Birthday Celebrations at the World

[AreWeThereYet]

I will be visiting WDW on my birthday for the first time (no - been there many times, just not on my birthday) and wanted to know if there are any special things done for folks celebrating their birthdays...either at the parks or at the resorts or at any of the restaurants.

Have you celebrated there and if so, what special touches did WDW provide?

 

[AlwaysAPrincess]

Bumping...I am leaving next week for my FIRST birthday celebration at WDW! Would love to have the answer to the same question. The only thing I heard is that you can get a birthday pin in MK.

AreWeThereYet....

 

[Meggie Pooh]

Make sure to stop and get your Birthday Button (I got mine at City Hall in MK). Believe me, everyone will wish you a happy birthday! I also got a call from Goofy (my mom had them put in our ressie that it was my birthday, and the resort set up the call) wishing me a happy day. We had lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern that day, and I got a cup cake and a birthday card signed by Mickey and the Gang too! It was a lot of fun!!!

 

[Kaitysmom]

FYI - you can get a birthday pin at each park. MGM had the same one as MK, but the other parks were different when we went. They sell a funny hat that is made to look like a birthday cake if you want to really get into it - don't know if I'd have the courage. Tell them it is your birthday at your resort - I haven't done this yet but there is supposed to be a special birthday phone call (recorded) Make sure that you mention it is your birthday if you are making any PSs for that day. They usually give you a special dessert at the end of the meal and sometimes a Magical Moments Certificate signed by the servers and/or characters. For something more, at Whispering Canyon you get to ride the stick horses around the restaurant while you sing Happy Birthday. That was kind of fun - I think... Overall, CMs and other guests will go out of their way to wish you a happy birthday. Have fun!

 

[safetymom]

Go to WDW expecting that nothing will be done. When it is then you will have a magical moment. The birthday button is a great idea but if you truly want something for your birthday plan and pay for it.

Many, many people go to WDW because they are celebrating a special occasion. They can't do it for everyone but sometimes you will get something special because it is your birthday. Some CM's will wish you a happy birthday and make a fuss and others won't do a thing.

 

[Feralpeg]

On DD's 17th birthday, we had dinner at Le Cellier. We didn't say anything about it being her birthday. At the end of dinner, the CM who had been serving us brought DD a desert with Happy Birthday spelled in chocolate on the plate and a card signed by the CMs in the restaurant. It was very nice.

I hope you have a special experience as well!

 

[wvjules]

We've only been to WDW for a birthday, DD's 6th, my 30th, and upcoming DD's 10th. Her 6th birthday will be a very hard one to top.

First thing in the morning, we got a call from Goofy wishing her happy birthday. We started off the day having breakfast at CRT, where they made a big deal about it. She got a certificate declaring her "Princess for a Day", then Cinderella invited her to be in the parade and told us where to stand so she was sure to find her. After our great breakfast, we got the birthday button from City Hall. Everyone wished her a happy birthday when they saw it. For dinner we went to Chef Mickey's, then off to Epcot for an Illuminations Cruise. We shared a cruise with someone on the DIS and her son brought DD a small gift. Then when we got back to the room, there was a card from Minnie Mouse on the bed. All in all, a great birthday.

It was also my step-dad's 50th birthday. For him....Richard Pettys Driving Experience. He did the Rookie Experience.

I'd say they both had great birthdays.

Now for my birthday at WDW. Who's happy about turning 30? I met up with some DIS friends a few times. We went to the Dueling Piano place where they 'forced' me and another of our friends to get on stage and do the chicken dance in honor of our birthdays. Ok, I'll admit it, I had a blast.

DD's 10th birthday is going to be a tough one. I just decided on this trip a few days ago. I'm not sure what I'm going to do for her yet. Definately spend the day in MK though. But Shhhhh!!!!!!!! She doesn't even know we're going yet.

I guess I could have just answered that birthdays in WDW are great. No better place to celebrate I'd say.

 

[taximomfor4]

Went for dd's 8th birthday, and for mine and dh's anniversary. Nothing at any place, except Crystal Palace where they brought dd a cupcake and a card signed by our server and the pooh characters that were there. Other than that, she never even got a Happy Birthday from anyone and dh and I never got a Happy anniversary, either. But we said it to each other, which is most important anyway. Every time I go, it looks like most families are celebrating SOMETHING special, so I agree that they cannot do things for everyone.

