Isn't being at Disney special enough??

[BriarRosie]

Just thought I'd show a fun couple of photos of what you can do to make things special...if you spend the $$$ to do it. A friend of mine had ordered a cake via Yacht and Beach Club Private Dining to make a custom cake for her birthday. We all met in the Solarium to enjoy this:

So there are things you can do if you contact one of the various bakeries like the Y&B one or Boardwalk, or Grand Floridian. It does cost a lot of money to do these things, so if you're on a budget, these aren't the way to go.

People dining at any of the Grand Floridian restaurants or at Cinderella's Royal Table can order a special dessert based on Cinderella's slipper. It's a chocolate shell shaped like a slipper, filled with a mousse. I don't have any pics or prices, but I think it's roughly around $15 for the slipper, much more reasonable for budgets than a custom cake.

I figure that while I criticize some of the special requests, I think I couldn't convey that if you're willing to spend money for the extra stuff (like these cakes, desserts or Gifts of a Lifetime), there aren't that many free things people can do to make things special. I usually just tell people to go to the Guest Relations areas in the parks to pick up a button for their celebrations. That's pretty much the easiest of the ideas.

 

[Zeebs]

I am going to echo the sentiments of Sundancer UK. It is fabulous that many many of you get to visit Disney ALOT, but many others are not that lucky so maybe they

1. Don't realise how "magical" Disney can be without all the extras
2. Do realise this but have heard of some of the extras and think that their child would really love that.

I am sure some go with unattainable expectations but then I think Disney sets some of this up themselves, with "What are you celebrating" and "year of a Million Dreams" promotions. They really hype it all up, the ads show you people being granted special surprises, cupcakes for birthdays, anniversaries etc if every picture, ad you see from Disney showing this and you don't get this I am sure it can be a bit of a disappointment. If this is what you expect before you go (because you don't know any different) from their advertising and don't get it I can see how may affect the expecations you had set up.

With regards to the comments from Briar Rose of the canning of the menu and the divers sign I agree the reason they most probably got rid of it was because it was over requested BUT (and this will sound like an entitlement thing) why should just those who go all the time and know about it get it when others do not - this obviously changed with the internet and these little secrets and suprises got out to the masses.

I was lucky enough to visit Hong Kong Disneyland on my birthday, had the button on and was never once wished a Happy Birthday, it didn't ruin my trip but I got to the end of the day and thought about it and went hmmmmmm bit odd. Now this was during the their time of "celebrating everything with big fanfair according to their promo.

Also that trip, the women at Guest relations (when I went to make a lunch booking)asked if we would like to be family of the day and went off to get the stuff. Came back with a sorry she made a mistake, now that was a little disappointing but eh c'est la vie.

Kirsten

 

[MomiTo2SwtGuys]

Well said!

 

[DisneyKevin]

If being at Walt Disney World on your day of celebration and having the ability to take advantage of everything it has to offer isnt "special" enough already...and still requires something extra to make it "special"....how do y'all handle celebrations when you arent at Disney?

Prior to my living in Florida, if anyone ever told me that they were taking me to WDW for my birthday, I would have been beside myself.

There were a couple of years when my family came to WDW at Christmas and that was our Christmas gift. Santa gave us our trip to WDW as a Christmas present and again....we were beside ourselves. There was no talk of making it more "special". It couldnt possibly be any more "special"

The fact that we were lucky enough to go to Disney WAS special. I felt like the luckiest kid in the world.

Maybe it's the fact that we didnt have a lot of money and as I got older, I realized the sacrifice it took to bring us to Walt Disney World. There was no extra money for "special" things. We were there on a budget....but we were THERE!!!!

Maybe it's my age now and I look back and think how unbelievably lucky I was / am to have parents that thought giving us this experience was important.

Maybe things were different and I'm looking at this through the filter of time and great memories, but I watch my younger cousin / nephews when they pass through the turnstile.

They get that same look in there eye that I remember having when I used to finally get inside the park.

There is no time for anything "special".... there's a Kingdom to explore.

Again.....I'm not judging anyone for how they wish to experience the parks. They are there for your enjoyment.

