On a recent trip to Walt Disney World, Timothy and I walked over to the Grand Floridian to escape the spring break crowds at the Magic Kingdom. While exploring the resort, we stumbled upon the recreation activities list. The Grand Floridian doesn’t have a community hall, but it offers a fair number of activities from Mickey tie dye, White Rabbit’s Pocket Watch Hunt, and poolside games to design your own Mickey ear or tumblers and Disney button art. However, one activity that I didn’t recognize on the list was the Paint Your Disney Story. According to the list, the activity started on March 8, so it was somewhat new when we were there at the end of March.
Paint Your Disney Story takes place on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays in Enchanted Rose. Although it is offered from 12:30pm to 2:30pm, you have to arrive by 1:30pm in order to participate. My curiosity was piqued, especially since I hadn’t yet visited Enchanted Rose. Since we were staying at Copper Creek at the time, I first double checked with the front desk if we could participate, and it turns out we could since we were staying on property. I found out that there is no DVC discount on the activity currently but at $15 plus tax, it was pretty reasonable.
When we arrived at the Beauty & the Beast themed Enchanted Rose lounge, we found out that the Paint Your Disney Story is a craft project in which you paint a ceramic box that is shaped like a book. The book is a perfect nod to Belle’s favorite pastime. After paying for the activity in front of Enchanted Rose, a cast member led us into the lounge. The socially distanced tables were covered in canvas tablecloths. Each table had several brushes and a container of water to wash out the paint when switching colors.
The cast member asked us to fill out a form to request up to 6 paint colors. She also offered us a choice of stencils. Inspired by our Grand Floridian wedding, I chose red, blue, white, and gold to create a pink, blue, and gold theme reminiscent of our wedding colors. I also selected the Mickey and Minnie stencil for the inside of the book and the castle for the cover.
As Timothy and I painted, the cast members would check in with us periodically to see how we were doing and to offer us additional paint. They also provided extra plastic plates to make it easier for us to mix colors. We were rather meticulous with our painting and took our time, but we never felt rushed. There was perhaps one or two other families with us at a time, so it wasn’t crowded at all in Enchanted Rose.
Once we were done, we left our little ceramic masterpiece with our contact info at the table, so the cast members could fire it in a kiln. The cast member let us know that we would be able to pick up the book the next day after 12pm over at the Sandy Cove gift shop. When we returned the next day, we stopped by the register in Sandy Cove to retrieve our finished product. It was carefully packed in bubble wrap, which made it easier to take home in my carry-on suitcase. I also cushioned it with my clothes just to be safe, and the book made it back to New York in one piece–well, two since there are two parts to the box.
All in all, the Paint Your Disney Story was a nice activity to do in a beautiful setting. I love our park days when we are at Walt Disney World, but I actually found it relaxing to sit and paint for an hour or so. I highly recommend it if you’re looking for something new to do on your next resort day.
