We learned early on that door magnets on your Disney Cruise stateroom door are a popular thing. Cruisers do it for fun, to show off their personalities, share number of cruises, and simply to identify their door from the sea of matching doors down the corridor. Whatever your reason, here are 11 ideas for Disney Cruise door magnets to decorate your stateroom door or to gift in a magnet swap.
Perler Beads
Magnets made from Perler beads are the perfect pre-cruise DIY project for kids (and adults too!). Pick a favorite character and there are sure to be templates online to recreate. Once your masterpiece is complete, hot glue a magnet to the back and it’s ready to display on your stateroom door!
Photo Magnets
A popular option is to order photo magnets from Shutterfly. They offer several sizes and periodically have free magnets (just pay shipping). You can upload a photo or several and easily personalize the design. During our anniversary cruise, someone Pixie Dusted us with one on our stateroom door! It was an extra special surprise given we didn’t bring any magnets since we were sailing without the kids. I still smile when I see that particular one.
Wooden Shapes
Small wooden shapes (think anchors, boats, and even letters for family initials) can be personalized with a little paint to look like a Disney character. Glue a magnet on the back and it’s ready to display.
Family Mickey Heads
After our first Disney Cruise, I knew I wanted fun Mickey head magnets for each of us to use on future cruises. I found a seller on Etsy and requested the specific heads I wanted – 1 larger family one plus 4 smaller ones featuring our names. Once planning for our Alaska cruise with grandparents began, I ordered smaller name ones for them as well. Those have been stashed away 2 long years waiting to make their grand debut!
Paper Piecing Design
We celebrated my mom’s birthday on our first cruise and I wanted a special magnet. After perusing ideas online, I used my Silhouette to make one for her. Cutting the design from cardstock. Then hand painting the dots on the “Minnie” skirt. Finally, I laminated the entire design and glue magnets to the back.
This design has now been displayed on her stateroom door for two cruises! Our initial on the Fantasy in 2018 and, last month, on the Wonder in Alaska.
Dry Erase Board
Whether you find a Disney themed small dry erase board or decorate a plain one, these can be a fun and useful way to dress up your stateroom door! Leave a message for family and friends. Write a “question of the day” and see what responses other cruisers leave. Dry Erase Boards can be a lot of fun.
Print and Cut
Several websites and Facebook groups share graphics free for personal use. Just choose your favorite, print, cut, laminate, and add a magnet to the back. Super simple. You could even use an editing program or Canva to add personalized text.
Alphabet Magnets
Standard alphabet magnets are a super simple idea for decorating your door. Bring enough to spell out a last name or just the first initial of each family member.
3D Printed Designs
You don’t need a fancy 3D printer to create magnet designs. My son has a 3Doodler Create+ Pen and has made a few fun ones for us. One of my favorites is the side view of a Disney Cruise ship.
DCL Luggage Tags
The day before you disembark, paper character luggage tags are left in your room for you to label and attach to any luggage you want taken off the ship for you. Then you find your luggage the next day in the area with the matching character design.
Quite a few people collect these for fun. Others we’ve seen have turned the tags into magnets either by laminating the original tags or by laminating an enlarged scanned & printed copy. Either way, fun and a clever way to decorate.
Pin Trading Boards
Many Disney Cruise guests enjoy pin trading. In the past, cruises often had an official trading event. That hasn’t resumed since the pandemic, but that doesn’t mean the fun of pin trading has stopped. We made our own pin trading boards to hang outside our stateroom in 2019.
We’ve since hung them up on our 2 recent cruises and had lots of trades. Our boards were a huge hit in January during our Star Wars Day at Sea cruise when there were still very strict health rules in place. Even as the restrictions have relaxed a little, we still had quite a few daily trades during our recent Alaska cruise. My kids loved coming back to the room to see what new pins had shown up.
Coloring Pages
When my sister and family came on their first ever Disney Cruise with us, we knew they had to have door magnets! My daughter helped me create a unique set themed for our Halloween on the High Seas cruise. I printed a Minnie & Mickey Halloween coloring page which she carefully colored using markers.
Once she was done, I cut out the design and laminated it. Then trimmed and added magnets to the back.
I topped off the design with personalized Mickey ghost magnets for my nephews. The designs are free from Lady B’s Designs in a Facebook group. I simply reversed the image for one and added their names. Then laminated, cut, and added magnets to the back. Very quick and simple plus the boys loved them!
