How to Bring the Fun of Disney (or Any Vacation!) Home

We’ve been home from Disney for almost three weeks, and I’ve been reflecting on how our anticipating, experiencing, and remembering selves experience a trip. In general, my remembering self thinks about the trip more fondly than my anticipating and experiencing selves do. So one way to increase the fun of a vacation is to really dial up the remembering. Here’s how I’m doing that with Disney—and no, it doesn’t involve drinking Joffrey’s coffee. (But if that’s your thing, by all means use my affiliate link.)

Talk About It

Yes, this one is obvious. But I tend to be very future oriented, so it’s easy for me to move on from past experiences quickly. My middle kid is very good about asking questions that allow us to revisit the trip. (There’s a lot of ranking of various ride categories involved.) I don’t always feel like coming up with an answer to “What was your second-favorite non-roller coaster?” But I’m usually glad I took a moment to reflect and remember that I enjoyed so many non-roller coasters that it’s hard to rank them.

We’ve discussed favorite meals and snacks. We’ve talked about characters we met and those we missed. And we’ve gotten a lot of ideas for our next trip by discussing what we want to do again and what we could skip to make room for new experiences.

As our kids grow, we’re trying to help them develop their emotional vocabularies. And talking about the trip is a great opportunity to do this: When did you feel X on the trip? How did you feel when we did Y? Grab a feelings chart and go for it.

Make the Pictures Accessible

My toddler loves scrolling through pictures on my phone. I’m sure part of it is the appeal of the screen. But he also really enjoys flipping through photo books. He asks me to get the basket of albums down for him at least weekly, and he’ll spend a solid 20 minutes looking through all the books. While Disney photos will definitely make it into my album for the year, I might make a separate Disney book for him to enjoy now.

There’s no shortage of companies that will print photo books for you, but my favorite is Chatbooks. (Check out those adorable Disney covers!) They’re easy to make and hold up well. A Chatbooks gift certificate is a great gift option for the person who favors experiences over things but wants a tangible way to relive memories.  

We’ve also really enjoyed having vacation pictures on our Skylight Calendar. I’m pretty sure the Skylight was made in a lab for Enneagram Ones (lists! rewards! planning!), and I’ve really enjoyed its core functionality. But one side benefit of the subscription plan is that you can upload photos that serve as a screensaver. We’ve loved getting to see vacation pictures pop up regularly. And the kids definitely talk the most about the moments captured in photos that show up on the Skylight. I’ll be adding the photos from our trip ASAP.

Listen to the Music

One reason we love Disney so much is that there is always cheerful background music. I loved sitting out on the porch of our Boardwalk room enjoying a cup of coffee and listening to the jazzy music. Turns out, I can recreate that experience at home—with better coffee. Spotify has endless Disney-resort-inspired playlists, including one for the Boardwalk. Whatever your vibe is, you can find a playlist to match (even if it’s not Disney).

You can even “park (or resort) hop” depending on the day or the season. Try the Polynesian in summer. Or the Wilderness Lodge for winter. EPCOT feels like spring to me. And it’s always a good time for the Magic Kingdom.

If you’re not a Disney person, maybe you find a French café playlist. Or Hawaiian music. Maybe The Beach Boys take you back to California. Or you find non-live playlists of the live music you enjoyed in Nashville.

Embrace the Souvenirs

When I’m enjoying my cup of coffee at home with Boardwalk music in the background, you’d better believe I’m drinking out of a Minnie Mouse mug. You can include a subtle nod to your favorite princess (or your Harry Potter house if you took a trip to the enemy Universal) with a water bottle. Drinkware that represents your trip is often easy to find and can serve as a daily reminder of the fun you had.

Another common souvenir is a hat. I’ve embraced (you guessed it) my Minnie hat this year. Many resorts and cities offer hats (or grab one representing a city’s team), and they can also be a little reminder of the trip every time your hair is reminding you that you need another vacation. Now if only I could find a way to incorporate Minnie Mouse Ears into my everyday life.

One last souvenir that I love to come home with is a book. This is a little tougher at Disney (though I did spy a couple Little Golden Books in the gift shops that I could add to my collection). But any time I’m visiting a new city, I like to scope out the indie bookshops and pick up a couple titles to add to my shelves. Even if they don’t have anything to do with the city itself, they’ll still remind me of the trip. If you have a particular hobby or collection, see if you can find a shop that supports it. Your purchase will bring back happy memories of the vacation, even if there isn’t a cartoon character emblazoned across it.

Dress Like You’re on Vacation

Ok, I still don’t mean that you should wear the Minnie ears. (Even if they’re swimming pool–themed.) But t-shirts are another souvenir cliché for a reason. They’re easy to pick up and fun to wear. Grab a workout tank with a favorite character or destination so that gym time really does feel like vacation prep time. (Are you strong enough to carry a toddler through the entire Toy Story Mania line?) Someday it will be cool enough for a Paris sweatshirt (try this if you really don’t want a Disney version). Until then, I have Disney tees on repeat.  

If adulting requires you to leave the Minnie mouse tee or Hawaiian shirt at home, lean in to vacation-adjacent pajamas. Pretend you scored the coveted suite in Cinderella’s castle in this Barefoot Dreams set. Deck yourself out in palm trees, seashells, or, well, beach stuff to remember the beach.  The goal is to pick something that will remind you of happy memories—and ideally be comfy enough that you feel almost as relaxed as you do on an actual vacation!

Plan the Next Trip

Ok, this one is more for the anticipating self than the remembering self. But planning a trip often causes me to reflect more often on past trips. What went well? What do I want to do differently? What did I enjoy so much that I want to do it again as soon as possible? Having a trip on the books to look forward to helps me keep all of my travels top of mind—and I get more fun out of them that way.

How do you keep the fun of a vacation going? What’s the wackiest souvenir you’ve ever brought home? How far in advance do you like to plan your trips? Let me know in the comments—I love hearing from you!

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