It’s pretty easy to be a little bummed out right now. After all, the Disney Parks are closed and many of us around the country are stuck at home.
Cinderella Castle
But things aren’t all bad. These trying times have definitely brought out the best in some people as we band together. We certainly love keeping an eye out for new livestreams from our favorite Disney celebs! Still, it’s totally normal to feel a little down right now. So, if you’re looking for a pick-me-up, check out these 10 ways to be much happier today!
1. Get creative with your Disney crafts!
If you’ve got a little time on your hands (which many of us do!) maybe dedicate part of your day to getting crafty! Working on something can help you feel better, both because the activity is fun and there’s that sweet, sweet sense of accomplishment when you finish.
Flower and Garden Stickers
If you want to get into the crafting mood, try making your very own Disney shrinky dinks or scratch-n-sniff stickers! It’s much easier than you think and WAY fun!
Click here to find out how to make your own Disney shrinky dinks at home!
2. Celebrate a birthday…or an UN-BIRTHDAY!
Maybe it’s time to celebrate someone in your fam’s special day. No worries! As a wise (maybe not) Hatter once said, “A very merry UN-birthday to YOU!” Luckily for all of us, there are 365 days this year that we can celebrate our un-birthdays (it’s a leap year 😉)!
Birthday Mickey Ears Hat
For tips on the best ways to get your (un)birthday celebrations on, we’ve got you covered with a guide to throwing a Disney birthday party! So, dig out those old “I’m Celebrating” buttons from your last Disney trip and get ready to PAR-TAY.
Check out the BEST ways to throw a GREAT Disney b-day!
3. Support the people who are making the world a better place.
Remember how we mentioned that some good is coming from the current sitch? Well, a lot of that good comes from those who are working on the front lines to help handle the global crisis. That’s right, we’re talking about the healthcare workers who are SO appreciated right now.
©Disney
If you’re looking to help out, there are a TON of ways that you can contribute to the cause. Helplessness is a pretty common feeling right now, but ALL of us have a chance to help more than we realize! Sure enough, it’ll put a smile on your face to know you’ve done some good.
Want to help support others? Click here to find out how you can!
4. Tour Disney from home!
Thinking that you could REALLY use a self-care day in the Disney parks? Us too. Well, you might not be able to go hug Mickey in real life, but you can take a virtual tour of Disney World to get your parks-fix.
Cinderella Castle
The DFB Guide YouTube channel has HUNDREDS (and hundreds) of GREAT videos that will have you feeling like you’re in the parks, even as you sit on your couch in sweatpants. Pick a title that sounds interesting, or let us suggest a few of our faves!
To find the perfect DFB vid to put a smile on your face, click here!
5. Make some EPIC Disney food at home!
Or maybe you’re a stress-baking kind of person. Hey, IMO that’s a pretty great way to handle your stress. Especially because it means you get to eat bread or cake when you’re done. A win-win!
Well whether you’re baking or just looking for a treat, whip up a Disney recipe to get yourself out of a glum mood!
The Kitchen Sink Sundaes at Disney’s Beach Club Resort
And if you’re feeling really blue, it’s time to whip out the big guns. We’re talking EPIC. DISNEY. SUNDAES. Grab your ice cream scoop and do some stretches because it’s about to get CRAZY. Making one of these treats will seriously take your mind off of things!
Thinking a big ol’ sundae is the way to go? Click here!
6. Celebrate Earth Day — Disney-style!
Earth Day may have been a week ago, but we’re really celebrating all month long! After all, we love our planet and we want to take care of her — and we’re not the only ones! Disney has come up with some really AWESOME ways to show a little love to Mother Earth, all from the comfort of home!
We Celebrated Animal Kingdom’s Anniversary!
April 22nd was the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, the 25th anniversary of the Disney Conservation Fund, and the 22nd anniversary of Animal Kingdom. Um… that’s a lot of big milestones! We better get celebrating!
Get in on the celebratory mood! Click here!
7. Recreate your favorite attraction in your living room!
You might have seen some of the SUPER cute viral videos of people remaking Disney attractions at home. Well, you can do that too! Some of the attractions are super easy to mimic in a cute homemade way, but feel free to get creative!
Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith
Maybe you love rollercoasters and want to make your own mini Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster — we can get behind that! Or maybe you’re more of a theatergoer in the parks — make your own theater at home!
