Tips for Celebrating at Walt Disney World
Celebrating birthdays, anniversaries, honeymoons, and graduations, among other things, at Walt Disney World is extremely popular, and for good reason. Not only is Walt Disney World a great place to visit on any ole ordinary day, but it’s a great place for a celebration! (Note that while these tips are specific to Walt Disney World, many of the general ones also apply to Disneyland and other Disney Parks around the world.)
If you’re celebrating during your Walt Disney World vacation, there are a lot of special activities and add-ons that can make the trip even more special, but the overall “regular” atmosphere itself is pretty conducive to celebrations. You don’t have to spend a ton (or any) extra money to have great trip celebrating a special event…unless you want to do so.
Disney prides itself on its parks and resorts being great places to visit to celebrate (although to be fair, I think they want everyone to visit, no matter what the reason…they’d likely market the parks as being great places for zombie enthusiasts if it were profitable enough demographic), so much so that Walt Disney World’s year-long marketing campaign was actually once called “What Will You Celebrate?”
Celebratory fun at Walt Disney World can come both from pre-planned activities and via the spontaneous acts of Disney Cast Members. Obviously spontaneity cannot be planned, but here are some of our recommendations for celebrating your special event at Walt Disney World…
Planning
If you’re a planner and want your celebration to be as special as possible, there are a few things you can do. First, when making any reservations with Disney, note that you’re celebrating an event. This is easiest done with Cast Members on the phone, although if you make online reservations, you can tell the Cast Members when you arrive that you’re celebrating.
When we celebrated our honeymoon, we thought it wiser to do it over the phone. Not that the Cast Members will do any advance planning for your visit (they probably see dozens of guests who are celebrating something each day), but to us, it made it seem like less of an after thought. The only place where it definitely made a difference in our experience was Victoria & Albert’s, which had printed menus that congratulated us (it was a nice touch).
Other things that should be planned in advance are add-ons like cakes, gifts, flowers, or other surprises. Cakes can be ordered by calling the cake hotline at 407-827-CAKE (407-827-2253), and everything else is possible via Disney Floral & Gifts. We’ve never used either (and I doubt we ever will unless we do a vow renewal at Walt Disney World). Disney cakes are expensive and while they look cool…they’re still just cake. We’d rather allocate that money towards a unique Walt Disney World experience (plus, we generally love the unique desserts at Disney restaurants).
As for Disney Floral & Gifts, they can do a lot of great things and help make an experience even more special, but they are similarly expensive, and we would rather put the effort into making special experiences ourselves that aren’t part of a “package” done by numerous guests on a daily basis. I doubt our Walt Disney World engagement story would be nearly as special if I just called up Disney Floral & Gifts and booked the pricey “Princess Dream Come True” package. But if you don’t want to plan, or want to enhance something you’re already planning, these services could be helpful–just make sure to book them in advance!
The only other advance planning to speak of is booking any add-on experiences described below in advance. If you’re booking a honeymoon or other adults-only celebration, you might consult our Walt Disney World Honeymoon Tips and our Walt Disney World for Adults pages for additional planning suggestions for the trip.
What to Do?
The degree to which you celebrate the occasion is entirely up to you. Walt Disney World trips are usually a celebration unto themselves, so if you only want to do a little to acknowledge the celebration, that’s pretty easy. If you want the trip to revolve around the celebration, that’s possible, too!
Celebration Button — I am firmly convinced that City Hall at Walt Disney World has a button in stock for every conceivable celebration. Celebrating a birthday? There’s a button for that. Honeymoon? Check! Anniversary? No problem. International Talk Like a Pirate Day? Okay…perhaps if you’re celebrating that one, you’ll just have to go for the generic “I’m Celebrating” button. But still, the selection is pretty solid. Grabbing one of these buttons is the single most important thing you can do to ramp up your celebration.
