DL Birthday Surprise

[RGirl]

Hello Disneyland Fans! I am surprising my daughter with a trip to Disneyland for her fifth birthday in January. My plan is not to tell her where we are going until we get there - we will arrive at HoJo's the night before her birthday and head into Disneyland the next morning on her actual birthday, and I am hoping that she won't know where we are until we walk into the park (or DTD because I guess we have to go through there first ). She has never been to DL before (although, by then, she will have been to WDW twice), and I have not been to DL since I was a child.

I am looking for any and all birthday surprise suggestions. I know that just being there will be a wonderful surprise, but any tips would be much appreciated especially since I really consider myself a DL newbie as it has been about 30 years since I was last there. Any hints or tips or suggestions for making this birthday really special would be so appreciated! Thanks!!!!

 

[DahliaRW]

Stop by city hall and get her a birthday button. And you don't walk through DTD from Hojo.

 

[RedRosie]

Have you been over to the DISign area? There are fabulous DISigners with lots of great things you can use for surprises signs, shirts, labels for treat bags, etc. I found one that reads "SURPRISE! We are going to Disneyland TODAY!" and the letters in caps are red block, with clip art of lots of characters sitting on top of them. Super cute for a sign to have up when your daughter wakes up. There are many, many more. And there is a thread here http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2738246&highlight=keeping+the+secret with others that are doing (or have done) the big surprise. And then of course there are lots of adorable videos on YouTube! I'm doing the big surprise in a couple of weeks. Can't believe I have kept the secret for 4 months! Have a wonderful time. I'm sure whatever you do, your daughter will be thrilled.

 

[Minnie Loves Mickey]

A cute Disney outfit for her to wear would be lots of fun.

 

[IBLarsen]

We suprised our children earlier this year with a trip to WDW for their 6 and 8 year bdays (both the same week). We made signs that we made them read the night before we left (as we had to stay at a hotel close to the airport the night before). We had them on regular size paper with character clip art with Big writing. One said, "Surprise"...then the next "Happy Birthday" Then "We are going to..." "DisneyWorld!!" Then we got in the car and went to the hotel. The video is priceless. I wish we could have pulled it off to wait until we got there, but it wasn't feasible, so this was a good alternative. It also gave it the evening and plane ride for it to sink in and for the excitement to build.

While there....we scheduled a birthday dinner (character meal) and had a birthday cake done for them through the custom cakes dept. Not sure how to do that at DL. But that way they had an actual bday cake with candles. It was a huge hit.

Birthday buttons so all the CM's wish her a happy birthday.

Children's birthdays at Disney are the BEST, and truly magical! Hope you have a blast!

 

[Disney Dreams]

How fun!

While you're at City Hall, say to the cast member there, "I believe you have a phone call also waiting for my daughter from someone special for her birthday."

They will give your daughter the phone and she can hear her fun surprise.

- Dreams

 

[tholczer]

Sounds like fun! I don't know when you're going in January, but I'd check to find out when the fireworks go off. I remember staying at the HoJo and the fireworks were very loud and might be hard to explain if you're trying to make it a surprise.

Good luck!

 

[RGirl]

Thank you al so much for the ideas!!!! I really appreciate you all taking the time to respond.

Are there any restaurants that you would recommend for her birthday breakfast or dinner?