Disneyland Birthday in October!

[BuzzlightHead]

Hey Everyone!

My girlfriend, our moms, and myself are all going to Disneyland in the fall. While we're there, we plan on celebrating my girlfriend's birthday, and I'm trying to make it special! I have a couple ideas already..

I'm planning to take everyone to Napa Rose chef's table for dinner the day we arrive, we're going to do dinners for F! and WoC, and we're planning on doing a Halloween party one night. I also want to do a cake for her while we're there!

Does anyone have any more suggestions for awesome things I should be planning? Her favorite character is Pooh if that helps at all.

I also wanted to know about other people's cake experiences. My plan right now is to order one through Disney and have it delivered to a restaurant, but I want to know if anyone has had success or can recommend any outside bakeries? I only ask because Disney's selection seems kind of limited.

Last thing: we're staying at an Airbnb so I can't really do much with a hotel room, and we're not renting a car so we'll be limited in how far we can go from the parks.

Thanks a bunch!

 

[cruisehopeful]

It sounds like you have all the awesome stuff already planned. Since she likes Pooh the most, I'd plan on doing the meet and greets in Critter Country and getting something from Pooh's corner.

If she likes Frozen (I don't, but most people do), there is a meal and show option that gets you really good seats to the live Frozen show.

I have never done a cake at Disneyland, but there is a very nice one in a recent thread here that was purchased from an outside company. I'll post the link here. You can scroll through the pictures in the thread and find out where they bought the cake. https://www.disboards.com/threads/m...reland-suite-at-the-disneyland-hotel.3672847/

 

[MikeRx]

My mother in laws birthday is always during fall break in October (8th) so we've been in a Disney park or property for her birthday every year for the past 6 years. Fall break (week of Columbus day for many in AZ) can be crowded so proper planning is key. You've got a great plan started. Here are my thoughts.

Napa Rose Chef's counter and wine event is awesome. My wife and I have done it several times and we took my MIL in October 2016 for her 78 birthday. She was in heaven. It was when Pinocchio's clubhouse (kids club so adults could enjoy a nice evening) was still open and we brought our son down to Napa Rose for dessert with his grandmother. We cleared it with the staff/chef at Napa well in advance and they were more than happy to accommodate!

Minnie and Friends Breakfast at the Plaza Inn has lots of characters including Pooh and all of his friends! While no character is guaranteed, we've always seen Pooh, Tigger and Eeyore. It's been awhile since our last trip to the Plaza as our son is moving out of the character meet and greet years ... unless it's Star Wars. Hopefully someone else has a more recnt experience and can confirm. Critter Country is the best bet for a guaranteed Pooh fix.

Cake: We've done a cake twice and it turned out OK. We are gluten free so a special order cake was needed. it was tasty and pretty, but what do you do with a cake after you've had some? My MIL has a scooter so we could stash it there, but we never even looked at it again after the wow factor, photo op and first piece at the restaurant. We've opted for other dessert options like the WOC dessert party as a method of celebration and no need to decide what to do with 1/2 of a cake if you aren't going back to the room after the meal.

WOC & F! Dinner: Done this several times too and we now only do the WOC dessert party or F! premium seating at River Belle Terrace because they both offer seating, real chairs and a table. RBT has dinner and a great view and WOC has a sparkling dessert offering with either high or low top tables and chairs. You dont have to worry about how tall the person is in front of you or sitting on the ground for up to 2 hours or the snowflake posterior or Ipad filming in your face when the show starts. Real seating with service is a plus at the end of a long day. While you get to the WOC desert party about 45 minutes early you stand in an orderly line to check in you dont have to sit on the ground until the show starts and deal with the problems listed above. The F! dinner is even more relaxed. You check in at 8pm for dinner and sit back and relax, eat and then watch F! from a great seat and view. They don't rush you out.

Party: We love the party at DL. We actually skipped the one in WDW last October because we like DLR more and had done it the previous year. We will be doing the DLR party in October again this year too.

If you want other sit down meals in the parks or DD get a reservation. It's better to be safe than to hear "sorry, we aren't taking walk-ups".

As you are off property, rope drop at the non EMH/MM park (unless you have a MM ticket for DL) & MaxPass are a must to enjoy the quieter morning and maximize attractions before the crowds descend.

I hope this helps!

Mike

 

[BuzzlightHead]

It sounds like you have all the awesome stuff already planned. Since she likes Pooh the most, I'd plan on doing the meet and greets in Critter Country and getting something from Pooh's corner.

If she likes Frozen (I don't, but most people do), there is a meal and show option that gets you really good seats to the live Frozen show.

I have never done a cake at Disneyland, but there is a very nice one in a recent thread here that was purchased from an outside company. I'll post the link here. You can scroll through the pictures in the thread and find out where they bought the cake. https://www.disboards.com/threads/m...reland-suite-at-the-disneyland-hotel.3672847/

Thank you for the suggestions! I know that we'll be spending a lot of time in critter country, especially since Pooh has, on average, one of the lowest wait times in the park! Lol

I'll have to check out that cake! Thank you!

Cake: We've done a cake twice and it turned out OK. We are gluten free so a special order cake was needed. it was tasty and pretty, but what do you do with a cake after you've had some? My MIL has a scooter so we could stash it there, but we never even looked at it again after the wow factor, photo op and first piece at the restaurant. We've opted for other dessert options like the WOC dessert party as a method of celebration and no need to decide what to do with 1/2 of a cake if you aren't going back to the room after the meal.

Is the dessert party worth it over the dinner for WoC? I've been debating with others and I can't seem to come to a decision... On the one hand, you get to sit, which would be incredible, but on the other hand, it doesn't look like you get much in terms of dessert. How long are you waiting and standing before the show starts if you do the dinner?

For reference, my girlfriend and I went the FP last year for WoC. We waited for ~1hr (?) standing before it even started. We had a good view, but after a long day the wait was not particularly fun. Is the wait shorter with dinner?