Hi Lori,
What a nice way to spend time with your daughter! I've been taking my similarly-aged girls on mommy/daughter trips recently. They've been fabulous bonding experiences.
Unfortunately, I have a bit of bad news for you. Most of the really in-depth backstage tours at Walt Disney World are restricted to guests ages 16 and over. They even check IDs for proof of age. The rationale for this is that they don't want to spoil any of the magic for younger guests by letting them in on park secrets. This means that you'll just have to come back again in a few years.
In the meantime, there are a few less-revealing behind-the-scenes experiences that are available for children these include:
- Wild Africa Trek: Learn about the Animal Kingdom habitats, get extended time on the savanna, and meet some animal keepers. I've done this with my own preteen daughters with great success.
- Family Magic Tour: An scavenger hunt through the Magic Kingdom, capped off by an extended character greeting.
- The Magic Behind Our Steam Trains Tour: Even if your daughter is not a train person, this actually includes quite a bit about Walt's life and park history.
- Behind the Seeds at Epcot: Learn about horticulture and the inner workings of the gardens at the Land pavilion. My family has done this twice. My daughters, who are NOT gardeners, LOVED it.
- Dolphins In Depth, Epcot DiveQuest, or Seas AquaTour: Learn about aspects of Epcot's Seas pavilion.
I don't know where you live in California, but if you're anywhere near San Francisco, you'll want to take your daughter to the
Walt Disney Family Museum. I had the opportunity to visit there for the first time last week. It is the ultimate in education about Walt the man.
Good luck with your planning. Please let us know if you have additional questions.