Three years ago in Disney World, I—I mean, we—got autographs using fabric markers on pillow cases. I used fabric paint and freezer paper to put the year on the border of 4 white pillow cases (adding Mickey ears to the 0 complete with a red bow for the girls). Carrying around 4 big pillow cases and cardboard to put between the layers was a bit of a pain and I constantly felt like I needed to apologize to the characters when it was my our turn.

Hi Tigger! I’m so sorry…I actually need you to sign four of these things. Yup, right there, that’s good. Now, hold on, let me get the cardboard situated. Wait, not that big…not that close to Stitch…um…okay. That’s good. Yeah, sorry, just two more.

But, you know what? It’s pretty much they’re job. They don’t care. And, if they did, I wouldn’t know it because their face doesn’t change and they can’t talk. And, the thing is, I got lots of eye rolling from my kids and the “come on, mom!”s , but they love those pillow cases. They’re super cute and they look at all the autographs and remember exactly where we were when Indiana Jones or the Mayor of Main Street signed their pillow case.

For this trip, I thought I’d make it a little easier. No big pillowcases…but, I wanted something to complement them that would be appreciated just as much. So, I bought 4 flat sheets, but I didn’t want to cart around 4 entire sheets. So, I carefully removed the stitches along the top border and then cut the border off the body of the sheet. I only took the 4 borders with me and actually carried them around in the white fabric envelope that came with the sheets. Using the same fabric paint and font that I used last time, I painted the year in the center of each border and then had the characters sign all around it.

Yeah, I confess that I occasionally found myself alone with a princess or two while my children were on a Space Mountain adventure. I’ll spare you the collection of pictures of the short middle aged mom smiling next to pretty girls with too much makeup in Renaissance clothing who hold the edges of their skirts as they talk in high voices.

Despite all that, I love what we ended up with.

After we were all Disney charactered out, the kids made up their own Disney autograph to add…Ashlyn integrated her beads into hers, Drew made his D a guitar because he loved Rockin’ Roller Coaster, Evan made his futuristic for Tomorrowland, and we collaborated for Lydia’s, bringing in an arrow to show how fast moving she is.

When we got home, I quickly stitched the border back on the body of the sheet with my sewing machine. Easy Peezy. And, then they were all done. Perfect. Love them with the pillow cases. And, so do the kids, fortunately.

Already thinking about what we can add to the collection next time…any suggestions?

I’m going through Mickey withdrawal. Coming home to what seems like eternal winter doesn’t make me smile like Thunder Mountain does.

 

But, I’m clinging to the magic in the form of blogging. Yeah, doesn’t quite give me the fix I’m looking for, but it’s what I’ve got.

Here’s my dose of pixie dust for the day: 10 things my husband may have thought I was crazy to pack that made me say told you so.

1 – Trading pins I bought on ebay ahead of time. The whole Disney trading pin craze is super fun. Kids (or parents…) wear a lanyard, stock that baby up with pins, and then trade them with cast members or other guests for other pins. But, here’s the thing, the pins in Disney start at $7.95 a pop. So, I got on ebay and bought 100 of certified Disney pins (they can’t be pins from Boy Scouts or Niagara Falls or just anywhere) and put them in my kids’ Christmas stockings. I paid about $.40 per pin including shipping for the lot of them, giving me 100 pins for the same amount of money that would have bought me 5 pins in Disney World. And, it didn’t matter what they were. In fact, I intentionally mixed them up in their stockings to give the boys girly pins and vice versa to get the trading going.

2 – Pin back locks. Those Disney pins come with really cute black rubbery Mickey shaped backs (both ones bought on ebay and at the park). But, they don’t stay put. In fact, load up a lanyard with the pins and walk around your house and they’re likely to be dropping all over the place. So, I bought a big lot of pin backs that lock. You can still remove the pins easily enough, but the pins stay put so whether you pay $.40 a pin or $12 a pin as some of them cost, you won’t lose any.

