Ways to Add a Little Extra Magic?

[magicmom2007]

I'm coming up with ideas to add a little extra magic to our trip to the World, which is approaching very quickly. (Yet not quickly enough!) I'm thinking mostly of ways to add some pixie dust to our drive down (in the SUV for a day and a half) and our stay in the cabin at Ft. Wilderness, as well as ways to get everyone as worked up and excited about this vacation as I am! Here are some of the ideas I've come up with so far, but I'd love it if you could all share yours as well!

1. My mom is making each of the kids (and one for me, too) a small rectangular no-sew fleece travel pillow using Disney fleece fabric.

2. I'm planning to paint "hidden Mickeys" on DD12's toenails (again, mine, too!) and use the Tinker Bell nail art kit on DD9 before we leave.

3. I've gathered some fun things to place in the cabin when we arrive. I found Disney activity magazines, a deck of Disney villains playing cards, a Mickey Mouse hanging chalkboard (to write notes to each other or reminders on), and a LOT of glow sticks!

4. For snacks in the room, I am bringing a mix of peanut M&Ms and Reese's Pieces. (I'm telling the kids that if you eat a blue & yellow together, it's a 'Donald Duck' or if you have two brown they are are 'Chip & Dale', or blue & orange together make a 'Goofy', etc.)

5. I have a playlist already on my iPod of Disney music for listening to on the drive down, of course.

6. We home school, and all of next week's writing assignments are going to be related to Disney. "Which ride are you most looking forward to riding and why?" "If you could design a new attraction at Disney World, what would it be?" "Which Disney character do you think you are most like and why?" In addition, they are all doing reports on Walt Disney himself. We are also learning about each of the countries in EPCOT.

OK. Some are a little corny, but they'll still be fun. I'm really looking forward to reading any tips anyone else wants to share.

 

[koolaidmoms]

That sounds great!

We do very similar things. We drive 21 hours each way and for us the trip down is part of the adventure.

We also catch up on some of the DVDs of the cartoons we haven't watched in awhile - Incredibles, Toy Story and A Bug's Life are featured in the DHS show now so we watched those on the way down so DS (6) and DD (9) would know who they were.

I also have little "treats" like t-shirts, stuffed animals and pajamas that I order from Disney Outlet really cheap and save throughout the year. I tend to be the last one to leave the room so I would leave them on the foot of the bed and when the maids made the bed they would be left on the foot of the bed. Up until last year my kids thought the maid left them presents each day.

We also do estimation and prediction lessons with numbers of people in rides and shows.

Conservation and animal behavior is great at AK. We sat and watched the "teen" gorillas play a dominance game for about 20 minutes last time we were there. They would run and try to knock each other down into the water. Then they would come charging back up to try and get the one who knocked them down. I know yours are older but if anyone else is reading this....

Hope this helps some.

Have a great time!!!

 

[speairson]

when we went last year, "Tinkerbell" left the kids little toys or treats and a note telling them to have a great day in the parks each night for them to find when they woke up in the morning. It was all Disney themed like caps, hair accessories, playing cards, pens, etc. They loved getting their "tink gifts" each morning

 

[jemmouse]

Another mom who thinks like I do, love it. Some special things I have done in the past, are
- Right before our trio I send a postcard to my son from "Mickey Mouse" or whatever character he truly is excited to see. I just write how excited I am to see him again and am counting down the days(of course this all done through a character,hehe). Usually upon every time we leave Disney I buy a few postcards for the next trip and for when we get home. At the end of our trip I send a postcard also saying thanks for visiting, it was real special to see you, and highlight some magical moments of the vacation.
- Also buy a blank tshirt, and a sharpie and bring that with to be autographed that way when your child returns to school they can wear their special shirt with all the autographs on it.
- I buy glow sticks and any kind of light up toy and pull that out when we go to the parks at night.
- We usually buy matching shirts for one day of our visit and get a picture taken and we usually use that as our Christmas card every year.
- I buy my son a disposable camera and let him take pictures of what is special to him. It is very interesting to develop these pictures and see the magic through their eyes.

