In-room celebration.. Please share your experience

[jessie31383]

We are going back to WDW in December. This year we are not going to have a birthday party for my will be 11 year old daughter as her bday is on 12/06 and we are going to Disney on 12/19. Our trip is both a birthday present for her as well as Christmas present for both of my daughters.

I am thinking about doing an in room birthday celebration for my daughter. I wanted to see if you all could share your experience and advise if you feel it was worth it.
I am also thinking about doing the Christmas celebration which is really pricey, so I wonder if anyone has done that and how their experience was.

Looking forward to hearing about your experiences.

 

[Buru]

My birthday is on 9/10, and we were originally planning on going the day before it, but my sister couldn't get off work. So were leaving a few days after, but it's still my birthday trip and i'm wearing the birthday pin the whole time We've never gone for a birthday before this, so I'm not sure if were just having a late celebration (I kinda hope so...) But I think a party in the room is a great idea! You could get a few mickey shaped treats and pretend it was a cake, especially the giant mickey shaped rice crispy treat with chocolate, pretty much the size of a normal cake (I'm not entirely sure if cakes are sold anywhere around disney) I think she'd love a birthday party in the room.
As for the christmas, I've been told by people who went that it's insanely crowded, and you should expect to not get on many rides. I'm sure just being there with all the decorations and the spirit of chrstmas is worth it though! You might get lucky though and get on more rides than expected. Take advantage of FP+ definitely.

 

[Figment519]

I have not done an in room celebration, but we did one of the princess celebrations for my daughter's 10th birthday at cinderella's royal table. It was amazing and she was so excited! We'll worth the money in my opinion. There were balloons waiting at the table, a glass slipper that we later had engraved on Main Street, a rose wand, a beautiful crystal tiara, and an arribas brothers Cinderella slipper necklace(we substituted this for the bracelet that was included... Just had to call arribas brothers which is across the street from disney floral, and have them send it over). We got her the special cinderella's slipper dessert ($15 I think) also. Everyone in the restaurant was wishing her happy birthday, and I think she really felt special. Disney floral was great to work with and said they could customize the gift with whatever we sent them (you can have them order it from disney parks online). It was amazing and I would highly recommend!!!

 

[Figment519]

By the way, we did the 'teen' version of the princess celebration (and tweaked it a little, as I said). You will see the options for child, teen, adult.

 

[trainingupmy4princes]

We have done the Halloween and princess birthday ones. As far as the value factor I would have to say it depends. While the princess one was really special and we felt worth the cost the Halloween one did not feel worth it. I would look at the package and determine if you would likely have bought everything in the package or at least 80%, if not it probably won't feel worth it. Good luck deciding and I hope you DD has a magical birthday.

 

[tarak]

I've done them twice. I think mileage varies. Looking over the packages they have now, the Frozen celebrations are overpriced, in my opinion. I admit, when we did them, my kids were totally blown away and thrilled. So if you can swing the high price, it might be worth it from that standpoint. I tend to look at what comes with the package and think about whether we'd get any use out of the items when we get home (like the banner they hang on the door). One year, we had a really neat set of lanterns that came with the in-room celebration. We still use it (I'll try to post a photo later if anyone is interested). We've not done the birthday packages because they come with stuffed animals, and my kids have way too many of those already. The Christmas package on the site right now looks nice, but I swear it's about $200 more than what I paid five years ago and it includes comparable items. For an older child, I might skip the celebration and go for the create-a-gift. That way you know you're getting things you'll use later.

 

[helenm29]

we stayed at Animal Kingdom lodge one time and celebrated my husband, mine and my sons birthday. They brought a cake I had pre ordered along with cups, forks, spoons, knives and plates. They also had balloons and streamers! now that was a few years ago so I don't know if it has changed. I am pre ordering a birthday cake for my husband this time too. Happy Birthday to your little one and have a wonderful time!

 

[ArmyVet80]

While I haven't used the "Disney In-room Celebrations" I have made my own. With a little bit of help from one of my DW's friends that was on a trip with us. I got a nice bottle of wine from the German Pavilion at Epcot (wife's pick) and then went to the Candy Caldron and used snack points for her favorite Mickey sweets. I also had my DW pick out some nice Disney wine glasses that she would use at home and set everything up as my DW's friend took her to DTD. When she got back to the room I had everything set up. It was for our 3rd anniversary and didn't cost nearly as much as what the "In-Room Celebration" would have cost through Disney but everything was from Disney. Final price with wine, glasses and sweets... $90. I also utilized the glow cubes from our adult beverages from throughout the first few days of our trip as "mood" lighting. Since they all light up different colors or rotate through the colors it was kind of neat looking. Plus they are safer than candles.

 

[PurpleKomodo]

We did not do one of the whole celebrations because they were too pricey for us, but we did order a surprise welcome gift to be in the room for DS. He was so excited and loved it! We got the one with personalized mickey ears, an autograph book, and a couple of snacks. It was really fun to have that special surprise for him and he really believed that Mickey himself delivered it. I think there are many options for fun surprises without having to spend so much money right at the beginning of the trip.

 

[TNS_Tinkerbell]

My wife did a celebration at CRT last August, and it was a pretty bracelet and wand. Just chiming my 2 cents, but for what she paid for this celebration, I am surprised by the quality of the items. A year later, and they are tarnished and the charm bracelet clasp broke, and I had to fix it.

If money isn't an issue, go for it, otherwise use your crafty skills and make it special doing your own thing.

And please don't think I am not grateful for what my wife did. I am. I am just putting in my experience.