Thank you! I think I'm going to go ahead and order some stuff from the Disney shopping site before we go - can't beat 4.99 t-shirts! I think we'll do mouse ears and probably a stuffed animal from the park, though.
i looked up ears online before our last trip and they were priced ridiculously high. i figured the prices had soared inside
disneyland, as well. but when we got there, i thought they were extraordinarily cheap compared to the prices i saw online (they were more than $20 online for just plain ears!) so, as far as i'm aware, waiting until you get to the parks for ears is a really good idea.
plush animals inside the parks, for the most part, seem reasonably priced to me. there are gazillions to choose from (many that you won't find at the
disney store), and a lot of those come in sizes that won't break the bank.
the only reason i like to buy t-shirts inside the parks as opposed to from the disney store or online, is because the ones you find outside the parks won't actually say "Disneyland" on them. you can find inexpensive shirts with disney characters on them at the disney store, however you won't find any that have disneyland related images, like the castle. we don't buy a lot of t-shirts at disneyland, but we have bought one themed to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride (it says "Dead Men Tell No Tales" on the back, i love it!), and another Pirates one, and then my daughter likes to buy ones that say Disneyland and whatever year we are visiting (like, "Disneyland, 2008). but if those things don't matter to you, then you're right, you really can't beat the prices online.
hope that helps!