I had this idea yesterday, to host a Disney themed meetup on my Animal Crossing: New Horizons island. Well, we just pulled it off, and I couldn’t be happier! No really. I cried — it made me so happy. It was so much fun merging two things I find such joy in: Disney and Animal Crossing. Here’s how I hosted a magical Disney-themed Animal Crossing: New Horizons Meetup, and how you can too!
This post contains affiliate links.
Disney Inspired Island Design
The first thing I did when I had this idea, was to see what’s already been written about Disney and Animal Crossing. I found this great post on how to add Disney style to your island, on this fairy tale life. It’s in this post that I found this great Disneyland Castle design, which I subsequently changed my island flag to!
The next thing I did was figure out where I wanted to do our Disney x ACNH photoshoot at. I needed enough space for 8 characters (the max amount that can be on an island at any one time), and decided we’d stand over this bridge. Any good Disney meetup will have plenty of tasty food options available. 😉 You also can’t forget about the gorgeous landscaping. I was sure to place lots of vibrant flowers in the area.
Disney Inspired Clothing in Animal Crossing: New Horizons
There are several great posts and videos out there — most consisting of custom clothing design codes. I don’t know if you’ve noticed yet, but from time to time the Able Sisters will sell something Disney-inspired. Of course it’ll be called something like “Pixie Dress” instead of “Tinkerbell” or “Adventure Dress” instead of “Alice”. There’s also “Frugal Dress” for “Cinderella’s Maid Dress” and “Desert Princess Outfit” for “Jasmine”. You just gotta keep your eye out!
If you don’t want any duplicate costumes in your meetup, be sure to have visitors “sign up” for the character they want to be. We ended up with Alice, Lilo, Jasmine, Buzz and Woody, Wendy, Peter Pan, and Tink!
Make a Plan and Set Clear Guidelines for Your ACNH Meetup
As you know, contending with the loading screens in this game can take a while. Make a plan for your meetup. Here is the note I sent people once they committed to join:
Hi! Thanks for participating in the Disney x AC:NH photoshoot today! We’re going to meet on Serenity Island at 3 p.m. EST. I will message you when it’s time to fly (that way we can stagger arrival times). Feel free to bring anything you don’t want for the “Free” pile, to share. Drop those directly out of the airport. 💓
We’ll meet at the plaza there and then walk together a short distance to the photo spot! We’ll line up across the bridge. Feel free to use any happy reactions but if you want, but then stay still while everyone gets photos! Please allow for just a couple of minutes. 📷💕☺️
After we take photos, I have GIFTS for everyone a short distance away! 🎁💰
Then feel free to explore. You’re welcome to take any fruit, fish, or catch bugs! (Seriously, clean me out. It grows back!) 🍎🍊🍐🍒🍑🥥 The shops will be open, too!
*** Very important! ✈️ ✌🏼 Please announce when you’re leaving (“bye!” is fine) and leave through the airport. Don’t allow your Switch to fall asleep or leave by pushing the (-) because it can cause major game errors, like losing loot and resetting the island. Thanks!!!
My biggest advice is to stagger entry so that not everyone is trying to get to your island at once.
Don’t Forget the Favors
This was an idea I really wanted to pull off, but it takes time. I wanted to thank everyone who participated, so I had a Nook Ticket and bag of $99K Bells waiting for everyone! You don’t have to offer free gifts when you host a meetup, but it’s pretty fun and a nice thing to do. 🙂
Get Lots of Photos / Screenshots
I honestly wish I’d gotten more screen grabs.. especially of everyone gathering near the airport in the beginning and just game play. I was really focused on getting everyone into the island and the actual photoshoot portion. Haha. I am seriously going to be riding high from this event for a while now. It brought tears to my eyes, it was so much fun. The fact that there is an actual person behind each of these cute little characters — well, that’s something special!
New to the game? Here is everything you need to know about Animal Crossing: New Horizons and how to improve your gaming experience.
Buy Animal Crossing: New Horizons for Nintendo Switch
