Birthday Trip Suggestions

may1787

Mouseketeer
Joined
May 26, 2014
I'm hoping to put together a birthday trip to Disneyworld for my friend (we both are in our early 30s). She is a kid at heart, loves Ariel, and she has been to Disneyland but not Disneyworld.

If she has to wait longer than 20 minutes to get on a ride then she'd rather not do the ride. She has very little patience in that regard. For this reason, we are going at a low census time in January and the main goal will be character meet and greets.

So far I have planned character meals (one of which I will present her with a Disney-made Ariel cake), a character couture makeup & hair experience, and characterpalooza.

Can you suggest anything else special or unusual for a couple of 30 year old gals?
 
I would definitely get fastpasses for the character meet & greets, because I've almost always waited 20+ minutes for characters. If the past few years have been any indication, there is no slow season any more. I would try to prepare your friend to shift her mindset so she can still have fun! And again, plan fastpasses wisely. There are other things you can do like backstage tours where you won't necessarily go on rides but still be entertained, or something like the Mickey cake decorating at the patisserie in Disney Springs.
 
Dinner inside Cinderella's Castle in the Magic Kingdom -- my friend and I (both 30+) went together and LOVED it. We may have been the only people there without kids, but we felt like kids ourselves.

Also, there are a lot of shows at the DW parks, many more than at DL. Maybe your friend would like those, and they're a great way to escape the weather, rest your feet, and avoid ride lines. My favorite is the Festival of the Lion King at Animal Kingdom.

Enjoy the hotels if you have time -- unlike the CA resort, there are SO many Disney hotels that are cute and themed. We stayed at Port Orleans Riverside because they had princess-themed rooms (we're kids at heart too!) and it was lovely to just walk around the grounds and ride the boats. They even had horse-drawn carriages. Some of my friends have stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge with rooms that overlook the animals, which seemed pretty incredible.

Make sure she gets a birthday button first thing in the morning. One year I spent my bday at Disneyland Paris (where they give stickers rather than buttons), and when Mickey Mouse saw my bday sticker, he got the photographer, other cast members, and other tourists to sing Happy Birthday to me. Also one of the cast members in a store saw my sticker and then handed me a phone and said, "This is for you." On the line was a Mickey Mouse recording wishing me a happy birthday. It was ADORABLE and totally unexpected.

BTW, as a frequent Disneyland visitor myself who's been to Disney World and Disneyland Paris a few times, you can't help but make comparisons. Try to spend time in the parks that are different from Disneyland -- Animal Kingdom, Epcot, and Hollywood Studios. The Magic Kingdom (apart from the castle) is always disappointing IMO.
 


Thanks for the suggestions! I would love more!
The Trattoria al Forno is a great one. We don't really have the funds to say at a higher end hotel. We will just be staying at Pop, but that's okay because we will be spending all our time in the parks.
We don't have much time, just 2 days in the Magic Kingdom, one in Epcot, and one at the Animal Kingdom. I personally prefer Disneyworld over Disneyland, so the comparisons are positive for me but I've been trying not to hype it because I know when you hype something people are always underwhelmed.
 
We don't have much time, just 2 days in the Magic Kingdom, one in Epcot, and one at the Animal Kingdom.
Personally I'd plan 2 days for Epcot and 1 for MK since MK is similar to DL, which your friend has been to before. I feel like I never have enough time in Epcot, even when I don't go on rides. Too much food, too many stores and photo ops!
 
A Princess Scavanger Hunt can be fun, low cost ( if any ) and great photo ops. You can Google it and get some ideas.
Do some resort hopping - you don't have to make big expensive meal reservations, a lot of the QS locations at the resorts are highly themed and then it's nice to just tour around the resorts.

Whatever you do, I highly recommend taking lots of photos. Memory Maker is great, but if it's outside your budget, you can bring your own camera ( or use your smartphone ). Once you get home you can find some awesome deals on sites like Snapfish and create your own photo albums. Or buy a great frame there to commemorate your trip.

Head over to DS at some point and go to Sprinkles - because an ATM that spits out cupcakes is a who other level of awesomeness.

Happy Planning and have a great trip!
 



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