Bean,  Family,  Florida,  Marriage Confessions,  Milestones,  Out and About,  Parenting,  Travel

Bean’s Birthday at Disney: Part One

June 6, 2010 /

We celebrated Bean’s first birthday at Disney’s Animal Kingdom this past Saturday and I can’t even tell you how perfect the day was.  First of all, Bean looked awesome.  More awesome than ever, actually, because he was themed.

I dressed him in a little safari outfit – complete with a hat.  And the best part was that the shorts were bathing suit trunks, so when it got hot I could get him wet and the shorts would dry really quickly.

But more than his outfit, Bean was just a pure ball of happiness.  He was such a joy.  And he had the best time.  He was all smiles, all laughs, and interested in everything that we saw and did.  We got to the park at 8:30 that morning and didn’t leave until 7:00 that night.  Bean had one 45 minute nap around lunch time, but other than that, he was on the go all day long.  I was worried that between the no napping and all the heat (the heat index was 104 degrees), he would just be worn flat out, but he kept on keepin’ on.  And more than just keepin’ on, he was seriously happy all day.  What more can a mom ask for than a happy birthday boy?

When we got to the park and went to Guest Relations to pick up our tickets, they gave us two Celebration Buttons for Bean.  He got a Happy Birthday button and a First Time Visitor button.  I had read online that the buttons indicate to the staff (and especially the characters) that a special event is being celebrated and so they pay a little more attention to you.  And that was totally true!  All the characters would come up to Bean, point to his button, give him a high five, and hold up one finger.  It was great!  And at lunch (more on that later), the wait staff bent over backwards for the birthday boy.

The Celebration Buttons are available for a TON of different events and are free to any park guest, so if you’re going to Disney, be sure to let them know at Guest Relations that you are celebrating a special day and they’ll set you up with a button of your very own!

I had no idea how to do a blog post about our day because we did so much fun stuff and we took over 350 pictures!  So, I decided to break the posts into different topics and cover our trip that way.  The first topic for me was obvious because it was Bean’s favorite part of the day…character visits.

Throughout the park there are different meet-and-greet stations where Disney characters are standing and you can get in line and have your picture taken with them.  We also got Bean an autograph book so that each character could sign and we could put a picture of Bean with the character next to their signature.  That was one of his birthday presents.

I knew from our character breakfast with friends last month that Bean was pretty okay with the oversized stuffed animals walking around, but I was not prepared for his reaction.  He went crazy for them!

The first one that we met was Mickey Mouse and Bean was super excited.  He has a little Mickey stuffed animal that he loves and you could tell that he recognized him from home.

But it was Minnie Mouse that he really got excited to see.  Bean loves those ladies…

I was so glad that Chris got this little introduction on video because until you can hear Bean squealing for yourself, you just can’t get the full picture of how HAPPY he was to meet Minnie!

After Minnie, we left this particular character area and headed on to do some other fun things, but later in the day as we were leaving the park, we stopped to meet the Winnie the Pooh characters.  I’m so glad that we did because Bean loves the Adventures of Winnie the Pooh movie.

For Bean, you just don’t get any more fun than lifesized stuffed animals giving you high fives on your birthday.  He was in Heaven!  Hearing his little giggles and seeing him so happy was the best part of my day.  This was my first time at a Disney park with a child and it opened my eyes to a whole new side of things.  Seeing Bean squealing with delight at the characters made me wonder how I have lived for 27 years and never stopped at one of the character stations before!  What fun I was missing!

I’ll be posting this week on different parts of our Disney adventure.  Hope you’ll stick around and celebrate with us!

You May Also Like

Things I Do That Will Make You Feel Like a Better Parent

September 27, 2010

Chalk, Tattle-Telling, and Volume Control

October 20, 2013

Gift Idea: Light Up the Night

November 27, 2011

46 Comments

  • Jenny J.

    June 6, 2010 at 10:08 pm Reply

    That’s so great! I had a huge smile on my face the whole time I was reading this post, and laughed out loud because his excitement was so infectious through the video!! Happy late birthday Bean!

  • Mindee@ourfrontdoor

    June 6, 2010 at 10:29 pm Reply

    Oh yes, watching your kids at Disney is the best part. They have such fun.

    Ok – something totally off the wall: I hadn’t realized this before, but in MY head Bean talks. I guess you’ve given “voice” to him so much that some part of me expected him to just greet Minnie with a joke. The normal baby noises seemed funny to me.

    I can’t believe I just admitted that.

    • Megan (Best of Fates)

      June 7, 2010 at 11:21 pm Reply

      Okay, Mindee told me that her comment here was something she thought came across as super weird. Naturally, I rushed over here to read it and discovered that no, it’s in fact a half compliment/half normal statement.

      If I’m here making myself look like a fool, I think everybody else should step it up.

      I mean, honestly?

      I didn’t comment on this post to begin with because it seemed too intense to again harp on my terrible fear of adults dressed up as cartoon creatures.

      Let’s face it – now that’s weird.

      Also, I never even got dressed today.

      Though I did comb the huge tangle out of my hair.

      So that’s something, right?

