How to make adult bday special at DL?

[joy1234]

DH will be celebrating a bday while at DL. What can I do to make it extra special? We are not staying on site and are travelling with young children. Thank you.

 

[VictoriaAndMatt]

Make sure you stop by City Hall on Main Street and get a birthday button. Wearing it will get get him extra attention from CMs and even guests, and sometimes a little Disney magic will be thrown your way with small freebies or perks.

Also, when making your food reservations make sure you mention you are celebrating a birthday, some of the sit down restaurants will give you a free birthday dessert.

You can order a birthday cake for him and have it delivered to any full service restaurant on Disney property. There's a cake thread somewhere on the first couple pages with pictures of cakes, prices, and info.

Hope he has a wonderful birthday!

 

[Patrick in Oregon]

Go to the Mad T Party
Buy long Islands
Dance your face off




It's kind of hard to say. I guess it depends on your husband's Disney fandom I guess. For example, my wife cries when she leaves the park to travel home. Being in Disneyland would be special "enough" for her. But I would agree the best way to go is to probably go out of your way to have a nice dinner.

 

[joy1234]

Go to the Mad T Party
Buy long Islands
Dance your face off




It's kind of hard to say. I guess it depends on your husband's Disney fandom I guess. For example, my wife cries when she leaves the park to travel home. Being in Disneyland would be special "enough" for her. But I would agree the best way to go is to probably go out of your way to have a nice dinner.

Yes, being in the park will definitely make it a special day. I just wanted to something a little extra. I don't know about dancing since we will have our young kids with us.

 

[joy1234]

Cany anyone recommend a good place for dinner that is good for young children too?

 

[VictoriaAndMatt]

Cany anyone recommend a good place for dinner that is good for young children too?

If you haven't done it yet the Blue Bayou would be a good option. It's the restaurant inside the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. Others love Napa Rose but I personally think its a better dining option without kids. Just my opinion.

 

[AnneUCSB]

Make sure you stop by City Hall on Main Street and get a birthday button. Wearing it will get get him extra attention from CMs and even guests, and sometimes a little Disney magic will be thrown your way with small freebies or perks.

Hope he has a wonderful birthday!

Yes, definitely get the birthday button! I've been at DLR on my birthday as an adult and it was so fun having everyone say, "Happy Birthday, Anne!" all day long. Not only do the CMs greet you, a lot of random guests do as well

 

[Patrick in Oregon]

I think it depends on what you mean by "good for young children." Are you asking about food options? Environment? I've eaten at the Blue Bayou a couple times and each time had a lot of children in it, being that it is deep in the park (in a ride for that matter). I've never found any children to be distruptive there. The automosphere does not scream "kid friendly" due to the low lighting and the setting in general. Any restaurant there is going to expect children of course.

On the other hand, we ate at Tortilla Joes once, not technically in Disneyland but still in the resort, and this table next to us had 2 or 3 kids that were sword fighting between their table and our table. One of our group asked the parents if they could tell them to stop because while Tortilla Joes isn't the quietest place, it was still really disruptive. The response was "C'mon, this is Disneyland" as if that was a good excuse for such behavior. Anger ensued.

 

[joy1234]

I think it depends on what you mean by "good for young children." Are you asking about food options? Environment? I've eaten at the Blue Bayou a couple times and each time had a lot of children in it, being that it is deep in the park (in a ride for that matter). I've never found any children to be distruptive there. The automosphere does not scream "kid friendly" due to the low lighting and the setting in general. Any restaurant there is going to expect children of course.

On the other hand, we ate at Tortilla Joes once, not technically in Disneyland but still in the resort, and this table next to us had 2 or 3 kids that were sword fighting between their table and our table. One of our group asked the parents if they could tell them to stop because while Tortilla Joes isn't the quietest place, it was still really disruptive. The response was "C'mon, this is Disneyland" as if that was a good excuse for such behavior. Anger ensued.

This is really helpful, thank you. I had wondered about the Blue Bayou but I thought that it was a more upscale, adult atmosphere. I didn't know if having my kids there would be disruptive.

This restaurant seems quite popular. Is the food good or are most people there mainly for the atmosphere? Also, would it be scary at all for toddlers?

 

[DisneytheKid]

I agree about the birthday button. You will get plenty of attention from the CM's throughout the day

Go to the Mad T Party
Buy long Islands
Dance your face off




It's kind of hard to say. I guess it depends on your husband's Disney fandom I guess. For example, my wife cries when she leaves the park to travel home. Being in Disneyland would be special "enough" for her. But I would agree the best way to go is to probably go out of your way to have a nice dinner.

 

[VictoriaAndMatt]

This is really helpful, thank you. I had wondered about the Blue Bayou but I thought that it was a more upscale, adult atmosphere. I didn't know if having my kids there would be disruptive.

This restaurant seems quite popular. Is the food good or are most people there mainly for the atmosphere? Also, would it be scary at all for toddlers?

