You may not be able to tell yet from my posts thus far, but I am a huge Disney person! Our whole family is super into everything Disney and we love going on Disney trips, but when we are in between trips or waiting on a countdown, we need something to keep the Disney feel in our lives. Enter Disney Movie Nights. Now I am sure you have seen plenty of posts about how to theme a night to a particular movie so I thought I would go over some basic planning ideas for Disney movie nights in general. You can choose whatever movie you like and use these meal planning tips and tricks to plan anything from a super basic movie night to an over-the-top multi-course themed night.
Keeping it Simple but Fun
Sometimes the mood may strike you to have a Disney movie night at the last second or perhaps you are saving up for your next trip and want a simple night that you can use something you already have or something inexpensive to get. For nights like these consider the simple idea of Mickey shaped items. This is easy if you have any of the many household appliances they sell that create these types of items, but you can also take matters into your own hands. Pancakes can easily be shaped and if you have circle shaped food you can place them on plates or platters in the Mickey shape. Another option is to add something Disney branded to your menu. You can almost always find cookies, cereal, or crackers that are partnered with Disney at the moment and if you swing by the bakery you can often ask them to add a Disney themed cake topper to one of their existing cakes for only a few dollars more. Another idea is to replicate a meal you had while on a Disney trip in some way to bring back those memories. We have lots of happy memories from trying various snacks at Disney and have often tried to recreate those moments.
Kick things up a Notch
If you have a bit more time and a little extra budget available you can take things up a notch by looking up a related recipe for you movie night. This can either be related to the movie you are planning to watch or from a previous trip. Pictured above is one of our attempts at making Ronto Wraps at home, it wasn’t quite right but it was still delicious! You can find many copy cat recipes online for just about any Disney movie food or park food. It can also be fun to just make something you know is in the movie. Like for the movie Meet The Robinsons you could make your family’s favorite spaghetti. Even a loose association with the movie could really add some fun to your night. Another idea is to use it as an excuse to learn more about another culture. I have done research for some movie nights and learned so much about how another culture approaches food and how meals play a role in daily life. You can take that a step further by planning some fun language or cultural activities for your family to learn more as well!
Going All Out
For some movies or evenings you may want to go even further and really push the boat out. For these nights I would recommend planning things at least a few days if not a week in advance. This will give you time to chose a movie, research your food options, and gather your ingredients. You could plan a multi course meal or to make things easier for movie viewing have everything ready to go when the movie starts. For some ideas you can see a from scratch Ratatouille I made above for a fully French themed Ratatouille evening we had and below a full Christmas feast we had while watching the animated version of A Christmas Carole (featuring Jim Carry). The Christmas dinner was especially fun as we watched the movie in the spring so we don’t normally get those types of foods at that time of year. Now, just because you are going all out for these meals does not mean you cannot still make things simpler by following some of the tips above. For example the Christmas meal could be made easier by using pre-made items, you could use a rotisserie chicken from the store with frozen veggies, box stuffing, and jarred gravy. None of that would take away from the awesomeness of the meal in the least, so be kind to yourself and your schedule if need be! If you have the time and inclination, you can also use this as an excuse to try some new recipes and foods.
Making Your Night Magical
I hope that these tips have given you some confidence to try adding a Disney Movie night to your schedule soon. It may seem daunting at first but I promise it will be worth it. No matter if you go with the simplest of pancakes shaped like Mickey or a 5 course French feast the most important part of the night is sharing the magic of something you love with the people you care about most. There are hundreds of movies to pick from and thousands of meal options so you will never be short of ideas to use for movie nights to fill the time between your Disney Trips. I think the next movie night we will have is going to be for watching Episode I of Star Wars (oh boy) what movie night are you planning on doing first? Let me know in the comments below!
