My Disney Birthday Wish Came True! – June 2025 Trip Report (Updated 9/5!)

[2xcited2sleep]

Oh, wow! What a birthday gift! I'd love if skipping was always an option but I'm sure that's hard to manage. I absolutely hate all the rides that use the "funnel method" where it's just a crush of unorganized humanity to move forward -- Guardians, Haunted Mansion, Runaway Railway.

 

[VAtink]

Oh, wow! What a birthday gift! I'd love if skipping was always an option but I'm sure that's hard to manage. I absolutely hate all the rides that use the "funnel method" where it's just a crush of unorganized humanity to move forward -- Guardians, Haunted Mansion, Runaway Railway.

I can't believe that it actually happened! Those preshows drive me nuts, especially the first one, the second one is at least kinda cool, but I hate how everyone just rushes to the right to get to the door the second the lights come back on. And yeah, I hate that too when we have to funnel. I try to either be the first or last in the room so we're not in the center of the crush!

 

[buzzrelly]

Wow! That's exciting! What a fun birthday wish! I never even knew this was an option but I'm sure it's nice getting through the line so quickly!

 

[Wood Nymph]

Your years of experience with how WDW works has paid off big time. There may have been some people who were disappointed to skip the pre-shows, but I'm sure most people were thrilled.

My mom hates when I spend money on Minnie Vans, but honestly with how she was feeling I was more than happy to spend the money on it.

That was a nice gesture. There isn't any way to sit down in a bus line.

 

[VAtink]

Wow! That's exciting! What a fun birthday wish! I never even knew this was an option but I'm sure it's nice getting through the line so quickly!

Yeah, it was such a surprise, I can't believe we got lucky enough to just make it in time before they started running the preshows again!

 

[VAtink]

Your years of experience with how WDW works has paid off big time. There may have been some people who were disappointed to skip the pre-shows, but I'm sure most people were thrilled.

Haha, yeah, it definitely helped knowing that they tend to inflate the wait times. If it was my first time ever going on the ride, I would have been upset to skip the preshows, but having seen them for what feels like far too many times, skipping them was the best thing ever!

That was a nice gesture. There isn't any way to sit down in a bus line.

Thanks! Yeah, the buses are a concern with my mom since her foot still has issues, so I'm usually pretty worried about making sure she gets a seat. I'm more than happy to spend a bit extra to get the Minnie Van, especially if the bus line looks long!

 

[VAtink]

Day 4, Part 8: Dinner #1 at the Lounge​

We ended up resting in the room for about 20 minutes before heading over to the lounge to see what the hors d’oeuvres were this evening.

This evening, they had a cauliflower salad, a burrata, an antipasto, an Asian salad, kids pasta, and brown sugar glazed salmon.

I picked up some cauliflower salad and some salmon, mom just got the cauliflower salad.

The cauliflower salad was ok, it would have been better if the cauliflower was cooked, it was just too hard for us, but the salmon was amazing!











The salmon was so good I grabbed a second piece to bring back to the room to snack on while we got ready for the evening plans.

We took our time getting ready, we didn’t intend to leave until about 6:45, so had time. It was a nice bit of downtime to shower and get ready, and enjoy my second piece of salmon.

Since it was nice and cold in the room, and my mom doesn’t like the cold, she spent a lot of the time out on the balcony enjoying the view. A few minutes before 6:45 she came inside to notify me that they had just closed the pool due to lightning.

Uh oh. Our plans this evening involved taking the boat, and if the pool was closed for lightning, it was likely the blue flag boat would also be closed.

Since it was almost when we wanted to leave, I decided to look to see if I could get a Minnie Van. Fortunately, I could, and it wasn’t too far out. Phew! I was worried about taking an Uber since I’ve seen reports of the guards not knowing about the event we were going to and not letting people in. Since I didn’t want to get turned away at the gate, I figured a Minnie Van would be the safest option since they just drive right on in.

Next up: Celebration at the Top – Sip, Savor, Sparkle!​

 

[2xcited2sleep]

You continue to make club life sound really appealing! Can't wait to hear about the event!!

 

[Wood Nymph]

Since it was almost when we wanted to leave, I decided to look to see if I could get a Minnie Van. Fortunately, I could, and it wasn’t too far out. Phew! I was worried about taking an Uber since I’ve seen reports of the guards not knowing about the event we were going to and not letting people in. Since I didn’t want to get turned away at the gate, I figured a Minnie Van would be the safest option since they just drive right on in.

Next up: Celebration at the Top – Sip, Savor, Sparkle!

Both AK and DHS buses go to the CR later in the day. I took one of those buses when I needed to get to the CR to retrieve my bag that had fallen in Bay Lake.

 

[Stacybaeasm]

What a great birthday surprise!! I would love to skip the preshow now as well. I've seen it enough. Don't need it. Yay!! Can't wait to hear about the rest of the evening!

 

[aboveH20]

So enjoying your trip report. You and your mother do a lot of things I don’t so it’s interesting to read about your various adventures.

Really, really curious to read about Celebration at the Top. I’m hoping you have strong feelings about it — either love it or hate it — to help me decide whether or not to try it.

