[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!

[BDavis932]

Great ideas! We used to do the same thing. After we got our kids out of the room each morning, DH or I would "forget" something and have to back in the room and we'd leave a special gift like that on the bed. When we get back to the room each night we would tell them that Mickey must of left them a gift for being such a good kid that day!

[LittleMissMagic]

Yeah, I've always noticed how you can buy Disney stuff outside of the parks for much less. Good idea! You might also want to hit up the Disney Outlet when you're down there. We've actually found merchandise that was still in the parks for much less than park prices.

Oh, and I've noticed that they sell Disney princess dresses at Target and through catalogues for much less than park prices (easy to beat $80 ). And, Halloween will bring princess dresses to Party City, Walmart, Target, and other stores. You could get a dress or two during end-of-season sales, then present it to her at the park (she's bound to see a bunch of other little girls dressed as princesses, and will likely want to dress as a princess, as well). She's a little young at the moment, but you might try that idea for a later trip when she's 4-6 years old.

[tea]

I did just like you - got most things at the Disney Store and Dollar Tree. Our Disney Store actually closed so they were pratically giving things away! At the Dollar store I got my DD some Disney alphabet/numbers cards, figurines, stickers, puzzles, coloring books. Plus also got the glow in the dark sticks and got some thing we might need in the parks like antibacterial wet wipes and ponchos.

Right now the Disney Store is having their big Summer clearance sale - last year I got swimsuits for $5, shirts for $3 - all of which my DD wore this Summer and will also wear on out trip in Oct. :)

[WishUponAStar]

If you are in WDW and she still wants to purchase souveniers but you want to keep it lighter on the wallet you should take her to that "Everything is $10 or less" store in Downtown Disney. I stopped in there a couple weeks ago and they actually had some really cool stuff! They even had a wall of "3 for $10" items. I remember seeing character pillows, small stuffed animals, stickers, toys, etc.

[Dopey]

Originally Posted by WishUponAStar

If you are in WDW and she still wants to purchase souveniers but you want to keep it lighter on the wallet you should take her to that "Everything is $10 or less" store in Downtown Disney. I stopped in there a couple weeks ago and they actually had some really cool stuff! They even had a wall of "3 for $10" items. I remember seeing character pillows, small stuffed animals, stickers, toys, etc.

heehee, she's not quite 2 yet

[Lisnoe]

Here's a inexpensive idea to add magic to your WDW trip. My sister-in-law had a talented, scrapbooking friend make a Disney card inviting my neice and her family to lunch at Cinderella's castle. She was sooooo thrilled. It only cost a few dollars, but it was one of my neice's favorite souvenir of the trip. Here's her daddy reading the card for her...I just love her face!

[KittieKChick]

Originally Posted by WishUponAStar

If you are in WDW and she still wants to purchase souveniers but you want to keep it lighter on the wallet you should take her to that "Everything is $10 or less" store in Downtown Disney. I stopped in there a couple weeks ago and they actually had some really cool stuff! They even had a wall of "3 for $10" items. I remember seeing character pillows, small stuffed animals, stickers, toys, etc.

I forgot about that store. That is a good idea. I can't imagine she will want too many things at 2 yrs old, but hey, you never know.

[MickeyMcFizzle]

You've got some great ides there!

[WishUponAStar]

Originally Posted by Dopey

heehee, she's not quite 2 yet

Originally Posted by KittieKChick

I forgot about that store. That is a good idea. I can't imagine she will want too many things at 2 yrs old, but hey, you never know.

Whoops, I missed that part! Well, good tip to remember in a couple years.

[jo-jo]

Last yr I had gotten some wands that light (the type that glow for 6 hr). A couple worked fine, but one didn't. Not a bit deal, but I had told my DGD, "lets wait until we are on the boat". Well once we were on the boat, it didn't light up. I felt bad. I wished we had activated the wand back in the room, so we could have grabbed another one if needed. One reason we liked the bigger wand (although more expensive) was the little light sticks, my DGD would bend them and break them. Didn't need glowstick goo all over. I understand it can stain clothes.

[mousemom]

Originally Posted by WishUponAStar

If you are in WDW and she still wants to purchase souveniers but you want to keep it lighter on the wallet you should take her to that "Everything is $10 or less" store in Downtown Disney. I stopped in there a couple weeks ago and they actually had some really cool stuff! They even had a wall of "3 for $10" items. I remember seeing character pillows, small stuffed animals, stickers, toys, etc.

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

[MissDisney]

Our best secret at that age was to keep one drawer in the room filled with semi-healthy and cheap treats the kids loved, like fruit snacks, peanut butter crackers, juice boxes, M&Ms, etc. And before we left the room each morning, they filled up their little fanny packs with treats for the day.

They were very happy to fish into their packs when they wanted a snack, so there was never any crying about wanting Disney treats. We allowed them one single Disney treat at the end of the day, after dinner -- so we never had the dessert whine, either. They were thrilled to race out of the restaurant and get a Mickey bar or even popcorn or something from a cart.

It's hilarious, really. We did Disney for a couple of years like that -- only spending a couple of bucks per kid each day on a single Mickey bar. LOL!

[sue299]

Maybe leave a couple little presents on her bed when you leave - without her seeing - and tell her Mickey must have came and left the for such a good little girl! That would excite her after a couple days what would be left for her!

[LittleMissMagic]

Oh, I don't know if they still make it, but I used to get Mickey Mouse shaped cheese because I love Mickey and I love cheese.... there's lots of Disney-themed food items such as cereal, juice, crackers, etc. that you could pack with you to snack on.

And if you think she's going to want autographs, you might want to make your own autograph book.