I wouldn't spend too much on buying souvies and light chasers, glow sticks, etc prior to the trip.
On our first trip with DS to DL, we went nuts buying all kinds of stuff before we even left home. DS wasn't interested in half of it. I had more fun with the lightchaser thing than DS did.
Even in the parks, the grandparents, parents, and uncle all wanted to buy DS soooo many souvies, but he wasn't even asking for any of them! It was us! We were all over the top, excited because it was DS' first trip to Disney.
We brought lots of snacks that DS wasn't that interested in either.
Basically we brought way too much stuff and spent too much money unnecessarily trying to "save" money in advance.
I would stick to a budget that you enforce with your kids and yourself.
On our second trip to DL last December, I cut back on the pre-trip buying. We brought less snacks. I budgeted for things I knew DS would like, such as having ice cream in the parks every day. Yes it's more expensive than buying it outside of Disney or buying a gallon and parking it in the hotel room freezer, but it was the experience and memories surrounding it that were really worth it. Plus now I have pictures of us eating ice cream every single day, and it reminds us all of how much fun we had eating together.
If the adults want to go wild, let them go to the outlets or
WalMart.
Just my 2 cents...
Have fun!
