Birthday at Crystal Palace

[julieanddanny]

So before our trip I kept reading that at CP, on your birthday, they give you a birthday card signed by characters and a cupcake. Does anyone one know if they no longer do this?

In our reservations I noted it was my dd's 1st birthday. When we arrived all the hostess' were going goo goo for her and we mentioned it was her birthday. We were brought to our table and we casually mentioned her birthday in front of the waiter.....we had a wonderful time, great food, awesome character meetings and......no cupcake or card.

I was kind of bummed! In fact, I would have ordered a cake if i had known! We ended up letting her smash into a piece of strawberry cheesecake from the buffet...

 

[HunnyJar]

Sorry you were disappointed. It is at the restaurant and/or server's discretion as to whether or not anything happens regarding cupcakes, cards, etc. And it does seem like certain restaurants are better than others. My husband and I celebrated our honeymoon, 1st anniversary, 5th anniversary and some birthdays at WDW and as far as Crystal Palace goes the most we ever saw was some confetti on the table. We weren't disappointed, though. It's really a crap shoot.

Happy belated 1st birthday to your little one!

 

[sunshine74]

We celebrated DD's 7th birthday at CP last October, and did get a cupcake and card signed by the characters. I hadn't heard this sometimes happens ahead of time, so were completely surprised. DD thought it was great, it was breakfast and she got to start her day with a cupcake!

She was wearing a birthday button. We must have gotten lucky!

 

[jdisnut]

Any special perk you may receive to celebrate a birthday is completely at the restaurant's our your server's discretion. The individual locations generally do not have specific policies about how to handle these situations. Unfortunately, the advent of the Internet has highlighted some of the magic treats Cast Members will occasionally bestow on their guests. I fear that sometimes leads people to go on vacation with unfair expectations.

I am sorry that the Crystal Palace did not fuss about your daughter's birthday, but know that they did not doing anything in violation of the rules. I hope your daughter had a wonderful day anyway!

 

[catne]

I guess I would be surprised if they did bring out a cupcake for a one year old...many people do not feed cake to babies. I was in the day care business for nearly 20 years...I would guesstimate at least 1/2 of my clients over the years would have turned down a cake for their baby's first birthday. Not commenting on whether or not you should feed cake to babies (all my own kids had cake for every birthday) but just saying the restaurant may have a policy of not bringing out sweets for infants.

Our experience with birthdays & other special occasions is that it's very hit & miss...we've celebrated many birthdays at Disney over the last three years. Some places made a big deal with the card & confetti on the table. But just as often it was nothing, or just a warm "Happy Birthday" from all the servers. As others have said, it's too bad you had the wrong impression about what would happen.

It's nice when you get a special bit of pixie dust on a special occasion, but that's all it is, really...a special little extra to enjoy if you're lucky enough to get it.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

For birthdays, anniversies, and other celebrations . . .

1) Acknowledgment is a matter of the CM's own initiative.
2) It also depends upon how much they like you as a guest.
3) CM's can do a lot, or they can do nothing at all.
. . . they are under no obligation to give goodies or even acknowledge, or
. . . they can go way overboard and give lots of gifts to a guest
4) The CM's have a lot of leeway of things to do or not do for you.
5) Have your anniversary-birthday-celebration noted on the ressie and ADR's.
5) Some of the things a CM can do for free are
. . . decorate table with Mickey confetti
. . . best table location
. . . special personalized menu
. . . character-autographed birthday cards
. . . balloons
. . . wine or champagne or Shirley Temples
. . . appetizers
. . . cakes with candles
. . . cupcakes with candles (almost a certainty)
. . . placemats autographed by characters
. . . wine or fruit basket sent to room
. . . flowers sent to room
. . . room upgrades (by Front Desk or Concierge CM's)

6) If there are multiple celebrations for multiple people
. . . do not do separate restaurants
. . . one person may get an enthusiastic CM, and get lots of goodies
. . . one person may get a lazy CM and get nothing

 

[tinkandpan]

We have been there for a bday and they did the cupcake and the confetti and card. It was waiting there when we got there. We have also been there for a bday where there was no fuss at all either. Like someone mentioned, it is totally up to the CM.

 

[whitney37354]

DD got a cupcake at lots of TS meals for her birthday, two or three cards signed by characters, 3 Happy Birthday buttons, & confetti on the table for one meal. CP did the card, cupcake, & our Australian CM (Kip) knelt down by the table & sang Happy Birthday to her.

I did note DD's birthday & first trip & DH's first trip on our ressies. We never got first trip buttons (I wasn't on a quest to hunt them down either), and DD never expected anything extra for her birthday.

 

[chocolateMinnie]

we've been there for birthdays and some restaurants do and some don't. The only guaranteed way is to pay for a cake which we have done at Akershus and CP - then you are guaranteed. We have at various locations had cards, cupcakes or just the normal dessert plate decorated.

 

[julieanddanny]

Thanks for the info. I guess no one is going to come on and brag that they didn't get a cupcake on their birthday (Except for me, ha!)

The hostesses were making such a fuss over her when we arrived. One even took a picture of her with another hostess because they shared the same name! There was some swirly paper stuff on the table - perhaps that was for our celebration (because it was asked when I made the res - even for her exact birthdate!)

Anyway, all was good - we all would be having dessert from the buffet so I decided last minute not to get the cake - figuring she'd be all set with the cupcake - oh well! We had a great time anyway!

(@cathy, I don't know anyone who hasn't had a 1st birthday cake - even if just to make a mess of! )

 

[smiths02]

I know it is at server's discretion, but maybe it is because she was one (I mean she won't really notice/remember)?


My son turned 3 at Crystal Palace (we went on his actual b-day). It was on the ADR, he wore a winnie the pooh shirt (that said don't start the part without me) and birthday mickey mouse ears. He got a cupcake with a candle. (But like a PP said, it might get chaotic to give a one year old a cake and fire).

We also got a card and a table decoration, but I am 90% sure we paid some small fee for the table decoration...so us having paid a fee for the table decoration may have made the card more likely.


For my son, I would have asked for a candle to stick in a dessert from the buffet even if they didn't give a cupcake (maybe they would have gotten the hint).

BTW, for his first birthday, my son didn't really acknowledge his cupcake (or the cake I made). He ate yogurt.

 

[sydneysmom]

We went last September, and I had my birthday button on my hipster bag. (on the chair) Well, our server must have seen it because after our meal she brought over a cupcake and a card from all the characters. It was really sweet. I felt like I was 5 again!!

 

[MM27]

We had a birthday listed on the reservation and the table was decorated when we got there. Cupcake and card came out after we ate, before we went up to get dessert. This was just this past week at lunch.