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If you're getting ready for a Disney cruise, there's a fun way to add a personal touch to your trip — decorating your stateroom door! It's a popular tradition among Disney cruisers that adds a little extra pixie dust to your vacation. In this post, we'll share tips and ideas that you can use to help decorate your stateroom door and make it stand out. You can now score exclusive Disney Cruise Line savings provided by Undercover Tourist and psst ... there are no booking fees! Plus, we have an exciting offer hoppenin' right now! Get a FREE in-room décor set for all Disney Cruise Line bookings, courtesy of Undercover Tourist, when you book a Disney Cruise Line sailing, for a limited time. Now, put on your creativity cap, grab your magnets and art supplies, and let's get started!
Why Bring Disney Cruise Door Decorations?
There's something special about that moment when you finally arrive at your stateroom and get to bust out those door magnets and decorations. After all, you've been planning this for months and the moment is finally here!
Why decorate your stateroom door? Oh, there are lots of reasons! It's a fun way to show off your love for Disney (and just being on a Disney cruise!), get creative and connect with others on your cruise. It's also a great way to celebrate special moments like a birthday or anniversary and make your stateroom feel a bit more personal and, like you've finally made it "home." #homesweetcruisehome
Plus, decorating your door makes it easier to find your room after a long day. Trust us! When walking those long ship hallways, it's easy to get turned around since all those undecorated doors look the same.
Choosing the Theme of Your Disney Cruise Door Decorations
The sky is the limit here and there are no hard and fast rules. You can decorate with just a few magnets or creative pieces or go all out with a full-blown theme! We've even seen banners and battery-powered stings lights strung around cruisers' doors. Whether you make your own decorations or buy them, you'll see that many like to go with a theme. I mean, who doesn't love a good theme, am I right? This could be as simple as each member of the family choosing their own Disney character-themed magnets or a cohesive theme for everyone. If you're traveling with others and their room is nearby, you could even coordinate your stateroom door decorations.
Not sure where to start? Our best advice is to pick decorations and a theme that reflect your specific cruise itinerary or the folks in your stateroom. (On a Disney Alaskan cruise? Decorate in a lumberjack or wintery snow theme!) The stateroom door decorations could include classic Disney characters, a favorite movie or a special occasion. You'll see many cruisers use decorations to rep their Disney cruise creds such as their Castaway Club membership stats, the number of cruises they've sailed or which Disney ships they've been on. (Psssfff! Those Disney Cruise Pearl members ... we're not jealous at all!) We've even seen fellow cruisers shout out if they've been to Disney Castaway Cay or Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point with just their door decor.
If you're on a Halloween on the High Seas or a Verry Merrytime Cruise, it could be super creative to decorate your door using spooky Halloween decorations or Christmas-themed decor.
This Mommy Frog is a visual frog and I like to see examples of what others have done. This helps my brain get the planning process started. A simple search on Google Images or Pinterest is a good place to look. There are a ton of examples and taking a peek in advance will help get those creative juices flowing!
How to Hang Your Disney Cruise Door Decorations — Magnetic Doors
Now that you've brainstormed some ideas, you might be wondering about the logistics, such as how to hang or stick your decorations to the doors without damaging them. This one is EASY! Doors on the Disney cruise ships (except Concierge rooms on the Dream and Fantasy) are magnetic. Yup! You can hang all of your decorations by just using magnets. If you’re purchasing ready-to-use magnets or decorations, they will likely already come with magnets attached (just double-check the description and fine print before ordering). And if you are making your own decorations, a simple sticky magnet affixed to the back will work just fine.
Disney Cruise Door Decorations — Stateroom Number Shapes
Keep in mind that the stateroom number shapes vary across Disney Cruise Line ships. The Magic, Wonder, Dream and Fantasy have round stateroom numbers, while the Wish has rectangular ones. This matters because some cruisers use these shapes as part of their designs. For example, round numbers on the older ships are often used in Mickey-themed decorations, such as Mickey's head or body. Make sure you know the shape of your stateroom number so your decorations will work with the design you have planned.
Also, consider the size of the stateroom doors and number plaques. The doors are about 28 inches wide and 77 inches tall. On the Magic, Wonder, Dream and Fantasy, the number plaques are round and about 7.5 inches in diameter. On the Disney Wish, the plaques are rectangular, measuring 7 by 4.5 inches at the widest points.
Making Your Own Door Decorations
Making our stateroom door decorations is one of the ways that we countdown and get excited for our Disney Cruise. We have used different materials and methods when making our door designs and will share more on that process below.
