Birthday Celebration at Disneyland

Celebrating our daughter's 5th birthday at Disneyland was our latest family adventure. Birthdays are the few times I splurge on activities. We gave our little one a choice between a birthday party or a family adventure to Disneyland. Of course she choose to spend her special day with the princesses. What five year old princess loving girl in her right mind would pass that up?

We started our day early so we could make the most of our adventure. So much to see, so little time. The parks are great in the morning because the crowds don't arrive until after 10am. Season pass holders can arrive at 8am and have privilege of experiencing the parks for an hour before they open to the general public at 9am. This weekend was a hot one so we made sure to pack at least a 12 pack of water and stuffed it in the ever-handy stroller. The little one is getting big but she still gets tired mid-day so the stroller eliminates half the whining. Plus it is a great place to store food, water and other essentials so we didn't have to carry much. On hot days I would recommend packing water to bring because you pay about $3-4 per bottle. Our family of went through 14 so that can add up.

We started at California Adventure which was full of exciting construction for the new upcoming attractions "The World of Color" (Opening Spring 2010) and "Ariel's Undersea Adventure" (Opening Spring 2011). The park was not as full as I expected. Upon arrival we visited the City Hall and the birthday girl was given a special pin to wear. She was recognized all day long for her birthday. On rides they gave her special recognition over the loud speaker and all. She really felt like a star.

Our special engagement for the day was lunch at Ariel's Grotto. This is where she was able to meet the princesses all in one place. The prices is a little high for the food but you really are paying for the experience this brings to the little ones so this was definitely worth it in my book. After lunch was served each princess was announced before making their grand entrances to the dining room floor. All of the princesses stopped at each table for photo ops and a meet and greet. This is a surefire way to meet them all in one place. There was so much excitement from the kids during this time it really was contagious. At the end she was serenaded with Happy Birthday and served her very own birthday cake with candles and all. The cake was served in a souvenir treasure box with a few treasures to go with it. It has now become her special jewelry box at home.

After lunch we headed over to Disneyland and had a blast for the remainder of our day. We were able to ride Pirate's a few times and I am so excited that It's A Small World was finally open again after all that time in construction. We ended our day with the "Celebration Parade" where our little one was a dancing queen. Disneyland is a great place to celebrate a birthday and the best part is that you get in FREE on the day of your birthday.

For more information on Disney's California Adventure or Disneyland you can click here to visit their website.

Happy Celebrating!