Does DVC cause you to spend less money on junk?

[HookdonWDW]

Okay, okay... before I get shot, it's probably not really junk. But many of you know what I mean. All of those little chachkis (sp?) that you see being sold around the hotels... The "trinkets" that block your way as you're trying to exit a ride... The 9,000 pictures you can buy to "remember this magical moment"...

I was reading a post on the Budget Board, and apparently, people are buying their souveniers BEFORE they get to WDW!! Now I can see buying some glow necklaces for the parade or something for the plane/car ride. But we're talking t-shirts, stuffed animals, spinning toys, etc...

What's the point??? Aren't you supposed to buy souveniers as a reminder of the trip? Don't parents still participate in the great tradition of telling their children "NO" (as in no, you can't get every single thing you see lying around the park, and if you ask for something, you can be guaranteed it won't be going home with us).

So I'm thinking that maybe I'm just not getting it because of DVC. With DVC, I know, and the kids know, that we'll be coming back to WDW. There's no feeling that we have to buy everything "now or never". I don't feel an urgency to own everything that has a Mickey (hidden or real) on it.

So, is it DVC? Are parents going overboard? Or do I just belong in Whoville over at Islands of Adventure???

 

[rsschneck]

We have a 7 year old DD that LOVES all the JUNK! DH and Myself do not buy as much because we rewear our Disney T-shirts, etc. The only thing DH buys are collectibles (watches, litho's, etc.)

We give Disney Dollars for B-day and holidays so DD can spend her own money on JUNK without too many NO's from Mom and Dad!

 

[zulaya]

You know my kids don't ask for much. But I never would buy souvenirs BEFORE I go. I was like that pre-DVC too. Part of getting the souvenir at the park is the memory.

Some people though may have really tight budgets or they get a thrill out of saving a buck. Whatever makes you happy, I guess.

 

[jmminarik]

Well, the kids we take are neices and nephews and kids of friends, so we tend to buy the 'junk' for them and therefore we tend to by more. I'd imagine there'd be less for us when we have our own kids...but maybe not.

Our personal 'junk' acquisition has actually gone up. Knowing we'll be back doesn't mitigate knowing that a lot of the souviniers are seasonal and may never be available again. And while on the face of it, the 'ride' photos are expensive, they're the souviniers we'll keep long after the t-shirts become dust rags and the coffee mugs chip and shatter.

-Joe
who should have bought a 2nd leather Mickey Bomber jacket when they were 1/2 price but didn't and now can't cause they don't sell them.

 

[lenshanem]

The more we go the less we buy. Last couple trips my kids didn't even ask for anything. We have several things like lanyards, Pal Mickey, ponchos, Minnie ears, those glow in the dark ice cubes, light spinners, etc. We pack them up each trip and then they go into "storage" when we get home so they are ready for the next trip. Seems to work well. Sometimes we'll buy them T-shirts. They get good use during the summer, especially on pool days. Nope, we don't buy alot of junk anymore. Maybe a few pins?

My hubby and I have a guest room filled with Disney stuff. We wasted so much money before the kids came along. I might see something col every so often, but we just don't waste our money on things like this anymore. Plus, the Disney Store just isn't like what it used to be. Nothing to ever have to impulse buy for there. Those days are gone..................

Now I admit I have gone to party city and bought packages of glow up necklaces and bracelets before. matter of fact, I still have a package left over for next trip.

 

[dsmith]

Our kids, 13 & 11, typically get a shirt, jacket or outfit on each trip. My wife and I do about the same. I always seem to come home with at least one new hat.

As for junk, my standard answer is "Did you bring your money?" They get a nice allowance (way more than the 50 cents a week I got as a kid) so they can spend that on the junk if they want to, but they usually don't.

 

[Pa@okw95]

I have more of those pictures on the rides with the frames that you buy then I know what to do with, a lot of them are in the garage. When my grandchild comes down to visit then the sky is the limit, I mean their is no limit and the word no is not in my vocab. As for other stuff, we do our christmas shopping there for grandchildren, and nephews-have no nieces. Shopping for everything and anything is very much the main attraction down at WDW for my wife. I rather go on the boat ride from OKW to DD more but that is a problem because my wife goes wacko shopping everytime. The more we go the more we shop. At least we do not go to EPCOT as much as we used to so the shopping there has gone down. EPCOT is no longer our favorite park and there really isn't that much at AK worth buying which has become our favorite park.

 

[crisi]

Never been a junk person myself. My DH is more of one though.

Since DVC and regular trips with children occurred simultaneously - nope, more junk. But thats a function of traveling with children. And my son has gotten a TON of use out of his Captian Hook suit.

