We all plan our Disney trips down to last detail. Our travel itinerary is in place, our accommodations are booked and paid for, and our Theme Park tickets are in the luggage bag, and we may even have our dining options all picked out.
Yes, we are all set for another magical visit to The Happiest Place on Earth.
But wait! I think we’ve forgotten something: Our merchandise budget!
Just how much can we afford to spend? And how can we save ourselves from the dreaded impulse buy? Don’t be naive; the Mouse knows how to work the shoppers! Before you can say ‘Jiminy Cricket’ he will have your extra cash and all you may have in return are a few trinkets that you don’t really want.
Well, I’m here to save you and your hard-earned dollars by giving you the top five Must-buys when visiting The Magic Merchandiser, er… Kingdom:
Number Five
Any Exclusive Theme Park Item. The merchandising world has produced millions of pieces of Disney memorabilia. You can pick up just about anything at your local toy store or Wal-Mart. But it just isn’t the same as an exclusive piece of Theme Park product only available at WDW (or Disneyland).
Usually Downtown Disney will have the highest concentration of such merchandise, especially at The World of Disney superstore. But keep your eyes open for those special items. They’re usually linked to a unique ride or attraction that might not be as mainstream as the likeness of Mickey or Jack Sparrow.
Buying Limited Edition items at artist signings are always a good bet for exclusivity.
Number Four
Souvenir Book. Believe it or not, some of your magical memories will fade after awhile. But if you purchase one of these beautifully
photographed keepsakes, you’ll be able to look back and relive almost every moment again and again. Well, at least the biggest moments!
Number Three
Trading Pins. My wife and I always enjoy firsts at WDW. So when we ride or visit an attraction for the first time, we always buy a Trading Pin to commemorate the occasion. These are relatively inexpensive, and if each member of the family chooses a ‘Memory Pin’ for a different occasion, you’ll have a nice collection in no time!
Number Two
T-shirt. The absolute best ‘been-there-got-the-T-shirt’ classic keepsake! You can buy Disney-themed T’s aftermarket, but they don’t
always compare to the styles and selection on WDW property. Be prepared to pay a premium! But when your wearing a T that no one else at home has ever seen, it’ll be worth it!
Number One
Mickey Ears. If you’ve been to WDW, or any Disney Park worldwide, and still haven’t bought your own pair of themed Mickey Ears: Shame on you! Nothing says, “I’m a Disney fan!” like wearing a pair of Mickey Ears. Of course you won’t be able to wear them around your neighborhood at home, but seeing pictures of yourself sporting mouse ears at the Parks is a memory trigger no true Disney fan should miss!
So there you have it. My Top Five Must-buys for Theme Park merchandise. But maybe you prefer something different, and if so, leave your must-buy in the comments section below! But be careful, if I like it better than my own ones, I may just beat you back to the Parks and buy it first!
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As stated previously, I also always do an ornament! We do T-shirts as well.
We always have to have an ornament. It is a must no matter where we go.
I do love exclusive items as well – especially a picture frame to put my favorite photo in.
My must have is a x mas dated ornament, we go every year and I have a collection from every year we started going of the Xmas “year” ornament.
i just printed this article out to take with us on our december trip! the first time we went to WDW, i filled the back of my mini van with “goodies”!! and looking back, i see now that many of them, while they came from WDW, really don’t fit in my home! this trip i am looking for exclusive items for my kitchen and hopefully some 40th ann. items for my curio cabinet! i love the exclusive items!
I am so glad that I read this article before we went for the first time! And looking back, we stuck to the plan pretty well…except for the Christmas ornaments 🙂 I think we could decorate an entire 4 foot tree with just ornaments from Disney…oh the joy of Disney!!!!
I scrapbook so I get the scrapbook kits that are exclusive to the parks & some rides like the Kilimanjaro Safari kit I found at Ziwani Traders.
We will be going on our first trip to WDW in a few weeks and merchandise purchasing hasn’t been on my radar with all the other planning involved. So, thank you for pointing out the souvenir book. I will definitely be on the lookout for one along with the mickey mouse ears of course! My 3 and 6 year old boys will undoubtedly come up with plenty of stuff to buy in this category I have no doubt- that’s why it slipped my attention. Thanks!
I bought that same pin at the Flower & Garden Festival last year! 🙂 I love trading pins b/c we never know what we will find. I do buy some pins that I just have to have…holiday ones…special ones…Tinkerbell (though I find a lot of neat Tink pins too on cast members!).
