Best Souvenir for a little girl?

[MisterPP]

Those that go a LOT, what types of 'park exclusive' items should I be on the look out for my 8 year old daughter?

A friend went when Frozen was new and brought back the 'animators collection' toddler Elsa and even though we have added more of those dolls to our collection, Elsa is still a favorite.

She also has a selection of the 'barbie' sized princess and prince dolls from the Disney Store (which are awesome btw - much better than the ones you get through box stores)

BUT is there anything that you can get ONLY in the parks that could be a 'special' memory present?

 

[bc7ate9]

Maybe a pearl from the department store in Epcot made into a necklace or something? They're not terribly expensive so seem ok for an 8 year old.

 

[ktlm]

There are lots of park exclusive items. It really depends on what she likes. For my DD, a very "special" memory present, is to let her do pick a pearl at Japan in EPCOT. Your DD will get to pick an Oyster, then they will do an opening ceremony and make a big fuss about the pearl she has selected. Picking the pearl itself runs about $15 or $16 I think. Then you can have the pearl mounted or buy a cage for it. That ranges from about $8 to really expensive pieces. They have some nice sterling silver mounts and cages that are on the cheaper end. You can buy a chain for it there to wear as a necklace or just buy one (or use one you already have) at home. It won't say WDW anywhere on it, but it is a special item that she can have for years. My DD also likes the Precious Moment's dolls that you can only get at WDW or DL (not the ceramic version the actual dolls). She collected one of those each trip for a few years.

Really, it is just whatever interests your DD. There will be a lot of choices. Some of the park specific stuff will show up in the Disney parks section online- some will be there a while, then gone, then show back up- so there is no guarantee that what you buy won't ever be available online. We try to stay away from stuff that we know is readily available at a standard Disney Store.

 

[ByrdGal]

My Frozen-crazed 4 year old hardly takes off her Frozen Mickey ears.

 

[LisaCM614]

Those that go a LOT, what types of 'park exclusive' items should I be on the look out for my 8 year old daughter?

A friend went when Frozen was new and brought back the 'animators collection' toddler Elsa and even though we have added more of those dolls to our collection, Elsa is still a favorite.

She also has a selection of the 'barbie' sized princess and prince dolls from the Disney Store (which are awesome btw - much better than the ones you get through box stores)

BUT is there anything that you can get ONLY in the parks that could be a 'special' memory present?

My youngest daughter loves her Duffy that we bought in the parks and now for each trip she likes to buy Duffy a new outfit. I know you have tons of dolls and soft things at home - we do too! Duffy is so cute and soft and I love how DD dresses him for each holiday. He even wore a Jake outfit when we took our first Disney cruise this year.
There are also really cute charm bracelets (not the expensive Pandora) where you can buy the bracelet and she can collect charms.

 

[ConnecticutNonna]

BTW if you decide on the pearl picking, have her choose the hairiest ugliest large one. Those seem to have the most "doubles" in them. True that!

 

[kcpinwdw]

I did pick-a-pearl with my daughter in Epcot this trip and it was SO much fun. SHe got a big white pearl and we bought the smaller Cinderella's carriage pendant to put it in. It's beautiful, perfect for a little girl, and a unique Disney memento.

 

[LES91]

I did pick-a-pearl with my daughter in Epcot this trip and it was SO much fun. SHe got a big white pearl and we bought the smaller Cinderella's carriage pendant to put it in. It's beautiful, perfect for a little girl, and a unique Disney memento.

Do you recall how much the smaller carriage cage cost? Did it come with a chain?

 

[mousehockey37]

I got my nieces each a small wind up jewelry box for Christmas last year. My sister said that on certain nights, she'll hear Under the Sea playing from the older ones jewelry box over the baby monitor.

 

[kcpinwdw]

Do you recall how much the smaller carriage cage cost? Did it come with a chain?

It was about $50 for the carriage, and the chain was separate... maybe another $15?

 

[CookieGVB]

People have been buying the cages from Etsy for about $8 for the carriage with chain included.

 

[ConnecticutNonna]

People have been buying the cages from Etsy for about $8 for the carriage with chain included.

Are they sterling though? And can you put your pearl in them? Good info, thank you!

 

[cruisingmom1977]

People have been buying the cages from Etsy for about $8 for the carriage with chain included.

Are they sterling though? And can you put your pearl in them? Good info, thank you!

We bought ours from Etsy. It is not Sterling but it is an EXCELLENT quality. They come in 2 sizes and I would suggest buying the larger size before hand and bringing it with you to avoid the "impulse buy" in Epcot.

The shop we bought from AOSDESIGN is on a break at the moment but I was extremely pleased with the quality of the piece. It was only $11.00 shipped and came in less than a week. I believe the one we ordered was large enough for a 10 mm pearl and the pearl my daughter "picked" was 8mm.

ETA - I was worried that the clasp would be cheap that holds the pearl in but the chain actually holds the two sides together so there is no clasp to break

 

[bbjunkie]

This is my daughter's Pearl from Japan in the cage I bought from Amazon. It came with the chain for $8. We let her wear it empty into Epcot, and put the pearl in on the bench around the fountain in Morroco. She love it. This was the first week in June, we have cleaned it once.

 

[ConnecticutNonna]

View attachment 126036

This is my daughter's Pearl from Japan in the cage I bought from Amazon. It came with the chain for $8. We let her wear it empty into Epcot, and put the pearl in on the bench around the fountain in Morroco. She love it. This was the first week in June, we have cleaned it once.

Nice!