what was i thinking?

[kgoulash]

my friend and i were talking about disney and how when you're there the magic takes over and suddenly crazy purchases make total sense
for example
my dh has to dress formally for work, yet at disney he resisted almost all purchases until he found the most colorful full of every disney character tie, of course when he got home he realized it was totally inappropriate for work.
my friend while pregnant decided she had to have a huge bright pink full length nightgown with huge minnies all over it for the hospital and then realized what she looked like in it once she got home
we all love disney but was there anything that seemed perfectly normal once in disney that made you say 'what was i thinking?' once home?

[MMouse6937]

I actually experienced the same thing when I bought a million accessories for my car one year when we were there. Not that I don't have my car accessorized with Disney stuff, but it was a little overboard. I never really thought of it untill my Dh was driving my car and then I thought, geez, he's probably really embarrassed to be driving this car :blush:

I also think people who buy the goofy hat. I mean, fun at WDW, but where else? Nowhere I guess. :D

[angedeaile]

This is why you gotta bring someone who isn't as influenced by the DW magic like us.

You need someone to talk you down! It helps loads.

If I didn't have one on my last trip, I would have spent loads on silly stuff like a safari hat with mickey ears....

[glenpreece]

I do the same thing eerytime I go. I get things in the spur of the moment and then I don't want them later. So last trip what i did was buy anything that I wanted (and afford) and then just before I left I went through everything since the novelty wore off a day or two later and decided what i really wanted or didn't want. What would I actually wear at home or what would I use etc. I ended up taking back about $200 worth of stuff to the Pop Gift shop. It doesn't matter where on property you bought it as long as you have the receipt. I ended returning a framed pin set, a sweater that was way overpriced for what it was, a t-shirt of the walt and mickey magic kingdom main street in disneyland ( i didn't notice that it was sleeping beauty castle till later on that's why I took it back), pegasus plush (I later on had a friend get it for me) mickey and minnie plushes (again another friend picked them up for me on a later trip) and more small things etc. It really helps I find and this way you get what you really want and what can actually fit in your suitcases.

[Christine]

I'm glad I'm not the only one!

I can't begin to name all of the things that I have come home with and then suffered buyer's remorse!

My worst: buying antenna balls for every single holiday/season! (My car doesn't have an antenna...it's the kind embedded in the back glass!) :rolleyes:

[WorldTraveler]

GREAT!
Now I know why I have been getting those strange looks when I wear my Goofy hat or Mickey ears to work. And I though the Goofy hat worked great in the winter as I did not need ear mufs.

I wore my Grumpy shirt to the surgery center this week as I felt it displayed my mood quite well.

[Guya103]

My worst: buying antenna balls for every single holiday/season! (My car doesn't have an antenna...it's the kind embedded in the back glass!) :rolleyes:

That is hilarious!!!

We always wonder what people do with all of those character hats when they get home?

We tend to look through the shops during the first week, debate everything and then the second week we make purchases that we can live with and aren't afraid to hide when we get home!:mickey:

[Lizzie]

I chaperoned a group of teenagers and one of them bought the Sorcerer Mickey hat that lights up and he wore it everywhere that summer.

[goofiecrazy]

Hey dont knock the big green Goofy hat.LOL got one on my honeymoon in 2002 and had that thing on my head all week and coming home on the plane. Havent really had it on my head since then till I put it on a few weeks ago to show my kids and they just looked st me like I was crazy..

[Becky'sMom]

lol....the bug has bitten me in the planning phase! We are going next week and I now have 2 tank tops for me (mickey and eeyore), 2 disney couture t-shirts - tink and pluto, matching custom polos for myself, DH, DD and DS, the same for Disney hawaiian postcard wear - the boys have shirts and Becky and I have dresses - all in matching print, Becky and I have matching eeyore tiki t-shirts - there's more, but you get the idea. Oh well, a little overboard, but we may get use out of some of it when not in disney (though I doubt we'll all wear our matching stuff together - too corny when not in Disney).

[Bethanymouse]

lol....the bug has bitten me in the planning phase! We are going next week and I now have 2 tank tops for me (mickey and eeyore), 2 disney couture t-shirts - tink and pluto, matching custom polos for myself, DH, DD and DS, the same for Disney hawaiian postcard wear - the boys have shirts and Becky and I have dresses - all in matching print, Becky and I have matching eeyore tiki t-shirts - there's more, but you get the idea. Oh well, a little overboard, but we may get use out of some of it when not in disney (though I doubt we'll all wear our matching stuff together - too corny when not in Disney).


