fast Pass Soarin
Second--- Head to Test Track
Third --- Mission Space
Fourth---Ride Soarin
Fifth---Living the land boat ride
Six--- check out the 5.7 million gallon saltwater tanks full of Aquatic life
(Seas with Nemo and friends Pavilion) Manatee,Dolphins etc.
Seventh---Ride Space Ship Earth--either now or on your way out of park

Head over to World Showcase
Agent P World Showcase Adventure (Phineas and Ferb)

Pick a Favorite Country and have some lunch.

Head to Japan and let her "Pick --A--Pearl.
10 year old girls love this.

Don't forget about "Sum Of All Thrills"
At Epcot Innoventions

here's a quick video of it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilpBKRwqIsE

Just a few ideas

Have a wonderful trip
Hugs Mel

[Lynne M]

Please don't skip Epcot. At 10, it would have been my favorite park. By far. I would have wanted to spend the entire trip there. MK would have been the park I was least interested in, out of the 4.

[Rylee]

Check out the park calendars for park hours on the days you plan to visit. Since you are not a WDW resort guest, you should avoid the park offering Extra Magic Hours since you cant take advantage of that perk, and that park is likely to be more crowded that day.

Get to the parks early.

Grab a park map and guide on your way into each park. This will list parade and show times, character meet & greet locations, etc.

Learn about Fast Passes, (FP.) * I do not know the status of the current FP system or when the new system changeover will take place. Take advantage of FP if available.

Is this trip a surprise for the 10y/o? If not, have her check out videos online to get an idea of rides she might enjoy. Unlike many attractions at other amusement parks, plenty of Disney attractions are located inside buildings, so you can't stand there, watch it go around a few times before deciding to ride it.

Does she like roller coasters? If so, plan to hit those and other major attractions early in the day.

If you think she'll enjoy meeting characters, purchase an autograph book for her and have your camera ready. It makes a nice souvenir.

When your girlfriend needs a rest/break, check out the 3D movies and various shows... Finding Nemo - The Musical @ AK, Beauty and The Beast @ DHS, etc.

I think a day at the beach sounds like a great idea for a "small town girl, " especially if she has never seen the ocean before. (Actually, we prefer the gulf coast, Clearwater Beach area is nice.)

[Raenstoirm]

I too am very confused as to what you are asking. My suggestion is to get a guide book. Buy your little girl Birnbaum's Walt Disney World for Kids. It will help her decide what she wants to do.

[TruBlu]

I have 11 & 13 year old boys. If they could only choose one park, it would be EPCOT!!! Not for the "education", for the RIDES!!!!

Mission Space, Test Track, Soarin, Spaceship Earth, etc... EPCOT pretty much ROCKS!

Sent from Tracey's iPhone using DISBoards

[bytheblood]

Going to Disney itself is wonderful and magical. There is nothing you need to do to create that. As they have never been, it is sure to be overwhelming. Just go, have a great time and realize that you will not be able to do it all in the number of days you are going.

[xmansmom]

Originally Posted by mortimeriwerks

I am just a paying participant, and all I can do is make some inquiries as to advice, suggestions and how to focus the adventure on a 10 year old who loves animals, animated dragons (I have seen the new flying dragon on video!) and Cartoon Network(!) Has she abandoned Disney Channel? Yes, but she is still a kid.
Thank you(!!!!)

Yes, she is still a kid. She may not watch Disney, but she will still love character meals, rides, and everything in between. Get her an autograph book and make an ADR for a character meal. She may feel she is too old for princesses but no one is too old for the fab five and other classic characters. Since she loves animals you should go over to the AKL. My kids loved viewing the animals with their night vision goggles. Just being at WDW itself is magical. Have a great trip!

[xmansmom]

Originally Posted by jjas

The key is no matter what the age - we are all kids at Disney!

Absolutely! Chuck E. Cheese's is where a kid can be a kid but Disney is where EVERYONE can be a kid.

[MermaidMommy]

You've gotten a lot of good advice about park visits (and count me in as one who says not to miss Epcot). Downtown Disney is a fun choice for your first day, as PP has suggested. I agree that you should take a look at a good guide book and let the 10yr old decide which rides/parks look most interesting to her. Some small, inexpensive "magical" things you can do are:

Get "pixie dusted" for free at Bibbity Bobbity Boutique. (I have done this at BBB at Downtown Disney -- just ask at the check-in desk and they'll sprinkle pixie dust on her. Not sure if they do it at the castle in Magic Kingdom.)

Pick a pearl at Epcot (in Japan's department store) is only $15, and you can get inexpensive cage-type necklaces to put it in on the internet. (I got one for my DD for around $8, but they're much more expensive at WDW.)

Harmony Barber Shop in the Magic Kingdom will fix her hair -- ponytail or two ponytails only -- and put in what they call pixie dust, but is actually big chunks of multi-colored confetti and Mickey-heads. Quite the attention-getter and only $7. My DD11 loved this so much we did it twice.

There are some fun restaurants: Sci-Fi at Hollywood Studios has tables in old cars like at a drive-in and plays kitschy old sci-fi movies. 50's Prime Time at HS is like eating in a 50's kitchen with servers who act like family members and tell you to eat your veggies or keep your elbows off the table. Rainforest Cafe would be great for an animal lover, or there's also a T-Rex restaurant at Downtown Disney if she's a dinosaur fan.

Once you have an idea of which parks you plan on doing, post again and the DISers can help you put together touring plans. Also, talk to her about characters, in case you want to do any character meals. It sounds like you're trying hard to make sure she has a magical time, so I'm sure you'll be successful!