 

[BWVDee]

We bought all the junk when the kids were young but once they got into their teens they really did not want anything. They did spend a lot of money in the arcades as teens, but that was their own money. Now they are adults and very rarely buy anything at WDW.
Me on the other hand, always find something to buy! I no longer buy the kid junk but now instead buy Disney collectibles and Disney clothing! I was better off with the junk--it was cheaper! LOL!

 

[pumpkinboy]

Originally posted by HookdonWDW
...Don't parents still participate in the great tradition of telling their children "NO" (as in no, you can't get every single thing you see lying around the park, and if you ask for something, you can be guaranteed it won't be going home with us)...

Too funny . Actually our family does participate in that grand old tradition, tho the spinny toys were too much to resist, and so ended up in kids stockings (it was late Oct when we went, so finishing up Xmas shopping time). We do enjoy l;ooking at the pictures from rides, etc, but do not buy them most times.

Pins are the most frequest "treat" in terms of everyday shopping, so I guess the souvenir budget is down from pre-DVC days, tho on our first VB stay, we did buy lots of VB-specific stuff (had forgotten sweaters and sweatshirts and watershoes and.. anyway; we did have tee shirts, just not the ones with the cool turtles in the hidden Mickey shape that we HAD to have ).

BTW, the spelling I have seen most often is "tchotchkes", which is most inconvenient in terms of spelling, but then most Yiddish (and German) words are.

 

[westjones]

I don't think it is such a bad idea to bring little things from home to surprise the kids with on your trip to WDW. It is a lot more tempting to get surprises for young kids (they are happy with a Mickey lollypop!). When my twins were little I wanted to get them cute things I would see. Now they are older, I give them a budget and they buy what they want up to that amount (usually $20-25 per trip).

NOW, I have to admit that I am thinking of bringing along something I read about on the budget board. Those 'glow in the dark' necklaces are WAY too much in the parks, but you can buy them for around a $1 here at Walmart of the Dollar Store. So I am thinking of bringing those along with us on our trip next month to Disneyland.

DJ

 

[Galahad]

DVC itself doesn't. But the repeat visits that come from being a DVC member cause us to buy less "stuff" when we visit. When we know we'll be back we don't feel the need to commemorate every step into the World with a memento.

 

[perdidobay]

I can see both sides of this.
DH and I go alot.. ..we only buy photos as souvies, 1 or two a trip. I bought a Cuckoo Clock last year at Epcot, but that was unusual for me.

In May we are taking our two DD's, Dd's BF and a 5 year old who is a friend of the family.
I have been buying up small souvie toys at work when they are onsale ...price less than $5 (I work at TDS).
I plan to buy her a few things at WDW, but I also plan to give her a toy each day there, that I bought at home. I plan on giving them to her when waiting for dinner or in line, something for her to do or play with if she gets fidgety.

 

[burnsoc]

I buy DVC merchandise(junk) now. I have mugs, t-shirts, and baseball hats. Basically if it has the DVC logo, I have an irresistable urge to purchase it.

 

[Disney Doll]

I have gotten into the habit of buying one really special item each trip, whether it's a snow globe or a nice shirt or something form Disney At Home...I try to get something "different"...ie not the usual Mickey Welcome To Florida t-shirt. All the little plastic breakable stuff stays there. I am a sucker for Christmas ornaments, antenna toppers, snowglobes, wrist watches.

 

[lenshanem]

I shouldn't have spoken so soon. DH got back last night from OKW with a ton of stuff for us all. He is obviously the impulse buyer and I must dilute that cause we never buy that much stuff when we go all together. Maybe he was feeling guilty for going to WDW without us? LOL

 

[goofy4tink]

I confess...I'm one of those mom's that buy t-shirts before we go. I just can't see paying $15 for a t-shirt in WDW vs. one for $3.50 onsale at the Disney Store. So, I stock up on them before we go. They are almost disposable. But, if we go to special event, like MVMCP, then we get a t-shirt/sweatshirt. Usually get a new hat also. Pins are getting out of hand at my house!!! So, yes. The more often we go, the sense of urgency about buying 'stuff' is not there. And, can we talk about those 'magical moment' pictures we all have!!!! OMG!! Starting with this trip in August, we may get one at each park, but that is it. No more ToT, RnRC (well, maybe that one if dd goes on), Splash Mt. Enough!!!!

 

[married@wdw]

We definitely spend less money on "stuff" -- and on meals for that matter, too. Now that my in-laws live near Orlando and we have DVC, we know we'll be going at least twice each year, if not more frequently.

We usually each buy one or two small souveniers -- mostly pins lately. Otherwise, we don't even spend that much time shopping anymore. And expensive items we would have bought for ourselves, we ask for as birthday or Christmas gifts and my in-laws pick them up for us!

