How to Deal with Post-Disney Depression

We all know the feeling. When you leave the parks for the last time on your trip and come back to the cruel reality that is everyday life. As soon as you get home it finally hits you that there won't be a Mickey ice cream bar available around every corner, and you won't be lounging on the hub grass that evening crying like a baby during Wishes. You have a dark cloud following you around and you can only count down the days until your next Disney trip. Or maybe, in the most undesirable circumstances, you have no idea when you'll be returning to the most magical place on earth. We all have a hard time dealing with what I like to call "Post-Disney Depression".

So what comes next? How do we deal with the fact that instead of taking the monorail to Epcot, we'll be taking a sad car ride to a boring class or a stressful job? How do we cope? How do we survive? Well, friends, that is what I'm here to tell you. I've come up with several methods that I personally use to keep my mind off of the fact that I'm not actually in Disney, I'm just in an uncomfortable chair in a white-walled classroom listening to my nutrition teacher talk about fiber. Without any further adieu, here is how you can deal with your PDD.

1. Listen to Disney music

This seems like an obvious solution. However, I'm not going to tell you "listen to Disney music" and leave it at that. No, I'm going to give you specifics on where to find the best Disney music, how to listen, and where to listen. First, where to find the best music. Well, if you have Spotify, I have compiled a playlist of a little over 200 disney songs. Everything from the classics, to camp rock, to the Moana and Zootopia soundtracks! Also, there are a few songs that you'll hear featured in the parks! My username is n_needles, and the playlist is just called Disney with a few emojis by it. Not only can you listen to my Spotify playlist on the go, but if you go to the Disney store online you can find a few soundtracks. Even though they don't have a big selection, the next time you're visiting the parks in Orlando, swing by World of Disney in Disney Springs and near the middle of the store there should be a whole stand for soundtracks from the movies, parks, and everything in between! That way, after your next trip your Disney jams will be set. Instead of being in your car on your way to work, you're sitting front row at Fantasmic. Some imagination, huh?

2. Have a Disney movie day

For the most severe cases of PDD, sometimes music just doesn't cut it. You need a full day for reminiscing and watching your favorite Disney movies. If you're anything like me, SOMETHING is going to come up. Someone will ask if I can babysit, if I want to hang out, or I'll get called into work. Again, if you're anything like me, you also have a hard time saying no. So here's how you keep the general public from interrupting your magical day of Disney style R&R: You treat it like an important event. That's right, mark your calendar, ask off of work, tell your friends "I can't, I have a family thing". This way, you will have consciously set the day aside, leaving no room for bombardments from the outside world.

Once your date is set, it's time for the essentials. Make a list of your top Disney movies! If they're not on Netflix make sure you borrow or rent them for the day. Also, be sure to go out and get your favorite snacks. And what's a Disney movie day without your best Disney loving friend, sibling, or significant other? So let them know that they're free to join you, but there's no shame in wanting to have your own personal viewing either.

(Picture by Noah Needles)

3.Plan your next park outfits

For this PDD fix, you can act as if you're going to the parks soon and lay out all of your outfits! This is one of my favorite ways to deal with missing Disney because not only are my outfits for my next trip planned, but I can wear them in my everyday life! Maybe nix the Mickey ears, because apparently not everyone thinks wearing hardcore Disney accessories outside of the parks is normal. Sadly. On second thought, you wear those ears! You wear them with pride because you have PDD dang it and you need to be cured.

(Picture by Nicole Needles)

4. Make Disney snacks

I mentioned earlier how there won't be Mickey pretzels around every corner. No matter how much you want the grey stuff, a dole whip, or a Main Street Confectionary bakery item, the real-world equivalents just won't cut it. While there are plenty of recipes online for Disney snacks, I'm going to give you a recipe that I've used for the Disney snack we all know and love: the Dole Whip.

Ingredients:

• 2 20 ounce cans Dole crushed pineapple with juice

• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

• 2 tablespoons lime juice

• 1/3 cup sugar

• 1 and 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream, whipped

Directions:

1. Drain pineapple; reserve 2 tablespoons juice. Set aside.

2. Place pineapple, lemon juice, lime juice, sugar and reserved pineapple juice in blender or food processor container; cover and blend until smooth.

3. Pour into two 1-quart freezer zipped bags and store bags flat in freezer.

4. Freeze 1-1/2 hours or until slushy.

5. Stir pineapple slush gently into whipped cream until slightly blended, in large bowl.

6. Return to freezer until completely frozen, about 1 hour.

(Recipe from magicalrecipes.net)

(Picture by Nicole Needles)

5. Answer Disney Questionnaires

If you look up "Disney questions tag" on Google then it will give you tons of little questions such as who is your favorite Disney character, what is your favorite movie, etc. They are super fun and you're allowed to think about nothing but Disney, which is the best part. Also, if you have a Disney-loving BFF, call them up and you can answer the questions together and talk about them! After all, Disney is even more magical when shared with someone else!

6.Call up your Disney-loving BFF

Speaking of your fellow Disnerds, sometimes it's a good idea to just call up your friend and talk about Disney together. If they love Disney as much as you do, they'll totally be down for it! It gives you a chance to talk about Disney because you're missing it so much, and it gives them an opportunity to pull you out of your PDD once and for all.

7. Make a slideshow of your Disney trip

Take that montage of pictures you took at the Festival of Fantasy parade and all of your ride videos and throw them all together into a little video with some Disney music playing in the background. Maybe even, for your next trip to the parks, vlog it! Plan on taking lots of footage to remember your trip forever. A little pro tip for blogging, however: don't get caught up behind the camera. While you want to capture your magical vacation, you want to remember it too. Make sure you're living in the moment so when you picture your trip in your head, you have the full picture and not just what you can see on a camera or computer screen. You can check out some of the videos I've done on my blogs tab for some inspiration!

8. Plan your next trip (or an imaginary one!)

The first thing we all think of when we go come home from Disney is when we're going back. If you have the means and time to do so, go ahead and book your next vacation! Even if it's a year or two from the time you book it, you at least have a trip to look forward to. When your PDD phase is over, you won't have to cling to this trip, you'll only have to be happy and excited about it. However, if you're like me -a college student with limited funds -you can't really just book Disney trips willy nilly. So, what do I do in my nutrition class instead of listening to the lecture? That's right. I wrote out a whole agenda along with the estimated costs for my next Disney trip. I've planned a sister Disney trip, I've planned a family Spring Break Disney trip, you name it (don't worry, I finished with an A in the class).

9. Shop from the parks

Simply go to the Disney website and click the store tab. There'll be an option for parks. My personal favorite is the Shop Disney Parks app. It allows you to see what's new in the parks, shop your favorites, and have it shipped to your house! You're not in Disney, so why not bring the magic to you? It's also a great place to refer family members when they break out the "What do you want for your birthday? What about Christmas?". All you have to do is show them the app and tell them to go crazy.

(Picture by Abby Needles)

Nine is a weird number to stop at, but these are all of the tricks I have for your PDD! If nothing else, we Disnerds have each other and the rest of the Disney community to help us deal with this phase that we all go through. We just have to make our own pixie dust and wait it out until we're walking down Main Street USA again.

Never Stop Dreaming,

Nicole

#disney #disneyworld #waltdisney #waltdisneyworld #magickingdom #epcot #animalkingdom #hollywoodstudios #disneylove #disneygeek #disneymusic #disneymovies