 

[VAtink]

You continue to make club life sound really appealing! Can't wait to hear about the event!!

We have become a bit obsessed, it is really nice, especially for breakfasts and hors d'oeuvres. I wish we could stay club every trip, but those rooms are crazy expensive without a discount! (still expensive with a discount, but not quite such a scary number!)

 

[VAtink]

Both AK and DHS buses go to the CR later in the day. I took one of those buses when I needed to get to the CR to retrieve my bag that had fallen in Bay Lake.

Didn't think of that, but it worked out for us. Plus knowing our luck with buses, one wouldn't come for like 30 minutes and I didn't want to be stuck outside for that long in the heat after getting dressed up for the event. My hair does not do well with the humidity

 

[VAtink]

What a great birthday surprise!! I would love to skip the preshow now as well. I've seen it enough. Don't need it. Yay!! Can't wait to hear about the rest of the evening!

It was so amazing to skip the pre-shows! I get so impatient during them now that I've seen them so many times.

 

[VAtink]

So enjoying your trip report. You and your mother do a lot of things I don’t so it’s interesting to read about your various adventures.

Aw, thank you!!!

Really, really curious to read about Celebration at the Top. I’m hoping you have strong feelings about it — either love it or hate it — to help me decide whether or not to try it.

Spoiler, we loved it! There was one annoying thing I'll get into with the next update, but overall the event was amazing. I would definitely do this one again!

 

[VAtink]

Day 4, Part 9: Celebration at the Top – Sip, Savor, Sparkle!​

We last left off calling for a Minnie Van to take us over to the Contemporary for our evening event!

The Minnie Van arrived pretty quickly and we made our way over to the Contemporary. I’m glad we went over early since there was a LONG line of cars trying to get in. We sat in line for about 15 minutes before we could get through the gate since the line was so long it extended to the portion of the entrance road that is only a single lane.

We arrived right at 7:25 and made our way upstairs to find the check-in. We didn’t actually know where it was, so swung by the California Grill check in to ask, and lucky for us, that was the same place to check in for Celebration at the Top! We got checked in and got our wristbands. The CM told us that a bit before the event started to line up by the counter on the other side and we’d be brought up.

Since we still had some time, we decided to head up to the fourth floor to check out the store. We browsed a bit but didn’t find anything so made our way back downstairs to wait.

I was surprised when we got back downstairs to see that all the sitting areas were now full, and with people with the same wristband for the event, so it looks like we just beat the crowd to check in.

We found a couch a ways down to wait, but it still had a view of where the line would be so I could keep an eye on it. Since the seating is first come first serve, we wanted to get there early to get a good seat.

It didn’t take long for a line to start forming, a group started it right at 7:40! After another two groups got in line we headed over as well.

After about 15 minutes I looked behind us and was shocked at how long the line was! There had to be 50-60 parties there that night. Not what I expected, from the few videos I’ve seen this was a very intimate event! Spoiler, once upstairs due to the space and layout with two rooms, it didn't feel nearly as crowded as I expected.

Around 8:00 they started to bring us upstairs. We just missed the first elevator, but were first on the second.

When we got upstairs they had welcome drinks, bellinis this evening, set out and nametags. We grabbed our drinks and name tag, which was to be used to reserve your table, then went to find a good table.

There are two rooms where the tables are set up. One with windows looking out over Bay Lake, and the other with views of Magic Kingdom. The Bay Lake room is where the food is served, and the MK view room is where the open bar is.

My mom and I had discussed previously which room we wanted to be in, and we decided the Bay Lake side so my mom wouldn’t have to walk so far to get food. So when we got our name tag we went to that room and were about to snag a table for two against the window, when this woman from a group of 4 rushed over and decided to claim two of the two top tables by the windows there. Now, the way they had the tables set up is based on the party sizes, so if a party of 4 takes two two-top tables, that means that two parties of two need to now share a table.

There were no more two person tables in that room by the window, so we started heading over to the other room, but then a guy from that woman’s party came in to announce the other room had a better view, so they all rushed over there, so we did end up grabbing a table by the window in the Bay Lake room. Yay!



The food was already set out when we got there, so we went up to grab some stuff.

We were SO impressed with the food here this evening. Not only was it all delicious, but there were so many options! Here is the full list of food they had (not including desserts):

BBQ Fried Chicharron
Mojo Chicken Chilaquiles
Sonoma Goat Cheese Ravioli
Spicy Tuna Sushi Roll
California Sushi Roll
Poached Shrimp in Pineapple-Jalapeno Aguachile
Red Snapper and Scallop Ceviche
Tuna Poke Cones
Heirloom Tomato and Smoked Mozzarella Focaccia
Tacos al Pastor
Cheeseburger Sliders

I started with the slider, the flatbread, a tostada, goat cheese ravioli, and some sushi. My mom got most of the same. For drinks my mom got a margarita and I got a glass of red.

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The flatbread and the ravioli were my favorites from that round, but everything was good.

For my second round I grabbed the scallop and snapper ceviche, a tuna poke cone, and more sushi. The ceviche was amazing, but again, everything was good.



