The Birthday Cruise

"The Birthday Cruise" is the sixty-seventh episode of the Disney Channel animated series Elena of Avalor. It premiered on January 10, 2020, and is the eighteenth episode in the third season.
==Plot==
At Avalor Palace, Elena is reading a letter from Naomi when Armando comes in and announces that Julio has accepted Elena's offer to replace Naomi on the Grand Council. He also informs Elena that Princess Chloe of Norberg is visiting. Elena greets Chloe at the gate. Chloe informs Elena her birthday is coming and wants Elena to plan it in Avalor. Elena asks her about her other friends. Chloe informs Elena she's her only friend. Elena notices it's because of Chloe's pushy, ill-mannered, and overzealous behavior around people. Elena shows Chloe how to be a better friend by teaching her self-control and listening to what others like. Getting the hang of her tips, Chloe then realizes it wasn't right to ask Elena to plan her party, but she's happy to plan it anyway.
On the day of Chloe's birthday, Elena takes her to the harbor. Elena informs Chloe they are going on an all-day cruise with Mateo, Princess Valentina, and Princess Rebecca, much to Chloe's chagrin due to her being prone to seasickness. However, she remembers Elena's advice about being more considerate of others so she chooses to keep her negative feelings to herself. Chloe asks Princess Rebecca and Princess Val what they do for fun in their kingdoms. First Val teaches Chloe her favorite party game called Zestaball, but Chloe can't keep up with Val's athletics and gets tied up to the Zestaball pole. Next, Rebecca shows her a Galonian dance called the Horah, which involves putting Chloe in a chair and raising her up, but Chloe is afraid of heights and the bouncing worsens her seasickness. Lastly, Mateo puts on a magic show, but Chloe is scared of the magic and runs away. Elena checks on her and Chloe confesses all the things they are doing are making her uncomfortable, but she chooses to stick it out because Elena taught her think of others more. Elena says Chloe's feelings matter too and she shouldn't be afraid to speak up.
Suddenly, the ship enters magical fog, leading to a remote island. Chloe is familiar with an old legend and wonders if it's the territory of a sea nymph named Maliga, who was banished by her people to the Foglands forever for being cruel and selfish. Despite the possible danger, she doesn't say anything because she doesn't know if the legend is real and she still won't tell the others how she feels. Unfortunately, Maliga shows herself and proves her existence. Maliga intends to keep them there forever and forces them to throw a party for her. As Elena and Chloe go looking for presents, Elena apologizes for the birthday party going bad, but Chloe takes responsibility for them getting trapped just because she wouldn't speak up. Elena tells her it's good to be less selfish, but another important part in making friends is to be yourself. Suddenly, Chloe gets an idea to escape.
The group uses all the things they used on Chloe earlier. They do Rebecca's Horah dance to get Maliga off guard. Then, they tie her to a chair with Val's Zestaball. With that, Elena and her friends are about to make a run for it, but Maliga notices this and breaks free. The group tries to sail away, but Maliga uses her water magic to trap them, though the magic barrier connected to her imprisonment prevents her from getting closer to them. Maliga sobs, saying that all she wanted was a friend. Hearing this, Chloe sympathizes with Maliga and swims to her, offering to stay in exchange for Maliga letting her friends go. Maliga is touched by Chloe's kindness and lets Chloe goes as well. This breaks the curse and the other sea nymphs let Maliga return home. After Maliga returns, Chloe confesses everything to Rebecca, Valentina, Mateo, and Elena: She is afraid of heights, she gets seasick easily, and she doesn't like magic. She even says that she understands if that means they can't be friends. However, they are not mad at Chloe at all - instead, they are impressed that Chloe has been so brave to do such a thing for them. Elena suggests that they get Chloe's birthday party restarted, saying they will do what Chloe likes. Elena and her friends return home as they do the Norberg jig, Chloe's favorite dance.
==Cast==
*Aimee Carrero as Princess Elena
*Joseph Haro as Mateo
*Sofia Carson as Maliga
*Rachel Brosnahan as Princess Chloe
*Jamie-Lynn Sigler as Princess Rebecca
*Chrissie Fit as Princess Valentina
*Joe Nunez as Armando
==Songs==
*"Give It a Whirl"
*"Avalor Birthday Song"
==Trivia==
*Julio takes Naomi's place on the Grand Council.
*Princess Rebecca makes her second appearance in a row.
*Maliga's voice actress, Sofia Carson, previously worked on Descendants, Descendants 2, Descendants 3, and Descendants: Wicked World as the daughter of the Evil Queen, Evie.
*Moral: Be polite and considerate of other people if you want to be friends with them. On the other side of the spectrum, trying to please people even if you don't feel comfortable with their likings will just make you feel unhappy — friends respect each other's boundaries, just remember to set yours.
==International Premieres==
*September 12, 2020 (Disney Jr. Brazil)
==Gallery==
Chloe hugging Elena very tightly.jpg|Chloe gives Elena an extremely tight hug.
Princess Chloe.jpg
EOA Elena gives tips on friendship to Chloe.jpg
EoA Elena & Chloe side by side.jpg
Elena shows nervous Chloe the ship.jpg|Elena presents the cruise to a visibly apprehensive Chloe
Mateo, Rebecca & Valentina on the birthday cruise.jpg|Mateo, Rebecca, and Valentina on Chloe's birthday cruise.
EoA Chloe seasick.jpg|Chloe seasick
Maliga the Sea Nymph.jpg|Maliga the Sea Nymph traps Elena and her friends
I'm free.png
The Birthday Cruise (1).jpg|Maliga reforms
Chloe's group hug.jpg|Rebecca seems to be the only one enjoying Chloe's extremely tight group hug.
Category:Elena of Avalor episodes
Category:Birthday productions