Best souvenirs you ever purchased?

[AshleeH]

Where was this done? This is so amazing.

It's an artist who contracts through Disney - she's based in the Beach Club. Search Facebook for "Disney's Yacht and Beach portrait artist" and it should come up. Her name is Marina - I can't remember how to spell her last name (you can see it on the bottom of my picture). She has all kinds of options - charcoal, oils, fairy-tale backgrounds. You pay by the person, so I opted to get three separate portraits instead of one of the three of them all together (either way, it would've been about the same price). And I chose black and white because I wanted something timeless.

She will either take a picture of you or your family and paint from that (and I think ship it to your home) or you can send her the pictures you want - we thought we would go to the Beach Club to pick it up, but she ended up leaving it with Guest Services at the Contemporary and we just went over there and got it. Because I wanted pictures of my kids that were all roughly the same age, I emailed her my favorites a few weeks before our trip. She worked on all three simultaneously, so they all flow together so well (I have pics of the others if you'd like to see) and she emails you the finished product and asks if there are any changes that need to be made - they were perfect as is, so then she sprays them with some kind of setting spray and wraps them up for travel. I would have another one done in a heartbeat.

 

[ebradley23]

My personal favourite was actually a gift for someone else - I bought a large Disney fairy tale story book for my 1 year old niece on my last trip, and I then had characters sign their story (Peter Pan, Wendy and Tink on Peter Pan, Cinderella and Prince Charming on Cinderella, etc). Any characters that didn't have their stories in the book got to sign on the inside front and back covers. Now that she's almost 3, my sister says it is her absolute favourite book and they have a hard time keeping her hands off of it.

I love this!

 

[mom2rose&john]

The pearls my children picked in Japan. They are set in a ring and I wear it often.

 

[noahdove]

I have my Mickey watch that I purchased with my 60th birthday money. Also, a beautiful
Mickey necklace... I have a Mickey Christmas ornament that my daughter gave
me for Christmas a couple of years ago and it's front and center on my Christmas
tree....

 

[verleniahall]

we bought two full place settings - dinner plate, dessert plate, bowl, drinking glass, goblet, and we use them ALL the time - its a great way to have the magic at holme

 

[snowman]

My WDW 1971 hoodie from our 2015 trip. I wore it all through our Maine winter, sometimes instead of a coat. When it would get filthy I'd pop in the wash and put it right back on as soon as it was dry. DW wishes it would spontaneously combust.

 

[Clare Voince]

A caricature we had done at the Contemporary when I was about 6 or 7 years old. Even though I was a skinny little thing back then, he drew me running towards a snack bar. The man was psychic!

 

[Giraffeitis]

My WDW 1971 hoodie from our 2015 trip. I wore it all through our Maine winter, sometimes instead of a coat. When it would get filthy I'd pop in the wash and put it right back on as soon as it was dry. DW wishes it would spontaneously combust.

I really like souvenirs like this. I'm really a sweatshirt person [to the point of where I had to actually stop wearing my favorite one because it started getting some micro holes in it and I couldn't find it ANYWHERE online.

So I'd recommend, get something that you'll use daily, so if you wear hoodies all time, get one. If you are a coffee/tea person get a mug. Or maybe do what another post suggested and get a set (or 2 or 4 or 8) of dishes.

And then of course Christmas ornaments, and Mickey ears are the best, I'm pretty sure you can get bride/groom Mickey ears, so that would be a super cool way to remember your honeymoon

 

[tripletmomsrock]

I second the Christmas Ornament. We went on our honeymoon and got a personalized one for not only us but for each set of parents. 13 years later and it's still my favorite thing to put on the Christmas tree.

 

[TXStormtrooper]

We also purchase a Christmas ornament on each trip. Actually, we get one for the family, and each child gets to pick one, too. We do this on every vacation, no matter where it is. We love decorating our tree each year and enjoying the beautiful memories of our family vacations.

I have a lightweight jacket I purchased when it got colder than expected on our last trip. I wear it all the time and have for 3 years. So that's the item I get the most use out of.

