Disney themed items on a budget

[dmoore718]

Hi Everyone!!

I just wanted to share some ways that I get ready for our Disney trips (every 2 years.....so we can save up!) So, I begin the year leading up to the trip looking for Disney themed items for the kids. We drive from PA so it's imperative to keep them busy and happy during the 17 hour car ride!

I look for online sales, usually at Disneystore.com and get T shirts for each of my girls. Walmart also often has very cheap Disney themed t shirts and I always snatch those up as i see them.

Yesterday, I went to 5 Below, since they always have some Disney items and got some really cute stuff!! They had tons of Disney Pez, a Mickey head ipad case, pencil boxes, coloring books, etc.

I also look on Etsy for hair bows and see what I can get at a good price.

In addition, my girls go to Catholic school and so we have a gift card center there. You buy gift cards from the school store and the school gets $$ and you get some money credited back to you for the kids' tuition. Many people special order large amounts of Disney gift cards and use them to pay off the trip. I typically buy $25-50 Disney gift cards every few weeks and just save them up for our trip...plus get a tuition credit!

Thought I'd share!

 

[wiigirl]

Thanks for sharing.

 

[Deffenm]

We fly but I try to do the samething. I found Mickey light up wands at Walmart to save for the evening parade/fireworks along with glow bracelets. They were only $1. I also found a stuffed Eyeore for $1 during the after Christmas sales for my sister who is going with us in Dec. on our trip and she loves Eyeore. I also buy ring pops to eat as treats as well. My DD calls them her princess rings. I also have a mickey cookie cutter that I use to make our own Mickey rice krispie treats as snacks for the plane ride. Of course when we get to WDW we eat the real thing.

My family loves the little things that they get when we go to WDW.

 

[dmoore718]

We fly but I try to do the samething. I found Mickey light up wands at Walmart to save for the evening parade/fireworks along with glow bracelets. They were only $1. I also found a stuffed Eyeore for $1 during the after Christmas sales for my sister who is going with us in Dec. on our trip and she loves Eyeore. I also buy ring pops to eat as treats as well. My DD calls them her princess rings. I also have a mickey cookie cutter that I use to make our own Mickey rice krispie treats as snacks for the plane ride. Of course when we get to WDW we eat the real thing.

My family loves the little things that they get when we go to WDW.

Awesome ideas...I really love the Mickey light up wands!!! Last year I also found aluminum Mickey lunch boxes that I filled with surprises for them when they got in the car. They were on clearance for $7

 

[corey0902]

Hi Everyone!!

I just wanted to share some ways that I get ready for our Disney trips (every 2 years.....so we can save up!) So, I begin the year leading up to the trip looking for Disney themed items for the kids. We drive from PA so it's imperative to keep them busy and happy during the 17 hour car ride!

I look for online sales, usually at Disneystore.com and get T shirts for each of my girls. Walmart also often has very cheap Disney themed t shirts and I always snatch those up as i see them.

Yesterday, I went to 5 Below, since they always have some Disney items and got some really cute stuff!! They had tons of Disney Pez, a Mickey head ipad case, pencil boxes, coloring books, etc.

I also look on Etsy for hair bows and see what I can get at a good price.

In addition, my girls go to Catholic school and so we have a gift card center there. You buy gift cards from the school store and the school gets $$ and you get some money credited back to you for the kids' tuition. Many people special order large amounts of Disney gift cards and use them to pay off the trip. I typically buy $25-50 Disney gift cards every few weeks and just save them up for our trip...plus get a tuition credit!

Thought I'd share!

Where in PA are you from? We live near Scranton and are planning our first family trip. We are contemplating driving vs the auto train. Mapquest thinks it will take us 23 hours and 2 days in a car is just not something I want to do with 4 kids (ages 7,5,3,&1). 17 hours is a lot more doable as we go to Kill Devil Hills every year and the drive isn't so bad! What are your thoughts? Does it really save that much money to drive yourself?

 

[DonnaL]

To the poster from the Scranton area......Scranton to Lake Buena Vista, FL is between 1,000 and 1,100 miles depending which route you take and should take between 16 and 18 hours to drive, again depending on the route. That said, you really need to take into consideration it is difficult to do so straight thru, especially with several children that young.....and not be exhausted when you arrive. We did it over two days (from the Scranton area) several years ago when my son interned with the Disney College Program and wanted to have his car with him for the semester. It was ok, but, there were three of us driving....the first day we drove as far as Savannah....arriving late evening....maybe 10 p.m. and then got up the next day and finished the drive in ...I think about five hours, but, we stopped in Jacksonville for lunch at the Metro Diner (was featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives a few years ago). I know a lot of people with children DO make the drive, but, I think back to my kids were little and we could never drive that far/long....some say they do the bulk of driving overnight and the kids sleep. Also, keep in mind.....you'll need to eat over those two days, gas, and the cost of a hotel...sometimes you can snag a great airfare using Allegiant Air out of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton or Allentown......December 2012 my husband and I flew round trip for a little over $100 each out of WB/S...and even if it does cost a little more to fly....maybe just stay at WDW a day less since you won't be wasting extra days driving to and from. Just noticed you said you vacation in Kill Devil Hills....we used to vacation in Corolla every summer and it would take us about 10 hours to get there......so plan on doubling that time to get to Disney.....planning on several stops along the way.

 

[la79al]

Where in PA are you from? We live near Scranton and are planning our first family trip. We are contemplating driving vs the auto train. Mapquest thinks it will take us 23 hours and 2 days in a car is just not something I want to do with 4 kids (ages 7,5,3,&1). 17 hours is a lot more doable as we go to Kill Devil Hills every year and the drive isn't so bad! What are your thoughts? Does it really save that much money to drive yourself?

We did the AutoTrain last March (we are in southcentral PA). Especially with 4 kids, it is going to be much more expensive than driving. We didn't get a room or anything, just sat in the regular seats. My kids were almost 5 and 2.5 at the time. On the way down, they needed pretty much constant entertainment. I packed a huge backpack full of stuff but we were all ready to get off the train in FL. On the way back, I hit Redbox and got a few DVDs and that (plus exhaustion) kept them pretty content for the ride back. Sleeping in the regular seats was not great for the adults (the kids did fine) so we still arrived rather tired. Between the drive to the AutoTrain station, the wait at the station, the late departure, the actual ride and then waiting for your car at the other end, it was definitely longer than driving. The kids and I want to do the AutoTrain again but if I had to do it over with kids as small as yours, I would drive. The AT has no option for running around to burn off energy and it's a long time for kids to sit still/be entertained.

 

[dpswift]

Check local thrift stores for Disney shirts. Yesterday I found DS 11 one for $1.50. They had some in smaller sizes as well. Too be honest I really did not look hard at all. As soon as we have a trip planned I will go through each rack.

 

[pixiedust1949]

We live near Pittsburgh and drive all the time. It takes 16 hours straight through with stops for gas, bathroom and food breaks. We take things to eat and drink along the way. Kids are all grown and out of the house now, but we did this when they were small as well. Very doable drive, especially if you have more than one driver.

 

[justlook3]

I don't have any kids so I don't buy these things but I do keep an eye out for Disney stuff when I'm out and about. Why I don't know!
But anyway, I frequently see Disney items in the Dollar Spot at Target and in the $1 bins at Michael's. There are lots of Disney things also at Dollar Tree. Alot of these things would be great for road trips as they are often coloring books, activity books, little puzzles, sticker books (brought me back to my own childhood in the 80s when sticker collecting was all the craze), etc. There are also pens, pencils and crayons which of course you need for all of these things.