I did this too! Our trip is in August and my disney fiance and I have matching incredibles shirts, hook shirts and tiki mickey shirts.....I definately went overboard because most of my vacation clothes are disney related......:D

[snifflesmcg]

So far so good with rationalizing purchases. So many times I picked up a set of mickey ears, I took a picture of me in them and after seeing the pic, I set it down. I actually have the opposite problem, I don't buy the item and kick myself later for it.

[MGKpotc8283]

This sort of happened to me when I bought one of those build your own pirate hats outside of POTC. I wore it a few times while at the parks. Although wearing a pirate hat in WDW is completely normal, it's not in everyday life (although it did come in handy for Halloween).

[bethsmith]

Although last time we were there I didn't buy a mickey watch with a huge amount of rhinestones and here I am 2 years later and still thinking about it. Hope they still have them in January.

[robyn221]

Havent really had it on my head since then till I put it on a few weeks ago to show my kids and they just looked st me like I was crazy..

Hey, anything that embarasses our children or somehow makes them question our sanity is always worth the price and effort! How else can we keep them on their toes?

Robyn

[MickeyandTink]

lol....the bug has bitten me in the planning phase! We are going next week and I now have 2 tank tops for me (mickey and eeyore), 2 disney couture t-shirts - tink and pluto, matching custom polos for myself, DH, DD and DS, the same for Disney hawaiian postcard wear - the boys have shirts and Becky and I have dresses - all in matching print, Becky and I have matching eeyore tiki t-shirts - there's more, but you get the idea. Oh well, a little overboard, but we may get use out of some of it when not in disney (though I doubt we'll all wear our matching stuff together - too corny when not in Disney).

Same here. DW :tink: has bought several Mickey shirts and a hat for me :smickey: and tinkerbell shirts and hat for her. DD :princess: has several Ariel and general princess clothing items awaiting her.

Lastly, DW bought the matching postcard shirt for me and the dresses for her and DD off the disney store website. LIke you, I think we will continue to wear them after our trip, but probably not at the same time. :blush:

[disneynarula]

That is why I always stick with Christmas ornaments and candle toppers. I hate printed t-shirts and used to buy them on vacation and have them sit in a drawer for years until I give them to the goodwill. The only thing that I ever wear is my Mickey hoodie.

[countrycharmer]

One year our kids were sad because we told them that we had so take a break from WDW trips.....feeling guilty my husband shipped home the ENTIRE miniature sets & extras of MK, AK, Epcot, MGM !!! Kids loved it and now I trip over it every time I go to the basement entertaining area....only time they play with it is when I tell them I am going to donate it!!

[Aggie97]

I never wear short-sleeved T-shirts, but I always bought one on each trip (they're just so cute!). After cleaning out my closet last fall and feeling completely embarrassed to see all of the T-shirts with price tags on them from WDW, DL, Rome, Mackinac Island, NYC, Paris, etc. - I finally forced myself to stop.

Oh - and back in 2000, I went through a brief Piglet infatuation. We went to WDW twice that year, so by the end of the year, I was the proud owner of... three Piglet T-shirts, two magnets, several stuffed animals in different sizes, a notepad and mug to hold pens in the kitchen, a whole series of Piglet china figurines, various stickers and pins and other small collectibles.... By 2001, I was completely over the phase, but unfortunately the souvenirs lived on.... :)

[tinksmom02]

lol....the bug has bitten me in the planning phase!


Us, too LOL...although they don't exactly match, DD, DH and I all have POTC-themed shirts (tanks for me and DD and a T for DH) to wear to MK!

We also have our "Christi's Disney trip '07" shirts that my dad made for us in January. They'll still be appropriate in September!

[LoriMistress]

For the most part, DH and I are pretty good about purchases (well...at least at Disney.) We actually think about our purchases beforehand. The only thing that we buy that we don't wear again is the Mickey hats. Other than that, we'll buy maybe a tee shirt or a book.

[Dopey's Girl]

Everytime I go, I buy a new key chain...not so bad right? Except for the fact that I have 3 keys, I won't carry around a thousand key rings (I hate when they rattle together in the car or in my purse!), and I love one of them so much, that I can't bring myself to rotate it out and use another from the collection. So I have about 25 different key chains, just collecting dust.

[DisneyDudet]

Well.. I do this too.. its bad.. as I don't have enough room for anything. I've finally had to make a list before hand and TRY not to stray... like stuff I didn't get last time.. that sorta thing....

I'm gonna hafta stick to small things and stuff I'll actually wear...