 

[texasroni75]

Alex & Ani bangle bracelets. Refrigerator magnets. Disney kitchen tools (ice cream scoop, pizza cutter, potholders, etc).

Basically I love to get things that are useful, and won't just sit on a shelf collecting dust And every time I use these items, I think of my trip.

 

[DVCjj]

A white scarf with what looks like black polka dots but looking closely are scattered Mickey heads.

It's a wonderful soft cotton 'year round' fabric and I love it so much, the next trip I bought another in case I lose the first one and they discontinue (like they always do on things I love).

 

[SpaceMtnGirl]

The "souvenirs" that get the most use for us at home, are the refillable drink mugs! They have pretty much replaced our drinking glasses at this point, and I've had to get rid of some!

Otherwise, we use our Christmas ornaments once a year.

Edited to add: My DS12 has a tradition to get a small carved animal from the woodcarver at AK. He has quite a collection, and was REALLY heartbroken when our new dog chewed some of them. Lesson learned to put them on a higher shelf!

 

[pamcakes82]

My husband and I do a Christmas ornament each place we go. It's always fun at Christmas to look back at all the places we have traveled. Also, I saw on Pinterest where someone said if you get a "We're celebrating" pin from guest services, you can turn those into magnets (and they are free!).

 

[staceyatdisney]

In 1993 we honeymooned at Disney and my husband bought me a bride and groom Mickey and Minnie. While packing to go home I accidently crushed it while packing to go home. When my husband went back to the store to buy me another the clerk recognized him and asked why he was buying another, when she heard the story, she gave him the replacement for free. My Mickey and Minnie are still sitting on my dresser, nearly 23 years later.

 

[momtotaryn]

In 1993 we honeymooned at Disney and my husband bought me a bride and groom Mickey and Minnie. While packing to go home I accidently crushed it while packing to go home. When my husband went back to the store to buy me another the clerk recognized him and asked why he was buying another, when she heard the story, she gave him the replacement for free. My Mickey and Minnie are still sitting on my dresser, nearly 23 years later.

Awww...such a heart warming story!

Great ideas for souvenirs! I'm kind of boring, but I usually buy a dated (with the year) shirt or jacket every time I visit Disney. I wear them often, after I get back home. However, my very favorite souvenir was from my younger DD, who bought me tiny Mickey Mouse ears "emerald" earrings several years ago from Aualani. She went to a classmate's birthday party held there (yes, we're from Hawaii). I wear them all the time! More recently, she bought (from Tokyo Disney) a trio of tiny Mickey Mouse earrings, similar to the "emerald" ones, but this time one crystal, and two different shades of blue. I'm wearing those a lot lately too!

 

[Ohana2011]

I can't believe I forgot my all-time favorite - not just souvenir - gift! My husband's anniversary present to me was having a Disney artist do three portraits of our three kids, when they were all about the same age (between 1 and 2). I walk past them daily in our dining room and they are my most treasured memento in our home. She knocked it out of the park! Here's a sample, before I had it framed, of the one she did of my daughter:

Beautiful!! Was this the artist set up at the Beach Club - just off the lobby (towards the gift shop)?

 

[Dashzap]

My most used and enjoyed souvenir is the trip mug I made once I got home at Shutterfly...it is decorated with six of my favorite photos from the trip. I get to relive my trip with my morning coffee.

 

[momtotaryn]

My most used and enjoyed souvenir is the trip mug I made once I got home at Shutterfly...it is decorated with six of my favorite photos from the trip. I get to relive my trip with my morning coffee.

I plan to order Shutterfly items too, including making a photobook this time around. When we were there in 2011, I wasn't aware of Shutterfly. Actually, right now, I'm supposed to be working on making a photobook for our recent trip to Japan (including Tokyo Disneyland), but I am spending waaay too much time on Disboards, researching stuff for our upcoming trip in June!

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

A friend bought a coffee mug for me with my favorite character on it as a thank you for helping her plan her trip.

I use it almost every morning for my tea.

"The best part of waking up is Pooh Bear on my cup."