Celebrating birthdays 3 months later?

[CowboyCO]

We pick a day each week we are there and celebrate someone in the family's birthday. It's fun and of course, we'd spend birthdays in WDW if we could.

 

[mom2rtk]

I think I've told this story here before, but it's worth repeating on these threads.

I graduated from high school in 2011. I was homeschooled so my ceremony was in north Alabama, far from where I live. If anyone remembers, there were really bad tornadoes in April of that year. The place that I was going to have my graduation was destroyed and my graduation moved from May to July and then finally cancelled altogether. My mom, sister, and I were set to leave for Disney World the DAY after my graduation. Obviously we went anyway because thousands of dollars ya know!

My point? I never actually had my graduation! Even if I had at the later date, we would have ended up celebrating a couple months before. We still went, we all wore Celebration buttons, I still never got my graduation, and clearly the world did not end.

I am now set to graduate from college in May of 2015 and since I am going straight into a Masters program I will not be able to take my traditional post-graduation Disney World trip (it's become a thing in our family to go to Disney after a graduation). I think if I get to go later though, I will still celebrate! Because celebrating is about acknowledging a special thing that happened!! Technically, a birthday only happens once so EVERY celebration after is not ON the birthday!! Celebrate when you want, it makes no difference!!

Happy...happiness!!!

My son graduated high school in the Midwest the weekend all those tornados hit. I remember thinking how fortunate we were not to be have our happy and memorable day forever changed by those storms, and wondered about how many countless others were not so luck.

I'm so glad you got to have your celebration. I hope there's another celebration in the works for May 2015! My son will be graduating then too. I sure hope yours is less eventful.

 

[MIGrandma]

I would only wear a birthday button or anniversary button if we went to WDW the week of, or month of, either one. I would just feel odd to wear one if it wasn't close to the date we were celebrating. And wearing one 6 months after, and accepting a free dessert or something "in honor" of whatever we were "celebrating" would make me feel guilty so no, I wouldn't do that.

 

[lshaw]

NO I would not wear a Birthday pin- its lying plain and simple- spin it any way you want to on here...it still is NOT your Birthday- if you feel the need to lie about it and wear a pin, go ahead...the only one who is going to know is YOU. Disney has plenty of other pins for celebrating being happy and alive- use those ones... With that being said, I am going to see the Mouse on Thanksgiving for 10 days and I cannot wait!!!

 

[kittyninja]

My son graduated high school in the Midwest the weekend all those tornados hit. I remember thinking how fortunate we were not to be have our happy and memorable day forever changed by those storms, and wondered about how many countless others were not so luck.

I'm so glad you got to have your celebration. I hope there's another celebration in the works for May 2015! My son will be graduating then too. I sure hope yours is less eventful.

Awe!! Thank you so much!! That's really cool!! This one will be the one to celebrate too because college is no picnic!! Congratulations to your son and I'm very glad that you and your family were safe!!

 

[Reddog1134]

NO I would not wear a Birthday pin- its lying plain and simple- spin it any way you want to on here...it still is NOT your Birthday- if you feel the need to lie about it and wear a pin, go ahead...

I understand your point but here is my spin.

Celebrating your birthday when it's not your actual birthday at WDW is fairly common. So I think most CM's and a good amount of guests know there's a chance that it's not actually your birthday.

That being said, I'll present 2 scenarios:

Scenario 1: I visit WDW on my birthday and wear a button. I get a lot of "Happy Birthdays" and free cupcake at dinner. I really enjoy myself. Four months later, I go back to WDW and get another birthday button because I loved the attention I got last time.

Scenario 2: I can't make it to WDW on my birthday but I really want to celebrate there. I am able to go four months after my birthday so I decide to pick a day to celebrate my birthday. I get a button and I get a lot of "Happy Birthday"s. A few people ask "Is today your actual birthday?" I reply, "No, I wasn't able to be here on my birthday so I'm celebrating today.

To me, those are 2 very different situations. One if done with the intent to deceive, the other is not.

 

[alvernon90]

Scenario 1: I visit WDW on my birthday and wear a button. I get a lot of "Happy Birthdays" and free cupcake at dinner. I really enjoy myself. Four months later, I go back to WDW and get another birthday button because I loved the attention I got last time.

