Planning future vacations makes me happy. I’m not alone. Studies show that many people derive more happiness from planning a trip than actually taking the trip.
Because of that, I could never surprise my family with a major trip by telling them on the way to the airport. I want the joy of anticipating and planning together.
Ever since our first big trip as a family of five, I’ve come up with different ways to reveal our next big vacation. We’ve done a scavenger hunt, giant balloons, a jigsaw puzzle and a special dinner to reveal a vacation.
Since we finished our big summer trip and we have an upcoming travel dry spell, I decided it was time to reveal our next big vacation: a Star Wars Disney Cruise!
Decorations
To make our dining room fit the theme, I purchased a plastic Star Wars tablecloth. I raided my kids’ rooms and borrowed a few Star Wars stuffed animals and a Disney Cruise ship.
I added a few Mickey Mouse party decorations to the light fixture.
Food
I was going to search Pinterest for inspiration, but it turns out that the Star Wars website had tons of recipes and party ideas I could use.
For starters, I ordered some Star Wars candy molds from Amazon. I purchased some candy melts at Wal-Mart to melt and fill the molds. After just 20 minutes in the freezer, they were ready.
For Storm Trooper cupcakes, I started with store-bought cupcakes. Why not? I like to keep things simple. I used edible food coloring markers to transform marshmallows into Storm Trooper masks.
Next, I made cheese and cracker TIE fighters using Wheat Thins, string cheese and whipped cream cheese. Easy peasy!
For the main entrée, I assembled grilled cheese and Ham Solo sandwiches.
Character Call
Once I called my kids downstairs to see everything, it took them less than a minute to figure out we were going on a Star Wars Disney Cruise. Last winter, we saw a commercial for the Star Wars cruises in the movie theater. My son didn’t know that such a thing existed at the time, and he’s been asking to go on one ever since. Little did he know at the time that we had already booked one.
To top off the big reveal, I scheduled a phone call from Mickey and Minnie Mouse. With each cruise reservation, guests are allowed up to two character calls from Mickey, Goofy, or Mickey and Minnie together. See this FAQ for more information on how to schedule a character call.
The calls are pre-recorded, but they are somewhat customized based on your cruise date and itinerary.
Star Wars Day at Sea on Disney Cruise Line
Star Wars Day at Sea is only available on select 7-night sailings on the Disney Fantasy in January and February. On the last day of sea, the ship transforms into a Star Wars fan’s dream!
Kids can participate in Jedi Training Academy and other Star Wars themed activities in the Oceaneer Club and Oceaneer Lab. Guests can sign up for Star Wars character meet and greets, and Star Wars characters roam the atrium and pool deck all day. The Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique offers Jedi makeovers for all ages.
On each cruise, a celebrity guest speaker makes an appearance to talk about Star Wars. On past cruises, guest speakers included Ashley Eckstein (voice of Ahsoka) and executives from Lucasfilm.
Dinner has a Star Wars theme, and Star Wars movies are playing in the onboard theatre all week. There is a special Star Wars deck show followed by fireworks (this is in addition to the fireworks on Pirate night—so two fireworks shows on this cruise!) See this article for more details about the Star Wars Day at Sea.
In short, my husband and sons will be loving all of it. While I enjoy Star Wars, I’m not a super-fan. My daughter isn’t quite as into it as my boys are, and she asked if the regular characters would still be on board. Never fear, the princesses and other “regular” characters will still be around for 6 of the 7 days.
Surviving the Countdown
My kids are so excited about our upcoming cruise that they didn’t even ask where the cruise is going! They really don’t care where the ship goes. For them, it’s all about the onboard experience.
We have about 5 ½ months to wait. In that time, I’m sure we will watch some YouTube videos about Star Wars Day at Sea and wait to see who the guest speaker will be for our cruise. We will make Fish Extender gifts (more on that in another post) and yes, we will order matching family shirts. Because we can.
I’m thankful that we can look forward to this trip together!
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Author: Nancy
Nancy lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three kids. Her favorite vacations include the beach, cruising and everything Disney.
Yay!!! I knew it from the cupcake yesterday that’s what you booked. My kids would think you’re such a cool mom for planning a Star Wars themed meal because I’m not that creative 🙂
Enjoy planning for it…Disney Cruises are the best. My kids love Star Wars, but we’re skipping the Star Wars Cruise so we can go to Star Wars Land next year.
@Stephanie I’m not very creative when it comes to most Pinterest things, but if it’s something really simple and it involves Disney or travel I will totally try it! My family also wants to go to the new Star Wars land when it opens, but realistically I think we’ll wait until 2020. The crowds will be horrendous I’m sure!