Besides City Hall, you can obtain in a multitude of places on property: hotel front desks, restaurants, guest relations, etc. If you are celebrating one person’s special event, besides just getting the birthday button for that person, make sure the rest of your party gets the generic “I’m Celebrating” buttons. It is worth noting that if you are shy, getting these buttons may not be the best of ideas. Cast Members (and even other guests) typically pay extra attention to guests wearing these buttons. It can be as simple as a passing “Happy Birthday,” or as involved as a conversation and a complimentary food item.
Conversely, you shouldn’t wear the button with the expectation that you will receive extra attention or freebies. If you do, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. On our honeymoon, we wore the buttons and received free dessert (or champagne) just about everywhere we ate. I’ve heard from more recent honeymooners who didn’t receive a single thing. It wouldn’t surprise me if there were abuses of Cast Member generosity, and Disney tightened up on the freebies. (Which makes for a good reminder: don’t abuse the system with these buttons.)
Decorate – If you stay on site, chances are that you’ve seen decorated room windows at one of the Disney hotels. While we’ve only ever decorated with Christmas lights and a Figment plush ourselves, we’ve seen all sorts of stuff in windows. (The best thing we’ve seen was a full sized Christmas tree in a Bay Lake Tower window!). Christmas decorations seem most common, but you can decorate for any reason.
Surprises! – Try to spice things up with some surprises unique to the person for whom you’re celebrating. If you just got engaged, a bottle of champagne in the room is great. Same goes for a honeymoon…you can use your imagination for some other in-room honeymoon options…this is a family friendly blog. For a kid celebrating a birthday, consider an in-park scavenger hunt leading them to a present “from” their favorite character.
For example, if they’re a Figment fan (by the way, kudos on raising an intelligent child), buy some awesome Figment toy on eBay and have the clues lead them to the leapfrog fountains where they can “find” the toy. Just remember that 30,000 other people are enjoying the parks along with you, so don’t trash the place with clues (or presents!) throughout the park and expect them to stay put. Also remember that doing this might create unreasonable expectations for future trips and your other kids might wonder why characters aren’t giving them gifts!
Itinerary — If we ever visit Walt Disney World for my birthday, you better believe our day will consist of TTA, Carousel of Progress, TTA, Country Bear Jamboree, Tiki Room, Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, and…repeat. Now, if my birthday demand was instead to ride Expedition Everest, Mission Space, and Rock ‘N’ Rollercoaster in the same day, I don’t think Sarah would be as accommodating with my birthday itinerary. (Although she should be required by law to honor my birthday wishes!)
This is an easy and cost-free way to make things extra special for the person celebrating the special occasion. Even adults will like this, as I’m sure most of us have at least one favorite attraction that the rest of our parties dislikes. In my case, the majority of my favorite attractions are disliked by others!
Snack or Drink Around the World in Epcot — We first drank around the World Showcase for Sarah’s 21st birthday, then again during our honeymoon. It’s a great way to celebrate a special occasion (lots of people do it with custom-made t-shirts). Both times we did it were incredibly fun, albeit pricey. Realizing we’re no longer in college or at the height of our drinking prowess, we’ve since snacked around the world a couple of times.
Doing both plus the World Showcase attractions would be the ultimate achievement, sort of like a triathlon, except for something actually important. We have dedicated guides with recommendations for Drinking Around the World and Snacking Around the World, so consult those if you plan on conquering either trip “Around the World.”
Evening of Signature Dining — With this, I don’t mean doing as many Signature Restaurants as possible in an evening (this isn’t “Signature Dining Around the World”), but instead having a slow-paced “date night” evening in honor of the celebration. Basically, this means booking a Signature Restaurant that will allow for a nightcap. Restaurants on the monorail loop are great for this (our favorites being California Grill and Victoria & Albert’s (the latter of which is the absolute best option for a romantic meal at Walt Disney World)) thanks to the Electric Water Pageant and Wishes!
You can either make your Advance Dining Reservation early enough so that you’re done with dinner by the time the evening entertainment begins, or time your meal so that dessert coincides with the fireworks (arrive early to the restaurant and request a window seat). Same goes for dinner at an Epcot-area restaurant (our favorites being Flying Fish Cafe and Yachtsman Steakhouse) followed by Illuminations. Conclude the evening in a lounge.
