Intro
Planning a birthday celebration at Disney? Come along with me this week as I share my plans for a birthday trip! This is actually a trip that I am taking myself in a few days and I am so excited to share along with you all.
Let’s see what we have planned, then I will follow up after the trip to share how my plans lined up with what we actually did (since we know it isn’t always easy to stay with your plans)!
Breakdown
- Theme: Birthday
- Length: 3 days
- Age and Group: Four adults
- Cost: $$$
Check-In
This birthday trip is a little bit of a splurge for me (you only turn 30 once, right?!), so we are staying at a Deluxe Resort for the first time! We did get a great deal, but it is definitely still a big splurge. For this vacation, we are staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge – Kidani Village. I am so excited to finally get a chance to stay at my dream resort. I have visited a few times and dreamed of staying here for so long!
While we are staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge for the majority of the trip, we did end up adding an additional night to the trip that couldn’t be accommodated at that resort. So, we are first checking in to All Star Music for just a night. Then, we will check out the next morning and switch over to Animal Kingdom Lodge. I personally love the Value Resorts, so I am excited to have the chance to stay at All Star Music for a night!
Split stays are also super common at Disney, so I can’t wait to share my experience with this process!
Day 1: Disney Springs & EPCOT
It’s our first full day at Disney and we plan to pack as much as we can into this short trip! To start our first day, we will move over to Animal Kingdom Lodge. We will be taking a Lyft (hopefully a Minnie Van!) over from All Star Music and checking our luggage at the front desk. While we wait for our room, we’ll head over to Disney Springs for some lunch, snacks, and shopping!
In the afternoon, we will hop over to EPCOT to ride some new rides and check out the food booths at Flower and Garden!
Rides
Riding the new, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind coaster, is my number one goal for this trip! We are waking up early to try to snag an Individual Lightning Lane and a spot in the Virtual Queue. I am so excited for this coaster and riding it twice would be the best birthday gift ever!
A must do for me at EPCOT, especially on a hot day, is Living with the Land. It is the perfect way to cool off and relax for a minute on a busy day.
While riding everything is probably not in the cards for this short EPCOT day, I would love to be able to get on Test Track and Soarin’! These are definitely two EPCOT staples for me, so I hope to find the time for these classics.
Food
If you have been following me for a while, you know that I simply cannot go to Disney World without eating my weight in Gideon’s cookies. So, this will be our first stop at Disney Springs in the morning! I am also so excited to hear what the July speciality cookie will be, so stay tuned to hear what it is and our review.
If we have time for lunch at Disney Springs, the plan is to grab a seat at the bar at Wine Bar George. They have my absolute favorite Mac and Cheese bites I have ever had!
Another main event for our EPCOT trip is trying a bunch of wonderful food from the Flower and Garden Festival! Our trip lines up with the end of the festival, so I am very excited to be able to try some things before it’s over. A few things on my list are:
- Toasted Pretzel Bread topped with black forest ham and melted Gruyere cheese (Bauernmarkt: Farmer’s Market)
- Fried Cinnamon Roll Bites with cream cheese frosting and candied bacon (Sunshine Griddle)
- Cookie Butter Worms and Dirt (Flavor Full Kitchen)
- Frozen Desert Violet Lemonade (Pineapple Promenade)
We’ll end the day with Harmonious, then hop on a Disney bus back to Kidani Village!
Day 2: Animal Kingdom, Resort Day, Hollywood Studios
Today is going to be part relaxing and part running all over Disney property. I think that is honestly my ideal Disney day! I love the excitement of the parks and running around property, but it’s so important to take the time to relax a bit too.
We’ll start our day bright and early at Animal Kingdom. One of the pros of staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge is being extremely close to the park, so getting there early won’t be too bad.
After a few hours at Animal Kingdom, we’ll head back for some relaxing resort and pool time! Especially when staying at such a cool resort, I would always recommend taking advantage of the pools, restaurants, and activities.
In the evening, we’ll head to Galaxy’s Edge and then jump on the Skyliner to explore the Riviera Resort.
