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Thread: Parenting in the Parks: Souvenir Shopping With the Kids

  1. #1
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    Parenting in the Parks: Souvenir Shopping With the Kids

    Souvenir Shopping With the Kids by Adrienne Krock

    The Parenting Panel shares strategies for planning and spending souvenir budgets at Disney theme parks.

    Read it here!


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    Read Everything-Assume Nothing GusMan's Avatar
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    My wife brought up one thing that is noteworthy....
    Before your trip (or even during your trip via smartphone) look at Disneystore.com at their "park exclusive" items that are offered online. Many times, your order can get free shipping (saving valuable luggage space) and may be available after your trip ends. Just another option.

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  4. #3

    We don't do a lot of souvenirs. Never (almost never) clothing. We let them pic out one souvenir under $20-30 depending on how we are spending money that trip (less if we are doing character meals or staying onsite) and one pin for their lanyard. If we are going more often then sometimes we don't do any.


  5. #4

    We always buy souvenirs on a Disney trip -- even if we're there three times in a year. Everyone in the family loves Disney stuff, so we always get something on each trip.

    When the kids were younger, we'd buy stuff for them, within reason, of course. Usually one "large" souvenir and maybe a couple of small things per child. Once they got a little older, though, we used souvenir shopping as a good teaching tool for them to learn about budgeting and comparison shopping.

    General rules for souvenirs, now that the kids are teenagers:

    1) Each child is given a specific amount of money, usually $50. They may supplement that with their own money that they've received as gifts or with any money they've earned.
    2) We have a rule that you never buy souvenirs during the first half of the trip. Everyone MUST look at many different options before buying. You might think you want something from Animal Kingdom, but then you'll spot something at Epcot a few days later that you want even more. If you think you might want it, make a note of what it is and where you saw it.
    3) Souvenir purchases need to be things you can't get at home. We encourage the kids to get things that relate specifically to experiences we've had on the trip, but anything that's Disney-related or theme-park-related is fair game.
    4) If you buy it before the end of the day, you get to carry it. Dad will carry stuff if we buy it on the way out of the park, but he won't carry it around all day. We do try to utilize the resort package delivery service when we can, though.
    5) Clothing isn't really considered a "souvenir" in our family; we'll usually buy some clothing for the kids that they don't have spend their own money on. If they want something more expensive or that doesn't work for everyday wear, it might fall into the category of "souvenir," though.
    6) When you're out of money, you're done shopping. You can look, of course, but we stick to our budgets. Take a picture of it if you think you might want to look for it online or look again when we make our next trip.
    7) Size matters. It has to fit in the suitcases, or else part of your budget has to go to shipping. We've only had to ship a souvenir for a kid once -- he just HAD to have it -- but space is an important consideration. We always bring an extra (empty) suitcase just so we'll have room to bring home more stuff.

    These rules generally hold up quite well. There have been occasional exceptions, but, for the most part, the kids have really learned about budgeting and comparison shopping.


  6. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by davidgra View Post
    5) Clothing isn't really considered a "souvenir" in our family; we'll usually buy some clothing for the kids that they don't have spend their own money on. If they want something more expensive or that doesn't work for everyday wear, it might fall into the category of "souvenir," though.
    That's become our issue. Disney keeps coming out with more and more clothing that speaks to the Geeks in our household. At first I thought it was sweet that my kids wanted shirts. Now, the only way I can control the frenzy is by making them buy some of their own clothes, LOL.
    Parenting in the Parks[/url]
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  7. #6
    At home in the hills candles71's Avatar
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    N got given more money for 3 days with friends than they normally get, but I wasn't going to be there and she came home with change.
    This trip Whistler has been going back and forth on fairness. N just went 6 weeks ago, and was given spending money so technically a case could be made for A to get more. A has also been earning $ and has $45 of her own. Plus, their older sister made the point that her DH would probably buy them what ever their hearts desired. (we want the ginormous crystal castle please.)
    We buy new Ear hats for them, every trip. B has to buy his own food this trip, at 20 and with a full--time job.


  8. #7
    Read Everything-Assume Nothing GusMan's Avatar
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    One thing I have found that is that as you take more trips... you tend to do less shopping.
    Either that or the items that you do get may become fewer, but are more expensive.

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  9. #8
    some imagination, huh? DisneyFunFamily4's Avatar
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    Coffee cups, did someone say coffee cups? They only problem, Disney hasn't came out with any new "have to have" cups recently. Rumor has it that a sbux disney cup is in the works though!

    We don't buy much on our DL trips, mostly because we are there all the time. When we go to Wdw I try to make sure we get theme park specific merchandise and if the girls see something that we can get at DL we wait and get it at home. At Wdw we usually get each if the girls a shirt (and we try to hit up an outlet close by during our stay) and a pin. They both usually save up some spending money too. I have noticed the theme park specific merchandise is getting less and less.


  10. #9

    Living far away from DLR hasn't stopped our family from visiting several times over the past 6 years, and when we visit, now that our kids are getting older, we've set up simple budgets for them. Whatever the dollar amount, we advise our kids about their limits and what items have more value. They don't like clothing, and are still young enough for toys and other novelties to be a lot more interesting. My son likes pins, and my daughter likes dolls, and since there's plenty of those available, there's no shortage of opportunity.

    Thankfully, when we do purchase souvenirs, our kids enjoy them for a long time after, both at the park and hotel, and then at home in the weeks and months following the trip.

    My wife and I also set personal, individual budgets for ourselves, which carries some influence to our kids. When they see us purchasing something we want, and hear us discussing its cost or value, the effect translates into their strategies. For me, I always buy that year's t-shirt on the first day of our visit, almost as soon as we enter the park. My wife and I also look at sweatshirts, mugs, ornaments, and art prints. Things we can put up around the house to remind us of past trips and give us something to talk about with friends.

    What we avoid like the plague are items that can be purchased from the Disney Store or from other retailers. We try to keep our family's souvenir take specific to the trip or the parks.

    My 2 cents of advice for once-in-a-lifetime visitors: Bite the bullet and set a high budget for every member of your party. Don't be stingy. You don't want to stain your visit with sad feelings over not allowing some splurging...

    Last edited by goalieump413; 09-06-2014 at 06:06 AM.

  11. #10

    Parenting in the Parks: Souvenir Shopping With the Kids

    I give the kids a Disney gift card for a certain amount which they're allowed to spend on whatever they want. Once the gift card is empty, they're done shopping. It cuts down on the constant asking and it makes them really think about what they really want when they're spending "their" money.


  12. #11

    I have gotten Disney items at the Wal-Mart near Knotts on LaPalma in the past. Do they still have a large souvenir section? Does Target on Harbor have any additional Disney items? We will need to stop for bottled water and some snacks so just wondering which place would be better to get some Disney pens, autograph books or cheaper hats. Thanks.

    ~CourtneyAnne~ Single MOM to Twins and MUCH MORE
    Trips to DL~9/06~2/07~6/07~10/07~New Year's 2008~11/8/08~2/08~2/09~10/12~


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