Birthday Party Roundup- Broadway Bound OC

This birthday party roundup suggestion comes from our reader Tucker, who had an amazing birthday experience at Broadway Bound OC. This is what Tucker had to say.

I would like to RAVE about Broadway Bound, OC. My daughter had her 9th birthday there about two weeks ago and it was a smashing success! She chose the theme Wicked. The organizing consisted of a couple of phone calls and then all we had to do was show up with food. They decorated the space, had a fantastic set on the stage, awesome costumes (for 17!) and two instructors to lead the crew.

By the time parents came to pick up kids 2 ½ hours later they were blown away by a 2 song show. We had a mix of kids from different schools and both boys and girls. By the end everyone was participating and having a wonderful time.



I know there are a number of other themes that Broadway Bound is set up to do for parties, their link should be able to provide more information.

Parties are $350 for 18 people and it is 3 hours. Food is not included but they do everything else and set up for you to bring food in.


To learn more about this unique and what looks to be an incredible birthday party experience head here.

A big thanks to Tucker for sharing her experience. I can't wait to share the many posts I have planned that have come from many readers like Tucker. If you would like to share your birthday party experience please email me at mom@daytrippingmom.com.

Birthday Party Round Up- Guest Post- Scooter's Jungle

Happy Monday! Stay tuned for a week filled with some fun DVD giveaways in honor of Valentine's Day. The giveaways will be for fun DVD's for parents. I can't wait to share!

This week's Birthday Party Round up comes from Katie, who blogs at OCMomactivities.com, and celebrated her son's birthday with a party at Scooter's Jungle.

Birthday Parties at Scooter's Jungle!

Once my boys started to reach Preschool age, I found I didn’t really want to have their birthday parties at home. It can be a bit overwhelming at first with the amount of options we have here in Orange County for hosting kids birthday parties, so I thought it would be helpful for parents to start profiling some of the places we have been to for parties and talk about the pros/cons of each place. I’d also like to share some of the tips I have learned for maintaining sanity while planning them!

If you live in South Orange County and have school aged kids, I would be shocked if you haven’t at least heard of Scooter’s Jungle if not been at a party there. Over the years, we have been to several parties there and hosted several of our own. Scooter’s Jungle really has the kid’s birthday party down to a science and makes for a low-stress party for the parents. For me, the biggest stress surrounding parties at Scooter’s Jungle, is how many kids will show up and making sure I have enough party favors for ones that don’t RSVP, but that is because I always choose to put together my own goodie bags. But, they even have a solution for that! If you buy the pre-made party favors from Scooter’s Jungle and you have more kids show up at the last minute, you can almost instantly have the extra party favors bags brought in to the party room, piece of cake! They have several different options for the party bags, including separate ones for boys and girls.



The parties at Scooter’s Jungle are about 1 ½ hours long depending on which arena you choose. I really love how you have the entire play area for just your party so you don’t have other children running through. This allows for hide-and-go seek games as well as other great games. I have found the designated party hosts to all be great with the kids and as the parent of the birthday child, you really have nothing to do but socialize. The hosts take care of everything from entertaining the kids to setting up the food you brought, to helping you organize the presents that come in.



Scooter’s Jungle is located in Aliso Viejo, Placentia and one in Valencia and their website is: http://www.scootersjungle.com/ . Pricing and contact information are listed on their site.


Things to note:

-Pizza must be ordered through Scooter’s Jungle, but the hosts will serve and provide plates, napkins, etc.

-You bring your own cake & candles, but they have a lighter and cake cutter.

-Do bring a veggie platter, fruit platter and other hand snacks, mostly for the parents to munch on.

-Book your party as far in advance as you can to secure your time and prevent scheduling issues.

-Drop-off parties are allowed - just be sure you have a few parents who plan on sticking around.

-Be prepared to have exhausted kids, this is one party that really tires them out.

Birthday Party Roundup- Pretend City

 I have had quite a few people email me about locales/ideas for birthday parties in Southern California. I plan to do a couple of posts during the next month featuring my birthday party experiences, fellow bloggers and readers experiences with different and unique venues.

I wanted to start off the series with my son's 3rd birthday a couple of weeks ago. My son's birthday is two days after Christmas and because of this he really hasn't had a traditional birthday. This year I decided to move his party to the first weekend in January and to have his birthday at one of his favorite places, Pretend City.

