DH and I are giving our DD a trip to DisneyWorld for her 5th birthday in April. She doesn't read, and she doesn't know a whole lot about DisneyWorld. I know you can go online and print out maps of the parks, but I don't think she'd open the gift and understand what we've given her. I'd like to give her a present she can open and understand what it is she's being given.
Any thoughts on what we can wrap up for her to open at her party?
TIA!!!
Thank you SO much for all the creative ideas! I've ordered some personalized mouse ears. As soon as they arrive I'm going to start telling my daughter about how you know you're going to Disney World when your mouse ears arrive (I don't want to tell her that until I have the mouse ears in my hand as I'd hate to tell her that and not have any ears to give her!). I've also ordered Birnbaum's for kids. We have the regular version, and I didn't even know they made one for kids. I'm also working on going ahead with the personalized maps, though that feature isn't working right now on the Disney website.
Anyway, I think the ears will definitely make the difference. Thanks again, everyone!
Order the Disney Vacation DVD. It is great to watch and really gets you excited about the trip. It is also free.
Have you ordered the free DisneyWorld DVD? It's a great video to show what to expect and it will get her excited. Also, maybe you could give her a Minnie Mouse Dress up dress from the Disney Store?
I would get her a stuffed character (whoever is her favorite) and tell her that she is going to meet her in person. Or if she is the Princess type fan, maybe one of the princess dolls and tell her you are going to visit her in the castle. Something along that line.
C. G
Go to the Disney Store in Collin Creek Mall and buy her a small stuffed Mickey or Minnie Mouse or something else that you think she would like that she would associate with Disney. You could also include a "ticket" for her for the trip. Just make it out of card stock or construction paper and write "Disney World Ticket" on it and put some mouse ears or Disney princesses on it and she can hang it up in anticipation of your trip. I think it's more fun for kids to know in advance where they are going because the excitement and anticipation building up to the trip are wonderful. Have fun!
a picture of Cinderella's castle and some mickey ears on a hat!
There a many books advising how to "do Disney". Buy "Birnbaum's Walt Disney World for Kids" and wrap it as a gift. It's a great help in planning the trip. I also highly recommend his adult book for the parents going on the trip.
wow that's awesome..fl or cal? i used to live in fl so i would go to DW at least once a yr (if not more!!) if you need travel advice about the orlando area let me know...the hotels there in the park are way expensive but so cool!! when i would go with friends (not my mom) we would stay in the park...and as for your daughter...i would either wrap up a travel brochure (a colored one with all of the pics) or a stuffed mickey mouse and tell her you are going to go meet him this summer at his house!! he invited you all!! :) have fun!!
blessings,
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I think it would be really exciting if you made her a dvd or movie that she could open and then watch to see what her gift is. You could even turn it into a scavenger hunt of sorts that ends at the tv where she pushes play. Just a thought!
I think that it really depends on how much money you want to spend, but I would wrap up different things that relate to Disney World or things that she might associate with the park. I might wrap up a Disney Video in one box, some kind of Disney coloring book in another, her favorite Disney character stuffed animal in another, and maybe a Disney t-shirt in another. You could even just order the video that Disney has that tells you about Disney vacations and let her open and watch that. Another idea would be to pack a suitcase and wrap it it up with the word Off To Disney World written on a piece of construction paper and taped to the front. Hope this helps.
I surpised my daughter with a WDW trip when she was five. I told her that we were going on a surprise vacation... I waited until we were on the plane and "in" our seats to tell her where we were going. I bought a stuffed Mickey Mouse at Target and wrapped it up for her with a card that I made saying we are going to Disney World.
Another idea for you... we waited until the last day of our trip to do our "shoppping" at the Disney store. Each day my daughter earned "Disney Dollars"... these are dollars that WDW uses instead of "cash"... she earned these Disney dollars for being a good sport.. not complaining... etc... and it was just an overall good incentive.. I was going to spend money on her anyway.. this way she could buy what she wanted at the store with her earned money.
How about a Mickey Mouse? Or they have something at Disneyworld called Pal Mickey I believe he is interactive and tells about the park as you go through it. Maybe you could get her one of those plus some pictures of Disneyworld that she would relate to printed off the web site.
There may be even a board game about Disneyworld. Check with the Disney store or on line store for toys that represent Disneyworld. They also have a free DVD telling about vacationing there and would be something for her to open and watch.
A.
Disney has some great DVD's they send you for free with info about all the things to do at their parks. Maybe you could request one and let her watch it on her birthday and say wouldn't that be a great place to go? Well guess what?
How about a stuffed Mickey or Minnie Mouse.
Go to the Disney Store and get Birnbaums(sp?)guide to Disney World,you might can get them elsewhere, I don't know, and present it to her. We gave one to our almost 4 yr. old before going to disney and it was her favorite book for two years. It was a fav. after our trip because it had pics. of places we had been. She absolutely loves Disney and when we go back we will buy the book again-it has TONS of useful information and LOTS of pictures. HTH and have fun!