Scenario 2: I can't make it to WDW on my birthday but I really want to celebrate there. I am able to go four months after my birthday so I decide to pick a day to celebrate my birthday. I get a button and I get a lot of "Happy Birthday"s. A few people ask "Is today your actual birthday?" I reply, "No, I wasn't able to be here on my birthday so I'm celebrating today.

To me, those are 2 very different situations. One if done with the intent to deceive, the other is not.

So is the problem with Scenario 1 that you are claiming two birthdays in the same year? If "intent to deceive" is the real problem, in Scenario 2 do you correct every person who says happy birthday, or do you allow them to continue being deceived by the TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY button? If you don't correct every single person who says happy birthday, aren't you intentionally choosing to deceive them?

And my original question: Why is a button saying TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY an essential part of a belated birthday celebration? Why can't you celebrate it without the button? It can't be because you want people to know you have had a birthday within the past year, because no duh. It can only be because you want people to treat you differently based on an untruthful representation about yourself -- the untruthful representation that you are special when compared to everyone around you because today is your birthday.

 

[Love Tink]

Scenario 2: I can't make it to WDW on my birthday but I really want to celebrate there. I am able to go four months after my birthday so I decide to pick a day to celebrate my birthday. I get a button and I get a lot of "Happy Birthday"s. A few people ask "Is today your actual birthday?" I reply, "No, I wasn't able to be here on my birthday so I'm celebrating today.

I think if you realize that wearing a button makes your day much more special, and you want to do it four months after your birthday, that's fine...and you should wear an "I'm Celebrating" button.

 

[LSUfan4444]

Why is a button saying TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY an essential part of a belated birthday celebration? Why can't you celebrate it without the button?

Are you referring to this button?

 

[LSUfan4444]

And just another note because I want to stay engaged in the topic, but my daughters birthday is today and we had her party on 11/1, on 11/27 (our first day there) we are taking her to eat at CRT for her birthday lunch and she will be wearing a birthday button.

My birthday is on 12/5 and on 12/4 my wife and I are going to Victoria & Alberts to celebrate my birthday and guess what I am going to wear.......no, not a button; a sport-coat. But the only reason I won't wear a button is because it won't match my sport-coat.

 

[robinb]

And my original question: Why is a button saying TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY an essential part of a belated birthday celebration?

It doesn't say TODAY is my birthday any longer.

Old button:

The new ones look like this:

 

[mom to minnie&mickey]

Eventually the cm's should just give everyone who enters a park a birthday button. After all it is everybody's birthday at some point in the 6 months prior or the 6 months after. How special will the button be then and how many birthday cupcakes/dessert do you think will be offered? The people whose actual birthday it is on that particular day will just be lost in the crowd.
I agree with the "celebrating my birthday" button versus "actual birthday" button. The problem is some verification will need to be done before handing it out or we are back to square one and I do not see Disney doing that.

 

[lshaw]

I understand your point but here is my spin.

Celebrating your birthday when it's not your actual birthday at WDW is fairly common. So I think most CM's and a good amount of guests know there's a chance that it's not actually your birthday.

That being said, I'll present 2 scenarios:

Scenario 1: I visit WDW on my birthday and wear a button. I get a lot of "Happy Birthdays" and free cupcake at dinner. I really enjoy myself. Four months later, I go back to WDW and get another birthday button because I loved the attention I got last time.

Scenario 2: I can't make it to WDW on my birthday but I really want to celebrate there. I am able to go four months after my birthday so I decide to pick a day to celebrate my birthday. I get a button and I get a lot of "Happy Birthday"s. A few people ask "Is today your actual birthday?" I reply, "No, I wasn't able to be here on my birthday so I'm celebrating today.

To me, those are 2 very different situations. One if done with the intent to deceive, the other is not.

Sorry, but both scenarios are lies... if its not your Birthday, don't wear a pin saying it is...its really very simple. And if they choose to, its their problem- the OP asked for opinions on the subject...and they got them!

 

[FLchick415]

I still can't wrap my head around why anyone would care if someone is celebrating their birthday, not on the actual day, at Disney. It doesn't affect you in the least. Unless you suffer from FOMO...in which case, well...that's more about you than the person celebrating.

 

[alvernon90]

The problem is some verification will need to be done before handing it out or we are back to square one and I do not see Disney doing that.

