Pleas help... 21st birthday?

[Supergirl7710]

So my fiancee is going to take me down to the world for my twenty-first birthday!! He just told me today, a bit early since I'm not even 20 yet, but he wanted to let me know why I wasn't going to be getting many gifts or going out much over the next year and a half. And he knows half of my fun in going to Disney is doing all the planning. I obviously know I'm going to have to hit up Epcot to drink which really isn't all that important to me... But as a birthday trip, (keeping in mind we're college students with little incomes) what would you recommend as far as hotels, and places to go?

 

[71dsp]

I'm not nearly as experienced with trip planning as others on the board, but I think the most important question would be what kind of budget will you be working with?

 

[Tinkerbell 8]

I went to Disney for my 21st birthday and it was a blast, so much so that we decided to spend my 23rd birthday there too. First of all, when is your birthday? The time of year has a huge effect on how much money you will be spending, and if there are going to be any good discounts (room discount, or free dining). Second, how long do you want to go for, is this your first trip together, when's the last time you were there? Third, I see you are from NY, would you be flying or driving down? Without really knowing too much, this is what I can suggest: stay at Pop, it is our favorite hotel (we have stayed at deluxe, moderate, and value) for many reasons (great theme, own bus service, more quite than the all stars). I would also say to go for atleast 6 days, because the price of the tickets goes up by only a few dollars after day 6. If either of you are AAA members, I would suggest to book you trip through them, we ended up getting a $200 gift card because of a promo they started after we booked our trip. To help with money, ask your family members for disney gift cards for holiday gifts, this way you will have either spending money for when you are there, or you can use them to help pay for your trip itself. Hope this helps!

 

[Supergirl7710]

Probably just shy of 3000 will be the trip budget (not including spending money while we're down there)

My birthday is March 2nd, and I just talked to the school board and found our our vacation is from March 7th-March 17th 2013 (granted we all dont die in 2012 ) so we'll probably do a little over a week. I would love to do 8 days so we don't have to kick it into high gear, but that will depend (of course) on my fiancee and what he wants to plan. Though I think I get free range on this.

We went to Disney in July of this year, which was our first trip together and we stayed in a preferred room at Pop (king sized bed) it was so nice that it definitely does sound like a great idea. I'm not too fond of the bigger hotels for anything except for their view of say the Magic Kingdom fireworks. As a kid I stayed at Contemporary and didn't really enjoy it. I'm more a park person then a hotel person as long as I have a hot shower and a nice pillow (which I usually bring from home).

Unfortunately we are not AAA members. My dad is in the military though so once he retires in January I'm going to call the disney reservation line and see if we can still use our retired ID's for the discount. That was how come our trip was so inexpensive in July.

Any other suggestions you can make based off that information? Is there anything fun to do in DTD once you're older? I've never really done the DTD thing for anything other than Clippers (cigars at the cigar shop) and the fries at RFC

 

[unkadug]

Unfortunately, Disney has shuttered Pleasure Island.

You might want to check out Atlantic Dance Hall.
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/destinations/disneys-boardwalk/entertainment/atlantic-dance-hall/


Jellyrolls can be fun too.

 

[piglet66]

Being that your father is/was in the military, are you able to stay at Shades of Green. We loved that hotel, we were lucky enough to have a family member in the military and were able to stay there. They base your room rate on the rank of the person in the military. Staying there may allow for some extra spending money thoughout the parks and for your special week. Just a thought, unless you truly want the full Disney experience and stay at one of the hotels on property.

 

[Supergirl7710]

I've stayed at Shades before and LOVED it but the Fiancee loved Pop and as soon as he saw it mentioned on this thread he had made up his mind.
Secretly I think he's just hoping to get more technicolored cheesecake

 

[CaptainShortty]

I have spent many a 21st birthday with friends at Disney and it's a GREAT time! If you're on a budget I'd definitely recommend Pop or (most likely) Art of Animation. If you can get the military discount definitely check into staying at Shades of Green. That should save you some money. Here are my suggestions of actual things to do while you're down there (pending you don't have a car. If you do, there are many, many more!)

- Drink Around the World @ Epcot: A MUST!
- Jellyrolls on the Boardwalk
- The Atlantic Dance Hall on the Boardwalk
- Sunday Nights at House of Blues are "Service Industry Night". It's a college scene (all the CP interns go there) and it turns into a club at night. Definitely a lot of fun if you're into the club scene.
- When it gets closer, see if there are any concerts coming to HOB and go there. They're a lot of fun.
- Go to Kimonos (@ the Swan) for some Karaoke!

Hope some of those suggestions help! Happy Planning!

 

[SMS55]

I have spent many a 21st birthday with friends at Disney and it's a GREAT time! If you're on a budget I'd definitely recommend Pop or (most likely) Art of Animation. If you can get the military discount definitely check into staying at Shades of Green. That should save you some money. Here are my suggestions of actual things to do while you're down there (pending you don't have a car. If you do, there are many, many more!)

- Drink Around the World @ Epcot: A MUST!
- Jellyrolls on the Boardwalk
- The Atlantic Dance Hall on the Boardwalk
- Sunday Nights at House of Blues are "Service Industry Night". It's a college scene (all the CP interns go there) and it turns into a club at night. Definitely a lot of fun if you're into the club scene.
- When it gets closer, see if there are any concerts coming to HOB and go there. They're a lot of fun.
- Go to Kimonos (@ the Swan) for some Karaoke!

Hope some of those suggestions help! Happy Planning!

If you are going to be 21 then maybe something involving alcohol is in order. I don't know if you want to drink around the world. It would depend on your tolerance but definitely try some different beers or drinks.

 

[DaGoof00]

If you are going to be 21 then maybe something involving alcohol is in order. I don't know if you want to drink around the world. It would depend on your tolerance but definitely try some different beers or drinks.

Drinking around the world at Epcot! That was a fun time!