Get Excited for Your Disney Cruise!

Going on a Disney cruise is pretty darn exciting all on its own, and simply uttering the words, “We’re going on a Disney cruise!” is enough to make my inner five-year-old freak out and get all giddy.

We’re officially less than THREE weeks away from our five-night Disney Cruise on the Disney Wonder, and the excitement over here is building by the hour. I mean, how could it not?! This all-inclusive vacation is filled with Disney magic around every corner for five days straight! All the food we can eat, all the M I C K E Y we can handle, all the childcare (yesssss), amazing entertainment, and complete fun at our fingertips!

But just in case you have little kids around who have zero clue for what they’re in for, here are a few things you can do to bring them some Disney magic before you set sail.

How to Build Excitement for your Disney Cruise

The best part about this list is that almost everything is free. And free is my favorite when you’re paying an arm and a leg for a Disney cruise.

I’d love to hear how you build excitement for your family-fun adventure on a Disney cruise! Tell me all about it below.

Make a Disney Cruise Countdown

I really wanted to be crafty and make something fun for our countdown. I scoured Pinterest and found fun things to go on our fridge, and I liked those cool paper chains, but when it came down to it, I needed something a little more practical and simple.

This free printable was perfect. I popped it in an old, unused frame and bought a dry-erase marker, and we were in business. I actually had every intention of being a little crafty and painting the frame red, but that clearly didn’t happen. You can do that, though, just to add a little extra magic to your countdown.

My daughter’s been keeping track of the countdown, so she gets to practice writing out her numbers and counting down. Thanks, Disney, for making this an educational experience!

Watch more Disney

This might sound like a no-brainer, but if you don’t already have your boob-tube on Disney or Disney Jr., change the channel now. My kids love watching PBS and Nick Jr., but when we booked the cruise I started flipping it over for some Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and popping in some classic DVDs like Little Mermaid, Cinderella, and The Princess and the Frog.

I want the characters aboard our ship to be familiar when the girls see them, and I point out that they will get to see them on the cruise.

Buy Disney Apparel

You don’t have to go crazy for this one. Some of my recent favorite Disney clothes are from Walmart, because the prices are excellent considering the kids will grow out of them by the end of the season anyway.

The girls both got matching Minnie Mouse swimsuits for their birthdays, and some Minnie tops and bottoms to wear. We also found some Minnie flip-flops at Old Navy, and I got the baby some outfits from Walmart, too.

Target has some fun women’s Disney T-shirts, and so does Walmart online.

Get a Phone Call From Mickey and Friends

Did you know you can schedule a phone call about your cruise from Mickey and his friends? Talk about exciting!

You can have it scheduled for the exact time you want them to ring, so plan accordingly! Here’s a video from when Mickey and Minnie called the girls

The girls got an extra special phone call a few days ago from the mouse himself °O°, and their excitement is simply contagious! ???? We can’t wait to set sail on the #disneywonder TODAY!!

A post shared by jessica lynn (@jesstagirl) on May 16, 2018 at 9:38am PDT

Exciting, right?! They talked about it for the next several days. I love that Disney offers this.

Watch Cruise Videos on YouTube

This is my daughter’s favorite thing to do right now. I know those unboxing videos are all the rage for kids, but my daughter is obsessed with watching Disney cruise YouTube videos. We’ve actually learned a lot from them, and I get more and more excited every time I see one with her.

Here are a few of our favorite channels in case you want to see them and get excited, too:
Michael Key
LeggLife
AJ Ruck
Of Mice and Trains
CoralJoy Travel
Being Mommy with Style
Picture the Magic

If you watch Disney YouTube videos, I’d love to hear about your favorites!

Set a Potty Training Goal

If you’re going on a Disney cruise, chances are you’re going with a young child…so if that little one of yours is still wearing diapers, this idea is for you.

This past year I’ve joked that our middle child was going to still wear diapers in college, because I seriously didn’t think that potty training would ever happen for her. Until we booked the cruise.

I had a goal in mind, and through some Jedi mind trick, we helped make our stubborn girl see that she had to be potty trained for the cruise.

Here’s the thing: I wanted it to be her idea. We talked about the cruise and the awesome kid’s area, the Oceaneer Club, so much and basically told her that if she didn’t go pee and poop in the potty, they wouldn’t allow her in there. (This is true—kids have to be three years old and potty trained.)

Slowly but surely, it worked. She wanted to be a big girl and not have to stay with her baby brother in the nursery (where I told her the babies will just sleep the whole time). She’s about 95% potty trained right now, and ridiculously excited to join her sister in the Oceaneer Club. I’m calling that a giant win.

We also celebrated her birthday with some new Minnie Mouse panties…naturally.

Disney Happy Mail

There are a few things I’ve been getting in the mail for our trip, and talk about exciting—they’re going to make our trip so fun! I’ll share more about these must-have items soon, but if you want to see a sneak peek, check out my highlights section on my Instagram profile from your phone!

Disney Videos and Brochures

You can request a video and a brochure about a Disney cruise straight from Disney itself. I actually ordered mine weeks ago and it’s still not here, though, so plan accordingly!

If you know anyone with a AAA membership, you can have them pick up some fun reading material on the cruises. My girls flipped through the catalog, so they enjoyed that for a little bit. If you’re Costco members you can find some Disney travel info in the stores, too.

Your Turn

Okay, now I want to hear from you! How do/did you build excitement for your Disney cruise?!