Souvenir buying advice for those on tight budgets

[cjparker0110]

I know everyone has their own opinion on how much to spend. I've seen some that budget as much as $100/day per person while others might have a budget of $100/trip per person for souvenirs. I know souvenirs are not cheap at WDW. I guess I am just curious what those of you who are on a tight budget plan to spend on souvenirs per person per day. I know we will have 4 kids with us when we go and I don't want them to end up with just junk, but I don't want to break the bank on things either. What is the average?

(If money is no object for you, please don't comment with high amounts. That won't help me at all. Thank you for your understanding!)

 

[rwdavis2]

The answer is, "how much can you afford?" Also, what kind of souvenirs do you like? The question is so open-ended it's tough to give an answer. You could very well spend $100 a day or $100 a trip. If you go over easywdw dot com Josh regularly posts photos of souvenirs and their price tags.

It's very easy to spend a lot of money even on "little" things.

 

[rtbreneman]

We usually budget around $100 or $200 per person per trip. If you have a vehicle, I would recommend hitting the Disney outlet store near the parks to make your dollar stretch a little further. Or even hitting up your local Wal-Mart for a T-shirt or two before the trip.

Our other money saver is to go to dollar tree before our trip, buy seven or eight smaller Disney themed items to spring on the kids when they want an impulse item. "Oh, you want a 25 dollar Disney water bottle? How about an Anna and Elsa sticker book that I bought for a buck?" That usually holds them off until the next sparkly item grabs their attention.

 

[wdwjeffc37]

For souvenirs we always get everyone a t-shirt to commemorate our trip. For the house/family we usually find a refrigerator magnet, picture frame, snow globe, or Christmas ornament. My wife and I collect antenna toppers so we will pick up a couple each if there are some new designs. Then we allow the kids to pick one thing for their "big" souvenir ($20-30). We advise them to look around and make a good choice instead of just buying the first thing they see. If they have their own money then they can get whatever they want. We go a lot so souvenirs are not as big a deal anymore. I would say that for our family of four we spend about $200 on souvenirs for a week long trip. We sometimes bring small gifts home for people who are watching our house and pets while we are gone. If your kids are old enough to understand set an affordable budget for them and tell them when it's gone it's gone. It can be hard with children when you are in one of the most "in your face" marketing places in the world. Cheers!!!!!!!

 

[3Gsandme]

This is just a really impossible question to answer because "tight budget" means vastly different things to different people. In all honesty, you don't have to buy souvenirs at all. What I would do is suggest that relatives gift the kids with disney gift cards for their next few gift giving events. You're not heading back until 2017 which should get each child a couple of gift giving occasions each. Then, they spend their gift cards and when they're done, they're done. That's what we did. My kids had gift cards from relatives and earned money from dh and I for souvenirs by doing extra chores around the house. Dh and I bought them their ear (a gift from he and I) and their Christmas ornaments. They bought whatever else they wanted.

 

[mom2AidanAndEli]

We don't have a set amount, but my kids have never been into buying much anyway! I almost have to beg them to pick out something! We do get a dated ornament and dated magnet on each trip--those are for the family. T-shirts for the boys. They collect pins now, so a nice pin for each of them. Not a whole lot more than that really. If they see something that catches their eye, we'll grab it. But we just don't go overboard. (I'm actually more the problem than they are!)

But keep in mind that you can do some really inexpensive or free souvenirs as well...

Pressed pennies. Give each a roll of quarters and a bunch of pennies. They'll have fun picking out the ones they want and it won't break the bank.

Sorcerer of the Magic Kingdom cards. Even if they're not playing the game, these cards are a great keepsake! Each person can get a pack of cards each day they visit Magic Kingdom. (Yes, you may have to play one portal to get your next pack, but that takes all of 5 minutes.) If you don't want to do that, you can at least get the initial set of cards for everyone on your first visit.

Transportation cards. Drivers on the buses, monorail, boats will sometimes have these cards. Not always, but it doesn't hurt to ask!

