Inexpensive Souvenirs

[Belster]

I would love to hear about your favorite inexpensive souvenirs. What do you consider a hidden gem? :mickey:

[darthmacho]

My favorite inexpensive souvenirs are park maps and WDW pens! ;):secret::blush:

[lynnek]

Bucket of Aliens--best purchase for our little one. She loves them! Kind of a combo between army guys and those monkeys and they hurt just like legos when you step on them.:)

[Disney4us2]

Popcorn buckets

[plutosnana]

You should probably go to an outlet mall. I've been to an outlet mall about 20 minutes away from WDW, and they have a character outlet, with that they have Disney items, I'm not sure if you'd consider it a souvenir.. but its a bargain! :) It has Disney items that can relate to Disney World items. It has bouncy balls, Disney T's, buttons, cards, etc. etc.


:goofy:

[SBETigg]

I like collecting Christmas tree ornaments at WDW. They're not that expensive (though not as inexpensive as some ideas here) and every family member picks one out. When the kids leave home, they will take their ornaments with them and have a start on their own holiday traditions.

[Jillirose]

We have a glass top coffee table with a drawer that displays items. We always put in little momentos in advance of a trip or holiday. The Disney tokens I have include postcards, toy monorail, keychains, etc. My neices and nephews love to open the drawer and pull out the monorail and other tokens and play with them!

[marlyn]

I love my resort mugs and use them all the time!! They are usefull when at WDW and then when at home!:thumbsup:

[flipadeeflop]

I always get earrings! I love the mickey studs with gems!

[HoosierDisneyFan]

There is a shop in DTD between two buildings(more of a breezeway) that has many discounted items including a grad bag. I think it was $10 the last time I was there. You always get a variety of pens / pencils / stickers / etc. Well worth the $10 and a great mystery until you can open up the bag.

[PETE FROM NYC]

DW keeps all of the mugs and glasses she gets and uses them all the time.

[alaMode]

DS always wants to bring back a souvenir for everyone in his class, so I collect the free Mickey stickers he always receives from cms and then I buy multipacks of cute pencils or pens, or candy if there aren't any students with allergies in his class. He likes passing everything out when he returns to school after a trip and I only spend around $10 for 20+ children.

[Marionla]

I have found that some of the gift shopped have a small clearance section. I have bought acrylic salt and pepper shakers for 5.00 and other items just by looking around. Most of these dc'd items were in resort gift shops.

[Briansmom]

I will buy the card of hair pony tail bands that have the mickey head attached to them. I can use them all year long to pull back my hair and I think they are like $6 (alot for hair ties, I know, but I figure since I use them almost every day that I get my money's worth and I get reminded of Disney every time I use them!)

[merlinmagic4]

Pressed pennies!! My kids love them :)

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

Pressed pennies!! My kids love them :)

We do this also and you can get a book to put them in for about $6 at most of the gift shops

[Tink#64]

Antenna toppers! :stitch2:Can't be beat for the price, last I knew about $4.00 each. I have one for each holiday, seasons, sports, etc. Another cute inexpensive gift/souvenear I found last year, a magnet - a black classic Mickey that displays units of measurements for cooking! We buy at least one magnet every year, inexpensive & there on our fridge for us to see a little bit of WDW every day! :mickey:

[merlinmagic4]

I must be really cheap because all of my favorite souvenirs are on this thread! I love the antenna toppers and I buy a new magnet every year (somehow 2005 got lost :( ). I love my Disney coffee mug and my latest purchase (in April) was a Minnie iced coffee cup (which my dog then ate). I love the little things you can bring home to remind you of Disney all year long :cloud9:

[TheMartellFamily]

pens, pencils, shampoo and soaps from hotel stay. Resort mugs always a good use when we get home.

[Mickey91]

I love all the freebies in the room...soap, shampoo, pens, sometimes a resort post card, the disposable coffee cups...

Inexpensive ~ key chains, pins, mugs, buttons, car accessories

[LVT]

I enjoy the WDW themed D-rings. I use D-rings in various places and like having momentos instead of "D"s.

[Altair]

Cell phone charms at $5. I have three hanging from my camera bag.:mickey:

[joonyer]

We are not big time pin traders/collectors, but we get a pin or two on every trip, usually a dated or event themed one. They are less than $10. It's a good way to look back and remember our trips. We also love the Disney Christmas Ornaments, but we have spent good bit on those, so I wouldn't call them inexpensive.


We also have a good collection of the pressed pennies and we also get a new antenna topper or two every trip.

[EJS-Houston]

This may not be what you had in mind, but my photos are the best souvenirs of all...and now that we're in the era of digital cameras, it doesn't cost me one thin dime to take all the photos I want. At the end of the vacation, then, I get to make a slide CD of the entire vacation that I can watch and relive the experience whenever I want...plus I get to give copies to my friends and family who go to DisneyWorld with me.

