Welcome to summer! If you vacation plans include a visit to a Disney theme park, undoubtedly you will come home with some souvenirs. In this week’s mailbag, readers share what they buy at the parks with contributing writer Chris Barry in response to his article, “My Disney Top 5 – Top 5 Things My Family Brings Home From Walt Disney World” (June 26, 2009).
Marc B. writes:
Our family also uses the term “Guys” for exactly what you described in your column, and literally the same way for the types of Disney figurines you mentioned (Guys, Little Guys). It started a little over ten years ago, when my 2 year old (now 12), coined the term. At one point, we had over 400 “Little Guys” in our home, mostly Disney. My wife will freak when she sees your story.
That’s awesome! There’s a universal language out there, and the kids have dibs on it for sure. The “guys” are a big part of my kids lives. That’s all they play with! Glad to see someone out there sharing my experience. Thanks for reading and for taking the time to respond.
Eugenia O. writes:
Thank you for making me smile today and especially so early in the morning! We live in Mexico City and we only get to go to Disney World once a year (although we could practically live there, we love it). So, same as you we love having things that remind us of our trips (we have the same soaps and shampoos that appear in your photos) and my daughter also adores plush toys.
One year we brought back Pal Mickey and it was great playing with him all year long and trying to learn all the jokes. This year my special “memento” is a calendar for the whole next year made with Disney PhotoPass pictures. It is going to be real nice to see and live again each month the special memories created at such wonderful place.
My first reader response from Mexico! More than happy to make you smile. I’m glad you get up to Florida once a year. You’re doing pretty good. Enjoy the PhotoPass calendar. We did the Photo Pass video when it first came out and we re-watch it often. My daughter also loves Pal Mickey. We got him on her first trip and he makes it back each year with us.
Bob B. writes:
Our Disney Top 5 collectibles:
Me – baseballs, I collect the Disneyland and Walt Disney World baseballs, and when they have them, softballs. I also collect the little guys from the Disney collector packs; I have heard they now have a Pirates pack out.
My wife – anything with Tinker Bell that catches her eye.
My oldest son – Disney hidden Mickey pins. My son has been known to save up and drop $250 on a trip buying pins and trading for hidden Mickeys.
My youngest son – used to come home with plush animals when younger, but now it’s pins of Jessica.
I’m not sure I’ve seen the baseballs. Very cool. I will be looking for the Pirates pack on my next trip. My wife is a big Tink fan as well. (They have the same attitude!) My daughter does well with pins. On our last trip she really got into trading, not just purchasing. It’s one of our favorite things to do down there in the World.
Kristin writes:
I love your Top 5 lists; they’ve given me a whole new idea for my scrapbooks. Have you thought of doing a Top 5 for each park or Top 5 rides? I could come up with so many! Anyway, keep them coming – they are very enjoyable!
Thanks for the kind words. The way I see it, there’s an infinite amount of lists to be written regarding Disney. So, keep reading and I’ll get to all of them sooner or later.
Steven S. writes:
I’m always amazed by the amount of free knick-knacks one can collect on a Disney trip. As a former Disney Cast Member, I have lots of memories of people hanging onto just about ANYTHING you gave them: FastPasses, park maps, sippy cups, and… soap!
Currently, I’m a representative for the Mouse at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. This year, one of our most successful giveaways at career fairs and recruiting sessions were bars of Mickey Mouse soap. We had boxes of the stuff shipped in from Orlando, and you’d be amazed how quickly you can get somebody’s attention with Mickey stickers and Disney soap.
And to think, I was worried we might offend them with our offer of toiletries. How wrong I was. Thanks for the fun post. It made me think about just what kind of Disney clutter I’ve amassed on similar trips.
Free is free! I’m always impressed by how decent the stuff you can get for free is. I like the soap and the shampoo, and the cups from the room. One of my favorites is the shake cup from Mrs. Pott’s in Fantasyland. They’re hard plastic with a Hidden Mickey shaped balloon on them. We’ve had one for years, and we use it all the time for cups of Cheerios and other snacks for the kids. They wash well. My wife always has a good roll of the eyes waiting for me when she sees me going off to the men’s room to wash out the cup and stick it in my backpack. Always glad to hear from a Cast Member!
