Restore locked iPad mini in airplane mode

Question

Here's the scenario we're struggling with:
1.  My daughter upgraded to iOS 7 last week, entered a new password and then promptly forgot it.  (Or, as she claims, the iPad will not accept the password she used).
2.  At some point along the way, the iPad was set to airplane mode.
3.  After (?) number of unsuccessful attempts at the passcode, the lock screen shows "iPad is disabled."  Seems like it's permanent now.
4.  The iPad was setup to sync and back up through iCloud. To my knowledge, it has never been physically connected to a computer and synced through iTunes (I could be wrong on this. . .  can't remember whether this was required at setup, but if so, that was the only time it was connected to iTunes).
5.  So, I would now like to restore the iPad to the most recent backup in iCloud.  I'm not sure exactly how to do this, but here are the options I've tried:
     i.  Initiate a restore through iCloud.com?  There doesn't seem to be an option to view a backup or initiate a restore once signed in to the account.  The closest option looks like "Find my iPhone", but again, the iPad is in airplane mode, so it can't locate it.
     ii.  Through iTunes?  When I plug the iPad into a laptop, iTunes returns the following message, "iTunes could not connect to the iPad because it is locked with a passcode.  You must enter your passcode on the iPad before it can be used with iTunes."  Not helpful.
     iii.  Through the "iCloud Storage" program in MS Windows?  This seems to be the most promising.  I can view the time and the file size of the most recent backup; however, the only options available to actually do anything are to delete the backup file or buy more storage!  Really?!
We're big Apple fans, but when did things get so complicated and unfriendly? 
Please help.  Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

Hello Catherine,
Thank you for providing all the details of the issue you are experiencing with your daughter's iPad.  You have gone through some really good troubleshooting steps already and are on the right track to get this resolved. 
First, I recommend disabling Airplane mode using Control Center so that you can locate your iPad through iCloud.  To access Control Center, swipe up from the bottom of the screen.
iOS: Understanding Control Center
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5858
Once you have Airplane mode disabled, you can restore the iPad using Remote Wipe:
If you have never synced your device with iTunes, or you do not have access to a computer
If you have Find My iPhone enabled, you can use Remote Wipe to erase the contents of your device. If you have been using iCloud to back up, you may be able to restore the most recent backup to reset the passcode after the device has been erased.
iOS: Forgotten passcode or device disabled after entering wrong passcode
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1212
Once you have restored the iPad, you can restore the iCloud backup using the steps in this article:
iOS: How to back up and restore your content
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1766
Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.
Best,
Sheila M.