Rides
Since we are starting our day at Animal Kingdom, but ending at Hollywood Studios, we’re going to try to grab Individual Lightning Lanes for both Flight of Passage and Rise of the Resistance!
I love to start my Animal Kingdom days at Kilimanjaro Safaris. The animals are usually more active first thing in the morning, plus the lines may be a bit shorter!
Next, we will head to Pandora and enjoy a ride on Flight of Passage with an Individual Lightning Lane. This queue can get extremely long, so an Individual Lightning Lane is the quickest way to ride!
Lastly, it wouldn’t be a trip to Animal Kingdom without a stop at Expedition Everest. This is one of my favorite rides at any Disney park! I love to use the single rider line for this ride, to cut down on wait times as well.
Food
We’ll grab a quick breakfast (maybe a giant cinnamon roll!) and some coffee at Animal Kingdom after the Safari. Lunch, snacks, and drinks will be at one of my favorite lounges on property, Nomad Lounge. This lounge can get busy, so we plan to join the Walk Up Waitlist as soon as it opens to snag a spot at this Animal Kingdom staple.
Once we’re back at the resort, the goal is to relax at the pool! Snacks and drinks from the Maji Pool Bar will be a must while we enjoy the pool at Kidani Village.
We were so excited to be able to get reservations at Oga’s Cantina for drinks tonight, so after our much needed pool time, it’s off to Hollywood Studios!
To close out the night, we will take the Skyliner over to the Riviera, where we have late night dinner reservations at Topolino’s Terrace. This is a new restaurant for me, so I cannot wait to try it out! We hope to time it right so we can watch Harmonious from the roof!
Day 3: Magic Kingdom
Today is the big day! I am so excited to celebrate my birthday at Magic Kingdom. It’s my favorite park and the plan is to spend the entire day here. I cannot wait to eat all the Mickey shaped food and ride some of my favorite attractions!
My birthday also falls on Fourth of July, so we will be watching the special fireworks show!
Rides
We will be purchasing Disney Genie+ today, so hopefully we will be able to ride a lot! However, it is a holiday and the temperatures will be pretty high, so we are also okay with just enjoying the time at Magic Kingdom.
I hope to grab Lightning Lanes for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Peter Pan, Haunted Mansion, and Pirates of the Caribbean. We also plan to get in early and run to Space Mountain! I definitely cannot miss my favorite ride on my birthday!
Food
Breakfast this morning will be at ‘Ohana’s at the Polynesian Resort! I am really excited to try this restaurant for the first time. Breakfast is All You Care to Eat style, with Polynesian flavors, so it will be a great way to start my birthday!
We don’t have any other set dining plans for the day, but I will be sure to eat some of my favorite Mickey shaped foods. I will never turn down a Mickey pretzel or premium bar! We might also enjoy some corn dog nuggets at Casey’s or a spring roll from the Spring Roll Cart!
Since it is a holiday, the Magic Kingdom fireworks will be a special Fourth of July show. While I am sad that I won’t be able to see Enchantment, it’s exciting to be able to see a firework show I haven’t seen before!
Check Out
Food
Before checking out of Animal Kingdom Lodge, we’ll grab a nice breakfast at Boma, right at the resort! Leaving this vacation will not be easy, but I cannot wait to be back soon and continue to share my trips with you!
Overview
- Check-In: All Star Music/Animal Kingdom Lodge-Kidani Village
- Day 1: Disney Springs & EPCOT
- Rides: Guardians of the Galaxy, Living with the Land, Test Track, Soarin’
- Food: Gideon’s, Wine Bar George, Flower and Garden Festival Food Booths
- Day 2: Animal Kingdom, Animal Kingdom Lodge, Hollywood Studios
- Rides: Kilimanjaro Safaris, Flight of Passage, Expedition Everest, Rise of the Resistance
- Food: Nomad’s Lounge, Oga’s Cantina, Topolino’s Terrace
- Day 3: Magic Kingdom
- Rides: Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Haunted Mansion, Peter Pan, Pirates of the Caribbean
- Food: Mickey Pretzel, Mickey Premium Bar, Casey’s Corner, Spring Roll Cart
- Check Out Day
- Food: Boma
