Hiya Canaan,
Welcome to planDisney! I love celebrating birthdays at Walt Disney World. Every year, I try to celebrate mine there, and each celebration has been more magical than the next. I'm so excited to help you create a birthday celebration befitting your incredible son! Both parks you plan to visit are great places to spend a birthday. I'm not sure what your son's favorite things are, but I'll give you some recommendations based on what I would do for my 10-year-old godchild's birthday for each theme park. I live in Texas, Canaan and I firmly believe that birthdays should be celebrated in a big way.
If I were planning a birthday celebration at Hollywood Studios, my big celebration would include a
Fantasmic! Dining Package. Fantasmic! is one of my favorite experiences at Walt Disney World, and attending it is a great way to end a birthday. With a dining package, you would enjoy a meal together and then get a VIP spot for the incredible journey into Mickey's imagination that evening. Even more special is that all five of the restaurants on the dining package list allow you to order a
Mickey Mouse celebration cake! I mean, what says "Happy Birthday" more than cake (especially a cake that you can request "Happy Birthday" written on the chocolatey mouse ears)?! For the rest of the day, you can spend time exploring a galaxy far away in Galaxy's Edge or step inside Andy's backyard in Toy Story Land. My godchild would have a blast playing
Toy Story Mania all day and trying to get a high score.
If animals are more your son's speed, then Animal Kingdom is an excellent place for a more relaxed birthday. My godchild loves animals so I would be trying to reserve either
Caring for Giants or
Wild Africa Trek to mark the experience. These extra special experiences would for sure be something they talked about for years to come. I would also get a reservation for
Tusker House to dine with Mickey and Friends in their safari best. There is something magical about getting a hug from Mickey Mouse on your birthday, and the food is amazing (you can also order a celebration cake at this restaurant as well!). Lastly, since Animal Kingdom tends to close earlier than the other theme parks, I would head back to our resort hotel to get in some evening pool time or another activity on the resort schedule, like tie-dyeing or movie night.
I hope this was a helpful place to start, Canaan. If you want, I would be happy to give you more recommendations based on your son's likes and dislikes. Just feel free to
send in another question. Before I let you go, as a reminder, your son's birthday marks another special milestone at Disney. As a 10-year-old, he would be considered an adult for ticket purposes! Once he turns 10, he will need to have an adult ticket for entry into the theme parks. Please come back and see us if you need anything else.
Happy Planning,
Ashley F.