Wanted: Ideas for a new surprise

[FeistyDisneyMom]

We have celebrated that 5th birthday of each kiddo with a trip to Disneyland. Every time we have managed to add something new as a surprise for the family. First was Ariel's Grotto Princess breakfast in 2012, then a Carthay luncheon & surprise rental house in 2014, the hotel we picked & being in the park on the actual day of birthday/entire trip was a surprise in 2016, and in 2019 we did BBB for all 4 of the kids old enough at the time plus a celebratory tea for the birthday girl. Our last 5th birthday is coming up in 2022, and I can't seem to come up with a surprise! The kids will range in age from the youngest (turns 5 a few months prior to the trip) to our oldest (will just have turned 16).

Would love to hear what kind of surprises ya'll have pulled off or thought about doing for your trips as inspiration! TIA!

 

[Winnowill]

World of Color Dessert Party? It's pricey, but so awesome. This of course assumes that it comes back, but I can't imagine it won't.

 

[3TinksAndAnEeyore]

A limousine ride to the parks (assuming you are flying in), renting a cabana for the afternoon at one of the Disney hotels (assuming you are staying onsite), pre-ordering a special dessert at a dinner, and I concur with @Winnowill that the WoC dessert party experience is really special. It makes you feel like a VIP!

 

[FeistyDisneyMom]

Oooh these are great ideas and ones we have not done yet. WoC Dessert is definitely on my list now. We are likely driving (there are 7 of us, and transportation just works easier if we do the drive, plus it means seeing grandpa on the way, which is a big plus), and we are staying at a short-term rental house with disney theming. Otherwise the cabana would be perfect too. WoC Dessert please come back!

 

[Winnowill]

If you do the WOC Dessert Party, be prepared for TONS of food! We did ours late in our trip, and regretted it, because we could have grazed on the leftovers in our room for days. Now we know - do it the first night if we can!

 

[KippyKip]

Maybe Blue Bayou with Fantasmic Package? At Napa Rose, they used to have a Princess Breakfast but I don't know if that will come back. Maybe Plaza Inn Character Breakfast?

 

[Kit Jackson]

Blue Bayou with the Fantasmic Package gives you an amazing view for the show.

 

[Piglet99645]

We do the Inn character breakfast every time.

another vote for WOC dessert party- we loved it.

Also, could you guys adopt me?!

 

[KippyKip]

I have heard good things about WOC dessert party but when I tried it about 2 years ago, I was disappointed. For my group, the food was not good. Maybe I need to give it another shot.

 

[Piglet99645]

I have heard good things about WOC dessert party but when I tried it about 2 years ago, I was disappointed. For my group, the food was not good. Maybe I need to give it another shot.

So sorry to hear that. Our desserts were a total delight.

 

[FeistyDisneyMom]

We do Minnie breakfast at Plaza Inn as one of our first 'events' in park each trip - it is great because a) I enjoy that buffet, but b) seeing all the characters sets the tone for the rest of the trip for us, and helps train my littles that they wait for characters versus running up to them directly. We did the Hungry Bear grab & go + Fantasmic and it was great, but it will have been about 10 years since we did BB. Seems like that also needs to be on the list!

 

[DizMe]

We took our girls (4 of them) to DLR for the first time the year they turned 4. Back then, they had the princess meals and that was such a huge hit (that's when it was at Ariel's Grotto, which is now Lamplight Lounge). It's too bad there isn't a great princess meal now; I certainly wasn't impressed at the replacement they put in at Napa Rose, mainly because the cost was excessive IMO. But anyway we started doing this before BBB provided the whole princess makeover thing. We brought our own princess outfits, sparkly face powder, tiara, or whatever each girl most loved. One of them was a huge Belle fan but very much NOT a girly-girl so she had a Belle-inspired outfit that had lots of fun deviations. It was so much fun to get ready at the hotel and go over to the restaurant all fixed up. If your girl is into it, maybe you could pick out a tiara, either before you go or at the crystal place on Main St or in NOS, or see if she wants to do something to reflect her favorite Disney character. My girls are now 21 and 18 (twins), and they still remember how much fun they had walking around in their princess getups and getting ready for their special meal. Maybe you could do a special meal somewhere and let them pick a special outfit for the occasion?

