10 Ways to Keep the Disney Magic Alive After You Get Home
If you are anything like me, it’s a little painful every time a Disney vacation ends. And I’m not just talking about the pain you feel after you get on the scale when you get back home. I’m talking about the pain of leaving the Magic bubble and reentering the real world. That capital “M” was intentional. Disney has its own kind of magic, and if you’ve been, you know what I’m talking about. Leaving the Magic is a harsh jolt, but there are some fun ways to keep the Magic going until your next trip! Here are a few ideas for you.
1. Scrapbook! – Do you remember those commercials where the child is frozen mid-jump in the pool and he reminds his mom to get their pictures off the camera? Well, that’s the first step to keeping the Magic alive – get those pictures off the camera and do something with them! No one wants to look at your pictures on a tiny LCD screen on the back of your camera. So get them off your camera! What should you do with them once they’re off? Scrapbook them of course. There are so many Disney-centric scrapbooking supplies out there. Years ago, I had to cut three circles out of paper and create my own Mickey heads! Nowadays you can find Disney supplies at Disney, in craft and hobby stores, online, and in just about every specialty scrapbooking store in the country. If you’re a digital scrapbooker, there are some absolutely adorable online kits out there. If you’re not a scrapbooker, don’t worry, there are lots of “drag and drop” photo options. Disney’s very own Photopass website is one of them. They’ve got layouts already set up for their custom photobook pages. You just add photos and fork out the bucks! However you create that scrapbook, you’ve got a souvenir that you and your kids will treasure forever. Trust me, your Magical memories will come flooding back every time someone picks up one of your books to look through.
2. Souvenirs – Souvenirs are a great way to keep the Magic alive. Buy souvenirs that will take you back every time you use them. I like to buy new magnetic message pads every time we go. They hang on the fridge, and whenever I’m jotting down groceries or something else, I remember the Magic. We’ve got about twenty Disneyland popcorn buckets that are great fun to break out at home. If you’re a coffee drinker, buy a coffee mug that will put a smile on your face in the mornings. I’m not saying you should walk around your house in Mickey ears, although I’m not saying you shouldn’t walk around your house in Mickey ears, I’m saying there are some simple, inexpensive souvenirs that you can incorporate into your daily Magic-filled life.
3. Read Disney Blogs – This may seem oddly self-serving, but it really is true. A great way to keep the Magic alive is by keeping up on what’s happening at Disney. There are excellent blogs out there, (you’ve already found your way to one of the best!) and they’re fun to read! Blogs aren’t just for planning; they’re for reminiscing, discussing, and enjoying too.
4. Listen to Podcasts – Listening to Disney podcasts is also a great way to remember all things Disney. Did you know The Unofficial Guide has podcasts? Podcasts about all kinds of Disney topics. And they’re free! You can subscribe on iTunes and new episodes will automatically download when they’re available. There’s about 40 episodes of the Unofficial Guide’s Disney Dish with Jim Hill out there right now on iTunes. Give them, or any other Disney podcast, a listen and see if you feel the Magic.
5. Disney Message Boards – If you think you are the biggest Disney fan there is, you’d probably be wrong. Did you know there are whole websites dedicated to giving Disney fans a place to talk about Disney topics? All. Day. Long. They argue with each other, ask questions, discuss rumors, rejoice with each other when Disney trips are approaching, and follow along when people return from Disney and retell the stories from their trips in (sometimes) excruciating detail. Message boards can be a little intimidating and some are “friendlier” than others to be sure, but odds are good you can find one where you’ll fit in. I’ve been a member of a couple of the bigger ones for more than 10 years and I’m amazed by how much I’ve learned from them and how many friends I’ve made over the years. I’m going on a cruise with several of these friends this fall. If you want to relive the Magic, remember the Magic, plan the Magic, anything with Magic – a message board is where you should be.
6. Disney Game Night – Have a Disney game night! Or a lot of Disney game nights! There are so many fun Disney games out there for the whole family. Some of our best family times have involved taking a break from computers and television and sitting and playing games together. Disney’s versions of our favorite games have been a special treat. Do you like Cranium? Try Cranium Disney. Are you a fan of the old classics like Clue? We loved Disney Haunted Mansion Clue. This Christmas one of our family members brought HedBanz for us to play. It was great fun until we realized we could have been playing Disney HedBanz! Man! We missed out. There are Disney versions of so many great games these days. Is anybody else clamoring for a Settlers of Disneyland? No? Just us? Okay.
7. Have a Disney Themed Meal – A Disney Meal will keep the Magic alive! You could find recipes for some of your favorite Disney restaurants, or make your favorite things in Mickey shapes! Either way would be fun! Trying your favorite recipes may be a little more of a balanced meal than a table full of Mickey shaped waffles, pancakes and pizza, but everything tastes better when it’s shaped like Mickey!
8. Watch Videos – Videos are an excellent way to be sucked back into the Magic. Your own or other people’s! Thanks to this wonderful invention called YouTube, you are no longer limited to your own (poor?) video skills and home movies. Now you can watch other people’s home movies too! And other people take wonderful Disney videos. There are videos of fireworks, parades, rides, shows, you name it! Just google what you’re looking for and enjoy.
