Bringing Disney Magic to Your Summer Vacation | Ep 15

Not every summer includes a trip to Disney, but that doesn't mean you can't add a little pixie dust to your vacation! In this episode, we're sharing fun, creative ways to capture that unmistakable Disney feeling wherever your summer adventures take you. Whether you're planning a road trip, a staycation, or simply looking to make everyday moments a little more magical, join us as we explore how to bring the joy, wonder, and spirit of Disney into your summer—no park ticket required!

Transcript

Jenny 0:00

Hey Disney friends. Welcome back to our podcast. I'm Jenny. And I'm Emily. And Emily. It's summertime here. No, I love it. We're not at Disney World. But we're I think we should talk about some things today that could bring a little Disney magic to our lives. What do you think? I totally agree. Because Disney is special. And I was thinking, like, what makes Disney special? So why let's try to bring that little special Disney magic to our everyday summer vacation?

SPEAKER_00 0:32

To the sisters of the gold. From our hometown street to my streets. Disney braces on the rock. Every time.

Jenny 1:04

We are two Canadian sisters who love every Disney adventure from travel with family to running marathons. On today's show, we're sharing creative ideas to add a sprinkle of Disney magic to your everyday summer adventures. So not every summer is a Disney summer. I know I'm going in less than a month. Yes, it might be for one of us, but it's not for both of us. In the meantime, how I'm still saving and waiting and anticipating this trip. But you know, Disney isn't just a place, it's a way of looking at a vacation. And we are on summer holidays. Yeah, I was just thinking that just because I can't go to Disney, that doesn't mean that I can't experience a little well, what I was thinking was if if I can't beat at the Disney magic, why can I not try to replicate that Disney magic here at home or here in my other summer vacation that's not actually going to WDW? Yeah, we're gonna try to sprinkle a little Disney magic into our everyday summer. Pixie dust, the everyday summer vacation. Yeah. Okay, so we have a few ideas. We've brainstormed some some things about what it means to like why is Disney World so special? Like, what is that extra little pixie dust that you get? And so we've come up with some ideas of how you could DisneyFy, making up words, Disney Fy your regular summer vacation. So what's an idea, Jenny? Give us one. You could treat any destination that you're going to. I suppose this would be more for like if you had a summer holiday plan to go somewhere that's not Disney, you could still treat it like a Disney park, like you could rope drop your vacation, get up early to beat crowds, have a list of must-do's, mobile order your food. You could you could even do like some subtle outfit coordinations. Like if you're a group of people, if you're a family that likes to do the Disney bounding type stuff when you're at the parks, I mean, maybe it's going to be a little more subtle. Like maybe you might not be in full-on costume outfits, but you could match your outfits. You could coordinate your outfits every day. So, number one, it's always easier to find people in a crowd when you know exactly what everybody's wearing. And number two, it kind of makes your pictures a little extra special too, when everybody's wearing something that like if it ends up being a family vacation photo that's framable and one person's in their, I don't know, their ripped up shorts and grubby t-shirt or something, then but if everybody like it might not well, you know, that's fine too. If it's comfortable, I mean wear what you wear, but that's that's a little Disney magic, I guess, is coordinating your outfits and it doesn't need to be weird. No, just coordinated. Yeah. But it's a little extra special. Yeah. A little more Disney magic. What do you think? Well, some of the places on your on your way to your destination, whether it's a long road trip or maybe it's just even just going to, I don't know, just a regular day trip, you could do a little hidden Mickey challenge. Like maybe on the long car rides, instead of the alphabet game, you could do some sort of hidden Mickey challenge. Or even if you're going go for a walk in nature and find Mickey shapes in nature, take pictures of them. That's a great idea. There's hidden Mickeys everywhere. Unintentional one. Unintentional. That's even better. You know, you've been indoctrined to the culture when you see hidden Mickeys. Where was I? Yesterday I saw some in the leaves. I was sitting on the grass in my backyard, and there was just the way the leaves were kind of twisted together. I'm like, is that a Mickey mouse? There's a hidden Mickey in your backyard. Or what about like a scavenger hunt? Yeah, totally. You could, and that that could be Disney themed or not. It could be on the small scale, it could be on the grand scale. You could have like if you live in town or something, you could have destinations that you have to people have to walk to. Oh, it would be especially fun if let's say you had visitors, like I don't know, your cousin is visiting you from out of town, and you could make up a scavenger hunt for them to go visit all the different places, like a little passport or something like that of spots. Oh, yeah, that