Getting Ready for Disney

March 26, 2018 Mom MD Hawaii

We are extremely blessed that we were able to get to Disneyland for our first ever Disneyland family adventure this spring break. Here are some of the ways that we got ready for Disney. Getting ready for Disney is all part of the fun and we, or mostly I, had a lot of fun getting things ready for our epic first Disneyland Trip. Getting ready for Disney included getting our lanyards prepped, our pin boards done, matching Disney family shirts made, water bottles ready, Mickey Ears made, and countdown started. See below how we did it pretty simply and affordably.

Getting Ready for Disney

Countdown to Disney
Lanyards Prepped
Pin Boards Done
Matching Disney Family Shirts
Labeled Water Bottles
Mickey Ears Made
Dining reservations

1. Countdown to Disney

A large part of the Disney Magic was building up the excitement for our vacation. Our daughter had been asking for years to get to Disneyland, and finally we felt like both of our kids were old enough. We were waiting until the kids were old enough to handle the 5 hour flight from Hawaii and tall enough to be able to ride most of the rides. Both kids are finally above the 42″ that is necessary for most of the rides. Make sure to measure children with shoes on or risk being disappointed about the inability to get on certain rides. Check out the specifics for each ride on the Disneyland app and even search for rides based on height restrictions.

To build the magic and excitement of our trip we pulled out a Disney countdown. I had made a simple printout placed in a glass frame previously for our Disney Cruise and used the same one for this Disneyland vacation. The particular one I found from Poofy Cheeks was black and white so the kids could color it in. I just printed it out and placed it into a frame. Super easy! Click the Poofy Cheeks link to get to the website I found it at. There are numerous other FREE printable Disney countdowns and ideas that are available on Pinterest and Google. Some of the cooler ideas include a paper chain, Mickey head calendar, or a countdown app. Disney even has some super cool Disney themed numbers you just print and cut from their blog here.

2. Lanyards Prepped

The next big step was prepping our lanyards. Lanyards are great for keeping your Disneyland passes and room keys close and safe while on your adventure. They also hold Disney Pins for showing off and trading at the parks. I made our lanyards very affordably using Moana themed ribbon. See how to make them easily with step by step instructions via the DIY Disney Lanyards, Pin Boards, and Pin Trading article.

Also see better pictures on the following YouTube video:

3. Pin Boards Done

Disney pin boards may be done after the Disney vacation to hold all the amazing Disney pins you bought or traded for. However, we made these prior to our vacation to hold the pins that the kids wanted to keep and to make room on their lanyards for Disney Pins to trade. Because of all the amazing activities, rides, and events at Disneyland we did not actually get to do as much pin trading as we did on the Disney Cruise. The kids did get to trade a few pins here and there and the hotels and most shops that sold Disney pins had pin trading boards. See the simple step by step instructions via the DIY Disney Lanyards, Pin Boards, and Pin Trading article. See the rules associated with Disney Pin trading in that article as well.

For the more visual learners, like me, this YouTube video goes through making these simple, easy, and cheap DIY pin boards step by step.

4. Matching Disney Family Shirts

No Disney family vacation would be complete without matching Disney shirts. I basically got my ideas straight off Google and Pinterest. Thanks to my most amazing Christmas present, the Cricut Maker cutting machine, I’m able to pick out and make designs that can be cut into heat transfer vinyl and then simply iron the design onto our own shirts. I wrote a separate article detailing how I made our Disney family shirts with the Cricut Maker step by step in DIY Disney family shirts. These shirts were made for personal use, but if you buy Disney® Cartridges then the products made with them can be sold for profit.

Short on time? Find amazing and customizable Disney vacation family shirts for sale on Etsy and Amazon.

5. Labeled Water Bottles

Staying hydrated was a top concern for the kids. I bought these 2 plastic Disney character themed water bottles at Target’s bullseye playground for $1 each. Using the Cricut Maker names were cut out of glitter vinyl and stuck on for instant personalization. The water bottles also came in handy during our 5+ hour plane flights and airport terminal waiting times as well.

6. Mickey Ears Made

Making custom Mickey ears will also be a future full article in length so check back in the next several weeks. Mickey ears are a classic accessory for any Disney vacation. They are so much fun to make and wear. The possibilities when making them are endless! For our ears I decided on Mickey ear hats so they could pull double duty as additional sun protection. I stuck with the Moana theme for my husband and I. The kids wanted Snow White and Avengers (Dead pool and Ironman) for their hats. Of course there were some classic Minnie ears with flower embellishments for fun as well. This is now the official start of my Mickey Ears collection.

See how they were made via the DIY Mickey Ears Caps article.

7. Dining Reservations

Getting ready for Disney meant making as much advanced reservations as possible because dining gets booked up quickly. Luckily Disneyland doesn’t do advanced Fast Pass booking like Disney World, at least not yet. Using the Disneyland app to make reservations was easy. Cancellations can be made on the app, unless it is less than 24 hours to the reservation, then any changes need to be made by calling. Consequently Disney charges $10 per person for no shows. Personally we changed one reservation less than a day out and they were very accommodating and waived the $10 per person fee.

The product links above are provided for your convenience. All products that I used were bought by me and all opinions are my own. I am a Cricut, Etsy, and Amazon affiliate because I love and use their products. I may make a small commission if you choose to use the links above to buy products at NO cost to you.