Beth

Beth

 

[rcraw45425]

If you dine at 1900 Park Faire like we did two (sob) weeks ago, be sure to have it noted. Prince Charming presented Amy with the birthday cupcake, both of my girls received tiaras that say happy birthday on them and Amy received a laminated placemat with all of the characters signatures on it. On her birthday day we returned to the room at the GF to find autographed personalized photos of Cinderella (the same one we dined with at 1900 that evening) and a beautiful chocolate bar from the GF. Also, it was noted on our reservation and we were upgraded to a lagoon view of SPace Mountain, the train station and Cinderellas castle. As you say, very hard to top a birthday celebration like that. Makes our cake & pizza at the house kinda pale by comparison! When I was reviewing my PS' with CR I mentioned that it was her birthday and the sweet CM noted it on every one of the PS' SHe said she wanted her to get a happy birthday wish every where we dined

 

[DisneyMomx7]

We celebrated my dd's 7th birthday last year and it was great. The Grand Floridian had it noted on our reservations and sent her a birthday card signed by Mickey and Minnie with balloons and were nice enough to send up plain autographed cards for her brother and sisters and they all got chocolate bars. The CM making our PS's noted it on all our reservations (not just her birthday one) and she received many cupcakes, signed placemats and cards and birthday wishes. She had her birthday button on her actual birthday and a CM at MGM gave her a fastpass for any ride in the park. Goofy sang Happy Birthday to her on the phone at one of the stores and the nicest security man passed her while we were waiting for the Stars and Cars parade and asked her if Goofy had called her yet. When we told him yes, he said wait a minutes and went in and got some cms from one of the stores and they all sang Happy Birthday to her out on the street.

This year we'll be celebrating ds's 5th birthday and only hope it can live up to some of the nice things that happened to her. Of course we had ordered the CInderella slippers for the girls and dog bones for my son ourselves to make the birthday celebration special and this year I'm ordering the mini wedding cakes and chocolate mickey w/tuxedo strawberries to celebrate his birthday.

 

[Figment56]

We will be going in August but DD 16th b-day is in July, our ann. (21) is the day after dd b-day. I was hoping that they might do something special for her. I really don't care about ann.-21 has been plenty-lol! We can't get down there in July because of hubbys job, but we will have lots of fun anyway!

 

[LisaS]

I have been fortunate to celebrate a few birthdays at WDW. As others have already posted, get yourself a birthday button. CMs and other park guests wished me a happy birthday throughout the day which was really nice!

One year, we had my birthday dinner at Crystal Palace and, seeing the button, the CM who seated us decorated the table by sprinkling it with Mickey confetti! At the end of the meal, they brought a birthday card, signed by Pooh and friends, and a birthday cupcake! Totally unexpected and quite a nice surprise!

Another time we were at the Rose and Crown. We had asked for a table on the patio so we could view illuminations. We were told "don't count on it", but I was wearing my birthday button and I think it made the difference because we were seated at a table with a perfect view of Illuminations! It was also the birthday of one of the CMs who worked there, so they brought him over to our table and then they all sang Happy Birthday to the two of us. And they brought me a complimentary dessert. Again, wasn't expecting anything and was even a little embarrassed by the attention, but also very touched by it all!

And once we had my birthday dinner at Jiko and they gave me a card signed by several of the African CMs who wrote their birthday wishes in various African languages. They also gave me a complimentary creme brulee! Yum!

So... get that birthday button and who knows what surprises may come your way!

This year I'll be having my birthday dinner at the California Grill. To be honest, I really don't expect anything. As others have said, a fair percentage of Disney guests on any given day are celebrating something so it's not reasonable to expect them to give me any special attention. So, if something does happen, it's a wonderful surprise! At the very least, I'm at Disney and it's a wonderful place to celebrate a birthday! Anything else that comes my way is icing on the (birthday) cake!

I hope you have a wonderful Disney birthday!!!

 

[Leota]

We celebrated my DS's 10th Birthday in the World. We didn't get a birthday button, but it was mentioned when I made the resort reservations (for a large group, pre-Magical Gatherings) He was greeted with a Cake & Card at Chef Mickey's, a certificate & cupcake at Garden Grill & a card & dessert at Artist Point.

We are going for my 40th birthday (leaving today! ) and even tho it's noted on our reservation, I had DH call to order a cake for our AKL arrival & for our celebration dinner at California Grill. As others have said, there are so many people celebrating special events that I know WDW can't recognize all of them. Since I want to be fussed over, I made sure my family knew it & planned for it. I will still get a Birthday Button & if some Pixie Dust falls my way, I'll be ecstatic. But either way, it'll be a great Birthday.

 

[Tina1]

If your open to being very silly. I let everyone know its my Birthday Here's my Birthday trip report. Tina
www.disneycentral.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13492

 

[TammiMcMan]

It looks like you've received mostly positive responses here, but I've seen many threads and trip reports where guests have been disappointed because Disney didn't do anything special for them.

So many people celebrate special occassions at WDW, that they can't possibly provide everyone with magic. Other than the Birthday Pin, I really wouldn't go there expecting anything else complimentary. If you wanted to give out some hints to anyone travelling with you, the Disney florist does some wonderful things.

No expectations = no disappointment

 

[Tina1]

I didn't go for my Birthday expecting anything special. I did have lots of special things happen. And I agree with not expecting any special treatment. But then again I told everyone it was my Bday(I mean I Really said it alot). It was a blast just watching the kids faces everytime I told someone new. They say I'm not allowed to ever go on my Bday again I did make my own bday pin that said I'm the BIG 40. I guess what I 'm trying to say It's your bday, It's up to you to make it special.Tina