Faking Your Birthday??

[disneynewbie01]

The other day I was at the mall when I heard these two women talking about how one of the women's son faked his birthday on their last trip to Disneyworld in order to get more attention from the Cast Members! How Terrible, and these two women were actually saying how smart and creative this was!

I had always thought that in order for you to get a Birthday Button you had to prove that it was actually your birthday.

Has anyone else ever heard about people faking their own Birthday? What do you think about this?

Also from the way the women were talking it seemed to me that her son was probably older and in his teens and the mother was older so this is probably true.

 

[soupy11]

This is one of those decisive type threads. Some people will tell you to go for it while others will be abhorred by it.

But to answer your one question, you don't need to prove your kids birthday to get a button.

 

[MrsTomMorrow]

That is just sad and unfortunate.... I am sure people do it all the time. It just makes it so that if it becomes too common, it will be less special to those that really are celebrating their birthday. I was there last year on my birthday, and I wouldn't have minded if they asked for proof-I wish they would!

 

[mickeystoontown]

To me faking your birthday is almost as bad as something faking that they are disabled and must have a wheelchair. What is this teaching their children?

 

[TDC Nala]

There is no requirement that you prove that it's actually your birthday to get a birthday button. I personally wouldn't have a problem with it if the actual birthday is within, say, a week. Not everybody can get there on the actual day. And the buttons are not just for kids. I am going to wear one on August 31 and September 1. My birthday is August 30, when I have to be at work.

There is a thread on the restaurant board about someone who called for a reservation at the Norway Princess breakfast in March, and the CM asked when her child's birthday was. Upon hearing that the birthday was in July, the CM informed her that they could make a notation on the reservation and celebrate the child's birthday in March.

WTH? That one wasn't even the parent's idea and she felt weird about it. I'd feel pretty weird about that one myself.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

To the OP I am not defending this Woman you heard saying how she faked her son's Birthday. However did you actually hear the whole conservation? I am there are 2 sides to every story. Maybe his Birthday was a week later or something & they could not be at WDW to celebrate it. A lot of people still celebrate their Birthday's early at WDW. My family & I did that for my Dad a few years ago. We were at Chef Mickey's, told our server it was his Birthday & Goofy brought him a Cupcake. No harm was done there & if your wondering his Birthday was 2 weeks later, however we could not have been at WDW for it.

As for the Birthday buttons & asking to show ID before getting them. If WDW does not care about that, why should anyone else? Basically they don't mind if you are there to celebrate your Birthday a week early, a month early or 6 months early.

 

[labattblue]

Disney should just eliminate the whole button "thing". Most people who get the buttons are only wearing them to see what they can get out of it. How about you got a trip to WDW, isn't that enough for the celebratee?

 

[goofy4tink]

You know...I've been to WDW twice, on my dd's actual birthday..not all that much happened. Once back in '99, our first time in WDW and she celebrated her 6th birthday there. She did get a birthday cupcake at Crystal Palace and a card and they sang to her. But,that was it...no balloons, no big hoopla.
Then, last Oct, we traveled with another girl and her mom..my dd turned 13 in WDW, the other girl had her birthday the day after we returned from WDW. This was a 13th birthday celebration trip. It was noted on all ADRs. They did get cupcakes at most meals but that was about it. They did wear 'celebrating my birthday in WDW' buttons for most of the trip, and on her actual birthday, my dd wore a 'today is my birthday' button. We stayed at BWV, our DVC home resort. We got nothing out of the ordinary there. Dd did get a special 'howdy' at HDDR since that was her birthday dinner. And we did order a very special cake at the GF Cafe for lunch that day.

But as far as any of those 'extraordinary' things happening..nothing. We went not expecting anything so were not disappointed. If you want something special then you are best off arranging it yourself. There seem to be tons of people in WDW celebrating something or other. Yes, it would be nice if they asked for proof of a birthday in order to get the 'today is my birthday' button, but they don't. I have never been able to understand someone 'faking' someone's birthday in hopes of getting special treatment at WDW. If you want to celebrate someone's birthday and it isn't the actual day, then fine. Go ahead, wear that 'celebrating my birthday in WDW' button. But don't say that today is my birthday and expect all sorts of wonderful things to happen.