[figmagination]

My favorite is a pin set I got one year. It consists of 4 pins. It was the Villains Being Bad. The set had Hades, Jafar, Maleficent, and Chernabog. Knowing the average costs of pins, this could be considered pricey to some. I got Hades, Jafar, and Maleficent in one trip. It took 2 trips to find the Chernabog pin! The year I got the others the CM we asked had a book with a list of pins, and it said it was retired. Two trips later, I believe we were in one of the shops on Main Street and I found it. The villains are my favorites, and this set is up there with my favorite souvenirs. :mickey:

[kemps@wdw]

oh gosh...let's see...
room freebies (soap, shampoos, towel animals, etc...)
I also collect any coasters, food tissue paper (clean, of course), napkins, paper menus, and receipts for my scrapbooks, park maps that I use to make a one-of-a-kind WDW property map to frame and hang, thousands of photos, and, oh yeah, the "family" car window decals with the family members, including pets, with the Mickey ears on!

[Fastpasssteve]

On our last trip, I brought home some caramel corn from Germany. Yeah...that didn't work out the way I planned, for I had eaten most of it before we landed back in Philadelphia.

If I have any left over Fast Passes in my pocket at the end of the trip, they make great items to put in a scrapbook...along with my plastic room key/park ticket.

[mom2mickeyfan]

I love the magnets with the year on them. It is one of the things I make sure I get every time we go. I get to see them all the time since they always go on my frig. The other thing I always get is the 4x6 photo album with the year. We started about 3 years ago getting my DS (age 5 now) a Disney Racer every year. I'm now on the hunt for a display case for them that I can hang on his wall.

[KAJUNKING]

We get the fridge magnets, and my wife really likes all the stuff for the kitchen, I also like to collect the watches you can get for like ten bucks with a certain purchase we always look for those deals

[Terra]

Popcorn buckets
LOVE those!! They make great bathtub toys or hot wheels cars holders!

I like collecting Christmas tree ornaments at WDW. They're not that expensive (though not as inexpensive as some ideas here) and every family member picks one out. When the kids leave home, they will take their ornaments with them and have a start on their own holiday traditions.
Yes! I've been slowly buying one here and there! I would love an all Disney tree one day!

There is a shop in DTD between two buildings(more of a breezeway) that has many discounted items including a grad bag. I think it was $10 the last time I was there. You always get a variety of pens / pencils / stickers / etc. Well worth the $10 and a great mystery until you can open up the bag.
Love that shop!!

Some of favs are my coffee mugs. I try to get one each time we go. $10 is a good price :) My keychains and dishes/cups for the boys!!

[AmandaChan]

I have a perfect one! At the Japan pavilion at the cash register in the very back you can get either a pink or blue decorated tea cup and they write your name on it in Japanese for only $2.00.. MIL got both me and SIL one. They used it for a shot glass. heh.

I think it 's a perfect little very cheap gift for friends at home.. If I would have thought of it at the time I would have gotten my 6 nieces one.

[LynBug]

This may not be what you had in mind, but my photos are the best souvenirs of all...and now that we're in the era of digital cameras, it doesn't cost me one thin dime to take all the photos I want. At the end of the vacation, then, I get to make a slide CD of the entire vacation that I can watch and relive the experience whenever I want...plus I get to give copies to my friends and family who go to DisneyWorld with me.


I agree! The photos are always the best thing to look back on :mickey: We also like to keep things like our "key to the world" card, our luggage tags, plane tickets, park maps, and things like that for our scrapbook.

As far as things to buy, we also collect the anntena toppers and Christmas onraments. I also have to buy a picture frame every year

[sixshot19]

Mine aren't cheap, but I LOVE the handpainted animation cels from the animation store in Disney studios.:mickey:

[IamBelle]

For a completely free souvenir, head to the Art of Disney Animation at DHS. They have an Animation Academy, where you learn how to draw one of your favorite Disney characters! We go at least once every trip! It is so much fun to do and you get to keep your drawing! It is a tradition in my family to go every trip, its fun to see how much better we are getting at drawing!! Out of all the times we have went, we have only repeated a character once.

For someone at home, you can send them a email video postcard for free! You can find it at Innoventions and I think there is also one at the end of Mission:Space...

[ShanPooh]

A couple people already mentioned the pressed pennies. Those are a favorite with our kids.

Along with photos, I'll say - postcards.

Someone a few years ago mentioned picking up a couple extra napkins at each meal. They would slowly use them throughout the year to prolong their Disney fix:D

[MNNHFLTX]

I like the keychains with the little foam mickey heads on them. I usually pick up several during each trip and then cycle them through as they wear out. My favorites have been from Animal Kingdom, where you can get them with leopard and zebra prints on them, but the patriotic ones are fun too. And every time I pull my keys out of my purse, I get a smile on my face. :mickey:

[Susan A]

I clear out the resort of all the free stuff, too! My dad brought home a stack of paper Mickey coasters on year.

