by Makena W.
Summer is here! Time for the sun, the beach and fun (and summer homework but that is a different story)! If you are like me, you enjoy the standard summer things but want to make this break between school years distinctive and unique. Oh, and Disney-fied! Here are some ideas to creep Disney into your summer vacation.
Have a Disney Movie Marathon
Everybody loves classic Disney movies. Whether they contain a magic spell or an adventure to a far off place, they are very entertaining. An idea that I have done in the past is to have a Disney Movie marathon. What I love about these is that you can do them whenever you want. At a sleepover with all of your friends you can watch princess movies or have a “Pixar” themed day with your family. Better yet, take out your 100 Disney movies and select them randomly so the next movie will always be a surprise! Don’t forget the popcorn.
Go to a Movie Theater and See “Brave”
Merida is my new favorite princess and “Brave” is now one of my favorite Pixar movie. I think whether you are a boy or a girl, you need to give Brave a shot (no pun intended). I love her personality – Merida is very persistent and knows what she wants. She proves that you don’t need a man or a good singing voice to be a great princess. And say you are a boy and are being dragged to the movie and don’t get absorbed in the storyline fast (but how could you not?) just keep an eye out for the Pizza Planet truck! It’s in there somewhere! I couldn’t find it when I saw the movie on Friday, but maybe you can! (Also just as a side note: Did anybody else notice the name of a lord and his son, Lord Macintosh and young Macintosh? Steve Jobs once owned Pixar, Pixar created Brave and Steve Jobs’ first computer was called a MACINTOSH!)
Take the DisneyBound Challenge
Lesie (from a Disney tumblr website) creates outfits inspired by Disney characters that are fashionable and trendy. She decided to challenge her followers with a task-can you last a month of “Disneybound” outfits? Every day your outfit has to be inspired by a Disney character. I have successfully completed this mission and it is very fun to have your friends guess who you are. My outfits have represented Mary Poppins, Dory, Tinkerbell, Jack Sparrow, all the princesses, Ursula, Kim Possible and even a few attractions. It is just a little extra Disney Magic added to your day. Can you guess what Disney character inspired the outfit in this picture? (Remember, it’s not a costume but just an inspiration.)
Make a Disney Wishlist
Each and every year I do this. Make a list of things that I want that are connected in some way to Disney. On my wishlist I have numerous Brave themed items, Gallery of Lights and Disney Couture Jewelry. Of course, yours could be different. My favorite way of constructing a wishlist is heading over to disneystore.com and going to the “new arrivals” tab and then going one by one through all the other tabs, skipping “Girls”, “Boys”, and “Men” since that stuff is either too young for me or the wrong gender. If collectibles are your thing and you want a longer list, Lenox and Jim Shore are great places to explore. The holidays are right around the corner and relatives will soon be asking what you want. Get a head start so you end up with gifts that you truly love!
Have a Craft Day
Who doesn’t love making crafts? They are a way to express your love for something in your own individual way and can fill some of your downtime. Of course, Disney crafts already embrace your love of Disney. You can come up with your own craft ideas or Google is always your friend. A quick trip to your local craft store and the Disney options can be endless. One idea I came up with is to have a little contest. Print out multiple copies of a blank Mickey ear template. Give them out to your friends and agree on a topic together. For example, the topic could be “music.” Next, pick someone to be a judge. They do not need a Mickey ear template for this round. Then you have 1 minute to design your own Mickey ears inspired by the topic. After the minute is up, the judge picks which pair of ears she/he thinks are the best. Then the winner becomes the new judge. What’s good about this game is that you can play for as long or as little as you want. Whoever has the most points when your group wants to stop is the winner.
Make Foods from the Parks
Disney’s food is “practically perfect in every way” as Mary Poppins would say. When a vacation ends, you sadly have to go home to the regular mediocre food that your mom puts on the table. But why not bring a little bit of Disney home with you? Attempt to concoct your favorite food from Walt Disney World! I have found recipes online, bought a few Disney cookbooks and have tried some recipes straight from the World….one being the buttermilk chicken from Pop Century’s food court. It didn’t taste exactly like I remembered it, but it was almost there! It’s worth a try if you have a lot of food products not being used in your house and a lot of time.
Throw a Disney Themed Party
We all have a reason to celebrate and who doesn’t love parties? You can meet new people, try new things and have fun! Many parties around this time of year may be to commemorate the end of the school year. Looking for a different reason to celebrate? How about Disney related events like the release of “Brave” or the opening of Carsland. Or even just a midsummer “I-haven’t-seen-you-since-school-ended” get together. No matter what the occasion is, you can turn any party into a Disney party. Instead of playing pop hits, gather all your Disney CDs and bring classic Disney songs, whether from movies or the parks, to other people’s ears. If you have a pool, place Disney inspired pool toys in the water. Maybe offer up the opportunity to arrive in a Disney costume or even have a costume contest! You can have Disney inspired food such as the little cakes from “Brave” or make food from the parks (as mentioned above.) Another suggestion is to have jars set around the venue of your party asking for donations for the Dream Team Project. The Dream Team project is a part of the Make-A-Wish foundation that sends kids to Disney World. You could even charge an admission fee of $5 to get into the party which would be donated to the Dream Team.
Do you have any other suggestions about making your summer more Disney? Share them in the comments below! I am looking forward to reading your ideas. Have a magical summer!
Congratulations to Tony E. for getting the “Where in the World?” picture correct (again)! The picture was the bottom of the sign in front of the former Test Track entrance. We will have to wait and see if it is still there when the refurbishment is over.
See ya REAL soon!
~Makena W.
Quote of the Week: “I am Merida, and I’ll be shooting for my own hand.” ~Merida, Brave