 

[safetymom]

If being at Walt Disney World on your day of celebration and having the ability to take advantage of everything it has to offer isnt "special" enough already...and still requires something extra to make it "special"....how do y'all handle celebrations when you arent at Disney?

Prior to my living in Florida, if anyone ever told me that they were taking me to WDW for my birthday, I would have been beside myself.

There were a couple of years when my family came to WDW at Christmas and that was our Christmas gift. Santa gave us our trip to WDW as a Christmas present and again....we were beside ourselves. There was no talk of making it more "special". It couldnt possibly be any more "special"

The fact that we were lucky enough to go to Disney WAS special. I felt like the luckiest kid in the world.

Maybe it's the fact that we didnt have a lot of money and as I got older, I realized the sacrifice it took to bring us to Walt Disney World. There was no extra money for "special" things. We were there on a budget....but we were THERE!!!!

Maybe it's my age now and I look back and think how unbelievably lucky I was / am to have parents that thought giving us this experience was important.

Maybe things were different and I'm looking at this through the filter of time and great memories, but I watch my younger cousin / nephews when they pass through the turnstile.

They get that same look in there eye that I remember having when I used to finally get inside the park.

There is no time for anything "special" there's a Kingdom to explore.

Again.....I'm not judging anyone for how they wish to experience the parks. They are there for your enjoyment.

I second your thoughts. When I brought my 3 kids to Disney at Christmas that was our Christmas gift. My kids were thrilled and didn't feel like they missed out on anything.

I asked my kids the other day about this topic and they agreed that just being at Disney was special enough that they didn't need anything.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

One thing I do think, though, is if the family is going to be on vacation in WDW for TWO WEEKS, like that family from England, and it's a family trip, not a birthday trip, necessarily, and the child's birthday falls somewhere in that two weeks, then absolutely they should do something special for the child, whether it be a special birthday cake, or maybe a morning where the birthday kid is in charge, etc.

Expecting Disney magic isn't the answer, but making magic for the birthday child is a good thing!

 

[dmccarty]

We have planned quite a few surprises for the family and kids during our WDW trip. In fact the first trip with the kids was a surprise. They did not know where we were going until they saw the entrance spanning the road on WDW property. Then the hooting and yelling started. :

PRICELESS.

Until the day I die, I will remember that trip and that moment.

We have planned other big, special surprises for the kids and my mom. It adds a very special icing on the WDW cake.

On the other hand, many of the memorable Disney moments are unplanned events that just happen. Those are just as special, if not more so since they just happen.

Our youngest is the dare devil. Last trip we were at AK and while standing in line at Primal Whirl we got to the top of the ramp and started talking with the CM who was in the College Program. The CM and the kids had a really nice chat about things including how Primal Whirl was one of their favorite rides. The CM gave us FPs! Which was kinda funny since the FP line was not open. When we got off the ride and showed the FPes to the CM at the entrance she almost said something but then figured out what was happening and let us in.

After Primal Whirl the youngest wanted to ride Yeti, aka EE so off we went. We had two sets of FP's since the DW and sister did not want to ride EE. On our last ride we were on the very last car on the ride. We have been in the first car, which makes for some really good photos, but this was the first time in the last car. As the ride pulled into the station our youngest was ranting and raving on how she loved the ride and wanted to go again and again and again.

Me? Not so much.

The CM operating the ride heard the Dare Devil, and as we got out of the car, asked her if she really wanted to ride again? Of course the Dare Devil said, "YES YES YES!" The CM gave us two more FP's

Two rides were more than I wanted to do, but three?

At EE and Primal we thanked the CM quite a bit. THEY made some magic that day for the kids. Completely unplanned but completely appreciated. But it just HAPPENED.

Two of my most memorable unplanned events at WDW was simply talking to CMs. One was a gardener working at AK at Refiki Station, who we talked with for 15 minutes or so about the plants at AK, how the park has changed as it aged plant wise, how they planted AK for the opening, etc. Great conversation.

I am sure a gazzilion people had walked by the CM over the years but very few had stopped to talk and ask questions.....

One trip we were at EPCOT and me and the oldest were lagging behind the the DW and other kid. As we slowly walked out of England a CM in a white uniform popped out the back door of a building. What was funny is that my daughter had just run up to the door and knocked. Then the CM popped out. The CM worked for maintenance and we started talking and walking over toward the International Gateway.

