Your favorite Souvies and special things to do????

[TheDisneyBunch]

Ok, I am trying to figure on how much money we should take and such. I know with this being our first trip I want to get some cute souvenirs and maybe do a couple cute things with my 2 year old son.

So, on a smaller budget mind you..lol What would be your top choices of special things to do with a 2 year old in Disney and how much? Also what and where to be unique or cool souvenirs of our trip?

Any ideas of anything you really enjoyed inexpensive or even free that would be very special to us would be greatly appreciated.

Also we love decorating in Disney so any things you know of that would be cool to bring home to sit around the house would be great too!

Thanks for any tips!! I can't wait to see everyones choices!!

 

[legalslave]

With a two year old, you're going to want lots of pictures. Buy different Disney frames while you are there to put some of your favorites in, and there you have it - souveniers that decorate!!

 

[Mickeyistheman]

In March I was doing some last minute shopping in DTD and I came across this little store that was sort of hidden and everything in the store was $10 and under! They had cute magnets and little toys for the kiddies. I bought myself an adorable Window shade for the car is was $6. I also bought some magnets and pens for coworkers. Key chains and other things were inexpensive. I am sure you could find some things for your family to take home and not break the bank. It was across from the Christmas shop if I am not mistaken.

Good Luck!

1989- First time in Disney Offsite
1992- Disney Offisite
1995- Disney Offisite
1997- First time on site All Star Music
2001 Oct- Coronado Springs
2002 Feb- Disney Wonder
2002 May- All Star Movies
2003 Nov- Disney Wonder and Coronado Springs
2004 Feb- Coronado Springs
2004 Nov- Pop Century
2005 Mar- Pop Century
Coming soon 2005 Aug Coronado Springs

 

[dmslush]

With a two year old, you're going to want lots of pictures. Buy different Disney frames while you are there to put some of your favorites in, and there you have it - souveniers that decorate!!

That is what I did on this last trip. Most of the frames in disney run from $9 to $25. I bought ton of them and have had the best time sorting pictures to go in them.

 

[zen1]

Lots and lots of pictures of your son with like Mickey Mouse, Pooh, JoJo,etc. is a great souvie and then to buy speical picture frames to put them in is a great thing to do( like someone already said).

I think your son might get a kick out of making is very own Disney Mr. Potato Head, at Once upon a Toy Store in downtown Disney. They have all kinds of different Disney parts that you can put on your Mr. Potato Head. I have not done it myself(yet anyway), but it looks like a lot of fun and he looks really cute in all the Disney gear! I am not sure on the price, but I think it is about $18. But you get this box that you can fill up as many parts as you can fit into the box( but you still have to be able to close the box).

 

[nluvwithmickey]

Another great souvenir is a Christmas ornament, you can get them personalized. I like stuff that last so this is a must have evrytime we go.

I buy a photo album to put all my pictures in. Some of the albums even come with a pen and you can writ next to each photo special memories about the picture. I am not very artistic so I think this is a nice alternative to scrapbooking.

 

[susykt4]

Another vote for Potato Head parts! Our DS2 loves them. He also likes his personalized Mickey ears and loves looking at the trip photos. Another favorite is his Buzz spinning flashlight.

 

[bubba73]

I always get magnets, coffee mugs for my Dad, and either a deck of cards or a golf ball for me. We take tons of pictures and have recently started collecting the trading pins.

As far as fun, cheap (or free) things, if you go to www.allearsnet.com, it has a list of free stuff that you can do. You can go and have a great time on a budget.

 

[luv2nascar]

Our two year old got a princess sweatshirt and JoJo circus tshirt both from outlets. She got a set of nemo and friends plastic figures which we play with everyday for about $12 in Living Seas. She got a medium sized stuffed JoJo in MGM outside of playside disney for $18 which she totally adores. We also got some of the photopass photos to remember the trip by.

 

[bcvgal]

We always get a new antenna topper. Everytime I'm in the car I see it and it makes me remember the great times.

 

[penchris]

Get a Baby's Haircut at the babershop on mainstreet in the Magic Kingdom. You get a certificate, hair clipping, and Mickey Ears with First Haircut embroidered on. Priceless photo-op.