 

[goofy4tink]

Disney should just eliminate the whole button "thing". Most people who get the buttons are only wearing them to see what they can get out of it. How about you got a trip to WDW, isn't that enough for the celebratee?

We love seeing those buttons and yelling 'Happy Birthday' at the wearer. As I said before, we don't expect anything special, but it is nice to have those 'happy birthday's' come your way. And that's all we look for, nothing more. So, if you're wearing a birthday button in WDW and I see you, be prepared for a big ole 'Happy Birthday!!!' coming your way!!!

 

[stargrazer]

It is very difficult to prove a child's birthday anyway; kids don't carry ID. They only way most of the time is to provide a birth certificate, which I doubt many parents carry around with them. It's actually a shame their ISN'T some form of state identification card required for children, but what do I know about that?

If you are truthfully going to WDW to honestly celebrate a birthday , REALLY the purpose of the trip, then who cares what day you're celebrating on? Maybe little Janie's birthday is in April, so for her birthday they decide to celebrate with a trip to WDW in May after school gets out so little Janie doesn't have to miss any? Maybe the kid got a cupcake and a pair of socks to hold over until the good stuff and now we're withholding?

Anyway, back to the drama...

 

[cleo]

Disney's policy is, they don't care if it isn't your actual birthday. There is nothing 'scamming' about getting a birthday button, and it does not mean you will get some freebie or any extra attention from the CM's. You might, you might not.

Disney celebrated their 'birthday' every day for 15 months and no one seemed bothered by that. It takes nothing away from anyone else in the park if a child (or adult, for that matter) chooses to 'celebrate' during their Disney stay. Maybe they couldn't go on the 'real' day. Heaven forbid we can't celebrate special times in our lives unless it's the 'real day'. Imagine how many split-custody parents would miss holidays with their children if everyone around them policed their desire to celebrate on an alternate day. Sheesh! For that matter, what about people who visit one set of grandparents on Christmas Eve and the other set on Christmas Day. Better not open those presents with the first set of grandparents since it's not really Christmas yet! No siree!!

I never understood why anyone cares what someone else is doing, when it doesn't break any Disney rules, Disney doesn't care, and it takes nothing away from your experience if some kid wears a button that essentially gives him a happy feeling and nothing more.

 

[Mariposa]

When we went in 2005 it was for DD's 8th birthday, even though her birthday wasn't until about 2 weeks later, the week before my finals. We couldn't be there then.

Actually, we went out of our way to always explain it wasn't her birthday but it was her surprise birthday present/first trip and everyone made a huge deal about it- tons of stickers, entire restaurants and buses of people singing Happy Birthday to her, etc. I made her a shirt for each day that said 'Princess Becca's Birthday Bash' and a pin that said 'Becca's 8th Birthday Trip'.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Disney's policy is, they don't care if it isn't your actual birthday. There is nothing 'scamming' about getting a birthday button, and it does not mean you will get some freebie or any extra attention from the CM's. You might, you might not.

Disney celebrated their 'birthday' every day for 15 months and no one seemed bothered by that. It takes nothing away from anyone else in the park if a child (or adult, for that matter) chooses to 'celebrate' during their Disney stay. Maybe they couldn't go on the 'real' day. Heaven forbid we can't celebrate special times in our lives unless it's the 'real day'. Imagine how many split-custody parents would miss holiays with their children if everyone around them policed their desire to celebrate on an alternate day. Sheesh!

I never understood why anyone cares what someone else is doing, when it doesn't break any Disney rules, Disney doesn't care, and it takes nothing away from your experience if some kid wears a button that essentially gives him a happy feeling and nothing more.

That was very well said & I agree 100% with all your statements. The main part I like is how you said when people do this it should not bother anyone else, because what others do is non of our business & they are not actually breaking any Walt Disney World rules. I also like how you pointed out WDW celebreated their Birthday 15 months early & no one said anything about that.

 

[dreamscometrue47]

I took my mom last January to WDW to celebrate her 80th birthday, which wasn't going to happen until April. We went in January because she prefers cooler weather. She didn't get a button, but when I made an ADR at LTT for dinner, the CM asked if I was celebrating anyone's birthday. I said yes, this trip is celebrating my mom's 80th birthday in April. When we got to the table, there was ribbon and confetti surrounding the plates, and the characters came over with dessert to wish her a happy birthday. That's it.

