How is the DIS bankrupting you?

Are the sparkle skirts that people talking about the $70 ones? Are they very different than running skirts of other brands to cost that much?
I am very interested in this as well! This is the first I am hearing about these Sparkle Skirts!
 
Moleskin- couldn't make it through the parks without it!
Bobble bottles- we really like these; they do a great job filtering the ick out of Florida water.
Water shoes- For some reason I thought we'd need these for Splash, Kali, etc. Carried them around, never wore them, they've been buried in the closet for 15 or so years.
Glow sticks- we always travel with glow sticks. DD22 doesn't need them to play with anymore, but they help us keep track of each other in the post-Fantasmic crowds, look fun, and DD still occasionally shares with kids sitting near us! I also use them in hotel bathrooms as night-lights; I hate turning on a light in the bathroom after I've been asleep for hours- fried corneas!
Go-walks- I got a pair and they were soooo comfortable wearing around the house for brief periods of time. Big mistake taking them to Disney, though. Not enough arch support!!
Body Glide- still need to get some. I used stick antiperspirant and baby powder if I think there's a chafing issue on the horizon.
Disney ponchos- we got the first one for DD when she was little because the dollar store ponchos were HUGE on her. THEN we went to Disney on the day after a hurricane, when it was still pouring in the afternoons with tropical-storm wind gusts. Tore the dollar store ponchos right off of us. Now all we own is Disney ponchos!
Mickey-head paint chips- I think Home Depot stopped stocking them because I was taking so many! I have them in a rainbow of colors and use them to decorate our room window, to clip to mousekeeping tips, etc.
Custom cakes- Ordered one for DD's 21st birthday celebration at Jiko and now we're hooked. I love having a cake in the fridge to snack on after a long day/evening at the parks!
Over door holder- I don't like this. The hooks at the top of the one I bought keep can't the bathroom door from fully closing. Instead of the holder, I set up the ironing board in the closet area and use it as a shelf.

I don't get the packing cubes; we normally unpack into drawers and shelves. I hate living out of my suitcase. Also, against my better judgement, I looked up the sparkle skirts, thinking they wouldn't make them big enough for me. Wrong... they do...and I can see how lovely these'd be in the heat of August. Fortunately they are SO far out of my budget range that I can easily resist!
 
Love my Eagle Creek packing cubes, it's how I survived two rounds in Europe, each for 3 weeks, living out of a 60L backpack. It looks like Disney TAG (Travel Accessories Gear) new line that just came out has packing cubes but they are called Travel Packs!!!
 
This thread is so funny! I think my list includes just about everything mentioned here, but the one purchase that has really put a dent in my wallet has been the Hydroflasks! I must have 2 or 3 for every member of my family (and extended family) in an assortment of sizes and colors. My colleagues at work have also benefited from my Hydroflask obsession. I would never have discovered them without the disboards!
 

Just the number of trips I now want to take thanks to this board has mentally bankrupted me! Disney clothing, corn dogs, hot link corn dogs, and Disney cups and mugs. And also character meals! We did one on our last Disneyland trip and loved it! Worth every penny!
 
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OK... You totally forgot the new crafts that you have to learn to do!!!!
matching tye-dyed hidden Mickey t-shirts for the fam
Decorating your magic bands.. paint, markers, stickers, decals, polish
Decorating your door at resort or ship..

When will the madness end!!!

We just got sucked into this ourselves! My SIL is super-crafty. She made string backpacks for herself and me, she's making a couple of sashes for me and we're all doing tie-dye Mickey shirts. We also got transfer paper to do a few iron-ons for t-shirts. She is decorating her Magic Band, as well. :D
 
Somehow missed the Disney TAG stuff!!! Some of it is cute like the luggage but I have so much already. The passport wallets/travel wallets are cool but I have recently been upgrading my travel stuff to RFID protected products (for passport and wallet). Wish the Disney products were RFID protected.

About packing cubes....I too never head of them before I heard of them on the Dis but I LOVE them. Bought them several years ago and use them every trip. I unpack my suitcase fully but keep the stuff in the cubes in the dresser drawers. Makes unpacking and packing and keeping organized so much easier for me.

I like those Disney TAG packing cubes...might have to add to the collection!!

