Create a Whimsical, Disney-Inspired Backyard

Use these ideas — both big and small — inspired by Disney Parks, cruises and animated classics to recall magical family memories every time you enjoy your outdoor space!

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Go Big at Home

When creating a Disney Pixie Hollow-inspired design like this at home, dream BIG but doable for your little ones. Cut large wooden logs as seating, plus use log slices for a forest-like walking path. Fill colorful pots with oversize, whimsical flowers and "plant" staked metal garden sculptures and birdhouses interspersed with seven-foot nylon feather banners as grass. Paint a playhouse door with a big daisy or another fun flower.
Courtesy of Transitions Lenses®

Pint-Size Princess Playhouses

Make a ready-built playhouse every bit as enchanting as these Snow White- and Cinderella-style ones. Paint or stain the roof shingles, trim and door whimsical colors, and then embellish tiny window boxes full of real or fake flowers with pre-cut painted wooden designs. Surround the base with flowers, bushes, decorative edging and mulch, plus cute garden accents like woodland creatures.
Courtesy of Transitions Lenses®

Make a Scene

Turn a plain fence into a masterpiece mural like this one fashioned after the King Triton one at The Little Mermaid ~ Ariel's Undersea Adventure ride. Put your chosen design directly onto the fence or divide it among removable sections of outdoor-grade plywood or canvases. Use a pencil, marker or chalk to freehand the design, or, use a projector to get the picture in place. Then use the appropriate exterior paint and sealer for your conditions to enjoy it for years.
Courtesy of Transitions Lenses®

Combine Colors Fearlessly

Use seating as an opportunity to inject fun colors into your outdoor space's design choices. Turn an old dining room set or mismatched flea-market furniture into fanciful outdoor seating. Use leftover exterior paints or try out new colors by buying test pots and remember...it's easy to paint over if you change your mind.
Courtesy of Transitions Lenses®

Passion Projects

When you're looking for design inspiration, consider including your family's favorite hobbies. Here, a miniature railroad and golf course is surrounded by Disney characters and various herbs so the entire family has four of their biggest interests combined into one cohesive outdoor space.
Courtesy of Transitions Lenses®

Water Fun on Dry Land

If your kids love seafaring adventures, turn a decommissioned sailboat or wooden rowboat into a fantasy outdoor play space or sandbox. Surround it with "water" using plants with blue flowers like hydrangeas, morning glory, globe thistle, blue delphinium, Forget-me-nots or blue thimble. It doesn't have to be big or fancy to inspire hours of "high-seas" fun!
Courtesy of Transitions Lenses®

Build Character

Turn your family's love of classic-era Disney characters into a fun ring-toss game for your backyard. Build your own using outdoor-grade plywood and a jigsaw or paint over a store-bought corn-hole game to transform it into your favorite character.
Courtesy of Transitions Lenses®

Play With Food

Why not turn a family favorite into design inspiration like this backyard makeover that looks like the Pizza Planet diner in Disney's Toy Story? Stain your deck and paint adult- and kid-size picnic tables in bright colors. Then add stainless accents like chairs, a prep station and a pizza maker. Hang your own "Pizza Planet" or personalized restaurant sign and invite the neighborhood kids over for a slice!
Courtesy of Transitions Lenses®

Playtime for Pirates

If you want to have water fun but not a full-size pool, consider an 18-inch splash pool like this one from a backyard makeover inspired by Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean. Turn your own little landlubbers into backyard buccaneers with lightweight water cannons on a swivel (found online) with water lines and electronics added. Hang heavy-duty rope plus a skull and crossbones flag. Add your own touch by painting bricks or stones gold to fill a wooden treasure chest protected with marine-grade polyurethane.
Courtesy of Transitions Lenses®

Round and Round They'll Go

Looking for a low-maintenance and simple landscape design direction? This Disney Radiator Springs-inspired racetrack with plants that require little water and a tower of tires is perfect. Every desert needs an oasis so a 16-foot splash pad with metal cactus sprinklers does the trick. The owners were expecting twins so they were incorporated into road signs (Twins Springs, Twin Bluffs, Twin Oaks, Twin Rivers, etc.). Look for similar easy ways to personalize your outdoor space!
Courtesy of Transitions Lenses®