I always like to buy something I can show off at home! Last trip, I spent $30 on an Alice in Wonderland purse that I use all the time and get SOO many compliments on 😀 I also found a clearance gem…$12 for Mickey ballet flats that are sooooo comfy.
And after all my trips, I still don’t have any Mickey ears!! But I do have Tigger ears and Tigger LOVES them everytime I meet him!
Our general vacation goodies always include a magnet and a special Christmas ornament for the tree. I was born in Orlando in 1972, so any of the 40th WDW anniversary stuff is going to be fair game on my next trip! Thanks for the ideas!
I completely agree about the mickey ears. nothing better than taking a family picture in front of the castle with mickey ears !
You might start buying a couple of each of the ornaments that you buy ,so that when your child is grown & wants theirs for the tree, your tree isn’t bare. My mom started doing this when I was about 10 because she realized we kids were going to be out on our own one day. One of the things I am grateful to know & plan on since my children were born.
We might have to look for even more than we already do, when we go next time.
Disneyland, not Walt Disney World, is “The Happiest Place on Earth”. WDW is “The Vacation Kingdom”.
I forgot all about the Christmas store at DTD. We bought an ornament for my daughter’s first Christmas, and we also bought an advent calendar there. I love having one I can reuse, and my daughter gets more excited about putting Mickey on the wreath than she does about Christmas coming.
I forgot to mention something else we ALWAYS collect each trip: shot glasses, er, I mean, toothpick holders! Most resorts still offer them, so that’s been helpful when mugs are not available. We’ve picked up one from each park too and have them all displayed nicely in 2 cabinets on the wall, but we’re running out of cabinet space AND wall space!
You’re not supposed to wear ears except at Disney? Oops. 🙂 I am not even kidding. I wear them many places.
A Christmas ornament from the Christmas store in Downtown Disney is a must! As a family, we get a new ornament every year. They even personalize them!
Second the idea of the Memory Pin. My Husband and I do the same thing ea trip. We have shadowboxes in our office with ea of the pins displayed inside. It’s a great collectable to be able to look back at and remember our first food and wine fest, the first time we did the Segway tour in Epcot.. etc.
Great article!
Ahhh merchandise. Lately the selection has been pretty generic, but we do try and pick up a few things each trip. If we’re staying at a new resort, we like to get a pin to commemorate that. We also pick up a resort specific coffee mug, that’s if they have any. Most resorts have fazed those out, but rumor is they are coming back? We also like to pick up a new art print from David E. Doss if available. Our last piece was of the Polynesian. Now we hear he’s done a Grand Floridian piece. His plans are to do one for each resort, but it looks like that make take several years! No worries, we’ll be back! 😉 Oh yeah, this year is the MK’s 40th anniversary, so we picked up a few unique items to remember the occasion, only cause they looked rather ‘cool’. We also stop at the clearance store at the Premium Outlets, Disney’s Character Premiere for some cheap t-shirts. We refuse to pay full price at the parks and the selection is usually pretty good.
I’m addicted to the zippered hoodies. I guess that would go under the T-shirt category for apparel. I always get the one for that particular year, and unlike ears caps, I can (and do) wear them wherever I go!
I always make sure to get a personalized ornament that you can only find in the parks. I try to think of some kind of slogan to sum up the trip (like “Lily’s First Trip” for my daughter’s first trip) with the year. That way my Christmas tree is also a little stroll down memory lane of all of our trips!
My husband and I have started a tradition in 2007, the year we got married (married at the WP). We love the Mexico Pavilion at Epcot. Every visit to WDW we buy a hand made wooden figure from Mexico. I know this isn’t a Disney merchandise but this is a unique item to collect. And of course we alos buy the shirts, pins, hats, and so on.
I used to buy a lot of pins. But over the years that has faded. I still buy one every once in a while though. Usually I buy at least one tshirt on a visit. And I’m always on the lookout for a really cool one.
I have 2 souvenirs that I walked out with and don’t regret. The first is a park exclusive Bambi snow globe. I saw it on 3 seperate trips before I bought it. It’s in autumn colors and inside the glass is Bambi and his mother, and the “snow” is copper colored glitter. My other favorite is a print of Mickey giving Walt a tour of the world. It has all of the castles that existed at the time and characters from a lot of the most popular movies that were released after Walt’s death. I always check out the prints when I hit up the art store at DD and the other one in HS. You just never know when you’ll spot something that will look awesome on the wall.