[crazeedizneefinatic]

We used to buy T-shirts, hats and such too. The last few trips we have treated ourselves to 1 really nice souvenier. I purchased a Disney charm bracelet. I good one not costume. I can't wait to add to it! My son choose the
R2-D2 robot from MGM. He still plays with it. I cannot remember what my husband chose:blush:. All the money we were spending on junky souveniers added up. It's amazing what looks appealing in the moment, lol!:mickey:

[NJRRK]

That's what the stores are there for!!!:D

When we went in 1996 my wife told me she wanted to go to the "tackiest gift shoppe" we could find. She wanted to get something for my MIL. We found a gift shop on 192 in Kissimmee shaped like a giant orange. She got what she wanted for my MIL and my DD6 (at the time) also wanted something that I did give in for.

"Build it and they will come."

[Nekochan]

Everyone is always talking about the 'smells' of WDW. Haven't any of you realized that there is some sort of mind control thing released into the air at WDW that turns us all into idiots that will buy anything? It's a conspiracy!!!

You think the welcoming arch is just that - but in reality it's probably some sort of nefarious device that works on the 'buy buy buy' brainwaves of adults.
:mickey:

[IrishMickey]

We have those antenna balls and no antenna too, I made them into to a Garland and I use some as pencil toppers. I never regret what I buy, just what I don't. We also always have matching clothes, we have done it for so many years that it would be weird if we did not match at least once or twice. My DH does not even bug me about this anymore, he just gets dressed and smiles for the pictures. :mickey:
Although my mom did buy us St Patricks Day Mickey Ears, they are very cute but very hard to store, they do not fold. Long live Disney and all the stuff.

[Mary ct/cm]

A few years ago I read a wonderful idea.....probably on these boards....about what to do with all the old Disney T-shirts we all have hanging in the closet or stuffed in drawers.....the ones that don't get worn anymore, but you just can't bring yourself to throw out.

Make a quilt. Cut out the graphic portion of the t-shirt into a square and sew (or find someone who sews) them into a quilt/throw.

It'll be extra special because it preserves your memories, and extra comfy because it's made from T-shirts.

[angedeaile]

A few years ago I read a wonderful idea.....probably on these boards....about what to do with all the old Disney T-shirts.......

Make a quilt......
What a wonderful idea! Has anyone tried that on here? I wonder how well it worked out.

[pixiegoose]

What a wonderful idea! Has anyone tried that on here? I wonder how well it worked out.

My mom's friend made one for me with my old t-shirts that meant too much to me to throw away but that didn't fit or that I didn't wear anymore. She just cut the graphic portion of the shirts out, stiched them together and then put some sort of batting and a backing on. I love it!

[T-Belle]

On our last trip my DD bought $12.00 Cat treats!!:shake:

[Clotho]

Funny, I never buy tee shirts or hats with the intention of wearing them when I get home. if I do, more the better. But I buy them to wear at Disney! Where else will I wear the ears, tee shirts, and glitter hair accoutrements?

Some of the tee shirts find their way into my regular wardrobe in the form of "lazing about the house" type shirts, but mostly, I wear them at the parks and then they become bed shirts or souvenirs that take up room. I am at peace with that. :)

You can also make pillows with your old tee shirts. Great for floor pillows or a child's room.

[ImagiAsh]

I never regret what I buy. It's what I don't buy that I regret. Just two weeks ago at WDW I kept eyeing a Pirates Snowglobe (I have a Disney Snowglobe Collection at home). I kept stumbling upon it the entire week and I never did commit myself to it. Now, I wish I had bought it.

[bleukarma]

I’m pretty good about controlling myself with the souvenirs at Disney ever since I decided I wanted to buy one small thing from each World Showcase country. Years later I was getting ready for a move and I had tons of tiny things like a mini Eiffel Tower and a sombrero keychain that I didn’t need and just collected dust. I’m bad with the food souvenirs. I always tend to bring home a box of Mickey shortcake cookies or Mickey macaroni and cheese, or something like that. But, at least those don’t go to waste!

Although a few weeks ago I was at DTD and we decided our dog, Charlie, needed a Disney toy. We found a chew toy for $12 that we thought he would love. When we got it home it turns out that the toy is as big as Charlie!!! He hates to play with it because he can hardly lift it! hehe What were we thinking?!

[WorldTraveler]

I never regret what I buy. It's what I don't buy that I regret. Just two weeks ago at WDW I kept eyeing a Pirates Snowglobe (I have a Disney Snowglobe Collection at home). I kept stumbling upon it the entire week and I never did commit myself to it. Now, I wish I had bought it.

I hope it okay to say this; If you want anything that you did not get at WDW, you can contact the Laughing Place Store and they will get it for you.