Like everyone else, we were stuck at home for a time instead of going on vacation. My princesses were out of town and my Princes were recently 4 and 5 years old with little understanding (or sympathy for mom) during the shutdown. To break up our time and to bring in a little fun, I found activities that would take our mind off “the virus” and used what we had around the house.

Disney Day

Obviously we couldn’t go visit the Magic Kingdom and hug our favorite mouse, but with the help of our toys, costume supply, craft closet, and Youtube, we had some fun times. First we found every toy we owned that was Disney or Pixar. We pulled out our photos from the last time we went to Disney. My, then, five-year-old is very creative so if he thought a Disney blanket needed to be laid out for photos or that a stuffed Mickey needed to sit at the front door, we did it. You could set everything up the night before on your own if you wanted it to be a surprise, but I was trying to fill up seemingly endless days of a stay-at-home order.

Once you have all of your decorations and characters in place (cut some out of paper or print some if you need to), you are ready to have your Disney “vacation.” This is only going to be as magical as you make it, so pull out all of your old acting tricks from high school drama. Oooh and aahhh at your entrance to “Disney World.” Take pretend or real photos with your stuffed, plastic, or paper Disney characters. You could even make tickets or wristbands. One of the kiddos can pretend to be a ticket taker or greeter.

Next, go on Youtube and search for virtual Disney rides. There are entire channels dedicated to this and you can “ride” around the world if you so desire. You’ll want to set up your ride with a laundry basket, Amazon box or a blanket or towel in front of your screen. My knights absolutely loved this. Have the children sit in or on the “ride” and a bigger kid or grownup sit behind them. If the children are small enough you can shake the “ride” and make it lean up or down at the appropriate time along with the ride. It’s such a great way for them to experience rides they are too small for also. You may want to check out the virtual hotel tours as well.

Finally, serve up a special snack in the shape of those famous ears (cookies make this super easy). We have a sandwich cutter in the shape of Mickey. If you have time to prepare ahead, there are many snacks, including ice cream, that you can buy to save on prep time.

You could also print coloring sheets or make any number of crafts easily found online to coincide with your virtual trip to Disney World/Land. This is easily adapted to most theme parks. Be creative and use what you have around the house. Have a magical low-cost day!