MJ
 
I tried really hard to resist. I closed tabs, I left the house, and I convinced myself I didn't NEED it. I lost and sparkle skirts won.............
I fought the urge to look them up.....then gave in. Luckily for me I don't like wearing skirts enough (or the idea of them in a theme park even if they have shorts attached) to justify the cost of one. So I guess that's finally a win for me :banana: Disboards:535 me:1
 
Okay, I know I sound like a cheapskate, but.....................I buy at least 2 Christmas ornaments each trip, (confession:usually much more:)
Our tree is now so full of Disney ornaments, I need another tree dedicated to Disney only. Oops! There's another idea from the dis:) I got the sketchers, battery powered night lights (simply awesome and useful) for a klutzy person, mickey tshirts, sweatshirts, hoodies.
Oh my, I do need a support group. How about DCA, or Disney collectors anonymous:)
Fun thread
 
Ok so I had to make my list and oh boy is it long for someone who has been on DIS a few short amount of time.....
95% of this I have not bought....yet....and another good 80% of this list is crap I've seen on Pinterest the real thing that makes me broke all of the time.
We are planning our first trip as parents to a precious little girl princess: so I'm sure if I had a boy I could get away with less money being spent :jumping1:

So here it goes
  • Self filter water bottles (still considering at least one but then we have to pack it around or well DH has to with the backpack & that might get heavy)
  • Autograph book made using a photo book service...I've literally spent like 6 months getting card designs/making my own etc and designing several different book options to finally say forget it and have started construction on a scrapbook style autograph book that's 5x7 and will be easier to carry. BONUS I already had all of the scrapbook supplies on hand from multiple other Disney scrap books they might get finished...eventually.
  • Tinkerbell gifts...I might get 1 or 2 since we are going to be there when DD turns 3 on our last day but with Nana & Pops and my parents Grammy & Papaw she will be well covered in the gift dept.
  • Snack box...basically it's like a beading craft box to keep different snacks in for road trips...she would open the one large lid and spill it everywhere. We will stick with the cheap dollar tree containers we use now in the car for snacks.
  • PINS!!! I love pins and I'm convinced I will totally trade...last trip I bought $25 off ebay only to find 90% were junk I couldn't do anything with. Might still get some before the next trip IDK yet.
  • Custom t-shirts....This is a GO! Found an amazing deal on some t-shirts last weekend got them for $1.25 each and my mom appliques/embroiders so she can customize them for us!
  • Too many princess dresses & custom outfits for DD. Now this is more my mom bankrupting than me. My mom loves to sew and has already purchased many patterns and Disney fabrics to make DD lots of outfits. (DD is only grand daughter and I have a nephew who may or maynot be coming on this trip but if he does he will have a variety of outfits as well)
  • hunting down fun extras at Target's Dollar Spot or Dollar Tree like road trip treats, etc
  • The cute Mickey Canvas shoes Target just had on sale...didn't buy them figure my feet would hurt too much.
  • Containers for my pennies for pressed penny machines. I will just Ziploc bag them again for DH to make his pressed pennies.
  • GLOW STICKS!!! AM I RIGHT???!!! Bc I know my DD will love them! Of course she will still get glow toys that's half the fun but I love to share them and wear them my self as bracelets so that are a must.
  • In car games, toys, treats...yea I don't know I've got her mini tablet and some notepads colors etc in mind
  • Bought a mini binder off amazon a few weeks ago for my mini schedule/planner that I'm pretty sure I will now just laminate the pages and stick in my bag.
  • HAIR BOWS! She needs 3 like each day for each custom outfit plus I think I need some too! Oh and customized mouse ear for both of us!
  • Disney Dining Plan is a go because we won't have to pay for her & 3 character meals make it worth while
  • Special makeup so I don't sweat and look like a hag in all the many photos I will be in! I didn't even do special makeup for my wedding I used Covergirl in May
  • Magic Band Decals!!! Shut the front door! http://www.myfantasybands.com/pages/application.h
  • Stroller décor/stroller signs etc to easily find our stroller
  • Yoga pants some sort of pants options besides my go to jeans
  • Cake for DD birthday celebration
  • Lastly POST ITS to cover the automatic flush sensor on the toliets as not to scare DD...already ruled that out and said she will just have to get over that one
 
Such a fun thread! Let's see...

Personalized autograph books. I've made one for each trip (to the rolled eyes of some family members... they just don't get it...) I've gotten really creative with these and they have become great memory books of our trips.

Shirts. The majority of my daughter's wardrobe is Disney related!

Cooling towels. Thankfully I found them at the Dollar Store so, when I threw them away because of the smell, I wasn't worried about the expense.

Refillable cups. We used these for one trip. Then I discovered the cups at Disneyland that have the handle attached that I can hang from my scooter, so we now use these.

Trading pins. We fell in love with pin trading!

Glow sticks. Gave up on these. We lost too many of the ends opening the package and just got frustrated with the whole thing.

Planning binder. I fell into this one, whole hog! Then I dragged the 10 lb binder to Disneyland with us and quickly realized that it was way to heavy and bulky to actually use. It is now sitting in a corner collecting dust.

I know there is much more that is not popping to mind right now.

I will say, I love the knowledge I have gleaned from the DIS. I have learned great ways to save money and be able to do things we would otherwise not even know about!

I am now off to look at packing cubes... I hate sharing a suitcase with my husband and daughter because they make such a mess just looking at it!
 
I'm far too lazy to do most of the stuff I see suggested. What I did do, I was pretty happy with. Wicking socks, body glide, moleskin, and filter bottles were all wins for us. The chilly pads were ok.

