S/O on what to buy at Disney....what to bring to Disney to save money?

[alien_host]

I've started picking up a few things for our trip next year.

I got DD an Aurora costume for $15 at the Disney Store. Princess shoes at a yard sale (but will only use them in the hotel room).

Stickers at Walgreens for 32 cents

Some glow sticks and glow bracelets for night time.

What else can I buy ahead to save some money so DD isn't always begging for souveniers?

Not as fun but I was thinking of packing some breakfast items for quickness....cereals/bars etc. Maybe even a few snack type things - goldfish, dried fruit etc.

[JTsMom]

Yes to all of the above, and add ponchos (.88 at Walmart- bring extra if you have a stroller to cover it), and if it's going to be hot, a mister fan.

[deenass]

Some kind of notebook for autographs.

You can even buy a pocket photo album and have the characters sign index cards that you slide in the pockets then after your trip put photos you took with the characters next to their autograph.

[Momof3Labs]

Yes, snacks and breakfast foods. Light spinners (Target has them in their Xmas stocking stuffer section right now). T-shirts at Disney store (not hard to find for $5 or less). Costumes for the kids to wear in the parks.

Bring plenty of batteries for cameras and such, and extra memory cards too, just in case. They are pricey at Disney.

[urquie]

water bottles to refill while in the park.

we also bring a loaf of good whole wheat bread and some pb&j, along with a plastic plate and utensils for in the hotel and plastic bags to put sandwiches in. it's a lifesaver while waiting in the long lines.

[Corie]

DH says we are packing a big huge box of Entennmans chocolate chip
muffins for our son. He eats all day long and he loves these muffins.
I'll pack a few bags in my Donner bag each day for him.

[egoldber]

Definitely snacks and drinks. We also buy simple breakfast foods (bananas, muffins, cereal bars). I take a refillable water bottle for the parks. I refill it with water from restaurants.

I do buy bread and I pack a jar of soy nut butter from home. Sarah is extremely picky and I will pick a SB sandwich and an applesauce into the park for her for lunch.

[bubbaray]

We took:

snacks and drinks (mainly for allergy reasons)

From the Disney Store sale about 1or 2m prior to our departure:
2 Disney Princess t-shirts for each girl
1 Disney Princess sweatshirt for each
1 stuffed Minnie Mouse for each
1 fleece blanket each (that stayed home)
Disney princess hooded towels (that stayed home)

From other stores:
"loot" bag for the plane stuffed with all sorts of Princess stuff -- stickers, memo books, crayons, pencils, basically anything I could find at the dollar store with Disney Princess on it
Disney Princess costumes (1 was Sleeping Beauty, 1 was Ariel) with the DIsney Princess sparkly shoes from Payless shoes.

We really didn't buy all that many souveniers there. DD#2 got an Ariel purse from Bibbity Bobbity boutique while DD#1 got her makeover. DD#2 got a stuffed Winnie The Pooh and DD#1 got something else, though I can't off-hand recall what it was.

Oh, and we all got Mouse Ears. I mean, it ain't a trip to Disney without Mouse Ears. LOL.

[cindys]

We go to Disney the week after Thanksgiving and so after Christmas I go to Walmart and buy Disney shirts and jackets for the following years trip.

Last year I got Mickey Christmas light up shirts and jackets for $1.00...They have the Disney tags on the inside of the shirt so I guess that means they are official Disney merchandise?

Since the park is all decorated for Christmas at that time we are excited to wear Christmas attire so its worked out perfectly for us.

The year before I bought Winnie the Pooh sleepers when I was pregnant for my baby who was going to be about 7weeks when we got ready to go and I think I paid $2 for them.

Cindy
Mama to 3 boys...18, 3 & 1...:love-retry::love-retry::love-retry:

[emily_gracesmama]

One thing you don't need to worry about is water, you can go to any quick service and ask for a cup of ice water and get it free. I brought along the 4c lemonade packets to give a little variety. Also one other thing I found out is if you forget your camera battery charger, you can go to any of the disney photo stores and they will charge your battery for you free. But ponchos are a must great for even the water rides to avoid getting soaked!

[cindys]

Oh yeah, I agree about the ponchos!!! We learned the hard way!

[Karenn]

Around here, Disney sets up temporary stores in the outlet malls where they sell discounted merchandise from the parks. You can get all sorts of souvenirs there and they cost much less. You might see if you can track down one of those stores and buy some souvenirs ahead of time.

[klwa]

Check K-mart for clothes with the Dis. characters on them. Picked up stuff for DS when he was 2 for $3 for a 2 piece outfit in August (on clearance) before we went in January. The short sleeves were perfect most of the time.

[alien_host]

thanks for all of the suggestions.

The Target Dollar Spot has a lot of Cars, Princess and vintage Mickey stuff. I got a spiral note book and set of 3 Mickey Pens to possibly use as autograph books. Although I wonder if the book is too small for the characters huge hands/paws.

[egoldber]

For autograph books, the larger the better. The non-face characters have a hard time holding smaller books. And it's good to have 2 pen options: a Sharpie and a long, thick ballpoint pen. Some characters can only sign with one type or the other.

[hellokitty]

The only non-food item we bought at Disney were mickey ear hats with all of our names on them. Otherwise, I did some research ahead of time. Bought cheap items and matched it up a ride as a gift. For example. I got some cute winnie the pooh kalaedascopes (sp) at the dollar tree and after my kids rode the winnie the pooh ride, I surprised them with it. So, if you can find some little items that, "match" with certain rides at Disney, it will work out really nicely. My kids were really good and did not have the gimme's at Disney. I don't know if I would be able to do this again now that they are older. However, if you a little kids, this should work pretty well.

