Birthday Celebration at Disneyland?

[PeterBanning]

We just booked our 2nd trip to Disneyland and we're going to be there the week before my son turns 10. Last night he asked if we could celebrate his birthday while we were at Disneyland. Coincidentally, his best friend is going to be there at the same time and his friend's birthday will happen while we are there.

Please help me with ideas on how we can celebrate the two birthdays together in the Park. We'll be there the first week in March. Hope that's enough planning time.

 

[Disney Dreams]

Why not make the entire trip a birthday celebration?

What kind of things does your son like? This will help people offer ideas that fit him.

You can definitely get him and his friend a birthday button for eachh of them to wear throughout the trip.

Sounds like a fun time to be had,
Dreams

 

[LavenderPeach]

I think having a nice meal in a restaurant is a good way to celebrate a birthday. You could do a meal that is different in some way. Not sure if two 10 year old boys would think they were too cool for a character meal but something like Goofy's Kitchen might be fun. Or if they wouldn't like that, how about a nice "grown-up" meal at Steakhouse 55 or even Napa Rose. Other options might be the Rainforest Cafe or even a night away from Disney at Midieval Times or the Pirate one.

If they like star wars they could do the jedi training academy. Do a search on these boards to find tips on how to get them picked to participate on stage.

Have fun planning!

 

[PeterBanning]

Thanks for the ideas. Both boys are kind of in a place where they probably would like the character meals, but would never admit to it. Something Pixar might be more to their liking. We may just have to force them into it or find something more subtle. You're never too old for Star Wars though, so that's a good idea.
BTW, I did find the Birthday thread under the sticky. But I was hoping to get a little more detailed and up to date information/ideas.

 

[3TinksAndAnEeyore]

BTW, I did find the Birthday thread under the sticky. But I was hoping to get a little more detailed and up to date information/ideas.

Was there something in particular in the thread you wanted more information about? We just celebrated my DD's birthday (she turned 7) and my birthday (I turned 40 ) at Disneyland last month. My DS and DN joined us for the day and, similar to you, a friend of my DD was coincidentally visiting DLR at the same time as us. We did the Pat E. Cake celebration which was fun for my younger kids, ten year old boys might think themselves too cool for it, though, so you should be the judge. It was a silly fun time and one of the few ways you can get your picture with both Minnie and Mickey at the same time.

The birthday buttons really help with the celebration. They have your name on them and almost every time you get on a ride, the CM helping you on wishes you a happy birthday by name. People just randomly walking around the park also wish you a happy birthday.

You can order a special dessert/birthday cake ahead of time at certain restuarants.

 

[BigCheese]

We just got back from celebrating my son's 3rd birthday at Disneyland. I know that there's a big age difference, but regardless of age, the cast members are really great about celebrating birthday's at the parks. We bought the Birthday Mouse Ears for him and he wore it all day on his birthday. He was wearing it during Toontown Morning Madness and a Cast Member chose him (and us) as the honarary family, so that was very cool. Every meal we went to, they noted that it was his birthday, and at every meal they brought out a free mini birthday "cake" for him. At Chip n Dale's Critter breakfast, they brought out a special birthday cupcake and sang a birthday song (to the tune of Zip-a-dee-doo-da). At lunch at Cafe Orleans, they brought out a birthday beignet, and at dinner at PCH grill, they brought out a Mickey shaped mini chocolate cake (and also sang the zip-a-dee-doo-da birthday song). The CMs went out of their way to wish him a Happy Birthday, and it was just really great.

 

[dollarmite]

We celebrated DS's 9th birthday at DL in November.

We went to the Pat-e-Cake celebration, which was a lot of fun. Everyone got a huge patty cake to decorate, a lemonade drink in a souvenier cup, and a party hat. The majority of people there that day were girls, but my 12 year old DS said he wished he could also celebrate his birthday there.

It costs about $16 pp, lasts 30-45 minutes and includes a visit by Mickey and Minnie. They will pose for individual photos at the end, so that's a nice momento.

We also did the Lilo and Stitch character breakfast at Paradise Pier (DS' favourite characters), but I believe that was replaced by a Minnie and Mickey meal from December onwards.

I had arranged for the giant 'Celebration' card, Mickey bucket with collectable items and mini birthday cake to be waiting at our table at PP when we arrived. The waiters also came and sang 'Happy Birthday" to DS.

He also wore the birthday ears that we'd bought at WDW 2 weeks prior when I celebrated my birthday there.

I think he was a bit overwhelemed by it all to be honest, but hopefully it'll provide some wonderful memories in years to come.

 

[PeterBanning]

Thanks guys, that's exactly the kind of personal stories and information I was looking for. Sounds like the birthday ears are a must. Is the Pat E Cake party kind of a mass party with different groups all celebrating together? Has anyone done any of the other parties? I believe there's also one at the Pizza Port?

 

[dollarmite]

Thanks guys, that's exactly the kind of personal stories and information I was looking for. Sounds like the birthday ears are a must. Is the Pat E Cake party kind of a mass party with different groups all celebrating together? Has anyone done any of the other parties? I believe there's also one at the Pizza Port?

On the day we did Pat-E-Cake, it comprised about 20-30 people (mainly children) celebrataing their birthday and each one was accompanied by their parents and siblings. Some seemed to have extended family members too.

Each family group sat at their own table, but the tables seemed to be extremely close together. This may have been due to the sun, but I'm not 100% sure.

The 'host' for the event, Mr Pat-E-Cake himself, was a hoot. He sang and made wisecracks. The group we were with had a 2pm sitting. I'm not sure if they run this at other times of the day, or just the once.