      • Mindee@ourfrontdoor

        June 7, 2010 at 11:29 pm Reply

        No it is not at all normal. I mean it – in my head Bean has a voice and a dry sense of humor and everything. He’s like that baby on Family Guy.

        Only much, much cuter.

        And yes, it is a grand testament to Katie’s writing, but bottom line: I need to dial back my imagination a notch or two.

        It’s weird! I promise.

        • Megan (Best of Fates)

          June 7, 2010 at 11:59 pm Reply

          Things that would be excessively weird about you imaging Bean’s voice:

          1) If he had a French accent, a la PePe LaPew, though strangely seemed to have a German life perspective. As though the terrible struggle inside an Alsace-Lorrainian came alive in one little American boy. And yes, I opened another page to check how to spell Alsace-Lorraine. Strangely, I did not check the spelling of PePe LaPew, so that one’s probably wrong.

          2) If Bean was secretly evil. Not in an adorable way, as if he was channeling Family Guy’s Stewie or Rocky & Bullwinkle’s Boris, but like if he went all Qaddafi on Tigger. Not that I wouldn’t understand if those feelings came out regarding the terribly creepy situation reached by grown ups dressing as cartoon characters.

          3) I’ve got nothing for number 3. So Mindee’s probably right, I’m way over thinking comments. Turns out, there is far too many hours during the day to think while not working. Also, it’s late. I should go to bed. So goodnight – oh, and some comment about Bean’s voice being female would be weird, so pretend I wrote something sensible about that being #3.

  • Leslie

    June 6, 2010 at 10:40 pm Reply

    That pic of you and Bean before meeting Minnie is adorable! It makes me want to have 10 more babies. Well either that, or take my kiddo to Disney. How fun!

  • Betty

    June 6, 2010 at 11:20 pm Reply

    First, I agree with Mindee as well, I just assume Bean can talk in full sentences! But man oh man, that video was so cute!! I can’t wait to see the rest of the posts from your trip!

  • Jen at Cabin Fever

    June 6, 2010 at 11:24 pm Reply

    So cute! But oh my do I have a horrible fear of those giant stuffed animals. I know, its silly, but something horrible must have happened to me as a kid to spark the fear because I honestly have been terrified of them as long as I can remember. Perhaps having a baby as a shield to soak up all the fright would help 🙂

    Looks like Bean had a blast! And what a great idea with the swim trunks.

    Cabin Fever in Vermont

  • Katie M

    June 7, 2010 at 1:45 am Reply

    How cute! I was totally deprived growing up and was never able to make it to Disney and now that I’m grown up and live 20 min from Californias Disneyland, I still haven’t gone! Glad your little Bean was able to go and loved it!

  • Christina

    June 7, 2010 at 2:28 am Reply

    Super fun! He sounds like he was at the perfect stage in his sweet little life to go for the first time. 🙂 His smile is so fantastic…I bet only yours rivaled it all day.

  • Michelle

    June 7, 2010 at 7:44 am Reply

    I’M SOLD! Here we come Disney! I’m booking flights for a September visit. Thank you for blogging about your trip- you persuaded the husband and me that ‘no, he’s not too young’ and ‘yes, he will enjoy the trip!’ Here we come baby changing center!!! 🙂

  • Nikki

    June 7, 2010 at 8:38 am Reply

    I’m so glad that I’m not the only one who got teary eyed watching the Bean video. I’m really tempted to call my honey at work and have him come home and make a baby!

  • Jody

    June 7, 2010 at 11:00 am Reply

    I loved that video! Bean looks so thrilled to see her, I think he’s smitten.
    We’re heading to DW next year’ish with our 3 kids for the first time so I’m very glad you mentioned the 1st time buttons and such. We’ll definitely do that.

  • Maggie

    June 7, 2010 at 12:50 pm Reply

    Love it!!! I’ve never been to Disney. I assume my reaction would be similar to Bean’s. Your post about the shuttle launch already has me wanting to plan a trip to the area, I fear this series of Disney posts will push me over the edge.

  • Lisa

    June 7, 2010 at 1:48 pm Reply

    Sooooooooooooo cute!! Like a lot of the other comments, I too expect Bean to be able to speak in full sentences but its such a cool surprise to hear him as he is. Your pics are just priceless.

  • Tressa

    June 7, 2010 at 6:03 pm Reply

    Looks like a great time was had by all! Thanks for sharing pictures of the party with us. I LOVE the second picture of Bean Man…..he looks so darn ornery 😉
    And, I love his school bus that your parents got him!! Looks like so much fun! I want a ride!

  • Laura

    June 7, 2010 at 7:02 pm Reply

    That video is the cutest thing ever! He was so excited! If the whole day was full of that, I would have overloaded from cuteness and joy.

    I always wondered what was the point of bringing babies to these places because they’re too young to do much or remember anything, but seeing that video it all makes sense now. Can’t wait to hear more about your adventure. 😀

  • Ashley

    June 8, 2010 at 6:29 pm Reply

    I LOVE the one of Bean when he first spots Minnie. He’s so excited! 🙂 I’m so glad you guys had an incredible day to remember and that you didn’t pass out from the heat (it was truly brutal in Orlando on Saturday…I didn’t leave the house much!).

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *