Tips for adding extra magic to your Disney Cruise Line vacation

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Part of the fun of a vacation as magical as a Disney cruise is the anticipation leading up to the embarkation date. In my family, while the kids are busy marking off the days on their calendars, I get to work planning some extra surprises. Here are a few ideas that are pretty simple and inexpensive, but they add a whole bunch of magic to your vacation.

Make magnets for your stateroom door

If you’re artistic, put your talents to work and create some fun Disney designs to decorate your metal stateroom door. Not a graphic artist? Look online for designs to download.

For an extra special touch, there are artists who take requests on Disboards.com cruise section for personalized designs. Some of these same artists also have their blank designs available for you to download and customize yourself. To request a design, though, you must register on Disboards.com, browse the collections and post a request. When the request is filled, the artist will post the image in the same thread. These artists generously offer their services for free; in return, you are asked not to sell their designs or use them to gain a profit.

Once you have the image you like, you can print it directly onto magnet paper, which can be purchased at your local office-supply store. I like this option because it’s the easiest, but it also can get expensive if you plan to make a lot of magnets. Other cruise veterans suggest printing the image on cardstock, laminating it, and then sticking small magnet squares to the back. (Disney Cruise Line does not allow passengers to tape designs to the stateroom doors.) Decorated doors help kids find their rooms, and adults can’t help but smile when they see them.

Fish Extenders

Located next to your stateroom door is a knob with a fish ornament on the end. We used this spot to hang a dry-erase board to leave messages for other family members. More industrious cruisers hang a decorative holder with pockets, usually Disney-themed, called a Fish Extender from the knob.

Fish Extenders are used for a Secret-Santa-type activity for people who meet beforehand, most often on roll-call threads online. Using a list of participants from those who expressed interest online, guests will place inexpensive gifts in each other’s extenders during the cruise.

This sounds like fun, but it does take more planning ahead of time.

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Collecting special autographs

Instead of bringing an autograph book, why not collect character signatures on something you will use, or at least see, every day? On our first Disney cruise, I took Mickey Mouse and Disney Princess pillowcases (pictured here) that I purchased online for my children. That was a couple years ago, and they still insist on sleeping on them each night.

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On the next sailing, I brought stuffed autograph dogs that I found for a couple bucks at a local craft store. This year, I am planning to purchase blank 9-inch Vinylmation figures at Walt Disney World for all the kids in our group.

Another popular item to have autographed by the characters is the white border of a Disney picture or poster – or the mat inside a frame for your own photo. (Be sure to tape off the portion of the mat that is covered by the frame so complete autographs will be visible.)

For a really special signature, be sure to visit the Captain’s Signing session. My kids enjoyed meeting Captain Henry, and my son had his cherished model ship autographed.

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Celebrate an occasion

If you’re on a cruise, chances are someone in your group is celebrating an event or milestone, right? Let your travel agent (or Disney Cruise Lines if you booked directly) know so that it can be noted in your reservation. On the night of your choosing, your servers will bring a special dessert to the dinner table. The strawberry shortcake I received on the Disney Wonder was beautiful, tasty, and large enough for my entire family to share.

Themed cruises

Finally, many people enjoy cruising with fellow Disney fans or passengers with other shared interests. These cruises usually do not cost more, and participants are invited to special group events and often receive gifts. AllEars.Net hosted a group cruise on the Disney Fantasy in May and you can read all about it here.

If you have other tips for adding some inexpensive magic to a Disney cruise, please tell us in the comments.

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