Need some ideas? Click here to see how others are putting together some at-home attractions!
8. Watch some old Disney commercials!
If you’re not feeling up to anything too crazy, save the Disney antics for another day and get settled onto your couch. A surefire way to get a smile on your face is to watch some retro Disney commercials.
©Disney
We’ve compiled a list of some pretty great classics, but there are TONS more you can find online! You’ll find yourself smiling from the nostalgia, how heart-warming they are, or maybe because you’re busting out laughing (we’re looking at you Splash Mountain rap!).
Click here to check out some of our fave old Disney commercials!
9. Make your Disney Bucket List for your next trip!
One of our favorite things to do is to plan trips to Disney. In fact, we like planning our vacays almost as much as we like going on them. If that sounds like you, then maybe take some time to put together a Disney Bucket List for the next time you make it to the parks.
Mickey Waffles
Need a little nudge in the right direction? Well, we suggest you start your list with the most important thing — food! And we’ve got a DFB Disney Food Bucket List to get you started. We think all of these are total must-dos, but feel free to add your own!
Want to know why NOW is a great time to plan your Disney trip? Click here!
10. Zen out “in” Disney World.
And finally, if you just need to relax we recommend finding some time to zen out a little bit. Just when you need them, we’ve got some views of Disney World lots of folks never really see…to help you feel a little more at peace.
Animal Kingdom at Sunset
Taking a peek at these fun and relaxing videos can really help make you happier. Remember, “There’s a great big beautiful tomorrow shining at the end of every day.” Hopefully, some of our suggestions help make you a little happier until we get there.
Click here to “zen out” with some gorgeous Disney mornings.
Here’s hoping these suggestions have helped out a little bit with your mindset. Remember, we love you, and we thank you for reading! ❤️
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Thank you for the 10 ways to be happier! I loved those ideas! My husband and I are actually supposed to be in the middle of a Disney World and Disney Cruise Line trip right now. Both were canceled, but we decided to take each day that we would have been on our vacation and make it special at home. We live in a state that still has “stay at home“ orders so going out to eat was not an option, so we improvised. The first night (which would have been our first night sailing on the Disney ship “MAGIC” ) we decided to dress up for dinner anyway! I used markers and what I had here at home to make DCL “Animators Palette“ dinner menus and listed items that I was making for dinner and desserts that I had in the house anyway to choose from!
I also used the link that DFB gave to download Disney Cruise Line cutouts to decorate with and they were perfect! : ) I put them all over my kitchen and even made my front door look like a DCL stateroom door! We took pictures and sent them to family members as if we were really on our cruise! They loved it!
Yesterday, when we would have been at Castaway Cay, we barbecued chicken and made hot dogs and set up our side yard with Calypso music. We dressed in our Disney themed clothes and ate a lot of the items that we might’ve eaten at Castaway Cay! We even used some Disney cruise line glasses that we had gotten as souvenirs and put them outside too. It was great fun! We just ate, and listened to the Calypso music and envisioned ourselves being away! We plan to continue our “staycation” for every day that we would have been on our real vacation. We will take “virtual rides” every day in Disney World corresponding to the parks that we would’ve been in and the fast passes that we had planned. And we plan to continue to wear our Disney theme park clothing during those times, and if we had planned a Disney restaurant reservation for that day, I will try to cook something similar to what we would’ve had in the restaurant! It is so much fun and we are having a great time. I strongly recommend this little mental getaway for anyone whose Disney cruise or Disney vacation was canceled. I didn’t realize how much I would enjoy and look forward to each day of planning while we are at home to simulate our Disney vacation. So instead of being down and depressed this week, we are having great fun and looking forward to a few hours each day of being on our “virtual” Disney vacation! Thank you so much DFB for all of your help, encouragement, information and inspiration! You and your team are such an invaluable resource during this difficult time. My day brightens up when I look in my email and I see I have a DFB newsletter to read! Thank you DFB team for being there for us and helping us to get through the difficulty of our lives right now. You have made a major difference in our lives by bringing us joy, optimism, help and hope each day. All I can say is THANK YOU! Thank you for the ideas. Thank you for the information. Thank you for the fun and joy. Thank you for being there for us when we need you most. ❤️