Ideas for Birthday at CA for DS5?

[jemmom]

We will be celebrating my DS's 5th birthday at Disneyland in a couple of weeks, and I have just realized that his actual birthday falls on the only day that we have EMH admission to CA. We usually do a character breakfast for birthdays, but for this trip, it sounds as though we MUST take advantage of the EMH hour to experience Carsland. (This is also up for discussion, but after reading several other threads, I think the 7-8 am hour is our best shot at the rides in Carsland without spending half our day in line, and btw, we have 3 young kids who will be up at 6 am anyway.)

So, going with the plan that we will be at CA for DS's 5th birthday, what could we do for brunch or lunch that would be a fun way to celebrate?? The only character meal is the princess one, right? And to order a birthday cake, we would have to plan a meal at a sit-down restaurant?

Would it be too much to try to cram Carsland (and hopefully other CA rides) into the morning then run over to DL for the Patty Cake birthday celebration around lunch time? (We don't particularly care for the Patty Cake thing, but the kids remember it.) Or go back to DLH for the noon seating at Goofy's?

And yes, I do realize that he is spending 3 days at DL for his birthday after all, and that should be enough. So even small ideas for recognizing his birthday would be great. I want the day to be enjoyable, but also make sure we do something birthday-ish that he will remember.

 

[Happy 2 B Me]

How about doing CA in the morning like planned. Then as you are at CA go to the Breakfast buffet at Storytellers in the Grand Calafornia. You can take the Private exit to GC that is located across from the roaring rapids ride. You can also reenter there as you ate at the GC restraunt. Just show your receipt if they give you issue, but I have never had anyone ever question me but you never know.

I actually like this restaurant for breakfast as you can have buffet or you can order off the menu. The characters here are the forest animals such as chip and dale, meko, gosh why can't I remember the rest. The interaction with the characters is very sweet as they will get all the kids together-- big kids to ( adults) and match around the room to disney music. There does not seem to be as much noise as when we were at say goofy's and the room seems brighter. The fact one person can have buffet while the rest of party has menu offerings is good for me as I am not a great breakfast eater along with only eating small portions. There is also a dinner buffet that I understand is not as good but you still have the option of buffet or off menu. Could let the kids do buffet then you and husband do off menu. might save a few $. KIds are so picky so buffets are great. They also have a sign saying kids area when doing the buffet but if the kids wanted anything off the adult portion they are welcome to have those to. (When my daughter was 4 she had the tastes of a 30 year old. I think she would have even had wine with her food if we had dined in another country. Fast forward to age 11 and she turned into a VERY picky eater. No lobster or steak with perfect marbleing for her any more-- what happened to my dining partner? KIDS)

Hope this helps. With 4 little ones hope the melt downs are few between. I always had to remember, and I only had one child, that even if I had had plans for her to have funher idea and my idea were completely different. I learned the hard way so after the first visit if she wanted to swim we would swim, If she wanted to see a certain character even though say Mary Poppins was right next to us we would go stand in the 30 min line for the character she wanted to see. I had to learn Disney is not about me it was all about her.

PS make sure you let the restaurant know it will be a birthday celebration for son. Ask them what they do special or if they have special cupcakses you can buy. Seems like to much if doing buffet I know but maybe you can bring in some candles -- a small package of confetti, and a couple of ballons to decorate your table before they seat you. Even a picture of his favorite character signed by that character saying happy birthday to him with his name. Don't forget the autograph books and those big fat pens ( makes it easier for the charavters to hold). Most important make sure your server knows about celebration as maybe they can sing happy birthday to son.

Sorry I got carried away with ideas and suggestions.

 

[disneydreamer74]

Also, if you decide on a resturant, you can purchase a birthday favor bag with little Disney goodies in it. we ordered it from Disney Dining (we got the deluxe bag, which just has more items in it) and my DD5 still talks about it and uses the little canvas bag to store some of her toys in.

 

[jemmom]

Thanks for the ideas! I had not considered Storytellers, but it is close enough that it might make sense. And I agree that the food options are good there.

Also, I was reading about the treat bags and also see that we could have surprises delivered to the room. I will look into that, too. Thanks!

 

[taaren]

Keep in mind there is also a character dinner at Goofy's Kitchen. My DS5 loved it last year. We like to keep our morning park time ride-intensive, and had great success getting onto a bunch of rides quickly at DL after our DCA EE and grabbing RSR FPs on 6/18. Of course, waking up that early lunch is ideal but in case your DS doesn't care for the idea of a princess character lunch and you want to keep your morning open you could always do the first Goofy's dinner (I think its at 5p) and call it an early night after that.