So What's a reasonable birthday window?

[MinnieMom]

I can see celebrating your birthday on your own and even going for the button, etc. if your birthday is within a week (either before or after) of the day, but I do think it is tacky if it is any further away than that.

That's just my opinion . . . to each his own, but I couldn't do it and feel right about it. Maybe it's not 'cheating' as a pp said, but it is kind of taking away from those who really do have a birthday within a reasonable amount of time of that specific day, kwim??

 

[Figment56]

DD turns 18-yikes-in July. She is also graduating from HS this year! We can't get to WDW until August, but we intend to celebrate both occasions! Our anniversay is also in July, so I guess another celebration? DD's b-day is one day before our anniversary! That will be 23 yrs and counting! It will also be a sad time, as DD will be leaving for college a week after we get home. She is an only, so I am already feeling the empty nest syndrome! Her BF will be joining us this year and he has not been to WDW since he was 5! Can't wait to see the look on his face when he returns and sees all new things! Last time he went, he waited for 2 1/2 hrs to ride Splash Mountain, only to be turned away because he was too short! I know the first ride he wants to go on!

 

[La2kw]

DH has a birthday 3/11 and we'll be at Disney 3/25. I suggested he get a button, cake,etc, but he says that would be tacky since it wasn't his actual birthday...He says he will bow to the majority of the Dissers. What do you think?

Plus we'll be at DL. Anyone know what they may do for birthdays there or how I'd go about setting something up for him?

I agree with DH- you'll be there two weeks after his birthday.

FYI- Disneyland will give you a birthday button also. I got one last year when we were passing through the turnstiles and the cm noticed from my AP that it was my birthday and made me wait for a button. Otherwise, I wouldn't have bothered.

 

[Danauk]

DH and I plan on celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary when we are at DL. Our actual anniversary is a week later when we are in Las Vegas but the whole trip is to celebrate our anniversary. I plan on getting the anniversary buttons whilst we are there altough DH doesn't know this yet and I will have to persuade him to wear one! (we spent our 5th wedding anniversary in WDW and didn't know about the buttons then.) Go with whatever you DH is comfortouble with, but like others have said Disney celebrate their birthdays for months!
Have a fun trip.

 

[mystic_path]

When I go in June we are going from the 3-11th. My moms birthday is on June 16th but we are going to celebrate her birthday there anyways.

I am going to get her a birthday button. I just got a shirt made for her that says "A VERY MERRY UNBIRTHDAY TO ME" and it has the picture of the mad hatter and a tea cup under the print.

I think that although its not her actual birthday I can see why its a bit tacky, but its close enough that you can celebrate it. Where better then to celebrate your birthday then in a Disney Park?

It would be sort of like having a wedding stagette in the park. Its not the actual wedding day but its close enough im sure that you can celebrate the celebration there.

 

[mikayla73]

I say whatever DH wants to do, then do it. If he wants to celebrate his BD at DL, then do it. If he feels funny about it, then don't. You could spend all day explaining "it's not actually today ... blah blah" because he feels "funny" about it, and that wouldn't be very much fun.

I personally think, if you are celebrating your BD/Anniversary when you are at DL, then choose the day and do it! It is not always possible for you to go on the actual day for whatever reason. Go celebrate and have a great time!

Now I do think if you are wearing the buttons every day you're there just to get free stuff/extra attention, then that is not right. Are there people doing that ... I am sure there are, but there are probably more that are just celebrating a different day because they couldn't make it on the actual day.

 

[disneygrandma]

This is just my opinion, but for an adult to get a birthday button 2 weeks or more after their birthday........well, it is a little tacky. You can of course celebrate his birthday while you're there, but make it more of a personal celebration, and not have "the button". If everyone gets these buttons, then they no longer will be something special for the person who is truly having their birthday that day. Yes, it's true, not everyone can be in WDW on their birthday, which is all the more reason why the button should be saved for those people who actually are there on their big day. You could mention to your server that this trip is a celebration of his birthday which was 2 weeks ago, or book a birthday cruise for your personal celebration. Buy him a cake. But to wear the "Today's My Birthday" button ?

Our daughter planned our trip this fall to be a celebration of her children's birthdays. The oldest will turn 6 just 2 weeks before we check in. The youngest will turn 1 just 2 weeks after we check out. And the middle child will turn 3 during the trip itself. She's getting the birthday button on the day of her birthday. The trip itself is a special celebration for all of them........but only one will actually have her birthday while we're at WDW. And BTW, Grandpa's birthday is the day before we check in. We'll have our own celebrations, such as an Illuminations Cruise. We'll mention the birthdays when we eat at WCC, they'll be noted as a reason for our trip on our reservations. But only one will actually wear the "Today's My Birthday" button.

