Cheap Souvenirs for a 4 year old?

[OnceUponATime33]

Hi! My first Disney World trip is starting on February 24th, and I'm taking my 4 year old little girl. I am on a limited budget but I want to have atleast a few souvenirs that will last & give her memories when she is older.

Any suggestions?

 

[staceyeileen]

Little kids love pressed pennies, and you can't get much cheaper than that! My son likes collecting them all over the parks.

 

[wuzzles]

Before you go order the Disney Jr. Encyclopedia of characters. Use that collect autographs. It's a little over $10 at Amazon right now.

 

[Hook326]

You could buy Disney toys/clothes at home from Kohl's, Walmart, etc much cheaper & pack them secretly. Each day Mickey could leave her gifts for the next day's fun Light up toys, tiara, wand, stuffed animals, etc depending on her interests. Maybe set aside a small amount for her to pick out something on her own. My boys liked the press pennies, too, as a PP suggested.

Also, if you're going to Epcot & have a Disney Visa you can get a free 5x7 pic. Maybe let her pick out a frame for it for her room?

 

[mom2t]

You could buy Disney toys/clothes at home from Kohl's, Walmart, etc much cheaper & pack them secretly. Each day Mickey could leave her gifts for the next day's fun Light up toys, tiara, wand, stuffed animals, etc depending on her interests. Maybe set aside a small amount for her to pick out something on her own. My boys liked the press pennies, too, as a PP suggested.

Also, if you're going to Epcot & have a Disney Visa you can get a free 5x7 pic. Maybe let her pick out a frame for it for her room?

Mickey sent a box to our house with lots of souvenirs before we left coloring books, pins, sweatshirt, embroidered jacket, baseball hat, movies to watch in route. Al of the things I bought on sale at Disney store. Mickey included a letter telling my child he was excited we were coming. Most of the things I bought on Christmas Eve night online. The jacket is my favorite and I will always keep it. I bought the book too but it is too heavy to carry. I made my own autograph book and left an empty page across from each autograph where I placed a picture of my son with the character. Because it was cool some times we went in January, the hat, jacket and sweatshirt came in handy. I ran home and put the box on our front porch before picking up my son the day the package "arrived."

 

[dpswift]

For something memorable I buy a pin or 2 for DS everytime we go. I usually buy the pin from the resort we stayed in and his favorite attraction that year.

Another cheap memorable keepsake would be to get a my first visit button. Also check what other buttons are available and get any that pertain to your DD. They have birthday and I am celebrating for example. There are also conservation buttons that come when you make a donation of a dollar or 2.

These might not mean a lot to her now but in the years to come will bring back memories that will last years after a stuffed animal would have been thrown away.

 

[tnd]

I let my kids pick out one stuffed animal each trip (though this year, my 9 year old son wanted a lightsaber instead). My 3.5 year old daughter picked out the Disney Baby Pooh Bear this past August and she has not let it out of her sight since then.

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

My kids always wanted a stuffed animal. DD12 still buys one each trip. They also liked the play sets for individual movies/character sets - you can get these at the Disney Store as well - they are about $12. They played with them for years.

They liked pins, too, but not so much at four years old. Although they did earn a pin each time they rode a ride that they were previously afraid of.

Does she have a favorite character? DD12 still has the photos of her with Pooh and friends on her wall, and the store at the end of the Pooh ride is still her favorite.

 

[OnceUponATime33]

Thank you all for your replies!! I'll be sure to take note of everything ya'll said!

 

[superme80]

I got my son the light up spinning Buzz Lightyear. He is 6 and still plays with it. There are a lot of cute things for under $20. Just let your daughter know that you have a budget, give her a price, and once it is gone it is gone.

 

[mamabunny]

Check your local $ store, and discount stores; find inexpensive souvenirs, and hide them in your suitcase. Pop a couple of them every day into your purse, and surprise her when you are ready to sit down a take a break!

And please remember this - kids are fully capable of finding the Magic at WDW without a lot of "stuff" or "experiences". Pressed pennies are a great collectible (and you'll find them all over - not just at Disney parks, but at museums and other places all over the country) and the buttons from Guest Services are a great keepsake too. But you can make memories in lots of ways - just doing a "hidden Mickey" scavenger hunt, and taking a picture of your little person proudly pointing to the Mickey that was "found" can make an awesome scrapbook for later when she is older!

Have a wonderful trip - and don't forget to enjoy yourself, too!

