Have Your Kids Got the Disney BLUES?

This Article Was Contributed by Barry

We've been lucky enough to make many new internet friends over the years. Below you will find two letters we received from Barry. The first letter arrived in mid December 1997. After reading it we thought "what a wonderful idea". But, with the holidays so quickly approaching we knew we wouldn't have time to put anything together. Without asking we received a second letter a couple of days later, with all of the information we needed for this page. If you've just returned from Disney and have kids this tip is invaluable. I hope you enjoy. And Barry, thank you!

December 10, 1997:
Got a suggestion for you for the kid's page. When we returned from WDW in October, five-year-old Zachary got his first taste of post WDW blahs...the re-entry factor. As a remedy I suggested that he send a letter to one of the many characters he met telling him or her what a great time he had had. Since it was close to Mickey's birthday he chose to send Mickey a birthday card. I sent it to the main address I had for WDW. A week later a got a note telling me that the card had been received and said that kids are encouraged to write to their favorite characters. They gave me an address where such correspondence should be sent. On Monday Zach received a package from WDW. It contained a hand written letter from Mickey Mouse thanking him for the "really neat" birthday card. Mickey also sent a personally autographed, color, 8 x 10 photo of himself in front of Cinderella Castle. The autograph says something like "to Zachary from your old pal Mickey Mouse".

December 16, 1997:
The many months of planning and preparation are over in just a matter of days. Your vacation at Walt Disney World is a memory now. It's Monday morning and you've got a mean case of the "re-entry blues". As bad as it feels for you to be back, just imagine how it feels to be a kid. The pool has been replaced by slush puddles. The character meals are back to being meals with characters in the school cafeteria. E-ticket excitement has turned into homework and textbooks.

What's a poor parent to do to help the little ones to ease back into reality? Upon returning from your vacation at WDW talk often with the kids about their favorite memories. Which attractions did they like best? Which character meals were the most fun? Ask them! This helps them to keep their recollections fresh while keeping some of the "magic" alive for them. It softens the impact of returning to reality. Encourage them to write about their experiences. This not only helps them to remember but can be useful to fulfill school assignments as well. My five year old loves to draw pictures of the characters, Cinderella Castle, the fireworks and the parades.

Take a trip to the Disney Store near you and buy some Disney music CDs. One recommendation is "The Official Album". It contains actual music and soundtracks from the parks, including Illuminations and SpectroMagic. Another fun idea is to have your kids write to their favorite characters. WDW encourages correspondence. My son wrote to Mickey Mouse upon returning from WDW and about four weeks later received a personally signed 8x10 color glossy of Mickey in front of the castle, as well as a handwritten note from the Main Mouse. He's now written to a host of other characters in hopes of collecting autographed photos of them all. Coming home and coming down isn't a lot of fun, but it doesn't have to be all bad either. Keeping the memories alive and fresh makes your trip all that more successful and keeps the kids going until the next one!

The address to write to the characters is:

     WALT DISNEY WORLD INFO
     Guest Letters
     Letters to Mickey Mouse
     P.O. Box 10040
     Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830

Last Updated: May 9, 2009