Ways to Help Kids Count Down the Days Until WDW

[BamaBaloo]

We will be making our way to WDW for our DS' first trip in December. It will also coincide with his 5th birthday.

We're looking for special things that you all do to count down the days......

 

[RN01]

A month or two before it was time to leave for our trip, my kids made a chain out of construction paper and they took off a link everynight before they went to bed. It was exciting watching the chain get shorter and shorter till it was time to go!!

 

[ShellyMouse]

i counted (wrote down) backwards on the calendar from the day we would leave back into august. my dd loved to check it out every few days, especially when it got down into the double digits!

 

[WDWNicole]

I've done the paper chain too for vacation countdowns. I usually start at the 50 day mark and so I haven't made one for our upcoming trip yet.

 

[BitsnBearsMom]

We print off a calendar - usually 30 to 50 days out with a countdown added as to how many days left and the kids add a Disney Sticker each day to 'cross off' that day.

We have a 1 month till Disney party and make a Mickey mouse cake and watch a Disney movie or the planning video. We also try and watch a different Disney movie each weekend from about 8 to 10 weeks out.

 

[jenanderson]

Okay, we are a sick family - we are planning for our next vacation in August 2007! That is a long time to count down but here is what we have been doing to pass the time ---Disney Nights!

Here is how it works:
First, we pick one of our favorite restaurants. We look at the menu and go over what we would eat if we were there. That becomes the menu for our night - even if it means 4 different challenging meals to make.

Next, we all get dressed up in Disney wear. T-shirts and shorts or sun dresses for my daughter and I.

Then, while my husband and I are cooking and preparing the meals, the kids have to decorate and set the tables. During this time, we listen to Disney music.

Finally, we watch a Disney movie and have snacks like we would get at Disney (popcorn, rice crispie treats in the shape of Mickey heads, etc.).

It is a super fun time. Our next Disney night is this Saturday where our house will become Chef Mickey's breakfast buffet. I am cooking waffles that I will have to cut out into Mickey heads! We will do the whole huge buffet thing on our counters and then sit down to a meal at the table. Everyone will have to go to the buffet to get their own meal. For this meal, I bought bright napkins and on one song, we will all wave them above our heads like they do there.

It is tons of work but tons of fun. One of the best was Cinderella's Royal Table when the kids taped cut tissue paper to the windows to make it look like we were actually in the castle.

I know that your son is younger but even having some sort of monthly Disney event to look forward to will help pass the months.

Have fun!

 

[MickeyHereWeCome!]

Wow! I love the Disney restaurant night idea, but it sounds exhausting

For our last trip to WDW, I made countdown calendars simiilar to those chocolate Advent calendars for Christmas. I drew a map of MK, printed off pictures of various attractions that the kids enjoyed, and glued them in place on the map. Then I taped a Hershey Kiss etc. on top of the picture and wrote a number underneath. Each night, for the last 30 days, they got to find the number, eat the candy, and discover the attraction underneath. The kids had a BLAST doing this. I'm definitely doing it again for our Oct. trip.

 

[ThreeMusketeers]

For our last trip, we used a Big JAR we found at the DOllar Store, Printed off a Pic of Cindy's Castle that we found online..and we taped it on to the Jar. Then put one Hershey KISS in for each day left until the trip, and every night before bed dd could take one Hershey Kiss out. She knew that when they were gone..we were goin to Disney World!

 

[dvcnewgirl]

Awsome Ideas!

 

[pixistix]

We usually have a 99 days to Disney Party with a cake from a local baker that has Mickey and Minnie on it. The girls decorate the house with Disney decorations they make themselves and we celebrate the double digit countdown.
We just booked Swan/Dolphin for August and haven't told DD's yet.

 

[katiesmom2]

What great ideas! I'm going to make a paper chain with DD3 today! She will love that.

 

[beckmrk04]

I just made the paper chain last night for our trip in May (95 days/strips of construction paper). They are 3 and 5, so they don't really "get" the calendar thing yet. I decorated it with Mickey and Princess stickers. It's pretty long, but they'll have fun ripping those days off! I think I might be more excited than they are- I always tell my husband I feel like the kid in the commercial, "I'm too excited to sleep!"

 

[disneyfanfamily]

jenanderson - we are also not going until August 2007. But I was excited when January came this year because I was able to say "We are going to Disney next year!" Seems a long ways away though!

I like the restaraunt idea! I also like the advent calendar thing. We will have to do something come January of next year. Maybe an advent calendar but only getting a treat once a week. Maybe I will purchase little Disney items (pens, pencils, stickers - cheap things) that they will get once a week until THE DAY.

We did not do anything this year because it was a surprise until the morning of. That was fun too!

 

[cwnhokie]

The sticky at the top of this board on the website mouseforless. They have disney countdown chains that you can print.

 

[hubermom3]

My dad cut out a piece of dry erase board in the shape of Mickey's head and painted the outline, about an inch thick and ears, in black. We write how many days are left.

 

[katiesmom2]

Instead of the paper chain, we made a caterpillar today. Each circle on the body stands for a day until we leave (only 17 for us). DD3 decorated it with Mickey and Minnie stickers and is so excited to rip off her first caterpillar body part tomorrow!

 

[luvthedis]

We copied a calendar idea from someone's signature on these boards. I cut out Mickey and Minnie heads out of black construction paper and my girls took turns putting them on a construction paper calendar every day. The day we went to Disney had a full color Mickey head sticker on it, so they knew what to look forward to. They loved it!

 

[Blueeyes101817]

When the family that i babysit for took me last year, i made a huge countdown with the boys....We glued 2 pieces of construction paper together and then i took them to home depot and we picked out 40 of the mickey heads....we glued them on the construction paper and put the numbers 1-40 on the mickeys...every day we crossed one off..it was the best part of the day!

 

[lorli]

I love all these ideas, thanks everyone!!!!!

 

[lovesdumbo]

At about 100 days out last year, I printed off calendar pages and wrote the countdown on each day. We covered up the old count with a thumbprint size photo from prior trips. My DD also decorated special days (birthdays, anniversaries, holidays) with drawings of cakes, flowers, stars...

I'm taking just DD for her 7th birthday. I've got to think of some way to let her have a countdown without letting her brother know that he's staying home. He already had his special trip last Aug and we are all going in Aug this year and I'll take him alone in Oct but I'm not sure how understanding he'll be right now.