ETA: I realized I never mentioned my oldest daughter, who turns 39 next week. DLR didn't have any of that kind of stuff when she was little, but she adored Alice in Wonderland and wore an Alice-inspired outfit. We had a fun meal, though I don't remember where, and she was able to meet Alice, which made her day. It doesn't have to cost a lot of money to please a kid.

 

[goodshepherd]

ok this is a smaller surprise.

but if you book the blue bayou you can add a mickey ear cake (like all chocolate) for 45 $.

its a nice little surprise

 

[FeistyDisneyMom]

ok this is a smaller surprise.

but if you book the blue bayou you can add a mickey ear cake (like all chocolate) for 45 $.

its a nice little surprise

Oooh, the small surprises are often the biggest on pixie dust! It has been 7 years (8 by the time of our trip) since we had a family dinner at BB. Seems like this would be perfect for my crew, over half of whom are too young to remember the first visit!

 

[DYOBL0305]

We do Minnie breakfast at Plaza Inn as one of our first 'events' in park each trip - it is great because a) I enjoy that buffet, but b) seeing all the characters sets the tone for the rest of the trip for us, and helps train my littles that they wait for characters versus running up to them directly.

I saw that they'll be opening up character reservations for it soon, but couldn't find info on times for it. By chance, do you remember what the earliest time it was they had for their character breakfast?

 

[BriannaRuth]

We love the WoC Dessert Party and do it every time we go. My only comment on that for your family is that they have tables for 4 and you have 6. When we went, they were definitely putting parties together to fill up tables, so you might want to check to see how they would handle 6 of you. Maybe someone else will chime in who's done that.

 

[MonocularVision]

We love the WoC Dessert Party and do it every time we go. My only comment on that for your family is that they have tables for 4 and you have 6. When we went, they were definitely putting parties together to fill up tables, so you might want to check to see how they would handle 6 of you. Maybe someone else will chime in who's done that.

When our family of 6 did this, we got two tables next to each other and had a party of 2 join us. With the setup it wasn’t a big deal but from what I hear, that is what usually happens.

 

[FeistyDisneyMom]

I saw that they'll be opening up character reservations for it soon, but couldn't find info on times for it. By chance, do you remember what the earliest time it was they had for their character breakfast?

It was dependent on park opening. I believe they started up to an hour before park started, but I cannot remember if that was only on EE/MM days or if it was always available like that. Most people will tell you it is inefficient to start with the character breakfast because you waste peak ride time when lines are lowest, so it is definitely something to consider if rides vs characters are more important. Going at the latest time possible is a way to start with as many rides as you can and then do the brunch as more of a lunch break. The nice thing about either option is the fact that both fit well depending on your approach to DLR and what is important for you!

 

[FeistyDisneyMom]

We love the WoC Dessert Party and do it every time we go. My only comment on that for your family is that they have tables for 4 and you have 6. When we went, they were definitely putting parties together to fill up tables, so you might want to check to see how they would handle 6 of you. Maybe someone else will chime in who's done that.

The nice this is, this next trip our youngest will be 5 and we won't have to worried about the very young being split up. Our oldest two will be 15 and 12, and we will likely be traveling with at least one other family, and will end up with 12 of us fitting neatly in 3 tables!

But yes, for other large families especially if you have more than 3 small children, it is a logistical issue to plan for well in advance and is crucial in setting expectations with other adults (including spouses) to make sure everyone knows the adult to kid ratio . Past experience has told me even the other parent might not realize how much supervising duties they will have when traveling with the very young!