Anyone been to Disney on a birthday?

[momabear]

We are surprising the kids with a trip to Disney in September and 2 of the kids will celebrate their birthday there. Do you know if the park does anything special for a birthday kid? Someone told me we can get a pin to wear, but I didn't know if there was anything else special we should look for.

[belovedbride07]

Yes, you can get a birthday buttons from Guest Relations in the parks (and I believe they often have someone standing out front of City Hall at Disneyland/Magic Kingdom handing them out as well); if you are staying at a Disney hotel, they should be able to get you one, too. It's a guaranteed way to get wished happy birthday by lots of people throughout the day!

I believe most table service restaurants will sing to you if you tell them when you arrive (or at least this was true in Epcot).

Those are the only birthday perks that I can think of. You can have cake and balloons delivered to your room, buy birthday ears/hats/other merchandise, etc., but that all costs extra.

[Deleted]

My DD3 turned 3 there--get pin, some extras at the hotel, attention everywhere, dessert cake at meal, etc.

[momabear]

Great. Thanks! I was worried we would find out after the fact that there was something else we could have done on their birthdays. Because you know, just being at Disney and missing school isn't enough.

[honeybee]

Get the pin! We've been many times but the time we went for my younger sister's birthday was awesome. She wore the pin the whole time. She got surprise fast passes from cast members, free balloons, ice creams, desserts at dinners. The best was doing the animation academy in Hollywood studios. At the end the artist teaching the lesson added birthday elements to his character and signed it before giving it to my sister.

Disney is an awesome place to celebrate!

[lishie]

I was there on my birthday two years ago, and at that time they were giving a free day at the park as part of the birthday, and since my family had multi-day passes, they gave me the value of admission in a gift card to use around Disney. I don't know if they were doing that, but it was really nice.

You also get the birthday button, which usually results in a free dessert or two, and lots of birthday wishes (and sometimes other surprises) from cast members.

[ilikedonuts]

Pretty much everyone says they are celebrating their birthday there nowadays (even if its like 3 months before their trip) so the attention and everything is much less than it was in previous years. Definitely get the pins, but don't expect much.

[spankswife]

We are going next spring for DD's 3rd bday. I have heard about the pin, and that lets the characters know it's a bday, so they usually make a fuss. The woman at customer service told me, "go to the Kodak photo area (characters there I assume) and to bring a camera and tissues." If you plan a character meal, you can call ahead for a cake/singing. Also if you want, on their site, they have a bunch of order ahead packages that can be delivered to the room. disneyworld.disney.go.com/plan/give-a-gift/

Let us know how it goes when you get back! Have a great time!

[dragonfly08]

Definitely get the pin, but beyond that your best bet is to expect nothing and enjoy any pixie dust you might receive. Whether or not to do anything for birthdays is really up to the individual cast members throughout the parks. Your children are likely to receive tons of birthday wishes from CMs, other guests, etc. But it's very possible that they won't get any "freebies". Then again, they might get a cupcake after dinner or an autographed photo of Mickey in your room if you're staying on-site. When DD #1 celebrated her 5th birthday at Disney, a CM gave her a free Mickey ice cream bar (I'd ordered it at the cart fully expecting to pay but he handed it to her and said "it's on Mickey, happy birthday!" so it was a nice surprise.). DD #2 got the photo and lots of wishes, but nothing else. It definitely varies. Even so, celebrating a birthday at Disney is still really fun and exciting in itself!

[Brie]

I didn't celebrate a birthday there, but after I ran the Disney Princess Half Marathon and wore my medal around the parks, I got lots of attention from CMs. They actually called me out in a restaurant and made everyone cheer for me, and some of the characters in a parade came over to talk to me and say congrats and take pictures. I'd assume a birthday pin is a similar concept.

[Deleted]

Yes!! Birthdays, anniversarys etc etc they make a BIG deal out of. We are taking DS this year for his bday too. I am so excited.

[GailGoldie]

We were there for griffins 5th in march. He got a cupcake and signed card from characters at All character meals and lots of special attention even during parades characters would come up to him or point and wave. He loved it and wore the button the whole week.

[DarcyLongfellow]

We've been there for DD's past two birthdays (when she turned 2 and when she turned 3).

To be honest, they don't do a whole lot. SO many people go for their birthdays, that they really can't do a whole lot!!

But definitely get a birthday button. You can get them right when you come into the park. When your kid is wearing it, so many cast members (and other guests) will come up and wish your kid happy birthday -- often by name, if they can make out the name on the pin.

Both times we had character meals scheduled for DD's birthday (Crystal Palace with Pooh and friends, then Askershus for the princesses), and at both meals DD got a birthday card signed by all the characters who were there and a special dessert (just a cheapie cupcake, but dressed up with Mickey sprinkles and things). They did NOT sing to her, but they did provide a candle, so we sang to her ourselves.

If you want to order a cake for your kids, you can do that through Disney. You can have it delivered to your hotel room (if you stay on site) or to your family at a dining reservation. They aren't cheap, and apparently the least expensive ones are pretty bad (think frozen Sara Lee type cakes). You can pay a lot of money and get a fancy cake from one of the bakers. Or, if you'll have a car, you can order one from a grocery store (Publix cakes are good, and there are several Publix stores close to Disney). Check out the disboards for more info -- I remember researching the heck out of it last year!! We did not order a Disney one since we were just there for a one day trip, but if I had been there for a whole week I might have.

[sarahbear]

I assume you're talking about Disneyworld??? If you're going to Disneyland you can also have a special telephone call with Goofy (recorded message) who will wish you a happy birthday. One of the store employees (random giftshop) asked if I'd received my birthday phone call yet. When I hadn't he handed me the phone, dialed a special number and I got to listen to a cute message on the phone. This was about 7 years ago maybe, so not sure if they still do it.

[Deleted]

When you pick up the pin, they may have them listen to a phone with a happy birthday from mickey.

[momabear]

This sounds great. Thanks for all the info! I am getting so excited to surprise them with the trip and then have 2 birthdays while we are there. I will definitely post after the trip and let everyone know how it goes.