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If you can’t have your birthday party at the Magic Kingdom, then a Magic Kingdom themed birthday party at home is the next best option, right?! We celebrated my youngest’s first birthday with a WDW-inspired brunch party, including a visit from the main Mouse himself. Check out everything that went into making this The Most Magical Party on Earth!
The Inspiration
The Magic Kingdom! More specifically, Main Street U.S.A. – the heart of the park and the entrance to all things magic. If you’re a Disney parks fan, you know there’s nothing quite like being on Main Street.
Picture it.
You tapped your Magic Band at the gate and walked under the railroad tracks. Lively music and the smell of popcorn and pastries envelop you as you walk through the town square. Photopass photographers, balloon vendors, maybe even the Citizens of Main Street and the Dapper Dans are milling about. Then – finally – the most magical sight of all comes into view.
Cinderella Castle.
That’s the feeling I tried to capture with Jack’s first birthday party.
The Decorations
While I didn’t base this party off of Cinderella Castle specifically, the light blue, silver, and white colors throughout the decorations definitely call back to the classic castle color scheme, pre-50th celebration. The food table was covered in a light blue tablecloth with silver Mickey Mouse shaped confetti scattered across it – a little nod to the post-haircut pixie dust at Harmony Barber Shop.
Little touches of black and red here and there paid homage to Mickey and Minnie without making the party too over-the-top “Mickey Mouse” themed.
Touches of Pixie Dust
We decorated Jack’s high chair with a “ONE” banner reminiscent of Disneyland’s classic signage. The dark blue pennants, white glitter letters, and white Mickey-shaped balloons were a perfect match for our general party aesthetic, and I couldn’t have been happier with the quality. The banner came from One Enchanted Emporium on Etsy – highly recommend!
I actually ordered several decorations from Etsy for this party, and each and every one was perfect.
- Light blue foil Mickey-shaped balloons, from Ellie’s Party Supply
- Silver Mickey confetti for table scatter, from Charms by Emi Chan
- Bulk Mickey ears for our guests to wear, from Ca Sales
- A small custom acrylic sign that reads “Never Grow Up”, from Coppice and Crafts
- A custom banner that reads “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes” (unfortunately the shop I ordered from is closed now)
- A cast member name badge for myself, from Mouse House Pins
- Jack’s birthday celebration button, from Park Hopper Designs
- Mickey and friends coloring pages for the coloring station, from My Studio Party Prints
Main Street Area Music
Disney uses music throughout the parks to really set and maintain the ambience of each specific area, so it was only fitting that we do the same! We welcomed our guests with this Spotify playlist of the Main Street U.S.A. area music loop. Talk about being instantly transported to the Magic Kingdom!
DIY Photopass Spot
What’s a Disney World visit without a ton of photos?!
I decided not to go all out and recreate my favorite ride photos this time, but I am reserving that option for future parties. Instead, we hung up a simple silver foil streamer curtain from Amazon and added cut-outs of those super classic mouse ear hats. One for each of us!
Of course everyone has phones with great cameras nowadays, but to make things just a little more fun and nostalgic, I set up an Instax camera and extra film next to the photobooth. That way, everyone could get an instant Photopass print to take home as a souvenir, along with their sequin mouse ear headband.
The Food
What is a Disney-themed party without Disney-inspired food!? The spread for this party was honestly a lot of fun to put together because it married two of my favorite things: Disney World and breakfast foods.
Most of the items I served were super low effort with minimal prep. I gave store-bought mini muffins mouse ears by sticking two vanilla melting wafers into the top of each one. Costco came through yet again with frozen mini quiche, mini croissants, pound cake, and mini cinnamon rolls. A quick blueberry compote made a base for little granola parfaits, and sliced grapes fitted on the rim of the cups gave the parfaits cute little mouse ears.
I ordered Mickey Mouse shaped macarons from Bunny Macs, a Memphis-area macaron artist. The custom decorated cookies came from another local artist, and the shapes and colors really tied in the rest of the party decor.
Bibbidi Bobbidi Brunch
If you’ve breakfasted at Walt Disney World before then you know – you KNOW! – that we simply couldn’t have a Magic kingdom birthday party centered around breakfast food and not serve MICKEY WAFFLES. I mean, that would’ve been a scandal akin to showing up in Universal Studios gear.
I tried to keep our waffles as authentic as possible, which meant using a legit Mickey Mouse waffle maker and Golden Malted waffle and pancake mix. Of course, because I am me, I couldn’t just serve a bunch of Mickey Mouse shaped waffles. Oh, no. No, we turned this into a whole waffle grazing board with a variety of toppings, different flavors of syrup, peanut butter, Nutella, and whipped cream. I also included a ton of chicken nuggets in case anyone wanted chicken and waffles, and let me tell you, they were a huge hit.
Cheryl’s Tip: I’d planned to make a ton of waffles a day or two before and refrigerate them, then reheat as needed. Unfortunately for my grand plan, the waffles were much better when they were fresh. No surprise there, but a bit of a pain. To combat that, I made a big batch of batter and had someone help me make last-minute waffles during set up. The waffle maker makes 6 Mickey waffles at a time, so it went pretty fast!
Beverages (Included in the Dining Plan)
Keeping in line with our brunch theme, we offered a dispenser of cold brew coffee with sugar and cream, iced water, and a make-your-own mimosa station with orange juice and, of course, homemade Disney POG juice. By the way, if you’ve never had a POG juice mimosa, you are missing out!!
The rattan drink cart I used for the mimosa station is actually from Target, and I’m obsessed with it. I think it’s made an appearance at almost every one of my parties for the last few years? It looks like Target doesn’t offer it anymore (to be fair, I think I bought it in 2021?) but a quick Google search for “Cassia Rattan Bar Opalhouse” brings up some similar options.
Oh, and that precious pastel baby Mickey? My aunt actually gave that to my oldest son when he was just a baby. Being able to incorporate it into my youngest son’s first birthday was so sweet!
Baby’s First Birthday Cake
Jack’s birthday cake was a simple smash cake I bought from a local bakery. We themed it up by placing a decorated cookie with his name on the front of the cake, giving it some of that baby blue coloring.
The cake topper was an actual pair of Walt Disney World embroidered mouse ears that my content director, Megan, gifted Jack. We propped it up on a skinny dowel rod to keep it from getting covered in fondant and icing, and now it’s part of his bedroom decor with his “Never Grow Up” sign.
Meeting the Big Cheese
Everyone knows you can’t go to the Magic Kingdom and not meet Mickey Mouse, so naturally, Mickey made an appearance at Jack’s birthday party. Even the adults had a blast getting their picture made with Mickey, so I highly recommend checking for local-to-you character companies to add a little extra magic to your parties.
The best part? No Fastpass – er, Lightning Lane? – needed!
Never Miss A Meal!
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