One of the (many) things we're doing in preparation for our big trip to Disney World is to have a Disney Family Night about once a month until we leave . In short, we pick one of our favorite Disney movies and then create a themed night around it. It's a fun way to bridge the long wait!
Last weekend we celebrated The Lion King. 
(cue the music: "...it's the circle of liiiiife and it moves it us alllllll....") :D
(cue the music: "...it's the circle of liiiiife and it moves it us alllllll....") :DHere's what we did:
While dinner was grilling, we listened to The Lion King soundtrack and looked through the contents of our Africa Continent Bag.
~photo taken by Mstr. James, Up and Coming Photographer~ :)James and The Hubs also enjoyed a few rounds of "Find the Lion Cubs". They took turns hiding James' little stuffed animals around the house and went on "safaris" to find them. :)
For dinner I decorated the table with some straw mats and giant placemats shaped like leaves. I've had those leaf mats for YEARS (like, over 10!) and this is the first time they'd been used! I also created little cards for each food item.
Here's what was on our menu:
:: Savannah Salad (mixed greens with various veggies)
:: Zazu's Chicken Legs (grilled drumsticks)
:: Pride Rock Potatoes (roasted rosemary potatoes)
:: Broccoli Tree of Life (steamed broccoli)
:: Timon's Grubs Under A Log (aka ants on a log... you know - celery, peanut butter, and raisins. I turned the celery over to give it the "under a log" effect. :D)
:: For dessert: Rafiki's Banana Pudding (instant pudding with a few animal crackers on top)
:: To drink: Jungle Juice (I used this recipe from Disney World's Animal Kingdom Lodge - YUM.)
Since our menu was so large, I only made a little of everything. And we still had left overs. (Score! No cooking for me the next day!)
After dinner we had a look through the Africa pages in our favorite Children's Encyclopedia.
Then we watched the movie. And what a good one it is, too. I created a game for us to play while we watched: I selected and printed out various memorable quotes which we all had to listen for. If one of us heard a quote, we'd "steal" the crown from the last person who heard a quote. It was fun and a neat way to really listen to the movie and the message.
Here's my favorite quote:
Click here to see our other Disney nights - there are more to come!
For dinner I decorated the table with some straw mats and giant placemats shaped like leaves. I've had those leaf mats for YEARS (like, over 10!) and this is the first time they'd been used! I also created little cards for each food item.Here's what was on our menu:
:: Savannah Salad (mixed greens with various veggies)
:: Zazu's Chicken Legs (grilled drumsticks)
:: Pride Rock Potatoes (roasted rosemary potatoes)
:: Broccoli Tree of Life (steamed broccoli)
:: Timon's Grubs Under A Log (aka ants on a log... you know - celery, peanut butter, and raisins. I turned the celery over to give it the "under a log" effect. :D)
:: For dessert: Rafiki's Banana Pudding (instant pudding with a few animal crackers on top)
:: To drink: Jungle Juice (I used this recipe from Disney World's Animal Kingdom Lodge - YUM.)
Since our menu was so large, I only made a little of everything. And we still had left overs. (Score! No cooking for me the next day!)
After dinner we had a look through the Africa pages in our favorite Children's Encyclopedia.
Then we watched the movie. And what a good one it is, too. I created a game for us to play while we watched: I selected and printed out various memorable quotes which we all had to listen for. If one of us heard a quote, we'd "steal" the crown from the last person who heard a quote. It was fun and a neat way to really listen to the movie and the message.Here's my favorite quote:
Ah yes, the past can hurt. But the way I see, you can either run from it or learn from it. ~RafikiAt the end of each Disney night, James randomly selects the next theme from a basket. Coming up: Toy Story!
Click here to see our other Disney nights - there are more to come!
~Thank you for your comments!~
17 comments:
Can't wait for Toy Story! That's Luke's favorite!!!
We are not going to Disney but this would still be tons of fun! Thanks for the ideas. :) I can't wait to see what you come up with for Toy Story!
wow! x
What a great idea! I'll have to try and do this at home, to get more out of family movie nights. This is just wonderful!
that's such a great idea!
Thanks so much for your comments - you know I love them! :)
this is great! you are so creative i love your blog and site!
That is so darn cute good job on the menu
Every time I read these posts I get Disney envy :) We will have to wait until we are done having kids though, because it will probably be a one-time thing for us and I don't want any future kids to miss out :) Can't wait for the Toy Story one, we will have to do that just for fun. It is my boy's favorite.
I love how you turned a simple movie viewing into a great learning experience! My daughter's still a bit young, but I'll keep this in mind for when she's older and pass it on to my sister who has a 4-year-old.
I remember watching it when I was in High School very enjoyable and great memories. It is actually a show for all ages, the music is great , tickets are cheap at Casatickets.com and the costumes are wonderful; the costumes alone will definitely will keep the attention of the younger children.
You are so creative! Love this!
Do you edit the beginning of the movie? Betrayal & murder are pretty tough subjects for small people.
Otherwise, per usual your ideas are amazing an your work ethic incredible.
Good job!
Thanks for your feedback, everyone - I appreciate it so much!
@Ada: We used to edit, but James did see the full version for the first time about 3 months ago. Yes, hard subjects indeed. We explained and talked and answered questions.
Awesome idea! Thanks for sharing!
so much fun but it looks like a lot of work. Good thing I have you to think up everything for me :-)
Thanks so much for sharing all your fun ideas. We just did our Lion King Movie night this past weekend and we used some of your terrific ideas. :) I shared on my blog too :) Thanks again
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