Going to Disneyland on your birthday is special enough,
but with a little advance planning it can be an especially memorable day
for you or a loved one, whether your guest of honor is turning 3 or 83.
The best part about birthdays at the resort is that you need not spend
a fortune to add a few festive touches to a birthday visit. Here are some
ideas to help start your planning.
Birthday sticker
Where: City Hall
Cost: Free with admission
Age Range: All ages
The birthday sticker is the first step to a great Disneyland birthday,
and the best part is its price: Free to guests of all ages. The sticker
lets cast members (park employees) know you are celebrating your special
day at the park. Many cast members single out birthday folks with special
attention and greetings. It’s an amazing thing, considering how many thousands
of folks walk around the park with a birthday sticker.
The sticker can live on in a photo book or scrapbook as a reminder of
a memorable day. Photo by Lisa Perkis.
Some cast members even lead crowds in a rousing chorus of “Happy
Birthday” just to make someone’s day special (or embarrass them to
death.) One cast member led the whole crowd waiting for Fantasmic!
in a birthday song for my 8–year–old daughter, who is just young
enough to enjoy that sort of mass attention.
A busy skipper takes time to chat with the birthday girl. Photo by Lisa
Perkis.
Worth the price? Nothing is better than a cool free sticker. The sticker
is valid even if it’s not the exact day of your birth.
Call from Goofy
Where: City Hall
Cost: Free
Age Range: All ages
While at City Hall for your birthday sticker, look for the old–fashioned
phone at the front desk. This is Goofy’s private line to wish happy birthday
to the lucky celebrant. Other phones around the resort can be patched
to Goofy, such as the Disney Gallery phone in New Orleans Square, but
the phone at City Hall is the “official” Goofy phone and the
most fun to use.
Party guests look on enviously as Goofy gives a special birthday greeting.
Photo by Lisa Perkis.
Worth the price? It’s another wonderful freebie one can get only at Disneyland.
Happiest Birthdays on Earth
Where: Plaza Inn, Disneyland
Cost: $10 per person (free for children under 2). Premium Annual
Passholders get a 10 percent discount
Age Range: Geared towards children 12 and under
Priority Seating: Call Disney Dining at (714) 781–3463 or
stop by the Plaza Inn or City Hall
This birthday celebration appeals more towards children than adults,
though you can usually spot several young–at–hearts joining
in the spirit. The structure of the party has changed little since it
debuted three years ago at the Plaza Inn. The price includes a blank cake
with sprinkles and frosting, punch and a plastic birthday drink cup, a
party hat and a special sticker.
Mr. Pat E. Cake takes the time to greet each birthday guest and comment
on their culinary creation. Photo by Lisa Perkis.
The party lasts about 40 minutes, and during that time, Pat E. Cake hosts
the gathering with songs and comments on the lovely cakes the guests are
decorating, competing for the top decorating prize. Of course, everyone
wins—this is Disneyland, after all.
Watch out for the frosting—the colors stain everything it touches,
including skin. Photo by Lisa Perkis.
As the cakes are being eaten and the indelible blue frosting is being
smeared all over clothes, the special guest can make an appearance for
pictures and one final round of the happy birthday song. Odds are it will
be Mickey and Minnie.
If the weather is inclement, the party moves to the interior of the Plaza
Inn or the Golden Horseshoe. Photo by Lisa Perkis.
Worth the price? It’s not something I would go back to year after year,
but children really have a great time.
Birthday Bucket
Where: Most resort restaurants at DL and DCA
Cost: $20
Age range: Geared towards children 12 and under
Birthday Buckets are widely available around the Resort, and are an alternative
to the birthday party at the Plaza Inn. You can also purchase them through
room service at any of the Disneyland Resort hotels. The buckets contain
a small cake, a birthday pin, stickers, and a choice of toys (depending
on the bucket theme you choose). Birthday people under 10 should be the
most excited about receiving a birthday bucket, though I have seen adults
toting them around as well.
Princess or Mickey fan? There’s a bucket for you. Photo by Lisa Perkis.
Worth the price? Twenty bucks seems a little steep, but the birthday
pin is cute and a nice permanent keepsake. Plus, it is less expensive
than paying for a party of three or more to go to the Happiest Birthdays
on Earth at the Plaza Inn.
Complementary Birthday Dessert
Where: Storytellers, Blue Bayou, Carnation Cafe
Cost: Free with purchase of meal
Age Range: All ages
Priority Seating: Call Disney Dining at (714) 781–3463
Several full service restaurants offer a complementary dessert and a
happy birthday song with purchase of a meal. Storytellers at the Grand
Californian is a nice place to have a family birthday; the menu is varied
to appeal to all ages. The make–it–yourself pizza is fun for
children, and the chocolate Mickey–shaped dessert is available in
a to–go container if the birthday person is just too stuffed.
Storytellers can be busy on the weekends; call ahead for priority seating.
Photo by Lisa Perkis.
The Carnation Café is one of the unsung heroes of table–service
restaurants at the resort and also provides a birthday dessert with purchase
of a meal. The comfort food served at the Café is excellent, and
the view of Main Street is always entertaining; especially if you can
book a table during a parade. The Blue Bayou, located in New Orleans Square,
is a favorite restaurant for many guests. The perpetual evening and fireflies,
plus that famous scent of the dank piratey water from the adjacent Pirates
of the Caribbean attraction can add up to a fun atmosphere to celebrate
a birthday with a complementary dessert. Keep in mind the overall meal
costs more at the Blue Bayou than either Story Tellers or Carnation Café,
and a seat at the coveted tables by the water requires a longer wait,
even with priority seating.