It's not a big enough deal for Disney to bother with verification. We went to DL in 2009 on my wife's actual birthday and that was a very different experience because it was they "free entry on your birthday" year (though she actually went with the $75 gift card rather than free entry). Because Disney was giving away something of significant value -- my wife didn't get a free cupcake, but used her card to get a free Mickey watch -- they verified all birthday claims with photo ID. My wife wore the only birthday button I saw all day, compared to a normal day when it seems about 10% of people are wearing birthday buttons.

There is no harm whatsoever to wearing a birthday button when it is not your birthday. My only claim is that the mindset that leads people to do this ("I deserve to think of myself as special because I am at WDW") is the same mindset that leads to other problematic park behavior, such as line jumping.

 

[Reddog1134]

So is the problem with Scenario 1 that you are claiming two birthdays in the same year? If "intent to deceive" is the real problem, in Scenario 2 do you correct every person who says happy birthday, or do you allow them to continue being deceived by the TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY button? If you don't correct every single person who says happy birthday, aren't you intentionally choosing to deceive them?

And my original question: Why is a button saying TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY an essential part of a belated birthday celebration? Why can't you celebrate it without the button? It can't be because you want people to know you have had a birthday within the past year, because no duh. It can only be because you want people to treat you differently based on an untruthful representation about yourself -- the untruthful representation that you are special when compared to everyone around you because today is your birthday.

I know people will disagree with me but "INTENT" is a big part of it and it's a big part of life in general.

In scenario 1, I added the part about going on my actual birthday to add emphasis. I've celebrated my birthday at Disney and now I'm "celebrating" again because I'm just trying to get something for free not because I want to celebrate my birthday.

I see a difference (although I understand many may view it as a fine line) between. "I want to celebrate my birthday at Disney even though I can't get there on my birthday" and "I bet I can get some free stuff and fool a bunch of people, so I'm going to get a birthday button".

Also, the button does not say "Today is my birthday".

It's not because I want people to know I have a birthday, it's because I want people to know I'm celebrating my birthday. No, I would not correct every person, only those that ask.

And can I point out that your statement has really nothing to do with WHEN you celebrate? You seem to have issue with celebrating at all. Of course, people want attention on their birthday. That's why we celebrate them. Why does it really matter WHEN a person decides to celebrate it?

 

[alvernon90]

It doesn't say TODAY is my birthday any longer.

Old button:

The new ones look like this:

I'm sure they got rid of the "today" part because too many people were lying about it. I think it would be great if they still had both, but only gave the TODAY version to people who could prove that their actual birthday is that day.

 

[Reddog1134]

Sorry, but both scenarios are lies... if its not your Birthday, don't wear a pin saying it is...its really very simple. And if they choose to, its their problem- the OP asked for opinions on the subject...and they got them!

As others have pointed out. The button doesn't actually say "It's my birthday". Going around saying "It's my birthday", yes, that is a lie.

Celebrating your birthday on another day is not a lie. You may not agree with it and that's fine.

My son's birthday is on a Monday next month. However, since my wife and I have to work and he has school, we are having his party on Saturday. Using your opinion, we are liars. If that true, I'm OK with that.

For the record, historical research shows Jesus was probably born in September. So any one that celebrates Christmas is a liar.

 

[alvernon90]

And can I point out that your statement has really nothing to do with WHEN you celebrate? You seem to have issue with celebrating at all. Of course, people want attention on their birthday. That's why we celebrate them. Why does it really matter WHEN a person decides to celebrate it?

This much is true -- it does seem weird to me that anyone but children "want attention" on their birthdays, as if they have done something to earn or deserve attention just by succumbing to the inevitable march of time. I know a surprising number of adults disagree, and that's fine.

My problem is when people take that unearned "specialness" and decide to exercise their desire for attention multiple times through the year. Somehow I doubt that anyone wearing a belated birthday button at WDW actually missed celebrating on their actual birthday. It might happen in certain sad cases, I suppose, but generally somebody being wished happy birthday at WDW received multiple birthday wishes on their actual birthday. Probably dozens to hundreds from Facebook alone.

If you want attention on a day that is not your birthday for the completely unremarkable event of having had a birthday in the past, go for it. It's not like anyone is going to spit on you. But some people frown on that, and are expressing it here in response to a direct question. We have just as much right to express our disapproval as you have to move your birthday to any point(s) on the calendar that suit your desire for attention.

 

[FLchick415]

I bet you're a blast at parties.