would be great for an out-of-town guest. If you could spread it out over a course of time so that they're not rushing too much, like they have to do some kind of activity at that spot, or yeah, you know, like complete this activity and then get a stamp from whoever. Oh, that would be fun. Yeah. Yeah, that that would be a great idea. If you're going on a car trip, you could do Disney trivia in the car. That would be a fun way to pass the hour the time. Yep. I was thinking too about how Walt Disney loved to learn, like and loved to learn about things from the world around him. He really was an adventurer and a biologist, I want to say an environmentalist. And to kind of channel that love of exploration that Walt Disney had, you could do day trips or possible other trips to national parks or state or provincial parks, go for hikes, go camping. You can visit historic towns. Think of the nostalgia of Main Street USA and how it was built to emulate his hometown. And there are beautiful botanical gardens you can explore, zoos and aquariums. I totally agree. And that was one of the things I thought of about summer vacations and Walt Disney World. Like to me, going to a summer camp as a child, and later in my life, I also was a camp counselor at a summer camp. And it was those old kind of log cabins from like I think kind of like the 1950s style. They were brown. Yeah. But they have that national park or state park look to them. And up until recently, I think the cabins at Fort Wilderness looked like that, but now they've been renovated, so they don't look like that anymore. But I always, and there's a Mickey short, there's a cartoon, or there's a bunch of them, I'm sure, of Mickey Mouse and the, you know, doing the adventures of the national parks. And I think about that, like when I go to Wilderness Lodge and I think about those cabins, like some of the old things. And like it looks like I think going to one of those cabins and staying in one of those cabins would be really fun. And it would make me feel very authentic. It's the authentic experience, but it makes me think of Disney World. Or I have been to, I've been fortunate enough to be to Hawaii before and a couple of times. And staying at this one hotel, it made me feel like it was at the Polynesian. So, okay, that was a for me, because I don't live in Hawaii, that was a really big vacation, but it still had this like Disney feeling to it, this kind of Disney spirit. And I think that's the thing. Like, well, Disney traveled the world and he took the places that he loved to go to and he brought those ideas, some of those themes back into the resort. Well, why not go to some of those original spots where he or or something similar to it where he was inspired? Go to those places. Yeah, go on a pilgrimage to Germany or France to see the castles. That's right, the new Schwanson Castle or the Yeah, exactly. Or like you said, okay, those are big trips, or at least coming from where we live in Canada, that's still a really big trip. But if you can't do such a really big trip, like you said, maybe like small town, like some of the a small town in Missouri was what he was inspired by for Main Street USA. But there are some really quaint little small towns, even just locally. So go be a tourist, either in your own city or your own small town, and really appreciate some of the architecture of the past and enjoy the shops and the food and the people, the community, the landscape. And then an important part of a vacation is the food. Oh, yeah. So you could do all kinds of things for food at home. Making Mickey-shaped pancakes was something that I did with my kids when they were little, like all the time on weekends or whenever I was making pancakes for breakfast. There, you don't need a special mold or anything, although I eventually ended up buying it. And it makes it easier, but that's fine. You can just put three dots all together and you're also serving them with your Mickey shaped hands with your oven mitts. My oven mitts. Yep. And every other don't you have like a well, I know I have a cookie cutter that's a giant Mickey Yes. I think I do have that too. So you can like cut out, you know, if you can make a peanut butter sandwich or something and then cut it out in the shape of a Mickey head. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, yeah. That's a great idea. Like the the smuckables. Smuckers. Uncrustables. Uncrustables. You know, you got what I got there. Yeah, you could, well, you could go get some of those just to have, you know, the kind of same snack, or just make them yourself. But yeah, make a little cookie cutout. That would be fun. And I've never made churros, but that might be a fun adventure to try to replicate like churros or dole whip or something like those. There's lots of recipe books out there that are recipes from either the Disney cruise lines or the and you could even just do like Disney's food. Like if you go to a different restaurant, it's always got a theme to it. So you could have like a theme for your day. Like so maybe you're gonna do a scavenger hunt and it's a certain theme, and then your lunch or something follows that same theme. So maybe you're doing like a Disney adventure of like nature and wilderness, and so you've got that same sort of theming with your food and and your outfit. And your like for the like just to