Around 9:00 the CMs moved one of the food tables off to the side and brought in the dessert cart! My mom went up to grab some desserts, but I wanted to wait until after the fireworks.

So speaking of the fireworks, this event is basically a dinner and a private patio to watch the fireworks from. However, we noticed that around 8:40 a number of groups who were not at the event went out onto the patio that was supposed to be reserved for just us. I assumed that close to the fireworks a CM would go out there to move those people, but nope, nobody was monitoring who was going out there. We went out at 9:10 and were the first people from the event to go out, and all the spots along the edge facing Seven Seas Lagoon were already taken by the people who didn’t pay for the event. Fortunately, I recognized that the better view would be on the end facing Bay Lake Tower, so we grabbed our spot there.

Eventually others from the event made their way out and there was a lot of grumbling about the people there who didn’t pay for the “private” viewing area there since they couldn’t get spots along the railing due to them.



The fireworks started at 9:20 and it was fantastic as always! Although during the show a group of kids came out to the viewing area, again not with the event, and they and their parents tried to push us all back so they could have the good view which really made me mad. It would be one thing if they had paid for the event, I have no issues letting kids in front generally, but to sneak into a private event and expect those of us who paid to give up our spot because they have kids was ridiculous. This is the one thing I really hope Disney changes, they need a CM at the doors going outside checking peoples wristbands so this doesn’t happen.

Annoyingly after the fireworks there was a CM at the doors to open them to let us all back in, where was that guy earlier!?!?!

Anyways, after the show we headed back inside. Now one thing that is amazing about this event is that it continues after the fireworks too, and they keep bringing out fresh food, not just desserts later too, but the dinner as well!

Once back inside I grabbed my desserts.

Everything looked so good, but by then I was beyond stuffed, but I still tried as many things as I could!



The desserts were delicious! I also picked up another glass of wine to enjoy with them, and mom got an amaretto.



They had last call around 10:00, but we had drunk enough by then! I’m not sure how late the event went, we ended up leaving at 10:05 since we wanted to catch the boat back, but it was still going strong at that point.

Besides the non-event people using the private viewing area, this event was amazing! I could not believe the amount and quality of food that was served. It was all fantastic! The event lasted a good while too, we were brought up at 8:00, and it was still going when we left a bit after 10. Throughout the night they were refreshing/replenishing the food, and it had an open bar! For the price, this is an amazing deal and I would definitely recommend it.

The boat came shortly after we arrived at the dock, and most of the people on the boat had been at Celebration at the Top with us, so it was a fairly full boat even at like 10:15 at night!

Once home we enjoyed some wine we had brought back from the lounge earlier before calling it a night.

I did take pictures of all the food offerings and will post those in the next post.

Next up: A Magical Morning!​

 

[VAtink]

Here are more pictures of all the food offerings from Celebration at the top!
















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[VAtink]

And here are the dessert offerings from Celebration at the Top!

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[2xcited2sleep]

Oh my goodness, how frustrating to have non-event guests on the reserved patio. I definitely hope they're able to get a handle on that. Otherwise, the event sounds quite delightful (well, also excepting that two-table-hogging party of four - how are people so selfish and/or oblivious??). The food all looks delicious, and I'm thrilled to hear they continue to refresh the savory as I don't really have much of a sweet tooth. Are there seats at all of the tables or are some cocktail/standing height tables? How was availability - is this a must book at 60 days kind of thing?

 

[VAtink]

Oh my goodness, how frustrating to have non-event guests on the reserved patio. I definitely hope they're able to get a handle on that. Otherwise, the event sounds quite delightful (well, also excepting that two-table-hogging party of four - how are people so selfish and/or oblivious??). The food all looks delicious, and I'm thrilled to hear they continue to refresh the savory as I don't really have much of a sweet tooth. Are there seats at all of the tables or are some cocktail/standing height tables? How was availability - is this a must book at 60 days kind of thing?

Yeah, I heard from someone who went to the event in July that there was a CM at the doors to go outside to verify everyone had a wrist band for the event, so maybe Disney listened to our complaints, or perhaps we just went on an off night and they usually have someone there making sure it's only party guests.

I LOVED that they kept the dinner food coming too, I'm also not big on sweets and I would rather have some extra helpings of that ravioli!

All the tables had seats, so that was really nice. The room with the food was a lot smaller and only had I think 4-5 tables, but the other room had a ton of tables.

So booking for this is weird. For us the dates weren't loaded into the system until about 35 days ahead of time, and at that point they weren't able to be booked yet. I set an alert with mouse dining, so when the booking became available about 30ish days before the event I was able to snag one. I think because it was a random date the bookings opened for June (in June it was only offered on the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th), not many people knew to look for it, so the reservations stayed open for those dates for a decent amount of time, like over a week. Some months they do open in time for the 60 day booking, so in that case I'm guessing it would be a harder one to book since it is offered so infrequently and doesn't have a consistent schedule. So all that to say, it depends.

ETA - I just looked for September and it looks like there's still availability during our trip in two weeks, so maybe word hasn't quite gotten out about this event yet where it's super hard to book. The hardest thing it getting it to align with your trip, we got lucky in June that the only days it was offered the entire month fell during our trip.