How do you not spend a FORTUNE?

[Tinkaroo]

I'm planning on trying this in a few weeks - make notes in my Passporter about the items we see as we tour (what they are, price, where to find them again), and then leave our true shopping until the last day or two. I think that will help cut down on the impulse buying.

My problem - it's not necessarily all the stuff myself or DH wants. It's all the things we're "expected" to bring back for family members. We have 3 nieces and a nephew now, not to mention our parents, etc. Yikes!

BTW - do the character outlets really have that much stuff that is in the parks? I've never been to one, but we will have a car, and maybe it would be worth a field trip to save some $$. Can anyone elaborate?

 

[Cinderella37]

I'm a serious Disney collector and I feel that the WDW's selection cannot compare to Disney Direct (although DD has been a little off lately, in my opinion). The only things I buy at WDW are pieces of art that aren't available through Disney Direct and Christmas ornaments. Honestly, the merchandise is practically all the same throughout WDW, as another poster said, with the exception of World Showcase, which does nothing for me since I only buy Disney in Disney. If you're looking for collectibles, it won't be hard to keep your wallet in check (with the exception of the art at Epcot and MGM). By the way, if you buy a lot, you can save money on tax by shipping your purchases home (as long as you don't live in FL). You don't pay tax and quite often, that offsets the shipping charges for us.

 

[qtwns]

Someone gave me this great tip on souvenir buying on your trip, especially with kids. You tell the kids (and yourself) at the beginning of the vacation that you can buy one souvenir for the trip (or 2 or whatever), but the catch is you cannot buy it until the last day. So, during the trip, you can browse and think about what you REALLY want. THen, on the last day, you go get it. I haven't tried this yet, but I plan to on our trip in May. It helps the kids realize we can't have everything, but they get to choose their favorite one in the end. I have one child who I know would take this very seriously and search and hunt for the "perfect" souvenior.

I can imagine that it could be a pain on the last day to go get all the souvenirs, but it keeps everyone from buying something and then seeing something they really wanted more later. It might not work for everyone, but I'm going to try it

Michiele

We do this each year with my kids and it works like a charm! They know how much they have to spend and we shop during our trip. On the last day they make their decisions and we go to wherever we need to go and make the purchase. It has never posed a problem and they always make wise choices--and they are only 8 and 5! As a result we don't end up with 'disposable' junk. We still have most of all their WDW purchases!

 

[DisneyAunt]

What I found that helps the budget is finding small items on sale or on clearance at the Disney store and bringing them with you to WDW.

For Instance when we went in February I had a "special" surprise for the kids each morning. One morning I had goofy T-shirts for both boys that I bought from the Disney store on sale after Christmas, I also had those tiny little compact washcloths that become normal size when you put them in water. My biggest find and the best thing the kids liked were these glow in the dark necklaces that I found at Target for $1 I bought a bunch of those. I gave those to the kids one night we went to MK to see the fireworks...I can't tell you the how many people were asking us where we got them. The kids loved it because no one else had the same as they did.

The biggest savings this year and I think will pay off for years to come was to become a DVC member!!!