Wilderness Explorers book/stickers. At Animal Kingdom, another collecting kind of game for the kids.

So not every souvenir has to cost a lot!

 

[ToTLaugher]

We tend not to spend too much, but not sure what the average is. I think the key is choosing carefully what you purchase. Encourage the kids to buy things you know they will use for a long time and avoid the cute but gimmicky things. The things I find longest lasting are mugs, t-shirts and antenna toppers. We drink from the mugs everyday, our youngest enjoys hot chocolate in the mugs. The antenna toppers last us forever, because I put them on skewer sticks and place them in a vase, so I have an antenna topper bouquet. They never go on the car. Hope that helps with some ideas

 

[JPKnapp]

For my family of 5 (kids=7,4,&2), we spent around $200 for the entire week. We have 2 staples - Picture frame and Christmas Ornament. ($60 total). Each kid got $30 for a 'big' take home souvenir. What saved us a lot of money was our upfront rule of "No deciding on days 1-3". Also, I bought a ton of the glow bracelets on Amazon for $20 and we took about 50 to the park each night. My kids enjoyed handing them out and the other kids enjoyed getting them. Note: be careful transporting and storing. My 2 year old threw an entire tube of them off the top of the dresser (he's a climber) at 9am. They all lit up and were dead by sundown.

 

[Mikie]

We're definitely below the 100/person/day numbers. Like some others, we have some "standard" souvenirs we always get (Christmas ornaments for the family & one for each child that they'll get to take when they move out) and I walk the kids through the thought process of thinking of things they like (trading pins, t-shirt, stuffed animal) and how much those items cost, then adding a bit for impulse buys. We do ask relatives to give a gift card for bday or Christmas and the kids use allowance/chore money, so it's mot just an extra $300 on the trip budget.

Two things that have really cut down on our excess souvenir spending: prressed pennies, which are an activity in themselves and keep them busy when we're in stores; and buying a cute shirt or two prior to the trip. I did it so I knew we'd have a couple nice, coordinated pictures, but it ended up satisfying their desire for a new Disney T, which would have been twice as much in the park.

 

[ldymcbth]

I buy the family items, which are an ornament, an antenna topper, and a magnet. That's usually around $40. And then the kids buy their own from Disney gift cards they have been given for holidays, etc - they usually have about $50 each to spend. I found that making them responsible for their own souvenirs and having a hard "budget" for them (since the budget is whatever their gift cards have on them) makes them more thoughtful about what they buy. Otherwise they ask for everything!

I do make a small bag for each of them with glow sticks, stickers, etc., and "Mickey" leaves that for them in the room. I can usually get all of that stuff at the dollar store or Walmart.

 

[poppinspenguins]

If you have a car go to the rea disney character warehouses (there are 2, one is being Refurbed though) great stuff. I got a Disney tree skirt for 39...saw the same one at epcot next day for 80. Starter pin set for 10 bucks. Husband has gotten 2 high quality Adidas soccer jackets (I'm sure they were originally in uk pavillion) marked down from 70 to 29. They really have good stuffmt's not all clearance stuff. Search touringplans blog for the memories and merch write up once a month. It gives highlights of what's at outlet

We try to do outlet early in trip and sometimes it keeps us from buying anything at parks. I think 200 per trip is a good guideline for us. Usually a photo album..ornament...tshirt...and something else that catches our eye. (Love that tree skirt!)

 

[sharonabe]

We are probably the minority here. On any trip we take, the one souvenir we buy is a magnet for our fridge, so that includes Disney. We have two boys, and at Disney they get ONE souvenir of their choice. The price range has changed through the years, but it's usually around $30. That souvenir is normally bought near the last day of the trip, so they have a chance to shop around and think about it. If I see a T-shirt I like, I get it. The only other souvenirs we take home are the pressed pennies and quarters we get throughout the parks and resorts.

