souvies-how much, how little?

[monalsw]

i'm thinking about souvies now, and wondered how much you've spent...and how little you've spent?

i just keep thinking of all the shops, and the things that i've passed up 'til next trip'. well, the 'next trip' is here and i'm ready to shop!

what did you buy, that cost so much or so little?

tia

 

[Mickeyhugger]

I never kept track of how much DH, DD and I spent on souvies over the years. (Main reason being, I didn't want to go into shock and depression.) While there in 1999, we took advantage of a deal that was being offered by AX, which if we spent 50.00 or more at World of Disney, we'd receive 15% off w/the AX card. The CM at the register jokingly told us to 'look the other way' when it was totaled. (We did. I'd bought a Pooh terry robe for myself, plus DD's Cinderella stuff.)

In 2001, we were there for DD's 7th birthday, and bought the 'Disney doll' which was 40.00. I can't remember what else we purchased.

I'd say we've averaged 200.00 (or more) each trip. (Way too much!)

 

[TimeWarp]

I'd say $300 or a little more:
T-shirts for 4
Hats for 4
Nightshirt for me
mini ride vehicles for kids(hot wheel size)$5x6
mini flags from Epcot $2x16
2 small stuffed characters
Christmas ornament
Light twirly things from MK
necklaces for kids at MGM

 

[Uncleromulus]

Varies from trip to trip. I'm always on the lookout for a new Disney watch, or a Disney tie. I always end up with at least two new Disney T-shirts. Also like to find new long sleeve, non-dress shirts with Disney logo.

 

[mickeysaver]

I guess being a DINK has it's priviledges. We spend around $200 to $1000 per trip on goodies. This includes everything from pressed pennies to a couple of nice collectable pieces. There are some t-shirts and maybe a hat or two too. I just depends on how long we are there and how much "fun money" we have to blow. We don't put our trips on credit cards. We only spend what we have saved for the trip.

Souveniers are wonderful reminders of the magic! Do not underestimate their importance. Mickey

 

[hockey mom]

We just spent around $700 for a family of 5 this last trip.(6 days, ouch)
New t-shirt for each-$100
pins and more pins-$100
christmas ornaments-$50
splash mountain picture and frame-$40
stuffed toys-$60
mugs and popcorn buckets-$25
Chritmas presents for kids-$150
pin lanyards and backpacks-$80
It sure doesn't take long.

 

[ohanaMAMA]

..Was limit what we bought in the parks. We told our daughters that if they didnt whine for stuff in the parks that at the end of our trip they could each have $50 to spend in the disney outlet stores. (at belz outlets in orlando) Suprisingly this worked like a charm!

We of course picked up a few things like mickey ears hats and new pins for dd8 to trade and as I had shopped at DS sales and dollar tree for disney related stuff for them to play with in the room we spent as little as $100 in the parks.

so approx $200-250 with what I NEEDED for MEE!!!!!

 

[missypie]

On our recent trip to DLR, we were exercising pretty much restraint on our purchases. I had given each child $50 that was theirs to spend on souveniers or extra snacks or take home and that worked very well. Then the last night we were there, we stopped at World of Disney and my DH bought about 25 of those kitschy character figurines! So now Pooh and friends grace the guest bathroom, Peter Pan and friends populate the family room, and the rest reside in my youngest daughter's bedroom.

 

[jazyjewel]

My souvies vary from trip to trip. I am usually the type that will pick something up, carry it around then put it back down (I am way too frugal).But, this past trip I decided to go crazy. I spent over $700 my last day down there. I bought tons of stuff at the disney home store. I have a Disney Kitchen, bathroom and den. I bought one of the disney dolls (the one that has the camera, mickey drink bottle, autograph book, etc.) and I got tons of pins. We almost couldn't fit everything in our car. If you have a disney club card or annual pass, I would buy everything you can at World Of Disney so you can get a 10% discount. Oh and don't forget all the cool scrapbooking supplies. They have Mickey Mouse border cutters.
Julie

 

[jann1033]

not a big souviner (sp) hound as I never love it as much at home as i do there..I am going to do some pressed pennies this time and maybe a couple pins for me not to trade. a new sweatshirt since my old one has seen better days. usually we spend $100 each, probably less this time...unless I find a watch I really like or I could just actually get a new battery for my old one that I still like!

