[WishUponAStar]

Originally Posted by mousemom

Hey Wish,where is that store. It would be great for my 2 kids this comming up trip. Thanks

It is in the Downtown Disney Marketplace across from the Christmas store & is attached to the pet store.

[tinkerbelle24]

I personally dont think you will have a problem because she isnt "of age" like my kids but I ususally give the kids Disney dollars for the bdays and holidays and chores so they can save so it wont be out of my pocket. the day after Halloween I get great deals on dresses for my DD6

[Jennatrz]

Originally Posted by KittieKChick

DD will be a few weeks shy of being 2 years old when we go to WDW. She's a fantastic kid, but I've been planning ways to 1.) Keep her happy on the plane and 2.) Keep her from spending lots of our money, haha.

So here is what I have done so far:

1. Bought a small Disney Princess backpack at Walmart - $12
2. Bought a stuffed Belle doll at Disney Store - on sale for $4
3. Bought a Winnie the Pooh safari stuffed animal -on sale for $4

So all total there, I have $20.

I plan on giving her the bag either the night before so she can pack some things in it, or packing it myself and giving it to her on the plane. It would be packed with snacks and Disney goodies.

I also plan on buying any little Disney themed books and other items that I can find at the Dollar Tree (trust me they have TONS! some of them are for ages 3+ though so I will skip those of course). I also plan to buy some glow sticks/glow bracelets from there to break out during our trip.

I've also bought lots of Disney themed summer clothes (in 24M and 2T sizes) from summer clearances this year that she can wear on the trip next year. Some of them were $5 and under!


I just wanted to share my techniques so maybe it can help someone else out!

A few things that I have learned while traveling to WDW with son who 18mths at the time. Bring bubbles while standing in line. It really helps if you dd decides to have a meltdown. Lots of snacks, Crayons with pad of paper, Books, lots of small toys to keep entertained, especially while at dinners.

[KittieKChick]

I've been stocking up on Disney books too. The child loves books, and has recently discovered bubbles too.

[Alaine]

Your ideas sound great & very inexpensive. I buy Disney coloring books for my kids & I get those FREE disney books/maps in the Disney Store. They have colored pictures on every page & they really hipe my kids up during the plan ride. I would skip the glow sticks, especially at age 2. My kids are much older & in just waving the stick around it broke. A hot burning liquid came out. It scared the heck out of me and my kids. Some splashed onto my childs face. After, I checked the safety requirements on them...there are none! It says non-toxic but trust me...a hot burning liquid that glows on your childs skin for days can't possibly be safe.

[12Amigos]

Originally Posted by Alaine

Your ideas sound great & very inexpensive. I buy Disney coloring books for my kids & I get those FREE disney books/maps in the Disney Store. They have colored pictures on every page & they really hipe my kids up during the plan ride. I would skip the glow sticks, especially at age 2. My kids are much older & in just waving the stick around it broke. A hot burning liquid came out. It scared the heck out of me and my kids. Some splashed onto my childs face. After, I checked the safety requirements on them...there are none! It says non-toxic but trust me...a hot burning liquid that glows on your childs skin for days can't possibly be safe.

EXACTLY! DD(2 at the time) bit into a glow necklace while we were watching spectromagic and started screaming. When I looked down she was covered in the bright yellow glowstick liquid and quickly breaking out in a rash.

At our Dollartree you can purchase the "glow" necklaces that are battery operated. These work really well and last longer than the others. I usually pack one for each night and my children love them.

Bubbles have always worked for us as well as stickers. DDs autograph book is always covered with Disney stickers by the end of the trip. When she was younger I would put a sticker of the character who signed each page. Since she couldn't read, she was able to still know who each signature belonged to.

