Hello, my sweet readers!
I truly hope that you all are well, and that you are making the best of this situation and making fun memories with your families during these unprecedented times.
While we have absolutely no idea when the Walt Disney World Resort, Disneyland, and Aulani will reopen, and when Disney Cruise Line (currently slated to resume operations on April 13, but I expect that this will not happen) will sail again, we can be thankful that the Walt Disney Company is keeping a close eye on this situation to keep all of us safe!
It is absolutely no surprise that Walt Disney World is my family’s happy place. I say this often. Knowing that the resorts and theme parks sit empty right now is absolutely heartbreaking to me. I am longing to see Instagram photos of guests enjoying the property, and watch new vlogs of my favorite Disney YouTubers exploring the parks. I hesitate to say this because I know that there is a much bigger picture to take in here, but at the same time, mental health and happiness are important, too. See, to me, Walt Disney World is not just a place on a map. It is a place in my heart that contains 36 years of happy memories. Memories with my grandpa and uncle, who are now in Heaven. Memories with my brothers, my parents, my aunt and cousins, and friends, who all live states away from me. And more recent memories with my husband and children, where we enjoy family time without the stressors of our jobs on our minds (my husband and I are both essential employees, and we both are working many hours outside of the home right now). I truly look forward to the day when we can safely return to our favorite place on Earth.
I would like to share a few ways to bring Disney into your home at this time- most of these are things that my family and I do on the regular while we anticipate our next vacation to the Most Magical Place on Earth:
1) Download the app ‘WDW Today’ to listen to the music that is currently on the main TV Channel in the resorts at Walt Disney World. This app features fun, whimsical music that is sure to bring a smile to everyone’s face! When the parks are open, you will be able to view park hours on this app as well.
2) Another family favorite is ‘Sorcerer Radio’. As you can see, there are different channels that you can visit depending on what you would like to listen to at the time!
3) I have been loving Scotty Kilwein’s live shows on his Facebook page (‘Scotty Kilwein page’) at 10pm EST many nights. Scotty is a regular performer at Jellyrollls Dueling Piano bar at Disney’s Boardwalk Inn. Scotty has been performing both Disney music and non-Disney music, and it’s a very enjoyable way to end your evening!
4) The Disney Family website has many cute crafts for your entire family at https://family.disney.com/. One of my favorite crafts is creating a Practically Perfect quote- use one of your favorite Disney quotes, print out a family photo and perhaps a photo of a character, and have your children paint and/ or color around the quote to create a beautiful and meaningful piece of art!
5) Use some of your favorite family photos from your last vacation to create a one-of-a-kind scrapbook. Or, if you have not yet visited Walt Disney World, create template pages so that when you are able to take that dream trip, you’ll just have to insert photos and you’ll then have a beautiful keepsake!
6) Decide which Disney attractions your family would most like to enjoy on your next visit. You can watch point-of-view videos for almost every Disney attraction on YouTube, and be sure to keep a list of your sure-to-be favorites for each park!
7) Create fun Disney-themed Jello jigglers with cookie cutters! I am sure you can find Disney-shaped cookie cutters online, or I found this Frozen-themed kit at Wal-Mart which includes Frozen character cutters and jello mix!
8) Make homemade Disney treats like Dole Whips, Mickey pretzels, and fun cupcakes! I have yet to perfect a Disney-style Dole Whip, but there are lots of recipes out there so you too can try your hand at making some of your favorite Disney treats!
I hope that these ideas create some fun inspiration for your family, and I truly hope that you all stay well and happy! With love, from the bottom of my heart,
-Dana
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