3 – Ziploc bagged outfits. I know this makes me sound over the top. But, hello? I’m writing a blog post about 10 things people should take to Disney; I’m officially over the top. I bought 2 gallon sized Ziplocs at Target and put each child’s full outfit for each day (shirt, pants, socks, underwear, hair things…) in a bag and labeled it. It made packing a lot easier. And, when we got back late and were tired, it really was magical to tell the kids to get their bag out for the next day and be done with it. No brain power, no nagging, no fussing, no confusion. Magic, magic, magic.

4 – Stroller flag. This was a funny thing all the family units in my extended family ordered three Disney trips ago. It was the smartest thing we bought for Disney ev.er. Disney cast members have this habit of moving all the strollers in stroller parking around to make room for more strollers and clear paths and make things look all around more magical. But, the thing is, you park your stroller in one place, go on a ride, come out a different place, go to find your stroller, and realize it’s somewhere in a sea of 100 other strollers in a different spot. This stroller flag probably saved us an hour of time spent stroller hunting every day. The original attachment for the stroller is long gone, but we just tape it on there and we can spot the thing from a long ways away. A bonus feature was that since my sister had one on her stroller too, we could easily spot where she was in the park based on where we found her stroller. To be cool, we had stickers made with our last name and put them on the flags, ’cause we cool like that.

5 – Masking tape. I think this may need to be on every packing list for every trip. I always end up using it. I used it on our stroller to secure the stroller flag and in our room to hang decorations for Ashlyn’s birthday and to hang up coloring pages Lydia made at several different restaurants.

 

6 – Ponchos. I spent a little over $1 each on 4 ponchos to bring to Disney. Mark told me we wouldn’t use them. But, it rained…more than I’d care to remember actually. And, those ponchos that fit so nicely into my bag that I took into the park got well used. My kids typically hate them. Lydia hates the way they smell and the crinkly sound they make. But, every one of those ponchos got used because nobody wants to walk around soaking wet all day. There ain’t a whole lot of magic in that. On a side note, we now know that though rain in Disney World is ironic (think “like ra-a-in on your wedding day”), the lines are way way shorter.

7 – Little plastic containers with lids. I brought two of these in my bag to the park everyday and used them both every one of those days. We had the Disney dining plan and were determined to not supplement it with any additional money. So when the kids didn’t finish grapes at a meal or chicken at another, I put it in my little containers and they ate them later, saving us from having to buy any additional snacks.

8 – Facial cleansing wipes. On our last trip, Drew selected full face makeup of a skeleton at the Pirate’s League experience…and…he looked like a heavy metal rocker for the rest of the week with dark black around his eyes that we could not get off. It was worse than the bibbity bobbity boutique hangover the next morning by far. This trip, I smartly limited their makeup but also brought facial cleansing wipes rather than simply face soap so that I could get that stuff off them at the end of the day. Drew still had a little bit of an eyeliner look the next day, but it was gone by the following day. If you are doing any of the face-painting activities, facial wipes are a must unless you want your child to look like Iron Maiden.

9 – Dish soap. With the dining plan, you get these great refillable mugs that you can use for unlimited beverage refills at your resort. They’re great. But, a couple coffees and some orange soda later, you need to wash those babies out more than just a little rinse. I brought a $1 little bottle of dish soap that we used to wash the mugs, my refillable containers for leftovers, and spot clean any clothes that children decided to use as napkins after their Mickey ice creams.

10 – Laundry basket. Inside our checked bag, before I loaded it up with ziploc bagged outfits, I put in a foldable laundry basket. Granted, it wasn’t big enough for the whole week’s worth of clothes from 6 people, but it really helped keep dirty laundry in one central spot and not strewn around the room…at least for the beginning of our time. By the end of the week, clearly, I was looking at our very own tower of terror.

Of course, don’t forget to load your phone up with Disney apps (My Disney Experience, Hidden Mickeys, Donald alarm clock, and Lots To Do in Line were our faves) and expect to pay more money (don’t forget that tips are not included in your dining plan. Tips cost us about $200 extra).