I don't think it's scary at all. To me it feels like you are a part of The Princess and the Frog, eating dinner on the side of the bayou. It's dim lighting, but it's not scary. My daughter spent the entire time waving at the people going by on the ride. My son was too young to care. He just happily ate his macaroni. It's over priced in my opinion, but you are largely paying for the atmosphere. Some love the food others don't. Just a matter of opinion. I like their ribs and crab cakes and my all time favorite is the monte cristo, but it's only served at lunch.

 

[Goofy_Mom]

You don't have to be a guest of the Disneyland Hotel to enjoy thier eateries. With kids I'd say a late lunch/early dinner at Tagarora Terrace, eat outside and order drinks from Trader Sams. I'm not saying get toasted with alcohol, but an adult berevage with a casual dinner. If you prefer to stay in the parks I'd say the Cove at DCA. Lobster Nachos for the adults and tri tip sliders for the kiddies. My kids loved them, but I took the meat off the bun, cut it like a steak and (per my kids' demands) asked for ketchup to dip their meat in.

Another kid friendly spot sans alcohol would be Carnation Cafe for lunch or dinner. The kid cups come with light up straw clips (we've gotten Buzz and Tink, I hear a Pirates medalion and Lighting are also available). For the kids they have a build your own PB&J brought out on a painters pallet. In addition to the peanut better and jelly to spread on the bread there are also raisins and mini marshmellows. Comes with a side of grapes. For adults I hear the turkey sandwich is tasty and the loaded baked potatoe soup isn't to be missed

 

[BryANDJessMom]

When our kids were toddlers (they are 8 and 10 now) we would go to the Golden Vine wine terrace and sit down and enjoy some wine while the kids have a little down time and color or even nap in the stroller. The suggestions here for restaurant are all good. My kids have been going to the blue bayou since they were little and we did go to napa rose last year, but sound like they are a bit older than your kids.

I hope you all enjoy your vacation and celebration!

 

[DarthMole]

My wife had custom shirts made for our trip. Pirate themed saying "It's my dad's birthday" for the kids, "It's my husband's birthday" for herself and "Real Men turn 40 at Disneyland" on mine. I wore it with pride. That and the button got us lots of attention.

 

[kkmcan]

I recommend a trip to Goofy's Kitchen or perhaps another character meal. That always feels special to me!

We love the ambiance of Blue Bayou but feel the menu is very limited. My kids won't eat anything on the menu so we don't do that restaurant much.

How about a Fantasmic dessert seating? We've never done that but someday we'd love to!

 

[mybestieismickey]

DH took me to Disneyland for my 30th in April and the in-laws came with. On my birthday day we went to breakfast at Minnie and Friends (Plaza). Six adults. I had the best time ever! The characters were great--interacted well with all of us, including my slightly uncomfortable brother in law. And the food was fantastic. Of course, I love going out for breakfast and DH rarely gets up early unless it's work or church, so that was a treat in itself, but there isn't a lot that can compete with Mickey waffles. We never felt like it was weird that we didn't have kids (not your issue), and it looked like the families with kids around us were having a blast too! Even the timid kids warmed up after a bit.

I agree about the bday button. I had wonderful birthday wishes all day, but the cherry on the sundae was when we were leaving World of Color at the end of the night. We waited until it was mostly cleared out for our own sanity, and then as we were walking out we saw about 30 cast members waving good-night to the crowds. Then, as a group, they all wished me a happy birthday before heading off to whatever they needed to do before they could leave. It was so cool.

We topped off the evening with birthday beneigts(sp?) at Jazz Kitchen Express. I couldn't imagine a better day.

Something we didn't do but I would love to try one day is the Kitchen Sink sundae at the PCH Grill. Could be a fun birthday challenge for the whole family!

I'm sure your DH will have an awesome birthday trip. It's Disney after all. But I'm sure whatever little extras you have will make it so much better.

 

[smiley_face2]

This is really helpful, thank you. I had wondered about the Blue Bayou but I thought that it was a more upscale, adult atmosphere. I didn't know if having my kids there would be disruptive.

This restaurant seems quite popular. Is the food good or are most people there mainly for the atmosphere? Also, would it be scary at all for toddlers?

Before our dear son was killed he had the opportunity to bring his young family there and it was his birthday. He got his button at city hall, had a lovely day of happy birthdays from so many people including cast members and they ate at Blue Bayou for dinner. children were aged from 18 months to just under 6 years. Here is a picture of him wearing his pirate hat eating his dinner in blue bayou, the kids loved it that he was made to feel so special and he did get a birthday desert and had the birthday song sung to him. Priceless memories for our grand daughters now

 

[Sleepless Knight]

So sorry to hear about your son's passing. Those memories are even more special now.

 

[smiley_face2]

So sorry to hear about your son's passing. Those memories are even more special now.

thankyou, I am so grateful for all the extremely fun happy times we spent in Disneyland. Yes we could have paid off our mortgage sooner instead, had lot's of money in the bank, but our memories of the trips we made are worth so much more to us! There was a lot of pixie dust on that trip for them, including an upgrade at the Disneyland Hotel to a suite!