7 Best Ways to Cope with Disney Park Withdrawl
The best part of a Disney vacation is the anticipation. You start your countdown and feel that special sense of glee when the number of days reaches single digits. The opposite is unfortunately true. At some point, your trip will end. You’ll find yourself back in the real world, no longer swaddled in the comfort of Disney. That’s what we’ll talk about today. Here are seven ways to cope with Disney park withdrawal.
Cook a Disney Recipe
Disney is a forward-thinking company. While KFC will gouge your eyes out if you see their secret fried chicken ingredients, chefs who work for the Mouse love posting their recipes online. Disney’s D-23 site even includes a bunch of meals that you can cook at home.
You won’t mistake any of these dinners for Be Our Guest, but you will feel more connected to Disney as you prep the meal. Some of the recipes are for the finest foods at the parks, too. For example, here’s a Club 33 recipe for Gingerbread Beignets. I would also recommend Chef Mickey, a cookbook that is currently out of print. You can purchase it used on Amazon. My family loves cooking meals from this book when we have the We Miss Disney Blues.
Perform Some Retail Therapy
When you return to the real world after a Disney trip, you may not have a lot of money. After all, most Disney fans tend to spend all of their disposable income when they’re at the parks. Once you have a bit more cash in your pocket, you can cheer yourself up with some retail therapy.
You should head to a Disney Store in your area if you have one. If not, visit ShopDisney.com or one of the many third-party Disney merchandisers on the internet. By purchasing the right products, you can take Disney with you wherever you go. Even when you’re not at the parks, you’ll have a constant reminder of your fandom.
Read Disney’s Social Media Posts
Nobody markets better than The Walt Disney Company. Even other marketers will admit this. Disney’s branding is the best in the world, and that includes their social media feeds. You should follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and especially Instagram to keep up with the latest Disney news.
Facebook is particularly useful because Disney sometimes provides livestreams of their nightly presentations. Watching Happily Ever After in the comfort of your own home is the next best thing to being there. The real star of Disney social media is Instagram, though. They run several channels including the main account, Walt Disney World and Disneyland, Oh My Disney, and The Disney Princesses. The right Disney post at the right time will help you forget that you’re not at the park right now.
Renovate a Room with Some Disney Magic
When you want to bring your love of Disney home with you, take the logical step. Add Disney touches to one or more rooms of your home. You could add officially licensed cookware to your kitchen or a Disney Princess Silver Bookcase to store your cookbooks. ShopDisney even sells paintings that will provide the perfect backdrop for your walls. When you have Disney products in your home, you’ll always feel closely connected to the parks.
By the way, artistic types don’t need to buy anything. You can just grab a paintbrush and draw something Disney on your walls. Take a look at these home renovation ideas to find some inspiration. Even if you’re not a master illustrator, you’ll discover that painting your favorite Disney quote on the wall is therapeutic. It will make your home feel more Mickey-centric.
Schedule Your Next Trip
What’s the rule about dating? The best way to get over someone is to…well, let’s say start dating again. This strategy works with Disney, too. The moment that you return from your Disney vacation, you can and should start planning your next one. After all, everything from your trip is still fresh in your mind. You’ll know what you loved the most and what you won’t feel the need to repeat next time.
As you schedule your next trip, you’ll feel like you’re back at Disney all over again. And when you plan early, you’ll have the added benefit of more availability. You can pick the hotel that you want, the room type that you prefer, and you’ll have no problem getting the Advanced Dining Reservations and FastPasses that you want.
A pro tip here is to speak with a MickeyTravels agent about your next Disney trip. These experienced travel agents offer their services to you for free, and they’ll already know the best deals for your travel dates. Plus, they’ll monitor for better discounts that might come along later.
Watch Disney Movies
This one’s kind of obvious. In fact, I’ve joked that anytime I take a flight out of Orlando International Airport, most of the other passengers have Disney movies pulled up on their digital displays. Everyone needs Mickey Mouse the most as they’re flying out of town.
With Netflix ubiquitous and Disney+ in the offing, you’re never far from your favorite Disney programming. You should create a watchlist of your favorites so that they’ll play in the background as you unpack. Disney animated films, in particular, are like comfort food.
You’ll feel soothed and calm while you watch them. And you’ll need that sensation as you come to terms with the fact that you’re no longer a monorail ride away from Pirates of the Caribbean. You DO have the movie series, though.
Watch YouTube Videos
This one is undoubtedly my favorite. When I get home from a Disney trip, I feel the absence intensely. And I’ve found that the best substitute for being there is watching attraction videos. By this point, I’ve ridden everything at Walt Disney World so often that I have the key moments memorized. When I see the videos, I can almost trick myself into believing that I’m on the rides.
Similarly, I love watching livestreams of park visits. A few thoughtful content creators like Josh and Jenna at ResortTV1 broadcast their Disney trips. When they’re walking through the crowds, I feel like I’m there, too. It’s the best way that I’ve found to deal with my Disney withdrawal.
If we usually book through Disney and receive a military discount, would a travel agent also be able to access the.m discounted military rooms?
We miss out on the extra add on experiences by not booking with a travel agent.
Yes! We recommend the travel agents at MickeyTravels – http://www.mickeytravels.com – (in alphabetical order) Holly Ramey, Megan Nugent, Melissa Roden, Sarah Phillips and Whitney Littlejohn are all MickeyBlog writers AND MickeyTravels agents – feel free to reach out to any of them at http://www.mickeytravels.com/about – their service is FREE!