DIY Disney Parks Flair Game | Tinkerbell Treasure

This idea came to me before one of our largest group trips to Walt Disney World. For this trip we were surprising the kids and several families were going to be staying together. I wanted our Tinkerbell Treasures to capture that magical quality for the kids. So I invented this game that we played while in the parks. The beauty of it is that it can be played in any of the parks, and by just about anyone. Our youngest player was 5.

Here's how it works. Each person draws out a button at the beginning of the day. (We usually throw them in Doc's hat and draw.) That player may get a special treat, or a task to perform. Around lunch time, we all put our buttons back in the hat and redraw them for the rest of the day. What do they say?

• "I Can Fly" - line leader for the group that day
• "Great Mouse Detective" - spotting Hidden Mickey's in the park
• "The Collector" - collecting human things: stickers, transportation cards or pressed pennies
• "Warm Hugs Challenge" - gather as many character hugs as you can
• "Wild Carpet Ride" - once today you call out an attraction you want and we all go there, no matter what!
• "Mad as a Hatter" - trade as many pins as you can today
• "Snack Time" - you get to pick the snack of your choice
• "Jack Pot" - I found Disney Dollars!

I made sure to pick up some Disney Dollars (remember to get extra if you are going to switch flair buttons midway through your day!) at Guest Relations, and a couple cheap pins at a pin kiosk before introducing the game to our players. It's fairly self explanatory and as long as you have a willing helper for the little ones it can add a whole new dimension to your day in the parks! And all the players will have a fun little souvenir to take home with them.

As a former teacher, I have the luxury of owning a button maker. If you don't happen to have one, you can purchase a set of these buttons in my Etsy shop! Or, if you want to print them out on sticker paper, I have a downloadable template (for free!) to use with Avery round stickers #5294. 

I hope you have fun with this idea. Until next time, may all your days be filled with fairy dust!

DIY Disney Park Maps Puzzle Blocks

We all love upcycling those Disney Park maps. This is a fun project for young Disney fans, or just those that are young at heart. We are big puzzlers around the cottage. Every Christmas my sister's family comes over with a jigsaw puzzle and we work the entire thing in one day. I LOVE a good puzzle. And now that the Disney park maps all look a lot more alike, this puzzle is a bit harder than I originally thought it would be! Still, it's fun.

I was able to find a set of 1.5" plain, wooden blocks from Pick Your Plum. If you don't know about them, it's worth checking them out. You never know what sort of thing is going to pop up there! I also used 5 different park maps (I needed 2 from Animal Kingdom), mod podge, fine grit sandpaper and a foam brush. I cut out the maps into 1.5" squares and roughed them up on the back side with the sandpaper. This just helped them adhere well to the blocks. I then adhered them with the mod podge to the wood. Once they had dried I sanded down the edges so they didn't peel up, and put a top coat of mod podge on them. Once they were dry they were ready to go!

The toddlers like to play with them as blocks, the older ones like to fiddle with them on the coffee table while we are watching TV or planning our next Disney vacation! These were fairly simple to put together, even if they were just a little time consuming. Worth it though, to have another reminder of our time together in Disney.

Until next time, may all your days be filled with fairy dust!