I’m of the opinion that this is best as an intimate experience for a couples’ celebration (not because I think kids don’t belong in Signature Restaurants, but because I think a big part of the experience is lost when you remove the intimacy), so if you have the extended family or kids in tow, think about ditching them…or I suppose you could go to a location that is more conducive to family gatherings, like ‘Ohana or Beaches & Cream (get the Kitchen Sink!).
If you really want to get ambitious with this, you could make it like a progressive meal. If the person you’re celebrating has a favorite appetizer at one restaurant, a favorite entree at another, and a favorite dessert at another, book three separate reservations spaced far enough apart to allow for transit between the two (and delays/waits at the earlier restaurants). Or, if you’re sane, you could do breakfast, lunch, and dinner that day at the person’s three favorite restaurants instead of a single progressive dinner. But
Private Event, Fireworks Festivities, or Tour — Depending upon what you want to do, this can be relatively inexpensive, or very expensive. On the inexpensive end of the spectrum is the Wishes Dessert Party at the Tomorrowland Terrace in the Magic Kingdom. Now, I’m not absolutely enamored with the view from over here, but these dessert parties offer a nice way to escape the crowds and provide all you can eat desserts! On the other end of the spectrum, the sky is the limit on private events, such as the Tower of Terror private party.
Somewhere in between these two options, price-wise, is the Illuminations Cruise. If fireworks aren’t your thing, try the Wild Africa Trek, the Keys to the Kingdom tour, or Behind the Seeds at Epcot. Note that kids are not allowed
Fun for the Kids — Since kids aren’t allowed on many tours, if the celebration is for a child, you’ll need an alternative. (Well, unless they’ve been really bad and you want to reward yourselves for surviving another year with the kid!) The Pirate Cruise at the Grand Floridian and the Wonderland Tea Party are out of the ordinary options that are geared towards kids. Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique and Pirates League are two more common options, and are great not just for the experiences, but for the photos you can get of your kids all dressed up on their birthday. If your child really enjoys having their hair cut for some reason, try a pixie dust sprinkled hair cut on Main Street in the Magic Kingdom.
Shopping Spree! – If money is no issue, give the person celebrating your credit card and an hour in World of Disney or Art of Disney. On a side note, if you’re considering doing this…do you need a personal photographer for your next trip? 😉
These are just some of the basics for celebrating at Walt Disney World, and the unique ways you can celebrate are truly endless.
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Use our resources to help! If you’re interested in learning more about hotels, our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page is a good place to start. For where to eat, try out our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews page. If you want to save money on tickets or determine which type you should get, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at unconventional things you should take on your trip. Once you arrive at the parks, our Walt Disney World “Ride Guides” are great for determining what to do and when to do it. For overviews of all of these topics and so much more, the best place to start is our comprehensive Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide to make the most of your experience!
Your Thoughts…
What have you celebrated at Walt Disney World? Do you have any tips or additional suggestions for celebrating? Share your thoughts in the comments!
“Decorated with figment plush”
A whole universe just opened up.
My hubby and I will be at WDW the end of March fo celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary. I can’t wait to enjoy the magic!! Our anniversary dinner will be at the Rose & Crown. I have enjoyed your blog as I prepare for our trip.
I’m enjoying your blog and all of the details. I’ve been searching different things and your blog pops up in the results every time. We’re planning a Christmas trip in 2016 (have to consider school schedule and children ages), as our children’s “big” Christmas gift. It will be our kid’s first visit and my husband and I will be celebrating our 10 year anniversary. We also spent our Honeymoon there, so also 10 years from our last Disney Visit. We knew nothing about the buttons until a year or so ago. When we went for our Honeymoon, we did receive a card with a Mickey and Minnie photo, signed and saying “Congratulations with balloons. That was a nice surprise. We’ll definitely get buttons on the next trip, not so much for extra attention, but mostly for a souvenir for the kids.