 

[ArielRae]

If your kid loves watching the surprise egg videos on YouTube like mine does definelty get the mystery grab bags from DTD. They run about $12. You get plenty of items in it which adds up to more then the $12 and it is fun finding out what you get. Last trip I looked for a soft bag when you squeezed it looking for a plush for my new born niece and ended up getting a Clover plush from Sofia the First. We also got a nightmare before Christmas pen, Minnie magnet, and a Goofy bookmark in that bag.

 

[icicle]

Last time we were there we picked up a super cute hard cover picture book for under $10 in one of the park gift shops. We got it at the end of our trip but it would have been perfect to have the characters sign.

 

[worm761]

DD just turned 5 last month. We were at Disney last summer. She loves looking at pictures of her with the characters and around the parks.

So, based on what my DD likes I would suggest an autograph book you can put pictures of her with the characters in. A magnet. DD loves hanging her artwork on the fridge. And/or a Christmas ornament to remember the trip by.

 

[midwestdee]

When our kids were little, my husband "designed" and printed our own Disney dollars. Each kid got a certain amount that they had to redeem for real money from us for what they wanted to buy. Believe me, even a 4 year old, gets real discerning when they see how much "money" that cute little plastic item costs.

 

[disney1990]

On our first trip to Disney in 1990, my then 5 year old daughter wanted the Minnie Mouse dressed in Japanese clothing. She was told that she had to wait till the end of our trip to see if she found anything else she wanted more. Nope, that was it. Now 25 years later (and after working in the Disney College Program) she still has her Japanese Minnie.

 

[dyna]

LOTS of pictures of her with her favorite characters an make her a photo album she can have now an another for after she is grown.

Beach towels has been a fav in my family taken care of they can last just about forever my DD's still have their very 1st beach towels bought at Kmart for 1.99 in like 1982 they are still going strong. I know stuff not made like it used to be tho.

 

[WDWFanForLife]

You could buy Disney toys/clothes at home from Kohl's, Walmart, etc much cheaper & pack them secretly. Each day Mickey could leave her gifts for the next day's fun Light up toys, tiara, wand, stuffed animals, etc depending on her interests. Maybe set aside a small amount for her to pick out something on her own. My boys liked the press pennies, too, as a PP suggested.

Also, if you're going to Epcot & have a Disney Visa you can get a free 5x7 pic. Maybe let her pick out a frame for it for her room?

Love this idea!! But I would definitely just set aside a little bit before she goes so she can pick out one or two items she may see that can only be purchased down there.

But be careful, because it is so common for kids to see something they like, you buy it, and then 10 minutes later they see something else they like "more". That is definitely the way to bust the budget quickly.

One thing my DH and I would do to avoid this was that we would give the kids a budget to spend. Then as we went through the shops and they found something they liked, we would take a picture of the item, the price and the store we found it in. Then two nights before heading home, we would go through the pictures with the kids at dinner and let them pick which things they wanted to purchase with their budget. The next day we would take them back to make their purchases.

We all won! My DH and I stayed within budget and the kids got to make their own choices. (It was certainly better than the kids spending their budget the first day, and then having to tell them no for the rest of the trip! Can you say meltdown?!)

Hope this helps! Have a wonderful trip!!!

 

[StitchBuddy]

Check your local $ store, and discount stores; find inexpensive souvenirs, and hide them in your suitcase. Pop a couple of them every day into your purse, and surprise her when you are ready to sit down a take a break!

And please remember this - kids are fully capable of finding the Magic at WDW without a lot of "stuff" or "experiences". Pressed pennies are a great collectible (and you'll find them all over - not just at Disney parks, but at museums and other places all over the country) and the buttons from Guest Services are a great keepsake too. But you can make memories in lots of ways - just doing a "hidden Mickey" scavenger hunt, and taking a picture of your little person proudly pointing to the Mickey that was "found" can make an awesome scrapbook for later when she is older!

Have a wonderful trip - and don't forget to enjoy yourself, too!

Excellent idea, the Dollar Store or the 99 cent store. I use to get all kinds of stuff there. Some of my DD favorite were a light up lollipop, light up wand (great for the night time parades), Disney snacks all for cheap. Then let them spend a little on something they want while there, but make her wait until leter in the trip. Also, if you have a Sam Moon near you, you could buy a cute tiara for her to wear.

 

[OnceUponATime33]

If your kid loves watching the surprise egg videos on YouTube like mine does definelty get the mystery grab bags from DTD. They run about $12. You get plenty of items in it which adds up to more then the $12 and it is fun finding out what you get. Last trip I looked for a soft bag when you squeezed it looking for a plush for my new born niece and ended up getting a Clover plush from Sofia the First. We also got a nightmare before Christmas pen, Minnie magnet, and a Goofy bookmark in that bag.

I've never heard of these grab bags - they sound great! Where exactly in DTD can I find them?