9. Disney Music – In today’s age of iPods, Mp3 players, computers and ring tones, Disney music is easier than ever to come by. It’s also a good way to keep the Magic alive WHILE you are still getting other things done that you may really need to do. Like work! My boss doesn’t read this, right? Disney Music can make me smile anytime I hear it. Even when I’ve been on hold for over an hour waiting to talk to an agent the morning Free Dining has been released at Walt Disney World. Well, it makes me smile for most of that hour anyway.
10. Plan Your Next Trip – Here’s the best way to keep the Magic alive between trips – plan the next one! Nothing takes the sting out of leaving Disney as much as knowing when you’ll be back. So get yourself the latest Unofficial Guide and start planning your next one!
So what do you do to keep the Magic alive between Disney trips?
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Hey Sarah! I hope you had a great vacation in The Sunshine State! Leaving WDW is the most painful thing ever, like Tammy tells us. My advice (I know I don’t own this blog) would be to try your best to act like you’ve still got a Disney vacation coming! Why don’t you go online and pretend to book tickets for a Christmas trip to WDW, or a Disney Cruise in the summer! That would keep the Magic alive for me!
Hi,
I have on more day of parks in my Disney vacation :'(. Me and the kids are so upset, but my husband is relieved to get away from the “in-your-face” Disney service. Tomorrow, we’re going to MK for the last time, because me and the kids have a superstition that we won’t be as upset to leave if we visit MK on the last day.
We will be returning to Florida in two years time, but my husband won’t let us go back to Disney World! I’m very upset at that fact, because now I’ll be even more upset at the fact that I won’t be returning. Well, I’ll be leaving to go back to goddamned Britain on Monday. Why can’t I live in Disney? See you real soon… Not…
Can we download the podcasts if we don’t have i-phones or other Apple products? I’m getting ready to upgrade to a Samsung Galaxy phone and I’d really like to be able to listen to the podcasts on my phone! Thanks.
You can Cindy! There are lots of apps out there that will play podcasts no matter what kind of phone you have.
LOL! Settlers of Disneyland! Have you seen CATAN Junior? CATAN Disney would be great fun.
Yay! Another Settlers fan!! 🙂 We have seen the Junior version! Is it fun? Maybe we should start a petition for a Disney version.
We like to play Disney Scene-it. Sometimes we won’t even break out the board. We will just play the DVD in party mode.
We love Disney Scene-it too, James! That’s a great game.
Some of my British relatives tell me that it’s silly to keep scrapbooks and sip a root beer in my hot tub while listening to Disney music, just because I live ten minutes down the road from Walt Disney World in Davenport! Despite the fact I live so close, and that I go almost everyday using my Annual Pass, I love keeping scrapbooks, listening to Disney movies, and reading magazines about WDW too! One thing my brother (aged 11) loves to do is play on a Disney server on Minecraft. A couple of people made WDW in 1:1 scale!
My mom makes us Mickey shaped waffles and pancakes for breakfast on the weekend, and after dinner, my dad makes perfect Dole Whips for dessert! Disney-themed meals and Disney game nights sure do keep the Magic alive – even if you’re right nextdoor like me!
And I just had some disturbed sleep so decided to browse Disney blogs!
Your dad makes Dole Whips?! I’m coming over. 🙂
And none of that sounds remotely silly to me!
Yep, that’s right – Dole Whips! Come over whenever :P!
You tempt me so, Dako!
Haha! Another tip to add would be: “Make sure to have a Dole Whip AND a Kaki-Gori before you leave!”
Multiple snacks! I like it!
I have made scrapbooks the last two times we went to Disney (2009 and 2011)and the kids love to look at them throughout the year, but especially when we are getting ready to leave for our next trip – we leave in 27 days! And they have been perusing the scrapbook figuring out where they want to go first…too bad that Mom already has a touring plan in place! Thanks, Unofficial Guide! On our last trip they didn’t seem to mind following your plan though!
I love that they plan their trips by your scrapbooks! That is great!
Another great Disney game (especially for the younger set) is Apples to Apples Junior – Disney. Our kids love it!
We love Apples to Apples! Thanks for the tip, Krista!
What are some good message boards
WDWMagic.com is a great one, Shawn! I also like the DIS (wdwinfo.com) and although I’m not a member, I hear good things about Micechat.com.
Also enjoy listening to to D-Cot jukebox & watching clips on YouTube. There are also documentaries & movies on Netflix. The TravelChanel also visits from time to time.
I love those Travel Channel shows, Donald!
I totally listen to parks music (I made a couple of playlists on YouTube from other people’s videos). I actually mow my lawn to Disney music.
That will make the lawn mowing more enjoyable!
You may have skipped the most obvious one: Watch Disney Films
Good point. That may be the most obvious. Missed it.
I bought a bunch of different Disney-themed spiral notebooks and use them at work – one for each project. I also rotate different photos of Cinderella’s Castle as my iPhone and laptop wallpaper.
I love both those ideas, Gitsy. I do the same things!
I would add: bring a suitcase to fill with candy and popcorn from Main Street to eat after you get home. We so want to do this!
Wow! Not that is a good idea! We always bring snacks home, but a whole suitcase is even better!