We are stying at a Disney Resort, do they still let you send your purchases back to your resort from the parks? That would work if she bought something in the morning and we can just send it back to our room instead of carrying it around all day.
I am loving all of the great ideas!!!! we were walking through the parking lot last night at my cousins graduation and she found some change in the parking lot and was all excited about putting it in her piggy bank for WDW lol. I told her there was all kinds of Princess stuff at WDW she can save up for like dolls, dress up, and play sets and she got really excited!!!
Yes, you can send it to the resort at no charge. You will not get it until the next day, but DD has always been okay with that if it meant she could get what she wants. They will also send it to the front of the park to pick up when you leave- we have not done that, but I'm guessing if you go anytime near park
I would also say, if she picks any type of clothes, costume, shoes, etc that have a size, waiting until the end of the day is not the best idea. The sizes are often very picked over in the evening. More than once, I have seen something in my or DD's size I should have bought, but I decided to pick it up on the way out only to have the size we needed gone. They generally re-stock overnight (although for some crazy reasons the CMs in the store will not admit that- so if you find something at night you want but can't get in your size be sure to check the main store of the park where you are the next morning. Same if you find something you want at your resort at night not in your size- they can be slower to re-stock, but you often will find it the next morning). If you aren't going back to that park the next morning, you may have an issue because you won't necessarily find that particular item where you are going. You might as stores in other parks will have a lot of the same stuff, but they will not have all the same stuff. Most of the toys and things, you are okay waiting, but not always. We have also had it happen with a stuffed animal one year. They had 3 or 4 of them at AK in the front store, and I said we would get it on our way out if she still wanted it, thinking there was no way she would still want it or remember it at the end of the day, but of course she did, and then they were sold out for the day on our way out of the park. I had an unhappy kid, and I had to search at MK the next day for the thing because I had told her she could have it- which we ultimately found it.
Also, I don't agree with waiting until the last day of the trip if she finds something she really wants because as I said above, while there is a lot of overlap in the stores, there is also a lot of stuff that you might find in one place, but that you won't find wherever you happen to be on the last day. We have made the mistake of promising to pick up something later that day or later that week, only to find ourselves crossing the park at night to get back to a store on the other side of the park because it was the only place that carried it, or searching every store in the park we are in for it because we saw it in a different park and the main store in the park we are in doesn't have it etc.
One other thing, is that while WDW has a lot of park specific merchandise, there are also several things they carry that are regular
Disney Store merchandise. We have 2 Disney stores in our area, so my rule for DD is that if we can get the exact same thing in the store at home, we aren't getting it at WDW. It would be different if we did not have a Disney Store in town, but I'm not trying to pack a bunch of stuff to bring back on a plane that I can get at home, or easily order online and have shipped to home. She has the option of saving some of her money and having me order it online or pick it up at home if she wants, but she never takes that option because she knows she can work her Grandma to buy it for her when she gets home.
There are an absolute ton of things for them to choose from. It is funny to watch what they decide they want and sometimes they surprise you. On DD's first trip when she was 2, she fell in love with and had to have a backscratcher with the characters on it of all things! She carried that thing (basically a plastic stick) around with her the whole week at WDW. It went everywhere she did.
My DD (8)'s absolute favorite souvenier she has ever gotten at WDW is the Duffy bear she got when she was 4 in 2010 when he had just arrived at the parks. Be careful if your DD heads that way because Duffy has lots of outfits to buy too. Duffy has slept with DD every night since she first got him. For at least the first couple of years he went everywhere she did in our house- he was present at all meals and she fed him every meal. I think the bear has more clothes than some people. He has gone on every WDW and DL trip with us in the last 4 years, and he goes to the parks with us every day and does everything with us. He usually has to dress for the occasion as well. He has a Safari outfit for AK, country outfits for EPCOT, he has a Lightening McQueen outfit for Carsland at DL/CA, etc. He picks up at least one new outfit on every trip. That bear is basically part of our family.
