Sounvenirs From Our Summer 2015 Disneyland/Legoland Family Vacation

One difference that we noticed at Disneyland compared to Walt Disney World is that the attractions do not enter into shops.  That aside, shopping was still plentiful, fun, and easy.  Each of the Disneyland Resort Hotels had shops located near the lobby and Downtown Disney had a large World of Disney Store that guests could wander in and out of at their leisure.  We also found shops in various locations in both parks.

Our souvenir haul included Christmas tree ornaments—one from Disneyland commemorating the 60^th Anniversary and one from Legoland, a bulb shaped ornament filled with golden Legos complete with golden ribbon.  I had already put these items away, so no photos.

We also brought back some art.  One piece is to commemorate both parks—Disneyland and California Adventure.  We rode both of the attractions featured in the art work.  The other is a bit of memorabilia from our Walt in Walt’s Footsteps Tour.  Frames will be coming via Amazon.

Click here to read more about what we collect.

Accessories spoke my name and I brought home scarves with various images of Mickey and other Disney icons.  I also snagged a new purse and wallet.  We had left the World of Disney Store without me purchasing the wallet.  As time passed, I had that “I will regret this” feeling, so I went back and made the purchase.  Won’t any money I have left after this trip look good in this wallet?

The husband bought several new pins and a new lanyard.  He also got a new hat and a Disney luau shirt.  It’s yellow and red and he’s worn it already since we’ve been home!  (I may have to get one that matches!) 

Speaking of matching shirts, we got a new set of matching t-shirts.  Just couldn’t resist ones from Carsland!

The boy got an Avenger playset, new Disney pins, an Anger stuffed toy—from Inside Out, and an Anger t-shirt.  Anger is his favorite character from the movie.  And, he got Legos!  Ironically, most of his Legos came from the Lego store at Downtown Disney rather than the “Big One’ which is what the store is called at Legoland.  He wanted Jurassic World sets and Legoland was sold out.  We knew the Lego Store at Downtown Disney had them so we just waited until we returned.  He did purchase on set of Legos at Legoland.

We saved money!  At Legoland, having a Lego VIP Card saved us 5% on the Lego purchases.  At the Lego Store at Downtown Disney, using the Lego VIP card allowed us to earn points and we got $5 off our purchase.

We also saved 10% on Disney purchases by using our Disney Rewards Visa card.  Any purchase over $50 was subject to the 10% discount using the card.

Package delivery to the front of the park was available at both Disneyland parks.  Guests could also have their purchases delivered to the Disneyland Resort Hotel.  But different than Walt Disney World, packages went to Bell Services rather than the resort shop.

Budgeting For Souvenirs

The husband with his favorite Princess!

The budget for our next trip is pretty much set.  I phoned our travel agent last week to double check due dates, total amounts due, and to add on Disney transfers to get us from the airport to the port and from the port to our Disney resort.  Note:  While Disney’s Magical Express which takes guests round trip airport/Disney resort is free, Disney transfers to/from the port are $70 per person.  For a party of 2 or less, the Disney transfers are more economical than a car service. A party of 3 is a toss up in terms of price, but Disney transfers are more convenient.

Other budget items include our overnight stay at the Hyatt, tips—for luggage handling, on the ship, dining while at Walt Disney World, and “mousekeeping”, gas for our drive, airport parking, any dining while on the road—we will most likely pack a cooler and we have a voucher for a free breakfast at the Hyatt, animal sitting while we are gone, snow removal during our absence, and souvenirs.

Souvenirs.  This is the category I have the most difficult time determining a specific budget. 

The boy is easy.  He’ll have $50 to spend for the length of the trip plus any other money he saves from his allowance, birthday, etc.  The husband and I usually hang on to his money and let him know how much he has left.  Spending on the ship is minimal for him.  The shops have Disney themed items including pirate gear, Cars, etc.  Since we bring those types of items along with us there’s no need or desire to purchase.  His most tempting items are plushies, vinylmation, or trading pins. At Walt Disney World it is all about Legos at the Lego Store at Downtown Disney.  He would rather spend the entire amount in this one location.  Fine by me, but let me get out my Lego Club VIP Card before making a purchase!

For the husband, souvenirs means pins; Disney trading pins.  Either to collect or trade or both.  Typically, he’ll have a pre-loaded Visa with a specific amount, say $200, and some expectations for purchases that contribute to the good of the group, like budgeting for any airport food purchases.  Most likely he will give into a request from the boy for the purchase of a toy and he usually comes home with money left on the card.

I, too, will have a pre-paid Visa with a specific amount.  So, what’s on my list for souvenirs?  Photos!  The plan is to pre-purchase the Photopass CD, which is an expense before our trip, and then the photo CD on the ship.  Our AAA member benefit for the cruise is a photo package.  I plan to check and see if this can be rolled over into a credit to purchase the CD and then pay the difference.  Then, I’ll most likely buy a photo package, too, for half price, as any photo purchases are half after purchasing the photo CD. 

Christmas ornaments to commemorate our trip will be on the list.  Most likely one from the ship and one from the World.  Since resort specific merchandise is now more readily available, it would be great to get a Coronado Springs Resort ornament.  Click here to read more about what we collect.

Art will also be on the list.  Again, a piece of art from the ship, possibly with the Captain’s autograph—click here to read about the Captain’s Signing Event.  And, a piece of art to commemorate our Walt Disney World stay.