Your info has been very helpful and I plan to read more. Thanks for sharing!
I really don’t think people need to be picky about those pins. They are for FUN, not for official documentation of people’s life events. If a kid wants to wear their birthday pin all week, are you serious about calling that abusive? Seriously, that has to be one of the silliest things I’ve read. Lighten up about the pins! They are for fun not profit, and they are free. What does being local have to do with the obviously huge ethical dilemma of wearing celebration pins? Well, maybe Disney can create an application process to weed out the cheaters and put an end to all the superfluous celebrating that is so clearly detracting from the happiness of total strangers. Oh, wait, the Grinch is at that other park.
Here’s how we handled birthdays when we lived out-of-state, and the kids loved it. We used to take a trip over Thanksgiving and one in May. We have a child born mid Nov, one the beginning of May, and one the end of May. Our May trip always fell the last week over the youngest child’s birthday. We let each child pick a character meal. The day they celebrated their birthday didn’t have to be the day of our trip closest to their birthday but the day we got their meal and were in their favorite park, so it was about what they wanted to do. My youngest always got to celebrate on her birthday, and the other 2 each got a designated day with meal, park, and pin celebrated exactly like it was the day. And for the record, we never thought we owed an explanation. People celebrate kid’s birthdays on alternate dates for convenience all the time, and they don’t explain to party guests that it’s not really the birthday in response to people wishing them happy birthday. The proper response is thank you. No need to take away from the child’s fun in celebrating with the awkward disclaimer. Why put on a pin if you’re not going to allow the fullness of the fun and celebration?
Read people’s celebrations. FL residents are likely to get creative and funny. Others are personal and very meaningful.
Funniest (During Food and Wine)
Celebrating 2 Hours Sobriety
My favorite personal celebration pins:
Celebrating my Husband home from Afghanistan
Goodbye to Hair (supporting my BF through her battle with breast cancer)
The pins I’m looking forward to (both are done and need scheduled!!)
My BF Beating Breast Cancer
Son Made Eagle Scout
With MDE Disney now knows which guests wear pins everyday and which guests gripe the most, rewarding them accordingly.
hi im going to WDW on December and i want to get the pins I’m going a few weeks after my birthday and also happens to be our anniversary do they check when its your birthday to get the birthday pin!? love your blog its the best help to plan our trip!
On our last trip, my husband I were celebrating our birthday (we have the same birthday), and my inlaws were celebrating their anniversary. It was so much fun just to hear the “Happy Birthday” wishes from cast members. And other guests gave us high fives in line, and asked my inlaws how long they had been married (48 years!). We did get a few freebies (stickers from cast members, cupcakes at lunch, and a special food art design from our chef at Teppan Edo,) It was definitely a fabulous way to celebrate our birthday and anniversary!
We’ve used Disney Floral and Gifts previously for our son and are doing it again on an upcoming trip. The first time was in December and was played up as being from Santa & Mickey. It was a wonderful surprise for him. It was also convenient for us since we then didn’t purchase any additional souvenirs that we’d have to then carry around the park. I also noticed (especially with what we purchased this year) that the cost for some packages work out to be less expensive than if you were to purchase the items separately. It really is great fun!
Very interesting, thanks for the heads up!
Five friends of mine and I are taking a graduation trip from all the way from Brazil to WDW. I’ve been there before, but didn’t plan nearly as much. Now I’ve extensively been browsing your blog and I love how complete it is!
Also, great pics!!
Thanks for sharing it all! Looking forward to trying many of these tips ;]
My friend took me to Disney World this year for my birthday (48. She bought a pretty crystal tiara and she had one too. We both wore our tiaras, I had my birthday button and she wore the I’m celebrating button. We got a ton of attention. At the end of the day I wanted to get cotton candy and she said it was best to wait as we were leaving MK and get the fresh made bags at the confectionary. I saw the bin and ran up grabbed a bag gave it a gentle hug and said “you are mine” then got in line to pay. A CM pulled me aside, walked me to the guy who was making the cotton candy. He said that my bag was not good enough for a person as bubbly as I was. He made me a fresh bag with EXTRA cotton candy. Wrote to “Queen Michelle” Happy Birthday… with his compliments! What a wonderful way to end the day!