Jeremy writes:
So cool to see others talking about this collection. I just picked up five packs of Series 8: Pirates of the Caribbean, and I have heard of a mini set that was released during Star Wars Weekends. I have all of my extras currently sitting in front of me on my work desk, my actual set is in the 15 dollar boxes they sell at the parks to display the series. Great mention of a great series.
I’m so looking forward to my next trip and a new series Pirates. I’ve contemplated the display box many times. We have several of the Star Wars series. Very cool. Some Star Wars characters, some spacecraft and some like Jedi Mickey. Glad to hear from a kindred spirit.
Kelly writes:
One of the free things we always end up bringing home are the towel animals! Last time we were there we stayed at the Wilderness Lodge and the “magical” maid we had was wonderful! She made a Minnie out of towels and decorated her with pipe cleaners and bows and black stick on eyes!! She also made a birthday cake with pipe cleaner candles! My daughter loved them and they are still in her closet. I made my daughter write her a “Thank you” note and the “Magical” maid wrote her back a very lovely note calling her a princess! She still has the notes. We also bring back “free stuff” like park maps, ticket stubs, cups, soaps, lotions, and stickers. Disney is awesome! Our daughter is 11 and we plan on visiting again this October for a week to do the Halloween party at the Magic Kingdom.
On a different note, if it just wasn’t so expensive! Do you think Disney will ever stop raising the price of their tickets and resort rates? They are ridiculous! We are staying this time at the Caribbean Beach resort and the price of our hotel is less than our tickets! It is insane, that is why we have to space our visits several years apart. Financially we can not afford to visit every year. Yes, I know about discounts out there, I booked our room through AAA and got a discount for mid October and got a little bit of discount on tickets through UnderCover Tourist, but it is still very costly.
My daughter has one towel animal as well. They are a wonderful treat to come home to. My favorite thing that a maid did for my daughter was arrange all of her stuffed animals on the edge of the bed, she put the remote in Pooh Bear’s hand and turned on the TV. She was so excited when she opened the door and found all of her friends watching the Disney Channel.
I agree that a Disney trip certainly does eat up some hard-earned money. However, as someone who has traveled around a bit to do many different things, I find Disney a bargain. Yes, I said bargain. The last two years we looked to take our summer vacation elsewhere and when we did the research, we simply couldn’t beat the deal we were getting at Walt Disney World. Hotels at Hershey, or Busch Gardens, or the Jersey Shore were ridiculous, especially compared to what I would be getting at Disney.
Should I pay $300 a night for a motel with a postage stamp sized pool in Montauk, on the Jersey or Carolina shores or $150 a night at Port Orleans-Riverside and get elaborate theming, seven pools, boat rides on the river, food court, restaurant, boat, bike and horse-carriage rentals and free transportation to the parks, not to mention Disney style service? I’ve done exhaustive research on family-style vacations and I keep coming up with the same conclusion. For what I’m getting, Disney is the best deal out there. I’ve paid $4.00 for a bottle of water at ski resorts, Six Flags, water parks, concert venues, beach vendors and zoos. That same bottle is $2.50 or so in The Magic Kingdom… and I’m in the Magic Kingdom, not a concrete ballpark or second-rate amusement park!
So, I don’t think Disney will be lowering their prices anytime soon, and I may cause some arguments when I say this, but on a whole, I don’t think they have to. Some things are too expensive (the recent raise in stroller rentals is a great example), but most are a deal considering the quality in comparison to what else is out there. Stay at Disney for five days on a Park Hopper ($277 from AAA). Now go find somewhere else that’s going to give you as much as you will get in all four parks: parades, shows, attractions, animals, fireworks, free transport and all the rest for $55 a day. You’d be hard pressed to find something that’s really comparable. I couldn’t take my family to a two-hour hockey game for that price. Enjoy October, that should be a fantastic time to visit.
