By Kayla Anderson
Our stateroom door on the Disney Treasure had a few friendly ghosts hanging around! For our Halloween on the High Seas cruise, I transformed our door into a Haunted Mansion scene, complete with flying bats, spooky details, glowing candles and a handmade haunted gate.
My husband, our three daughters and I love making memories on Disney cruises, and this time I wanted to take our decorations up a notch. We created a matching fish extender, exchanged gifts with other Disney-loving families and even spread a little pixie dust of our own.
Here's how it all came together, what I learned along the way, and why it became one of our favorite parts of the cruise.
Why a Haunted Mansion door on the Disney Treasure?
The Haunted Mansion has always been my favorite Disney ride, and I love Halloween and all things spooky. Choosing this theme for our mid-October sailing was an easy decision!
The Disney Treasure is home to the Haunted Mansion Parlor, a lounge inspired by the classic attraction. It has an adult atmosphere in the evening, but children can visit during designated family-friendly daytime hours.
The experience was unreal. From the moment you walk through the door, you're completely immersed. It's hard to believe they brought something so detailed to a cruise ship, but this isn't just any cruise ship. It's a DISNEY cruise ship.
We visited the Parlor a few times during our sailing, and of course we had to try the themed drinks! I ordered the Chilling Challenge, which comes with its own death certificate, and my husband tried the Restless Spirits from the secret menu. Want to know the secret to unlocking those hidden menu items? Let's just say having a travel advisor who loves exploring Disney firsthand has its perks. Sometimes it's those little insider tips that make a vacation even more magical.
What can you put on a Disney Cruise Line stateroom door?
Magnets are the way to go! Decorating your stateroom door is a fun Disney Cruise Line tradition, and some families get incredibly creative.
Before decorating, check Disney Cruise Line's current rules. The guidelines in our planning template include:
No tape or adhesives, including gel adhesives, that could damage the door's finish.
No over-the-door hangers or organizers.
Decorations stay on your stateroom door, not the hallway walls or ceiling.
No sound or video.
Leave valuable or irreplaceable items at home.
Door damage can result in a charge, and some concierge stateroom doors are wood, so magnets won't stick to them. Always verify the latest rules before you sail so your decorations are ready to go.
How I built our Haunted Mansion door
I've decorated our stateroom doors on previous Disney cruises, but this time I wanted to do something EXTRA. Instead of using our usual magnets, I created a complete Haunted Mansion scene.
Our design included our Anderson Family nameplate, flying bats, Haunted Mansion-themed Mickey and Minnie peeking around the corners, a Mickey-shaped full moon, spooky eyes, Mickey ghosts, tombstones and battery-operated candles. My husband even made a spooky gate out of poster board, complete with Mickey-shaped gargoyles!
I made most of the decorations using free graphics shared in Disney cruise Facebook groups. I didn't have a laminating machine, so I ordered self-adhesive laminating sheets from Amazon and laminated the pieces myself, including the fence.
For most pieces, I used magnetic sheets cut to size and reinforced them with hot glue. The battery-operated candles needed stronger disc magnets, which I also attached with hot glue.
This project took more planning than you might think! I spent about a week searching for graphics and inspiration, then made a mock-up in Canva to see how I wanted everything to look. Next, I laid it all out on my living room floor, using painter's tape to outline the door and map out where each piece would go.
The printing, cutting and laminating took only a few days, but the preparation stretched over a few weeks. I wanted a plan before we left instead of figuring everything out once we were onboard.
One of our favorite additions was a Haunted Mansion-themed dry-erase board where passersby could answer fun questions and Disney polls. My girls especially loved seeing people interact with it!
And one of the sweetest surprises? Other guests left us little magnets because they loved our door. One family gave us an adorable Mickey-shaped ribbon magnet that read "We Love Your Door!", personalized with their family name and stateroom number. It was such a thoughtful keepsake and made all the time we spent creating our display even more worthwhile.
My biggest decorating tip? Plan before you pack. Measuring your door, making a mock-up and testing your magnets at home will save you time and frustration once you're onboard.
What is a fish extender, and how do you join an exchange?
A fish extender is a hanging gift holder outside your stateroom door. On some of the original Disney ships, a small metal fish-shaped hook was mounted beside each stateroom door, and crew members used it to deliver items like daily papers and tickets. Guests began hanging pocket organizers from these hooks to receive gifts, literally extending the fish! Newer ships feature other nautical designs, such as seahorses, starfish and turtles, but the name fish extender has stuck.