In general, the important things to consider are:
- Materials: Get creative with your materials! We typically use construction paper or printouts on computer paper. We will also laminate our door decorations to make them a little sturdier for the door (self-adhesive laminating sheets are a good option if you don’t own a thermal laminator). To ensure that the items can stick to the door, we use magnetic decals. Our favorites are the magnets which are similar to stickers, so you can directly stick the magnets to the back of your door decorations. Another idea is to include homemade decorations such as banners, garlands and signs in your design. We've even seen guests add their own pin trading boards on their doors!
- Respectful Decor: While stateroom door decorating is encouraged by Disney Cruise Line, it's important to be respectful of your fellow cruisers and the ship's crew. Avoid using permanent adhesives, damaging materials or anything that could obstruct emergency signage.
- Get the Family Involved: Decorating your door is a fun activity for the whole family! Get everyone involved in the planning and creation process and make it a memorable bonding experience before you even set sail.
If you want to make your own magnets, but aren’t sure where to start, Disney shared the following PDF for guests to use for creating their stateroom door decorations. To access this PDF, please click here.
Examples and Tips for Disney Cruise Door Decorations
When sailing on the Disney Magic, Wonder, Dream and Fantasy which have round stateroom door numbers, we typically use the door number as the head for a Mickey or Minnie design. We drew and cut out a 7.5-inch circle to serve as our reference for the design. Then we sketched our designs on construction paper and cut out all of the pieces. We then glued them on top of each other if needed; for example, when doing a traditional Mickey design, we glued white ovals on Mickey’s red shorts to represent his white buttons.
After that, we used self-adhesive laminating sheets to protect the construction paper and add a bit more weight to the design. Finally, we added magnets to the back so that the decorations attach to the door. As we mentioned above, we have found it easier to pack and transport the door decorations with the magnets not attached. Instead, we bring the magnets with us and add them to the back of our door decoration once we are in our stateroom.
Another option is to use a color printer and print the Disney images that you want to use. You can then cut the images that you printed and directly laminate them before adding the magnets to the back. We used this method for one of our Halloween cruises and we ended up making a lot more decorations this way.
While these are the two methods that we have used, you could decorate your door in several ways. There is no wrong way to decorate your door (as long as you adhere to Disney’s guidelines) and we have seen everything from doors with a simple single magnet to others that are genuinely impressive.
The guests on Disney cruises get incredibly creative. We've spotted door decorations that cover the entire door and some that are even 3-D! When it comes to designing your stateroom, don't take it too seriously. Let your imagination run wild and have fun with it!
Purchase Door Decorations
If you are not a DIY'er, there are stateroom door decorations available through third parties such as Amazon or Etsy. These are a great way to pick out the exact designs you want without having to spend time on making something. When purchasing, be sure to order them well in advance to have them arrive in time for your Disney cruise.
Maybe you want to create your own but are looking for templates or easy-to-follow patterns? Etsy is still a popular option. You can purchase and download designs that are ready to print right at home.
Consider Room Decor Packages
If decorating the exterior of your stateroom door isn’t enough for your next Disney cruise, you could also purchase an interior room decor package from Onboard Gifts. These packages are offered directly from Disney Cruise Line for purchase before you board and are set up in advance of you entering your stateroom. These make for a magical surprise or if you are celebrating something special during the cruise.
Don't froget that Undercover Tourist is now offering a FREE in-room décor set for all Disney Cruise Line bookings, when you book a Disney Cruise Line sailing, for a limited time. Hip, hop, hooray!
Explore All the Amazing Designs
One of the coolest things about decorating your door on a Disney cruise is checking out what everyone else has done! While you're enjoying your trip, take some time to wander down the hallways and see all the creative door designs. You might get some inspiration for your next cruise or even strike up a conversation with fellow cruisers about their fun ideas.
Keep Disney's Guidelines in Mind
I know we said earlier that there are no hard and fast rules, but there are a few guidelines. Disney Cruise Line welcomes guests to decorate their stateroom doors, but decorations shouldn't block walkways, doorways or emergency equipment. All decorations must be removable and shouldn't damage the door. Also, this goes without saying, but make sure your decorations are respectful and family-friendly. Be sure to read over Disney's door decoration guidelines before you go!
Got your Disney Cruise Door Decorations all planned out? How are you going to decorate your stateroom door? Let us know in the comments below. We can't wait to hear what you've come up with!
Related: Choosing the Right Disney Cruise Stateroom for Your Family
Hoppy planning!
