Suggestions for a big kid's birthday...

[SplashMountaineer]

Hello everyone!

I am taking my sister to Disney World this year for her 30th birthday. Just imagine - on the night of her birthday, my parents and I will tell her "oh by the way, tomorrow morning you're getting on a plane to Florida for a week at Disney!" HA! I am sooooo excited to see her face....! I imagine her reaction will be something like this

Anyway, I really want to make this as special as I can possibly make it for her. I know that you can get a pin that says "It's my Birthday" (btw, can you still get that if you go the day after or can you only get it ON the day of your bday??) and I saw this cute Mickey ears birthday hat they have. Outside of that, do any of you have fun suggestions to make this occasion extra special? I know a lot of this birthday stuff is usually for kids but...It's just a chance for her (well, for us!) to be a kid again. Never too old if you're young at heart, right?

Thanks a lot!

[mindflipper]

No, that special promotion to get in free on your birthday ended back years ago. As far as Happy Birthday buttons - if they still have hanging around, maybe. Check with Guest Relations at the park. I've seen other birthday stuff as well, so it may be located for sale in some of the gift shops.

[yodiwan1]

if you have ADR let them know. If it's a character meal you may get a bday card signed by them!

[mindflipper]

if you have ADR let them know. If it's a character meal you may get a bday card signed by them!

...or at least they will bring a small cake to the table and sing "Happy Birthday to You."

[Polynesian Princess]

As far as Happy Birthday buttons - if they still have hanging around, maybe. Check with Guest Relations at the park.

Yes, they still have birthday buttons that you can get (for free) at Guest Relations at the parks. They don't check any id or anything, so anyone can get them regardless of whether their birthday is that day or was months ago. If you put it on your resort reservation, they may even give it to you at check in, though that's not guaranteed.

[NaCler]

You can get the buttons anytime at Guest Relations. I don't think that they check licenses, so it shouldn't be a problem. Plus, since it's the day after I highly doubt you'll have any issues. If you are staying for more than one day, which I assume you are because you are flying, you can get a button each day of your stay to let them know that is the reason you are there. It's really cool to hear Cast Members wishing you a Happy Birthday, so take advantage of it while you can. When is this trip and how often do you get a chance to go?

[Arvorenn]

I don't think that they check licenses, so it shouldn't be a problem.

No, they don't check licenses - at least they didn't do it with "smaller" kids a few years back. When I was there around my birthday, I got myself a button of every park (and no, I didn't visit all parks on the very day of my birthday ). If I remember correctly, MK and DHS had the same button, whereas Epcot and AK had their own ones (just a hint, if she wants to collect them - but I can't guarantee for it, they may have changed them).

[SplashMountaineer]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone

We are going in early March. It just so happens that we were there last Fall for our parents' wedding anniversary, but generally speaking, we can only manage to go every few years...Last time I was at WDW before that was in 2004, which is wayyyy too long without visiting, in my opinion! I just could not think of anything better to give my sister for this milestone birthday so we'll be going twice within 6 months this time...Fine by me!

Thanks for the info about the pins, will definitely look into it, seems like it could be fun. Also, I did ask the travel agent to mention on our reservation that it's her birthday so I guess we'll see if that makes any kind of difference when we get there!

[MadEye]

I would recommend Cirque du Soleil La Nouba. It is a little pricey, but worth it, IMHO.

[metark]

It's really cool to hear Cast Members wishing you a Happy Birthday, so take advantage of it while you can.

We went to Disneyland for my 40th birthday and I got a button on the way in. I have to agree that it was cool to be wished happy birthday by the Cast Members but it was also cool to be wished happy birthday by random people who were just being in the Disney spirit. It kind of caught me off guard to be walking from one attraction to another and have someone walk by and call me by name (it was on the button) and wish me Happy Birthday.

We planned a dinner at the Blue Bayou for my 40th and when I arrived for the reservation, my parents, aunt and my oldest son (who couldn't make the trip because of varsity football practice) were there! It was a great surpise that added magic to a wonderful day.

[Amy]

It's really cool to hear Cast Members wishing you a Happy Birthday, so take advantage of it while you can.

We went to Disneyland for my 40th birthday and I got a button on the way in. I have to agree that it was cool to be wished happy birthday by the Cast Members but it was also cool to be wished happy birthday by random people who were just being in the Disney spirit. It kind of caught me off guard to be walking from one attraction to another and have someone walk by and call me by name (it was on the button) and wish me Happy Birthday.

We planned a dinner at the Blue Bayou for my 40th and when I arrived for the reservation, my parents, aunt and my oldest son (who couldn't make the trip because of varsity football practice) were there! It was a great surpise that added magic to a wonderful day.

That is wonderful that your family was able to surprise you and come to your dinner!

[SplashMountaineer]

Fantastic surprise indeed! Thanks for your input about the buttons, I think it sounds totally worth it. It's good to know that they make it just as special for adults as they do for kids. I guess we're all just a bunch of kids when we go to WDW anyway right?

Thanks to everyone once again for all of your suggestions. Leaving in just a little over a week now, woohoo!!

[SplashMountaineer]

Well, it's already over! Pardon de delay in letting everyone know how it turned out, I guess I've kinda been in denial...!! As many of you know, returning to reality after a trip to WDW is somewhat difficult...

AAAAnyways, I can honestly say that the trip was a total success! My sister was completely shocked and when the surprise of "It's 10pm and we're leaving in 6 hours" finally wore off, she was super excited! We stayed at the Caribbean Beach Resort which did not dissapoint. It wasn't our first stay and probably won't be our last! What was really fantastic about this trip is that we got to do what we had always wanted to do - stop and smell the roses! We don't get to go to WDW very often, only every few years, but this time, exceptionnally, it had only been 6 months since our last visit. On top of that, we got to do 2 whole days at Epcot! Man oh man, just thinking about it makes my heart feel lighter

As far as the birthday surprises go, they already had the birthday button all set and ready to go when we checked in to the hotel! That was actually quite fun, having guests and cast members wish her happy birthday. On the second day, she forgot her pin at the hotel for our day at Epcot and when we visited the Mouse Gear store, she heard a cast member say happy birthday to a guest and turned around (it was already almost a reflex at that point!) and the castmember asked if it was her birthday too and insisted on making her a pin for the day! Everyone was fantastic, as always.

Soooo now it's back to figuring out how and when I'm going to be able to go back! "ASAP" is basically the main criteria! Thanks again to everyone who gave me suggestions, we had the time of our lives!

[Amy]

Yay ~ that is fun that you were able to surprise your sister! What else did you get to do to make her birthday special while you were there? Any special dinners or desserts? Any unexpected treats from cast members?

[coxsarmy]

Tell the teen they can have 5 friends to go deck out as pirates then get their new " facebook" page pic!