Bring Along Your Disney Souvenirs to Save Money and Patience

Souvenirs! They are inevitable.  You can’t go on vacation without bringing at least a few back home.  But how can you buy those little reminders of the trip without breaking the trip’s budget?  How about picking up a few before you leave home? !

I am a huge fan of the dollar sections that many stores are now offering.  If you keep a careful watch you can often spot Disney items, like stickers, themed crayons, fairy lip gloss, and character socks, all for around $1.00 each.

Think how fun it would be to lay out the children’s clothes for the next day and when they wake up to put them on, find a fun little surprise on top of the stack.  Not to mention that these treats can help pass the time while waiting in line for an attraction or for your table at dinner.

Speaking of clothes, Disney Outlet has lots of cute t-shirts at very reasonable prices.  While the sizes might be hit and miss, a larger size could double as pajamas or a bathing suit cover-up.  Wearing that brand new t-shirt you purchased on-line would surely stop the need to buy additional shirts at the theme parks. Many souvenir items including Mouse Ear hats and autograph books can be purchased on-line as well.

How about a free souvenir?  Did you know that you can pick up a special pin at City Hall on Main Street U.S.A. in the Magic Kingdom that announces it is your First Visit, Birthday or Honorary Citizen — for free?!  How about letting the kids create their own Mr. Potato Head postcard at Once Upon a Toy Store in Downtown Disney — another freebie!

On one trip with our children, I picked up a few small items at a discount store and tucked them into our suitcase.  Occasionally, throughout the trip, I pulled out one of the items as a little celebration of our vacation.   We still allowed them to pick up a small souvenir to remember our trip, but having these fun little surprises cut down on the “can I have this….” every time we walked by a gift shop.

Photo courtesy of dawnzy58@flickr