Also, bring your own batteries and sunscreen, so you don't have to buy it in the park.

[DietCokeLover]

For autograph books, the larger the better. The non-face characters have a hard time holding smaller books. And it's good to have 2 pen options: a Sharpie and a long, thick ballpoint pen. Some characters can only sign with one type or the other.

That's a good suggestion about the pens. Would have never thought of that.

We are going to WDW in 2 weeks and I picked up some 5x7 scrapbooks with blank white paper in them for autograph books at Hobby Lobby for $2.50 each. I figure we can have them signed on one page and then glue a picture on the opposite face.

[alien_host]

Thanks for the input on the autograph books...


We are going to WDW in 2 weeks and I picked up some 5x7 scrapbooks with blank white paper in them for autograph books at Hobby Lobby for $2.50 each. I figure we can have them signed on one page and then glue a picture on the opposite face.

I like the scrapbook idea, kill two birds with one stone. Is it a PITA to carry around the book and pens?

And what do you mean long, thick ballpoint pen, by "long, thick ballpoint pen"? Thick as in around or thick as in the tip (medium vs fine point). And longer than a regular say Bic pen? I'm drawing a blank. Thanks! Who knew pens could be so complicated!

[billysmommy]

We love the retractable sharpies for autographs ~ just click and the marker is out....no caps to fool around with and lose

We got comments from some of the character handlers about how easy they were to use

[egoldber]

Sorry, I just meant a pen that is a little longer and wider than typical. Not just a regular ballpoint pen IYKWIM.

[alien_host]

I know this thread is old...but I wanted to add a few things as this thread was VERY helpful to me, here are most of the things we did...

1) I bought ponchos at The Christmas Tree Shops...$2 each I think. Although I forgot to bring them (remembered in the car on the way to the airport). Fortunately it only rained 1 time and we didn't get soaked. However it is definitely a good idea to bring your own.

2) Retractable Sharpie Pen - genious! Just make sure it doesn't bleed to much on to the next page of your particular autograph book. We ended up buying a book there with the photo sleeves/signing pages and it did bleed but the photo covered it up and all was good.

3) Hit Disney Store for sales....I brough 2-3 new pairs of PJs for DD to wear as a surprise...she loved them and they were only about $7 each. Same for Tshirts....got some for $5 a piece. Didn't buy her a single $20 t-shirt there!

4) Disney Pez dispensers....these were fun for her.

5) Target $ spot Disney themed stuff. Great for the plane or to pull out at a restaurant or while waiting in line.

6) Dollar Store Disney Themed stuff...found a Toy Story nightlight for our hotel room $2, some Princess playing cards that were great to play at restaurants/in-line at rides.

7) If you are interested in doing the "build your own Mr. potato Head, bring your own head, ears/nose/mouth/eyes. These items are really the same as the ones you can get with your Mr. or Mrs. Potato Head at Target for less than $5 or at a yard sale. Fill the box with other unique items. Great to play in the room after a long day.

8) Mister Fan - we shelled out $17 for one there! Should have listened to the mamas here but I ran out of time. ;)

9) Glow sticks and bracelets/necklaces. I stocked up after halloween at Walgreens (on sale). BJs had a 6 pack of sticks for $6, great for a little night light at the hotel or to discourage buying those expensive ones at the parks. I've also seen them at the Target $ Spot on occasion (tube of bracelets and connectors to make necklaces).

10) Bring quarters and pennies if you like making those "squished" coins. Pre-1982 pennies are best b/c they have a higher copper content. Clean your pennies before you go in white vinegar/with toothbrush to shine it up. The squished quarters are great but cost $1.25 pennies cost 51 cents. They were fun to find and do.

11) Crayola ha these great coloring kits. 80 coloring sheets and markers. we used these on the plane/restaurants and they were fabulous. DD enjoyed making them for our waitstaff etc. http://www.crayolastore.com/product_detail.asp?T1=CRA+04%2D5056&.
I got ours at AC Moore, buy one get one free. I had Cars and Princesses.

12) I did bring quite a bit of food...snacks and such and that helped curb the cravings in line (Disney Themed Fruit Snacks were a hit).

Thanks for all the advice ladies....it really helped me!

[hillview]

totally agree with disney stores before. We got 10 tshirts for about $4 each and they were great. I also got them each a small stuffed animal that was on the bed when we arrived (ok I ran ahead). Glow stick things are also a hit if you can get some at a dollar store that is great.
/hillary

[clc053103]

I bought DS Cars vehicles (purchased on sale or clearance) and gave him one every night as a "prize" for good behavior- kept the kids occupied during dinner too! The regular size cars are about $7.50 there- I bought them at home for $2.50 each. the first year I did regular, but the second year I did the plastic minis and I would recommend them over the regular matchbox style as they are smaller and lighter to carry around!

[emily_gracesmama]

Walgreens has Disney themed light spinners for 2.99 each in summer toy aisle. I picked up some and the Disney silly bandz for our sept trip last week!

[clc053103]

Walgreens has Disney themed light spinners for 2.99 each in summer toy aisle. I picked up some and the Disney silly bandz for our sept trip last week!

Oooh did you pick me up any? LOL!

[emily_gracesmama]

I will certainly share the Mickey bandz and I will stalk out a spinner for him too!

[clc053103]

I will certainly share the Mickey bandz and I will stalk out a spinner for him too!

Jen ROCKS!!