Order the Disney World video and wrap it and play it once she opens it , she will be thrilled. Disney.com. have fun!!
1. Get your FREE Official Disney Customized Map! You can add YOUR family name to it (or hers). Here is the link: http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/myVacation/customize...
Wrap it up and let her open it! :D
We gave our daughter a Cinderella (her favorite princess) ensemble to wear and told her she was going to have lunch with the Disney princesses. Make reservations on-line in advance! She also wore a Minnie Mouse dress to meet Minnie. Those two occasions made for the most memorable moments and the most fabulous pictures of our vacation. Have a great time! Deb
Disney will send you a free DVD which highlights all the parks, rides and attractions. Just call their free 800 number and they will send it to you. Have her open up the DVD and then play it for her! She will just LOVE it!
E.
MouseEars with her name monogrammed on them and an invitiation from Mickey, of course!
Hey C.,
Disney Land has a sing along video about the park that my niece 5, nephew 4, and daughter 2 absolutly love, and I find myself singing the songs also. It is called DisneyLand fun, It's a Small World. I know you are going to Disney World, but it has mostly the same things in the video that disney world has. It shows a bunch of the different rides in the park and sings disney songs about it. It was made in the early 90s so it is a little dated, but all the kids in my family love it! If you didn't give it to her as a gift you could just let her watch it to get an idea of where she is going. Just an idea. Hope it helps, and yall are going to have a blast. We went to Disney World in May and it was so much fun!!!
What about wrapping up a stuffed Mickey or Minnie Mouse from the Disney Store? or if is into princesses maybe somthing else princess from the Disney store? We took our daughter when she was 4 1/2, almost 5 what a perfect age to go! Enjoy your trip!
H.
What about a stuff animal of Micky Mouse or maybe Micky ears?
Hi C.,
Our family just went there in December. They are very big on the whole princess theme, so you might try something along that line. Also, if you have not already borrowed or purchased "The Unofficial Guide to Disney World", I highly recommend you do so. We followed there one day plan for our family and we had a blast. It will tell you everything you need to know about the park:what ride to go to when so as not to stand in long lines what is do able in a day for young children, etc.
D.
Get the Magical Kingdom board game which is also a map of the park. She'll enjoy playing it and will learn where the attractions are - so she'll be familiar with the park when you're there!
If it were me, I'd order up a pair of Disney ears without her name embroidered on it. Then I'd start talking a lot about Disney World and how cool it is, and you get to see Mickey Mouse and the princesses, and on and on. At that age my kids would get excited by the notion of "maybe we could go one day". Then, closer to the birthday, I'd start throwing in the part about how when you go to the park you get to wear ears and have your name embroidered on them. The plan would, of course, be to give her the ears and announce that she could now take them to Disney and that's where they'd put her name on them. For my kids it would have been crucial to start pointing out Disney stuff like the castle when a Disney movie starts. You know, "Wow! Isn't it pretty? I'D like to go there one day"... or "I went there when I was a little girl and it was sooo beautiful!" And we'd have to talk about the rides and shows and getting hot dogs. And the other crucial part for me would be to not say that you GET a hat at the park, but that you WEAR the hat in the park and get your name put on it -- technicalities have always derailed my kiddos.
We did the same thing at the end of last summer. It was the end of the summer and we wanted to surprise our 7 and 5 year old with a end of summer trip to Disney World. We had everything ready, packed, backpacks, DVD's for the plane, etc. ready to go and the kids had NO idea. My Mom and Aunt were going with us and our flight left at 6:30am so early, early, early that morning, we woke the kids up, got them dressed (they were too tired to even ask why we were getting up while it was still dark outside.) My husband brought them into the family room where we were all waiting and announced to them that we were leaving right then, going to the airport, getting on an airplane and "GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!" It was a priceless moment for our family. We filmed it and took lots of pics to capture the moment. They each had brand new rolling backpacks, lunchboxes that attached that were full of snacks and juice for the plane ride (Pirates of the Caribbean and Princess, or course) and were at the front door waiting to go. I also made laminated luggage tags for everyone (each with their favorite Disney character) to attach to luggage, backpacks, etc. I think they were more excited about the luggage tags than the trip itself.
Just an idea for you. However you package it, your child will love it and find Disney as magical as you do!
J.
Order the free dvd from Disney World & have her open that & watch it. My son & I watched ours & could hardly wait to go!!!! Also, get her an autograph book & pen she can wear around her neck for all of the characters to sign while she's there.
Some friends of mine gave me more great advice for the trip: They would buy Disney toys here & have their child open them every hour on the way there, or another friend had wrapped Disney toys & had them on her pillow every morning to open!!
T. C.
