What are the 'little things' that you do each trip that make it 'magical' ?

[Blackbeltdisneygirl]

We go every year, so in the weeks leading up to our trip, I try to find things that we haven't done before so we still have magic going on.

This time, we're going to try to meet Rapunzel, Flynn Ryder, Oso (?), and Duffy, because they are new since our last trip. We're trying two new restaurants for dinner (Via Napoli and Boma) and may try to branch out from our standard favorites for our lunches. Also on my list is doing the Jungle Cruise at night, seeing Wishes and the kiss goodnight (can you believe I've never seen it?), Animation Academy, and Flights of Wonder.

I have never heard of the kiss goodnight!

 

[KimmyK]

I have never heard of the kiss goodnight!

The "Kiss Goodnight" happens about an hour after wishes about when the park is closing. It is not every night so inquire which night it will be when you go.
The castle changes colors. Very beautiful. Google youtube and you can see it.

The extra thing our family likes to do is use one night and go to Fort Wilderness and do the campfire/movie. They sing campfire songs and a meet and greet with chip and dale. They they play a Disney Movie. You can also make smores at the campfire to the side. They have a "chuckwagon that sells a package to make smores, also other food like popcorn and nachos I think.
It is great fun and a nice treat for something different. And best of all it is FREE, except for the food of course.

 

[csmommy]

The "Kiss Goodnight" happens about an hour after wishes about when the park is closing. It is not every night so inquire which night it will be when you go.
The castle changes colors. Very beautiful. Google youtube and you can see it.

The extra thing our family likes to do is use one night and go to Fort Wilderness and do the campfire/movie. They sing campfire songs and a meet and greet with chip and dale. They they play a Disney Movie. You can also make smores at the campfire to the side. They have a "chuckwagon that sells a package to make smores, also other food like popcorn and nachos I think.
It is great fun and a nice treat for something different. And best of all it is FREE, except for the food of course.

What time does the movie & smores start?

 

[Fantasmic23]

We go every year, so in the weeks leading up to our trip, I try to find things that we haven't done before so we still have magic going on.

The weeks leading up to any WDW trip are the best weeks! We will often watch Disney movies (animated and non-animated) that we've never seen before ... Or haven't watched in a long time.

Like Christmas Eve, we will present the kids with a new pair of pajamas to wear during our vacation.

 

[Seaislegirl]

I found this link where they post the campfire times and movie schedule each month. Hopefully this helps!

http://www.buildabettermousetrip.com/activity-outdoormovie.php#fort

 

[Seaislegirl]

Of course, it would be helpful if I included the link!

http://www.buildabettermousetrip.com/activity-outdoormovie.php#fort

 

[MapleGirl]

Here's our list:

Before the trip -

• I make special shirts for DH and I. (I love the DISigns board!)
• Turn the spare bedroom into a the Disney Packing Command Center where we lay out all the stuff we're planning on bringing with us.
• Watch Disney movies at home and listen to Disney music in the car. On our last trip we bought the Walt Disney World Official Album.

Once we're there -

• Shop at DTD and have things delivered to the room
• Go back to the hotel in the afternoons for naps and floats in the pool (We never use pools at home, so this is kinda a big deal for us.)
• Talk to CM, especially in the World Showcase to learn about their home counties and in AK to learn about the animals.
• Use all the amazing sets and architecture as inspiration for our home. (We designed our home theater after the Adventurer's Club!)
• Have special treats made at Goofy's
• Search for that one souvie that we wanted on our last trip but were too thrifty to buy but have now decided we can't live without. (This has happened three times and has led us on super fun scavenger hunts throughout the parks. The items we were searching for? A Mickey garden gnome, an evil slobbering Mickey pin and a certain Cheshire Cat mug)
• Buy one or two special mugs to add to our collection.

 

[MHSweb79]

Since my MIL is coming along with us on our next trip, I decided that the three girls (me, my DD and MIL) will do pick-a-pearl in Japan as a multi-generational bonding experience. (Or, just for fun. ) I ordered the carriage cages from Ebay for something like $12 total, including shipping.

They arrived yesterday and now I can't wait!

 

[tinkmagic07]

We love to go to the Tink's Treasures store in MK to "wake up" Tinkerbell at the beginning of our day. You have to be really quick to beat the other families to do it first (you'll know she's "awake" if there's music playing when you enter the store). If she is awake already, they CM will still allow your children to wake her. The CM spinkled us with pixie-dust and wished us a magical day.

We sat in the very back of the MK train and the operator allowed DS to be the guest conductor and make the "All Aboard!" call over the microphone. It was the first ride of the day, not sure if that made a difference. We also rang the bell at the MK Fire Station and DS got a "Fire Chief of the Day" certificate.