Awesome story–thanks for sharing!
I was just wondering, many years ago i took my kids to Disney World and we did Breakfast with the Characters. Is there a favorite place you would recommend. we are taking our 4 year old (turning 5 during our visit) and would like to do something similar/special for him for his birthday. Any suggestions?
Check out this post for a few recommendations: https://www.disneytouristblog.com/character-meals-dining-plan-top-value/
We will be going to DW in July for our third time in six years. My husband and 9 year old daughter try to spot everyone with a button and wish them happiness for what they are celebrating. The person that does it first gets a point. They play until the end of the day and the ‘winner’ gets to pick a special snack treat. We have a blast! (Our first trip we saw someone celebrating their divorce!!)
Thank you so very much for all of your helpful tips! Can you imagine how much fun people have had with the information you’ve shared???
I realize that this is an issue that takes into account many personal preferences, but speaking as the expert, I’d love your opinion. We are taking my 2 year old and 4 year old to Disneyland (from Texas) in early November. Their birthdays are 2 weeks apart, so we are going in the days between. Obviously we don’t want to take advantage of any kindness, but I also want each kid to have a special day. Do you think we should let them get birthday buttons on the same day or let them have separate “birthday” days?
I don’t really like the term expert (at least when applied to me). There’s a ton I don’t know, and in this case, no amount of knowledge really matters.
That said, what *I* would do is celebrate the early birthday on the first day of the trip and mention, “his birthday was last week, but today is the first day of his birthday trip” if it comes up. For the other child, I’d celebrate on the last day of the trip, and mention that “his birthday is next week, but today is the last day of our trip so we’re celebrating it today” or something like that.
Again, that’s just me. Reasonable minds may differ…
Aside from the Year of a Million Dreams campaign, my favorite recent campaign was “What Will You Celebrate?” Not that I’m ever looking for an excuse to go to WDW, but the constant marketing reminding me that there is always something to celebrate may or may not have prompted an extra trip during that campaign 🙂 What can I say, I’m a sucker for good marketing. For some reason Limited Time Magic has not had the same impact on me.
WHAT?! 😉
Year of a Million Dreams > All other recent marketing campaigns
I wasn’t much of a “What Will You Celebrate?” fan, and “Limited Time Magic” had so much potential, but has been terribly executed. Most of the time I don’t even know what’s going on, and when I do know what’s going on, it seems like the “magic” is something that normally happens anywhere. I guess I’m sort of glad they’ve all been duds (besides the Golden Horseshoe at Disneyland), because they don’t give enough advance notice for non-locals to plan a trip to visit, anyway!
Ha. I meant that since Year of a Million Dreams was SO much better than anything else, it’s not even in the same category as the other campaigns!
Aside from the OBVIOUS best, What will you Celebrate was my next favorite 🙂
And I completely agree about LTM so far being a bummer, but having so much potential. I haven’t completely written it off yet – TDO still has 8 months to make something of it. Even though I wouldn’t have enough time to get down for a short-notice promotion, I’d be fine living vicariously through others visiting during the magical weeks.
We were there during Long Lost Friends week and that was awfully fun. (Although it could have been better executed as well – characters were out for ~25 minutes out of the hour for about 4 hours during the day. that is pretty “limited time”.)
I laughed at your Figment comment Tom. By far my 11 year old’s favorite as well. I have to say that often when I read your blog that I am laughing, because so many of the things that you like are EXACTLY what she does when it comes to the parks. Even the photography! It is uncanny really!