We lost track of time until the DW called me on the cell and asked where I was and what was I doing?

Stopping and smelling the roses at WDW is a good thing. A very good thing. Slowing down and enjoying the specialness of WDW is a very good idea. Talking to the CM's when you can and asking how THEY are doing can be very interesting.

One of our BEST moments was a because of a mistake of a bus driver and myself. I had on our schedule that we were supposed to go to AK for an EMH morning. Waiting at the bus stop, buses kept arriving for every park but AK. This is odd because we were at AKL and usually you get a bus to AK very frequently. We asked a bus driver if AK had EMH morning hours. He looked at his schedule and said no, but HS did. So off we went.

When we got to HS we knew we were in trouble. Tain't nobody there. As we walked to the entrance there is a dozen or more CM's cutting the flowers around the gate. They looked at us. We looked at them. It was midweek. The day the schedules change and the bus driver had looked at the previous week's schedule.

We had a nice chat and laugh with the CMs about how we were the only ones at the DHS and it was all of us to enjoy. They gave my wife, mom and kids fresh cut flowers. We walked back to the bus stop trying to figure out how in the heck we were getting to AK. The CM's must have called a bus manager because before we could sit down, a van pulled up with a bus manager. We told him what had happened and he loaded us up and took us to the front gate at AK. On the ride over we had a great conversation about the Disney buses and how they operate.

We were maybe 20-30 minutes later than planned and still stuck at the bridge waiting for the morning parade.

The point of that story is that you should take what happens as an opportunity not a problem. If this had happened to other people, they would have been on the boards talking about how the bus driver ruined their vacation. Their plans all went to heck when the bus dropped them off at the wrong park, blah blah blah.

That bus drivers mistake, and MINE, for not trusting my schedule, turned out to be a great set of interactions with the CMs. It was all about having the right ATTITUDE.

One can and should plan some special things. But so much at Disney is unplanned and unscripted. It just happens. The right ATTITUDE can help. These things cannot be forced. They cannot be made to happened. They just do. They are Pixie Dust moments that should be appreciated for their specialness.

Later,
Dan

 

[gojoe]

If being at Walt Disney World on your day of celebration and having the ability to take advantage of everything it has to offer isnt "special" enough already...and still requires something extra to make it "special"....how do y'all handle celebrations when you arent at Disney?

Prior to my living in Florida, if anyone ever told me that they were taking me to WDW for my birthday, I would have been beside myself.

There were a couple of years when my family came to WDW at Christmas and that was our Christmas gift. Santa gave us our trip to WDW as a Christmas present and again....we were beside ourselves. There was no talk of making it more "special". It couldnt possibly be any more "special"

The fact that we were lucky enough to go to Disney WAS special. I felt like the luckiest kid in the world.

Maybe it's the fact that we didnt have a lot of money and as I got older, I realized the sacrifice it took to bring us to Walt Disney World. There was no extra money for "special" things. We were there on a budget....but we were THERE!!!!

Maybe it's my age now and I look back and think how unbelievably lucky I was / am to have parents that thought giving us this experience was important.

Maybe things were different and I'm looking at this through the filter of time and great memories, but I watch my younger cousin / nephews when they pass through the turnstile.

They get that same look in there eye that I remember having when I used to finally get inside the park.

There is no time for anything "special".... there's a Kingdom to explore.

Again.....I'm not judging anyone for how they wish to experience the parks. They are there for your enjoyment.

Here the thing. If someone asks for something special and gets this type of response they would (in my opinion) feel judged. I think if you have something special for them just tell them if not let them be.
We been several times. As I've have said we find our time very special and we don't take anything for granted. I also know there is so much to see and special things I don't know about. This is where I come for that info now I'm afraid to ask. As you alway say this is just my opinion but I find comments like these to be judgmental. But I'm not judging you these are just my opinions.

 

[safetymom]

Oh my goodness. We were not judging anyone in that discussion! We were offering our opinion. Just like everyone else has done.

We were trying to say that you can have a wonderful time at WDW without arranging anything special.

