Disney vacations are all about making memories, so why not add some additional fun to your memory-making? Having your own family’s Disney traditions is a fun way to create extra sentimentality to this already magical vacation destination. Not only do you have something to look forward to, but also something fun to look back on as the years and trips to Disney World accumulate behind you.
Here are 20 fun ideas that some Disney-loving friends have shared:
1. We have 2. It’s a Small World has to be our first and last ride every trip. And we always take a picture in the Polynesian’s lobby.
2. Our first stop is at Magic Kingdom to see the castle!
3. We buy a Christmas ornament with the date and a new picture frame!
4. We do Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue and Wishes fireworks on our last night every year. The kids expect it now! It has accidentally become our ‘tradition’!
5. We go to Chef Mickey’s the first night.
6. The last 2 visits we have a family picture with Buzz and Woody so I think we will continue that this year!
7. We save Downtown Disney for the last day and we always get a milkshake from Ghiradelli and sandwiches from Earl of Sandwich.
8. We go to the Contemporary’s walkway by the pool. There’s a Mickey Mouse statue there that is great for posing with for a picture. We do this every year with the same people.
9. We get a photo album with the year on it and we always do a family pic in front of the Mickey and Walt statue! Pretty standard but still so special!
10. My daughter and I bring something special and try to get all of the princesses to sign it… we keep everything together in a showcase in my house. We have about 12 different things now.
11. I buy at least one pin and a silly hat on each trip! I have quite the collection of hats!
12. Everyone in my family does the Sword in the Stone shot. We have one from each year.
13. We have a few traditions…first ride in MK is always the tea cups, always buy a pin for our son’s collection, always eat at Liberty Tree Tavern (our all time fav.) and get a pic of our son next to the carving of the T-Rex in the Tree of Life.
14. I take pics with both my girls with the Pooh and Tigger statues at Downtown Disney. Started when they were toddlers; they are now 14 and 18. They’re not too excited to do it now, but will for me.
15. When my mom was alive there was a bench surrounded by flowers and we would take a picture there and the castle of course.
16. We have purchased a Splash Mountain pic every visit.
17. We stay at Wilderness Lodge and took a picture each year of the family at the totem pole. It’s great to see how much the kids have grown. We used to do the water fountain at the front of EPCOT too.
18. My son gets his haircut by Mike in the barber shop on Main Street. First one when he was 11 months old. He is 15 now.
19. I always buy a pearl in Japan.
20. We always take a photo in front of the fountain in Morocco at EPCOT. We have them from childhood through adulthood.
Do you have any traditions? What would you add to the list?
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Candice was raised in east Tennessee. While in college, her best friend dragged her to a Walt Disney World College Program recruiting session at the University of Tennessee and the rest is Disney history. In the Fall of 1999, Candice became a quick service food hostess for Sunset Ranch Market and Fantasmic at Disney-MGM Studios – or what is now known as Disney’s Hollywood Studios. While soaking up her time as a cast member, she met Ryan, a neighbor and a fellow college programmer who worked as a custodial host at Epcot. Four years later, Candice moved to the Midwest and married that boy from across the hall. They now live in Greenwood, Indiana with their two little boys. The Disney-loving foursome took their first family trip to The Happiest Place on Earth in 2013 and Candice is eagerly planning their return. Candice also works full-time at a community mental health center and enjoys taking photographs and blogging at Mommy in the Midwest.
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