Good luck, hope some of these help....

 

[PixiePlanner]

when we went last year, "Tinkerbell" left the kids little toys or treats and a note telling them to have a great day in the parks each night for them to find when they woke up in the morning. It was all Disney themed like caps, hair accessories, playing cards, pens, etc. They loved getting their "tink gifts" each morning

We did this too. I never said it was Tink but DD thought so. DS never said much accept that it concerned him that someone was coming in our room everynight. He did run and look for the notes every morning for they told him where to find a surprise. DD had a new Aurora sundress the morning we went to breakfast w/ princesses, DS got a Goofy T when I knew we would be meeting Goofy, etc.

Both kids also had a new pair of Disney PJs that I had picked up. That wasn't from Tink, but it was a surprise for them.

 

[PrincessKell]

You can check the Dollar Tree/stores for little Disney theme items. Ours has tons of coloring books, puzzles,stickers and stamps with stationary. That would be good for down time in the hotel or ride down for coloring.

You can have the girls act out scenes from their favorite Disney movie.

You can bake hidden Mickey shaped cookies or decorate cupcakes with disney theme take them for the drive down. Or Mickey rice krispie treats.

 

[RMAMom]

These were done by a very talented woman on the creative DISign board. She is no longer designing but there are many generous people over there that are. They never cease to amaze me with their creativity and talent!

You could print journals for them to fill out along the way. They make great memories of the trip.

http://s143.photobucket.com/albums/r132/donatalie/2010%20Journal/

Make pressed Penny tubes with the large M&M mini tubes.
http://s143.photobucket.com/albums/r132/donatalie/Pressed%20Penny%20Tubes/Large%20Tube%20Labels/

Make invitations to any special dinners or shows.
http://s143.photobucket.com/albums/r132/donatalie/Invitations/

 

[RMAMom]

One more, at the top of this page there is a sticky titled Printable activities for the road. or something like that. There is a lot there that you may be able to use.

 

[Perditamarie]

I like these...especially the m&m one! Here are some more:

* have a photo mat autographed and slip in a special vaca photo when you get home

* bring glow sticks for evenings at the parks

* bring new swim goggles as a surprise...somehow, goggles make swimming that much better!

* search out the hidden mickeys in lines, resorts, restaurants, etc

* take photos of your family posing in all the hats around world showcase and/or a gift
shop ... makes for some silly photos and a great spread in a photo book, albumn or scrapbook

* buy some Disney pins inexpensively on ebay and trade w/castmembers at the parks

* sample candies from all the countries around world showcase

* go on the creative DISign board and be inspired....you can make your own passports for Epcot and wrappers for small candies (Hershey Nuggets)

 

[MamaOfTwoPrincesses]

We also do "Tink Treats." I make sure to sprinkle pixie dust around the room as well!

 

[magicmom2007]

Thank you everyone! I look forward to trying some of these great tips! Keep them coming!

 

[allaboutaprincess]

I like to buy an updated book about the parks for my daughter to read in the car. She loves to read about new attractions and facts about the rides. I also pack disney movies to watch in the car. For our next trip I plan on buying some disney window clings to decorate our room.

 

[PelletierBears]

I saw a post by a woman who cooked a Disney themed meal each day.

I'm trying to remember some of them...

pizza and salad served on Toy Story / Pizza Planet style plates, table decor
speghetti and meatballs served on Lady and Tramp theme dinnerware
I remember Incredibles, Cars, etc

She didn't go out and buy the actual themed paperplates, cups, etc as that would be a bit expensive but instead used certain colors and got creative with construction paper, etc. For incredibles I think she had a centerpiece with the Incredibles symbol. I remember thinking what a great idea to get everyone in the Disney mood!

I wish I could remember more specifics or find the thread but it was several months ago (if not longer).

Have fun on your trip!

 

[PelletierBears]

I just came across this thread...lots of great ideas including some of what I was talking about (meal time)!

Sorry I'm so lame I dont' know how to post the link but here's the thread title:

Post family Disney-theme night ideas HERE! 115 and counting!