If you feel the need to arrange something special please do. We were trying to share our experiences.

 

[DisneyKevin]

Here the thing. If someone asks for something special and gets this type of response they would (in my opinion) feel judged. I think if you have something special for them just tell them if not let them be.
We been several times. As I've have said we find our time very special and we don't take anything for granted. I also know there is so much to see and special things I don't know about. This is where I come for that info now I'm afraid to ask. As you alway say this is just my opinion but I find comments like these to be judgmental. But I'm not judging you these are just my opinions.

It seems that no matter what I say or how many times I say it.....you are going to feel that I'm judging you.

I truly am not.

If you are a long time listener, you will know that we have discussed at length ways to make your Disney trip special.

We have offered ideas for everyone from newborns to senior citizens and everyone in between.

This conversation was just an off shoot of a listener question.

Please understand that as long as you are not spending my money, what you do on our vacation has no impact on me what so ever.

Plan, go, see, experience, enjoy, share all that WDW has to offer.

With that, I am going to bow out of this conversation.

 

[Sundancer UK]

One thing I do think, though, is if the family is going to be on vacation in WDW for TWO WEEKS, like that family from England, and it's a family trip, not a birthday trip, necessarily, and the child's birthday falls somewhere in that two weeks, then absolutely they should do something special for the child, whether it be a special birthday cake, or maybe a morning where the birthday kid is in charge, etc.

This is exactly it!

I'm not saying that every single day at Disney isn't going to be magnificently special - I know that for me, every single second is!

But we are there for two weeks and it's a family holiday for all six of us. For one day, the birthday - I would like to mark it somehow.
Maybe saying I would like to make it 'special' is wrong, as this implies that the other days are not special. I'd just like to make one day less about all of us, and more about my (not so little) boy

 

[Disneylover7901]

Just as an example, it's my son's birthday on the 29th. He told me a couple weeks ago "Daddy, please don't buy me a birthday present. You've spend enough of your money taking us to Disney World for my birthday. That's the best present I can have, being happy in Disney World with my family." Pretty smart kid for a 10 year old.

Today at WDW I saw more than three little girls all dressed up from BBB literally screaming in a store because they didn't get something. For God's sake, that make over cost your parents a tonne, not to mention the trip here, be thankful for what you have.

I think the parents that think that they have to make a Disney birthday "extra special" are the ones creating kids that think they are entitled to everything, and that rules and empathy don't apply to them.

You have one special child. Wish they were all like that

 

[FunkyFunBuckets]

I agree with kevin and kathy, regarding the fact that as a child I often didnt have big birthday presents or expensive chritmas gifts instead my parenst took us to Disney once every year or two. now for us that was the most special thing in the world because there were very few ppl where we live that can afford to go on holiday to america let alone Disney.

Now that i'm older I see that it wouldnt have mattered if my parents had scheduled a special surprise or not because we were just happy to be there.

I am the youngest in the family and yet i have become the planner of the trips, so when we were planning last years trip for the 3 of us (my dad, sister and me), for my dad's 60th birthday, and I was on the boards looking just at what other people had done for their birthdays e.g. special cakes from the bakery etc.

I did come across those threads where ppl talk about getting special cupcakes or having happy birthday sung to them, and I thought wow that must have been very exciting for them, but I never went into it thinking that it would happen during our trip.

It just so happened that on our trip my dad did get his birthdy button but didnt want to wear because he felt silly wearing it.
On his actually birthday dinner we were blessed enough to receive a cupcake with a candle etc but it arrived after desert and we were all stuffed and we saw a little girl at the table next to us and asked the server if he wouldn't mind giving them the cupcake to her if it was ok with her family. We could see that it meant soo much more to her than it would have ever meant to us.

My dad ended up not really caring about any of the free unexpected things instead his favourite moments of the trip involved eating a steak every night and riding soarin' for the first time.

The thing to think about is your holiday is only as special as you want it too be and whilst I can understand ppl's point of view of trying to make a child's birthday more excitning than normal or wondering what kind of special experiences others have had
I think you have to plan any experiences you might enjoy and just understand that your trip is special enough and anything else that happens which is unexpected is just a little extra pixie dust