I don't want to seem harsh, but again, if everyone wore these buttons, then they will no longer be special for anyone. And where do you draw the line?

I agree with others who have said that it's your husband's birthday, and it doesn't sound like he wants to get the button. It should be up to him. I hope you have a wonderful trip, which ever way you decide to go with it.

 

[Alex2kMommy]

I think anyone should celebrate their own special occasion as s/he sees fit.

Our first ever trip was originally planned for last April, and it just so happened that our DS's 2nd birthday would be during the trip.

However, we had to cancel when my DH wound up hospitalized 2 days beforehand. Fortunately I was able to reschedule for the fall.

The new dates meant we'd be traveling within a few weeks of ALL our other family celebrations: DH and DS6's birthdays, my birthday, and our wedding anniversary.

So I chose one day to celebrate DS6's birthday. We attended a character meal that I thought he'd enjoy, and he got a birthday button. I chose a different day later in the week to celebrate DS2's birthday (which was nearly 5 months earlier.)

I could have chosen to celebrate all of our big occasions, I suppose, I just didn't want to. I wanted the trip to be magical for my boys, and keep the focus on them. But if it hadn't been for their special days, I would have no problem celebrating any of the other occasions during our trip. To each his own!

 

[DaisyD]

This is just my opinion, but for an adult to get a birthday button 2 weeks or more after their birthday........well, it is a little tacky. You can of course celebrate his birthday while you're there, but make it more of a personal celebration, and not have "the button". If everyone gets these buttons, then they no longer will be something special for the person who is truly having their birthday that day. Yes, it's true, not everyone can be in WDW on their birthday, which is all the more reason why the button should be saved for those people who actually are there on their big day. You could mention to your server that this trip is a celebration of his birthday which was 2 weeks ago, or book a birthday cruise for your personal celebration. Buy him a cake. But to wear the "Today's My Birthday" button ?

Our daughter planned our trip this fall to be a celebration of her children's birthdays. The oldest will turn 6 just 2 weeks before we check in. The youngest will turn 1 just 2 weeks after we check out. And the middle child will turn 3 during the trip itself. She's getting the birthday button on the day of her birthday. The trip itself is a special celebration for all of them........but only one will actually have her birthday while we're at WDW. And BTW, Grandpa's birthday is the day before we check in. We'll have our own celebrations, such as an Illuminations Cruise. We'll mention the birthdays when we eat at WCC, they'll be noted as a reason for our trip on our reservations. But only one will actually wear the "Today's My Birthday" button.

I don't want to seem harsh, but again, if everyone wore these buttons, then they will no longer be special for anyone. And where do you draw the line?

I agree with others who have said that it's your husband's birthday, and it doesn't sound like he wants to get the button. It should be up to him. I hope you have a wonderful trip, which ever way you decide to go with it.

I agree. I can see celebrating a kid's birthday 2 weeks either way but NOT an adult. It sounds silly to even think about. Tacky, tacky, tacky.

 

[mirthmaiden]

I can't understand why it should matter to me whether or not somebody else celebrates a birthday/anniversary/whatever at any time. As long as it doesn't infringe upon my family's experience, why should I care? It is that person's choice. They don't have to justify anything to me.

My DH is terminally ill. We are going to WDW in August (assuming he is healthy enough to travel). His birthday is in January, but I have thought about celebrating it early because we don't know if he will be with us in January. But gosh... I'd just hate it if I was being tacky

 

[KellyMae]

No. If it was a child, sure go for it. This is a grown man, and he doesn't even want to do it.

 

[La2kw]

I don't want to seem harsh, but again, if everyone wore these buttons, then they will no longer be special for anyone. And where do you draw the line?

It appears that is already happening.

 

[Itinkso]

DH has a birthday 3/11 and , we'll be at Disney 3/25.
Plus we'll be at DL. Anyone know what they may do for birthdays there or how I'd go about setting something up for him?

If you call Disney Dining 714 - 781 - 3463, you can pre order a birthday cake to be presented to him during a meal. The birthday buckets are also available ($20)...I've ordered one for my DD's 18th bd and it will be presented to her during our meal at Storytellers. She has always longingly looked at the buckets though we haven't been to DL for her BD lately. There is also a 10 inch cake available for $23.

I hope he enjoys his day!!