I have also gotten packs of pens/pencils. When you break them up and give them out as gifts, it turns out to be an ok deal.
;)

[heatherj1025]

The first time my daughter went with her grandma she brought me a Norse horse keychain(2006). Let me tell ya that little sucker will leave a bruise if it hits you but it has lasted all these years on my keys.
U can find bargains in most of the shops if you just look hard enough. Our last trip was 2008 and I got my daughter the cutest little princess shirt marked from 19 or 20 down to 10. She outgrew it two years ago but refuses to part with it. Lol
I bought souveniers for 8 people and charged tips for 5 dinners and only spent 375.00 and as y'all know about 150 (only 3 of us) was for tips.

[SandmanGStefani24]

i have always liked little nick nacks from the World Showcase that were unique and that I hadnt seen before. (strange candy, at first, then other items)

Now however I am more into pins and the die cast vehicles, specifically ride vehicles and the WDW transport buses. One glance at them and I'm back home. :mickey:

So many little things that one doesn't really have a need for, but that we have to have because it makes us feel closer to WDW. I don't even drink coffee but I still had to get that mug! :D

[MrPeetrie]

I love my resort mugs and use them all the time!! They are usefull when at WDW and then when at home!:thumbsup:

Great one! We love ours, as well.

I have a story:
Back in 2002, we took my parents for their first trip. They loved it! On the last day, my dad kept telling my mom, "I have a surprise for you." He kept teasing her and wouldn't say what it was. Finally he said, "You want to know what it is?"

He took out a stack of Walt Disney World napkins he had hidden in her purse. We all laughed.

"That's your big surprise?" my mom said.

"You don't think it's much now. But in the summer when you have a cook-out, I'm going to set the table with these napkins and you're going to think of this trip all over again."

He was SOOOO right. We were all sad when they were gone. It was a great inexpensive (free) souvenir.

[BigRedDad]

Pressed Pennies/Quarters/Dimes...as long as you are not OCD on them like I am. It is not too cheap in the long run if you try to get them all. It will be something like $400. You can't do it all in one trip unless you have a car, at least one day devoted to it, and all machines functioning (unlikely).

I started our collection using 1971 coins (yes, year WDW opened). I am glad I bought a lot early on because specific coins from that year are worth a lot of money. I would not doubt I squished one with my luck.

[BigRedDad]

Mine aren't cheap, but I LOVE the handpainted animation cels from the animation store in Disney studios.:mickey:

LOL...we buy those too. We are collecting the Ink and Paint series. It is $300 each but we don't get everyone. Only the ones that we like and are limited.

[princessgirls]

I love my antenna topper, magnet, and keychain...but my favorite souvenir is.....

The Disney Beach Towels. They are about $20 each, and durable and you can dry about 7 of them on one dryer cycle. Good bang for the buck!!! LOVE THEM!!!

Julie:mickey:

[MrPeetrie]

I have a Mickey Mouse pen in my checkbook that I've had since our 2000 vacation. When it runs out of ink, I buy a refill cartridge. Each time I write out a check, I am reminded of Downtown Disney's World of Disney store. That's where I purchased it. I'm transported right back.

[Mrs.C]

A fun inexpensive souvenir I found last trip was the Mickey head straws at our resort food court. I think they we .25 each, made a great little gift for my son's class at school and for my nephews and niece! We have also bought a 4 or 5 pack of pens to give to friends and my son by far has loved his Disney buses and ride vehicles! He still will sit and play with them for an afternoon!! I agree with others, antenna toppers, resort mugs, magnets, etc... there are bargains, you just need to look!! :mickey:

[Suzi Q]

Stick on patches from the art of disney - 3.95 and I sew them on my mickey mouse jean jacket; the little charms - I think they are about the same price; a $7 grab bag from what we call the Disney Dollar Store (everything $10 or less in DTD) - we each get one and open them at the same time and trade what we want back and forth, one of our traditions!

[Suzi Q]

Another gem is those really nice quality postcards at the art of diz in DTD - tiny versions of the expensive framed artwork - I have 4 of them framed in black frames (from the dollar store!)...at $2 each per postcard, plus $1 for the frame, i have a nice little 'art' collection on my wall!

[iceicebritney]

We usually purchase a Christmas ornament that we have personalized with the year of our visit or the special reason for our visit, like "Sharon's 50th Birthday", etc.

Another thing we get is a pin from the hotel we are staying, or again for the year we were there if it was a significant year for our visit. We do not collect pins like others do, but I keep them on my bulletin board at work to remind me of all the fun trips we've taken in years past.:mickey:

[Terra]

Also a good way to have a "cheap(er)" souvenir, is to take a digi media picture of your favorite shot from your trip [or shots] and go to Walmart/Walgreens and put it on a mug, mousepad, plate, or calendar! So you have something too look at and enjoy all year!