Girl Scout Trip

[Cinderellaluver]

My Girl Scout Troop wants to take a trip in the next year or so. We're know to not get a lot done so I decided I would take the planning of the trip into my own hands. I am a huge fan of Disney World and think it would be so much fun to take a trip there. My troop is less convinced. So I have a few questions for you guys that I think will help me convince them that Disney is the place for them.

1. Why should we go to Disney World and not someplace like New York City? This is what they all keep asking me. So I was wondering if you guys had some out of the ordinary reasons of why we should go there. (nothing like, it's fun, rides, etc.)

2. Does Disney have anything special for Girls Scouts or something extra that would be educational so we could make it more of a girl scout trip?

3. Do you think it would be reasonable for 6 girls to be able to earn the money in about a year and like 3 months to pay for them and two adults to go to Disney World for 5?

4. Do you have any tips on making the trip as cheap as we can without staying off property?

5.This one girl in my troop isn't a really big fan of roller coasters and other big rides because they make her sick. Is their any tips you have to make it a fun trip for her especially when all the other girls are on a ride she doesn't want to go on.


If I think of any more questions I will make sure to edit this

Thanks in advance!

 

[MyLittleAngels]

My daughter's girl scout troop just spent the weekend at Fort Wilderness. They earned several camping badges, and participated in the Youth Education Series (Y.E.S.) at Animal Kingdom, for which they received another badge.

There are many educational opportunities at WDW .. I'm sure if you read through your badge book you could find things at Epcot to do, as well.

You didn't mention the age of your scouts, but our troop is Junior level.

 

[Jessie&Buzz]

I've never taken my troop on a big trip but I think it would be fun.

1) I don't have anything out of the ordinary on why WDW over NYC. I just love the magic you find at WDW.

2) I don't think they do anything special for Girl Scouts. I know there is a Junior badge for planning a trip. My dd started it but hasn't worked on it lately. She's been helping me plan our family trip. I'm sure that you could come up with lots of things for them to do.

3) As for raising the money, I'm sure that you could do it in that time frame. Just tell them they have to be serious about it. If they can't get it raised then parents would either have to pay the rest or the girl couldn't go.

4) I suggest one of the value resorts or camping at Ft Wilderness. You can tent camp if it's the right time of year.

Hope you and your troop are able to find a great place to go.

 

[Cinderellaluver]

thanks! we're cadettes and I've been meaning to look through our badge book just havn't had time.

 

[Disneylover1302]

5.This one girl in my troop isn't a really big fan of roller coasters and other big rides because they make her sick. Is their any tips you have to make it a fun trip for her especially when all the other girls are on a ride she doesn't want to go on.

I was like that too! I was very scared to go on rides! I would say their are many fun rides you can do! For example:

• Buzz lightyear (doesn't have to spin if sick easily!)
• Toy Story Mania( I can't spin and i was fine!)
• Backlot Tour
• Shows!
• TTA
• Carousel of Progress
• Kilimanjaro Safaris
• Train
• The back part of Spaceship Earth ( game part)
• Possibly Spaceship Earth

Very tired so I can't think bye!

 

[Dwarful]

Ok I have been a troop leader for several years. Two years ago Pam at Kingdom Konsultants helped us plan an awesome trip. We ended up being a group of 36 people. Only one girl cried one time (and we were there about 9 days!) She wasn't a big ride fan and she cried something awful in line for Splash Mountain. She did ride it and ended up loving it.

1. Why should we go to Disney World and not someplace like New York City?
Walt Disney offers all sorts of options all at one spot. You have much more flexibility with breaking up into smaller groups at WDW than you would at NYC. Also all transportation on property is FREE! You have everything from Animal conservation, various countries in Epcot and much more!
2. Does Disney have anything special for Girls Scouts or something extra that would be educational so we could make it more of a girl scout trip?

I, with the help of some of my 'troop mom's' put together some scavenger hunt type activities for the girls to help them earn their badges. We also did a interview scavenger hunt and WOW! Did the girls love that.

