How do you add "magic"

[californiamomof4grls]

So we are headed to DL in 15 sleeps!! We are taking our 5 girls and going with out best friend and their two daughter. We are all staying at the HoJo and may even have adjoining rooms. This their first family vacation and first trip for Mom and the girls. I'm looking to find ways to add a little magic for them and of course my girls. So tell me what things you've done to add some magic to you off property stay! Pictures are great too!! Thank you in advance for being so helpful!

 

[babyatlas]

we have been to DL twice and both times i put together little gift bags for my girls ahead of time. they included things like disney related T-shirts or PJs, glow sticks, a disney gift card to spend in the park, disney coloring books/crayons/markers, stickers, tatoos, treats, pins, etc. most of the items i found at Target and a few i ordered online from the Disney store.

i always packaged it in a disney gift bag and then we would leave them at the front desk of whatever hotel we were staying at. i would ask if someone could deliver the gift bags to our room in about 30 mintues and say, Mickey Mouse (or whoever) sent these over for you to welcome you to Disneyland. one time there was no one available to do this so I just set the bags outside the hotel room door and when the kids weren't looking i "fake knocked" at the door.

my girls LOVED it both times and they always believed that someone from Disneyland really sent the gift bags. this might not work as well if you have older children but mine were 4/6 and then 6/8 when we visited.

have fun with it! love the extra magic!!!

 

[SugarQuill]

I vote for the matching tshirts thing. In addition to being really cute, it's ALSO a very easy way to keep your group together.

If it's their first vacation I'd suggest trying to do a character meal, they might really like that.

 

[GenGen22]

I would most definately do pin trading. Our family loves it & its special to Disney. If your children are younger maybe even get an autograph book so they can get character autographs.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

For my family members who have come in from another state, the magic is in the visit itself. I think attitude has so much to do with having a magical vacation. Don't stress the small stuff (and even some of the big stuff), laugh often, take time to appreciate all the details (in a recent game of MouseAdventure, we got a lesson in "situational awareness"), and most of all, enjoy this time together in one of the truly best places to have fun and leave your cares behind.

Have a wonderful trip, and hopefully some of the ideas that other DISers bring up will help you.

One of the things we'd do when we had guests is on the day that we would go to Disneyland, my mom would put on 'Baroque Hoedown,' the song for the Electrical Parade, at 6am (the time we had to get up to get ready to go to the park) really loud. It got everyone's blood pumping, and you could taste the excitement. These were the days that we'd only go once or twice a year, and only when family came in from Texas, so it was a really big deal for everyone. That was magic for us.

 

[Escape2Disney]

The last time I was at the parks with my youngest daughter, it was after a particularly hard year. The trip was kind of a "reset" for us.

One thing I did was make a card for each day (with the help of an awesome DISer's designs). Each day I gave her a card with a special message and a small gift like a key chain, magnets, and other Disney swag.

She still has the cards in her drawer.

 

[TreeDharni]

My kids love spending their Disney Dollars. You can purchase them at most Disney stores or at City Hall inside DLR. They spend like real money in the Disney bubble and can be purchased in $1, $5, $10 and $50. I usually give my kids $50 each in $10's. Another option for spending money is Disney Gift Cards. You can buy these at Target with your Red card and save 5%. I have been planning non stop this year for our December trip. Ideas I have seen and plan on doing are: 1. Starting the first day of vacation off with a gift on their pillows to open when they get up followed by a gift every hour till we arrive at DL. If we drive it will be 12 gifts and if we fly it will be 6-7. I have picked several things up at The Dollar Tree and Target. For my DD (13) I have a pair of Minnie ear hair clips (Disney Store), a coloring book and crayons (Dollar Store), glow sticks (Dollar Store) a reusable Minnie tote to keep everything in as she gets it (Disney Store), an autograph book (Dollar Store) and big pen (Dollar Store). I also plan on getting all of us matching shirts so she will get three shirts in the gifts. For my DS (15) I have a Mickey and friends reusable tote (Amazon)- (they did not have Mickey totes in our local Disney Store), a Jack Skellington wallet (Amazon), and a Jack Skellington IPod case and Glow sticks. He has been a lot harder to shop for but he will get the 3 shirts as well. I will probably get them a Disney move to watch on the way. 2. I am going to sneak into our hotel room first and put gifts on the bed like Pajamas and a Character doll. That has not been fully planned yet. 3. I am giving my kids special hours in the park to do what ever they choose. They can not control our full days because I have things planned like a Character meal (probably Minnie's at Plaza Inn on Main Street), the Walk in Walt's Foot Steps tour, RSR at rope drop and FP For evening hours (super cool to see this ride in daylight and night time). Because I have a teen boy and a teen girl, the do whatever you want hours might split our group up but they will really enjoy the freedom. The best tip of all is to enjoy your surroundings and the Magic or Disney!

 

[DLfan4]

on our girls first trip we got a characature or a portrait done of each of our girls in DCA (at paradise pier) they make amazing soveniers.


We also loved Ariels Grotto. they have really nice family style meals.

 

[aussie shaz]

I don't think you can 'make' Disneyland magic. It just happens