DCL-ish Experiences at Home - Since our cruise is cancelled...

jrask

Earning My Ears
Joined
Dec 15, 2004
Cruise is canceled and we are cooped up. I'm contemplating having some cruise-ish experiences for the kids at home to coincide with the time that we would have been on the ship. Taping the door magnets to the kids' bedroom doors. Fish extenders are a given.

I'm certainly not above having my family dress in pirate costumes for dinner while we watch Muppet Treasure Island or Pirates of the Caribbean, followed by Youtube version of the Pirate Party. Disney music at our home pool and adult beverages served in DCL glassware. But I'm not somehow turning my stairs into a makeshift Aquaduck. (At least not yet. Come late April, who knows what I will be willing to do).

If I know this group, you can come up with some good ideas. Have at it.
 
I’m thinking of doing something similar...a “virtual spring break”
Next time I brave the grocery I’m going to buy some Mickey Bars and I think Eggo still has Mickey shaped waffles...
Then find some copy cat recipes to try for some of our favorite Disney meals - O’Hana comes to mind
Pull up some YouTube videos of shows and rides...maybe even break out the Mickey ears!
I have a 15 & 13 year olds, so I’ll see how this goes. But we have nothing else going on!
 


My patio here in Florida is decorated and painted to look like the tiki room. I even made different perches with fake birds that hang from the ceiling. I have the sign replica and I have lots of tiki cups on shelves from trader sams. It’s my happy place to hang out in the hammock or do a puzzle at the patio table. I have stopped short of playing the tiki room song as that can get old really quick. It’s my favorite room in my house!!
 


If you have access to a store that sells scented candles, try a tropical/beach one. I love Yankee's Sand and Sun.

If you have sailed before and have a favorite drink or meal make those. Nothing says DCL to me like a Tropical Depression and Lays
BBQ chips. ;)

Listen to a cruise related or tropical songs. We have threads with tons of those here.

I've never done this but I know many cruisers enjoy getting room service before bed (cookies and milk, or Mickey bars, etc..)for their kids. If you usually do that or were planning to, let the kids have a splurge in their room one night.
 
We love playing DCL trivia. Since we normally drive to the cruise port, we play trivia during the drive. Now's a great opportunity to play at home...easy to set up a game for 3 or more and make up just about any rules you want. Ultimate prize is a virtual Mickey bar.
 
Gonna move my tv to the backyard for a sea day and hang out in my hot tub and watch Disney movies as if it’s funnel vision.

also gonna have meals like we would have on the cruise nights.

also will watch some Disney movies at night and broadway musicals as if we are at the way Disney theatre.
 
We actually did this several months after a cruise for a week. We thought we would try to bring some of that DCL Magic into our everyday lives. Day 1 we made a fancy non- alcoholic Drink of the day, the first "sea day" we unplugged all our devices because we all know there isn't great internet at sea and had unlimited ice cream for the day. Other things we did included a late night movie with snacks, turn down service complete with some of the DCL chocolates we always come home with (we don't actually like them much.....), We had a "spa day" with our DCL shampoos and cucumber water. We went on a Port Adventure ( does not apply now, but you could plan a fun activity at home) and even had the cold wash clothes to cool off at ready in the fridge for when we "returned onboard". We did a workout while watching a Pixar movie. We watched some Rick Steves shows like we were on a tour to the port, we folded the toilet paper for like the cabin stewarts always do, we made a fancy breakfast and ate it "out on deck" (outside). We did burn some nice scented candles to give us that " on the ship feel" because every time you walk past certain area (Senses Spa, or the kids club when they do the strawberry something or other) you know where you are by the scent. We watched Newies the Broadway production/made into a movie theater event. We did a fun for all ages olive oil seminar, and then cooked dinner with it, and finished off our cruise with another drink of the day.

It ended up being a really fun week in our house (we still had to go to work/ life so it wasn't a full vacation). You could easily set up some trivia (Name that Disney Tune, pub trivia etc), add a craft time (veggie car race?) Disney themed board games, slime making. You could "check them into the kids club" except you are then the club host and do some of the activities they do ( you can do the trace in table at home with some work, also the painting cells, slime making, sloppy science, video game room, ice breakers etc). Hide Mickey silhouettes around the house and have a hidden Mickey contest one day. Turn on your favorite game show on tv/video and play along as a family like you would if you went to one of the game shows live on ship. Save all your recyclables for a week or so and then have the family split into teams and spend the week working on your floating ship to test in the bathtub! Maybe make up postcards to "send" each day from your journey (digital works too). Lay out on "deck" one day in your swim wear. Have a Sail away Party on day one. Do a Muster Drill.

Go through some old navigators and see what you could modify and do at home. If you have any questions as to how we did it, just ask. Happy to share.
 
If you have the Play Disney app, you can do the trivia on it from the various "?" sites in the virtual parks.
 
Cruise is canceled and we are cooped up. I'm contemplating having some cruise-ish experiences for the kids at home to coincide with the time that we would have been on the ship. Taping the door magnets to the kids' bedroom doors. Fish extenders are a given.

I'm certainly not above having my family dress in pirate costumes for dinner while we watch Muppet Treasure Island or Pirates of the Caribbean, followed by Youtube version of the Pirate Party. Disney music at our home pool and adult beverages served in DCL glassware. But I'm not somehow turning my stairs into a makeshift Aquaduck. (At least not yet. Come late April, who knows what I will be willing to do).

If I know this group, you can come up with some good ideas. Have at it.

Last year, I created a fake cruise ship deck and dining room in one of our rooms to celebrate our FIL & MIL’s anniversary and FIL’s birthday.
AEC12ECD-FD9A-4F80-9B6A-9CC57CC6EF3B.pngD84FEAAC-9640-408D-A2C2-319646DB4C49.png9A58A059-27FD-49D3-8DAA-4A9716A149EC.png
 
My husband just made me a tropical drink and I am wearing one of many DCL shirts. Maybe later in the week I will put out a spread like we used to do for all our pre cruise parties (without the guests)! Just scale down the amount.

484283484284484286484288484289484291484293484294

Yeah....I got a little carried away with the pics but they brought back such nice memories!

MJ
 
Last edited:
We are planing our own "trip" like this. Where did you get the awesome wallpaper for the walls?

Check Beistle on Amazon, theme « Nautical ». I combined the « cruiseship deck« and « ocean and sky ».

I used some extra sky and ocean to create the fake porthole.
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!







Top