Keeping the Magic Alive at Home
Written by: Erica Ellis – Magical Tripcations Travel Planner; Content and Photos Contributors – Jo Anne Smoot – Magical Tripcations Owner, Kimberly Evans, Josh Murray, Michelle Canchola, Jessica Daniel, Philip Hardy, Glenn & Shelley Frost, Emily Dula, Jeff Hathcock – Magical Tripcations Travel Planners
Top 5 ways our Travel Planners are bringing Disney Magic into our lives while staying at home
We are living through an unprecedented time in history! COVID-19 has brought so many changes to everyone’s lives and we are grateful to be safe at home. And for the first time ever, the Disney Parks are closed. With all of that, it doesn’t mean that our Travel Planner team isn’t missing the absolute magic of the parks!
Here are some things we have done to help the time pass a little more quickly and keep the magic going at home.
Make it Mickey Shaped!
- As I always say, everything tastes better shaped like a Mickey & that’s a #FACT! There are so many ways to bring magic into your cooking. One way is to shape your food like Mickey’s silhouette. There are waffle makers that can help you out, or simply create the shape with cookie dough the next time you make a batch of chocolate chip cookies!
A Mickey waffle maker was a perfect Christmas
gift a few years ago! It’s been used so many
the last couple of months.
- Disney Parks Blog has been sharing so many great things through all of this! Some of my favorite have been park & resort recipes for Disney favorites! These #DisneyMagicMoments are a fun way to transport you to your favorite restaurant or snack stand and imagine that you are experiencing the magic at the parks, even if you have to squint a little. Some of our favorites here at Magical Tripcations have been:
- Tonga Toast from Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
- Grilled Cheese Sandwich from Toy Story Land at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
- Magical Mickey Mouse-Shaped Beignets from New Orleans Square at Disneyland Park and Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter at Walt Disney World Resort
Magical Tripcations owner, Jo Anne, took a try at Mickey
Beignets & they turned out great!
Get Creative – But make it Disney!
- We have the Pinterest boards where we pin all the things, but do we do them? Well, if you’re like me, probably not. Now that we are home all the time, I have found this as an opportunity to do more of these crafts & fun at home. There’s fun ideas all over the Internet. Disney Family website has posted some really fun things – take a look! There are coloring pages, crafts, recipes & so much more! A quick Google search will provide you with a multitude of activities. Our Travel Planner, Jessica Daniel, & her boys built some pretty cool light sabers for May the 4th out of Dollar Store flashlights & bubble wands!
Light Sabers made with items found at the Dollar Store!
The force is strong with these younglings!
- Another popular pastime during all of this is to do puzzles together as a family. Lots of our travel planners have found the time to do some awesome puzzles.
Even in the Springtime, a Winter Wonderland
puzzle is a good idea!
- One of our planners at Team Magical Murray Mouse got extra crafty & built a Mickey-themed coffee mug holder – it turned out great!
What an awesome quarantine craft!
Go to a Disney Park – Virtually!
- There are so many ways to “transport†yourself to one of the parks. A few weeks into all of this, I set up a day where we “traveled†to Disneyland Park. How did we do that? I went onto YouTube & found point of view ride videos and designed our day to spend it at the park. You can find park maps online and place the rides in an order that would make sense. I also found some copycat recipes online and included food/snack breaks into our day. We ate some corn on the cob from Edelweiss Snacks, Cinnamon Toast (which acted as a replacement for a churro), created a Taco Salad from Rancho Zocalo, & Blue Milk from Galaxy’s Edge. It was a really fun day! Just like an in-person Disney Park trip, this did take a little bit of planning, but it was well worth it.
**PRO TIP – point of view videos are a great tool to use when you’re planning your Magical Tripcation, especially when deciding which attractions to use your Fast Passes on.**
Time to hop on your own pirate ship to
sail through Peter Pan’s Flight a guest
favorite even if it’s virtual!
Disney Entertainment? Yes, Please!
- Disney+ was released at the right time! They have a plethora of options, including movies, documentaries, & shows. There are classics, first-run movies, & so much more to choose from. We’ve definitely enjoyed it in our home.
“The Imagineering Story†on Disney+ is a Magical Tripcations
Travel Planner favorite!
- What about Disney Karaoke? Our Travel Planner, Kimberly Evans, & her family enjoyed this form of entertainment at home with classic Disney tunes!
Belt out your favorite Disney tunes
with your family tonight!
- Celebrating a birthday during this unprecedented time? Make it Disney-themed! Our planners, Glenn & Shelley, celebrated their daughter’s birthday at home and it was all Disney-themed!
A Disney themed birthday party is always a
good idea!
Plan Ahead!
- At this time, the Disney Parks are closed, but they are working every day with health officials to figure out how & when to open up the parks & resorts safely. Bookings are available for later into 2020 & even 2021! What a great thing to look forward to! With so many families having to move their trips due to these closures, things are filling up fast, so the sooner, the better on securing your next booking. The major benefits of booking now is that you lock in the current prevailing rate with your deposit as well as lock in your resort of choice or stateroom of choice. Contact any of our Travel Planners to get more information on pricing & availability.Â
How are you spending your time? Let us know using the #MagicalTripcations hashtag or leave us a comment on our Facebook Page – we’d love to see your photos. Don’t forget to let us know when you’re ready to book your next trip. We would love to assist you!