Need advice with celebration ideas! (esp. cakes)

[dimndgal1]

We're going to WDW next summer to celebrate a super huge accomplishment for DH. He is a very 'no fanfare' kind of guy, so we are planning on doing a nice meal somewhere at Disney (looking at San Angel Inn or maybe Yachtsman's).

My big question is trying to incorporate some surprises into things. For instance, can you have a gift presented to the table with dessert or anything? Also, in terms of cakes, what are the limits on screen printing? DH's favorite Disney characters are rather obscure - Robin Hood, Elliot from Pete's Dragon - so I'm not sure what can be done. Also, would they be able to specialize a 'common' character - i.e. Mickey or Figment in an airplane? I've looked through the cake thread but just don't know what the limitations/possibilities are.

I know I can't book a cake or anything this far out, but I don't want to be in the last few days before Disney and trying to scramble around and find out what can and can't be done. Thanks for advice!

 

[OhThePain]

Would this special meal be with or without the little one? Are you and he foodies? Is there a budget? Just trying to get an idea of what other restaurants to suggest.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=35722611#post35722611

This link is for the current Cake Chatter thread that can be found in the "Special Links on the Restaurant Board" sticky. I would suggest getting in touch with the cake hotline in order to get the ball rolling with ideas.

Another something special you can consider is to maybe have a special personal basket made for him to be delivered to your room. I proposed to my girlfriend on the trip we just returned from with the help of a basket made by Memories By Betsy along with a great floral arrangement she got for me. Betsy was a real pleasure to talk to and was real easy to work with, no pressure to buy at all. She was a lot easier to deal with than Disney Florist, IMO.

Don't forget to add the accomplishment to any ADRs you made. While some restaurants won't do anything, others may give you/him a little pixie dust.

 

[Infamousmare]

I agree with OhThePain - there are some really cool baskets you can have delivered to your room...and some even have BEER! This was a hit with my dh last year (and he only comes to WDW just to appease me).
Here's a link to all the sorts of things you can have delivered to your room:
http://www.disneyflorist.com/?utm_source=Web&utm_medium=WDW&utm_campaign=Gift_DreamMaker

Just know that if you want something delivered the day you arrive, it will be waiting for you at the front desk. They cannot put anything into your room before you check in.

Also, we've had specialty cakes made and they are amazing; however, we were told that we can't do what you requested about putting characters into planes, etc. We celebrated my dad's birthday @ the park last year and since he's a huge outdoorsman/fisherman, we wanted mickey in a fishing boat or something like that. We were told they cannot do that - they can to amazing things with characters, but they can't be put into cars/boats/planes or anything like that. However, they do have some really fun cakes and the link you have in the other post is a great one.

 

[dimndgal1]

I appreciate the experience and information!

I like the idea of a gift basket -- I had looked at the Celebration room decoration set-up and the cost was a little ! The main purpose of the trip is for DH's accomplishment, but it's also in-laws first visit, and we're celebrating DD's birthday (it's a week after the trip) so she doesn't feel left out (that's going to HOPEFULLY be a princess meal).

My biggest dilemma is that our group is DH, DD (4), his parents, and me. His parents are VERY reserved with food -- Applebee's is one of their fave places. DH and I are adventure eaters so we're trying to strike a balance with what we do on this trip -- Marrakesh is the 'riskiest' we'll go and that's just because it's DH fave.

That's kind of a bummer about not being able to tailor the cake but I understand -- I'm sure people could REALLY mess with the possibilities. It's hard because DH likes the offbeat Disney characters and they are VERY hard to find (anytime I find Elliot, I grab it), and I really want whatever I get to be meaningful to him and not just something I'm getting because.

Thanks for the input and I am now going to wade through all the cake examples and visit Betsy's site!

 

[OhThePain]

Incase you didn't find it, this is a link for Memories By Betsy:

http://www.memoriesbybetsy.com/mbb/index.php

Not only did I have a hard time talking with Disney Florist, but as you have seen they can be a bit pricey.

Betsy is not affiliated with Disney and her prices are reasonable. She basically charges you exactly what it would cost you to buy the same items in a store, she just charges a little extra to make the basket and delivery to your resort when you want it. She can't do alcohol.

The basket she put together for me for the proposal had a 20" Jack plush doll, a 20" Sally plush doll and a light up ghost lanyard, all sitting on top of a Mickey trick or treat bin and inside the treat bin was a 5" glass slipper that had "Let's Live Happily Ever After" etched onto it. My final cost for the basket was around $160 (but most of that was from the slipper) and the floral arrangement she got for me ran about $50 (the flowers lasted the whole trip and some made it home with us).

She gives you absolutely no pressure, loves Disney, will work with you and give you ideas, responds within a few hours to e-mails (usually much quicker) and will get you anything you want for the basket. She can also give you some ideas if you want to get a basket for your in-laws for their first trip (I don't think she charges as much of a basket fee for any additional baskets after the first one).