do a little fun day trip with kids, and or if you were camping, you could totally bring that frontier land vibe to your camping day. Like if you just I it's a lot of work, but like it would be fun to plan a day of a scavenger hunt in nature somehow, and then your food kind of lines up with the Disney-esque kind of ribs and mac and cheese, kind of I don't know, whatever. And then you do like a campfire thing at night. I know it's like kind of going backwards, like Disney takes these things and brings them to Fort Wilderness, so there's a campfire sing along with Chip and Dale and s'mores making and whatever, but it's like, isn't it just fun to do those things? What was the inspiration of those things? And then of course, there's always the soundtrack that goes with it. There's always like a music theme that goes with these various to set the mood, right? So you want to do even if it's just background, and there's all kinds of probably on various different music streaming places, but I know when I want to get a little Disney fix, or even if I just want to do something like I'm trying to focus, I go to YouTube channels, and there's so many YouTube channels that have Disney Ambiance that you could have like the ambiance that's playing in the different parks, and you could just play that YouTube, and it goes on for two or three hours, four or five, yeah, eight. You pick, yeah, they can go on forever. Some of them have commercials, some of them don't. But that could just be your background to kind of set the vibe of your of your day. Yeah, and you can pick like where are you? Are you at the beach? Do you want to listen to Moana's soundtrack or sort of Hawaiian vibes? Or do you want are you is it somewhere in the mountains and it's giving you sort of more frozen music? Have you know, you put a playlist on for a long drive, music to listen to while you're relaxing, having a soundscape in the background. Doesn't need to be the soundtrack to one of the movies, but just like you said, one of those soundscapes from YouTube would be really great. Very Disney-esque. And then of course, really what makes being at Walt Disney World special is I always find the cast members, everybody there is just it's just exceptional, it's exceptional service, but it's really kindness. Everybody's so kind and positive. And so, you know what? If it's wonderful being on the receiving end of that when you're traveling to the Disney resort, but why not spread that same level of kindness? Like just smile at people, compliment somebody. Just you be the you be that representative of bringing that positivity, that sort of Disney level experience to the world, and that will spread, hopefully. Yeah, it's like practicing Disney level customer service wherever you go. Yeah. Leave generous reviews for other what about photography? Like we're taking pictures all the time. We've all got phones nowadays. What about making your photos like Disney Pass photos? Like just adding an extra you could do like hold out your hand and have it and then Photoshop Tinkerbell into your hand afterwards or something like that. Yeah. You can create your own magic shots. I'm sure because there's so much photo editing you can do now on phones that that would be really fun. That would be a fun idea for sure. Or like, you know how you do different poses at like at the castle or in front of the tree at Animal Kingdom. Like maybe you're not in front of those, but maybe you're in front of a lighthouse or in front of some great architecture structure, and you just do like a special pose that you do jump shots that you will call like one, two, three, everybody jump. My timing is always off on those, which makes it funny and memorable. Yeah. And then, of course, ending your day in a special way. When you're at the Disney resorts, you're probably gonna watch some fireworks, or maybe you're gonna roast some marshmallows around the campfire, or watch a sunset. You can make a you don't have to have fireworks always, but of course, there are lobbies in the summertime, lots of celebrations that are happening. But you could always go somewhere, just drive a little bit, find a field where there would be a beautiful shot for a sunset. Yeah, that's a great idea. You know, when we're at Disney, we always talk about our days there, like, oh, what was your favorite thing today? And what ride did you like the best? And I think you can bring a little of that magic into your day too. It's just it's a little a little gratitude of your day, like what was your favorite part of the day? That's a great idea. And that doesn't even have to be just summer vacation. That could be always right. What was what was something great about your day, but the favorite memory? Because really, especially on summer vacations, it really is about making memories with those people that you love, right? And that's a good way to kind of cherish those memories, even if they're just early. I love that. So those are some of our ideas about how to make your summer vacation, which may not include going to Walt Disney World special. If you have any ideas, we'd love to hear from you. Yeah. Share your ideas in the comments, send us a message. We'd love to hear what other creative ideas you have to make. Your summer vacation or anytime, especially Disney Fied. And on that note, it's time for a great big beautiful update.