 

[georgina]

I generally stick to mugs and shirts, but we were there in December last year when they had the Candlelight processional discount, and went a little crazy at Epcot - ornaments in germany, Fontanini figures in italy, lots of Christmas hats and a jingle bell Pluto. We also bought a beautiful painted water pitcher at the AKL gift shop. I think that was my most expensive purchase, about $70. DH collects the candy boxes with the holographic covers, have 4 or 5 of those.

 

[tjkraz]

I want to build upon ohanaMAMA's comments about the outlet stores. There are a couple of different stores in the Belz outlet and another in the Premier Outlet. Our last two trips we have visited these locations and found GREAT deals.

Most notably we paid $20 for a polo shirt that was originally $50, and $30 for a terry cloth sweatshirt that was originally $65. Some of the items at the outlets are related to ending promotions (the polo listed above was purchased in Jan '03 and had the '100 yrs' logo), but others may just be discontinued styles. The $65 sweatshirt noted above is solid white with the 4 park "icons" on the front. I'm a sucker for that "icon" stuff and probably would have paid full price for that one.

In fact, we also got our son one of the "My First Trip to Disney World" shirts at the outlet for $4. Saw the EXACT same shirt in the park stores the next day for $12 or 15.

We've now made it our habit to get to the outlets early in our trip so that we can stock up on bargains before we start paying full price for similar items elsewhere. If you've got access to a car while at WDW it is definitely worth your time to check out these off-site stores. Premier is no more than 10 minutes from the Downtown Disney area, while Belz is probably 20 minutes away.

 

[Rock'n Robin]

We have some pins, shirts, Christmas ornaments, etc. and I don't want to think about it.
And on our cruise last year we had to get DCL stuff!!
One thing I hesitate to mention--a lot of the Disney stuff is not of the best quality. Some is obvious--DD#2 got one of those comb/mirror combos for $6 and it broke in a week. But we have also had shirts where the thread on the bottom started unraveling after one wash, or buttons popped off way before their time. Just today I was using a nice Boardwalk pen DH bought and it just popped apart for no apparent reason--and now it won't fit back together. I got some Christmas hot chocolate in a tin and the top would not fit on the tin, so it was useless (who puts powder in an open tin??)
So be choosy. Pins are a good bet, and picture frames, and the ornaments are nice. If you do get something defective (we bought an alarm clock and when we put batteries in at home we found out one arm wouldn't work) call their merchandise number and they'll replace it. This does not apply to stuff that gets broken in transit, however.
Robin M.

 

[jann1033]

hmm, I had purchased stuff like that at the Belz outlet a few years ago and assumed it was defective or old or something and that was why it fell apart..maybe not.

 

[purplebelle]

Typically how much do stuffed animals run? I'm not talking about majorly big ones, or the little beanie ones. I'm thinking like...12" or something? Even at 20, I'm never too old for a Disney character of my own!

 

[missypie]

We brought home a very cute TinkerBell alarm clock for DD and it doesn't work well at all ... hands get stuck ...

 

[jazyjewel]

Originally posted by purplebelle
Typically how much do stuffed animals run? I'm not talking about majorly big ones, or the little beanie ones. I'm thinking like...12" or something? Even at 20, I'm never too old for a Disney character of my own!

I believe I paid $25 each for my Daisy and Goofy. They are the medium size, and I small Stitch (bigger than the beanie tho) was $12
Julie

 

[purplebelle]

Thanks, jazyjewel! Now I have an idea.

 

[ncbyrne]

DH and I are grandparents. Most of our WDW trips are just the two of us. We're not into Disney collectibles, t-shirts, hats and that sort of thing. We usually spend somewhere between $300-$500 and most of it is spent in the Ecpot WS shops. DH is always looking for a unique wine, and we both find things for the house. Last trip I bought a beautiful pair of Japanese silk pajamas.

 

[shelleyz]

We spent about $285 last week. Still have all my receipts. Much less than I thought we would spend. Hubby didn't want anything and DS4 and DS2 didnt ask for as much as I thought they would. I think we spent more on ice cream for the week. LOL