 

[aidansmom]

I'd guess we spend @ $150 for our family of six over the entire trip. I think this is just a personal preference thing from family to family. While we tend to stay deluxe, do plenty of table service meals, etc., souvenir purchasing is definitely not a significant part of our budget. I guess it's a matter of what you prefer to spend your money on. We go every 2-3 years and I always buy a personalized ornament in the Liberty Square Christmas shop to commemorate each trip and we have our kids' silhouettes cut. We always buy them autograph books at the beginning of the trip, as well, and have always found them very worthwhile. But, that's pretty much it.

For our family, souvenirs seem largely a waste of time and money. In the midst of what can be a somewhat overstimulating (though wonderful) experience, we like to avoid the confusion/regret/meltdowns etc. that choosing souvenirs can create in young kids. We take tons of pictures and we all love looking back on those - they become our favorite souvenir. I suppose it comes down to knowing your own family and what is important for you to spend money on. A trip to WDW is certainly a sufficiently amazing experience, that I don't think you're missing out by not purchasing souvenirs.

 

[tomatecerise]

Buy things you Will use at home, you Will rememorate your trip each Time. Stuffed animals for kids (They Will Be there when They stick or just to sleep), Beach towels (We use all days) or coffee, hot chocolate mugs. Salt and pepper shakers or mesuring cups. I use my mesuring cups all The Time.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

We don't buy a whole lot at Disney, and it's not due to budgetary restraints. I just don't find a lot of value in many of the souvenirs because my kids suffer from "shiny penny syndrome" in that they want every single thing they see and then lose interest in it as soon as we get home. I can't live in a house full of junk, so I stop the junk from coming in in the first place. What we do is typically tell the kids they can pick one "big" thing for the week, but only one, so they have to choose wisely. The shops in the parks have almost all the same stuff, so it isn't like you're going to miss out on something exclusive by waiting until another park to buy something. We don't put a dollar limit on the One Thing, but I think the most they've spent is about $35 each on Woody and Jessie dolls. My MIL joined us in Epcot for a day on our last weeklong trip and ended up spending $1 million on Duffy bears and accessories for the kids. I told them earlier in the trip there was no way I was spending that amount of money on a bear I knew they'd never play with at home so to ask Grandma when we met up with her. LOL. And I was right...since that trip last December, both Duffys have sat on shelves in my kids' rooms, practically ignored.

I've found that pressing pennies is something that they seem to enjoy just as much as buying souvenirs, so that has really become our primary souvenir for the kids on our trips.

 

[Kathryn777]

We don't buy a lot either. They can each pick one thing for the trip, generally under 30$. They never want what they buy once they get home. We just stay out of the stores. I'm not a fan of it for myself either, so it isn't like they watch me buying stuff

I agree with the pressed pennies, those can be fun to do.

 

[EagleFlyer]

We usually allow our kids to pick out one "big" item in the $20-$30 range per trip and new ears or a hat has become a tradition too. On our last trip we also let them each pick out a pin in the under $10 range. That usually ends up being a total of about $60 or so per kid. We also bring with us a bunch of pennies and quarters and they can get all the pressed pennies they want, until we run out of change.

 

[rwdavis2]

Buy things you Will use at home, you Will rememorate your trip each Time. Stuffed animals for kids (They Will Be there when They stick or just to sleep), Beach towels (We use all days) or coffee, hot chocolate mugs. Salt and pepper shakers or mesuring cups. I use my mesuring cups all The Time.

Good idea. On a related note we found the measuring spoons to be off by 20%-30% to large.

 

[CinderElsa]

Buy things you Will use at home, you Will rememorate your trip each Time. Stuffed animals for kids (They Will Be there when They stick or just to sleep), Beach towels (We use all days) or coffee, hot chocolate mugs. Salt and pepper shakers or mesuring cups. I use my mesuring cups all The Time.

I like to buy things that will be used & enjoyed, not junk that will gather dust. Christmas ornaments, kitchenware, & beach towels are all great ideas.

 

[rwdavis2]

I like to buy things that will be used & enjoyed, not junk that will gather dust. Christmas ornaments, kitchenware, & beach towels are all great ideas.

We always get an ornament or 2. We have an entire tree of Disney items.