SPEAKER_03 17:58

There's a great big beautiful tomorrow. Shining at the end of every day. There's a great big beautiful tomorrow. And tomorrow's just a dream away. Man has been.

Jenny 18:15

Okay, Jenny, what is it that you're looking forward to or excited to talk about today? Well, it's not something I guess it is something I'm looking forward to, but it's also something I'm working on right now. So it's more of a present and future thing. But it has to do with the trip that I have coming up in August. And we have tickets for the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween party, which I am stoked to go to. Love seeing videos online about people's experiences and recommendations for how to plan your party time. But part of it is getting to plan a costume and the challenges of planning a costume because it's also gonna be really stinking hot because it's August and it's Florida. So, what can we wear as costumes that are going to not kill us with sweat and being super uncomfortable and hot? And also, you know, what kind of fun Disney themed costumes can the three of us wear, and like coming up with something that we can be a trio in a way. And so I've been working on three costumes for Haunted Mansion characters, and it's been challenging because one of the ones that I want to do is got it's just got parts and pieces to it that would be really almost prohibitive for some of the rides. Like it would be just a pain in the butt because I'd have to keep taking pieces off and stuff. And so I've just been, you know, it's I like troubleshooting, and it's been a really fun journey to try to like figure out this problem of how can I make this costume and also just make it wearable and not too hot. And then also for Molly and also for Charlie. And so, yeah, the ideas are coming together, pieces from Amazon are coming in, and Amazon packages on your doorstep are always exciting. I don't have too many of them, but when I get little bits and pieces of things, and I've been going to thrift stores and finding little bits and pieces too, and just when it all sort of starts to come together and you make this little costume that's gonna be wearable and fun, and yeah, just looking forward to that. Yeah, great anticipation. Big beautiful update. My great, big, beautiful update is in the next uh week or so, I'm traveling with my boyfriend down to help him. He's gonna be competing in an ultra marathon, and I'm gonna be his crew member. So if you're not sure what a crew member is, it's just basically I'm the support team. So if he needs like electrolyte drinks or food snacks or I don't know, band-aids for his blisters or whatever, I'm I'm his pit crew, I guess, in the running world. And so I haven't been to an ultra marathon. I've been to marathons, Disney marathons, uh city marathons, but this is gonna be a lot smaller scale and it's more cross-country tracks that they're on. So I'm really looking forward to just seeing what it's all about. I'm looking forward to being able to support him because usually these things happen during the school year and I can't go. And so I'm also just really looking forward to meeting some of the other people, especially because I'll probably be hanging out with other family members or friends and families of other people who are competing in it. Because I'm anticipating that because this is a smaller, more niche type of sport, usually those communities are really tight. Like people are usually really friendly and supportive. So I'm kind of just looking forward to the whole weekend and the whole experience of it all. And a little cheering and I don't know. That sounds like fun. And when you said that you're gonna be the pit crew, you immediately made me think of cars.

unknown 21:54

Yeah, yeah.

Jenny 21:55

Actually, while I was saying that, I was thinking that too. Yeah. Guido and Luigi, whatever. Maybe I should go as maybe I should just uh Disney bound while I'm there. Just really subtle as like the pit crew, Luigi, and just to see if anybody picks up on it. I doubt it. But it's a different vibe than the car, like that situation where the pit crews are super competitive. This would be more collaborative and fun meeting other people. You're gonna be there for hours and hours. I'm gonna be there a long time. And I gotta say, I'm I am a little bit nervous because I'm I'm nervous about me staying up because it's gonna go more than 24 hours, I'm I'm sure of it. So I'm gonna have to get my cat. It's gonna be hard for me too, you know. Totally. You're gonna have to sleep in the time where he's running. Right? You're gonna have to do the little cat nap. You're gonna have a terrible sleep. So that's okay. That's okay. I'm really looking forward to it. Well, that's it for this episode of Rope Drop and Run. Join us next time, and if you liked what you heard, share this episode with a friend and follow us on Instagram at Rope Drop and Run. We can't wait to chat with you next time, and we'll see you at the castle or the start line.