Worth the price? If the birthday person is in the mood for a sit–down
meal, any one of these restaurants should do the job nicely.
Tortillas
Where: Mission Tortilla Factory Tour
Cost: Free with admission (and birthday sticker)
Age Range: One can never be too old for free tortillas
This is a fun freebie that is totally unofficial and unpublicized by
Disney’s California Adventure park and Mission’s Tortilla Factory. If
cast members spot your birthday sticker, there is a very good chance they
will give you a whole bag of hot, fresh tortillas as a yummy birthday
gift. It’s not a guaranteed thing, since the gift is unpublicized, but
so far every birthday guest I have accompanied to the factory has received
a bag. The key is not to demand, but to smile and flash the birthday sticker
subtly. If cast members have enough tortillas, chances are good they will
oblige.
This is the time to tactfully flash the birthday sticker. Photo by Lisa
Perkis.
Worth the price? Even if you don’t get a whole stack, one nice warm tortilla
says happy birthday in its own special way. Maseca!
Character Dining birthday parties
Where: At various character dining locations around the resort.
Cost: Purchase of meal plus $5 per guest
Age range: Geared towards kids 12 and under
Priority Seating: Call Disney Dining at (714) 781–3463
Book a dining reservation at Goofy’s Kitchen and for an additional $5
per person, each guest receives a birthday hat, plate, cup, and goodie
bag with a toy and a Goofy pen. The birthday person receives a cupcake,
but a whole cake for the entire party requires an extra fee (see below.)
The Lilo and Stitch Aloha Breakfast at the PCH Grill in the Paradise
Pier Hotel provides a party set–up with party hat, plate, cups, and
small bag with a little treat inside for $5 above the cost of the buffet.
The Royal Disney Princess Breakfast at the Plaza Inn also provides the
birthday favor bags, hats, and plates at the same price.
If you are interested in having a whole birthday cake at any of the on-property
hotel restaurants, Disney Dining takes orders at the same time you book
your priority seating, up to 60 days in advance and no later than 72 hours
in advance. A 10–inch round cake, which serves up to 14 guests, sets
you back $23.50. A quarter sheet is $38 and serves up to 21 guests. The
baking kitchen personalizes the cake with specific colors and put the
birthday person’s name on it. The kitchen even delivers the cake to the
hotel restaurant of your choice in time for the birthday person to blow
out the candles.
Worth the price? As far as the birthday party set–ups go, it depends
on your feelings about character meals. If the guest of honor loves to
visit with the characters and eat buffet meals, $5 more per person doesn’t
seem like a lot to get that little extra birthday flourish. The Goofy’s
Kitchen party favors are more substantial, so keep that in mind when deciding
on which character meal to book. If the birthday person would rather eat
a more traditional meal without Pluto sticking his nose into the soup,
perhaps a whole cake ordered for the end of the meal is the way to go.
Build-a-Bear Workshop
Where: Downtown Disney
Cost: Prices start at $10 per guest
Age Range: geared towards children and young teens
Reservations: Call 1 (877) 789–2327 (toll-free)
Alhough not in Disneyland park itself, Build-a-Bear Workshop may be a
good option for birthday kids looking for a hands–on party experience.
The entire upstairs area of the building is reserved for private groups,
which is helpful, since the lower floor is usually chaotic and crowded.
A “party leader” helps guests create a bear (or other creature).
They then “fluff” it (add stuffing), name it, and create a personalized
birth certificate. Outfits and accessories are additional. The down side
to a Build-a-Bear party is that they do not allow food or drinks in the
party area, so a birthday cake is out. The same goes for outside gifts.
The Downtown Disney Build-a-Bear is extremely busy, so they recommend
booking a party three to four months in advance.
If you must have a Disney–themed party, consider the Mickey Mouse
Club outfits for your bear. Photo by Lisa Perkis.
Worth the price? If one can overlook the non–Disney aspect to Build-a-Bear,
this is a great birthday party alternative, especially since each birthday
guest goes home with a fuzzy, tangible memory of the day. It’s also a
good alternative for older kids and teens.
Club Libby Lu
Where: Downtown Disney
Cost: Prices vary from $20 to $30 per girl
Age Range: Children (girls) under 13
Reservations: Call (714) 772–3793
One of the newer additions to Downtown Disney, Club Libby Lu appeals
strictly to girls under 13. It may not appeal to parents wanting to delay
pre–occupation with makeup, hair and clothes in their 6–year–old
daughter, but seeing how crowded the store has been since it has opened,
those parents appear to be in the minority. The shop offers a “Very
Important Princess” birthday party with prices starting at $20 per
child for a “Libby Du,” with accessories to “complete the
look,” and party favors in a small backpack. A one–girl deposit
is required when booking a party, but there is no minimum number of party
guests required.
Got glitter? Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.
Worth the Cost? According to MousePlanet’s message boards, this store
has some ardent fans and equally ardent detractors. Strictly a parent’s
call on this one.
Next time you are thinking of what to do to celebrate a birthday, consider
a visit to Disneyland that includes the many extra touches to make the
day extra special for a Disneyland birtday bash. And if you have a great
birthday tradition at the resort, be sure you let me know.