One of the best celebration button experiences that I have ever seen was when my cousin’s husband was wearing his Birthday Button. It was Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party and everyone was at the parade. Santa was coming through and saw the button from his vantage point and called out “Happy Brithday” to him. Everyone thought that it was staged, including Paul! That was really cool
I am often told that my interests align well with 11 year olds (actually, that’s charitable…most of the time it’s 6 year olds). I assume this to be high praise. Right…?
Well, she’s my daughter, so I’d have to say if you are anything like her, you’re pretty awesome!!!!! Maybe it will be a bit if an ego boost for you to know as well that she is gifted, one of the top students in her class, scores extremely high on most standardize testing and is an all around cool kid. She is often compared to older kids and complemented for her adult like behavior, so maybe this means you’re finally growing up Tom?!?! LOL.
I actually did a special “Just Because” celebration for her when we took her to Disney for the first time and ordered Cinderella’s Chocolate Slipper for her when we ate at the castle because she does so well all of the time, and she had recently stood up for a kid in her class at the time who was getting bullied. Not the easiest thing to do when you are only 9 years old. The cast members were great when the found out the story and Belle and Ariel became part of it too!
“For example, if they’re a Figment fan (by the way, kudos on raising an intelligent child),” – I laughed out loud, Tom.
We celebrated my birthday a few years ago at WDW. I wore my button on my birthday and the next day, but I felt weird wearing it after that. On a side note, I received many shout outs, a cookie at Sunshine Seasons from a CM and a cupcake at Crystal Palace.
We will be celebrating my hubby’s birthday this year, and who knows if he will want to wear a button. I’m making sure our ADRs are noted with his birthday celebration the day before and the day of.
Our sons’ birthdays are in April and May, and I don’t want them to feel left out. Maybe they can each have a day we celebrate their birthdays or one day for them to celebrate together…
My question to you is what do you have in mind when you say “don’t abuse the system with these buttons?”
I’m not the one to determine/dictate what’s abusive, that’s a personal thing. If the trip is for your kid’s birthday that happened a month earlier or later, I think a personal judgment call. I will say that it’s DEFINITELY abusive to wear a button everyday you visit, no matter when your birthday is, and I’ve heard of some locals doing this. I have no issue condemning that.
Beyond that, I don’t think it’s my place to say…
Just wonderin’. I think every day for an eight day trip is abusive, too.
My fiancee and I are going to WDW for a belated honeymoon in December (getting married in 10 days!!!!). So I like quite forward to wearing Just Married buttons. AND it’ll be my husband-to-be’s first ever visit. Double-buttons! 😉
Look*
It’s totally subjective, by I think the swag one gets for having a celebration button all comes down to “vibes.” Cast members can’t help but develop a guest radar, and the good ones can catch any whiff of entitlement a mile off. That’s the quickest way to slam the gifting door shut. I’ve taken a birthday long weekend for four years running. I put on my button when I arrive, then put it out of my mind. I get the usual raft of birthday greetings, but I’ve also gotten things as elaborate as a birthday cake custom-made by the Flying Fish’s pastry chef.
We received a free dessert at the grand floridian tea room thanks to our anniversary pins, and an older gentlemen at the American Adventure saw us at the entrance, took us into a cast member only room and handed us a cordless phone where Mickey and Minnie wished us a happy anniversary. He then proceeded to create a celebration certificate written with excellent calligraphy. It was totally unexpected and made us feel really special. Touches like that are what set Disney apart. Also- wearing the celebration pins also makes character interaction more fun!
I’m betting that Cast Member at American Adventure was Lonnie. He’s awesome. One of the best CMs at Walt Disney World.
We’ll be there in June and will be celebrating our 23rd anniversary. Hope we get a few free deserts! Thanks for the tips and keep up the good work.
Hi! I will actually be celebrating my birthday at Disneyland pretty soon and wanted to say that I LOVE your website. I was just wondering what advice can you can give to a kid who’s taken a new interest in photography(me)?
-thanks!
Read as much as you can. Check out the book recommendations here: https://www.disneytouristblog.com/photography-camera-reviews-disney/