Souveniers that are worth the $$??

[funnygarcia]

Haven't done WDW yet but have done frequent trips to DL..
Tinkerbell mug-- daily use
antennae balls -- we collect them, it's fun to see what's new.
Mr Potato Head parts -- I keep a list of what I have and a wishlist of new stuff, I teach preschool so this gets used.
Nightmare Before Christmas -- pick out one new item each year, loved my winter hat until one of my boys lost it wahhhhhhhh

My best souvies this year:
Mickey head earrings
socks with emboidery of mickey/minnie
red spring jacket with lining - nice emboidery of Minnie on the back, passed it up last year when they had Tinkerbell ones (sticker shock). Bought out of necessity as it was dreary cold and rainy on last trip (plus had a coupon and got the socks and earrings for free)
Picture of me standing in front of castle. Tink in my hand .. very sweet!

 

[HeatherinNC]

I think the best souvenier is a nice WDW frame to put a picture of your family while at the World. Also, we always get the photo album with the year of our trip on it. We not only kept one for ourselves, but made double prints of our trip and gave an album to the grandparents. I like getting things that we can display in our home, rather than end up on the bottom of a closet. I also like key chains, so I always get one.

 

[LIFERBABE]

Our favorite souvenirs are

The framed silouhettes of my 2 Ds's. They hang in the entry of our home. So I get to look at them every day. I love them!

The Plumeria plants we purchased Christmas 2004. They are in pots in our front yard, and those sticks now have leaves!! I get to look at those every day too. I cant wait for them to flower!

Oh! We purchased both at DTD.

 

[Hannathy]

I agree with the silouhettes! I don't usually do souv. anymore for myself.
for DD the charm bracelet with all the princesses.
for DS the well made wooden rifle he got at MGM by the Indiana Jones ride.He plays with that constantly and is very well constructed and will be a keepsake (my nephew still has his from 20 yrs ago)

My kids don't want the junk either and we really don't buy much unless it is special or well made.

 

[CJMZ]

Inh's Mom -

I got the ice cube trays at the resort(Carribean Beach) giftshop - there were many kitchen related items there - ice cube trays, ice cream scoop, pizza cutter someone already mentioned along with pricier items, the waffle maker, toaster etc. - I did buy a few of these types of items for people back home, and I occasionally see them when visiting. It is fun to incorporate a little Disney in everyday activities, and I love to cook, so it was easy for me.
The cookbook - Cooking with Mickey Vol. II I got at MGM studios at one of the giftshops near the front entrance (as best as I can remember).

 

[Pixiedust34]

I use refillable mugs from the resort every day.

We collect magnets and buy a magnet for our collection when we go anywhere. I already have a magnet from each park, but we can buy a new one for each trip with the year on it and buy a magnet or 2 that represent our favorite rides during that trip. I hope there is a Pop Century magnet!

My dd LOVES her plush Figment.

I bought the Mickey Mouse ice cube tray, but I don't use it as often as I'd like to. Is there a trick for getting the ice cubes to fall out of a rubber tray easily? I wish the tray were plastic.

I bought a CD with Disney theme park songs on it and we enjoy listening to it. Actually, I didn't buy it while we were at WDW. I called Disney after our trip and ordered it then.

 

[Laurajean1014]

Beach towels are the best - very high quality items.

Christmas ornaments are great too!

 

[polkadotladybug]

For our trips and cruises (and planned trip in 3 weeks) - we always get a photo album with the date (all my other photos sit in the sleeves - trip pics are the only ones that get put in an album - am I slack or what? LOL

We also get a Christmas ornament and a t-shirt - at least for the girls. They usually get ONE stuffed animal - per trip. (we've only been three times with them) We have a zillion and one stuffed animals, but if they can pick out ONE - they are usually pleased. They are a little older - so maybe they won't want one (who am I kidding??). They have said they each want a Princess outfit for their American Girl dolls - so maybe that will suffice!

Before we go, we will stock up on light sticks, etc at the Dollar Store (I do that for 4th of July, summer nighttime events, etc too) - I always feel awful telling them they can't have that stuff from the vendors - it's so overpriced and you just throw it away!! (I don't feel awful enough to NOT say no though...)

I have a Disney Cruise coffee mug that I use every morning - I need a WDW one!

We have gotten Mickey (or Minnie) antenna balls but those always get stolen off our car. I'd love to find a license plate frame (but I DETEST that "been there, done that" phrase).

 

[nicknamy1996]

The one thing that I buy each year is a photo album (my wife is a different story)

The other thing that I think you get the most mileage out of is family park photos. We usually buy one from each of the 4 parks. I budget for it ahead of time so I'm prepared and know I will be buying them. But if I think back to our first trip, our second trip and even our third trip just about the only items purchased in the parks that are still displayed and enjoyed are the 5 x 7 family pictures that are framed throughout the house.