My son's party at Pretend City was a huge success. It was fun and I really did not have to do much. I was running late and only had 15 minutes to set up. This wasn't much of a problem because there were two hosts to help me out. They were amazing! First off they have a cart that you can carry to your car to bring the supplies. They helped me unload, set up the tables, food, decorations and they even helped frost my cupcakes. They also cleaned up! The hosts were EXTREMELY helpful and relieved much of the stress.

The party package at Pretend City includes
• Party room for 1 hour
• Museum admission for up to 15 children and 15 adults = total 30 guests
• Tables, chairs, sink with running water and refrigerator provided
• Two Pretend City party hosts to facilitate the party room set-up, service and clean-up.
• One return pass for all party children

The best part is that I did not have to worry about goodie bags. Every child that attends the party receives a return pass! I also had a Do it yourself candy bar that was a huge hit! I  set up clear jars with Taffy, kisses, licorice, and blow pops. I bought scoops  at Wal Mart for $3 and clear bags with ties for a $1.

I decided to do two sandwich trays from Costco, individual sized chips, capri suns, fruit snacks, small  bottled water, rice krispy treats, a lemonade bar for the adults, single serving size Ben and Jerry's ice cream(which I found on clearance!), apple slices and cupcakes. I think I spent less than $100 on food, utensils and decorations.

After our time in the party room was over, the kiddos had a great time playing in the museum for what seemed hours.  Everyone had a great time and the birthday boy was very happy!

The price for a birthday party is  $346 for Members and  $385 for Non-Members. I am a member of Pretend City and received the discount. Pretend City offers a discount of $50 for Birthday Parties held between Tuesday through Friday. For additional info head here.

Birthday parties can be expensive and I'm going to try to feature parties for every price range. Stay tuned for additional locales and for some fun giveaways!

Goofy's Kitchen at the Disneyland Resort

A couple of weeks ago we had the opportunity to celebrate my son Mikey's birthday at Goofy's Kitchen. What's Goofy's Kitchen you might ask?? It's Disney Character Dining at it's finest. It was fun from the very first moment. We checked in with a very friendly hostess and while we waited to be seated we were able to take a family picture with Pluto. The kids were in heaven. We proceeded to be seated and enjoyed a scrumptious buffet(we went for brunch). The food was fantastic. The hubby and I absolutely loved the waffles and well the kids loved every single morsel of food. After we sat down and started to eat the parade of characters kept coming by and giving our family individual attention. It's a pretty special experience because let's face it - meeting a favorite character at the park is usually not the most pleasant experience. There is always a pushy adult and the interaction is very limited. The experience at Goofy's Kitchen was the complete opposite. The characters interact with the little ones in a take your time kind of pace. It was so much fun. The look on the kiddos faces was priceless as they were able to have their picture taken with Goofy, Pluto, Chip and Dale and Minnie. My daughter was in princess heaven as she was able to meet Sleeping Beauty, Belle and Mulan. The best part is that she was able to have a conversation with them. They took their time and the interaction was priceless. The characters were warm and friendly and posed for many photos and of course signed a million autographs. The buffet servers were fantastic. They kept our drinks refilled and the quality of the food was amazing. As parents we were in heaven. Our children cleaned out their plates and they actually hit the buffet line for seconds. It was almost a miracle. I loved their made to order omelettes. Make sure you order one if you go for brunch or breakfast. Almost forgot-Two times an hour there is a little show and the children were able to participate with the Goofy and Pluto. Make sure to bring a camera to capture all of the wonderful memories your little ones will make. Would I recommend this to anyone and everyone? You bet. It was a very special experience and it was worth every penny. If you are visiting Disneyland for the first time and you are visiting from out of town- This is a must. If you are a local- I would save this place for a special event. It can actually be a good alternative to a pricey birthday party. It can be a little expensive but trust me on this - Your family will be enjoy a truly magical experience. Goofy's Kitchen is located inside the Disneyland Hotel. If you are planning on taking your family Make sure to call ahead for reservations. You can call (714) 781-DINE. You don't want to just show up because you will probably have to wait for some time to find a spot. Oh almost forgot.. Kids under 3 are free. Kids 3-11 - 18.00 for lunch ( I believe)and adults $32.00. I know.. I know.. kind of a silly review since I can't remember the exact price. Oh and by the way if you are an Annual Passholder you will receive either a 10 percent or 15 percent off if you are a Premium Annual Passholder. P.S. I know I'm a biased mom but my little boy is such a cutie pie!!! Don't forget to enter the giveaway. You have until Sunday to enter. Good luck!!! For additional information click here