Disney Birthday

15 days until my feet hit Disney soil once again this year! I thought my Disney Birthday would be my one and only trip of 2020 at the most magical place on the Earth, but it looks like another trip was in the stars for me. I’m still glad I was able to experience my Birthday trip this year before everything went to shit because of COVID-19. With so much uncertainty and sadness occurring, if this was to be my only trip this year, at least I had the most fondest of memories of my time in Disney. 

Starting my Birthday off at ‘Ohana should not be a surprise to anyone. I wanted to have my grand Birthday breakfast with Stitch of course. It was exciting this time around to be only a five minute walk to ‘Ohana. I had extra time to sleep before I was forced to get ready for the day. 

When we took a photo with Pluto, the PhotoPass photographer complimented me on my outfit. She loved the donut ears and sprinkles dress. It’s nice that people appreciate the stupid thought that goes into coordinating a Disney outfit. I had been purposely holding on to my Blackmilk sprinkles dress and Donut ears (that Chinh graciously got me the previous year) for my Birthday trip. Turns out everyone loved the donut ears lol. I also splurged for my Birthday, and recklessly hunted down the Danielle Nicole Minnie Mouse crossbody bag because it was too perfect for my sprinkle donut theme.

When we got to ‘Ohana, we ironically got the same hostess that we had the first time around, Kevin. Miguel made it a point to remember his name lmao. This time a round Kevin was alright because he was making fun of Miguel. He asked me if Miguel always speaks for me, and I said yes LOL. I don’t know why people do this to me, but it’s quite annoying. I know, I’m not a very talkative person, but I’m not a fucking mute, I have the ability to answer for myself. Nonetheless, Kevin presented me with my birthday pin for the day.

I’m still in love with ‘Ohana the second time around. The view is so beautiful, and I’d imagine having a seat next to the window during fireworks at Magic Kingdom would be so magical. Alas, I couldn’t even get a reservation at ‘Ohana for dinner, let alone one around 8pm when fireworks were lighting up the sky. Plus, Stitch waffles are still my favorite thing ever. 

I got surprised with a Moana cupcake, and special card from Mickey, which was so cute. Chinh and her sisters were also nice enough to  give me a Disney gift card for my Birthday. Between this and a Christmas gift card from my parents, I was able to pay for all my meals during the trip. It was nice not having to worry about paying for meals since Disney reservations are so expensive. 

As we were walking to the monorail to begin our day, we got bombarded by the Disney Vacation Club guy LOL. He bribed us with anytime FastPasses, and a $150 gift card. All we had to do was sit through a 30 minute presentation. While I was in the presentation though, I was calculating the math in my head. I was seriously wondering if I could actually afford this. In reality, I can’t right now LOL. I don’t think I make enough yet to justify the purchase of the Disney Vacation Club points, but the invitation to join is alluring, especially when the hotels involved are all Deluxe. You can also book hotels around the world, including international Disney resorts. Once you get a taste of the good life, you don’t want to go back. 

I was excited to go on the monorail and to just be on the monorail line, but this is the only time I was on the monorail because this was such a short trip LOL. I still love that it was a quick, scenic trip to Magic Kingdom. I also love that you get to skip the security line at the park since you do it before getting on the monorail at the resort. All we had to do was scan our MagicBands and we were off.

I proceeded to make Miguel take photos of me in front of Cinderella‘s castle. In retrospect, It was a great idea because it started raining for the next 4 hours. I knew, the forecast called for cloudy skies but there was little mention of rain. I was disappointed I didn’t have that Mickey donut umbrella in that moment. We walked over to The Haunted Mansion to get out of the rain for a bit. Once we exited The Haunted Mansion, we were met with heavier rain, and so I fell victim to the dreaded poncho. Miguel refused to spend $12 on a Disney poncho, but I didn’t want to get my denim jacket soaked. 

We persisted on to Thunder Mountain, which I haven’t been on in quite a long time. I honestly forgot how fun that roller coaster is, and that the duration of the ride is longer than Space Mountain. This is were we encountered what Miguel referred to as Disney gangs LOL. I had read online that January is a popular time for Brazilian tour groups full of teenagers to come visit. You would think there’d be less people at the parks in January, but actually, the crowds were moderate. Empty castle photos were difficult to come by. The wait times in September seemed to be shorter, in comparison, to January.

It was still raining once we got off Thunder Mountain, but I proceeded to find a spot for the parade. The park announced that the parade would be delayed due to weather as Miguel complained that I was making him stand in the rain. I was worried because I hadn’t seen the Festival of Fantasy parade yet as I usually neglect the daytime parades. Although, I was excited to possibly experience the rainy day parade. Alas, the mouse powered through, and I got to see Maleficent’s dragon. I don’t know what it is about fire breathing dragons that just make birthdays so special.

After the parade, we proceeded to Tomorrowland so that I could ride Space Mountain. It’s not a trip to Disney if I don’t go on Space Mountain, The Haunted Mansion or Alice’s tea cups. Afterwards, I got distracted by Baby Yoda phone cases, and ended up making my own in millennial pink. I have no regrets. Outside of the shop, they have the Tron bikes on display to try out, which caused Miguel to freak out because he’s a massive Tron fan. It was fun seeing Tron’s progress later on in the night as we passed by on the People Mover. You can now see the track being built, and I’m really excited for 2021 despite not being an actual Tron fan or as Miguel puts it a “fake fan.” LOL.

We had dinner reservations at The Crystal Palace for the first time ever. The experience was really cute. I forgot how much I love Pooh and friends. Eeyore was the cutest as he put his head on my shoulder to mope lol. Unfortunately, the food is nothing to sing home about, and it was the most expensive meal of my trip! I’m very thankful to my friends and family who graciously contributed to my birthday trip, and so my birthday dinner was free... however, I don’t know if I’d come back if I had to pay for dinner on my own LOL. On the positive side, since the restaurant is a buffet, I could serve myself an appropriate portion size. I was worried I’d be too full from breakfast to tackle on another meal reservation. I get full very easily, and it is usually why I stick to only one meal a day at Disney. It’s also probably why I never get the desserts I think I want lol. 

The grand finale to my magical birthday was fireworks. I just love fireworks. It’s why 4th of July was always one of my favorite holidays. Disney fireworks are vastly different though from the ones I experienced in my grandparent’s backyard as my uncles lit fireworks and run for cover LOL or the makeshift firework shows we would watch at the Shirley beach by my Aunt and Uncle’s house. I’m glad I got to experience it on my actual birthday finally. 

I loved being at Disney on my Birthday. It was a beautiful distraction from everything I dislike about birthdays. I was barely on my phone, and days go by fast when you’re at the happiest place on Earth. I want to do it every year now LOL. I’m not sure that will always happen though, but if I had one Birthday wish, it’d be to spent it at Disney every year.