What We Do When We Miss Disney

We miss Disney any time we are not in Disney. Or on a Disney Cruise. Basically those are the only two times we’re not missing the Most Magical Place on Earth. But unfortunately, most of the time we are missing Disney. Don’t you just hate that “real life” thing? For us, missing Disney is actually really hard, so we like to have some ways to cheer us up when we can’t be in the Parks. Does anyone else have Disney coping mechanisms? We know…it’s a sickness. Anyway, if you’re like us and need some help to keep the magic alive and keep you from missing your favorite place, take a look at what we do:

Credit: DisneyDining

Turn On a Comfort Movie

Thank goodness for Disney+, right? Thanks to the most magical streaming service, all of your favorite Disney movies are now available to you at the click of a button. One of the best ways to fight off your yearning for Disney is to throw on a comfort movie. For us, that’s usually Hercules. But everyone is different! You could even turn this into a binging marathon! Miss the Jungle Cruise ride in Magic Kingdom? Watch the Jungle Cruise movie! Miss Pirates? Turn on the Black Pearl! Miss just seeing Mickey? Watch a few classic Mickey cartoons to warm your heart.

Related: Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt to star in ‘Jungle Cruise’ sequel already in the works

Credit: DisneyDining

Listen to a Disney Playlist

This was always a big one in our family. We have a Pandora station called “Disney Family Radio,” of all our favorite movie and park music. Disney playlists are great because they can cheer you up no matter what you’re doing when you miss Disney. They’re perfect for driving to work, or doing chores around the house, or just hanging out. With so many playlists and radio stations out there, you can get super specific for whatever you’re missing. Obviously there’s your standard movie soundtracks that are easy to listen to, but we personally love the Park playlists! There are playlists for Adventureland in Magic Kingdom, FutureWorld in EPCOT, Animal Kingdom’s Oasis music, and more! Spotify and Pandora are great for generating long lists of songs to listen to, but YouTube is fantastic for this too.

Credit: Disney

Watch YouTube Videos

Speaking of, YouTube is a great place to visit when you are missing Walt Disney World. Not only can you listen to those great playlists, you can experience full ride and Park walkthroughs as well. No matter what you’re missing, someone else has been crazy obsessed before you and did the work so you could enjoy it later. We love these people. Think of any ride, show, parade, review, whatever, and you’ll find it on YouTube. This is true for more than just the Parks! We love the Disney Cruise Line walkthrough videos.

These videos are great for when you’re missing the Parks but they are also amazing resources for planning. They’re often so detailed and descriptive that you can really get a sense of what you want to do in your vacation. But we mostly watch these videos when we’re sad, if we’re honest.

Related: WATCH: Here’s our pick for the best Disney World 50th Anniversary YouTube video so far!

Credit: Disney

Cook a Disney Recipe

We love the Disney cookbooks! Disney offers many cookbooks of recipes used in the resorts and on the Cruise Line. They also release Food and Wine Festival cookbooks each year so that you can recreate your favorite dish at home. As Ratatouille taught us, food can be a powerful tool for bringing up memories. That’s exactly what cooking a Disney recipe at home does for us. So many of our Disney experiences revolve around the meals we eat when there, so making them at home brings the magic just a little closer. We personally love to make the sticky wings from O’hana and crab cakes from the American pavilion during Food and Wine.

And if you don’t have a cookbook, or just hate cooking, don’t forget that most grocery stores sell Mickey Bars now!

Credit: DisneyDining

Surround Ourselves with Merch

Let’s be honest: we have enough Disney merchandise and memorabilia to go around. Looking around our office right now we can easily spot three different mementos from previous trips. It makes us so happy! So when you’re having a particularly hard missing Disney day, we strongly recommend putting on a Spirit Jersey, grabbing a Disney mug (because let’s be real, we all have about a million and counting), drinking some Resort coffee from Joffery’s, and snuggling with one of your probably many Disney plush toys. We’re not judging. In fact, that’s what we’re doing right now! While you’re all cozy, throw on one of those Park walkthroughs!

Credit: Disney

Plan Our Next Trip

The best cure for missing Disney-itis is to go to Disney again! Start planning your trip when you feel homesick. Having that trip to look forward to is so helpful for our mental health. Even if you plan a fake trip, that usually works. Sometimes we like to go on the Disney World website and create a dream vacation that there’s no way we could afford, but it’s fun to dream. Find your perfect resort and look up airfare and reservations. Get excited! And get back there so you can stop missing it!

What do you do when you’re missing Walt Disney World? Tell us in the comments below!