If you went as a kid like I did and remember the old Water Pageant parade, it's still there and hasn't changed much, if at all. I'm not positive of the schedule, but I believe it's about 9pm. Go to the Polynesian and make your way past the pool and onto the beach. It's peaceful and provides a specular view of a classic show. Take the launch back to MK and you might catch it a second time, even closer!

I agree with other posters - take the launches as much as possible. The extra few minutes is made up for with a nice calm ride, a breeze and great views you would normally never get.

Have a magical trip!

 

[lsenquiz]

A fun thing we did two trips ago was the segway tour of the world showcase. We left our then 4 year old with our 16 year old daughter and my husband and I did it by ourselves. We started at 7:30am and was able to have a tour of the worlds before Epcot opened. Riding the segways was fun and having some adult time was even better. I would do it again even if we had to hire a disney babysitter to keep our little one.

 

[thebwit]

We make sure to take a picture of our DD with the same donald duck statue each year. We didn't pick a statue for our DS the last trip but plan to this one (he's now 1)

 

[TheDisneyOutsider]

We love to go to the Tink's Treasures store in MK to "wake up" Tinkerbell at the beginning of our day. You have to be really quick to beat the other families to do it first (you'll know she's "awake" if there's music playing when you enter the store). If she is awake already, they CM will still allow your children to wake her. The CM spinkled us with pixie-dust and wished us a magical day.

Can someone tell me where Tink's Treasures store is???? We looked for it for a while last year but couldn't fing it anywhere

 

[Cant wait for Disney]

Can someone tell me where Tink's Treasures store is???? We looked for it for a while last year but couldn't fing it anywhere

someone please correct me if i'm wrong but i'm pretty sure tink's treasures is gone now, replaced with Castle Couture?

 

[Isaiah55.1]

Kids love to do the same things over and over (so do adults). Have traditions that you do every visit. For example, we always went to the OKW pool on our first day and got Conch fritters.

 

[jegsnakkernorsk]

Here's our list:

Before the trip -

• Turn the spare bedroom into a the Disney Packing Command Center where we lay out all the stuff we're planning on bringing with us.

• 
  
  I do this too!!!

 

[bronzebrunette78]

When my BF and I went to WDW last September, we celebrated his birthday all week long. Even though his birthday was a month prior to our trip, I spoke with a few CMs who insisted, "if you're celebrating, we're celebrating!". What if maybe each child got their own special day to celebrate their birthdays Disney-style? It was incredible to see how many people (tourists and CMs alike) wished him a happy birthday when they saw his pin. A cupcake with a candle got served to him at almost every meal-- it was hilarious! That extra little bit of pixie dust made him feel like a VIP....I bet Disney would let you alternate your guest of honor daily if you asked them to . Good luck and have a blast!

 

[luckymom4]

We went to the fairy store (?) near the castle and asked to see Tink. They let my daughter ring a bell to call her. Little fiberoptic lights lit up all over the store as she "flew" in, and then she appeared (I think it was a hologram type thing) behind the register. Then the staff sprinkled us all with fairy dust and we made wishes. It was VERY cool to all my kids, and we'll try to do it again next time. I didn't describe this very well, but you can youtube it. It used to be called waking Tinkerbell, and the first person in the store each morning got to do it. But we did it Halloween day 2009 in the evening.

 

[drenalin'junkie]

We go enough to have ridden all the rides, seen all the shows etc...so we take a few childlike steps to maintain the magic.

The best thing of the last year was to buy bubble guns for $10 and a lot of refills.Walking around trailing bubbles brought shouts of "OOOH BUBBLES!" from kids,adults and CMs alike.

We budget in a really cool shirt or sweatshirt and a fridge magnet every so often as reminders when we return to Mundania.

As mentioned before PINs rock and are a way to meet new folks.

Try to do something special diningwise either a character meal you haven't done or one of the really nice places.

Slow down and watch other folks having fun especially kids,young couples,senior couples still holding hands and other stuff that makes the world magic not just the World.

 

[Owl's Friend]

We went to the fairy store (?) near the castle and asked to see Tink. They let my daughter ring a bell to call her. Little fiberoptic lights lit up all over the store as she "flew" in, and then she appeared (I think it was a hologram type thing) behind the register. Then the staff sprinkled us all with fairy dust and we made wishes. It was VERY cool to all my kids, and we'll try to do it again next time. I didn't describe this very well, but you can youtube it. It used to be called waking Tinkerbell, and the first person in the store each morning got to do it. But we did it Halloween day 2009 in the evening.

I'm pretty sure I read on here that Tink's store is gone. Sorry but no more waking her up.

 

[luckymom4]

I'm pretty sure I read on here that Tink's store is gone. Sorry but no more waking her up.

*dies* Say it ain't so! Oh well, at least we had that awesome experience. It was really something. But it's Disney, finding things that knock our socks off shouldn't be too hard.