Most fish extenders are fabric organizers with pockets for gifts. Guests organize the exchanges themselves, usually through Facebook groups for a specific ship and sailing. Participants sign up, get matched with other families and leave small gifts in one another's fish extenders throughout the cruise.
Guests also sometimes surprise other cruisers with gifts just for fun. Disney fans call this pixie dusting!
A Haunted Mansion fish extender to match our door
Of course, our Haunted Mansion door couldn't have all the fun! I wanted our fish extender to match, so I customized one myself.
I started with a hanging organizer I bought online and found Haunted Mansion-themed fabric to bring the design to life. I ironed the fabric smooth, lined it up carefully, folded the corners and attached everything with hot glue. No sewing machine needed!
Each pocket got its own Haunted Mansion theme. The parents' pocket featured the "Tomb Sweet Tomb" image you see in the attraction, while the other pockets represented the Haunted Mansion's maid, butler and Sally Slater, the tightrope-walking ballerina from the Stretching Room.
I also made personalized name tags so everyone in our family had their own spot. One of my favorite details was Madame Leota's crystal ball, which I made from a clear Christmas ornament I found at Dollar Tree.
Between the themed pockets, fabric, ribbons and personal touches, the finished fish extender coordinated perfectly with our door. It was a fun reminder that you don't need a sewing machine or fancy equipment to create something unique for your Disney cruise.
The gifts I made for our group
We joined an exchange with five families, each with about as many children as ours. I signed up about three months before sailing, which gave me time to plan and personalize our gifts.
I'll admit it: I probably went a little overboard! Once I started shopping and coming up with ideas, I kept finding more things to include. I tried to personalize the gifts around each family's favorite Disney characters whenever I could.
For the ladies: personalized Disney glasses featuring favorite characters or classic Mickey designs, plus Minnie Mouse bow hat clips.
For the guys: cruise-themed tic-tac-toe games, Disney-themed socks and magnetic hooks inspired by Captain Hook.
For the kids: autograph frames for collecting character signatures, Mickey Mouse hand-shaped toothbrush holders that suction to the mirror, and lots of other Disney finds from Five Below and Dollar Tree.
For everyone: clips to keep beach towels attached to pool deck chairs, and handmade felt Disney hat ornaments for each family.
I wanted to mix personalized surprises with practical items families could use during their vacation.
Looking back, I could have kept things much simpler. You absolutely don't need to recreate my entire gift collection. Small handmade gifts, inexpensive Disney finds and thoughtful surprises can be just as special.
Remember that you'll carry everything onto the ship, so keep gifts manageable, and double-check your group's instructions and stateroom numbers before sailing.
What did we get in our fish extender?
One of the best parts of the exchange was returning to our stateroom to discover what surprises were waiting for us!
We received a beautiful blanket monogrammed for our family, which was such a thoughtful keepsake. The girls also received Disney-themed games they could play together and an adorable ice cream set with tons of fun toppings. There were plenty of other surprises too, including Disney trinkets, squishies and fidgets the girls absolutely loved. Every family brought something different, and it was fun seeing how creative everyone was.
But our favorite part wasn't receiving gifts. I also made little pixie dust bags for my girls to give out during the cruise. The girls made some special friends onboard, and we found out which staterooms their friends were staying in so we could surprise them with their own bags.
Watching my girls get excited about giving gifts and making other families smile was the most special part of the entire experience. It was all about connecting with other Disney-loving families and spreading a little extra magic along the way.
Planning your next Disney cruise
One of the biggest blessings of being a travel advisor is getting to experience these incredible vacations with my own family. But what brings me the most joy is coming home and sharing what I've learned with my clients.
I love turning my firsthand experiences, insider tips and little discoveries into personalized recommendations that make your vacation even more special. My goal is to help you feel confident in your plans, make the most of your time together and experience a little extra magic along the way.
About the author
Kayla Anderson is a travel advisor with Castles and Cruises Travel Company, based in Louisiana and serving families nationwide. Castles and Cruises Travel Company is an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner agency and helps families plan Disney vacations, cruises, all-inclusive getaways and more.
Kayla loves experiencing destinations firsthand with her family and sharing the insights and planning tips that help her clients make the most of their own vacations.
Ready to start planning? Connect with Kayla at Kayla@CastlesandCruisesTravel.com or visit her advisor profile.
