Celebrating at Walt Disney World is the best way to honor any special day especially a birthday! Celebrating your birthday at Walt Disney World is the perfect way to make your day magical.
There are some freebies you can get on your birthday at Walt Disney World like a Happy Birthday button that will highlight the fact it's your day to everyone else.
I visit Walt Disney World frequently including during my birthday. My son and I recently both celebrated our birthdays and spent some time exploring the Walt Disney World birthday freebies. Keep reading for all the details of celebrating your birthday at Walt Disney World!
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Disney World Birthday Button
One of the first things you need to do for celebrating a birthday at Walt Disney World is get your FREE Happy Birthday button! You can get the free Walt Disney World celebration buttons at your Walt Disney World resort hotel desk or any of the guest services locations in the theme parks.
The cast member will have sharpies on hand and they will write your name on the button for you. They also have celebration buttons for honeymoons, first time visits and other celebrations.
When you wearing the button at the parks and in Disney Springs, you will notice that many of the cast members will go out of their way to wish you a Happy Birthday! It was pretty much nonstop whether we were boarding an attraction, grabbing a quick coffee, dining in a restaurant or just passing a cast member in the park. My son thought this was pretty cool, it made him feel like a birthday star.
This is fun for adults too because let's face it, birthdays are not always quite as fun when you get older or aren't celebrated with as much fanfare. Being told Happy Birthday over and over in your day really helps make you feel like a kid again.
Birthday “Pixie Dust”
Now while this is never guaranteed, you can also get some birthday “pixie dust” during your day if you're wearing your birthday button. Remember: pixie dust is a RANDOM occurrence granted by a cast member and should never be expected. But it's a nice surprise when it happens!
For example, on one ride we were given front row because the cast member saw my son's birthday button which was a nice little surprise.
But my favorite pixie dusting was the Walt Disney World “Disney transport” token one nice bus driver gave to us. These are pretty rare and not all bus drivers have them. They're officially called the “Disney Transportation wooden nickel” and it's up to the discretion of the bus driver if they want to pass them out as complimentary souvenirs. Our kind bus driver saw it was my son's birthday and gave him the token. I had never heard of these before so it was a fun little keepsake. This is just one example of random pixie dust you might get while wearing a birthday button!
Disney World Birthday Cakes
Walt Disney World offers birthday cakes you can order to celebrate birthdays! Guests choose the size, flavor and writing with options like:
- Flavors: Choice of dark chocolate, milk chocolate or white chocolate.
- Engraving Options: A message of “Happy Birthday” or “Congratulations” is available on the chocolate ears.
- Size: One cake feeds 4 to 6 Guests.
- Price: $39 per cake, plus tax and gratuities where applicable (pricing subject to change); the cake will be added to your restaurant bill and charged at the conclusion of the meal.
The cake delivery can be arranged to arrive at participating table service restaurants which would be a fun way to surprise the birthday guest in your group. They can also be delivered to your Disney Resort hotel room or ordered through Amorette’s Patisserie at Disney Springs.
You can add a birthday cake in advance when you make your dining reservation. As for same day request, this all depends if the restaurant has any available.
Participating restaurants include:
- 50’s Prime Time Café
- Akershus Royal Banquet Hall
- Ale & Compass Restaurant
- Artist Point
- Beaches & Cream Soda Shop
- Be Our Guest Restaurant
- Biergarten Restaurant
- Boatwright’s Dining Hall
- Boma – Flavors of Africa
- California Grill
- Cape May Cafe
- Chef Mickey’s
- Cinderella’s Royal Table
- Cítricos
- Coral Reef Restaurant
- The Crystal Palace
- The Diamond Horseshoe
- Flying Fish
- The Garden Grill
- The Grand Floridian Cafe
- The Hollywood Brown Derby
- Hollywood & Vine
- Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue
- Jiko – The Cooking Place
- Jungle Navigation Co. Ltd. Skipper Canteen
- Kona Cafe
- Le Cellier Steakhouse
- Liberty Tree Tavern
- Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano
- Monsieur Paul
- Narcoosee’s
- ‘Ohana
- Olivia’s Cafe
- The Plaza Restaurant
- Sanaa
- Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant
- Sebastian's Bistro
- Steakhouse 71
- Tiffins Restaurant
- Toledo – Tapas, Steak & Seafood
- Tony’s Town Square Restaurant
- Topolino’s Terrace – Flavors of the Riviera
- Trail’s End Restaurant
- Trattoria al Forno
- The Turf Club Bar & Grill
- Tusker House Restaurant
- Whispering Canyon Cafe
- Yachtsman Steakhouse
Disney World Resort Room Birthday Celebrations
There is also the option to have florals, gift and snack baskets, and balloon bouquets delivered to your Walt Disne World hotel room. These options can be a bit pricy but are worth the convenience and would make a nice birthday surprise.
Free Disney Springs Birthday Items
While Walt Disney World does not officially offer anything free, aside from the birthday button, there are plenty of locations in Disney Springs that offer freebies on your birthday.
The trick though is you need to sign up for their rewards program prior to your birthday in order to redeem any of these freebies.
Free Sephora Birthday Gift
Sephora gives guests a free birthday gift during their birthday month to those that sign up for their Beauty Insider program. This is usually a deluxe set of samples of popular beauty products.
Free Sprinkles Cupcake
Guests that sign up for Sprinkles Perks can receive a free birthday Sprinkles cupcake. If you've never been a rewards member, you may also get a second cupcake for free just for signing up.
Disney Springs Starbucks Free Drink
Sign up for the Starbucks Rewards program before your birthday and you can get a free drink on your birthday.
This offer will work at either Starbucks location.
Summer House on the Lake Cookie
This is one of the newest restaurants in Disney Springs but some guests have reported receiving a free cookie from the cookie bar on their birthday.
Wetzel's Pretzels Free Pretzel
If you join the Wetzel's Pretzels loyalty program the you can pick either a free Regular Pretzel or a Sinful Cinnamon Pretzel.
Free Earl of Sandwich Birthday Treat
If you sign up for the Earl of Sandwich Loyalty Club then you can receive a coupon for a free birthday cookie or brownie on your birthday.
Ghiradelli Free Birthday Chocolate
You can free samples of chocolate at Ghiradelli Ice Cream and Chocolate Shop and you might even get a second free sample if you're wearing a birthday button.
If you plan in advance and sign up for these loyalty programs, you can effectively stroll through Disney Springs and collect all your goodies. Some stores also offer coupons for your birthday so if you have your heart set on visiting a specific store, sign up for the loyalty programs.
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Disney will give guests a free “Happy Birthday” button and if you wear it cast members will take the time to wish you Happy Birthday.
The last time Disney World did free tickets on your birthday was in 2009 and this promotion will likely never return. There are no Disney World free birthday tickets.
Disney will give you a free birthday celebration button that you can pick up at guest services at the theme parks or at your resort hotel.
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