Club Libby Lu
Where: Downtown Disney
Cost: Prices vary from $20 to $30 per girl
Age Range: Children (girls) under 13
Reservations: Call (714) 7723793
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 preoccupation with makeup, hair and clothes in their 6yearold 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 onegirl deposit is required when booking a party, but there is no minimum number of party guests required.
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) 7813463
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 setup 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 10inch 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 setups 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.
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.
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.
Call from Goofy
Where: City Hall
Cost: Free
Age Range: All ages
While at City Hall for your birthday sticker, look for the oldfashioned 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.
Worth the price? It's another wonderful freebie one can get only at Disneyland.
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.
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 8yearold daughter, who is just young enough to enjoy that sort of mass attention.
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 (just get a sticker).