A couple weeks ago my recently-turned five year old daughter had her very first friend birthday party. She had been looking forward to her big day for months and honestly–so had I. This vintage Disneyland birthday party was so fun to pull together. Plus, it gave us that little dose of Disney magic that we were all so desperately craving. Keep reading for all our Disney party ideas and inspiration!

vintage Disneyland birthday party ideas

I got a lot of inspiration from a birthday party that Nikki from @morningswithmickey threw for her daughter last year. The theme and pretty pastel vintage color scheme really makes this an easy party to plan. In fact, there were so many fun ideas, yummy food, and beautiful decor pieces you could implement, that it will be hard for you to narrow it down! But that’s what makes this Disneyland birthday party such a great event to tailor to any Disneyland-loving kid!

activities for a Disneyland birthday party

The main attraction for her Disneyland birthday party was Sleeping Beauty’s castle–aka. a pink bounce house from Inflate Gold Country. This was our third time reserving a bouncer from their local company and it’s always a great experience. We had booked the smallest size just in case weather kept us indoors and it’s a good thing we did because it did, in fact, rain during her party. Thankfully, this small Karat bouncer is the perfect size for five year-olds, especially when the party has to stay dry indoors.

| Read: A Bluey Birthday Party |

Another activity we had doubled as a party favor. I ordered inexpensive blank ears from a shop on Amazon and had the kids decorate them with patches. Some of the patches were peel and stick, and some needed a great product we love called Patch Magic. It’s basically like really strong double sided tape. How strong? It’s what we use to attach Scout uniform patches and holds up great even through multiple washes! I asked one of my daughters to be in charge of assisting at this station, which was really helpful in case kids (or parents) were confused.

other fun “lands” and “attractions” you could have:

• Pirate’s Lair at Tom Sawyer’s Island–outdoor playset or natural play setup with stumps and hay bales
• Autopia–have kids use scooters, trikes, etc. to go on a chalk road
• Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters–lazer tag
• King Arthur’s Carrousel–stick ponies or real pony rides
• Jungle Cruise–have a company come with reptiles or other animals
• *Avenger’s Campus–design a hero obstacle course
• *CarsLand–toy cars set up
• *Soarin’ Around the World–play the video on YouTube (find it here!)
• *Denotes a Disney’s California Adventure attraction rather than Disneyland

Disneyland birthday party food

Our party was from 10:00 to noon so we didn’t need to serve a full meal and I didn’t want to fill the kids up with treats right before lunch. We served two Disney park staples–fresh popcorn and soft pretzels, as well as grapes and carrot sticks, just in case anyone wanted something a little “healthier.” We popped the popcorn ourselves in the same popcorn machine we used for my daughter’s movie night birthday party, which also served as party decor!

| Read: Chocolate Dipped Mickey Cookies |

other Disney park food you could serve:

• pizza
• Dole Whip (here’s the easiest way to make it at home!)
• churros
• Mickey-shaped anything: sandwiches, fruit kabobs, etc.
• corn dogs
• frozen lemonade

vintage Disneyland decor touches

Here’s another party aspect that I really had to reign myself in for. I tried to keep it simple but… I’m only human, haha. I used the same arch stands that I’ve used for a few parties now, including my daughter’s Aloha Pool Party last year. Those and a the balloon garland I made were the main decor focal pieces. I also ordered a custom photo backdrop from Amazon with a photo from last year’s Magical Media Retreat. Luckily, the beautiful pink bouncer from Inflate Gold Country served as a beautiful decor focal piece too. I also printed up a large vintage Disneyland map and hung it over the art hat is normally in our dining room. I actually really like it and want to leave it up for awhile! Also, a big shout out to my friend Rebecca from Barney Design who designed a couple of adorable bathroom signs that were perfect duplicates of some Disney inspo photos I sent her!

Disneyland birthday party favors for kids

I’ve written before here on the blog about how I’m not a fan of most traditional party favors. I know kids love them, but as a mom of seven who is desperately trying to keep her house clear of clutter, I hate all the cheap little toys. I always try to do fewer high quality items, over a big bag of cheap trinkets. Luckily, my little Disney lover also loves books so I ordered Disney-themed Little Golden books from Amazon (I believe Nikki did something similar). I ordered them during Black Friday weekend (yes, we’ve had this party planned for awhile!) and got them half off! I had the birthday girl sign little “Thank You” tags for all her guests a couple weeks beforehand so I wasn’t preparing the favors last minute.

other fun party favor ideas that aren’t junk:

• buy pins from eBay and have the kids do pin trading
• set up a Disney shop with Disney-themed stickers, pencils, candies, etc. and let the kids fill bags
• Disney coloring books packaged with crayons
• Mickey & Minnie ears
• have a silhouette artist on site (I really wanted to do this and couldn’t find one locally)

other fun Disneyland party ideas

Mike and I believe strongly in kids learning the value of money at a young age. Our 12 year old recently taught herself how to make balloon animals so that she could do kids’ parties! This is a great job for young kids because the start up cost is so low! So, if you’re local and want to support a young entrepreneur as she earns money for summer camp and her eighth grade trip, reach out to me!

We also had a little coloring station with some free Disney printables and a Rainbowland coloring page I already had from Camp Castle Playmats (I had used it as favors for this Princess and Pirate Party). I also designed my own activity page for the party on Photoshop. I like having a coloring station set up for little kid parties because it’s nice to have a calm, quiet activity for kids to do if they’re feeling overwhelmed at the party. Lastly, I set out our Melissa and Doug Disney snack station that my youngest girls got for Christmas from their grandparents.

Would anyone in your family love this vintage Disneyland birthday party?