As for meals, we have a long list of restaurants we'd like to try, but we need to be a little budget concious to afford plane tickets several times a year. So we pick one or two restaurants off our list each trip and try to eat more inexpensively the rest of the time. We know the next trip is always no more than 6 months away, after all!

 

[gopherit]

Well, I see both sides on this. Yes, you can "over-do" the whole budget thing. We have all witnessed extreme frugality on these boards -- everything from folks asking if they can "share" an AP, to stuffing 20+ people in a GV, to using garbage cans in a value resort as a makeshift cooler, to folks eating canned corn in the park. ANd we have witnessed the other extremes too -- folks buying every single trinket that their kids whines for. But buying some stuff before you go doesn't necessarily mean (a) you're so tight you squeak or (b) you win the prize for The Parent Who Can't Say No. I surely don't feel I fit into either category!

Example: We do our DVCing a bit differently than most folks; instead of using our pts yearly for a couple trips, we bank up our pts and go every other year, and when we go, it's for about 2 weeks. It's a celebration -- we wait nearly 24 months for these trips! And we always bring family along -- typically there are anywhere from 3 to 7 kids in the party. We love to share our magic! I confess to collecting a very nice array of little Disney-motif items before our trips. I usually give out a goodie per day, per kid. Last time I gave them paper sacks that each child diligently decorated with stickers and crayons. Every night, they sat them out on the bar; every morning, there was a small item in the bag. A mister fan, maybe some funky sunglasses; a special lollipop; a small water toy; all age-appropriate. And of course the glowsticks and such stuff that others have mentioned. Did it mean my kids didn't say, "Ooo, I want that!" at the park? Heck no -- they ARE kids, after all! But did it mean I said "Yes, of course! I am your over-indulgent parent, let's go for it!" Again, Heck no -- I said as always, well, keep that in mind, You have your own money to buy a special souvenir or two; its your choice when and how you spend it! Invariably, all of my 3 kids (ages 3,7, and 9) will then patiently wait until our last DTD day to do their shopping. They use money they earn / save throughout the prior months. I am always impressed with the thought they give their purchases. This system has worked very well. Typically, dh and I don't get much for ourselves; usually a tshirt from ESPN for him, some small item for me; we hardly EVER (possibly never?) buy the pictures -- I've always been pretty happy with the photos we take ourselves, I guess! I would call us "Disney Moderates", if I had to give us a name!

So FWIW, I don't consider the little items I buy throughout the prior months to be "substitutes" for true souvenirs or harmful to their sense of the value of money -- they are just little gifts from Mommy / Aunt Cindy! ANd it's not just a Disney thing -- I do the same routine on "off-WDW" years when we go to the beach for 2 weeks -- they get little beachy-themed items, cards or small game items, or simlar such small tokens of my affection! Sometimes I get "crafty" and make t-shirts (using my computer) for the entire crew, too. Doing this doesn't mean I'm cheap -- It just means I'm having fun! It's my turn to give a little pixie dust. I enjoy it probably 10 times more than the kids because my fun begins as I collect the stuff and plan the trip, and my fun is multipled by however many kids I am giving to on that particular trip!

Just a thought to consider -- the parents who do this may indeed be out to save a buck, but they may also do it because THEY enjoy doing it!

 

[NancyDVC]

I noticed that our souvenir spending was down from last year but they may be because of the end of the Disney Club & its discount. (I have a terrible problem with resisting 'bartgains'.)
We do visit each of the 4 Disney outlets at least once on each trip and have found some wonderful bargains there. Who cares if the tee shirt has last year's date if it's only $5.00? After all I wouldn't pay full price on my visit last year any way.
Yes I too have trouble resisting DVC merchandise. I did buy a DVC tee shirt with both the OKW and DVC logos and a DVC visor when my old cherished OKW visor broke on our first morning.
I have noticed that I tend to wear my Disney store tee shirts at WDW and my WDW shirts at home in NY. Tis has led to soem questions when someone wants to know where I got my shirt and I have to say "In a Disney store in NY about 5 years ago." or "In WDW about 3 years ago." Besides that I usually don't remember what shirt I am wearing and when someone comments I have to stare at it for a moment to recall where I got it!
Then of course there was the time I was wearing my embroidered DUmbo shirt in the MK (bought of course at the Disney store near my home) and a woman asked where I had gotten it. I told her and also mentioned that it was several years old. She immediately offerd me money for it. I replied no and then she became insistent because Dumbo is her sister's favorite character and she couldn't find anything with Dumbo on it for her sister. I replied that Dumbo is my favorie character too and that's why I was wearing the shirt. She walked off in a huff!
Maybe I should stick to buying and wearing less 'controversal' shirts?