And Disney wants us to.
So much so, that we can get free (yes free!) celebration buttons at the parks.
Although we didn't do it on our first trip because I didn't know about the celebration buttons, on our second trip, I had our travel agent mark our reservation as a special celebration - our daughter's birthday. It didn't matter that her birthday was at the end of September - a whole month after to our trip. The trip was an early birthday gift to her.
When we first arrived and made our way to the Magic Kingdom (always the first park we visit - but more about that on a later blog), I immediately went over to City Hall on Main Street and requested a complimentary birthday button for my daughter to wear during our stay. The cast member very happily provided one and wrote my daughter's name on it with little mouse ears over the "i" in her name. Very cute. I will note that you should ask them to put a strip of scotch tape over the name so that it doesn't rub off. We had to keep rewriting her name on the pin (thank God I had thought to bring a sharpie with me) until a wonderful cast member at the Pirates of the Caribbean showed us this nifty trick. And... got Goofy on the phone to wish her a very happy birthday! Talk about a special birthday surprise!
The wonderful thing about it was that, once I put the button on her, cast members and other park goers immediately started calling out birthday wishes. You can just imagine how happy that makes a child.
What made her even happier was that, at every meal, the cast members would either sing her happy birthday, or bring her a special birthday dessert. Needless to say, she was overjoyed.
But the best, most incredible part of all happened when we took her to Turtle Talk With Crush, the sea turtle from the Finding Nemo movie, in EPCOT. Crush noticed her right away, since she was wearing her birthday button on her hat. He immediately honed in on her, started the show by pointing her out to everyone. He asked her some questions, sang a special Crush version of happy birthday to her, spoke to my husband and I, and literally made her feel extremely special during the show. She was the most excited little girl in the world!
All in all, that entire trip was a huge birthday fest for our daughter! It was amazing! And she has wonderful memories of it to last her a lifetime.
On our trip the following year, we decided to celebrate one of our daughter's personal triumphs, as well as our wedding anniversary.
We spent our days receiving best wishes and congratulations over and over again and offering birthday wishes and congratulations to others wearing their own celebration buttons. It's fantastic!
When speaking with people about their upcoming trips, I strongly urge parents to mark their reservations as a celebration of their child's birthday (whether it's coming up or already past - or, best case scenario, actually happening while they at the World) and encourage them to take a few minutes and stop in at one of the parks to obtain a celebration button. It will make such a wonderful memory for their child!
Disney offers celebration buttons for birthdays, anniversaries, first trips, personal triumphs, and honeymoons. You can get them at City Hall in the Magic Kingdom, or at Guest Services in EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, or Animal Kingdom.
Make sure you get one on your next trip.
And be sure to check out my Face Book page under The Mouse In Our House!
Until next time, make sure to keep the Mouse in your house!
Monica
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