We all do this sometimes to an extent. We make that special purchase from Disney World, take it home and strategically position it to inject that little bit of WDW magic back into our everyday lives. AS DVC members, we have clearly moved all of our vacation chips to the center of the table and I am guessing that we all spend that same enthusiasm in finding just the right keepsakes to bring home from our frequent pilgrimages to the Mecca of the Mouse.
Sometimes it’s the Monorail themed throw blanket on the back of your couch, sometimes it’s the David Doss artwork hanging in the bathroom, and sometimes, especially if you have a passion for cooking like I do, it’s going a little overboard in the culinary section of World of Disney and decking out the kitchen.
For some folks it’s in more subtle ways. It could be your favorite smart watch having the Mickey or Minnie icon on the face that you use, the Disney Vacation Club magnet on the back of your Jeep, or the 1928 hat you wear on the weekends doing yard work. Almost like a secret badge to show your part of the club and give others a small snippet of that world.
Then there are some of us who showcase it loud and proud. We splash our social media with our latest treasures, we wear our classic Mickey Mouse Tommy Bahama pullovers to our kids sporting events, and if you’re like me, we incorporate Disney’s business tricks and ideas into our own repertoire. I personally work with a number of restaurants on a business level, and let’s just say that The Magic Candle Company will be shipping quite a bit of diffuser scents to the North Shore of Massachusetts (there is truly nothing like the smell of Mickey Waffles during a Sunday brunch or that distinctive Polynesian scent when you walk through the doors of a waterfront yacht club).
Whatever it is and whatever we do, I think that most of us are trying to catch that “Magic in a Bottle” for our return trip home that brightens our day, calms our anxiety, and gets us to the next trip. Perhaps is also helps us to find other members of this so called Disney Tribe, who still choose to see and believe in the real magic in this world.
What is the one special piece of memorabilia that gives you that distinctive feeling from your Disney World adventures? I would love to hear about it.
Years ago, we bought a painting in DTD (when it was DTD) at Art of Disney, and it still gives me as much joy as the day we bought it. It’s Winnie the Pooh, on the bridge playing Pick Up Sticks. The Disney is subtle. At first glance it looks like a beautiful painting…then when you look close you see Pooh, CR and…its just beautiful. My two daughters grew up on Winnie the Pooh. When I look at it, their childhood (and mine) comes rushing back. Thats what Disney does for me…..joyful memories.
We have a number of WDW and DCL themed throw blankets in our house, along with shirts, hoodies, and other items.
Two of my favorite pieces are from our British Isles cruise on the Disney magic. They are the Minnie plush dressed like the queen and a Mickey plush dressed like a leprechaun from the Disney stores in London and Dublin. They bring back all the great memories!
My son has a haunted mansion themed bedroom so we have bought him so awesome numbered paintings from Memento Mori
We have the Old Key West lighthouse on top of a cabinet in our family room. My wife has told our kids that, when I pass away, my cremains will be put inside that lighthouse and they can take turns as custodians of the lighthouse, exchanging it each year at Christmas.
Our DVC Founding Members Tile from Aulani is framed and hanging on our family room wall.
We have coffee mugs from the resorts that we use daily. Wayyyy too many fir just the two of us but, oh well!
On one of my recent trips I bought a lanyard that had a baymax pin attached. I am an ED RN and I took the pin and attached it to my work badge. He’s small and not very well recognized as a Disney character to those non-Disney fanatics. I have several people ask me what it is and then I get to explain he is Disney and also a healthcare companion!!!
Disney pin collector maniac here. We have 4 pin boards hanging up in our home office, each with a different theme, Halloween, Resorts, Rides, and “other”. Whenever I sit at my home computer I am surrounded by all our pins and reminded of each resort we stayed at, our favorite rides, the MNSSHP, and of course our favorite characters.
I use a DCL Animators Palate butter knife every morning to prepare my english muffins.
Yes, I think we all have items that we bring back from our trips, and some have special meanings while others were bought on impulse. In the end, however, it has been, and always will be the “MEMORIES”. The trips with my wife, with our kids and now our granddaughters are the moments we bring back home.
For me it’s an “Epic” size Disneyland 50th Anniversary print above my couch. Before 2004 I was a once a year kind of Disneyland goer, but in 2004 we started taking our oldest (21 months at the time) regularly. We soon purchased our first season passes and stayed at the Disneyland Hotel for the first time; a childhood dream come true. In 2009, when our youngest was almost two, we purchased our first, but hopefully not our last, DVC points at the VGC. In between trips I can look at our print and relive some of my favorite memories.
Eek! I have too many to name! My sister was laughing at me when I went on a mad shopping spree at the Earport last time because I realized I hadn’t bought like anything while at Disney! But I used to be on a perpetual hunt for anything that smelled like the Yacht Club lobby or the old Soarin. I have a lot of candles that come veeerrrry close to each of them