 

[disneychrista]

Are you going FOR his birthday or does it just happen to be at about the same time? For me this is the biggest kicker.

 

[Disney_Princess83]

If he's happy to do it, then I can't see a problem with it. When I was there, it was 2 months after my birthday but we mentioned to a cast member this was my birthday holiday (we're from Australia and my b'day is in December so not a good time to travel) a Cast Member said I should get a birthday badge anyway, since the trip was to celebrate my birthday. I got one on the last day of the trip and it was great.

It's really up to him.

 

[wvnative]

Our last trip was my DD's Sweet 16 gift. Due to school, we couldn't go until 2 weeks after her birthday. She still got a birthday button and wore it 2 of the three days.

I say if your DH doesn't want to then he shouldn't have to. He won't enjoy it nearly as much if it makes him uncomfortable.

 

[Zoemakes5]

I talked with a CM about this recently, because DD's bday is this Friday, 3/9, and we're not going until 4/29, and he asked "is this trip or this dinner to celebrate her bday, even if it's later" and I said yes, her nana and papa couldn't get away until then (and that's when spring break is for her brothers) and the trip, and the princess meal in particular, is in celebration of her b-day. He said, "well, then, we'll do it as a birthday! it's when you celebrate it that counts". He says it happens all the time.
With families all over the country now, it's not uncommon for people to get together at times that are convenient in order for everyone to participate in the celebration, whether that be x-mas (or some other religious holiday) or thanksgiving or b-days.
If your DH feels truly uncomfortable, I'd skip it, but I personally don't have an issue with "celebrating" your events at anytime at DL.

 

[bumbershoot]

Well, first, the birthday pin simply states Happy Birthday, and they write your name in. It (at least the one I got for myself last fall) doesn't say "it's my birthday" or anything specific like that. In fact, one *could* look at it as me saying happy birthday to everyone looking at it.

And everything I read about it uses the word *celebration*. It's not for the birthday, it's for the *celebration* of one's birthday.

I mean, my friends gave me a baby shower to *celebrate* my baby, 2 months before he arrived!

I got nothing free that day, well, other than the pin. I got a whole lot of CMs saying Happy Birthday to me, which is always nice, but they didn't give me anything or let me get on to rides early or anything. It was just a nice little extra. Now, it was only days away from my b'day, so for all you purists out there, I'm still probably in your good graces (what a first post, eh?).


We're planning a trip this September. It's a month before my b'day, a month after our 4th wedding anniversary, and just about 6 months after (or before?) my DH's birthday. I think I'll be helping him celebrate his half-birthday that day. And maybe our son's, though he'll have just had a big party in summer, if he starts getting freaked out that no one is giving him a pin (or maybe I'll bring the "Disney citizen" pin that he got last year for him to wear).

Other than the pin, hubby paid for a "princess" bucket, nothing wrong with that, he paid, ya know? The cake was AWFUL and the bucket utterly useless (I was under the impression that there was a Pooh hunnypot bucket, and gave massive hints in THAT direction, but I got a pink princess thing instead), and the comb and brush more for a baby than even for a little girl (let alone a grown woman!), but the magnets are on the fridge (way up high so my princess-admirer Boy doesn't snag 'em) and the pin is cute, and it reminds me of a nice day.


Anyway, if he's being very adamant about NOTHING being done to honor his b'day while in the park, go along with that. But remember that you can, at the last minute, go find town hall or guest relations and grab a button, and you can plunk down $20 and buy a silly bucket, just in case he starts giving you the "I know I SAID no celebration but I can't believe you actually LISTENED to me" sort of thing.

Good luck, have a nice trip!

 

[Tink33]

You can call me Tacky with a capital T. I will be celebrating my 40th Birthday at Disneyland the week before the date.

 

[Tinkerbelle's Mom]

I can't understand why it should matter to me whether or not somebody else celebrates a birthday/anniversary/whatever at any time. As long as it doesn't infringe upon my family's experience, why should I care? It is that person's choice. They don't have to justify anything to me.

My DH is terminally ill. We are going to WDW in August (assuming he is healthy enough to travel). His birthday is in January, but I have thought about celebrating it early because we don't know if he will be with us in January. But gosh... I'd just hate it if I was being tacky

OT - Here is hopping that your DH will be well enough to travel. When my mother was diagnosed (SP?) with end stage lung cancer her first thing was to plan a trip to Disney with me (her dd) and my dd (her granddaughter). My dd and I have such wonderful memories from that trip. Since her death we have often pulled out the photos from that trip to talk about what a great time we had.

So go ahead and be as tacky as you want.