 

[It's A Happy Day]

Whenever my family - DH, DS4, DD3 & me go anywhere the rule of thumb is they get to pick out a magnet for the fridge with the name of where we are. Musuems, Tourist attractions, etc. So this will be one souvenir - or should I say several magnets because we'll probably buy a few - one from each park, etc. And also a T-Shirt with tourist attractions name on it. Disneyworld is a little more escalated in that we are planning to get:
1.) magnets - 1 per park and 1 for resort?
2.) Christmas ornaments - 1 per child (I have always given them a new ornament every year since birth so this year it will be DISNEY)
3.) I have recently started scrapbooking and have started each child their own book so that they can look through it for memories - so pictures will be a priority to add to this.
4.) We also plan on buying the a "keepsake" - something more expensive - maybe artwork - that they will have forever from their 1st trip to WDW
5.) the kids have both been told and will be reminded that they can pick out 3 things for themselves - toys, lightup things, etc. I plan on doing the potato head thing for them so I can add that in too.
Boy, looking at this list...must save more spending money

 

[scrapperjill]

Another thing about the Mr. Potato Head...is you can pre buy your potato head at target or some place like that for CHEEP...then for $18 at WDW you can get just the box to stuff....From what I hear you can fit ALOT more things in the box with out the head in there also...TIP....bring the head on your trip with you (but leave at your resort)...so you son can play with it after you get all the goodies. The idea is to fit as much as you can in the box. And like others have said they have some cute disney related items for the head....

 

[ChrisLei]

ScrapperJill, that is a wonderful idea! My question is, arethe itemscompatible with the Mr. Potato Head from Target? Does anyone know? My son would absolutely LOVE this! But I want to make sure first,LOL.

 

[It's A Happy Day]

Yes the pcs are compatible with the regular size Mr. Potato head. You can pick them up at Walmart/Target/KB Toys for around 6-8 bucks depending. The only difference with pcs. are the ones in Disney are themed and cannot be purchased anywhere else. Make sure you get the hands/arms that hold things like ice cream cones, etc. because you won't be able to use these add ons without the hands!

 

[pigletmom]

Every time we went to WDW we took a picture of our kids in front of the baseball player outside of Casey's on Main St. You can do it in front of any recognizable large object, the idea being to pick something that you can see the growth of your kids over the years. I love to look at the pictures and "remember when"

We are a baseball family, so we picked the ballplayer. There is a cigar store Indian, as well as many signs and decorations. Just make sure that you pick something that will be there over the years- I knew the ballplayer had been there for over 10 years.

Also, my kids loved the Passports in the WS in Epcot. They are under $10 (the last time we used them) and in each country there is someone who will write you child's name in that language, as well as another sentence or two. Each country has a "kidcot station" where your child can make something and add to it in each country, giving you time to browse in a shop or two!

Also, most sit-down restaurants have a Mickey-shaped straw that I always took home for the kids to "remember the magic." I purchased 2 clear bowls with a Mickey-design for $5 each in the Emporium while DH staked out a spot for the parade. The kids and I like to use them for cereal in the morning now, but I brought some small cereal boxes with us so the kids could eat in the morning before we made an early start into the parks.

Lastly, every few years we had a silouhette picture done of the kids for under $10 (w/ frame under $20). You get 2 pictures for the price of one, so we bought another frame and had a nice present for grandparents!

 

[Shannon G]

When we wnet in January, my 2 1/2 year old DD loved the pressed penny machines. She liked to put the money in, then watch it press the penny. We bought a pressed penny book to keep them in, and let her get pressed pennies at all of the machines we saw. Kept her happy, she was able to get a lot of them, and it was cheap!

 

[Soarin2Disney]

My son (who is 15) Bought a big donald duck a while back, and every time he goes he gets ride pins or resort pins to put on it. I dont know about for a 2 year old, but its a good keep sake to have

 

[RoRoLovesEeeee]

One thing I did for DD this past trip which was inexpensive and priceless is I bought er an autograph book and then took pics with her meeting all the characters. When I got home, I glued the corresponding picture on the page next to the autograph and decorated with sickers and other embelisshments. Now DD has her very own scrapbook. I am big into preseving our family history so I took tons of pictures on the trip and have started doing a large family scrapbook.

 

[tdelano]

I always buy the Disney washcloths that come folded up very tightly and you expand them by putting them in water.. they are a couple of dollars each and are fun to use at home on a daily basis.. we also each pick out a plastic tumbler to use, each family member choosing a different character..