[zoey9797]

To expand on the letter from Cindy, We wrote a sparkly invite requesting DD's presence at Cindy's castle and had a coworker send it from WDW a month before our trip. DD almost wet her pants when she saw it was postmarked FROM Florida where Cindy REALLY lives (they do not postmark WDW - I think it was Lake Buena Vista,FL) LOL!
It was a great surprise!
Zoey

[Alaine]

zoey...that's a wonderful idea about the postcard. I don't have anyone that could do that for me but I think I'll do that for my brother. He's taking four kids to WDW for the 1st time on Dec. 7th. The kids will be 5(a girl), 5 (a boy), 3 (a boy) and 3 (a girl).....and yes, he's bringing the grandparents & the babysitter.

[ssn]

If you have a Disney Store near you....we had purchased those battery operated light up toys. There was a clearance area and I found one for $1.99. My 2 yr old didn't notice that it was July and she had a Mickey dressed up like Santa toy - she just loved how it spun around and lit up! In the parks those are like $20!

[LittleMissMagic]

Originally Posted by 12Amigos

EXACTLY! DD(2 at the time) bit into a glow necklace while we were watching spectromagic and started screaming. When I looked down she was covered in the bright yellow glowstick liquid and quickly breaking out in a rash.

Eek! There should definitely be some safety precautions there....

When we were at camp one year, all the guys broke open their glow sticks and poured the stuff all over their shirts so they'd glow. The liquid wasn't hot, but the counselors were freaking out.

[heathersmom]

I bought red,white and blue glow neckalces on clearance after July and will take them for our daughter to use in the parks at night.

[Brett's Mommy]

These are all such great ideas!
We did pretty much the same thing last year when we went... DS is 4, and I had two glow sticks (from the $ Tree) for each night of the trip (one for him to have on him so we could see him, and one for inside the tent). I didn't realize they were so dangerous, though! We didn't have a problem with them, and had extras the last night, so DH and I each wore one.

[senacm]

Great tips across the board!

I have a family of 5 and my husband is not a Rockefeller. So once I start planning I place a large bin in a central location in my home that we have big bold letters written Disney Vacation. Any time I go to the store I always buy one extra item. So if I need toothpaste, I will buy 2 and throw the extra in the bin. I keep a small check list in my purse and over the next year the bin fills up. My kids are all in their teens and they have learned to grab extra when they are at the store and toss the items in the bin. The closer we get to the vacation the bin gets fuller and as a family we know the count down is closer. This helps prevent me from having to buy all the needed items for vacation at the last minute. For me it seems less out of my pocket right when I need more.
I also go to my favorite super store and buy travel bottles of laundry detergent, they cost about $1 or $1.50 for 2-3 loads compared to the $2 or $3 dollars for 1 load on property. I then bag my own dry sheets and store them in the suitcases to keep everything fresh.

We drive to WDW when we go, so it is about a 24 hour trip down and back. We carry all our own snacks and bottles of water. We love the bottle water packets of lemonade or crystal light. They fit perfect in our hip pack and cover the unusual flavor of the park fountain water.

We also pack lighter then most people, most of my family love to get t-shirts. We pack less tops and sweatshirts when we go because everyone gets so many of them while we are there. My kids know the toys and the stuffed animals usually are tossed to the side but the t-shirts and sweat shirts are used much longer. My mother-in-law has taken old shirts and sweatshirts and made them into pillows for my kids to use in their bedrooms.

[tinkfans]

we too had a letter from cindy done up by a friend of the family. they sent it to our house around 2 weeks prior to my DD's first visit to the world. i didnt tell my DH they were doing it so when the mail came that day, i told her she got mail, maybe daddy can help her with it. i pretended to be really busy so he had to help her....for a few minutes he believed it was real too!!!! they are so gullible!!

[senacm]

I give Disney Dollars for everything also. My kids have learned that when they spend their Disney Dollars they are done with just spending money. So this makes them think hard before they buy.

We also have a Miss Pots pennybank we bought at the Disney Store years ago. It hold about $100 worth of change. We dump our excess change in it during our vacation saving period, that gets divided and used for special items during our trips.