I like the thought of beach towels too.

Every year I say I'm going to buy a "sculpture" or art piece or some other nice collectible. I always say I'd rather spend 300 on one thing we will keep forever rather than 10 $30 items that we will use, lose or break... but I'm yet to actually do it.

 

[dancin Disney style]

My most prized souveniers are photos. We have my all time fav framed and hanging in our living room. It is a pic of the 4 of us in front of the castle at MK. Every time I look at it I smile and remember that trip. In my opinion photos are priceless.

 

[jbdreamer]

Picture Frames! It's the one thing I see every day from my vacations. I have a neat Splash Mountain one with our SM picture, and on my desk at work I have an MGM one with Mickey dressed as a dirctor and an picture of us on the main street of MGM. It reminds me of our vacation everyday!

They are about $20 a piece.

 

[Earstou]

My first purchase was a keychain in 1975. I used it until about 5 years ago, when it broke! I now have another WDW one. I bought my mom a salt and pepper set on the same trip, and she used them until she moved to a smaller place about three years ago.
Other favorite souvenirs have been christmas ornaments, magnets and mini statues for a shadow box. For the shadow box, we try to find an animal from the area we are visiting. WDW is easy, since there are so many characters to choose from!
I also buy jewelry when on vacation. My last purchase was a Tink necklace and earrings. I wear them quite a bit!

 

[nbodyhome]

Maps, Disney stickers (all free!)

 

[calie_j]

My favorite souvenir from WDW is a glass cutting board we got at the France pavilion, they had alot with pretty pictures on them and it looks great on my buffet, it was surprisingly inexpensive at under $20. Some other household decorations we've gotten on trips is windchimes, a decorative tealight candle holder, switchplate covers, framed pictures. I even try to steer the kids into getting something useful to decorate their room, DS got a ricebowl in Japan to decorate his dresser.

If the kids need clothes we'll buy those, DS needed a keychain for his locker keys at school so we found a stitch one he still uses, DD got a folding brush with princess's on the handle for her dance bag which we use all the time to put her hair up before lessons. We've also done beach towels, picture albums for the trip pictures, beach bags, etc when needed.

Calie

 

[kfeuer]

I think the $99 Photopass CD is a fantastic souvenir. If you decide to get it up front and seize every opportunity to get your pictures taken (and there are lots) you will likely end up with some fantastic pictures. We got amazing pictures of our boys last trip. I took the CD to Sams Club and was able to print copies for all our family members without breaking the bank.

My favorite souveneirs are things I can use around the house. I love Disney related kitchen items. I got one of those pretty multi-colored handmade ceramic zebras from Africa 7 or 8 years ago, and I just love it. One of my favorite souvies from our last trip were these large wooden dice from the toy shop in England (very cute on a shelf in the boys bedroom). I think they were $2.99 apiece.

Obviously everyone's taste is different, but souveneirs at Disney go far beyond the typical stuff, and not everything is expensive. Have a great trip!

 

[eliza61]

My DH & I tend to buy things that we can use around the house. We always get a picture frame for our respective desk at work. A photo album to keep our memories and a spoon holder for the stove top. My kids get to pick 1 thing to buy, usually its a toy that really doesn't cost much so if it gets tossed in a few months it doesn't bug me. 2 years ago I splurged on a leather mickey motorcycle jacket for ~350 bucks ( I had just purchased a new motorcycle, so of course I needed a new jacket too. LOL)

 

[S. C.]

Our favorite souvenirs are

The framed silouhettes of my 2 Ds's. They hang in the entry of our home. So I get to look at them every day. I love them!Oh! We purchased both at DTD.

HOW... did i ever forget to mention the silouhettes? The silouhettes are great i love them, they are the best souveniers i've ever bought at Disney.

 

[crisi]

The kids:

Autograph books have been to Disney twice and will go on their second cruise.

My daughter gets TONS of use out of the princesses dresses we buy. They are pricey, but in terms of bang for the buck - way better than all the little toys.

Grown ups:

We buy a tshirt or sometime every trip or two.

Mickey watches - I have one and my husband has one. They weren't cheap, and both ours are subtle, but we wear them regularly.

I have an original cell I bought years ago that hangs in my house. Once again, bang for the buck, I'm very pleased, although it wasn't cheap. Its also appreciated significantly.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Our master bath is decorated with Mickey icon towels, candles, soaps, etc. We had towels monogramed @ MGM with my DH, DS & my name. Another favorite is a poster we had made at Epcot. It has my DS (when he was younger) parachuting over WDW with Mickey & Donald. I had it framed, & hung it in my Mickey bathroom. We also got a mouse pad at Epcot with the 3 of us with assorted Disney characters. It gets lots of use. It's time for a replacement.

 

[PaulaSue]

I really like the charms for the bracelts (dangly ones) for the girls and me besdies the pins.