3. Do you think it would be reasonable for 6 girls to be able to earn the money in about a year and like 3 months to pay for them and two adults to go to Disney World for 5?

Sure! Put your mind to it and anything is possible. We raised enough money for 36 people to go in just over a year! We went 9 days and had dining. In addition to the cookie sale we held car washes, a trivia night, a barbque, yard sale, AND hosted holiday babysitting every weekend in Dec. which brought in a huge amount of money. The church where we had our troop meetings let us use their building. We hosted a parents night out every Friday night or Saturday night in Dec. we advertised in the church newsletter, newspaper, etc., the girls played games with the kids,watched Disney movies, decorated cookies, etc.! Just be sure to CHECK with your Council before doing any other fundraising. In our council you must sell cookies first then they have a list of what activities are ok to do.

4. Do you have any tips on making the trip as cheap as we can without staying off property?

We wanted to do some sit down meals so for us it was better to do the dining plan. You could opt to do the counter service dining plan or contact WDW group relations and buy the meal coupons in advance. Contact Pam at Kingdom Konsultants. She was amazing at helping us decide what would be best for our group.

5.This one girl in my troop isn't a really big fan of roller coasters and other big rides because they make her sick. Is their any tips you have to make it a fun trip for her especially when all the other girls are on a ride she doesn't want to go on.

Make sure you don't do ride after ride after ride, leaving her sitting on a bench for what seems like hours. Also, start her out slowly, let her build her confidence. She might just be amazed at the difference between rides at WDW vs. Six Flags or those other parks!


Get the planning dvd, go to your library and check out guide books. If they don't have any usually they can order them. If you have any photos, home videos, etc. of previous trips bring them as well. Let everyone look over things, make lists of things they would love to do. Give everyone a job, come up with a plan and make it happen. Also, we found it best to make a tshirt for our trip. Plus we also did "St. Louis Cardinal's Day" one day, U of I shirts one day, etc., it made for a lot of comments from other guests...seeing 36 people walking around in the same type of tshirts.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[Cinderellaluver]

I really like the scavenger hunt idea!

 

[Dwarful]

Yeah, the scavenger hunt was a big hit with the girls and fellow guests/ CM's. It helped the girls with communication skills and got them talking to other guests while in line. Think 'beyond the box' for your questions. The one 'item' the girls talked about the most was the 'search for the girl scout who traveled the longest distance to arrive at WDW'. Several girls found scouts from other countries.

 

[Tink75]

You wouldn't happen to have a list of some of the things you looked for on your scavenger hunt? We're leaving with my scout troop in less than a week and I thing that would be a great idea to have them look for some of those things.

 

[Cinderellaluver]

I would love to see the list also

 

[Dwarful]

Sorry about the delay. I have a new pc and didn't have much luck finding the pdf. I have another mom who is going to send me a copy. Some of the obvious ones I remember off the top of my head were:

-Where is the oldest tree in the Magic Kingdom located?
-What attraction is closest to the two lanterns in the window? (you'd be surprised at how many girls got this one wrong!)
-What is the significance of those lanterns?
-What is the most popular selling girl scout cookie in (insert country or area of your choice)
-List the first name of the Girl Scout who travelled the longest distance to arrive at WDW and list her home town, state or country.
-What is the name of the person on the (insert #) window on Main St. USA?
-What is the significance of that person?
-How many train engines does the WDW Railroad system have?
-What is the name of the steamboat/ paddlewheeler in the MK?
-what type of airplane did Walt Disney use to fly to Florida?
-Where is that airplane located today?
-Where was Walt Disney going to have his family apartment located?
-Where was the Disney family apartment located in Disneyland?
-What is the name of longest running stage show in WDW?
-Where is this show located?
-Why was this show created?
-The first name and home town or area of the longest employed Cast Member
-Where does that cast member work?
-What was his or her favorite part about working for WDW?
-
We actually had specific lists for each park and a smaller list for the various resorts we visited (Movies, Grand Floridian, Contemporary, Poly,)
If she finds her list I will post it back here.