Paint Your Disney Story: An Enchanting Activity
I’ve seen signs advertising the “Paint Your Disney Story” in the Grand Floridian lobby for months now, and I finally had a chance to give it a try! I stopped in on a Monday afternoon recently and spent a couple of wonderfully relaxing hours painting my own ceramic storybook.
This activity is held in the Enchanted Rose lounge up on the second floor of the Grand Floridian lobby. Since Enchanted Rose is technically only open in the evenings, it’s referred to as “Belle’s Library” for the purposes of this activity. There are no food or drinks available to order while we’re using the space to paint during the bar’s off-hours, but the Cast Members assured me that guests are welcome to bring in their own snacks to enjoy while painting.
Tables are available on a first-come, first-served basis to walk-up participants only. Since this activity is a little time-consuming, guests must arrive no later than 1:00pm in order to have enough time to paint. I did witness several late arrivals who were turned away and asked to come back another day when they would have enough time to finish the entire activity, so be sure to arrive during that 12:00-1:00pm window. I had to rush to finish my storybook in time for the 2:00PM close and I would have loved to have more time, so I highly recommend giving yourself the entire 2 hours to paint if possible.
The Enchanted Rose had a large sign in the doorway advertising “Paint Your Disney Story” - you can’t miss it! There’s a register set up just outside the entrance with sample ceramic pieces for you to look at before you purchase. Of course, they had the storybook available - it’s actually 2-piece set, so the storybook opens and can be used as a trinket box. However, this means you should anticipate a longer paint time than you'd think at first glance, since you will need to paint both the inside and outside of the storybook. They also had a ceramic castle lamp available, which was larger than the storybook. It comes with a detached electrical cord so you can install the cord and use it as a lamp when it’s finished.
The storybook is $15, and the castle lamp is $30. They do not accept any discounts, but they do have a full register and can accept Disney gift cards and/or Disney Visa Rewards cards, in addition to MagicBand charges or credit cards. Anyone is allowed to participate in this activity - you do not need to be a Grand Floridian guest, or even a Walt Disney World guest. It’s available to everyone!
A Cast Member met me at the register and helped me get started. I purchased my storybook, then she led me inside the lounge to a table with a beautiful view of the Grand Floridian beach. The room had sunlight flooding in the windows and had the prettiest instrumental music playing - and with only one other family there, an afternoon in Belle’s Library turned out to be so peaceful and truly a daytime hidden gem in Walt Disney World!
Each party gets their own table, and the tables are covered with tablecloths so no one needs to worry about spills. The tables are all set up with paint brushes, a mason jar full of water so you can rinse your brushes, napkins, and a page listing all the available paint colors. They’ll bring your ceramic piece over to your table for you, along with a plastic apron. There’s also a paper for you to list your name and contact information, which is only used if there’s any trouble with picking up your completed piece the next day.
You’re allowed to choose six colors to start with, but can request more at any time. You’ll select your starting colors, check them off on the provided paint sampler page, and give that to the Cast Member. Then they’ll bring you a paper plate with your chosen colors, and you’re ready to get started!
This activity uses acrylic paint, so it’s easy to paint with and the moisture soaks right into the ceramic, drying very quickly. Keep in mind that the paint is kind of thin, so it can be difficult to paint one color over another, depending on the colors you’re working with.
There are a lot of regular paint colors available, as well as some special metallic colors. The Cast Members also offered paint pens in a variety of colors, which were great for adding details or writing on the storybook cover.
I decided to theme my storybook to Animal Kingdom’s DINOSAUR ride, which was a little too ambitious for the amount of time I had to paint (and my skill level, lol!) But I worked as quickly as I could and I finished up right on time at 2:00PM. The Cast Members were so fun and chatted with me a little while I painted.
As soon as I finished, they took my storybook so they could seal it with a coat of gloss. The gloss needed time to dry, so they said they would keep my piece overnight, and I could pick it up tomorrow. However, I also had the option of skipping the gloss and taking my storybook with me right then. That’s a great choice if you haven’t finished painting - if that’s the case, they are happy to provide you with extra paint to take home so you can finish it later. They also have an option to ship your ceramic piece home for you for an additional fee, if you’re running out of room in your luggage or won’t be able to pick it up for any reason.
The Cast Members let me look around Enchanted Rose a little bit on my way out, so I was able to see some of the little Beauty and the Beast touches hidden around Enchanted Rose. As I walked out, I was delighted to see that a PhotoPass photographer was at the PhotoPass Studio right outside Enchanted Rose! They were all too happy to take photos themed to the activity with Belle’s book and Cinderella’s slipper as props. This is the perfect photo op to top off the “Paint Your Disney Story” adventure! You could even take your ceramic over to the PhotoPass Studio for a quick photo as soon as you finish painting, then take it right back to the Cast Members in Enchanted Rose to be glossed. These photos are all included with MemoryMaker.
The Cast Members said my ceramic would be ready for pickup at Sandy Cove Gifts & Sundries after 12:00PM the next day. So, I stopped by Sandy Cove (on the first floor of Grand Floridian, right next to Grand Floridian Café) for pickup on Tuesday evening. The Sandy Cove Cast Member had my storybook safely packaged up and ready to go. It came wrapped in bubble wrap and had a fun “Let’s go get that dino!” note inside from a Cast Member who loved my DINOSAUR theme. There was also a pretty, iridescent “50th Anniversary” sticker included, and everything was packed up in a sturdy paper bag with handles, which made it easy to take back to my hotel room. It turned out great, with a nice shine and bright colors.
Overall, this was an excellent activity and one that I’d love to do again! It was such a lovely afternoon, and so nice to spend time doing something relaxing and imaginative like this. “Paint Your Disney Story” would be a great activity to do as a break on a Magic Kingdom day, or a perfect rainy day activity. I thought the price was very reasonable, considering that the item you get to take home is actually useful. And all the Cast Members who were working during the activity, at the PhotoPass Studio, and at Sandy Cove were so friendly and helpful. I highly recommend this activity to anyone looking for a something creative to do during their Disney vacation!
Paint Your Disney Story | Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 12:00-2:00PM | Grand Floridian | Enchanted Rose
*Activity dates and times listed here were accurate at the time this review was published. Resort activities and activity schedules may change month-to-month, so be sure to check the current Grand Floridian Recreation Calendar for updated times/dates when making plans to participate.