One pin, maybe two.  Another way to commemorate our vacation.

Accessories.  Something I can wear to give me a Disney fix on any given day.  This may mean a watch, earrings, necklace, bracelet, or scarf.  I love getting my Mickey on!

A 2013 calendar!  It is actually on the top of my list.

Anything else will be for other people.  A little bit of Disney to take home a share with others.  Unless of course, I find a terrific bargain of some sort!

What’s on your souvenir list?

Attraction Photos Make Great Souvenirs

We buy the ride photos.  Yep, we are some of those people you see standing in line at the photo counter in the shops at the exit to attractions.  This was brought to my attention by the husband’s sister over the holiday break.  She was admiring all of our Splash Mountain photos. . . there are many!  But none from our last trip to Walt Disney World, as we didn’t ride Splash Mountain that trip.  It is however on our list of attractions for our next trip.

Why?  Well, they make a great souvenir!  The boy rode Expedition Everest for the first time on our trip in July and capturing his expression was priceless.  The girl in the photo was riding by herself in the single rider line and ended up with us on the ride, and in the photo.

I would also like to mention that while all of the photo counters have the technology to zoom and edit, only the Cast Member at Expedition Everest took the time to do that and make our photo even better.  We thank him!

The cost is less than other souvenirs.  The least expensive photo is the 8 X 10—counter intuitive, I know.  Price is typically $18.95 or so and sometimes there are photo and frame purchase specials.  Be sure to ask about those.  This price is less expensive than some of the other souvenirs that you might be tempted to purchase.  And, it doesn’t take up much space in the luggage on the way home!

On our November 2010 trip, we rode Splash Mountain twice in a row—using Fastpass of course.  Oh, the dilemma of having two ride photos to choose from.  But, Disney had thought of everything and had a way of putting both photos in the 5 X 7 size on one photo sheet.  Voila!  Problem solved.  We brought both photos home with us.  I’ll I had to do was ask.

There are many other attractions that have the ride photo imbedded:  Tower of Terror, Space Mountain, Rock’n’Roller Coaster (I think as I don’t know for sure!), and Test Track.  I’m also not sure about Haunted Mansion. . .

Test Track has the option of adding your ride photo to your PhotoPass account just by scanning your Photopass card with the appropriate picture.  We love that!  (Click here to read more about Disney’s PhotoPass service.)

We wish other rides would have photos—Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Pirates of the Caribbean, and if Haunted Mansion doesn’t have it already, we think it would be appropriate.  The trick for us would be to get the whole family in one shot, as can be done with the attractions already incorporating a ride photo.

If you do decide to purchase an attraction photo, know that you don’t have to carry it with you all day in the parks.  You can have the photo, and frame if you desire, delivered to the front of the park to pick up when you exit, or if you are staying at a Disney Resort, you can have it delivered to your resort—it will go to the resort gift shop—and pick it up the next day.  Easy and convenient.

Souvenirs

I wore a Mickey necklace to work today. Not an "in your face" Mickey necklace, just a single, elongated strand of gemstones of various shapes and colors with a surprise of some of the gemstones being in the shape of Mickey's head. Subtle, and I hope, stylish. I have another Mickey necklace, too, and a watch. . . All of this, along with an e-mail from a family excitedly planning their first Disney vacation, got me thinking about souvenirs. You can click here to read about what we collect each trip. But now, I'm talking about the items that speak to you, that say bring me home. It is more of a sixth sense shopping experience rather than a "I have to remember to buy _______(fill in the blank) experience."



The more I thought about this idea of souvenirs, it dawned on me that many, dare I say almost all, of our souvenirs are items we would use on a regular basis back at home. . . like a necklace. . . and that the use of those items bring us a bit of Disney magic at home. Like for instance my black gloves with Mickey on them. I wear them daily during the winter and they make me smile. Or, how about our ice cream scoop. I just scooped up a dish of ice cream for the boy yesterday using our Mickey ice cream scoop and again, it made me smile. We have Mickey measuring cups, a few drink glasses--not a set or anything--just random cups, picture frames, throws for the bed or couch, music CD from the parks, a Mickey waffle maker (that was a gift!), and Mickey silverware.


Someone asked me once if our house was all Disney. The answer is no, our house is not all Disney. That would be like having a house that is all football or all cats or all gardening or all whatever the hobby the inhabitants enjoy. I don't know anyone whose house is "all" something. Do you? But I can say that we have many Disney touches as mentioned above.


So back to souvenirs. The point that I want to make is this: Disney has lots of stuff to purchase and bring home. I would say those items are either things to use while you are on vacation or things to enjoy once you get home. We, as a family, tend to go for the stuff that we can use and enjoy while at home to bring us more magic after our Disney vacation is over or to help us build anticipation for our next Disney vacation. Take a week ago Sunday for example. It was just after eating Mickey waffles using our Mickey silverware that I dialed 1-407-WDW-DINE to make our dining reservations for our next trip. While making the reservations alone would have built anticipation and excitement, we celebrated the occasion with Mickey waffles for breakfast. Now, if I just hadn't worn out my Mickey slippers!


Whatever your dream and desire to bring home from Disney, we hope it will be magical and bring you smiles and memories!




P.S. The above photo is one I left out of the "3 Characters of More Challenge" post. Click here to read more.