Decorating Your Resort Room

Whether you’re planning a vacation to celebrate a holiday, birthday, anniversary, first trip, or some other special occasion, sometimes it is fun to prepare a little extra magic. There are plenty of ways to add that extra touch, but one of my own favorites is decorating the resort room. Coming back from the parks at night to a room decked out in lights and other little embellishments is such a wonderful feeling. Decorations can help you find your room at night and really make you feel at home.

Before we get to the good stuff, let’s set some ground rules. First and foremost, safety is the number one priority at any resort. Don’t do anything that puts you or anyone else at risk. And speaking of other people, be mindful of those around you. While that motion activated ghost yelling “Boo!” might be funny the first time or two, your neighbors probably won’t be feeling too neighborly after they hear it for the thirtieth time. Stay away from anything permanent or that leaves damage, and please don’t leave a big mess and expect housekeeping to deal with it. Follow the rules of the resort you’re visiting as well. For example, Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge has strict rules about hanging things outside your room since animal safety is a priority.

Alright, now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s talk about some decoration ideas.

Window decals or clings: These are the simplest option because they are convenient to buy, pack, and use. Holiday themed ones are easy to find for as little as $2 anywhere holiday decorations are sold. Online shops make it easy to purchase Disney or Universal themed ones as well. A quick search on Amazon brings up Frozen, Star Wars, and Marvel themed clings to name a few.

Lights: Lights are my favorite decorations because of how easy they are to spot from afar and how warm and welcoming they feel when you come back from the parks at night. However, they are also probably the most logistically challenging. Not only do you need to find a way to hang them, but you need to make sure they can reach an outlet as well. When I decorate with lights, I bring command hooks and extension cords or surge protectors. Between the lights and extra items for set-up, these decorations can eat up some serious suitcase room.

Stuffed animals and other toys: Some rooms have a window ledge that fits smaller toys and stuffed animals perfectly. I love walking by rooms decorated this way to see the items kids chose. From construction trucks and action figures to plush Minnie and Mickey, these can really make your room stand out. It’s also another fairly easy decoration because they can be squished in a suitcase and plopped on the window ledge upon arrival.

Paper décor: On the plus side, paper is excellent because you can create whatever you want to customize your decorations. First trip or bride to be? Print out a big sign announcing the special occasion. For a fellow Harry Potter nerd’s first trip to Universal, I printed out all sorts of Harry Potter décor for the room: a Ministry of Magic entrance sign to go above the toilet, a picture of Moaning Myrtle to peek over the towel rack, and a Gryffindor Fat Lady portrait with a bubble asking for ‘Password?’ to hang on the door. She thought it was hilarious, and the only downside was that I had to pack very carefully so as not to ruin the decorations.

Holiday decorations: If you’re planning to visit during a holiday or special season, you can bring all sorts of holiday decorations for the room. Jack-o-lanterns, Christmas trees, or even little flags for the Fourth of July are great ways to add some extra holiday theming. I’ve even seen people cover their door in wrapping paper like a big present.

On-site items: Even if you don’t plan ahead to bring decorations with you, you can easily purchase them while on vacation. Sites like Amazon will ship to the hotel quickly, and many of the gift shops have decorations available for purchase as well. Just make sure you’re prepared to pay a bit more than pre-purchased decorations and that you have enough room in your suitcase to get your new items home.

Do you usually decorate your room, or do you think it’s too much work? Did I miss any fun ideas? Let me know in the comments below!