I didn't and still don't see anything wrong with doing this. We weren't faking anything and didn't expect Micky to jump out of a cake with free tickets or anything......i really don't get why you should only celebrate your birthday ON your birthday. Maybe I'm missing something here......

 

[CanadianGuy]

"Disney celebrated their birthday every day for 15 months and nobody seemed to care about that"

Touché Cleo.. Touché...

And they do that everytime they celebrate.

I'm TERRIFIED to think of what they have planned for the 40th Anniversary of WDW in 2011.

Hopefully not another "Castle-Cake"...

J

 

[Cdn Friends of Pooh]

If you are truthfully going to WDW to honestly celebrate a birthday , REALLY the purpose of the trip, then who cares what day you're celebrating on? Maybe little Janie's birthday is in April, so for her birthday they decide to celebrate with a trip to WDW in May after school gets out so little Janie doesn't have to miss any?

We couldn't agree more. While we would disagree with wearing the button for no reason other than to get something for free when it's not your birthday nor are you celebrating your birthday, we think as long as you are celebrating the event there is nothing wrong with wearing the button.

When we go down in October to celebrate our anniversary, we wear the Happy Anniversary buttons even though our actual anniversary date isn't until we get back. We can't be at WDW for our actual anniversary, however, our trip is to celebrate our anniversary and is essentially our gift to ourselves. We don't expect any freebies or special attention, it's just part of our celebration.

 

[Goosie Lucy]

We chose one day out of our weeks vacation and proclaimed it their birthday. We'd saved for the trip and decided that it was their b-day presents. DD will be 7 in March, DS was 5 in January, so last week was 1/2 way between them. When people asked if it was their b-day, we were honest and said this isn't their official b-day but the day we chose to celebrate it for their b-day trip. I had a cake made and we had a b-day dinner at Garden Grill. There wasn't a lot of fanfare and we didn't get 'freebies' or anything...we weren't expecting anything. This was just for the kids to understand that this was part of their b-day celebration and gift. They thoroughly enjoyed it and had a lot of fun on their special day.

 

[Disneywoz]

I agree totally with Cleo. We went for my 40th just after Thanksgiving and it was almost a month before my birthday but nobody actually wanted to be there Christmas week. I wore the button almost the whole week. Why not, I was celebrating my birthday with the trip. Friends and family from all over the country came down to celebrate with us and different people were with us on different days. The big celebration was at the Grand Gathering Safari and that was the only day I got something more than just a Happy Birthday from CMs. For those who are curious, it was a brownie at Restaurantsaurus where we went for lunch. If you are going to celebrate your birthday, then wear the button and if you are there a week celebrating your birthday then enjoy and wear the button. If you get stuff from CMs, hurray for you and hopefully it made your birthday even better.

 

[Wendy1953]

Sometimes trips cannot be scheduled for actual Birthdays, Anniversaries, etc....so yes, if this is a gift to you from a loved one for any one of the occasions....you celebrate it at Disney when you're there! As far as lying about it, that's another story. All they had to do is say they were celebrating his birthday on this visit....no lying needed....he would still get his BD button, and that's that.

My DH gave me a Disney Cruise for our 30th Anniversary which the actual date of anniversary was June 2006....our cruise February 2007! Although we didn't tell them it was our 30th or even ask for pins....we could have and it would have been legitimate....we were there celebrating!

 

[goofy4tink]

Absolutely agree with Cleo's statements. But.....there have been too many instances, right here on the DIS, that people have come back from WDW and felt like they didn't get that 'pixiedust' filled experience. If someone hears that little Janey Doe got complimentary balloons in her resort room, and a special cake at dinner without paying for it, and head of the line perks, and their child got zip...well, someone's feelings are going to be hurt. I just wish people could just go with the flow...celebrate when you want, just don't expect all sorts of wonderful, complimentary things to happen. You may get some special stuff, but chances are that you'lll get no more than you paid for. But...go, get those buttons and have a terrific time celebrating. What could be better than being in WDW with your loved ones, celebrating a special day!!!!