The best advice for me was the gallon bags for outfits. That was a lifesaver and I do it for all long trips now. So much easier than digging around in the morning. Plus I can chuck a bag at my husband and he has no excuse not to help.
 
A while back there was a post about how being on the disboards negatively affected your planning (as in, you knew too much which caused problems). Allow me to create an offshoot to that - how are the Dis boards causing you to buy more than you should. Allow me to give you an example ...

Long ago in a galaxy far, far away, I was told I needed Frog Togs to successfully navigate any Disney vacation. This was by a real life person. Ok, Frog Togs. :thumbsup2 Except said Frog Togs were heavy, bulky, and were worn a grand total of 30 mins the entire trip. Oh well. Live and learn. But what exactly have I learned (now that I have the disboards)? Ahh, let me tell you.

I learned about good athletic sandals, whose existence I was only vaguely aware of before I asked (yes, I asked, my own fault, I know). Now I own 4 pairs of them (but I got them on sale!). Which is totally necessary because I also learned that sundresses are the way to go in the parks. Oh. I've only recently begun to re-embrace non-wedding related dresses after a 15 year hiatus. So yes, sundress. Got it!

But wait! There's more!

One can't wear a cool, short sundress unless one also wears shorts/shimmies/slipshorts/bikershorts under it or there will be chaffing! I've never had such chaffing, but I've never worn sundresses at Disney World before! So Body Glide (but I justify because my old non-athletic flats cause blisters at work so this is totally dual use!!). And did you notice that? Plural. Plural sundresses. Oops. I'm sure they were on sale. Or maybe they're just breeding in my closet. :eek: And if I wear said awesome dresses which don't typically come with pockets (curses, designers of women's clothing), I will need a cross body bag. And then, because I would not want to jump too far into embracing non-wedding related dresses, I need new capris. No, too pedestrian. I need hiking pants! I do. I need them (I hiked 2 mountains ... in 2007). They don't stain and they're cool and light weight and also on sale. Oh, and speaking of lightweight I need misters, because we already established that the Frog Togs are too heavy and bulky. Misters will certainly be better.

And then there's the pins I got my kids to trade, the customized autograph books with colored retractable sharpies (my kids' Disney experience would be totally subpar without them!!), trinkets to trade with the Jawas, wrinkle releaser, and various glow stuff to keep the kids happy without having to take out a second mortgage to get them in the park (never mind that I'm needing a second mortgage just to get to the park).

And then today, was the coups de gras. Packing cubes. I had no idea what they were. I am not organized by nature. Nor does that fact bother me under normal circumstances. I get by just fine. But I was thinking these were some collapsible grids of canvas or something (fabric cubbies?). How would that be useful? Only crazy neurotic over scheduled, over planning, over thinking people would get something like that. Right? Right??!! Oh. They're separate suitcases to put in my suitcase so I don't go pawing through looking for socks on day 1 and creating a complete and total mess of wrinkled clothes (but I bought wrinkle releaser!!!!!!)?

Raspberry small/medium classic/slim combo pack.

:crazy:

I hope you've enjoyed this summary of useful things from recent posts. Please understand that if you were the person to suggest any of the things above, I really do appreciate it. I am just mocking myself and my inability to be rational about what I need and don't need. Each individual item, I'm sure, will be very useful. Taken as a whole ... well, I just need to close the Amazon app and step away.

So anyone else need a Disney pre-trip purchasing 12 step group?
I don't know what frogg toggs are....but I know I need one/some :)
 
Packing Cubes-I found them on my last trip to Ikea; very cheap! Came in very handy on last business trip when others would be going through my suitcase (security, children in airport)-looked organized + ensured privacy.

Waterproof box on lanyard-great for waterparks (but maybe not needed now that magic bands exist).

Teva's-I live in them at WDW.

One-sheet laundry detergent/fabric softener so I can pack less.

Zip ties for locking luggage.

Velcro strap-lives in outside pocket of luggage; use for attaching any number of things to luggage/back pack.

Woolite for washing bras (I have to do it daily in FL heat/humidity).
 
Original poster--you and I are on EXACTLY the same I need to wear dresses = I need athletic sandals = I need an under-dress solution cycle! I've spent so much money on this new-to-me idea of wearing dresses in the parks! It's a little insane. But oh so fun. :)
 
Me personally I started out innocently enough with regular shirts...which then resulted in myself and my family picking up any and all things Disney related for our home and clothing for our Next trip. So that meant buying many Disney themed shirts to wear to Disney...then I started switching and picking up any and all moisture wicking shirts and then I needed dressier walking sandals that would dress up my outfits and on and on it goes.
I have had to repack no less than 5 times for my upcoming trip and I still have over packed because of course I must have more than one swimsuit and cover ups to dress up said plain moisture wicking shirts for the covetted dinner out.
 














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